Pillars of black smoke washed over the evening sky, dimming the little light remaining in the blood red skies of Planet Vegeta. The twisted scent of ash and fire overpowered the decaying smell of the fallen Saiyan elites that had been loyal to King Vegeta to the very end.

Bardock spat against the bitter, pungent taste in the air, watching the flames devour the banner of the elites and their bodies. Fools, all of them. They conformed in their social status, followed a false king, bowed at the feet of some filthy alien. Their end had been a long time coming. Bardock savored the victory as the men and women of his Black Army ate and drank in celebration.

Bardock was no sentimentalist, but as he scanned the battered faces of old and young, men and women, saiyan and alien alike that now served him, he could not help but swell with pride. Under his rule, things would change. They would rebuild and become stronger than ever. The stars were the limit. What a time to be alive! He kept scanning the camp until his eyes came to rest on a tall muscular teen that was staring up at the skies, as if searching for something. Large muscles bulged from his tall frame, tanned and covered in scars from the wars he had fought in across the galaxy. His thick, unkempt raven hair that reached down to his waist swayed slightly in the breeze. Bardock beamed a proud smile at the boy.

His firstborn.

Raditz.

At his young age, he had already exterminated entire races and conquered worlds across an ocean of stars, leading his own five-member band of warriors, who called themselves the Saiyan Punks. Without a doubt, the Punks were a deadly weapon against Bardock's enemies. The death of the boy's mother had left him with an insatiable desire for strength, power and bloodshed. Bardock knew all too well that rage and lust for vengeance acted as fuel for a bright, future leader. With training and sacrifice, maybe he could be the next King after him.

The same could not be said about the boy's baby brother, Kakarot. The boy was just a toddler, and still his power level was no more than that of a weak Saibaman. All the boy did was cry, eat and sleep. But Bardock had a plan to remedy that. As if on cue, one of his scouts, an Apulle alien ran up to him and bowed reverently before the newly crowned Black King of Saiyans.

"My Lord Bardock," it hissed in its alien accent. "The scouts from the eastern-most legion have reported in. We found her."

Bardock chuckled in delight at the news. Yes, he would remedy the so-called "low-class saiyan" problem, all right. No saiyan boy or girl would ever be weak enough to be conquered again. He would personally see to it. Starting with his weakling son, Kakarot.

"Who else knows about this?"
"Nobody, sire."

"Keep it under wraps," Bardock instructed. "I will organize aastrike team to bring her back home. For now, go to the Youth pods. Find my son Kakarot and bring him to me. Discreetly."

"The world is at the heart of Frieza's old capital," the Appule stammered.

"Don't worry," Bardock said, eyeing at his son. "I've got just the crew that specializes in fighting Frieza's men."

With no time to waste, he thanked the scout and made his way through the camp towards his son.

From across the camp, Raditz could see his father walking towards him. Taking a huge drink from his glass, he turned away from him, his body aching with the wounds he had sustained throughout the day.

Saiyan ale.

Few things in the galaxy like it.

As he allowed himself to enjoy the alcoholic drink for a moment, a smaller figure approached from the other side of the camp, catching his attention.

She was the only Saiyan girl that could have that effect on him.

That fact burned.

Raditz prided himself on being one of the toughest boys his age. Though it was nothing new for a saiyan to have the occasional casual encounter with a woman, this was different. His feelings for this girl were different, forged from years of growing together, training together, fighting together, conquering together.

Raditz shook the embarrassing thought from his mind. What would the rest of the Punks say if they found out that their brutal, fearless leader was catching feelings for the youngest of their team? Cursing the fact that he had too much of his mother in him, he instead gulped down another glass of the ale as the smaller saiyan walked past him.

Her tiny frame was covered in dirt and bruises, too. Her hair was wild and unkempt too, though it did not extend downwards like Raditz's, but rather extended upwards into spikes.

She carried pieces of saiyan armor wrapped in royal garments in her arms as she stared into the flames that she walked towards. Without a single word, she tossed the armor and robes into the fire, watching the flames consume them. Raditz walked over to stand by her side, his large arms crossed across his chest. Having lost his mother, he knew what she was feeling all too well.

"My father," she said after a long moment. "He won't be needing them anymore."

"I'm really-," Raditz caught himself when her fiery gaze turned towards him.

"Don't be," she cut him off. "He deserved it. After what he did to me and my sister..."

Her gaze returned to the ashes that were once her father's robes, fists clenching. "In the end, I'm glad I was the one to end him."

Raditz could hear the waver in her voice, betraying the conflict within her. Her father had been a true monster, even for a heartless saiyan, sending her to a desolate world in an uncharted part of the galaxy while sending her sister into the heart of a war torn world that Frieza was set on conquering. She was never heard of again. All this happened before they could even walk!

Still, Raditz knew that it hadn't been easy for her to kill her father.

He lifted a hand, paused for a long moment, then placed it on her shoulder.

She did not try to shrug it off. Without a word, the two continued watching the fire burning brightly for some time.

Footsteps and a raucous roar from the men around them broke their moment. They turned to see Bardock walking up to them, a large bone of meat on his hand and a glass on the other.

"Raditz, get your team ready," he said in between mouthfuls of meat. "Things are about to get a lot more interesting."

Bardock turned to the girl.

"Your sister Kale." he said, smirking. "The one we thought was dead in Frieza's world. We found her. And now we're going to go get her!"

All Caulifla could do was stare in disbelief.


EARTH - 15 YEARS LATER


One breath. One very deep breath.

Vegeta could hear his heartbeat in his ears. He fought to keep himself balanced, but he couldn't help himself. His blood always sizzled during a fight. Moving faster than the naked eye could see, he bounded mightily at his masked opponent, aiming his fist hard at the stupid mask he was wearing.

In a similarly spectacular move, the assailant swung an open hand through the air, deflecting the incoming fist and momentarily stumbling Vegeta off balance. Vegeta braced for a punishing blow that didn't come. Catching himself, he spun around with a powerful kick aimed at the masked man's torso. Again, the move was anticipated and the grass around them rippled against the explosive force caused by the blow. Vegeta intensified his attack, but his short arms were no use against the bigger foe. He would need a new strategy.

Vegeta snarled and lunged himself, throwing wild punches aimed at his opponent's face, chest and torso. His opponent, who had been using one arm in the fight, now used both and seemed to parry and deflect the blows with ease.

"Stop messing around and get serious!" Vegeta snapped.

"Oh ho ho! Is that what you want?" Suddenly, the man adjusted his stance and Vegeta found himself defending against a punishing flurry of blows. For every hit he blocked, the masked man landed two until Vegeta's back hit against the wall. In a final, desperate move, the air around Vegeta exploded, sending the masked man three steps back.

"You've reached the limits of my patience, old man!" Vegeta snarled, clenching his hands together. A bright ball of energy formed his palms. "Take this! Galick-"

"I cannot allow that!" The masked man said.

Before he could unleash the attack, the man appeared directly in front of him and touched the center of his torso with two fingers.

Vegeta gasped in pain, unable to breath. The energy in his hands fizzled out and he collapsed against the wall behind him. Slowly he regained his breathing and he backed away from the man, who removed his mask.

"What the hell was that?" Vegeta barked. "That really hurt!"

"Oh, that?" The old man said. "That was just an old trick taught to me by an old friend."

The old man extended a hand out to the boy, who took it and got to his feet.

"Now, Vegeta," he said, dusting the boy off. "What did we say about Ki attacks in fights?"

Vegeta resisted the urge to scoff at his grandfather.

"Yeah, yeah. Never use ki attacks."

"Ki blasts have their purpose," the wise old man told him, picking up the bag they had brought and swinging it over his shoulder. "Attacking humans is not one of them. You can seriously injure or even kill someone."

Vegeta rolled his eyes.

Gohan smiled, squatting down to be at the boy's eye level.

"Vegeta," he said. "You are different from regular folks. You can lift cars over your head, get hit by bullets and live. Those are all very powerful strengths. But those powerful strengths carry heavy responsibilities. Use your strengths for good. Never for evil. That is both your burden and your honor."

"I know," Vegeta heaved a sigh, staring at the grass around his bare feet.

The old man turned and walked towards the edge of the cliff where they were training on.

"Come here, son," his grandfather said. Vegeta sighed, impatiently.

He walked to stand next to his grandfather with his hands on his hips.

Gohan smiled, his wrinkles creasing around his tired old eyes.

"Do you feel that?"

Vegeta stared blankly, feeling his irritation rising.

"Feel what?"

"Close your eyes."

"Grandpa-"

"Close them," Gohan commanded, sternly.

Vegeta rolled his eyes stubbornly and closed his eyes.

"Now what?"

"Breathe," Gohan said. "Breathe. What do you feel?"

Vegeta slowed down his breathing until he could no longer hear his heartbeat in his ears. He continued breathing, feeling a sense of calm wash over him.

"Calm," he finally responded.

"Open your eyes, son. Tell me what you see."

Vegeta obeyed. From that high cliff, he could see their house and had a beautiful view of the ocean. Vegeta closed his eyes again, letting the breeze, the scent of the forest below and the sounds of the rolling sea bring him incredible…

"Peace," he said, opening his eyes.

Gohan beamed proudly at his grandson.

"Remember this peace always, Vegeta," he said. "Defend it, protect it with all your might, and I'll be with you, long after I'm gone."

The two stood there, watching the rolling tide for some time.

Remorse showered over Vegeta, remembering just how sick his grandfather really was. The doctors said he did not have much time left. Even so, Gohan had decided to spend his last days readying Vegeta for the day that he would have to be on his own.

"Look, Grandfather-"

Gohan chuckled and smiled sweetly at the boy.

"Vegeta, ever since the day I found you, I knew you were destined for great things. Now that my time is limited with your, we have a lot to talk about. How about we eat and we can discuss things over breakfast?"

Vegeta's stomach growled at the sound of that.

"Yeah," he smiled back. "That sounds great, grandpa."

Gohan extended a hand.

"Then, would you mind helping a tired, senile old man down this big damn mountain?"

Vegeta allowed himself a chuckle.

Placing the old man's arm over his shoulder, they lifted off from the top of the mountain and descended down towards the house below.


AN:

Hi everyone! Thank you for reading Dark Black CH 2 . I'm having so much fun writing this. Sorry some of the parts are really corny, but this is really going to be a light hearted story, with some drama, more than just a dark story. I know we're barely into the second chapter and already there's a lot of backstory to be established, please bear with me, I will do my best to make sure everything is written and established well. Also, I apologize for some of my dialogue. English is not my first language! haha

Up next: Review Responses

Beepx22 – "Unique and well written. Good Job."

Thank you so so so much! I really hope you enjoy it. I love Dragon Ball universe and it brings me so much joy to be able to bring this story which has been in my head since 2016 finally to life!

V4Vellian - "I can understand you rushing this story a bit, that's fine. I'm willing to continue reading. However, the only problem I have in this chapter is that King Vegeta was one to plead for mercy. Being the elite Saiyan King he is, I doubt his pride would allow him to resort to begging for mercy in front of other Saiyans, those who used to look up to him.

I don't know what you plan on doing with Vegeta, but don't try to make his character too Goku like. He still is a Saiyan and as a child (assuming he didn't bump his head) they are naturally rambunctious. With Gohan's influence, he will be softer in Saiyan standards, but I don't expect a total Goku persona coming from him.

I'm also wondering if you do plan on showing how Saiyans live (even for just a little bit) while they're under the rule of Bardock."

Yes, I really should have taken more time to flesh out chapter 1 but I had serious writer's block so I just wanted to get it out of the way so I could publish the next chapters which were better defined and fleshed out, in my opinion. As for King Vegeta, you're right, I might have made him too much of a coward, I just based that on the other 'powerful' saiyans like Raditz and Nappa and even Vegeta that begged for their life when faced with death. The way King Vegeta trembled at Beerus' feet was also my inspiration. Unfortunately I did not have much material on the King so I just took after his son haha but you're right he was not so cowardly, actually.

As for Vegeta, he won't be a Goku clone. But he won't be super evil like in DBZ season1 either, he will be as you said, struggling with a fiery temper and thrill to fight, trying to balance that with the calming lessons of Gohan and Roshi.

Yes! So when I wrote the first chapter of this story, I had planned it to focus on Vegeta, then Trunks, but the more I write, the more it feels like it will encompass lots of characters with different character arcs, not just Vegeta's. I will do my best to keep that from being too clustered though.

Thank you all again for your encouragement! See you next time!