Fourth Chapter: Finally, Broly is revealed!
The fight for the universe begins! Again...
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Sigh... 'This waiting might just kill me before Broly does…'
While awaiting Vegeta and Broly's arrival, I tried focusing on what little nature circulated around the palace's entrance, but it just wasn't doing the trick.
Before departing from Goku last night, I'd gone back to his quarters. There the two of us explained the whole situation to the others, and how the plan would unravel. As intended, I was going to escort Vegeta and Broly to the spaceship. Trunks, Krillin and Gohan were bringing the slave aliens as witnesses against Broly, and…
I had no clue as to Goku's whereabouts.
'He's close by though, I can feel it… But he better be close enough. Everyone has to be here when it happens.'
The sound of footsteps clicked at my keen saiyan ears.
Finally.
Approaching almost casually was Vegeta, with Broly in tow.
"Good morning, sir," I greeted my brother with a polite airiness.
Vegeta didn't bother restraining a critical sweep over my choice of outfit.
I had swapped my palace garments for a more battle-ready suit, after all; short-sleeved, green saiyan under-armor with the protocol combat gloves and boots. Sadly it lacked the actual combat armor, for Paragus had always worn our only set.
"Hn." He nodded, acknowledging me. If only I knew what was going through the prince's mind at that moment.
My lips twitched into the slightest smile as I fell in step with him.
Seconds later, I felt a stressed presence closing in on us. I paused to turn. It was…
"Sir, wait!" Paragus called, running frantically to catch up. "Wait—wait, King Vegeta! Please don't go! Hear me out!" The desperation was clear to anyone he passed by.
Vegeta finally stopped, sparing Paragus a short glance, then continued on as if he'd only paused at something he had misunderstood.
Wait, was Vegeta leaving? I'd assumed he and Broly were going to go searching again!
I frowned. 'It's now or never… But where is everyone? I can't just blurt out Vegeta, I'm your sister and Broly is The Legendary Super Saiyan! Kill him! That wouldn't be the brightest idea…'
Paragus stood erect after having doubled over to catch his breath. "My lord, we've found him. We should be able to pinpoint his location by tomorrow at the latest," he offered, voice ragged, eyes holding a small note of pleading.
Wow... Paragus was really desperate!
I could tell Vegeta had dealt with enough when he let out an aggravated, almost feral growl. But something told me to look up at Broly. His eyes were slightly widened and he was breathing heavily.
'Why is he acting like that already?' I shifted my gaze quickly over the others; they had yet to notice what I had. 'Unless he knows Goku is in the vicinity…' I thought, edging slowly towards my preoccupied brother.
...Where exactly was Goku?
Vegeta glared up at Broly, ignorantly undaunted by the taller man's intense gaze. "Come on then, what are you waiting for?"
What…? Was Vegeta leaving, or going out with Broly again? Or maybe he going to take Broly home like some stray he'd felt sympathy for... Ha! What an idea!
Detached onyx pupils dilated as they stared directly past us. "Ka— ... Kakarot..."
My eyes, focused on Broly's clenched fists, widened as well. "Vegeta… " I began hesitantly, turning slowly to him.
"Vegeta~!" The voice of a rather jovial sounding Goku reached us from the spaceship, just a dozen meters away.
'Oh good, he is here,' I thought, slightly eased.
"Vegeta, you in here?" The ship's echo amplified his voice about five times, so that all of us could here him perfectly—word for word. "I'm getting tired of waiting for you... Plus I haven't eaten breakfast yet, I'm hungry!" he whined out loud.
The tense situation was momentarily dulled, Vegeta blinking in surprise as Goku continued to call out for him.
I then saw why my brother had so affectionately called him a clown the previous evening…
The echo seemingly entertained his child-like sense of humor. "YOOHOO~ HEY~" He laughed without a care in the world. "There's pretty cool acoustics in here—Woohoo!" He clapped once, the intensified sound causing him to giggle more.
His laughter came to an abrupt halt when an awkward, high pitched growl erupted from the vicinity. I knew it well, and shook my head as I made out the sight of Goku clutching his stomach.
'Kais...' I thought, my eye giving a small twitch.
"Oh man, I guess my stomach likes the echo, too!" he exclaimed, laughing again. Yes, he officially sounded like a child.
'This is supposed to be a serious life or death matter,' I mentally grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.
The four of us neared the launch pad, each of us edgy for our own reasons.
That's when I felt Trunks and the others approaching. 'Here we go.'
I narrowed my eyes. "Paragus." Slightly surprised from the stiff tone I was using to call his name, my fatherly figure faced me. "I know you wanted to rebuild the saiyan race, but I don't think your plans will work. I'm leaving, with Vegeta—my brother, and neither of you can stop me." I glanced at Goku and nodded, Paragus looking aghast.
I think I even heard a sound akin to confusion coming from Vegeta.
Suddenly there was a hand on my forearm, spinning me around hastily. Vegeta's look was something between anger and disbelief as he spoke low. "You knew all along—"
"Vegeta!"
Four pairs of eyes traveled to Goku as he stared solemnly at my brother.
"You don't have to go anywhere... the Super Saiyan you're looking for is right here."
Paragus' face faltered, and I couldn't help but feel slightly guiltily.
Vegeta's eyebrows lowered dangerously. "Stay out of this, you have no idea what you're talking about!" he warned as Goku landed softly in front of him.
"Paragus, why don't you tell Vegeta here that Broly is The Legendary Super Saiyan?" he urged, sending Paragus a tiny smile. It were as if he didn't fault anyone in the situation, and merely wanted to be friends when the whole thing blew over…
Paragus regarded me with an offended look before swiftly making his way to Vegeta in hopes of changing the prince's mind. "Vegeta, he must be confused. That's preposterous!" he exclaimed, moving in front of him.
I frowned at Paragus' back. 'The truth has been told... What is he trying to do?' I silently wondered.
"Not to mention completely impossible, my lord. Look at him. He has less power than I do. The boy is pitiful, can't you see that?" he questioned as if to demean Broly. "Let's drop this nonsense and return to your palace," Paragus insisted, gesturing behind him towards the looming building.
What the… Who was he trying to fool?
I glared at Paragus, my tail snapping irritably. "Paragus. You're not convincing anyone of anything." I wheeled around to Vegeta, pointing an accusing finger at Broly. "The truth is out! Goku isn't making this up, Broly is the one!"
Paragus advanced towards me, snarling, "BE QUIET, YOU INSOLENT—",
I stood shocked, my stiff finger wilting under his outraged expression. He had never used that tone with me before. But he didn't get to finish before another voice interrupted him.
"FATHER!"
We all looked to the skies as Trunks flew straight for us. Good timing.
"Don't listen to him!" he exclaimed, landing by my side in front of Goku. "This so-called 'Planet Vegeta' is nothing but a fake!" his announcement earned a harsh stare from the eldest saiyan.
"An illusion. Just look at that—Ruins!" he shouted, gesturing towards the cities in the distance. "He didn't build this for you... Paragus twisted everything you see here using these disadvantaged people. They'll tell you everything."
Gohan and Krillin arrived on the scene, armed with small groups of the alien slaves.
I smirked in triumph. 'Just what we needed.'
A certain alien boy from the previous day gasped as he took a step forward, raising a quivering finger to Broly. "That's him! That's the one that destroyed our home planet!" he cried out, confirming Vegeta's growing suspicion.
My brother turned a cold glare onto Paragus. "You tricked me." His voice shook with contained anger.
I joined in. "Paragus, your plan didn't work. I'm sorry, but I can't stay any longer…" I placed my hands on my hips. It would be so much easier if he just gave it up..!
For the moment, my attention was drawn away from Broly.
Paragus raised his eyes from the floor and stared back at Vegeta in the same cold manner that was offered to him. "It's about time your spoiled, minuscule brain figured it all out. But that's more than I can say for you, Midori," he said, somewhat laughing.
I opened my mouth, but said nothing. Now I knew something else was going on. I remembered Goku saying something about him thinking there was more to Paragus' plan then met the eye. So how had he tricked me?
"But your son is most certainly right, Vegeta. This meaningless place has no value to me." He turned his back to us. "It's been miserable here, putting on this little charade. But do you want to know what I really care about?" he asked, turning back around to face him.
My glare softened as curiosity began to consume me.
"It's a little sphere in the North Galaxy called Earth!" he emphasized. Paragus then let out a dark laugh as he raised both of his hands from his sides. "A lush, green, healthy planet. The most beautiful in the cosmos!" he exclaimed, walking around with his arms in the air as if he were preaching to us.
"You have no idea how long I've waited for the right time to re-establish saiyan dominance!" Paragus paused his speech as he neared the cliff ledge overlooking part of the grounds.
My frown deepened as I listened to him. Why would he go through all the trouble of bringing Vegeta all the way out here? Unless… Was he planning to kill Vegeta?
"You think I want the Earth to look like this? A barren wasteland, littered with battle scars and rubble! ... Of course not. Which is why I decided to create this elaborate ruse!" he exclaimed, an index finger finding the palace behind him.
What was he going to do? Leave Vegeta here, go back to Earth and proclaim the death of the prince? Then take over Earth…
"An imaginary town for an imaginary prince," he continued. "Oh how your father would be laughing at both of you right now," mocked Paragus.
How... dare he…! I took a battle stance, about to berate the man for his mockery, before he went further.
"Oh, and just one more thing I forgot to mention to you fools: I also chose this planet because in a few short hours, it will collide with comet Kamorai, an astronomical object of colossal proportions! Midori... it was lovely having your presence for such a long period of time. But I doubt you would have agreed with my actions…" he trailed off, walking back to Broly.
Slowly I reverted from my fighting stance, fists shaking.
I was seething. "Paragus, you wanted to take over Earth to rebuild the saiyan race... with you as the ruler. And you were going to kill Vegeta, in order to do so. And lucky for you, we got sucked into this too." My entire body was almost shaking in anger.
"Thank you for pointing out the obvious, my dear," he sneered in reply.
My eyes darted to the side when I heard Broly's heavy, uneven breathing. His mouth fell open and let out what started as a gasp and then a long, pained groan.
A small voice whispered to me in the back of my head as my eyes twitched. You can feel it, it said. He's going to loose it. It won't be anything like what you've seen in the past.
I knew what it meant. It was saying that this time… he would transform... and it would be something far beyond what any of us could imagine.
Paragus held his hand up, bracelet at ready if it needed use.
Goku narrowed his eyes and took a step forward. I glanced at him for a brief moment, but then decided it would be for the best if my attention were on the main attraction.
Everyone was watching him now. Waiting for some phenomenon to occur.
Broly's eyes widened as he took one step forward, then another. "Kakarot..."
Paragus began to sweat as he watched his son advance towards Goku. "Broly... Broly, no! Don't waste your time on him," he warned.
But Broly paid no heed to his father's words, and with one twitch of an eye he powered up to super level, his blondish-purple hair licking his face as he called Goku's birth name again.
The saiyan from Earth moved into a fighting stance, Trunks and I following his lead.
Vegeta frowned deeply at the display. "No... I don't think so, this saiyan is mine." His tone was dark, wasting no time as he mimicked Broly's previous action, his natural hair color changing as he charged the larger saiyan from behind.
With one powerful swing of his leg, Vegeta landed a solid kick to the back of his neck.
Broly continued to close in—"Kakarot!"—the kick leaving him completely unscathed.
I cursed under my breath. 'Are you serious?!'
"Whoa, Vegeta's attack was like nothing to him!" I heard Goku's small exclamation before he jumped a couple meters back. "Let's get something straight: some friends call me Kakarot, but I'm Goku, and you're not my friend!" He eyed the oncoming threat in a stern manner.
Paragus threw his head back and gave a hearty laugh. "Well I might not have to wait for the comet to hit to see you die. It seems Broly has other plans for you! Broly, attack!" He threw his fist forward as if to initiate his derailed son.
I took a sharp intake of breath as Broly's eyes gleamed dangerously in our direction. Or rather, at Goku. I wasn't entirely aware of the fact that Paragus' bracelet was glowing an unusual color, just aware of the heavy footsteps thudding our way, accompanied by a murderous glare.
Before I could protest, Vegeta retaliated by chucking a concentrated blast at Broly's back.
Goku freaked out, thinking the blast would most likely hit more than one bird, but then Dread snuck up on me again, letting me know with its silent foreshadowing that my beating had yet to come.
When Vegeta's attack hit, all it caused was a harsh gust of wind to throw many of us off balance, accompanied by flashes of blue light-energy piercing through a thick smoke screen.
I caught my balance in mid air a few feet away. I wanted to do something… to initiate—to attack! But, I couldn't… I definitely wasn't having second thoughts..! Was it fear? The fear that washed over me in harsh waves like the energy spilling out of Broly? Or was it the reality that I wanted to kill someone I'd shared so much of my life with?
And he most likely wanted to kill me...
Broly was dead still with the exception of his face, which was a twitching mess. His teeth were bared in a nasty snarl as his eyes bulged; his hair was different—his aura was changing. When he lifted his head to the sapphire sky and commenced in animalistic screaming, I closed my eyes and exhaled hard, before opening them and bracing myself.
Lowering my feet to the ground, I clenched my fists and watched. 'My heart is beating so fast… it almost hurts. My hands are still shaking…'
Wait… those weren't my hands shaking, it was the ground! The ground had begun quaking so terribly that it was hard to keep myself upright.
Paragus' shouted warnings became nonexistent as lightning crashed down on us from the now threateningly black sky, as if summoned by Broly's rage. The impact was deafeningly loud, and caused my teeth to rattle when they struck close enough. I didn't know what was worse, the lightning, or my heart about to burst out of my chest.
Winds rushed past us, and blindingly luminous green flashes were produced from the man we all had our eyes glued to. It was like some psychedelic hell was being unleashed right before my eyes… Hell… that's right.
I thought we'd have the advantage; us five against one Broly. WHAT was I thinking? I felt like running away and not looking back even once.
I gave a brief shake of my head.
What was I thinking, running away? Like I hadn't already tried that in the past... It wouldn't do me any good, only prolong my death…
…What the hell. With a shaky breath, I allowed one corner of my mouth to twitch upwards slightly. If I was going to die, then so be it! I'd die an honorable death... in the midst of battle.
I willed myself to take a few steps back when Broly had suddenly calmed. "This… is it."
The calm before the storm.
I doubt my whisper went unheard to Trunks, who stood stiffly at my side, to Goku behind me, or to Vegeta, who slowly made his way to the ground, his face lit up in awe, eyes wide with fear.
I blinked. "Aah!" No sooner had I made this exclamation did my arms shoot up to shield my eyes as the atmosphere was suddenly tinted in the color that was Broly's aura, its origin exploding in a fiery ball of lime-hued flames. The heat of the air around us seemed to drastically rise with each passing second.
When the light show was over, I lowered my arms bit by bit, only to have my hands latch onto my mouth.
Vegeta finally reached the floor, falling heavily to his knees, his face a pitiful mask of fright that my own fear claimed as unacceptable.
I shook my head slowly at the monster in front of me. At about eight feet tall, Broly stood as a terrifyingly hulking beast, looking to weigh half a ton of raw muscle. I began taking steps backward until I bumped into Gohan. He didn't complain. He was in too much shock to take notice.
'What have I done? I've doomed all of us here!' I took a sweeping look around me.
Goku, Vegeta, Trunks, Gohan… the others. 'They'll all die because of me.' I just wanted … to curl up in a ball.
It was not until I saw the monster point and smirk in our direction, did I finally become coherent.
"You, Kakarot. I choose you to be the first of my victims." His voice was gruff and menacing, as if his throat had been rubbed raw with stone, nothing like I'd ever heard from him before. His eyes were pure white (no irises, no pupils), but insanity danced plainly within them.
My nails dug painfully into the palms of my hands as I opened my mouth to protest, but another voice got to it first.
"No you don't!"
My eyes widened as I faced Gohan in disbelief. Did that boy honestly think he could protect anyone from Broly? "No! Gohan don't—" I was cut off again as Broly came barreling at us.
I barely had time to move. Goku pushed his son out of the way in time, but my heart skipped a beat as I felt Broly's fist graze my arm.
I executed a quick back flip to get out of the way, dust and debris causing me to squint my eyes. For a moment I watched as Broly chased the father and son into the air, blasting at them all the way. The sight made me curse under my breath before powering up, then tensing to take off after them. But—the others.
Trunks stood, still painfully dumbfounded, as Vegeta sat in an even worse state of being.
I growled slightly at their display, but I couldn't blame them. Perhaps I was the one in denial, and not them? "Trunks—Vegeta!" I yelled over the gust of wind my ki created.
Trunks blinked before turning quickly to his father "They're in trouble! Come on, Dad!"
We both ran a few feet before taking off at full speed. I could just barely make out Goku flying into the forest canopy as Gohan plummeted through the dense vegetation.
I slowed up a bit as I neared the father-son duo. The two had just barely evaded a large blast that left an intimidating crater behind it.
My energy dispersed as I landed with my teenage nephew by my side, my boots sliding a bit on the rocky soil beneath them.
Then the most amazing thing happened: All three of them… they turned into Super Saiyans!
I took in a shocked breath as I watched them shimmer in their respective golden auras. I had to quickly force myself out of the small stupor and power up again. I was no Super Saiyan, but I could say that I had as much of a chance as they did. After all, I had grown up with the man…
Broly sneered in my direction, his hair blowing wildly. "So, you wish to die too?" It was funny; his tone was wicked and mocking, but this was the most emotion I'd heard him use in a long time.
I merely glared in reply.
He then made the first move by charging at us. I knew then what bowling pins felt like. As he swung a massive arm in three hundred sixty degrees, the four of us were sent flying, each flailing miserably in separate directions.
I grunted in pain as I caught my balance, lucky to not have received the brunt of his attack, and retaliated by hurling a blast at the back of his head. It accomplished nothing. He didn't even glance in my direction, but rather, pursued after Goku and Gohan through a narrow ravine.
I flew up to get a better perspective, then followed the trail of the exploding valley wall.
I released my ki again as I touched down beside Gohan, Trunks appearing a second later.
As I glanced around me, I noticed that all of them were panting, and sported quite a few scratches and rips on their clothing despite the fact that we had barely been in combat for five minutes.
'That's because Broly is going solely after Goku and his son…'
Trunks was just unlucky enough to get hit earlier. And it seemed like Broly fought as if I wasn't even an obstacle… or as if I wasn't even there.
I suddenly felt incensed. I had only managed to land one (unsuccessful) attack, while the rest of the time I was dodging or just trying to keep up. How was I supposed to be of use at this rate? Speed certainly wouldn't get me far in this type of fight.
Goku's grave voice brought me from my thoughts— "… but now it's time for round two."—just as a jumble of small aliens fell over a cliffside ahead of us.
Ignorantly, I allowed my stance to slacken at the odd site before me.
Oolong fell from atop the pile and rolled our ways a little, as Krillin sat with his legs crossed on top of the mound of miniature slaves.
Even Broly's twisted smirk dropped as he glanced behind him to see what the commotion was. Everybody had dropped their guard and was enthralled with the idiotic scene playing out.
My eyes narrowed as the pig squealed in fear and turned tail (and the elderly man, Roshi, was dancing… or something).
I then turned on my heel to Trunks who met my somber gaze a second later. "Trunks." I kept my voice low, speaking swiftly, "I want you to stay by my side. It would be better if we took him on in groups of two."
Trunks nodded, his now spiky blond hair swaying ever so slightly. It was something, looking into those aquamarine eyes of his, and not seeing an ounce of malice or blood lust. I wasn't used to that.
"Yes, of course." He moved a bit closer to me for good measure.
Broly broke the silence. "I noticed that you love to look up in the sky at your silly old planet."
I snapped my head up, eyes following Broly as he turned his back to us. He held his palm out at his side. 'What… is he going to do?'
"You're probably dreaming that you can go back one day…" His hand began to glow and I felt my heart beat pick up. "But it's just a dream!"
My eyes widened as I visibly paled "Broly—!"
He swung his arm low to the ground, sending a bullet-fast blast at them.
I lowered my head, pinching my eyes shut tight, awaiting the explosion and screams of the dying.
After a few seconds of silence, I hesitantly opened my eyes and noticed that everyone's gaze had gone up, including the still living slaves.
The moment my sights had locked onto a distant planet in the atmosphere, the said large, blue orb imploded, the resounding boom not going unheard to us.
Oh… Kais…
I closed my eyes, slowly this time, and let out a heavy sigh as Broly laughed joyously.
Gohan emit a small gasp before uttering, "He's pure evil…"
Trunks growled at my side. "If we let this dirt-bag live, he'll continue to destroy the entire universe."
I lifted my hands up and massaged my temples slowly with the tips of my fingers. I could feel the blood boiling beneath them.
Goku attempted to help the others. "Krillin! I need you to get everyone out of here—go now! You too, Roshi."
With my eyes still closed, all that signaled their retreat was the clicking of feet and shoes against the hard, rocky floor.
"Midori!" a hand suddenly grasped my forearm, and I was swung out of the way, just as Broly nailed Trunks into the cliff-side with a massive arm.
Suddenly, Goku was in front of me, pulling me behind him as if to shield me from Broly. I wanted to berate him for assuming that I couldn't defend myself; I wanted to scold myself for my lack of concentration, which put my nephew into that situation.
"Trunks!" I grit my teeth as I waited for a response.
A few seconds later he gave a low groan, and I sighed in relief.
Broly then turned to us, chuckling evilly. "Look, my love… doesn't the boy remind you of Lattice?" He locked his sights onto Gohan, reaching out a hand in his direction, then clenching it as if to crush the boy's head.
I moved from behind Goku to stand in front of Gohan, glaring hard at the offending saiyan. I may have looked rather daunting, but right then I'd felt like crying. "Broly, you wouldn't dare!" I could hardly believe he had the nerve to mention… him…
"Do you think… he would have grown up to be such a fine young man?" His voice sounded slightly depressing, but the insane smirk his lips wore told me otherwise.
I bared my teeth and growled, blinking my eyes rapidly so that the unshed tears would stay unshed. "He would have if you hadn't killed him, you INSANE BASTARD!" My voice shook slightly as I screamed at him.
My chest felt like an over-inflated balloon, ready to pop.
Goku looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed, as Broly threw his head back and laughed. How I wanted to blow that disgusting face away…
When Broly sobered up a bit, he turned his sights to Goku. "Kakarot, how much do you love your son?"
Goku was now standing besides me, commanding his son to leave. The young demi-saiyan protested weakly, but eventually complied.
As Gohan powered up and took off, it was only the two of us that Broly proceeded to attack. Goku took the initiative and met Broly in an arm lock.
I clenched my fists and leaped into the air, hurling two blasts at Broly's head, just as Goku jumped up and kneed the giant in his chin. Both attacks failed, and with Broly's hands gripping Goku's shoulders, he threw the shorter saiyan over his shoulder like nothing, into the ruins of an old building.
He then turned to me, a nasty glare taking his face. "You will get yours as well!" He fired several rounds at me, each missing, before he took control of them to follow my movements. I managed to evade the handful of them for quite some time, the chase leading me further into the long abandoned city we had found ourselves in.
Suddenly as I made a turn, I came face-to-face with a wall. I didn't even have time to gasp as the balls of fire assaulted my back, ripping a gut-wrenching scream from my throat. The heat of the attack burned my flesh, sending shots of white-hot pain through my whole body as I sailed towards the ground.
My sight became blurrier with each passing second, until the cement floor smacked my back with an unforgiving force. My eyes shot open to their full extent as a newfound throbbing sensation rippled throughout my whole body, and I found myself wheezing heavily until my eyes could no longer stay open.
In the last few moments of my consciousness, I just barely registered the sound of a boy's voice crying out in pain…
…
…
"No! Paragus, please… You can't leave him alone with Lattice, he'll hurt him!" Midori's voice was slightly frantic as she tried to push past Paragus, but he was as mobile as a brick wall to her attempts to bypass him.
He finally laid a firm hand on her shoulder. "No... you are wrong, Midori. He wouldn't lay a finger on his own son. It's what he needs right now, anyway."
She stared down the older saiyan, his words easing her none. "What he needs is time to himself to calm down! Leaving him alone with a one year-old will only worsen his mood!"
Paragus simply smirked at Midori's heated remark. "Your maternal instincts are second to none, my dear. But, you must have more faith in my son."
Midori's stare turned incredulous. "I know Broly would never purposely hurt Lattice, but did you not see him earlier? He was just in one of his moods, and he hasn't had enough time to come out of it…"
Paragus sighed heavily before turning his back to her. "If you do not believe me, then come see for yourself."
He then led Midori through the darkened corridors of their spaceship, before they stopped in front of the room usually occupied by Broly and herself.
The two saiyans shared a brief glance before Midori slowly pushed the door open, finding not a massacre, but a sight that made her smile gently.
Broly was seated on the floor, his back against the side of their bed, trailing feather-soft strokes with his massive hand across the back of the infant son they shared.
Lattice, just recently learning how to walk, could barely sit still and had managed to crawl away from his father's touch and stumbled over his legs, where he then latched onto one of them.
Broly remained placid as he bent the said leg up, watching silently as his son climbed over the knee and up to his chest, his tail wagging as he made all kind of baby noises.
Broly then parted his lips ever so slightly, as if to speak, but remained silent as he continued to pet the tiny body curled around his neck. Finally, "Our son, he is… beautiful…" The words came out slow, as if he were measuring each sound made.
With her hands folded before her, Midori took a few steps forward, kneeling next to him. "Yeah… I guess that would make you…" She trailed off, reaching up to caress Lattice's small tail. "A narcissist?"
She looked on in amusement as Broly plucked the tiny child off of his chest with one hand and then held his arm out. Lattice was now hooked onto his arm, upside down, holding on with all of his tiny appendages. He let out a giggle when Broly lifted his arm higher.
As saiyan genetics usually went, he was his father's near twin. His hair was long; they had the same facial structure and eyes. For Paragus it was almost like having his son tiny all over again.
"Bo!"
"He'll be two any day now." Broly allowed a tiny smirk at the sound Lattice had made.
"Yes…"
"Bohwy!" He was now standing between Broly's legs holding his arms up.
Midori's heart fluttered as she blinked in surprise. "Did he just say your name?"
If Broly was feeling any emotion akin to shock… it was hard to tell by just looking at him. He just continued to caress the soft raven hair atop Lattice's head. It was almost as if he was still accepting the fact that he could have helped make such a lovely little boy.
The saiyan woman smiled inwardly at these displays.
'Broly's outbursts have gotten worse in the last thirteen years I've known him… Maybe this really is what he needs. He loves his little boy. He's almost transfixed, it would seem.'
…
…
… 'Why? Why wouldn't he stop crying? If he had just stopped…'
Midori choked hard on a sob as she struggled to turn over on her side. Her eyes stung with fresh tears, and her body was wracked with a pain nearing imaginable.
Paragus laid a little ways off, unconscious, and she knew that she wasn't too far behind.
Broly suddenly screamed up to the moonless sky, causing her to flinch violently, his voice harshly calling out that foreign name again.
Kakarot. Who was Kakarot?
'Not my son… Not my son, damn it!'
SO WHY?
WHY DID HE SCREAM THAT NAME AS HE—
As he… he…
…choked the life… out of my three-year-old son?
HIS SON!
OUR SON!
…Why?
…
…
No… no… that was… a long time ago.
'Where am I? What am I... ugh.'
I tried moving, but it seemed that no part of my body was willing to respond. So I decided to start out slow instead.
First I flexed my fingers. They were sluggish in response. It felt as if my whole body was in slow motion. Like I was trying to rouse myself from a deep sleep, but my brain wasn't quite out of the fog yet. My mind was telling me to go back to sleep, but my body kept refusing.
That's when a sharp pain shot from my fingertips to every nerve it could lay hold on.
My eyes were already closed, but I squeezed them tighter anyway as I let out a low groan.
What had happened to me?
'… Oh'.
I didn't realize it at first, but I had been staring up at the cloudy sky for quite some time now.
And there was someone hovering over me.
I opened my mouth, but when no sound came out I had to clear my throat. "T- Trunks?" I let my head roll to the side, shutting my eyes tight again.
I heard him sigh in relief. "Midori, you need to eat this."
Eat?
I opened one eye and frowned. He seemed much closer than before. Was it because my head was suddenly in his lap? …Was that a bean he was holding?
"Please, this will heal you! You have to hurry!" He moved the tiny item closer to my mouth.
"No need to yell." My voice was hoarse as I closed my eyes again and opened my lips, allowing my nephew to drop the small bean into my mouth.
The thing was completely tasteless, and after a few chews I swallowed.
My eyes snapped open in surprise as a strong, but welcoming warmth washed over my entire being. With each section it passed, any kind of pain was erased with it. My mind was also unexpectedly clearer.
I felt… rejuvenated?
I sat up easily enough, then stood slowly, taking in my surroundings.
Crumbling buildings… dust and debris… but…
My eyes narrowed. "Where is everyone?" I sensed them not too far off, but why was there no fighting?
Trunks nodded to his right. "This way. A friend of ours from Earth is here, too."
I gazed off in that direction, glancing back briefly when his energy sparked. He was Super Saiyan again.
'Don't Stare...' Really, it was nothing new to me. But to meet three (No… four. Wasn't Vegeta one?) of them all at once… was a little startling.
Trunks then laid a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, let's go."
I nodded, and we both slowly levitated before moving forward at a reasonable speed.
"Midori, what you said about us sticking together… I think I should stay close to Gohan this time. Besides, I think Goku complements your style better…"
I didn't ask what he meant by that. Maybe it was because he knew my fighting style through the future me? Or was it that he had his eyes on protecting Gohan?
Either way, we were nearing the others, and it was time I took off the training gloves.