Chapter 6

Years passed uneventfully. Vegeta didn't understand what happened to the rage he used to feel. It vanished sometime during the androids, he thought. Now, he spent his days in a strange place. The world was just a little bit fuzzy around the edges and he was starting to feel like a machine himself. Eat, sleep, train, repeat. He felt more than half empty. The sole thing that kept him going was his dreams of finally being able to leave this place that he still refused to call "home". And he was getting closer- he had seen Gohan a few times and Vegeta could tell that he hadn't kept up with his training... he was a shadow of his former self, while Vegeta had been steadily growing in strength. It wouldn't be long before he could beat Gohan.

But Vegeta didn't want it to be like this. He wanted to leave Earth after besting its greatest fighter at the height of his power. He couldn't help but think that Kakarrot wouldn't have slacked like his son. But Kakarrot was dead. Gohan was all Vegeta had left.

Even so, the moment where Vegeta surpassed Gohan in strength came and went and yet he was still biding his time. The whole situation didn't feel right. Leaving Earth now would give Vegeta a bad taste in his mouth. But what was he waiting for?

Kakarrot. Even though he was inescapably unavailable, Vegeta still wanted to have his fight with him. So he continued to dawdle at Capsule Corp.

And when Vegeta learned of Kakarrot's promise to come back for one day to fight in the Strongest Under the Heavens Tournament, he was glad he waited.

So the question was, why the devil did Vegeta interrupt a match fifteen years in the making so he could go and get killed himself?

Vegeta had been anticipating that single fight for almost half of his adult life. After that, he would finally let himself leave Earth. That was the Moment. And it had to be perfect: no handicaps, no allies, and no legendary djinns of ultimate power to get in the way. So Vegeta had to get rid of Boo first. Grrrrrr...

Vegeta had been so sure he could win. He was strong. He had been diligent with his training even during the years of peace and he was still high on the feeling of success from resisting Bobbidi's attempts to take over his mind. Oh, Vegeta knew the temptations, but he honestly didn't think he had any more untapped power left. Certainly nothing worth giving up his dignity for.

Vegeta knocked Kakarrot unconscious so he couldn't interfere and went to fight Boo. He was certain he could handle it.

But he couldn't handle it. Boo was stronger than he could ever have imagined, and Vegeta knew he was going to have to die fighting. He wouldn't run- against such an opponent, running would be useless anyway. The only option was to completely destroy the djinn so he could never regenerate again. But to do that, he had to use every ounce of chi in his body.

Most people are unaware that whenever a fighter creates a chi blast they're never using all of their chi. You see, chi isn't just power, it's life force. If you put all of your chi into one explosion, as Vegeta did, your body doesn't have any energy left to keep itself living.

That's how Vegeta died: ripping himself apart from the inside, rather than letting anyone else do it. He could fight Kakarrot in the Afterlife when his time on Earth ran out. From what he had heard, there was going to be some sort of being involved with the afterlife. Vegeta thought his name was... Yemma or Enma or something. He was sure he could... persuade... that man into reconsidering his situation.

Even as his own chi exploded inside of him, Vegeta died with a faint smile on his face. Just you wait, Kakarrot... he thought as the world blurred. We'll settle the score yet... in Hell. Maybe this wasn't the end of the road, but the beginning of a new one. So he met his demise with his head held high, already planning on how best to wrangle the deeds to his body and memories...

Vegeta didn't even make it to Enma.

OoO

First: You have a name. You are Vegeta the Saiyan.

Second: You have your body. You shouldn't have your body. The body and soul separate at death. But you don't know that.

That is all you know.

His eyes were closed... or he was in darkness. He was hovering a few inches off the ground... or he was light years away from any ground. The air around him was prickling with heat... or it was ice-cold.

As Vegeta began to take in his surroundings, his past slowly found him again. He first remembered the thirst for power... which led him to Kakarrot and the Moment. The sting of failure returned like an old friend. Vegeta remembered the djinn... the cold feeling that he had to destroy that monster even if it killed him. He remembered the energy building up slowly, rising and rising until it burst in a supernova of devastation. Vegeta remembered the light of the explosion blinding him, and then the pain sinking its teeth in him, tearing through muscle and bone. And he remembered the end. His end.

He could finally open his eyes.

Vegeta was in outer space with no stars. Every few seconds, a burst of spidery violet lightning lit up a section of the void before fading away. It was quiet, but with the muffled atmosphere of being underwater.

Vegeta looked around. Was this hell? It wasn't what he was expecting, all right... then he thought about it. Spending eternity here would get unpleasant very quickly. Already, it looked like he had made the wrong choice.

A figure materialized in front of Vegeta, a figure with long, white hair. Vegeta couldn't make out its sable body against the void... only when the red lightning struck behind it did Vegeta see the outline. This was a warrior. Vegeta knew instantly from the being's broad chest, its muscular arms and legs. Hands hung limply at sides, like weights.

"Welcome, Vegeta," it said, voice as gentle and light as a soft breeze.

"Are you Enma?" Vegeta asked, giving him a once-over. "How queer... I was told that you were some sort of clerical giant."

The being gave a quiet chuckle. "No, I'm not Enma. I haven't seen that fool for a few millennia."

"Then who are you?" Vegeta asked. "Is this Hell?"

A slight shake of his head. "No. In order to go to Hell, you must first go through judgment. But in your case, I believe that would hardly be necessary. You would just be stripped of your memories and reincarnated into a new form."

Vegeta got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "And why is that?"

"Because of all the people you killed. They would probably consider you too dangerous to mingle with the common soul."

So he wouldn't have been able to fight Kakarrot. He had been too hasty... and thickheaded... and rash. And now, because of that... he best appreciate his memories while he still had them. "Am I going to be Judged? Is this some sort of trans-dimensional waiting room? And who are you, anyway? You've only answered one of my questions." Irritating little creature.

The thing made a curious little heh sound. "You aren't going to be Judged because I intercepted your death and brought you here... my name is Rokuma. Call me Ro for short. But who am I? Are you sure you want to know, hmmmm?" The thing that called itself "Ro" leaned closer. Vegeta stayed silent. After a few seconds, Ro continued. "I have a portion of each evil tendency of every person who has ever lived in me. Some would call me the devil, but the devil created the evil in people. I killed the devil. I inhaled his evil and stole his dimension." He gestured to the black plane. "And you are one of seven beings who are aware of my existence. That answer all your questions?"

Vegeta gaped at him, still processing his words. He killed the devil? Yes... Vegeta could feel it now, the screaming rage and cold pleasure of evil, emanating from him. He had never before felt such a high concentration of wickedness in a single being... a welcome break from the cottony morals of Earth.

But wait...

"What do you want with me?" Vegeta asked, trying not to contemplate the possibilities. It would either be really good for him, or worse than anything he had ever known.

Ro gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Because I am tired of slumming it in here. I need to fight someone again. But no one ever seemed worth my time... until you, Vegeta. You are the evillest person that has ever lived."