"Even if you cry, wishing to be loved,
you can't change the past!
Even if you scream at the top of your lungs,
That pureness will disappear into the darkness."
- "Pure Heart" by Leo Leiri
(Dragon Ball Kai ED Song)
Episode 19
Darkness Rising
Vegeta dashed frantically through the island. He has seen an explosion in the direction of the coordinates he read on that note. According to his portable computer installed within the goggle-like scouter he wore over his eyes to prevent the moonlight from being absorbed by his retinas and transform him into an Oozaru, the coordinates would lead to an abandoned training field in the Paprika Island. He escaped the royal palace, donned in his black general's armor and teleported himself towards the location via Hibiktus. He didn't know why but something about what that damn impostor said to him before he knocked him out gave him an ominous feeling that he felt the need to see him again. He was unable to get inside the island due to some sort of electromagnetic barrier made to conceal whatever was happening in the within the place to the world outside. The explosion broke the barrier and he was finally able to enter the battlefield, the stupid annoying feelings came worse when he found the amount of destruction that detonation had caused.
"Thank you and goodbye, Ouji-sama"
Vegeta clenched his teeth at those words, memories of the fun times they shared earlier this day flashed in his mind. What the fuck is that idiot trying to do?!
He could finally sense two ki sources in the battlefield. One was extremely powerful while the other was fading already. That fading felt exactly like his own and knew that his Clone number 8990 would be in great danger. Without much thought given to his recklessness, he teleported himself to where he could sense the battle going on. And what he found will forever haunt his nightmares.
Several meters below him, at the center of that nearly barren field. There was his imposter, completely beaten and limp as he was held by a gigantic man by his small neck. The giant man had long, spiky neon green hair and wearing a pure white cloak and an odd white mask over his face. He was incredibly huge, possibly bigger than Nappa was. By the way he found how the man's other hand was preparing the finishing blast, Vegeta knew what's about to happen and he screamed lengthily, "STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"
But even his command didn't reach the cruel man's ears, and in a heartbeat, the impostor whom Vegeta initially hated but came to cherish for the moments they spent together that day, exploded to pieces. As if the man just planted an explosive within his facsimile image's small body, pieces of blood, gore, muscles, tissues, body organs, bodily fluids, limbs, etc. flew in all directions. All that remained was the head that held the eyes of a horrified and innocent victim. The man unceremoniously hurled the severed head away and it rolled on the rocky ground for a few times.
Vegeta watched at the ruthless green haired man with wide, dilated eyes, completely frozen in his position. He felt something jolt inside his chest at that same instant ATI 8990 burst and it made his heart pound loudly that he could hear it beating on his ears and it made his body quiver. His fingers twitched, his forehead suddenly scorching hot and felt like it was about to split and burst from the inside. His eyes watered yet it felt like it was burning with acid. Everything around him blurred, as he felt pure rage and anguish slowly control him. He perceived himself slip down and be pulled into an ocean of darkness. Being drowned into darkness was good, at least that's what it felt to him. Even if he could feel himself gasping for breath and struggling for light, he knew he wanted it. The beast inside him needed it and the darkness was the true source of his power. Rage and bloodlust fueled him and he will make that man pay for what he did to 8990!
"W-Why you..." Vegeta growled in an animalistic manner, the innate beast within himself clawing itself out of him. His body trembled, his shaking hands clenched into tight fists. He struggled to maintain his control but his wrath was pure. His body continued to quiver as he struggled to regain his control. He groaned and growled, feeling his insides burn with both his unexplained fury and evil power. His eyes narrowed, his obsidian irises flashing to crimson.
"This is... completely unforgivable. I'm going to make you... PAY! Uuuuuurrrgggh..!"
The struggle itself was intense and excruciating, feeling like he was being torn apart but his wrath was greater than this pain. His primordial bloodlust spiraling out of control. His crimson eyes glowed brighter as his canines slowly grew and sharpen.
"I'll make you pay... with your own BLOOD! Raaaaaurgh!"
And then, an abrupt, continual, ear-piercing, wrathful and anguished scream followed that.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUURRRRRGGGHHHHHH!"
"What?!" the unknown green haired, husky masked man whirled in the direction of that unexpected scream. A burst of hot, purple beam nearly cut his head off his shoulders but he barely managed to dodge it in time. The giant man whirled around once again to see a completely enraged Saiyan, bathed with dark purple aura, flying towards him. Completely taken aback by surprise, he was almost instantly sent several feet away from where he last stood by a powerful spinning back kick to his face.
Vegeta wasted no time. He dropped to the ground, quickly spun around and skid backward, his boots digging against the soil. Once he was able to put a stop to his own momentum, he quickly straightened himself, stomping and gliding his right foot on his side to spread his feet apart and crouched down. Clenching his hands into shaking fists, he started to roar his fury. His purple aura burst larger and thickened.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUURGGHH!"
Black static bioelectricity snapped around his wildly flaring purple aura and his surroundings, destroying and burning whatever it reaches. The air around him thickened while the ground under his feet violently rumbled. Stones and rubble rose in the air while the iron dust collected and reeled around him like a forming sandstorm with his body as the eye. Dark thunderclouds begin to gather, loom and swirl around above him, sending flashes of destructive lightning around.
The enormous man picked himself up and stared at what was happening, "W-What is this?" he thought to himself, quite surprised at the display of devastating power. "I never knew anyone of those ATIs could release this much power!"
"Raaaaaaaaaaahh!" Vegeta's wrath-filled battle cry reverberated across the entire field. He put his hands together in front of him, his left palm behind the back of his right hand, both palms facing forward. Then he bent towards his left side, pulling both hands together on the same side at the chest level. He curled his fingers and begin to charge. His aura flared wilder, jagged sparks of black electricity hummed around him.
"Haaaaaaah!" With bloodshot crimson eyes and veins swelling and throbbing on his wide forehead and neck, the furious prince charged his powerful ki blast, shaking the ground with greater intensity and causing the lightning around him to flash more rapidly. He rarely uses this technique simply because of the charge time and the amount of devastating destruction it could cause. This time, he didn't care but to completely annihilate this bastard in front of him. His enemy watched at him, taken aback by his demonstration of power and uncontrollable rage.
Finally able to gather the necessary ki, Vegeta howled in the air, "Eat this, you fucking bastard! GALICK GUN!" He thrust his hands forward, a burst of purple concentrated blast fired from both his palms and the purple sphere surrounding his body towards his opponent. The ground below his feet cracked on the surface, his ki reducing the rubble to atoms. The fully charged ki blast reached his enemy in the blink of an eye.
The hunter smiled at the incoming deadly blast.
"Haaah!" the giant man flicked his right wrist to deflect the potent wave of destructive energy into the atmosphere.
"What-?!" Vegeta gasped back as he found his special technique easily swayed off like some mere housefly. The blast detonated in outer space where it destroyed a nearby planet. The ensuing shockwaves rattled Planet Vegeta down to its very core.
The Prince of the Saiyans stood motionless, still in his firing position. His violent aura had completely diminished along the earthquake and the thunderclouds. The shock upon his face was unmistakable.
"W-What is the meaning of this? How could someone be able to flick away my fully charged Galick Gun like that? Impossible! B-B-but... It can't be! That's my ultimate move so far! I put all of my ki into that attack!" Vegeta thought desperately to himself. Unable to believe what he just witnessed and comprehend how his ultimate ki attack was easily flicked away by this monstrosity. Just what kind of beast is this guy?
He was snapped out from his frozen state by the sound of the giant man chuckling to himself. The sound felt insulting to the prince's ears. At first, it was a low, dark sound but the shaken prince could hear the sadistic delight in its tone. "Hehehehe... Bwahahahahaha!" The titan abruptly laughed as he threw his head back to cackle madly. "I see! I see it now! I thought it was strange that I get to kill two tonight!" The monster's voice was filled with psychotic excitement. He put his head down, Vegeta could see the glowing white eyes of a madman behind the horrifying mask. "So you're the one... The special one. Nine - zero - zero - one."
"W-What?" Vegeta said breathlessly, unable to grasp the meaning behind the words of his foe.
"I remember hearing from that fucked up doctor about the special clone who takes after the original. It's you!" the man pointed a finger at the prince he thought was ATI numbered 9001.
"Clone? Special? Original? What the fuck is he saying? Does this mean that I was cloned for over 9000 times?!" Vegeta thought desperately, trying to comprehend the shocking information he was being told about.
"I've been waiting a long time to finally meet you, Mister nine-zero-zero-one. I hope you entertain me more than your other brothers." The giant's voice was filled with maleficent excitement.
Within an instant, the savage titan was an inch before the Saiyan Prince's face. Completely taken aback by shock, Vegeta felt the man's huge fist plow into his gut, nearly folding him in half like some piece of paper. The prince gagged and spewed a mouthful of blood and saliva as he was sent barrelling for about a kilometer and a half within the blink of an eye. He immediately felt a violent flying kick on his back propelling him skywards with an unstoppable force. The pain hit him back to reality. He flipped in the air, flared his blue aura to stop his momentum and turned around to see his adversary explode off the ground and charged at him. He quickly pulled his arms back, charged his ki and fired a rapid and relentless ki blast volley towards his foe. The man gracefully danced in the air as he dodged and moved towards the persistent Saiyan Prince. Vegeta raised his right forearm to block an incoming jab to his face and continued on blocking the crazed man's attacks. Soon, he sent his own rage-filled punches and continued trading attacks with the crazed man.
"Fwahahahaha! That's good! That's good! You're definitely as strong as his highness! I can feel my ki rising once more!" the man laughed boisterously while he blocked the prince's relentless attacks.
Vegeta could indeed sense his opponent's rising ki dangerously and he noticed that his attacks were no longer taking any effect. He shamefully realized it's impossible for him to beat the guy. "But how? What is this monster made of? He looked like a Saiyan considering his muscle build, his spiky hair and the tail behind him. But he has such a strange coloring. Is he some sort of alien-Saiyan hybrid or some kind of mutant? But his ki felt like Saiyan - but on a different level somehow." Vegeta asked himself. He also noticed something quite familiar. "Hm? I could sense something familiar with his energy but what is it?"
Not long enough, Vegeta was completely overpowered and he was shooting down into the ground like some meteor after he was sent barrelling down by a point-blank ki bomb. He was entirely beaten up, bloody, broken, and bruised. His devastating fall created a deep, gaping crater on the training ground. The giant man dropped gracefully beside the crater and looked down at him remorselessly.
"Heh! I guess you're no different than the rest of the ATIs after all." the man spat, completely disappointed.
"Uuurrggghhhh..." Vegeta painfully grunted as he squinted his eyes open. His vision blurred while his ears rang as he felt the world around him spin. "How could this happen? I am the prince of all Saiyans. I am supposed to be the most powerful Saiyan of all. How is someone like him, a mere mutant or hybrid or whatever, be stronger than I?"
These furious thoughts burned in his mind. He cannot believe such a person exists. He hurtfully realized it just now and felt as if his pride had been shattered in front of him. His fingers dug into the soil, feeling his ire boil once more at the mere humiliating thought of losing to such a strange being.
"Damn it all... It's not over yet! I cannot afford to lose to anyone! Especially not to some fucked up impure Saiyan!"
Vegeta painfully picked himself up from where he lay defeated. His enormous opponent raised an eyebrow under his mask upon finding him struggling to get up. It took the flame-haired royal warrior nearly a minute to pick himself up and face his enemy with a stubborn and determined stance, refusing to accept defeat and his body's demand to collapse into unconsciousness.
"Huh? You never know when to quit, huh?" the man smiled with a glint of sadism.
"I never taught myself to do such a humiliating act..." Vegeta growled, forcing himself to keep his poise. He flared his blue aura once more, his muscles tout and yet it felt like they were being torn apart, burning his every fiber. He didn't care about the pain though. What hurts him the most was his shattered pride but he will not let it break completely by this humiliation!
The unfaced green hair snickered, "You're a tough one, huh? I guess they were right when they said you're the one who takes after his highness! It's like fighting with the real Prince Vegeta! Although your power level is more pathetic than his, still it feels the same considering you two have the same stubborn attitude! If that's the case then I will definitely enjoy ripping you apart! Bwahahaha!"
Vegeta could tell how much hate the masked man harbored towards him and he wondered about the reason behind it. He wanted to demand answers to the questions he wished to be answered since he met ATI 8990 today but doing so would reveal his true identity. He didn't wish to make this psycho think he's defeated the Prince of the Saiyans that easily.
"Now, Mister nine-zero-zero-one! Make me enjoy this blood feast with you!" the enemy demanded.
Vegeta clenched his teeth together as he braced himself for an incoming assault from the man but something rolled to his feet that caught his peripheral vision. It fell down from the ground above him and rolled into the crater like a ball. Vegeta thought it looked kind of familiar so he turned his eyes to see whatever it was. Once he caught sight of the appalling thing, Vegeta instinctively hitched in fright at the macabre image he found. It was a severed head with his face! The skin on the remaining part of his neck was burned and twisted. The pink tissues and nerves were ripped roughly, spurting crimson blood. The second and third cervical vertebrae protruded out of the neck. It was ATI 8990's head but for Vegeta, it felt like he was looking at his own death and it broke him down to the core, completely raptured upon finding the ghastly look of sheer terror upon its wide, dead gray eyes.
Dokkun!
Something snapped inside of him at that same moment, Vegeta instinctively shuddered at that feeling of his heart jolting as if the beast inside of him just woke up. His blue aura dissipated around him like a blown candlelight. He whimpered, visibly trembling like a frightened little child.
"H-Hyeeh! Aaah... Ah... Haaa..."
He stooped forward and wrapped his arms around his shoulders as if he was feeling frozen from the inside all of a sudden. His body began to be engulfed with an eerie energy of a dark violet haze rising from his skin. His onyx colored irises glowed into crimson red, shaking and dilated with spine chilling dread.
"GGGYYYAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!" The completely horrified prince abruptly screamed an ear piercing, terrified howl. And it went on and on, the pitch rising higher with each second. Rage, terror, and bloodlust rushed through his entire body so powerfully and it caused his dark energy to burst outward. It engulfed him like tongues of blackish purple flames. It was as if he was being burn alive by the scorching fire of the evil power that has reawakened from the depths of his being. Red volts of electricity quickly snapped off his form, his aura and his surroundings once more.
Vegeta cried out endlessly, his body convulsing uncontrollably along his sheer terror and explosive wrath. Such power awakened within the depths of his being and it felt bottomless! It was intense, uncontrollable and unbelievably sinister. This dormant power is something Vegeta was trying to contain for years due to its devastating dark nature. He was too afraid to release it for he knew how dangerous he could become once he's lost control of it and himself. However, due to his terror combined with his rage and lust for vengeance, this power reawakened within him. Once more, the Planet Vegeta shook with intense tremors at the wake of its Crown Prince's violent ominous wrath.
His masked opponent was taken aback by whatever was happening to him, feeling like this is another surge of a much dangerous berserk power up than earlier.
The Saiyan Prince's body quivered, his shaking hands let go of his arms and instead grabbed the sides of his head desperately. He was feeling a scorching excruciating pain inside his brain and his forehead - something even worse than the rest of his body. He could feel his rage and bloodlust growing, rising, spiraling out of control. The wrath was from the beast inside of him, calling at him, whispering in his ears and clawing at his skin. And it wanted blood. It wanted him to kill and destroy for it.
Kill everyone and destroy everything.
"Aaaah! Noooo! Stop it! I don't want to... Noooooo! Stop it! STOP! GWAAAH! GAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
The prince's cries came louder and higher as he shook his head desperately, fighting to gain control of his mind. The beast was powerful and going into rampage and Vegeta couldn't control it right now because he knew deep inside that he wanted it. He was craving for it. After years of trying to suppress and control his Saiyan primal desires, is it finally time for him to satisfy his needs? Finally giving in, the dark aura engulfing him flared thicker, rising above him as if he was being cooked over high heat. Vegeta's cries came louder as the beast took over his remaining senses. The air blowing around him was scorching hot, burning everything around him within a mile to atoms. The smoke like energy coalesced above him, forming a terrifying hologram of the Oozaru Alpha. The prince clenched his teeth together and squinted his scarlet eyes open, glaring at the giant man with unfettered rage. The Oozaru's demonic growl resonated from his chest through his fangs.
"Grrrrr... Hrrrrrrggghhhh! Nnnnnngghhh!"
The larger man stared in wonder at the hair-raising image of the Oozaru Alpha beast. He felt a jolt of unexpected dread in his chest. That's when he realized it. It's that feeling that has brought him back to reality. As if waking up from a nightmare he wished would end - but finding it as an unescapable reality.
"Oh no! What have I done?!" he desperately thought as he took a fearful step backward.
~=o-O-o=~
Every Saiyan on Planet Vegeta immediately felt the same jolt as the enemy did, recognizing this feeling of dread as a sign of their rampaging alpha.
"Where the hell is the Crown Prince?!" King Vegeta roared. For some reason, they could not pinpoint the Crown Prince's exact location, the feeling of his ki signature was all over the place.
"Your Majesty, what is happening to the Crown Prince? His ki feels a lot different than before." Zorn asked, perturbed by the uneasy feeling in his chest and the energy he's sensing. His usual collected expression changed into a look of fear. "It feels so virulent... Y- your Majesty... What are we going to do?!"
The king knew his son was going on a berserk rampage and he couldn't help but feel dreadful just like the others. After all, nobody could ever stop the Crown Prince once he's gotten out of control. He was the most powerful among their kind and even if the entire kingdom team up against him, he could still easily destroy them all along with their planet.
"Yon is going on a berserk rampage! If he doesn't stop this then he would destroy our kingdom completely!" King Vegeta yelled indignantly, causing Zorn to jump back in shock. He could feel the stress and his blood pressure rising again with his anxiety. Just what the hell is the prince doing?!
"We have to go and stop him immediately, your Majesty." Zorn suggested.
The king paced irately inside his room despite the strong tremors that's shaking the entire planet.
"Zorn, have Malaka prepare the sedatives! Also, gather the archers and snipers. We have to wait for an opportunity to shoot him from behind and calm him down by sedation!"
Zorn stared at his king, he couldn't help but feel doubtful about the King's plan. "Yes, Your Majesty... But... would it be difficult for us to find an opening to his defenses?"
"If Yon has indeed lost his control then he will always be on the offensive. He wouldn't be able to defend himself if he is open with his attacks. Plus, he would be too focused with whoever he's fighting now." The king responsed.
Zorn was amazed by the ruler's plan. "I see. You are right, your Majesty! I will go and do as you commanded." He left after bowing down. He hurriedly sprinted towards the royal clinic.
Bardock also gathered his crew upon feeling their prince's ki. He also called upon his two sons and went on finding Prince Vegeta's location in hopes of putting a stop to his rampage.
"If we cannot sense his exact location, let us observe where the thunderclouds gather. Vegeta's destructive powers allow him to summon lightning around in his surroundings. The clouds will give us the direction to his location." Toma said.
"Yes, that is a good observation. Let's go!" Bardock said, leading his crew to where the clouds gather.
~=o-O-o=~
"AAAAAAAHH! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! YAAAAARRGGH!" The burning prince cried out in agony when he felt himself completely losing his mind and helplessly giving in to the primitive desires of the Oozaru. The energy around him and the overwhelming darkness consumed everything about him. He was seeing, hearing and feeling nothing but his unfettered wrath, unquenchable thirst for blood and the tormenting transformation his body was about to go through.
An excruciating transformation begins to torture him as his body broke into spasms. The tiny red veins in his bloodshot eyes popped, crimson blood immediately covered his entire eyes. His ears changed shape, slowly elongating on the sides of his head. The spikes of his jet black flaming hair separated and regrouped to take a sharper and jagged shape, growing in length, turning wilder and becoming chocolate brown in color. His tail unwrapped from his waist and whipped behind him, growing thicker, the brown fur bristling along his fury. He took his hands off the sides of his head and stared down at his twitching fingers. His fingernails growing longer, ripping through the cloth of his white gloves, the nail color also darkened until it's black. His canines elongated and sharpen into deadly fangs. His growls and grunts intensified into an anguished cry filled with agony as his quivering muscles bulked up, rather slowly. His screams grew louder and more high pitched with every second.
Such torment! The prince had never felt such intense rage, bloodlust, and pain before but he welcomed it, allowed it to consume him and overwhelm everything he could until he let his struggles go and let it control him. For the first time in his life, he's allowed himself to lose control. He didn't care any longer. He just wanted to kill the fucking hybrid or mutant shit in front of him. And he won't let anyone stop him from doing that!
With a final battle cry, the burning prince threw his head back and screamed with all his might. His aura burst upward into the dark skies, sending overpowering shockwaves around him. The crater in which he stood in was expunged by his destructive power, causing the ground to be even again. Yet it continued to crack on the surface, rocks and debris drifted upwards while bioelectricity snapped in all directions.
The enraged Saiyan Crown Prince turned and bared his fangs on the masked stranger. The enemy stared back, gaping and completely frozen on his ground. The desolated terrain in which they both stood was becoming more parlous with all the devastating energy Vegeta was emitting. The flame haired warrior heir crouched down like a predator ready to pounce on his prey. His hands on his sides clawed. A deep, throaty growl resonated from his chest through his clenched teeth. His entirely red eyes narrowed and without warning, he sprang forward with a surprising speed faster than anything the Masked Man had ever seen.
The Green haired Saiyan snapped himself out of his shock and tried to defend himself. His first strategy is to confuse the indignant Saiyan by using afterimages when he moved with amazing, light speed movement, leaving several images on his path. This technique is called 'Zanzoken' and is pretty useful when you want to deceive your enemy. The Masked Saiyan's body turned static as soon as Vegeta hit his chest with a clawed hand, and completely disappeared on the spot. Vegeta skidded to a stop and he searched frantically through the multiplying holographic images of the Masked Saiyan moving around him.
While the prince was confused, the enemy used this as an advantage by attacking him from behind, hoping to knock Vegeta out with a single blow. However, out of the Legendary Destroyer's impatience, Vegeta released a potent explosive wave of energy, which completely obliterated all afterimages the Masked Saiyan made and causing him to be stunned. He perceived a strong hand grabbing his forearm roughly and hollered him towards the rampaging prince.
"Oh shit!" The Masked Man thought to himself, finding Vegeta gathering his ki into his shaking right fist. The rage and bloodlust was unmistakable. He has never witnessed the prince this enraged and uncontrollable before. He knew there was a reason why the people feared incurring Prince Vegeta's wrath and now he's getting a taste of it. "N-No! Vegeta-sama! It's me - Ghack!"
At the next instant, Vegeta ruthlessly impaled his right hand through the Masked Man's abdomen. It went through his back. The prince's entire forearm was inside the mysterious man, who gagged some disgusting mix of blood and saliva due to his agony. Vegeta's ki made the damage even worse as he felt as if his energy flow just stopped at that same moment. The man's neon green hair faded back to its original black and Vegeta unceremoniously pulled out his hand. Blood sprayed into the merciless heir's face. The Masked Saiyan's earlier burly body shrunk into a lean but muscular build. He was still taller than the prince, though.
"Vegeta-sama..." The man gagged as red blood spewed out of his mouth. He grabbed the Crown Prince's shoulders, leaning forward towards his prince's body. He stared down at Vegeta's blank crimson eyes and said, "Vegeta-sama... Wake up! You must regain your control or you'll destroy the planet!"
He only received a fierce growl as a response as Vegeta backhanded him across his face. He was sent barreling on the ground. The faceless Saiyan pitifully tried to pick himself a few moments later, his mask crumbling to pieces, revealing a face Vegeta would have recognized but the furious prince's mind was so clouded he failed to do so. The flame haired Saiyan exploded from where he stood to follow his trajectory. He punched the Masked Saiyan's chin upwards with an uppercut which broke his adversary's jaw and immediately sent him flying skywards, he mercilessly charged at him with relentless rapid attacks before he cruelly slammed his hands down to the man's spine, rendering him paralyzed. The unnamed man shoot down like a meteor falling into the ground, creating another deep crater. Vegeta dropped to the ground not far away from his enemy, feeling his ki boiling and rising within the depths of his being. He slouched down for a moment, shaking in fury before he threw his head back and roared like the Oozaru beast into the darkened skies, which reverberated across several miles away.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHHH! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
~=o-O-o=~
Many Saiyans gathered a mile away from the Paprika island. The King, the royal army, Bardock's crew and his sons find themselves restricted to enter the island by some sort of red electromagnetic barrier that surrounded the island. They decided to follow where the dark clouds gathered to pinpoint the Crown Prince's location. The planet continued to rumble due to the heir's wrath. Powerful shockwaves tried to blow the Saiyans away.
"What is the meaning this?" The king asked no one in particular.
"Kakarot, use your Instant Transmission to get in!" Bardock ordered his son.
"Okay," Kakarot said, puting his joined index and middle right fingers on the center of his forehead. He warped for a moment before an invisible force with stunning red electricity shocked him and sent him barreling back. Bardock and the others stared at him in surprise.
"Aargh! I can't get through!" Kakarot cried.
"What do you mean you can't get through?" Raditz shouted in disbelief.
"I don't know but it felt like inside that thing is an entirely different dimension. It seems to me that Vegeta's powers caused some sort of new dimension to open up within this barrier and seperated it from reality, enabling him to shut everything out of this barrier. That is why I couldn't get through."
"That is ridiculous! Since when is he able to do that?!" Raditz snapped. "Try again! Focus more!"
"Looks like we have no other choice but to shoot him from here. Get ready!" The King ordered his army.
"Yes, your Majesty!" the Royal Army responded as they grabbed their weapons.
The king anxiously looked down at the ominous battlefield, hoping for his first born to miraculuously regain his control. In his worried thoughts, he wondered what caused the prince to run amok all of a sudden.
He clenched his teeth together. He couldn't help his worry. If this goes on then the Crown Prince will destroy the entire planet. They have to stop him as soon as possible.
"Yon!" The queasy king cried out lengthily, hoping for his first born son to hear him. "Stop it! You have to stop it before it's too late!"
There was a blinding flash within the barrier and they found the destructive phenomena becoming more dentrimental.
"What a monstrous power! I can feel his virulence even from here! What's going on?" Kakarot gasped.
The Saiyans watched distantly at the Paprika Island with an uneasy feeling deep inside them.
~=o-O-o=~
Vegeta never felt anything like this before. His blood boiled under his skin, his powers flowed freely and uncontrollably within him. He felt free, it was as if he was some caged animal who was released from being sealed for a long time. He felt more powerful. The explosive wrath and desire to kill and destroy was intense but it felt so right. Ripping his enemy to pieces felt right. He could hear the demonic monkey beast in his ear, ordering him to finish off the damn Saiyan in front of him.
He put his head down and walked absentmindedly towards his victim like a mindless zombie, intent on eating his adversary's flesh.
Something unexpectedly shoot towards the Saiyan Prince and hit him exactly on the center of his nape. It was a huge hi-tech looking syringe attached to an arrow engulfed with ki. The plunger automatically pulled down, releasing the sedatives it contained before the prince could find a way to pull it off. Vegeta's blank red eyes faded back his normal onyx as his wild metamorphosis gradually cancelled. The prince's eyes rolled back at the back of his head and he collapsed forward completely unconscious due to fatigue caused by that transformation.
Another mysterious figure appeared and he grabbed the Masked Man to escape with him before the King and the others arrive. The Masked Man thanked his savior with a small smile and both disappeared to the thin air.
~=o-O-o=~
Bulma and Taitsu stared at the clearing night skies after what it seemed was an apocalyptic phenomena. They were walking back home when they felt someone's rampage shake the entire planet earlier. They were forced to squat down on the streets for safety.
"Whoah! Isn't this greater than what we ever experienced before?" Taitsu gasped.
Bulma felt something eerie gnawing at her heart. Something really frightening. It felt the same as when she saw Vegeta in a bad mood these days - but even worse. Could it be that this phenomena is caused by him?
The shaking suddenly stopped and the dark thunderclouds slowly disappeared. Looking up at the clearing skies, Bulma couldn't help but think about Vegeta. She realized that if anyone is capable of doing such phenomena, it would only be him considering how powerful he is. Did he cause such apocalyptic calamity at this hour? What made him do such a thing?
Perceiving a sudden presence near her, she turned her head over her shoulder and found who she thought was Broly. There was another smaller man wearing a black cloak similar to what Sadara wore. The larger man looked like Broly from behind. He was stooping forward, leaning over his smaller companion for support. His hands over his abdomen. There was blood gushing and dropping on the ground beneath their feet. Thinking it was her friend, she turned and decided to help but before she could approach the two men, she heard him tell his friend to get him out of there and then both quickly disappeared to thin air.
"Are you okay?" Taitsu asked in concern, noticing her looking at a now empty spot.
"Yeah, I just thought I saw someone familiar." Bulma responded.
"Looks like it's safe to go home now. Let's go."
"Yes."
Taitsu and Bulma continued to their way back home. The younger of the two was silent the whole time as her mind kept worrying about Vegeta and wondering about the odd man she saw just now.
~=o-O-o=~
King Vegeta, Bardock and his crew, Prince Vegeta's two Generals and the Royal Army found the unconscious Crown Prince at the middle of the training field that turned into a barren wasteland. They could sense that Vegeta was fighting someone very powerful earlier but the remaining traces of ki was being overwhelmed by Vegeta's own explosion of fearsome power. Despite the questions they have on their mind, they decided to just leave it for later and bring the Crown Prince to the Royal Clinic where Malaka placed him on a medical chamber. The prince may not have any physical injuries but it would help take out the fatigue he must be feeling after that power up. King Vegeta asked Malaka to check out the Crown Prince's power reading and they were all astounded to find him reach nearly a million. How did he grow so strong that fast? Is this what that woman's technology could do? No wonder why Vegeta couldn't control it when he was so enraged!
King Vegeta couldn't help but feel disturbed by this sudden change. As a father, he was sure proud of his son's achievements. After all, Prince Vegeta was the chosen one to become the Legendary Super Saiyan.
Or so they all thought...
The ruler of the Saiyans remember what the elder seer told him earlier.
"The Crown Prince will be reborn to become an extremely dangerous monster, your Majesty. There will be blood, death and destruction upon his wake. He will slaughter all of his people and destroy the entire universe he's supposed to protect!"
With that kind of power level, there's no doubt Vegeta could easily destroy them now. But what causes him to become this way?
Then he remembered Nappa telling him to prepare himself because the Crown Prince told him that he has a lot of questions for him to answer. "What questions?" He wondered. Somehow, deep inside, he could feel it was something that would be quite troublesome in his part.
~=o-O-o=~
"What is this? Another dream?" Vegeta wondered to himself. He was dreaming about the times he spent with his clone that day once again. It was a good dream, he didn't know why. He felt as if he was satisfied making his younger brother happy. Younger brother? Since when did he consider this impostor as a brother. Sure he's made out of his own DNA but he thought he will never consider him as a brother. Or maybe he was just missing Tarble? Ridiculous. He'd prefer having a dream with Tarble than this damn copy-guy!
But he was happy. He could not deny that he enjoyed his clone's company. It was as if he accepted him as a brother already. He still don't understand why.
But even good dreams can have plot twists and turn into nightmares. Vegeta found himself running to meet his clone once again only to find him being brutally killed in front of him by an unfaced man. It was a masked man who would forever haunt his dreams, who would trigger something unpleasant within him and reawaken his old self.
His clone's detached tone calling him "Ouji-sama" repeatedly echoed in his ears and he saw more images of the masked man killing him over and over again. He saw his own deaths, each different but brutal. He found his grotesque corpses or whatever was left of him. He watched the Masked Man standing victorious on the mountain of corpses belonging to him.
"No! Stoooooop!" That was his cry when he found ATI 8990's last moments. And then everything went black.
"Your highness! Your highness! Prince Vegeta! Can you hear me?!"
Vegeta could hear Malaka's voice in a distance, becoming clearer as he roused from his unconsciousness.
"Your highness, please open your eyes." Malaka was saying.
The prince groaned lazily in response. He fluttered his eyes open to see that the royal doctors were all staring at him anxiously. He realized that he was in the royal clinic and has been inside a medical tank.
"Your highness, how do you feel?" Malaka inquired him.
"..." Vegeta didn't respond for a minute or two. He's probably still dazed or still trying to make out his surroundings or whatever happened.
Once his mind was clear, his completely disoriented expression quickly shifted to his usual intimidating expression. He rose up, completely naked in front of his doctors. He flexed his arms and twitched his fingers for a moment, feeling more powerful than before.
Nappa appeared, bringing a new set of his royal Crown Prince's armor for him. Vegeta ordered everyone to leave the room except for both Nappa and Malaka.
"Report." he coldly commanded while he put on his clothes.
"We found you unconscious at the Paprika Island, your highness. Someone must have sedated you." Nappa reported.
"Sedation? Why would someone sedate me?!"
"You lost control of your powers, your highness." Nappa responded.
"What?!" The prince looked up to his attendant with an incredulous look. He tried to remember what just happened and the last thing he could think of was realizing he was no match for his opponent and yet trying to get up and fight back due to his pride. And then he saw... Something.
Vegeta turned his back on the two, falling completely silent.
"Vegeta-sama, as powerful as you are, I think you had a hard time battling whoever you are fighting with." Malaka said. "See that the high quality Saiyan armor you've been wearing at that time was completely busted." Malaka showed him the extremely damaged black and gold armor Vegeta was donning at that time.
"Tch!" Vegeta gritted his teeth together in annoyance as he roughly pulled his glove into his right hand, reminiscing his defeat by the hands of the Masked Saiyan. Whoever that man is, he will make him pay greatly!
"Where is Papa? I have a lot of questions for him right now!" Vegeta demanded as he put on his white and gold Crown Prince's armor.
"He's probably resting in his private quarters, your highness." Nappa responded.
"Tch! He slept on me despite warning him to prepare himself once I get back home!" Vegeta snorted while he fixed his clothes.
As if on cue, they suddenly hear Zorn announcing at the door outside, "His Majesty, the King has arrived!"
Someone must have notified King Vegeta of the Prince's condition. The doors opened to welcome the Saiyan King who walked regally inside the Royal Clinic. Nappa and Malaka bowed down respectfully before the ruler and he silently ordered them to leave him and his son alone.
Once Nappa and Malaka were gone, Prince Vegeta just stared up at his father with an unimpressed look. The king noticed the way his son glared at him and wondered about what his problem was.
Used to his first born son's cold and disrespectful way of greeting him, the King demanded, "Now, what is it that you want to ask me, Yon?"
"Aren't you even going to ask me how I'm feeling first?"
"Fine, how are you feeling?"
"..." The prince didn't respond. He just stared back at his father with a spine-chilling gaze that would have made anyone completely terrified. He let out a grin filled with venomous sarcasm. "I feel like I want to kill somebody so badly."
King Vegeta gave him an odd look, slightly shrugging off his shoulders as he looked away. "It's been a while since you felt like that, Yon. But don't let it get into your head or you might lose control again like you just did."
"I know, right? Though I hated it when I learned from Nappa that I just lost control, I still want to kill somebody so badly."
"Why is that?" King Vegeta asked.
"Because I've been betrayed by those I trusted."
The king became confused by what his son was saying. Did he finally realize that the woman he was being so favorable with is part of the rebels? "What do you mean?" he carefully asked.
The smile upon the Crown Prince's lips quickly melted into a deep, angry scowl. His glare becoming deadlier. "Who do you think it is?"
"Would you stop being so playful and just get to the point, boy?! I have no time for your stupid, childish games right now!" The king growled indignantly, losing his patience. He just wanted to end this useless game his son was playing at him and go to bed but here was his heir wasting his time with those annoying questions.
"Fine. I'll get to the point." The prince coldly announced then he disappeared via Hibiktus. The King just stared at where his son was standing a while ago and shook his head in distaste of his son's attitude. The prince reappeared again after three seconds, surprising his father as if he just saw some ghost appearing out of nowhere.
"Tell me what happened to the blood samples you wheedled me to donate to when I was a little boy," The prince questioned with a threatening tone in his voice. The king noticed that his son was holding something white and rectangle like a piece of cardboard on his hand.
There was a slight shock on King Vegeta's face at the question the Crown Prince just asked him and Vegeta didn't fail to notice.
"It's being used to the medical liquid in your regeneration tank. Back then, the scientists used it for research purposes in order to find a faster way for you to become the Legendary Super Saiyan. You know that!" King Vegeta replied.
"Is that really all?"
"That's all."
There was a momentary silence between the two Saiyan Royals who suddenly found themselves contending in a fierce glaring match. Neither wanted to be overwhelmed by the other, especially the King who believed that his son was just overreacting over a matter he shouldn't be questioning about.
"You know you cannot hide anything from me, papa. I could sense that you are not telling me the truth." Prince Vegeta growled. "Or at least, the entirety of it. Don't make a fool out of me. Don't try to get yourself out of it either by lying. Say it before I decide to go to the Ministry of Science and Technology and threaten them to tell me the truth."
His father shrugged, not wanting to give in despite the threat. "I don't understand what you're talking about, Yon. I've been telling you the truth!"
"Oh really? Then what the fuck is the meaning of this?!" The indignant prince shouted as he shove the photo of him and his clone at his father's face. The king pulled the photo off his face and stared at the photo in shock, unable to believe what he's seeing. He could easily recognize his own son in the photo but there was another one beside him, who looked exactly like him but with a strange pair of dark gray eyes.
"Impossible!" The king gasped increduously. "W-who is that with you?"
"Don't play innocent with me!" The furious prince retorted.
"I swear I have no idea, Yon! Stop nagging at me!" The king shouted back. "You better watch your mouth on me, boy! I am still your father and I will not tolerate your incessant yelling! When I tell you I have no idea, it means I have no idea! Stop being so pushy, you brat!"
Vegeta shook his head in distaste yet his intimidating glare remained.
"Unless this impostor is a clone of yours." King Vegeta muttered, looking away.
"Damn right, papa! He is indeed my clone!" Vegeta freaked out.
The king whirled at his son, an unmistakable look of disbelief in his face. "What?! But that's impossible! How could there be a clone of you when I told Paragus and Nasu to completely abolish that project -!" Then he immediately stopped himself when he realized what he was saying. He turned his frigid gaze at his scowling son and he immediately sensed the deathly tension grow even worse.
"What project?" Vegeta asked his father with a threatening tone. He remembered ATI 8990 mentioning some sort of Project that was considered to be a classified information, even to a Royal Crown Prince like himself.
King Vegeta gulped and mentally slapped himself for his stupidity. How could he slip his tongue like that?! Damn it, his son sure is a persistent brat!
"It is none of your concern, brat." The king responded in a disgruntled tone as he turned around to give his son his back.
"It is MY concern if you used my blood samples to your own greed without MY consent! Now, explain yourself before I decide to go to Paragus or Nasu and torture them to tell me what I want to know!"
"Forget about it, Yon! It has been abandoned for years!" yelled the King.
"If it is then who is the impostor I met claiming to be my clone?!" The prince hollered back.
"I don't know!"
"Damn it, papa! Just tell me what you know about that Project! I don't care if it was long since abolished, I might start investigating from there! Unless you want me to dig into the computer to find any traces of your betrayal to me!"
...
...
...
"Why are you being so persistent, Yon? You wouldn't normally care about something so trivial." The King quipped, wanting to dismiss this matter as soon as possible but couldn't find an escape at all. He knew his son would stop at nothing until he gets whatever he wants.
"This isn't trivial at all! Like I told you, someone is betraying me all this time! Now, I wish to know from you what this is all about unless you wish for me to include you to the list of people I would kill as payment for what happened!" The prince snarled.
"Fine..." King Vegeta sighed, giving up. He really couldn't understand why his son was being this stubbornly tenacious at all. It was something trivial that was already destroyed many years ago and should only be forgotten! "But promise me that you wouldn't do anything reckless."
"Just say it before I change my mind, papa!" Vegeta retorted, losing his patience.
The King sat down on a couch, staring at his son uneasily and began to speak about the secrets he was trying to keep from his son for almost fifteen years or so.
"Before you were born, I was so obsessed with the Legend of the Super Saiyan. I was confident that I could make the Legend a reality. After all, we descended from the bloodline of the Original Super Saiyan. But I was an impatient man that I wanted to create one with my own genes instead. I know I just couldn't become one on my own so I decided that maybe if I create a Saiyan with modified genes, I could have a Super Saiyan I could use to overthrow the Galactic Emperor and replace him as the ruler of the entire universe. So I teamed up with Doctor Raichi, a Tuffle Scientist, along with Nasu and another Saiyan scientist, Turles to have experiments with cloning. At first, my objective was just to create the Legendary Super Saiyan using my own genes. This is when the Project Denzetsu was first created."
"Project Denzetsu? What a stupid name." Vegeta grumbled to himself.
"Well, it was a project to make the Legend a reality after all. Anyways, our first attempt was futile as we were unable to create a live clone at all. I decided to abandon the cloning project after realizing I was deluding myself to the impossible.
"When you were born, you were a very special Saiyan. You had the highest battle power anyone has ever seen from a newborn Saiyan. I was sure that one day, you will become the Super Saiyan of Legend. The seers across Planet Vegeta saw to your future and it made me feel satisfied and extremely proud that I was finally able to create the chosen one on my own through natural means. One day, Doctor Raichi told me that he was able to create a drug that could make modified somatic cloning possible. Impatient as I was, I decided to give it a try. This time, I wanted to create a clone army made from your own DNA. I thought if I ever created an entire Saiyan Army with the same powers as yours and able to control it, I could easily destroy the Galactic Empire. You will kill the Galactic Emperor as the Super Saiyan of Legend and we will both rule the entire universe. However, things didn't go well as planned once again. First, your mother was against this. She warned me of the consequences if ever the plan would become a success. Though I highly doubt she believed it would be. I didn't care to listen to her. My second problem was you. Despite being a three year old, you were too smart for your own good. But you were a child and like every child, it was easy for me to convince you into giving your blood samples. Yes, we made it through our deal. Your samples were indeed used for research purposes in order to help you become a Super Saiyan. It was also used for the medical liquid because we discovered that your ki allows for faster healing. And yes, other than that, we were finally able to create an actual live clone of yours within a span of 10 days. However, he was especially pathetic in comparison to you. He was weaker than Tarble ever was and could only be nothing but an outclass trash. Despite the many attempts we had, it all came to the same conclusion. When Saya died, I eventually realized my faults and decided to completely abandon the Project. I ordered Paragus and Nasu to destroy any traces of it and made a law never to mention anything about this Project ever again.
"That's it. That is everything I know. I have no idea how and why you met a clone of yours at all. I have no part on it this time around and I swear to you I am telling you the truth, Yon."
The Crown Prince lowered his eyes without saying anything at all. His sudden silence crept the heart of the ambitious Saiyan King deep inside of him. Everyone knew that Prince Vegeta's silence only meant a far more dangerous wrath was seething within him. Knowing this, King Vegeta reached out a hand to calm his son's quiet anger but suddenly the walls and the floor of the room began to rumble as ominous waves of invisible but powerful ki energy radiated off the completely vehement Crown Prince of all Saiyans. The king was alerted by the danger, this exact same scenario played out before Prince Vegeta went on a berserk rampage when he saw his mother's urn when the prince was a child fourteen years ago. (See Episode 4) Fearing a repeat of that, the terrified King immediately phased in front of his son and grabbed his shoulders.
"Yon! Calm yourself, boy! Control yourself and let's investigate this matter calmly. Don't get too reckless because of your anger!" the King told his son.
Without warning, Vegeta sent a spear of red lightning towards his own father. Sending the king barrelling across the room as he got electrocuted by that attack. He let out an agonized scream as he felt his insides burn while he convulsed on the floor like fish out of the water.
"Don't you ever try to stop me." The murderous prince warned in an icy tone, staring down at his father with his scary looking red eyes.
"Yon!" screamed the King.
"How dare you think you could use me to your foolish ambitions? You may have no part in this current project but you still contributed to the idea. I should fucking kill you here right now!" the prince roared, his aura bursting into life.
Sensing his upcoming rampage, Nappa and Zorn burst through the door. "Your highness-!" they called out but they were immediately sent flying back to where they came from by a gust of wind Vegeta created by simply waving his hand at them.
King Vegeta quickly grabbed his son's arm, "Yon... Stop it. Please, my son. Calm down."
Vegeta did stop and he turned towards his father, his earlier explosive rage calmed outwardly but it continued to build-up within him, boiling, seething through every bit of his being. He rudely slapped the King's hand off his arm.
"But as you are still my father, I will give you a chance to redeem yourself." The Prince said in a low, detached tone and then he let out a terrifying, cruel smile. "You can live and see the consequences of your foolish greed. Whatever happens now is going to be your fault."
With that, the furious Crown Prince disappeared to thin air. Only to appear at the home of the Prime Minister.
"Paragus! Come out of there, you traitorous bastard!" Vegeta indigantly roared.
Nobody answered his command. Greatly incensed, he put his hands over his sides to charge his energy, intent on destroying the Prime Minister's home. However, something lying on the center table on the living room caught his eyes.
There have been a lot of bandages, both rolled and others are bloody, used and huddled across the table in a mess. There have been lots of antiseptics there too. And a filthy white cloth with blood stains. Vegeta approached the table to inspect. There was something within those things that made him feel suspicious. He grabbed the cloth to find out that it was a cloak, a very muddy one that it's almost brown and with red spots of blood instead being of pure white. Something dropped to the floor and Vegeta quickly identified it as the same mask the killer of ATI 8990 used.
Vegeta picked up the mask from the floor, memories of his defeat flashed mercilessly at the back of his mind. So it seems that Paragus has something to do with this project's revival after all!
"Your highness!" someone gasped nearby. Vegeta turned to find his usually quiet and expressionless General standing there.
Broly, who just came in when he heard the Crown Prince's angry voice, bowed his head down to show the heir to the throne his respect but immediately noticed the eerie thing on his hand. He quickly looked up at the completely suspicious flame haired royal Saiyan heedfully.
