"No! No! A thousand times no!" shouted Gohan.
"So will you consider it?" Nappa asked, flatly. Vegeta and the Saiyans were seated on various pieces of furniture in Gohan's living room, while the scholar and his wife Videl were, of course, perched on the love seat.
"Of course not! I have no intention of becoming King of the Saiyans!"
"You have to! It's your responsibility!" said Raditz.
Turles nodded. "As the strongest individual with Saiyan blood, you must assume the throne." Gohan glanced over at Vegeta for confirmation.
"That's true," said the former king. "And that happens to be you. Therefore, your course is clear."
Bardock spoke up. "Not only that, but you'll make your old granddad so proud, and I know you want to do that, don't you?" He wore a wicked smirk.
Desperate, Gohan turned to Videl. "What do you think I should do?"
She shrugged. "It'd only be for six months or so until Vegeta could take back over, right?"
"Yes. I have no intention of staying human any longer than I have to," said Vegeta, snarling.
"In that case, I think you should go ahead and do it. It'd get them out of our hair…and I'll make it worth your while." She winked, and he blushed.
Broli grinned. "You would have to be a fool of the highest order to pass up that offer."
Gohan sighed, and gave in. "Fine, fine. I'll do it. How are you guys going to do this, anyway?"
"I've read up on this, in-between missions as a planet-clearer for Freeza," said Vegeta. "We can do it since we have a majority of the Saiyans here. Step forward, brat."
Gohan raised an eyebrow, rose up off the couch and took several steps onward.
"Excellent. The rest of you, form a ring around him and begin giving him some of your ki. It shouldn't take too long."
Bardock, Broli, Turles, Nappa and Raditz surrounded the scholar. Slowly at first, then more rapidly, they started to feed him some of their ki. A few seconds passed uneventfully.
Suddenly Gohan began to glow dazzlingly white. The next moment, a pillar of light stabbed upwards from him and tore a hole in the roof.
Vegeta nodded his approval. "That should do it. You can stop now."
The Saiyans cut the flow of power, and Gohan stopped glowing. He looked a bit shaky, but Videl was immediately there to steady him.
"Well?" he asked. "Did that do it?"
"Yes. You are now King of the Saiyans--"
"ALL HAIL KING GOHAN!" recited the others. Vegeta winced.
"Yes, exactly. And that makes your wife the technical Queen of the Saiyans--"
"ALL HAIL QUEEN VIDEL!" He winced again.
"Correct. All the powers and responsibilities of the King of the Saiyans are now yours. You are the absolute ruler, and only if all the other Saiyans are in agreement can that title be removed, unless you choose to pass it on. Also, you can draw on the powers of anyone else with Saiyan blood. That includes these idiots here, your father, your brother, and my sons."
"Ah. That explains how you were able to become so powerful when that alternate version of yourself arrived. Why didn't you tell anyone else about that, anyway?"
"I didn't wish to overly worry the Namek or any of the humans. I have to admit that's a decision I've come to regret."
"Bulma chewed you out, didn't she?"
"Yes," said Vegeta, cringing. Few people could chew out like Bulma.
"My sympathies."
Videl whispered in his ear. He grinned.
"OK, if you are my subjects…as my first edict as King, I command you to fix that hole in the roof."
"It shall be done…Your Majesty," said Nappa. Gohan enjoyed the look on his face.
***
As the Saiyans stayed behind to do some repair work, Vegeta returned home, driving an aircar.
He blinked. He supposed that Capsule Corporation really was home now, and not just "the place where he lived with his family."
He blinked again. He supposed they really were his family now, and not just "his mate and his offspring." He'd lost his planet, his power, his title, and his race. There was nothing left to keep him connected to space.
He shuddered, though a tiny bit of him deep inside smiled.
***
As he approached Capsule Corp., he saw several of the windows shatter and heard a loud explosion. This didn't really worry him, though.
He parked the car and walked inside. Inside one of the laboratories, he found Bulma.
"Goten is over visiting Trunks, isn't he?"
"Yep."
"I thought so."
***
A few minutes later, Vegeta found himself scrolling through the television channels in lieu of his usual activities. Normally at this time of day, he'd be training, but as a human he no longer had the biological compulsion that drove him to battle constantly.
With several loud thumps, Trunks and Goten entered the room. They did so by rolling down the stairs, wrestling.
"Hello Vegeta-san!" greeted Goten once they'd gotten right-side up. "Wanna spar with us?"
"No he doesn't!" said Trunks quickly.
"How do you know he doesn't?"
Trunks had inherited things other than his eyes and hair from his mother, and one of these was an inability to keep quiet for very long. And so before his father could stop him, he'd told Goten the entire story.
"Thank you, brat," said Vegeta, scowling.
"So will you consider it?" Nappa asked, flatly. Vegeta and the Saiyans were seated on various pieces of furniture in Gohan's living room, while the scholar and his wife Videl were, of course, perched on the love seat.
"Of course not! I have no intention of becoming King of the Saiyans!"
"You have to! It's your responsibility!" said Raditz.
Turles nodded. "As the strongest individual with Saiyan blood, you must assume the throne." Gohan glanced over at Vegeta for confirmation.
"That's true," said the former king. "And that happens to be you. Therefore, your course is clear."
Bardock spoke up. "Not only that, but you'll make your old granddad so proud, and I know you want to do that, don't you?" He wore a wicked smirk.
Desperate, Gohan turned to Videl. "What do you think I should do?"
She shrugged. "It'd only be for six months or so until Vegeta could take back over, right?"
"Yes. I have no intention of staying human any longer than I have to," said Vegeta, snarling.
"In that case, I think you should go ahead and do it. It'd get them out of our hair…and I'll make it worth your while." She winked, and he blushed.
Broli grinned. "You would have to be a fool of the highest order to pass up that offer."
Gohan sighed, and gave in. "Fine, fine. I'll do it. How are you guys going to do this, anyway?"
"I've read up on this, in-between missions as a planet-clearer for Freeza," said Vegeta. "We can do it since we have a majority of the Saiyans here. Step forward, brat."
Gohan raised an eyebrow, rose up off the couch and took several steps onward.
"Excellent. The rest of you, form a ring around him and begin giving him some of your ki. It shouldn't take too long."
Bardock, Broli, Turles, Nappa and Raditz surrounded the scholar. Slowly at first, then more rapidly, they started to feed him some of their ki. A few seconds passed uneventfully.
Suddenly Gohan began to glow dazzlingly white. The next moment, a pillar of light stabbed upwards from him and tore a hole in the roof.
Vegeta nodded his approval. "That should do it. You can stop now."
The Saiyans cut the flow of power, and Gohan stopped glowing. He looked a bit shaky, but Videl was immediately there to steady him.
"Well?" he asked. "Did that do it?"
"Yes. You are now King of the Saiyans--"
"ALL HAIL KING GOHAN!" recited the others. Vegeta winced.
"Yes, exactly. And that makes your wife the technical Queen of the Saiyans--"
"ALL HAIL QUEEN VIDEL!" He winced again.
"Correct. All the powers and responsibilities of the King of the Saiyans are now yours. You are the absolute ruler, and only if all the other Saiyans are in agreement can that title be removed, unless you choose to pass it on. Also, you can draw on the powers of anyone else with Saiyan blood. That includes these idiots here, your father, your brother, and my sons."
"Ah. That explains how you were able to become so powerful when that alternate version of yourself arrived. Why didn't you tell anyone else about that, anyway?"
"I didn't wish to overly worry the Namek or any of the humans. I have to admit that's a decision I've come to regret."
"Bulma chewed you out, didn't she?"
"Yes," said Vegeta, cringing. Few people could chew out like Bulma.
"My sympathies."
Videl whispered in his ear. He grinned.
"OK, if you are my subjects…as my first edict as King, I command you to fix that hole in the roof."
"It shall be done…Your Majesty," said Nappa. Gohan enjoyed the look on his face.
***
As the Saiyans stayed behind to do some repair work, Vegeta returned home, driving an aircar.
He blinked. He supposed that Capsule Corporation really was home now, and not just "the place where he lived with his family."
He blinked again. He supposed they really were his family now, and not just "his mate and his offspring." He'd lost his planet, his power, his title, and his race. There was nothing left to keep him connected to space.
He shuddered, though a tiny bit of him deep inside smiled.
***
As he approached Capsule Corp., he saw several of the windows shatter and heard a loud explosion. This didn't really worry him, though.
He parked the car and walked inside. Inside one of the laboratories, he found Bulma.
"Goten is over visiting Trunks, isn't he?"
"Yep."
"I thought so."
***
A few minutes later, Vegeta found himself scrolling through the television channels in lieu of his usual activities. Normally at this time of day, he'd be training, but as a human he no longer had the biological compulsion that drove him to battle constantly.
With several loud thumps, Trunks and Goten entered the room. They did so by rolling down the stairs, wrestling.
"Hello Vegeta-san!" greeted Goten once they'd gotten right-side up. "Wanna spar with us?"
"No he doesn't!" said Trunks quickly.
"How do you know he doesn't?"
Trunks had inherited things other than his eyes and hair from his mother, and one of these was an inability to keep quiet for very long. And so before his father could stop him, he'd told Goten the entire story.
"Thank you, brat," said Vegeta, scowling.