It was already late at night, almost midnight. Bulma and Vegeta were in Bulma's living room, having just received the Chinese food delivery she ordered a few moments ago. They were on her apartment's sala, sitting on her sofa, eating dumplings packed within styrofoam containers, and watching some late-night romantic comedy-drama on her television in front of them. The lights were off, their only source was the flat screen.
"Hey, what is that?" Vegeta asked Bulma as he chewed at his food, pertaining to the show they were watching. In his right hand was a pair of bamboo chopsticks with a piece of Har Gow skewered on its end.
"Ah, it is a drama," Bulma answered, slurping the soup of her wanton mami noodles on its container. She didn't expect that Vegeta would care about what was being shown on the television at all, so she was a bit surprised he asked.
"Drama? Something made-up?" he asked again before he put the Har Gow that was on his chopsticks into his mouth.
Bulma shrugged, a bit surprised at the way he perceived what the show is. But yeah, he's right. "Well, that's one way to explain it," she uttered.
He chewed some more before swallowing the food so he could speak, "And you like watching these things?"
Bulma nodded, "Yeah, this drama is quite popular because of the cute lead actor."
Vegeta scoffed and sneered in disgust, "Pfft... Humans, you delude yourselves in this absurdity!"
Bulma turned to him with a glare and pouted back, why does he always view mortal things as being absurd? "Aw, come on! Don't be such a grump! It's actually good." she told him.
"Tch! I'm not interested," Vegeta grumbled as he went back to eating his food. Bulma simply shook her head at him before she returned her gaze to the screen.
In the drama, the male lead character was chasing the female lead character into an elevator, who had ran away after she saw him with another woman. Kirin, the male character, stopped the elevator door from closing, much to the female lead's surprise.
Bulma suddenly jumped from her seat as if it would allow her to focus all her attention on the show, causing Vegeta to look at her in surprise. She suddenly got all excited at the scene about to play on the flat screen.
"Ah! This is it! Kirin is about to confess to Reicheru! Kyaaah!" she squealed. Vegeta gave her a disgusted sideways glance, inwardly wondering what the hell was wrong with her.
Boink!
Just before the Kirin character could press his lips on the seemingly agitated Reicheru, she unexpectedly hit him with a headbutt. Then the scene froze and the words 'To be continued...' faded in on the lower right side of the screen before the ending credits of the drama rolled.
"Ouch! That could hurt..." Bulma commented with a flinch. "Aww darn! Another cliffhanger! That was such a bummer..." she complained, her shoulders slumping forward in her disappointment.
"Hey, why did she hit him? It was obvious that she likes him," Vegeta suddenly asked. Bulma turned her head in his direction, her eyes wide. So he was really watching despite saying it was absurd, eh? So much for being 'not interested'.
"Anyone would do that if someone would just kiss them without their permission," Bulma explained to him.
"Really? Just because of a stupid thing such as that?"
Bulma raised an eyebrow, "Huh? Just a stupid thing?"
Finally, Vegeta turned to her as he put down his now empty container, "So, are you suggesting that I should have done that when you kissed me so suddenly and without my permission?"
"I didn't say that. I was just answering your question as to why Reicheru did that."
Vegeta's lips gave way to a mischievous grin, "Heh! Then you should feel lucky that I couldn't care less about that as much as you foolish mortals do, else you could have signed your destruction warrant the very moment you did that to me."
"I guess I understand where you're coming from," Bulma agreed, staring at his wide forehead. Indeed, anyone who would receive a headbutt from a forehead as wide as that is sure guaranteed an instant ticket to the afterlife.
Vegeta didn't fail to hear her thoughts and he glared, his cheeks flushed, "What the hell are you looking at?" he demanded her. Thank goodness that the only source of light in the living room was the television screen so she won't notice his cheeks flushed with embarrassment about his billboard forehead.
Bulma looked away, clearing her throat, "So do you view a kiss as a stupid, meaningless thing, that's why you couldn't care less about the kisses that we shared?"
"That's right. It held no meaning to me," he said rather in a proud manner.
"Then how come you were so confused back then?"
"While a kiss held no importance to me, I heard that mortals value it as something they give to someone they like the most. It could be considered as a proposal of wanting that someone to be your mate."
Bulma laughed, "Ahahahaha! No wonder why you were so shocked when I did that!"
He gritted his teeth together, feeling agitated, "Laugh while you can, because one of these days, I'll make sure that you are going to regret this dearly." then his lips stretched into a wicked smile, "You won't be laughing anymore when I begin to destroy you and your worthless mudball of a planet."
She smirked back at him pompously, teasing him, "Well, I guess we'll see about that since as far as I am concerned, I will never wish for you to destroy this world."
Vegeta rolled his eyes at her, scoffing once more before shaking his head as he grumbled, "I am going to make sure that your destruction is going to be slow and painful."
There was a moment of silence in between them until Bulma spoke again, "But you know, this feels kind of weird... But I don't mind doing this with you."
"What is weird? The fact that the great me, the God of Destruction of this Universe Vegeta Yonsei-sama, is lowering myself to watch made-up trash, have a meaningless conversation, and share a meal with a pathetic human like yourself?"
"Hey, that meal you are shamelessly devouring was from me, you ungrateful little-!" Bulma yelled furiously.
He laughed with a rather pompous expression, "Yes, an offering for a destroyer deity that you have angered a few moments ago. An effective bribe to help extend your miserable existence and be spared from my destructive wrath. You're the one who should feel grateful that I showed you mercy."
"It was a peace offering, yes," Bulma clarified with a hiss. Then her tone changed into curiosity, "So how are you liking your food?"
Unlike his behavior in the Yakiniku stall, Vegeta was more composed and careful about showing the same emotions he had carelessly and shamefully displayed earlier. While that is more well-behaved and likable in Bulma's book, now she couldn't even tell if he likes the food she offered him or not. Remembering how he destroyed several worlds just because he didn't like the food they offered him during the three weeks he was gone from Earth, Bulma felt a little uneasy.
Her discomfort about that wasn't exactly a secret to Vegeta as he was hearing her thoughts well. He was about to open his mouth to tease her about it when he abruptly sensed something far across the Universe.
It made him close his mouth as quickly as he opened them, then he paused as if to concentrate and listen to something that Bulma could not hear. The expression on his face grew cold as his dark eyes narrowed. He was displeased about something.
Vegeta's sudden behavior made Bulma turn to him. She recognized it being the same as when he stopped in his tracks after he walked out of the Yakiniku stall earlier. The dim light in the room somehow made him look like a fearsome entity waiting in the shadows to destroy the world. She wondered what he was hearing this time because she didn't like how scary and angry he was looking right now.
Vegeta's eyes suddenly lit up with rage and he sneered furiously at the air, "Damn that Cerealian...!"
The animalistic snarl that came out of his curled lips made Bulma's skin crawl and sent shivers down her spine due to how fearsome he sounded. She silently wondered what made him so angry like this.
"Cereal?" Bulma repeated in confusion, her blue eyebrows raised. Her mind pictured an actual cereal breakfast.
Vegeta indignantly rose up from the sofa as if forgetting that Bulma was sitting right beside him, ignoring her completely as he placed his right index and middle fingers over the center of his forehead, and disappeared into thin air right before Bulma's own wide eyes.
Whis entered the living room, bringing a pitcher of cold milk for the three of them to drink, "Huh? Did Vegeta-sama leave without me?"
Chapter 25: Vegeta's Sacrifices
In Outer Space, Granolah's space jet blasted on its way through the stars as far away as it could take him from Planet Namek and the Heeter's base planet. The ship's engine was on its autopilot mode controlled by the Artificial Intelligence, Oatmeel. Granolah was sitting in the cockpit, deep in his thoughts. A seemingly gloomy expression on his handsome face. He couldn't get over the fact that he was able to kill the strongest Namekian warrior by accident, and he didn't know how to feel about that at all. Nail had been really good on him despite the Namekian's seemingly cold demeanor. Killing Nail felt like he had just betrayed the very people who adopted him as if he was their own, and that didn't sit right with Granolah.
He looked down at his shaking hands. He knew that the cause of such an unfortunate incident was his lack of control over this new power he wished for. He had to control this new power of his. He didn't want to repeat the same mistake and kill innocents accidentally. He did kill a lot of bastards who have gotten in his way during his bounty hunts, but those were done after giving them fair warnings yet they still chose to provoke him, thus forcing him to end their miserable lives. He wasn't a cold-blooded murderer who killed recklessly for innocents like what the Heeters do.
He never wanted his hands to be tainted with the blood of innocents.
But now... He had one.
"What are you weeping for, Granolah?" A sudden familiar cold voice whispered behind him.
Shocked and horrified by the very malevolent presence behind him, Granolah swiveled around to see the God of Destruction, Vegeta Yonsei, standing right there, looking down at him with his deep, dark, but angry mean-looking eyes. Gasping in surprise, Granolah quickly took his seatbelt off, got up from his seat, and faced his unwelcomed visitor.
"You... What are you doing in here?!" Granolah demanded. He looked around and became confused. "And how did you... How did you get in here?!" he asked.
Vegeta smirked at him, waving his right index and middle fingers on the side of his face, "Instant Teleportation."
Granolah blinked his eye, "Teleport?" he repeated, still unable to comprehend.
"Since you summoned me, I can hear your thoughts even if you are far away from me," Vegeta explained. Then the smirk faded back into a scowl, glaring back at the Cerealian with a cold, dark gaze. "I know what you just did, Granolah. Just what do you think you're doing?"
"I didn't kill Nail on purpose. It was an accident!" Granolah defended.
"Yeah, right. It was unintentional. That you are innocent, blah blah blah. I've heard that excuse quite a lot lately," Vegeta told him. "Even so, why are you running away? Guilty much?"
"I'm not running away!" Granolah quickly denied. "I left because I wanted to train somewhere uninhabited. I wanted to control this power, to train how to use it properly, just as you suggested."
"Oh sure, you can train, but will you have enough time to do so?" Vegeta asked him.
"I'll never know if I won't try!"
"You are wasting efforts here. If only you agree to the contract that I offered you, then I can destroy the Heeters for you right now," Vegeta suddenly offered.
"No! I would rather try hard than make that contract with you!"
Vegeta glared at him, it effectively sent shivers down Granolah's spine, who shrugged away from his uncomfortable gaze. Vegeta then snorted out loud, seeing how much discomfort he had successfully and effectively elicited from the foolish mortal Cerealian bastard, "Hmph! Try hard, eh? You speak as if you tried hard to acquire that power you now possess."
Granolah scowled back, offended by the God of Destruction's taunts, "Would you leave me alone? I haven't called your name and here you are pestering me about your stupid opinions. Don't think I have forgiven you for what you did on Planet Namek!"
"I only did my duties as a God of Destruction, the punisher of mortals. They have defied my law, and so they have to be punished for what they did. You should be thankful that I didn't destroy them outright, but instead, here you are blaming me for giving them a punishment they deserved after what they did," Vegeta growled at him. Then he turned to face the direction where Granolah just came from. "Hmm... On second thought, maybe I should go back to Namek and destroy them all right before your eyes if that's what you really want."
Granolah was quick to panic at his threat, raising his arms and waved them in hopes of stopping Vegeta from doing what he was planning, "No, wait, stop! Please don't do that, Vegeta-sama!" he suddenly relented.
Vegeta turned his head over his shoulder to grin back at him mischievously, "Now, look at you finally learning your place. Good."
Seeing that Vegeta wasn't going to do his threat anymore, Granolah lowered his arms and let out a sigh of relief.
"Why aren't you punishing me then?" Granolah uttered. "You said that Monaito's sins have nothing to do with me, yet you punished all of the Namekians despite them not knowing that Monaito created the Dragon Balls. Monaito said that he created those balls as a mere toy for him to play with, he didn't expect that I would take them and summon the Eternal Dragon. I was the one who did it. You should be punishing me, not them!"
"The law I made for the Namekians was to never create the Dragon Balls, regardless if you were the one who stole them, summoned the Eternal Dragon, and made the wish," Vegeta explained. "You, on the other hand, will reap what you sow the moment you made that wish, Granolah. Do you think I wasn't punishing you? You made an unforgivable sin, the punishment you are seeking is right before you. You tried to run away from your punishment, but I have my full attention on you, Granolah. And no matter where you run, you won't be able to escape my wrath. You can look forward to your remaining life, and I promise you, it will only get worse."
Then Vegeta turned his whole body to face the Cerealian, crossing his muscular arms over his chiseled chest. His expression suddenly turned malevolent.
"Unless of course, if you make a contract with me now. If you do that, then I might show you mercy and spare you from what's about to come to you. And I tell you, your destruction due to making the contract with me is better than the eternal divine punishment I will bestow upon you when you die."
Granolah frowned, "So did you just come all the way in here just to pester me about your stupid contract?"
"What?! Stupid?!" Vegeta yelled furiously, looking like he was offended by the Cerealian's words. Then he unceremoniously grabbed Granolah's scarf and pulled him closer to his face, much to Granolah's fear. He furiously sneered back at him, his face twisted in rage. "My offer is to give mortals like you the chance to fulfill your wish to destroy whatever thing you desire. It is the easiest way for mortals to exact vengeance on those who did them wrong. I allow those who made the contract with me to decide on their own accord! What's stupid to me are impatient bastards who recklessly do things by doing the easiest way out, this is the reason why in exchange for my services, I will have to destroy the contractee once it is time for them to die!"
"You mentioned that you are also the deity responsible for death. Does that mean that you will be fetching me when I die as well?" Granolah asked.
Vegeta grunted angrily before pushing Granolah off him. The Cerealian fell back to his chair in the cockpit, coughing.
"Those are the works of the psychopomps." Vegeta replied, calmer now. "Unless I happen to be on the site of death and destruction, if you summoned for me, or if you made the contract with me, then yes I will be the one who will do that."
"So you sent my mother's soul to the afterlife when she died then," Granolah concluded.
"There are souls that refuse to go to the afterlife until they find the justice that they seek. To answer your question, yes, I sent Muezli's soul to the afterlife, but afterward, I decided to have her soul return along with the other Cerealians who were killed by the Heeters clan that day to do something for me and to help them get the justice they seek."
Granolah looked at him with his jaw gaping in disbelief, "What..? What do you mean by that?!"
"I told you, didn't I? That I allowed their souls to haunt Gas for the rest of his life. A suitable punishment for him I should say. Even now, he continues to enjoy an endless show even worse than hell itself." Vegeta proudly stated.
Granolah heard about Gas' unstable mental health. He only met Gas, the youngest of the Heeters siblings, once in his forty years of service to the Heeters. Elec brought him to the cell where he kept his frenzied brother confined. From what he saw from Gas' frantic behavior, his eyes wide with either extreme terror or crazed madness as it deliriously shifted in all directions, as if seeing things not in there, stuttering incoherent words and screaming hysterically for no reason at all, he already knew that the guy was a total freak. The moment Gas' crazed eyes focused on him, he grew even wilder for some reason. The younger Heeter's clan member only calmed himself down when Elec assured him that Granolah was their ally and that he will never hurt Gas.
Granolah never thought that Gas may have probably seen him as a ghost of those he killed that day. If he only knew that the freak was the one responsible for the near-extinction of his people, then he would have attacked him right there.
"Don't be such a fool. If you did that, you wouldn't be standing right here and graced by my divine presence." Vegeta told him with a pompous look. Granolah rolled his eyes, as if he cared about Vegeta's astounding godly level of narcissism.
"You are the last of the Cerealians. Everything your people once only now exists within you," Vegeta continued. "You carry the pride and glory of the most exceptional sniper soldiers on your shoulders and are considered the best among them. Yet, you just wasted it when you wished to become the strongest you could become in exchange for your remaining life span using those darn Dragon Balls. You are such a reckless bastard. Now you don't have any other choice but to make that contract with me if you truly wish to destroy the Heeters and avenge Muezli's death."
"Not if I can help it!" Granolah declared.
"Hmph! Stubborn fool." Vegeta snorted. Granolah somehow reminded him of Bulma's adamance. "Since when are you going to realize that alone you are hopeless now? You know that you will need my help."
"I told you I am not interested," Granolah deadpanned.
"Tch! What a fool you are-hm?!" Vegeta suddenly turned to face the back of the space jet a few seconds before Oatmeel picked a danger signal, which triggered an alarm.
"Granolah, someone is following us," Oatmeel informed.
Granolah saw a fleet of space jets zoom in towards them, and fired at them with rocket-assisted projectiles. Granolah's space jet shook at the impact. From the group of attackers, he recognized a familiar face. A yellow-skinned, reptile-like humanoid alien.
"That's Soshiru!" Granolah gasped before growling furiously, "What the hell is that bastard doing?!"
Granolah turned his focus on the problem, swivelling his chair to face the controls on the cockpit, and maneuver his already damaged spacejet into the nearest, and hopefully hospitable planet he could find. However... Granolah's space jet shook once again after being hit by another attack from his enemy.
"Granolah! The jet suffered a great deal of damage from that attack! You have to land wherever is the nearest so I could take care of it," Oatmeal told him.
From the radio in Granolah's space jet's cockpit, Soshiru's croaking, laughing voice boost. "Ahahahahaha! I finally found you, Granolah! It's payback time! I will make you pay for what you did to me last time, you sneaky little bastard!"
"Tch! Fine, whatever! Let's settle this once and for all on that asteroid!"
Soshiru and his allies were Granolah's 'rivals' in the bounty market, not like Granolah viewed them as such for they were nothing but small fries to him. It was Soshiru who claimed that boldly, because he hated and envied Granolah for being Elec's 'favorite'.
Vegeta frowned at the sight of Soshiru, hearing his thoughts about Granolah. The guy and his allies reminded him of some soldiers in the Freeza Force, such as Cui and Guldo, who also viewed him as their 'rival' despite them being obviously nothing in comparison to what he was as a mortal child. There had been times when they try to act friendly to him although Vegeta could tell that it was out of sarcasm and mockery since they saw him as just being a lowly Saiyan child, yet they envied him for being Freeza's 'favorite'.
Granolah maneuvered his space jet into the nearest asteroid he could find and told Vegeta that he didn't need his help and to stay away from this fight.
"Heh! You don't have to tell me that. I have no qualms about those low lives. Plus, I don't like meddling in the useless concerns of mortals. What I want is to see what you can do. Show me that, and I might give you a chance," Vegeta told him.
Granolah shook his head in utter disbelief at the God of Destruction's persistence, "You are unbelievable." That was all he said before he jumped out of his space jet, leaving Vegeta laughing to himself. Vegeta teleported himself above the said asteroid, his arms crossed over his chest, as he stared down below him to watch the battle that was about to ensue between Granolah and Soshiru's fleet. However, looking down at the asteroid, something familiar about it caught his interest.
Something from a very long time ago.
And there's no mistake about it.
Vegeta frowned at another unexpected and strange coincidence. He shook his head to rid himself of unwanted thoughts and memories from the past before he focused on the battle in his present.
"You made a fool out of me last time, Granolah." Soshiru snarled. "You said that we will share the pay you got for that guy you snagged from the Galactic Patrol's base! Yet you ran away with all the money with you. How dare you do that to me, pal!"
"I don't remember agreeing to your terms, Soshiru. Plus, you aren't my pal. Here I thought you said that we are rivals?" Granolah responded with a disparaging smile.
"I've known you for a long time, and yet you still dare to ignore me like I am nothing. I don't see any reason why Elec would favor someone like you despite being the son of that traitorous Flayk. Ah yes, like father like son. No wonder where you got that nasty attitude of yours. I heard that you were supposed to bring Elec the information about the Dragon Balls, but why are you going in the opposite direction, hm? Are you planning to run away with the Namekian Book of Legends so you could use those Dragon Balls to betray Elec? Hahahaha! Maybe I should take the information out of you and bring it to Elec myself!"
"I do not answer to the likes of you, Soshiru, but I do not allow anyone to compare me to my father. You are going to die here for your insolence."
"Like I'll let you do that!" Soshiru roared as he unleashed a pair of Energy Swords on his hands. His allies who stood behind him made the same move as he did. With a battle cry, they charged at Granolah altogether.
Granolah took the stun gun that was on a holster on the right side of his belt and started aiming for all of them. In the blink of an eye, only Soshiru remained standing. As the reptile-like alien slashed his ki sword into Granolah, the Cerealian's image faded into static, much to Soshiru's surprise.
"What-?! Where did you run off to?! That darn Granolah!" growled Soshiru before yelling at the top of his lungs like a child throwing a temper tantrum. "Come out, you Cerealian coward! I am going to slash you and let your remains float in the middle of space!"
Granolah appeared on top of a cliff several meters away. He spun his stun gun in his hands before he put it back in its holster on his belt. Then he raised his right arm, his index and middle fingers pointing in Soshiru's direction. His left eye changed color from pale blue to a crimson red.
A Cerealian's right eye was specially adapted to their ability as snipers, however, since Flayk blinded Granolah's right eye, he never experienced using this ability at all. Granolah's body seemed to have evolved after making that wish with the Eternal Dragon and awakened the same ability in his remaining left eye instead.
Up above them, Vegeta smirked to himself in amusement, knowing how Granolah was able to evolve himself and make up for his weak point by awakening the same power within the better and more useful part of himself.
"This is getting interesting..." he said to himself.
When Soshiru found Granolah, he was surprised to have seen Granolah's left eye flash red. He was well aware that all Cerealians' right eye was powerful but Granolah's was useless. To have seen Granolah's left eye change color, he knew that if he continued to push this fight even further, then that shot the Cerealian was preparing to shoot him with will pierce his heart. So he quickly dissipated his ki swords and raised his thin arms in the air to surrender.
"Alright! Alright! Don't shoot, Granolah! I give up! I'm sorry!" screamed Soshiru. "I... I will give you my last pay as a peace offering, eh? Please take it," he continued, waving a small bag filled with thick golden-colored sticks.
Granolah was suddenly right in front of Soshiru in the blink of an eye, much to the latter's shock, and snatched the bag from his webbed hands.
"Get out of my sight, Soshiru, and do not bother me ever again. If you dared cross my way again, I will destroy you where you stand." Granolah warned him, glaring down at the small petrified reptile-like alien with a dangerous gaze.
"Yes, yes. I'm so sorry!" A fearful Soshiru screeched before he scampered back to his space jet and blasted off into space in pure terror.
"Well look at that, he just left his allies and escaped to save his own skin," Oatmeel commented.
"That darn low-life..." Granolah agreed, putting the bag of space money into his pockets. He was hoping that he could add it up to his savings so he could fix Monaito's leg in case he managed to return to Planet Namek on time. He turned around and walked back to his space jet.
Vegeta dropped right in front of Granolah, looking quite displeased about his performance. "Hey, why didn't you finish him off right there?" he questioned.
"There's no use in wasting energy on someone like him. I'm sure he learned his lesson to never cross my way again." Granolah responded.
"Hmph! You fool, aren't you a little too merciful for this grand revenge mission of yours? That guy you allowed to escape could bring you more trouble than you let on. You could have finished him off while you had the chance, but no, you did not. You are too soft to claim to be the strongest in this Universe. How disappointing." Vegeta mocked him.
Granolah glared back, "Shut up! I am not cold and ruthless like you! An already too powerful and merciless god like you has no idea about the struggles of mortal strength! So don't speak as if you know what it means to desire to become the strongest mortal in the Universe."
Vegeta's eyes glinted with anger at what he perceived as an insult to his pride, but then, with exceptional self-control, he maintained his emotionless composure. He simply stared at Granolah with the icy gaze of his raven-colored eyes. His coal-black irises glinted like a sharp knife as he told Granolah:
"You're wrong. Right now, I am indeed the most powerful deity in this Universe. But before I became the God of Destruction, I was once a mortal who desired to become the strongest warrior in this Universe. I was the Saiyan Prince, and just like you, I was the last of my people, seeking revenge on the bastard whom I worked for, who destroyed everything I once cherished the most..."
Then he turned his head to his look at the vast, barren land before him.
"And as a matter of fact, we are currently standing at one of the remains of my once great kingdom. The planet I was named after and was supposed to rule over a millennium and a half years ago."
Granolah blinked back with a slight hit of surprise and disbelief. The God of Destruction was once a mortal? And this asteroid was part of his home planet? A kingdom that was once called Planet Vegeta?
"But unlike you, I didn't take an easy way out to get that revenge," Vegeta continued. "Despite the previous God of Destruction's offer to destroy that bastard for me, I took pride in my own strength and worked hard to achieve the greatest power I could have. And in order to do so, I needed to become cold and ruthless. It was the only rule to survive. This world is a survival game, Granolah. Power is everything. The strongest survive while the weaklings perish. You won't last long in this game if you act too soft and vulnerable. It's to kill or be killed, destroy or be destroyed. If you wish to be the last man standing, then you should be willing to take risks, make sacrifices, and destroy those who are in your way."
Granolah turned to Vegeta, frowning at him. "Is that how you became the God of Destruction? What did you sacrifice and took risks for you to have your revenge and to be in that position?" he suddenly asked with an icy tone. This question made the God of Destruction go silent all of a sudden. Vegeta's eyes became cold and hard like ice, though Granolah couldn't miss the slight twitch he made involuntarily.
"..."
Granolah blinked, his eyes softening up and his jaw dropping slightly in his astonishment at what he just discovered. The way Vegeta reacted to the question made him think that whatever it was, it could be very important to the God of Destruction. He wondered what it was though. Could it be something related to his kingdom?
Granolah's eyes drifted to the barren wasteland around them. He wondered what kind of kingdom used to glorify this land. What kind of world did the God of Destruction came from?
Vegeta's cold expression suddenly turned irritated when he heard Granolah's thoughts, "That is none of your concern," he growled.
Granolah scowled back at him, "If you took a risk and sacrificed something in order for you to become a God of Destruction, then you don't have any right to call me a fool for making that wish with the Eternal Dragon in exchange for my remaining life span. Since you said it yourself, that you were once like me, then I expect that you understand my reasons for doing so."
Granolah walked away, leaving Vegeta there to think over his own words. Vegeta gritted his teeth, his hands balled into shaking fists as he realized that Granolah's words were right. Yes, he was a foolish child when he made the contract with Beerus. And even as an adult, he was also foolish to think that he could one day take back the Saiyan pride he had lost in exchange for this power and position just so he and the Saiyan Race could continue to exist in this Universe. But no, he was wrong. He eventually realized that he could never go back to being the proud Saiyan Prince that he once was, and without his pride as a Saiyan warrior, he had no reason to live either. He simply accepted the fact that he now only exists to do his duty as the God of Destruction, the power and position he traded for his pride and honor as a Saiyan warrior prince. In the end, his quest for power ended as a punishment he had to endure for all eternity until he finds a proper replacement for his position.
Just as Beerus waited for him for two hundred million years, Vegeta had been waiting for a suitable replacement as well, in his hopes of returning to his mortal Saiyan self and being destroyed with his Saiyan warrior's pride intact. However, given his unique ability from his Saiyan origins to grow exponentially stronger so long as thoughts of destruction filled his heart and mind, there's no doubt that he would never find a replacement at all. He was, after all, the last of the Saiyan warrior race, the only mortals in this Universe blessed by the deities to have limitless potential. The Saiyan Prince who had become the God of Destruction of this Universe, and the most powerful one among them all.
"I'm telling you Granolah, that you are going to regret this," he warned once more. His voice betrayed a hint of regret and sadness in his tone as he simply looked at the open space in front of him. In his mind, he imagined the Royal Palace of Planet Vegeta standing right before him, his people, the glorious race once considered to be the most powerful warrior race in the Universe, waiting and rejoicing his return as their new and rightful King. Suddenly, all of those disappeared and were replaced by the souls of his people trapped in a void of darkness between heaven and hell, unable to be at peace and be free, crying out for him to save and protect them from their agonizing pain for all eternity. He may have done everything to avenge them from Freeza, yet he sacrificed them all in his selfish gain for this power and position. He could still hear them haunting him every time he would refuse to do his proper duties or when he opened himself up to these darn mortals. Over time, he had learned to ignore and endure the mental pain the screams would bring him, and be in control of himself and his powers to prevent that highly destructive incident from happening again.
However... This time... He-
"Why? Did you regret being a God of Destruction?" Granolah asked.
Vegeta didn't respond to that...
"Were you giving me this advice because you don't want me to regret what I wished for? Don't worry about me. It was my decision, and whatever consequences it may come with, I am willing to take it. It was my choice after all. So please don't bother me anymore. If I decide to make the contract with you, then I will call you by your name and ask you to destroy the Heeters for me. Until then, just please let me do what I can. I want to avenge my people with my own hands. And this time, I will not take an easy way out as I did before. I will use my remaining time to train and control this power, I will grow stronger and end the Heeters' reign of terror by my own power. It's all thanks to you that I came to realize that."
-Yes, that's right. Granolah was correct. This was their choice, their decision... The consequence of the wish they had foolishly made. Vegeta had long since accepted the fact that he wasn't the Prince of all Saiyans any longer, but the greater, more powerful, and more fearsome God of Destruction of this Universe. The Saiyans had nothing to do with him anymore. They were just nothing but a hindrance to him. A reminder of his weaker mortal self. He doesn't need any attachments whether it's from his past or this present.
Suddenly, Vegeta's demeanor completely changed. Pushing away those darn voices trying to torture him on his head, an unhinged look replaced the empty expression he had earlier, his dark irises changing color from black to a glowing magenta hue, "Hmph! Do not misunderstand my intentions, Granolah. I don't care whatever happens to you or your pathetic Namekian friends. For your information, I do not regret becoming the God of Destruction of this Universe. In fact, I enjoyed my duty a lot. My only concern was how your stupid wish with the Dragon Balls shifted the balance of this Universe. You did such a bother to my job and I have to do something about it now. I will enjoy bestowing destruction to mortals who would think they are greater than me just because they think they can cheat by shifting reality using some stupid magical spheres created by mere mortal hands. But you are the least of my concerns right now since I allowed you to get your wish, however, that guy you just fought earlier, Soshiru, mentioned something rather interesting. He said that Elec ordered you to get the information about the Dragon Balls thru the Namekian Book of Legends."
"Yeah..." Granolah nodded, inwardly surprised by Vegeta's sudden change of behavior. What the hell was wrong with this guy? Does he have some sort of dual personalities or what?
"Then that means Elec knows about the existence of the Dragon Balls. He was planning to use them as well. What do you think will happen if that guy you allowed to escape goes back to Elec and tells him that you ran away with that information? Hm?"
"Soshiru won't do something like that," Granolah growled.
Vegeta gave him a bored look, "Hmph! Whatever. Suit yourself. Believe what you want. In the end, it would be you who will have to reap what you sow for your foolishness. Just don't say I didn't warn you, I gave you your chance and you blew it."
With that, Vegeta disappeared into thin air. Granolah blinked at the sudden empty space before him. Vegeta looked as if he was in such a hurry to get away from that stinking place. Granolah wondered what happened to him though.
"What a weird guy..."
"Oh, you're back, Vegeta-sama," Whis gasped when he found his master appear out of thin air right before him. "Where have you been? Bulma-san was worried about you because you left without even saying a word to her."
Vegeta didn't respond to Whis at first. He was silent for a few moments, with a hard expression on his face. In his mind, he was doing his best to maintain his typical callous demeanor in an effort to restrain himself from losing control. Whis could tell what was going on just by seeing Vegeta's quivering frame and simply waited patiently until he was able to fully calm himself down.
Vegeta closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath. Once he opened his eyes, the crazed magenta hue faded back to his regular black irises.
"I went to meet with Granolah," the God of Destruction replied in a lukewarm tone as if nothing just happened.
"Huh?" Whis blinked in surprise. "Why did you go all the way there by yourself?" the guide angel asked in concern. He was wondering what caused Vegeta to hear the screaming voices of his people being tortured in Mu once again after a very long time. What did he do this time?
"Why?" Vegeta repeated, tilting his head slightly in wonder. He seemed to silently ask himself the question for a few seconds until he tilted his head, pouting. "Hmm... I don't even know either. I think there was something about Granolah that I was curious about."
"So you have seen something interesting about Granolah-san? Were you curious about his newfound strength that's why despite knowing that he defied your law, you still allowed him to get his wish because you wanted to see his power?"
Vegeta nodded reluctantly but was still unsure. "Maybe..." he mumbled.
"And? Did you see it?"
Vegeta suddenly spat bitterly, "No, he turns out to be a disappointment. The fool was a soft-hearted bastard to let his enemy go."
Whis blinked once more, even more intrigued at his master's reaction, "Why are you so disappointed in him, milord? Were you expecting something from him?"
"I was expecting him to entertain me a little with his vengeance drama against the Heeters."
"Was that all? Or were you thinking of Granolah-san becoming your suitable protégé to your mantle of God of Destruction?"
Vegeta glared at Whis before laughing back at him sarcastically, suddenly raising his voice, "Hah! Are you joking?! I have no plans of giving up my power and position to anyone!"
"Really?" Whis gasped in surprise. And here he was thinking that Vegeta was waiting for that someone Beerus told him about after all this time. That someone who would fill up that emptiness within him one day, the way he did with Beerus.
"Anyways, where's Bulma?" Vegeta asked.
"She went back to bed after you left," Whis answered.
"I see. I probably should take a nap for now. I dealt with too much nuisance today. I am tired."
Whis titled his head in confusion when he found Vegeta walking in the direction of Bulma's room instead of his own bedroom. Whis chuckled to himself. Here he thought Vegeta told him he didn't like sleeping next to her due to the way she snores so loud and her annoying movements while she slept. Maybe Vegeta had already found that someone he had been waiting for all these years, but either he hasn't realized it yet, or he was denying it within himself, or he was thinking about someone else entirely.
"I'm sure that there was a time when you felt pity for any of your clients."
"Pity? That can't be it! Tch!"
Vegeta stubbornly denied this as he shut the door to Bulma's room. He couldn't believe that he bared himself to the Cerealian too much than he intended it to be. Yes, he could recognize that he could relate to what Granolah had been going through. Granolah's story was eerily similar to that of his mortal life. Perhaps, this was the reason why he expressed his concern for he didn't wish Granolah to make the same mistakes he did in the past.
Yes, he did pity that guy, for being a fool!
Just as how he was when he was a mortal, but he refused to acknowledge it due to his pride.
He scowled deeply when he found Bulma sleeping on her futon that was spread on the floor of her studio-type room. The way she messily lied on her utterly chaotic bed made him flinch in disgust. This stupid, vulgar woman! This is all her fault! It was all because of her stupid assumptions that's making his over one thousand and five hundred years of hardened resolve waver like this.
Suddenly, she twitched and then moaned something incoherent, then she let out a cry, calling out for her parents before letting out a scream. Tears flowed from her squinted eyes. A nightmare. Up until now, she was getting bad dreams about the terrible day when he took everything from her. Without her ex-boyfriend to wake her up and comfort her, she will have to suffer from those dreams alone.
Vegeta's anger suddenly calmed as it got replaced by concern. He stepped forward to sit cross-legged at her bedside and watch her sleep. He also carefully fixed her odd position and the thick comforter blanket over her. He could see her nightmare suddenly change the moment he did that. Instead of Bulma watching everyone around her die in that cursed Pepper Village, all her sights and thoughts focused on the single man who remained standing through all that chaos.
Him.
Then Vegeta saw dozens of images of himself. All from different times and worlds, but with a single empty expression on his face. His eyes, darker than the cold and starless midnight, stared into a seemingly empty void. In them, he was either sitting alone in a vast wasteland, surrounded by the grass his destructive presence alone had reduced to nothingness, or standing on the balcony of his dark castle looking up at the Universe he was meant to destroy, or even gazing down at mortals he was about to destroy. In all of these, his eyes would gleam with unshed tears. It was as if he was stood up by someone he was waiting for during all those times.
And he had the same tearful eyes when he watched Bulma fall to her side when she got shot by Saike Regin that day.
Bulma reached out to him in her dream...
"Vegeta..."
She moaned his name, and that made him look at her sleeping face. Yes, he remembered that there was something within him that snapped when he saw her fall. At that time, he didn't know what it was but it made him angry. It was the reason why he killed that bastard Saike Regin, and threw his pitiful soul into the deepest pits of hell.
"I am here, Bulma..." he whispered as he absent-mindedly raised his hand to pull her hair away from her face, and then he decided to watch her sleep for a moment. She had been dreaming about him, just as how he would see visions about them. She could see through him with his past, while he could get a glimpse of their future. As his bonded soulmate, she was connected to him in this way. Even though he never wanted any attachment, he thought that maybe this darn bond that destiny had forced upon them wasn't that bad after all.
"You don't need to be afraid of these nightmares. I'm here... Even in your dreams."
From his sitting position at her bedside, he shifted so he could lie next to her on the bed. He continued watching her until he eventually fell asleep with her being embraced by his protective arms.
Meanwhile, across the Universe, a lone space jet descended on the spaceport within the area of the castle that was the Heeter's base. From it, Soshiru jumped out of the cockpit.
"I managed to greatly damage Granolah's space jet so he won't be able to come after me as soon as I left that asteroid," Soshiru was saying to himself. He looked down at his body and tapped into a rectangular-shaped black-colored device attached to the strap around his chest. "Good thing that the body cam I brought with me is activated during the entire ordeal. Hehehe... It's going to be a piece of good evidence to give Elec-sama about that darn Cerealian's betrayal..."