Chapter Fifty-Five: The Saiyans Enter Magan
The next morning
"Finally, it's about time!" Vegeta declared, greatly relieved that the Magan officials allowed Dollan to enter the city of Magan. He shook Nappa and the others awake. "Wake up, you fools! We are in Magan! Wake up!"
Dollan had driven the Saiyans into the city of Magan, with Vegeta passing himself off as a Calmagian, and Nappa, Raditz and Journa crouching down in the backseat of the skycar. The Magan guards allowed the boy to enter, after Dollan lied and told them that he had an emergency message for the King. Dollan had driven the car into a nearby alley between a bank and a military supply store, and Vegeta had ordered him to park the car there. Dollan was now silently praying to the Kais for his life, and for forgiveness for what he had been forced to do.
"What a filthy city! Disgusting!" Vegeta noted, noticing the dirty, litter-strewn streets and overflowing trashcans. He wrinkled his nose, as he saw the dirty air clouding around Magan.
Journa, whose head had been resting on Raditz's shoulder, mumbled in her sleep, "No, Father, don't want to get up yet. Just a few more minutes…"
"Journa!" Vegeta shouted sharply. "Raditz, wake my sister up!"
A sleepy Raditz nudged Journa. "C'mon, time to get up!" Journa finally awoke, yawning expansively.
"What's the plan, Prince?" Nappa asked.
Vegeta grinned. "First, we find Tayla, and then we trash this entire city and all of its inhabitants. I will use my Power Ball to transform all of us into Oozarus; we no longer need a moon. We will transform and then tear apart the city and everyone in it, but before that, we will release the Saibamen into Magan. I can hardly wait to try them out."
"Wait a minute, Prince," Raditz spoke up, running his large hand through his thick, coarse hair. "If we all go Oozaru, who is going to watch Tayla to ensure that she doesn't escape?"
Vegeta grew thoughtful. "Hmm, good point. I will assign that task to Nappa; out of the three of you, he could control her the best. Nappa, you will remain in your natural form, understand?" Nappa nodded, and Vegeta then asked, "We still have the cuffing guns, right?"
"Yes, Prince," Nappa answered. He and the other Saiyans had brought some cuffing guns with them, so that they could shoot ki-restraining cuffs onto Tayla's wrists, and the wrists of any other Astorian that could get in their way.
Vegeta and the other Saiyans climbed out of the car, and Vegeta ordered Dollan to open the trunk of the skycar. Dollan quickly did so, and Nappa shoved the nude boy into the trunk and slammed the lid, locking Dollan inside. Dollan banged on the lid, begging to be released.
"Let me out, please!"
"Quiet!" Nappa hissed. "Unless you want to die, I suggest you shut up! We hear one word from you, and you're dead, do you understand?" He shook the skycar to make his point.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Vegeta smirked, looking at the trunk of the skycar. "Good, he's not as dumb as he looks. Let's go, everyone, now! Raditz, you spread the seeds into that pile of dirt over there. Use about one-quarter of the Saibamen bottle." Raditz did, pouring some of the Saibamen seeds into a nearby pile of dirt that construction workers had left in the streets.
Vegeta continued, "Everyone, make sure that your scouters are on. Wrap your tails around your waists. Raditz will remain here for now. Journa, Nappa, you two will come with me to find Tayla. Raditz, stay behind and ensure that the Saibamen sprout and start clearing this city. It is time to go to the royal castle, which I see from here. Nappa, Journa, do not start destroying everyone until I say so; I want to find Tayla first, and then afterwards, we can dispose of everyone else. We don't want to risk killing her with the others. Remember that she is the main reason that we are here. I wish that I were allowed to take my full revenge out on her, but Frieza has forbidden it; all we are to do is capture her. The girl is not to be harmed unless she resists, is that clear?"
"Yes, Vegeta," Nappa and Journa chorused. As they answered him, the Saibamen began to emerge from the pile of dirt, little ugly green monsters that swiftly began to escape to terrorize the Calmagians. Raditz stood on the dirt mound and grinned evilly, as Vegeta, Nappa, and Journa flew off towards the castle.
The royal castle
"No!" Tayla cried aloud, as if she were suddenly in great pain. She was doing some last minute training in the gravity room of the Roccon when she felt four strong kis, three of which were frighteningly familiar. Panicked, she ran out of the gravity room, out of the ship, and outside the spacecraft, where she saw Riccan, who was training with Arlon, Lukan, and Bendros.
"They're here!" she cried. "I felt them! Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz are in Magan now! And there's a fourth ki that's similar to them, one that is Saiyan, but can't be recognized!"
The four young men stopped sparring immediately, and Arlon cursed in Astorian, "Bastards! So, they think to take my sister away again, eh? Well, not this time! This time we are more than ready for them! We're stronger this time, Tayla, don't you worry." Arlon instinctively pulled out his sword. "Where did you feel them?"
Tayla gasped, "They are close, so close to here, almost near the castle." Even though, she was ready to fight them herself, she was shaken. She had been hoping never to see any of them again, especially Vegeta.
Bendros, Lukan, and Riccan pulled out their swords from the sheaths on their backs. Riccan was excited. "Real full-bloods! Oh, boy! I can't wait to finish them off! Let's go!"
"Slow down, Riccan," Bendros told him calmly as possible. "The Saiyans are much more dangerous than you can ever anticipate. Everyone, be on your guard. Tayla, you stay near us; we won't let anything happen to you."
Lukan raised his sword. "It's payback time. I haven't forgotten what they nearly did to us five years ago. They won't live to do it again!"
"That's right!" Riccan agreed vociferously, even though he had not been able to fight with his relatives five years ago.
"They'll be gone within five minutes of us meeting them!" Arlon boasted. "They won't even live long enough to breathe before we destroy them."
Tayla was suddenly quiet and thoughtful. Part of her wanted to boast along with her brothers and nephew, but she couldn't. She felt that Vegeta and his subordinates were much stronger than they were five years ago. Their ki signatures were three times stronger, and Tayla knew instinctively that they were strong as her and her family, possibly stronger.
Tayla's relatives began to enter the landing port, flying in and landing near their mother ship. Many of them had their uniforms on, and they were ready to fight. Dirkan was organizing Shalila's relatives and friends into a troop, barking orders, preparing the others and him.
"Don't get overconfident," Dirkan warned the fighters. "Vegeta and his bunch are much stronger than they were before. Be on your guard! Tayla, you stay near Shalila and I as much as you can."
"They're just monkeys," Rojal told Dirkan confidently, "and if Tayla and only a handful of people were able to run them off last time, then surely all of us can eliminate them easily."
"Don't be cocky, Rojal," Dirkan told him firmly. "Never underestimate Saiyans."
"If they go Oozaru, I'll turn one of them into a collection of fur coats," Dedron boasted quietly to the younger children, all of who ignored him. "I could wipe them out by myself; I am that strong!"
"What was that?" Dirkan asked loudly.
Dedron smirked guiltily. "Nothing. I just can't wait to beat some monkey behinds, that's all."
Dirkan permitted himself to smile, laughing softly. "You'll get your chance, I promise you. You all will. And remember that the Saiyans are not the only ones that we have to worry about."
Shalila's expression was grim, for she could feel the Saiyans coming closer to the castle. Tayla was carefully hiding her fear, but her grandmother, who knew her better than anyone, could sense her unease. Shalila's hand tightened around her Sword of Chloe, and her free hand rested firmly on Tayla's shoulder.
"We won't let anyone take you away," Shalila told her gently. Tayla nodded bravely and stood up straight and tall.
"I will be okay, Nama," Tayla assured her the best that she could. Shalila patted Tayla's shoulder, and they, with the others, continued to feel for the Saiyan ki signatures.
Ninety minutes later
Vegeta, Journa, and Nappa flew to one of the northern roofs of the royal castle, and a fat, slovenly Calmagian guard with red hair and face noticed them immediately. The guard was huge, but young and foolish, barely a boy.
"Halt! Stop! State your business!" the guard ordered.
Nappa confidently landed down in front of the guard. "We are here for Princess Tayla of Astoria. Take us to her, and we may spare you." Vegeta and Journa landed besides him.
The guard snorted derisively, "You are not getting to any Astorian or Calmagian here, mister, so you may as well go out the same way that you came in! Go home before I have you arrested!" He tried to turn his back on Nappa and walk away, but Nappa seized his collar from behind.
Nappa lifted the startled guard in the air. "Listen, boy, take us to Princess Tayla now!"
The guard touched Nappa's torso from behind, trying to paralyze him, but Nappa just laughed arrogantly. "The Calmagian paralysis attack has no effect on us!" Nappa boasted. "You see, boy, all of Frieza's fighters took special shots before we came to clear your planet, shots that made us immune to your paralyzing abilities. Give it up now and take us to Princess Tayla, or you will pay with your life!"
The guard shouted, "Help! Invaders! Destroy these men!" The guard pulled out a small box and pressed the large blue button to summon his comrades. Before the Saiyan invaders knew it, dozens of Calmagian guards came pouring out of one of the doors of the one of the castle turrets to confront them. The Calmagian guards surrounded the Saiyans on the northern roof.
Vegeta grinned. "Good, a warm-up exercise! Nappa, Journa, it looks like we may be attacking sooner than we thought! Take care of them; you two know what to do!"
"Yes, Prince!" the other Saiyans shouted enthusiastically.
The Calmagian guards pulled out their laser guns and began firing at the Saiyans, but the three Saiyans easily deflected the lasers with their hands, and Nappa used a Big Bang attack to burn away some of the guards. After that, only ten Calmagian guards were left, including the one that Nappa had bullied.
Vegeta, Journa, and Nappa began to fight the guards (who had now abandoned their guns) in hand-to-hand combat, easily punching and kicking the guards until the guards were defenseless. Several of the guards foolishly tried to paralyze the Saiyans, but Journa broke the windpipes of two them with her fist, and Vegeta knocked one unconscious by hitting him in his face. In a few minutes, only three Calmagian guards were still alive, even the one that Nappa had harassed.
Vegeta seized the collar on the weakest Calmagian guard, a skinny fourteen-year-old boy. "Tell us where Princess Tayla is, now, or you will join your comrades in hell!"
The boy stammered, both of his legs now broken, "I don't know where Princess Tayla is, but I do know where some Astorians are. If you will spare us, I can take you to them!"
Vegeta smirked. "Very good! You are a coward, but you are not stupid. Take us to them, now!"
The fat Calmagian guard tried to sneak up behind Vegeta in hopes of hitting him in the head, but Journa intervened quickly. She grabbed the fat guard's offending arm and broke it easily, as if she were breaking a single stick. Then she picked up the fat guard and carried him to the edge of the roof and threw the horrified guard down to the courtyard. There was a sickening thud, as the corpulent guard's body crashed into the courtyard concrete; the impact killed him instantly.
Vegeta had watched the entire scene, and he commented, "I guess it is true what some species say; the bigger they are, the harder they fall!"
Journa added, "And that one sure fell hard!"
Vegeta ordered, "Nappa, grab the other survivor, and these cowards will lead us to the Astorians. Surely, we make some of Tayla's people tell where she is."
Journa shook her head at that last sentence. "I doubt that last part, brother. The Astorians are loyal to one another; they'll die first before they give up one of their own. Don't you remember Father telling us that?"
Vegeta snorted contemptuously at his older sister. "Astorians can be just as cowardly as Calmagians! I'm sure we can find a few that will value their lives above Tayla's safety. We can more than take care of them. No Astorian is stronger than a Saiyan."
Journa grinned slowly. "I can't wait to see this Princess Tayla. I want to see if she is really as strong as you three had claimed!"
Vegeta snorted again. "She's no where as strong as I am now."
Journa decided to be impertinent. "Nevertheless, I would like the meet the brat that actually was able to take you down. This should be interesting; maybe I ought to congratulate her!" She winked, and Vegeta rewarded her by cuffing her, not hard enough to damage her, but enough to send her a message. Journa cried out.
"Ow! You can't take a joke!"
Vegeta glared at her. "I've dealt with enough jokes for one time, Balair's team and the Calmagians being among them. Let's go, now!"
"You're not going anywhere-except to hell!"
The three Saiyan invaders turned away to see a lone figure in a red uniform and red cape. The cape fluttered impressively in the wind. They noticed the familiar figure, tall and green, and always carrying a sword known as his Light Blade.
Vegeta permitted himself a slow, cruel smile, as he crossed his arms confidently over his chest plate. His smile melded into a contemptuous smirk. "Well, hello, Dirkan, long time, no see."
Dirkan brandished his sword. "I was hoping that I would never see you again. So were the rest of my people."
"The Astorians aren't your people," Vegeta scoffed. "You merely think that just because you married their leader and are helping to raise her favorite granddaughter."
Nappa's evil smirk matched Vegeta's, as he crossed his thick, muscular arms in a similar matter. "We could use a strong warrior like you on our side; you should join us instead of fighting to protect a race that's going to be wiped out sooner or later."
The Calmagian boy with the broken legs whimpered, as the other surviving Calmagian guard quietly and carefully picked him up in his arms. The older guard begin to sneak away with his comrade. Nappa approached them in order to capture them, but Vegeta ordered him to let them go for now.
"If we need them, we can easily find them later," he assured his right-hand-man.
Turning to Dirkan, Vegeta added cruelly, "A weakling race, except for maybe your wife and Princess Tayla. But that's all right, for we intend to take the brat with us. You could help bring her to us, and I'm sure you would be welcomed into the Elite. Why are you wasting your time with them and her? I will never understand."
"I'm not surprised. Your kind knows nothing about loyalty and love," Dirkan snorted. "And I will never join up with your kind, and neither will Tayla. I do consider the Astorians my people; they are good to me, and I love them, particularly their leader. Do you monkeys have anything better to do than to kidnap children to work for a monster like Frieza? It is a pity that a mere little boy like yourself has nothing better in life to look forward to than taking or ruining the lives of innocent people."
Vegeta hissed, his smile melting back into his characteristic scowl, "I am no little boy; I am a man, destined to become the greatest warrior in the universe! I have no real interest in the brat, Tayla, except to avenge myself against her, but Frieza has forbidden it, so I am taking her to him. He will reward us greatly, and I intend to collect that reward and become part of his Top Elite."
"A pitiful goal," Dirkan said quietly, "wanting to work more for a beast like Frieza. Anyway..." He drew his sword out in front of him. "...I am going to tell you this only once: leave here now, and leave us alone, or you and your remaining Saiyans will perish! We show no mercy towards those who would do us harm! Leave now!" Dirkan's expression hardened into anger.
Vegeta laughed condescendingly. "You're not even worth wasting my time. It is the brat that we want. Nappa, Journa, eliminate him immediately; we have no time to play with him. I will go find Tayla myself. Destroy the Namek!" He boosted himself off the roof of the castle and shot into the air like a rocket. He was gone within seconds.
"Hey, come back here!" Dirkan commanded, but before he could take off after Vegeta, Nappa flung himself at him. Dirkan slashed Nappa's arm with his sword, but Nappa grabbed that arm and squeezed his wrist tight. He then punched the Namek hard in his stomach with such a force that Dirkan spat out blood onto Nappa's face. Nappa tried to punch Dirkan again, but Dirkan used his free hand to crush Nappa's jaw with his fist, forcing the large Saiyan to free him.
Dirkan soared into the air and shot eye lasers down at Nappa, who dodged them easily. Nappa then launched a Big Bang attack that would have crippled the Namek warrior, had he not used Mirror Shield to deflect it back onto him. The deflected attack crashed into Nappa with such force that it shoved him hard onto the concrete. Nappa rose, somewhat damaged from Dirkan's attack, slowly into the air to confront him.
Dirkan had been prepared for that, but he had developed a new attack over the past few years that could eliminate a herd of Earth elephants. He had went for a special session under Kami Orchida after Tayla had come home to the Palace of Chloe, and he had just learned life-force manipulation, where you could use your life-force to double or triple the impact of your attacks. Tayla herself was just learning life-force manipulation, although the manipulation could strain most of a body's resources. In some cases, it could be fatal, if a fighter had too low a ki to manage it. Dirkan had learned from Kami Orchida an attack called Tri-Power, which combined a mouth blast and two hand blasts into one powerful ki blast. It was done by using a mouth blast, and then adding the most powerful hand blasts that a fighter could use. The three blasts twisted into one powerful ki blast that was enough to destroy a small moon.
Dirkan knew that he had to lure Nappa away from the palace before he could execute such an attack; his life-force-backed attack could destroy the castle and its occupants. So, he deliberately flew away from the castle towards an open meadow under Magan's dome. Nappa followed him, of course, hoping to destroy him once and for all.
Flying in the air, Vegeta searched the castle grounds for Tayla, but he could not see her anywhere. Curse the little wench! Vegeta hated that Tayla would always be able to sense him coming; she could always sense his ki. He also hated that he could not hide his ki or sense ki without a scouter like the Astorians could. That blasted brat and her people would always have that advantage over him!
No matter; he had captured her once before, and he could do so again. It would just take time, time that Vegeta hoped that he would have.
Once he captured that brat, he would make her show him how she always managed to sense ki without a scouter. Vegeta knew that many of Frieza's minions believed that sensing ki unaided could not be taught; it came only with heredity. Vegeta, like many of the Saiyans, didn't believe that it was true. The Saiyans had been trying to figure out the Astorians' secrets about sensing ki unaided and masking it for many decades, and so far no Saiyan had ever done so. The Astorians had managed to lead the Saiyans into believing for a long time that being able to do both talents was something that you were born knowing. But the Saiyans had learned that the Astorians had taught the Meatians and the Hyslians how to sense ki unaided, and they wanted the Astorians to show them as well. Vegeta wanted to learn how it was done; he knew that he could learn it, and that it would greatly enhance his abilities as a warrior. It would give him a great advantage over his opponents, being able to sense ki unaided and hiding it.
And he'd force Tayla to teach him before he turned her over to Frieza.
The next morning
"Finally, it's about time!" Vegeta declared, greatly relieved that the Magan officials allowed Dollan to enter the city of Magan. He shook Nappa and the others awake. "Wake up, you fools! We are in Magan! Wake up!"
Dollan had driven the Saiyans into the city of Magan, with Vegeta passing himself off as a Calmagian, and Nappa, Raditz and Journa crouching down in the backseat of the skycar. The Magan guards allowed the boy to enter, after Dollan lied and told them that he had an emergency message for the King. Dollan had driven the car into a nearby alley between a bank and a military supply store, and Vegeta had ordered him to park the car there. Dollan was now silently praying to the Kais for his life, and for forgiveness for what he had been forced to do.
"What a filthy city! Disgusting!" Vegeta noted, noticing the dirty, litter-strewn streets and overflowing trashcans. He wrinkled his nose, as he saw the dirty air clouding around Magan.
Journa, whose head had been resting on Raditz's shoulder, mumbled in her sleep, "No, Father, don't want to get up yet. Just a few more minutes…"
"Journa!" Vegeta shouted sharply. "Raditz, wake my sister up!"
A sleepy Raditz nudged Journa. "C'mon, time to get up!" Journa finally awoke, yawning expansively.
"What's the plan, Prince?" Nappa asked.
Vegeta grinned. "First, we find Tayla, and then we trash this entire city and all of its inhabitants. I will use my Power Ball to transform all of us into Oozarus; we no longer need a moon. We will transform and then tear apart the city and everyone in it, but before that, we will release the Saibamen into Magan. I can hardly wait to try them out."
"Wait a minute, Prince," Raditz spoke up, running his large hand through his thick, coarse hair. "If we all go Oozaru, who is going to watch Tayla to ensure that she doesn't escape?"
Vegeta grew thoughtful. "Hmm, good point. I will assign that task to Nappa; out of the three of you, he could control her the best. Nappa, you will remain in your natural form, understand?" Nappa nodded, and Vegeta then asked, "We still have the cuffing guns, right?"
"Yes, Prince," Nappa answered. He and the other Saiyans had brought some cuffing guns with them, so that they could shoot ki-restraining cuffs onto Tayla's wrists, and the wrists of any other Astorian that could get in their way.
Vegeta and the other Saiyans climbed out of the car, and Vegeta ordered Dollan to open the trunk of the skycar. Dollan quickly did so, and Nappa shoved the nude boy into the trunk and slammed the lid, locking Dollan inside. Dollan banged on the lid, begging to be released.
"Let me out, please!"
"Quiet!" Nappa hissed. "Unless you want to die, I suggest you shut up! We hear one word from you, and you're dead, do you understand?" He shook the skycar to make his point.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Vegeta smirked, looking at the trunk of the skycar. "Good, he's not as dumb as he looks. Let's go, everyone, now! Raditz, you spread the seeds into that pile of dirt over there. Use about one-quarter of the Saibamen bottle." Raditz did, pouring some of the Saibamen seeds into a nearby pile of dirt that construction workers had left in the streets.
Vegeta continued, "Everyone, make sure that your scouters are on. Wrap your tails around your waists. Raditz will remain here for now. Journa, Nappa, you two will come with me to find Tayla. Raditz, stay behind and ensure that the Saibamen sprout and start clearing this city. It is time to go to the royal castle, which I see from here. Nappa, Journa, do not start destroying everyone until I say so; I want to find Tayla first, and then afterwards, we can dispose of everyone else. We don't want to risk killing her with the others. Remember that she is the main reason that we are here. I wish that I were allowed to take my full revenge out on her, but Frieza has forbidden it; all we are to do is capture her. The girl is not to be harmed unless she resists, is that clear?"
"Yes, Vegeta," Nappa and Journa chorused. As they answered him, the Saibamen began to emerge from the pile of dirt, little ugly green monsters that swiftly began to escape to terrorize the Calmagians. Raditz stood on the dirt mound and grinned evilly, as Vegeta, Nappa, and Journa flew off towards the castle.
The royal castle
"No!" Tayla cried aloud, as if she were suddenly in great pain. She was doing some last minute training in the gravity room of the Roccon when she felt four strong kis, three of which were frighteningly familiar. Panicked, she ran out of the gravity room, out of the ship, and outside the spacecraft, where she saw Riccan, who was training with Arlon, Lukan, and Bendros.
"They're here!" she cried. "I felt them! Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz are in Magan now! And there's a fourth ki that's similar to them, one that is Saiyan, but can't be recognized!"
The four young men stopped sparring immediately, and Arlon cursed in Astorian, "Bastards! So, they think to take my sister away again, eh? Well, not this time! This time we are more than ready for them! We're stronger this time, Tayla, don't you worry." Arlon instinctively pulled out his sword. "Where did you feel them?"
Tayla gasped, "They are close, so close to here, almost near the castle." Even though, she was ready to fight them herself, she was shaken. She had been hoping never to see any of them again, especially Vegeta.
Bendros, Lukan, and Riccan pulled out their swords from the sheaths on their backs. Riccan was excited. "Real full-bloods! Oh, boy! I can't wait to finish them off! Let's go!"
"Slow down, Riccan," Bendros told him calmly as possible. "The Saiyans are much more dangerous than you can ever anticipate. Everyone, be on your guard. Tayla, you stay near us; we won't let anything happen to you."
Lukan raised his sword. "It's payback time. I haven't forgotten what they nearly did to us five years ago. They won't live to do it again!"
"That's right!" Riccan agreed vociferously, even though he had not been able to fight with his relatives five years ago.
"They'll be gone within five minutes of us meeting them!" Arlon boasted. "They won't even live long enough to breathe before we destroy them."
Tayla was suddenly quiet and thoughtful. Part of her wanted to boast along with her brothers and nephew, but she couldn't. She felt that Vegeta and his subordinates were much stronger than they were five years ago. Their ki signatures were three times stronger, and Tayla knew instinctively that they were strong as her and her family, possibly stronger.
Tayla's relatives began to enter the landing port, flying in and landing near their mother ship. Many of them had their uniforms on, and they were ready to fight. Dirkan was organizing Shalila's relatives and friends into a troop, barking orders, preparing the others and him.
"Don't get overconfident," Dirkan warned the fighters. "Vegeta and his bunch are much stronger than they were before. Be on your guard! Tayla, you stay near Shalila and I as much as you can."
"They're just monkeys," Rojal told Dirkan confidently, "and if Tayla and only a handful of people were able to run them off last time, then surely all of us can eliminate them easily."
"Don't be cocky, Rojal," Dirkan told him firmly. "Never underestimate Saiyans."
"If they go Oozaru, I'll turn one of them into a collection of fur coats," Dedron boasted quietly to the younger children, all of who ignored him. "I could wipe them out by myself; I am that strong!"
"What was that?" Dirkan asked loudly.
Dedron smirked guiltily. "Nothing. I just can't wait to beat some monkey behinds, that's all."
Dirkan permitted himself to smile, laughing softly. "You'll get your chance, I promise you. You all will. And remember that the Saiyans are not the only ones that we have to worry about."
Shalila's expression was grim, for she could feel the Saiyans coming closer to the castle. Tayla was carefully hiding her fear, but her grandmother, who knew her better than anyone, could sense her unease. Shalila's hand tightened around her Sword of Chloe, and her free hand rested firmly on Tayla's shoulder.
"We won't let anyone take you away," Shalila told her gently. Tayla nodded bravely and stood up straight and tall.
"I will be okay, Nama," Tayla assured her the best that she could. Shalila patted Tayla's shoulder, and they, with the others, continued to feel for the Saiyan ki signatures.
Ninety minutes later
Vegeta, Journa, and Nappa flew to one of the northern roofs of the royal castle, and a fat, slovenly Calmagian guard with red hair and face noticed them immediately. The guard was huge, but young and foolish, barely a boy.
"Halt! Stop! State your business!" the guard ordered.
Nappa confidently landed down in front of the guard. "We are here for Princess Tayla of Astoria. Take us to her, and we may spare you." Vegeta and Journa landed besides him.
The guard snorted derisively, "You are not getting to any Astorian or Calmagian here, mister, so you may as well go out the same way that you came in! Go home before I have you arrested!" He tried to turn his back on Nappa and walk away, but Nappa seized his collar from behind.
Nappa lifted the startled guard in the air. "Listen, boy, take us to Princess Tayla now!"
The guard touched Nappa's torso from behind, trying to paralyze him, but Nappa just laughed arrogantly. "The Calmagian paralysis attack has no effect on us!" Nappa boasted. "You see, boy, all of Frieza's fighters took special shots before we came to clear your planet, shots that made us immune to your paralyzing abilities. Give it up now and take us to Princess Tayla, or you will pay with your life!"
The guard shouted, "Help! Invaders! Destroy these men!" The guard pulled out a small box and pressed the large blue button to summon his comrades. Before the Saiyan invaders knew it, dozens of Calmagian guards came pouring out of one of the doors of the one of the castle turrets to confront them. The Calmagian guards surrounded the Saiyans on the northern roof.
Vegeta grinned. "Good, a warm-up exercise! Nappa, Journa, it looks like we may be attacking sooner than we thought! Take care of them; you two know what to do!"
"Yes, Prince!" the other Saiyans shouted enthusiastically.
The Calmagian guards pulled out their laser guns and began firing at the Saiyans, but the three Saiyans easily deflected the lasers with their hands, and Nappa used a Big Bang attack to burn away some of the guards. After that, only ten Calmagian guards were left, including the one that Nappa had bullied.
Vegeta, Journa, and Nappa began to fight the guards (who had now abandoned their guns) in hand-to-hand combat, easily punching and kicking the guards until the guards were defenseless. Several of the guards foolishly tried to paralyze the Saiyans, but Journa broke the windpipes of two them with her fist, and Vegeta knocked one unconscious by hitting him in his face. In a few minutes, only three Calmagian guards were still alive, even the one that Nappa had harassed.
Vegeta seized the collar on the weakest Calmagian guard, a skinny fourteen-year-old boy. "Tell us where Princess Tayla is, now, or you will join your comrades in hell!"
The boy stammered, both of his legs now broken, "I don't know where Princess Tayla is, but I do know where some Astorians are. If you will spare us, I can take you to them!"
Vegeta smirked. "Very good! You are a coward, but you are not stupid. Take us to them, now!"
The fat Calmagian guard tried to sneak up behind Vegeta in hopes of hitting him in the head, but Journa intervened quickly. She grabbed the fat guard's offending arm and broke it easily, as if she were breaking a single stick. Then she picked up the fat guard and carried him to the edge of the roof and threw the horrified guard down to the courtyard. There was a sickening thud, as the corpulent guard's body crashed into the courtyard concrete; the impact killed him instantly.
Vegeta had watched the entire scene, and he commented, "I guess it is true what some species say; the bigger they are, the harder they fall!"
Journa added, "And that one sure fell hard!"
Vegeta ordered, "Nappa, grab the other survivor, and these cowards will lead us to the Astorians. Surely, we make some of Tayla's people tell where she is."
Journa shook her head at that last sentence. "I doubt that last part, brother. The Astorians are loyal to one another; they'll die first before they give up one of their own. Don't you remember Father telling us that?"
Vegeta snorted contemptuously at his older sister. "Astorians can be just as cowardly as Calmagians! I'm sure we can find a few that will value their lives above Tayla's safety. We can more than take care of them. No Astorian is stronger than a Saiyan."
Journa grinned slowly. "I can't wait to see this Princess Tayla. I want to see if she is really as strong as you three had claimed!"
Vegeta snorted again. "She's no where as strong as I am now."
Journa decided to be impertinent. "Nevertheless, I would like the meet the brat that actually was able to take you down. This should be interesting; maybe I ought to congratulate her!" She winked, and Vegeta rewarded her by cuffing her, not hard enough to damage her, but enough to send her a message. Journa cried out.
"Ow! You can't take a joke!"
Vegeta glared at her. "I've dealt with enough jokes for one time, Balair's team and the Calmagians being among them. Let's go, now!"
"You're not going anywhere-except to hell!"
The three Saiyan invaders turned away to see a lone figure in a red uniform and red cape. The cape fluttered impressively in the wind. They noticed the familiar figure, tall and green, and always carrying a sword known as his Light Blade.
Vegeta permitted himself a slow, cruel smile, as he crossed his arms confidently over his chest plate. His smile melded into a contemptuous smirk. "Well, hello, Dirkan, long time, no see."
Dirkan brandished his sword. "I was hoping that I would never see you again. So were the rest of my people."
"The Astorians aren't your people," Vegeta scoffed. "You merely think that just because you married their leader and are helping to raise her favorite granddaughter."
Nappa's evil smirk matched Vegeta's, as he crossed his thick, muscular arms in a similar matter. "We could use a strong warrior like you on our side; you should join us instead of fighting to protect a race that's going to be wiped out sooner or later."
The Calmagian boy with the broken legs whimpered, as the other surviving Calmagian guard quietly and carefully picked him up in his arms. The older guard begin to sneak away with his comrade. Nappa approached them in order to capture them, but Vegeta ordered him to let them go for now.
"If we need them, we can easily find them later," he assured his right-hand-man.
Turning to Dirkan, Vegeta added cruelly, "A weakling race, except for maybe your wife and Princess Tayla. But that's all right, for we intend to take the brat with us. You could help bring her to us, and I'm sure you would be welcomed into the Elite. Why are you wasting your time with them and her? I will never understand."
"I'm not surprised. Your kind knows nothing about loyalty and love," Dirkan snorted. "And I will never join up with your kind, and neither will Tayla. I do consider the Astorians my people; they are good to me, and I love them, particularly their leader. Do you monkeys have anything better to do than to kidnap children to work for a monster like Frieza? It is a pity that a mere little boy like yourself has nothing better in life to look forward to than taking or ruining the lives of innocent people."
Vegeta hissed, his smile melting back into his characteristic scowl, "I am no little boy; I am a man, destined to become the greatest warrior in the universe! I have no real interest in the brat, Tayla, except to avenge myself against her, but Frieza has forbidden it, so I am taking her to him. He will reward us greatly, and I intend to collect that reward and become part of his Top Elite."
"A pitiful goal," Dirkan said quietly, "wanting to work more for a beast like Frieza. Anyway..." He drew his sword out in front of him. "...I am going to tell you this only once: leave here now, and leave us alone, or you and your remaining Saiyans will perish! We show no mercy towards those who would do us harm! Leave now!" Dirkan's expression hardened into anger.
Vegeta laughed condescendingly. "You're not even worth wasting my time. It is the brat that we want. Nappa, Journa, eliminate him immediately; we have no time to play with him. I will go find Tayla myself. Destroy the Namek!" He boosted himself off the roof of the castle and shot into the air like a rocket. He was gone within seconds.
"Hey, come back here!" Dirkan commanded, but before he could take off after Vegeta, Nappa flung himself at him. Dirkan slashed Nappa's arm with his sword, but Nappa grabbed that arm and squeezed his wrist tight. He then punched the Namek hard in his stomach with such a force that Dirkan spat out blood onto Nappa's face. Nappa tried to punch Dirkan again, but Dirkan used his free hand to crush Nappa's jaw with his fist, forcing the large Saiyan to free him.
Dirkan soared into the air and shot eye lasers down at Nappa, who dodged them easily. Nappa then launched a Big Bang attack that would have crippled the Namek warrior, had he not used Mirror Shield to deflect it back onto him. The deflected attack crashed into Nappa with such force that it shoved him hard onto the concrete. Nappa rose, somewhat damaged from Dirkan's attack, slowly into the air to confront him.
Dirkan had been prepared for that, but he had developed a new attack over the past few years that could eliminate a herd of Earth elephants. He had went for a special session under Kami Orchida after Tayla had come home to the Palace of Chloe, and he had just learned life-force manipulation, where you could use your life-force to double or triple the impact of your attacks. Tayla herself was just learning life-force manipulation, although the manipulation could strain most of a body's resources. In some cases, it could be fatal, if a fighter had too low a ki to manage it. Dirkan had learned from Kami Orchida an attack called Tri-Power, which combined a mouth blast and two hand blasts into one powerful ki blast. It was done by using a mouth blast, and then adding the most powerful hand blasts that a fighter could use. The three blasts twisted into one powerful ki blast that was enough to destroy a small moon.
Dirkan knew that he had to lure Nappa away from the palace before he could execute such an attack; his life-force-backed attack could destroy the castle and its occupants. So, he deliberately flew away from the castle towards an open meadow under Magan's dome. Nappa followed him, of course, hoping to destroy him once and for all.
Flying in the air, Vegeta searched the castle grounds for Tayla, but he could not see her anywhere. Curse the little wench! Vegeta hated that Tayla would always be able to sense him coming; she could always sense his ki. He also hated that he could not hide his ki or sense ki without a scouter like the Astorians could. That blasted brat and her people would always have that advantage over him!
No matter; he had captured her once before, and he could do so again. It would just take time, time that Vegeta hoped that he would have.
Once he captured that brat, he would make her show him how she always managed to sense ki without a scouter. Vegeta knew that many of Frieza's minions believed that sensing ki unaided could not be taught; it came only with heredity. Vegeta, like many of the Saiyans, didn't believe that it was true. The Saiyans had been trying to figure out the Astorians' secrets about sensing ki unaided and masking it for many decades, and so far no Saiyan had ever done so. The Astorians had managed to lead the Saiyans into believing for a long time that being able to do both talents was something that you were born knowing. But the Saiyans had learned that the Astorians had taught the Meatians and the Hyslians how to sense ki unaided, and they wanted the Astorians to show them as well. Vegeta wanted to learn how it was done; he knew that he could learn it, and that it would greatly enhance his abilities as a warrior. It would give him a great advantage over his opponents, being able to sense ki unaided and hiding it.
And he'd force Tayla to teach him before he turned her over to Frieza.
