Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z, Akira Toriyama does and created it. My fan character Tomic, and any others not part of the series belong to me. This story means no harm to the anime or manga
Second Chances for Bardock's Sons
By Trynia Merin
A/N: Thanks to the email of one of my readers I realized this part and the chapter before were unclear. So I broke this into two separate chapters.
Two weeks had passed. Raditz had just landed on the planet supposedly cleared by Nappa and Cabernet, only to find something horrible had gone wrong. He had finished his transaction on Aztec and collected two million Aurites for the completed job, plus a few slaves to send back when Nappa's distress call reached him. It took Raditz a week to reach him in the pod, and when it finally landed, he had emerged to a wasteland of bodies.
Now he looked over the vast oceans that covered ninety percent of the planet. What amazed Raditz was the presence of grey choking smoke in the atmosphere when he first cracked open his hatch. He coughed; glad his Saiyan lungs could filter out the ash and particulate matter. Fires billowed up from patches of oil slicks bobbing here and there. Raditz's pod floated lazily on the dense oceans, and he managed to push it to the beach nearby. Waterlogged bodies washed up with the advancing tide lapping at his toes. Sand was stained green and black with ichors and bodily fluids.
Raditz shouldered the canister of the Prince's belongings he had so carefully preserved. Armor, a scouter, and new garments were neatly packed away with vials of Saibamen for the Prince's training. Clutching it under one arm, he barked orders to the pod to seal itself. Then he rocketed into the polluted air, hacking as he went. A thin sheen of gold ki enveloped him, and he shot over the thick blanket of clouds. Once above them he saw the vast ocean through the gaps. As far as the horizon, he saw the grey streaks of oil. The atmosphere surged with billows of flame from here and there, as the cheap petroleum used by the Ocean-jins burst into fire one after the other.
Artificial reefs built of concrete and steel lay twisted and broken. Across his scouter bleeped the homing signal, Nappa's battle power of 23000. Apparently, he had kicked it up a notch. Unfortunately, the planet's moon had been blown to dust. Raditz could tell by the new ring of particles settling into orbit around the vast blue grey sphere.
"Great Oozaru, this is overkill," Raditz shuddered. While he was hardened against major damage, wholesale slaughter made even his stomach turn. Even though Raditz had decimated many planets, he usually gave the inhabitants a chance to surrender first. His standard proof of loyalty was the sacrifice of one hundred inhabitants piled up in groups of fives by the major leaders. Then, he would decide if the indigenous people deserved death at his hand or life as slaves if requested by his employer.
Some employers wanted no native life forms, so he would start by destroying the cities first. With a quick series of explosions peppering major population centers, Raditz disintegrated major cities. The explosions killed swiftly and cleanly. If two warring factions fought one another, he would play one against the other to kill each other, and then confront the survivors. If there were nuclear weapons, he would disarm them and let them destroy each other like civilized beings while he watched. Then the victors died a warrior's death. This had been Aztec's fate.
However, this was wholesale slaughter, Nappa's trademark. Unfortunately, the planets seas swarmed with bodies and trash. Rubble lined the beaches with the faint tentacled bodies of the Squiddoids. They lived both beneath the surface and in the land cities. Two factions existed. The terrestrials in their carapaces versus the water breathers. If he had been on the case, he would have given superior strength to the warriors who fought without devices so they could wipe out their enemies. Then he would wipe the victors out in a vast hunt.
"Idiots! This planet isn't fit for ANYTHING!" Raditz cursed. He always was careful to leave the natural resources of whatever planet he purged in good condition. Clearing the 'vermin' often meant the intelligent beings. The wildlife he ALWAYS left intact. Then came the job of putting whoever was left to clean up the pollution they had dumped into their habitats.
"Great Legendary what happened?" Raditz wondered, punching his scouter's buttons. "Nappa, Cabernet, can you read me?"
"Raditz! Thank Father Oozaru! We have found the Prince's suspension pod. Lock in on our signal and bring the armor with you!" cried Nappa urgently over the voicelink.
"What's happened? This planet is a wasteland! WHY? You know they won't pay us if it's polluted by our takeovers!" Raditz bellowed, pacing around the beach. He kicked the trash and bodies littering the beautiful white sand in disgust.
"Vermin!" Raditz further cursed. "You can't even take care of your own planet. Good thing we're taking it off your hands."
"Raditz! Get here as fast as you can! They have betrayed us! The contract's off!" Nappa gritted ugently, static marring his reply.
"How?" Raditz demanded.
"Petra has killed Brecchus. As soon as I landed, they knew I was coming. They attacked me but I did my best to slaughter them… then Cabernet…" Nappa trailed off.
"I was tricked as well! The planet I tried to clear was already worthless. The inhabitants had destroyed themselves with neutron bombs. It is riddled with radiation. Quick! We need you! There's too many of them!" Cabernet's voice blared now, overtop of Nappa's.
"Worthless after all," Raditz lamented. "What a waste of a good planet."
Once he landed on the main continent, he blasted inland. Vast armies lay strewn with broken land tanks and amphibious boats. He saw the telltale scorch marks that bore witness to an Oozaru form letting full with his powers. Hadn't Nappa learned how to generate artificial moonlight?
"No," mumbled Raditz. It would have to work if they were to rescue their comrades.
In a vast circle marked with a trench two Saiyans blasted the waves of remaining Ocean-jin troops back. The water breathers marched up in ranks, their bubbling aqualungs hooked to the vast goldfish bowls covering each tentacled head. Nappa's armor was pitted and cracked. Corpses, some of them half eaten by the look of them, were piled into makeshift barricades. Two space pods were huddled, with a large regeneration tank partly shielded on two sides by a ruined wall. Further inland, he saw the spires of what had once been the capital city of the land dwellers, smoking and charred.
"Saturday CRUSH!" Raditz bellow, lobbing a purple sphere to blast his way through to them. Cabernet backed away towards the regeneration capsule, containing the body of the priceless treasure. At the center were Nappa and Cabernet, fighting for their lives against a full-armed battalion of Ocean-jin armed with Androni mind amplifiers. Raditz threw himself in the fray, cutting through the waves of troops. He reached the two Saiyans, closing ranks around the space pod.
"What's going on?" Raditz yelled.
"Took you long enough!" Cabernet gasped, holding her left side. Blood stained her hand as Nappa held back the army in a wide ring. He spat a huge blast into them, causing them to scatter like ripples caused by a falling rock in a pool.
Raditz, dropping to a landing gasped, "What's going on?"
"Nappa, hold them off, I'll show him," Cabernet gasped, pulling him inside. Nappa hurled another megaton blast, and then bellowed to the newly sprouted line of Saibamen. There were only ten left, and they were already tearing their way into the encroaching armies.
In the shelter of the ruined walls, Cabernet crouched, rubbing her hand over the main bubbled dome of the regen tank. With his face hooked up to a mask, the young Prince's eyes were closed as if in peaceful sleep. "They had him in this fortress. Nappa broke in, but then they all started attacking."
"What went wrong?" Raditz whispered, setting down the canister of the prince's things.
"Get it open, and revive him. Then get him the HELL away from here while I hold them off. We've been betrayed!" Cabernet shouted.
"Right!" Raditz nodded, punching buttons on the side of the suspension capsule.
"AS I said before, we were betrayed. The world I was sent to purge was already a wasteland. The two surviving bands of people were blowing each other to shreds. There is little left. It's just as bad as Arlia was…"
"Damn it," Raditz cursed. He stabbed buttons on the regen tank's mechanism.
"I'm glad you know what the hell you're doing. Guess your old man taught you some science after all!"
"Shut up. I've started the revivification sequence, but it will be at least another thirty minutes before it disengages and it's safe to take him out," Raditz mumbled.
"When I came here it was in the nick of time. Nappa and I have been holding out here. We managed to keep them back for two months, but they kept attacking. First with their monsters, then with some crack troops. They took out some of our Saibamen, and we have been eating the dead. They taste HORRIBLE," Cabernet made a face, spitting out whatever she was chewing on.
"Drek. It only took two months for me to clear Aztec. They gave up, and I called Turles to get the survivors. The tree's almost ready for harvesting. Then I got your distress call and only just landed a few minutes ago. What should we do?"
"You bring the prince around. I will do what I can to help get Nappa and me out of here. If we don't make it, you have to take charge of the Prince…" Cabernet said. Reaching at her belt, she threw him several psycho chrome discs.
"What are these?" Raditz asked.
"Discs to bring him up to speed. In addition, we have tried to contact that mate of yours, but these bastards on Mantissa set up a scrambler that will not let us get anything through. It took some ingenuity to get to your scouter!"
"Damn it all," Raditz cursed. At last, the revivification clicked into halfway. All around them the screams of the dying resounded.
"Stay here," Cabernet barked. She rushed out again to plant the last vial of Saibamen that Raditz handed her from his emergency kit. Soon another line of green warriors sprouted, marching into the fray to be blown away.
"These are Mantissan devices," Nappa yelled. "Get the Prince to safety, whelp! You gotta go NOW! To the ruins! While you have a chance!"
Fluid drained out from around the Prince's prone body. Reaching in, Raditz grabbed the semiconscious figure and rocketed away from the fray at top speed. He knew that it would take precious time for the Prince to come out of his suspended animation. Cabernet and Nappa were buying it for him.
A half hour later, Raditz blasted his way towards a larged ruined palace looming ahead. Gently Raditz cradled the sopping wet body of his Prince against his chest, while holding the canister of belongings at his hip. Wildly, he glanced about, his scouter ready to beep at the sign of any enemy. Fortunately, no battle powers existed inside. He landed, rushing to the entrance. The large metallic gates were ajar. He kicked the door open, and then shoved the latch down with his elbow. Quickly, he rushed through the various chambers.
At last, he found a suitable place to hole up and get to work. In the cover of a small building, he discovered sleeping chambers. Most of the furniture remained intact. Into the central bedchamber, he carried the Prince, noting the vast canopied bed laid untouched. Piles of discarded clothes and scattered bits of treasure gleamed in the ghostly grey light seeping in from the high set windows.
Raditz dropped the canister. Carefully he strode over to the vast bed, and set the Prince down on it. Wet oozing fluid puddled into the soft sheets. He propped Vegeta's head and shoulders up with one of the cushions that were made of a natural spongy material. When he was satisfied the Prince was comfortable, he turned back to the canisters. Raditz opened up the cases of armor and other effects needed.
Upon a low table he cleared of food dishes he arranged a gleaming white breastplate with gold shoulder flashes. Next to it, he placed an armored skirt, and a set of gloves. Neatly folded was the AE suit that went underneath, one-size fits all. Spotless white boots were set next to a top of the line scouter, straight out of Bardock's workshop.
"Wonder what they got to eat around here," he mumbled. Raditz scouted the area for any foodstuffs. Minutes later, he returned with containers of emergency rations and a set of gold encrusted dishes. Painstakingly, he set them out on the table by the armor, judging what was safe to eat. The Prince would be ravenous when he came around.
As Raditz continued preparing the food, his ears twitched as he heard a low groan. His dark haired head swirled around to behold the small figure stirring on the bed. Slowly, Raditz tiptoed forwards, hoping not to startle the Prince, because his scouter bleeped with the upsurge of battle power. "Ten thousand. Low for him, but promising," Raditz mumbled in respect.
Gradually, the young prince opened his dark eyes, his face twisting into a scowl. Snapping boldly upright the Saiyan no Ouji leapt to his feet, then stumbled on the vast bed. A blue sphere of energy was thrown from his hand, crashing inches from where Raditz dropped to his knees.
"Sire! It is me! You're safe!" Raditz shouted, averting his gaze.
"Where… what's going on!" the Prince rasped, rubbing his eyes. Vegeta plopped down on the side of the bed, holding his stomach. The momentary burst of adrenaline petered out, leaving him weakened again.
Raditz rose from his crouch, rushing over to kneel immediately before his master. He reached for Vegeta's shaking hand, rubbing it over his widow's peak covered forehead. "Sire, you're awake! And not a moment too soon!"
"Who's there? I demand to know what's going on!" the Prince rasped, shakily sitting up. Fluid dripped down from his torn garments. His crest of dark hair fell haphazardly around his face.
"Nappa and Cabernet have rescued you. They're facing some obstacles. I'm trying to protect you till you recover," Raditz said as Vegeta wobbly stood up. Although his inclination was to help the young ruler, he knew the Prince was very proud, so he backed away.
Shakily the Prince staggered forwards, then braced himself on his guard's shoulders. Slowly he pushed himself up to stand while Raditz remained crouched. "Get me up, idiot," he mumbled, indicating Raditz was free to help him stand on his own.
"I know you don't want help so I…" Raditz stammered, afraid of what might happen if he insulted the young ruler. Fortunately, Vegeta was more than willing to let him lead him over to a nearby chair sitting before the table he had set.
"What's been going on? How long have I been out? Damn it!" Vegeta shouted at him. Although he was a diminutive Saiyan, his body crackled with terrible blue ki at that moment. It evaporated the fluid from him before he sat down.
Raditz draped a salvaged blanket around his master. He said quietly, "Easy sire you've been asleep for two years standard. Much has happened. This scouter's been programmed to beam the information into your mind. And I've fresh armor for you there and food."
"Humph, I see. Well, at least someone has some sense around here," the Prince mumbled, rapidly devouring what was set before him. Between bites, he glared expectantly at his soldier, who waited for leave to speak.
"Well, what's going on? That fool Paragus will have much to answer for. Where's Freeza?"
"Slain at Brolli's hand," said Raditz, sitting Indian style before the Prince's table.
"Bastard! He denied me my revenge! Where is the traitor now?" the Prince cursed, leaping to his feet. Dishes scattered as he slammed his fist down.
"On Alvegasei," said Raditz. "The new home world."
"I see. So where are Nappa, and the others?"
"Only a few are loyal to you. Myself, Commander Turles, Sub commander Nappa, his family, and mine," said Raditz. "And all of their crew. But there are none others we know of now."
"You'll be rewarded for your loyalty, make no mistake. But those who did this to me shall pay dearly," the Saiyan no Ouji growled.
"I will be pleased to slay them with my own hands as you command," Raditz nodded.
"Brave and loyal as always, even if you are somewhat literal minded. A pity your father's intelligence didn't grace you completely. But no matter," sighed Vegeta. He snatched the blue bodysuit from the table, and began to pull it on.
Quickly, he donned the chest plate, and then stamped his feet into the gold-toed boots. As he dragged on the gloves, he saw Raditz punching buttons on his scouter. Catching the scouter tossed to him, he slid it over his ear, pressing the button to activate it.
"Nappa and Cabernet are holding off our enemies. You'll see that there are discs to update you on the events that transpired while you slept," said Raditz.
Vegeta grunted, catching the discs and inserting them into the side of his scouter. He sat down on the chair, folding arms across his chest to let the events flicker through his mind. Slow meditation gave way to the barrage of images that made him ill.
"Drek, this is intolerable!" he cursed. "What a cock up this is!"
"I'm sorry sire. We bought your freedom at a terrible price. However, we knew it would be worth it that you could reclaim what remains of the race from Brolli. He's insane!" Raditz wondered.
"Wait a moment, fool! I'm only just downloading the info now!" Vegeta snapped as he sat down on the bed.
"We did all we could, as you can see," mumbled Raditz.
"Well, you are proof that there are some I can trust. What's this about you finding a mate? What took you so damn long?" Vegeta asked.
"I was waiting for the right opportunity, sire. There was an interesting contract we took, that brought Nappa and me to work for the Mantissans. But my Father has had some startling visions," said Raditz.
"The old fool who got powers from Kanassa, eh?" Vegeta asked.
"Yes. He saw some very INTERESTING visions he figured you should see," Raditz informed him.
"Mmm, what does the idiot want to tell me of his ramblings?" Vegeta asked.
"Bardock saw you grown older… on a small blue planet where you lived among the inhabitants. Your powers were incredible to behold, that you grew in strength to surpass the legendary," Raditz said.
"I know I'm destined to be a Super Saiyan fool, my own father said so!" Vegeta reminded him.
"Brolli achieved it, sire," said Raditz as Vegeta watched the images of Brolli's transformations. He shivered when he heard Bardock's halting descriptions of visions that were beyond his wildest dreams.
Vegeta grumbled. "What in HELL is he talking about some blue haired WENCH hanging on me?"
Raditz said, "I don't know sire. My father said that you mated a tailless being, resembling a Saiyan. Nevertheless, they were far weaker creatures. And he saw you and this creature produced a son and a daughter."
"Your father claims in these recordings of his so called visions that he saw creatures are so pitifully weak and you expect me to believe that I will MATE and create an HEIR with it?" said Vegeta.
Raditz shook his head, saying, "The half breeds were so powerful, sire. Remember how we've bred with Idsarjins already. Moreover, the beings that Father saw were very much simian in nature. While our ancestors retained our tails, my father hypothesized that these ningen, on the planet he saw in his vision, were descended from tailless primates. They're just like us, except for their weaker bodies and lack of ki."
"Is this truly a preview of what I could achieve? How is it possible that I…" Vegeta trailed off, seeing the terrible transformation his other self underwent. A small smirk grew into a maniacal grin.
"I knew you'd be inspired. This vision my father had of you achieved super Saiyan at a far greater age. What's to say you can't achieve it now?" asked Raditz quietly.
"Is it only because of this small blue planet?" wondered Vegeta.
"And my father saw visions of Kakkarot. However, Kakkarot was living among the beings in father's visions. Something about that world is conducive to achieving Super Saiyan. In addition, you know that Kakkarot was never found. However, I can send my mate Tomic to find him. And perhaps shed light on what these visions truly mean," said Raditz.
"Humph the nerve of that weakling brother of yours! If your father saw him living as one of the world's inhabitants… how could he forget his Saiyan heritage?" snorted Vegeta.
Raditz answered, "Father says he saw in scattered visions… that Kakkarot moves as one of the beings on the world he should have cleared. Moreover, that Kakkarot achieves GREAT power like the visions he saw of you. And that you and Kakkarot were fighting side by side on the same world."
"Outrageous, as if I'd have a third class fight by me?" Vegeta blinked. "Is he SURE this isn't just mad deranged visions? How predictable are your father's visions?"
"He foresaw the destruction of Vegetasei, remember? Moreover, he foresaw that Freeza would betray us. That the son of Paragus would bring great power. Also my father had visions of where you would be found. If not for my father Bardock's 'deranged visions' you would still be frozen in stasis, with all due respect, your Majesty," said Raditz patiently.
Prince Vegeta quietly regarded his foot soldier, with a neutral look upon his young visage. He nodded slowly, and then stood up. Resting his boot on Raditz's shoulder as the soldier crouched before him he said, "Well done son of Bardock. I am pleased that you have proved your loyalty. Moreover, that you and Nappa have brought me back so that I might remove this pretender Son of Paragus from what is mine. When will your mate find the missing brother of yours? And if your father foresaw him living as one of the inhabitants… what's to say he isn't against his Saiyan heritage?"
Raditz explained, "She won't know till she lands. She and I planned a test to draw Kakkarot out, and study the society and how he might be living there. If he is, then it will be tricky to convince him to join us. If not…"
"Pah, we will see," Vegeta snorted.
"She should have landed by now. However, Nappa and Cabernet need your aid. Our last customers, the ones that showed us where you were, betrayed us. They gave their devices to the inhabitants of Oceanus, and they are capable of the same power levels as we," said Raditz.
"Show me, so that I might slay these losers and show them the price of crossing the Saiyan Prince," Vegeta laughed. Forming a white gloved fist, he generated royal blue ki. Raditz nodded, rushing out and leading the way. Both Saiyans rocketed into the air, blasting off from the ruins. Within seconds, Prince Vegeta and Raditz joined the fray.