New Judgment

Chapter 11: Nihil Queen

"Whoa! D-Did I just hear that right, Vegeta?! This is your mother?!"

Bulma, carried by Mrs. Brief on a wheelchair, entered the scene with a face of shock. The whole situation at the moment was definitely exalting for several reasons, but this was one of the most intriguing – Vegeta's mother, the Queen of All Saiyans, was standing right in front of us! And – both surprisingly and unsurprisingly – Vegeta was indifferent of it. I only observed rather than joining the conversation, but still had many questions that I wanted to ask… someone. Queen Prodia herself most likely had the answers to all of them, but something told me she wasn't the talkative kind…

"Hmph. I suppose that's our relationship." Even with his own mother he had a gruff vocabulary…

"What do you mean 'I suppose?!' Ma'am, I am terribly sorry for his rude behavior." Since Vegeta wouldn't, Bulma had to apologize.

"Hmm… I don't believe you are a Saiyan, yet you seem to have a close relationship with my son. Are you perhaps… his spouse?" With that cold gaze of hers, it was no surprise that Queen Prodia was an observant person.

"Y-Yes, ma'am, my name is Bulma Brief, pleased to meet you."

"It's very nice to meet you, Lady Prodia!" Mrs. Brief introduced herself in a way that ignored all the tension in the atmosphere, as she always did.

Rather than replying with words, the Queen simply glanced over the Briefs and closed her eyes momentarily. Maybe she was simply processing all the information? I don't know, it must be very jarring to come back from the dead after so many years… "… It appears that you will soon have a child. An heir to the throne, I presume?"

"A-Actually, this will be my second child." As if on cue, Trunks flew in from the crowd.

"W-Whoa! You're my grandma, lady?!"

"If that man beside you calls you his son, then yes, child."

"Wow, you speak weird, grandma. And how come you look younger than my mom—OW!" That little comment earned him a smack on the head by Bulma. Considering how Trunks from the future was so polite and careful with his words, it was still surprising to see his younger self be so… reckless. Though, he did have a point – Queen Prodia did look really young, despite being… what, 60-something? 70-something? If she was Vegeta's mother, she had to be at least on that range. Then again, so was my grandma. Do we Saiyans have elven blood or something?

"So, Vegeta, is there another group of Saiyans besides the ones surrounding us that I should be aware of? With how disinterested you appear to see all of your subordinates magically manifest before you, I would think this wouldn't be news."

"You heard the brat – she revived all the weaklings. I've no interest in them if they're unwilling to show their pride as warriors."

"That's strange. Because it appears that you have softened as well." Saying this, Queen Prodia once again examined Vegeta's family carefully. "I wouldn't think that the proud Prince of All Saiyans would belong to such a… cheerful family."

"Hmph. If you've just come here to make remarks, then our conversation is over. I don't care what you do, just don't bother me." Vegeta turned around and flew off towards the mountains. He looked like he just wanted to get away from all the noise.

"V-Vegeta! I can't believe that man! Honestly…" Bulma was terribly embarrassed by her husband's performance. "My most sincere apologies, Queen Prodia. I know this must be a lot to take in, but please, make yourself at home!"

"Do not worry. My presence shall not stain your peace for long."

"Eh? What's that mean, grandma?" Trunks just couldn't understand his grandmother's odd way of speaking.

"A-Anyways, if there's anything you need, let us know!" With that, Bulma and the other Briefs went back into the Capsule Corp. building. Bulma really couldn't stay out here with all this "excitement" for too long.

"… Court, correct?"

"E-Eh…?" Without even turning to face me, Queen Prodia recognized my presence and remembered my name, most likely from overhearing the conversations when she was brought back. "A-Ah, y-yes, your majesty, it is a pleasure to meet you!"

"You need not fear me. I assure you I do not intend to harm anyone." I think that was her way of telling me to come closer. Once I approached her, I got a chance to really examine the Queen's physique, and… other than the cold expression and somewhat short height, she really didn't resemble Vegeta… at all. Or Tarble, for that matter. But something told me she wasn't an adoptive mother. It was then that I noticed that I could only partially feel her ki… She wasn't hiding it, no, it's more like part of it was just… missing? With every second, Queen Prodia became more and more of a mystery…

"U-Umm… so…" I didn't really know where to start…

"I can tell you have questions, as do I." Thankfully, she knew where to start. "Perhaps we should address the obvious one first: why have you brought a once feared race back from the realm of the dead?"

"Ah… Well, so that they can reunite with their friends and families. The Saiyans and unknowingly the Tuffles were murdered by Frieza in cold blood, so I think they deserve a second chance."

"… 'Families…' Such a meaningless concept." What the Queen said was harsh, but she didn't say it with spite. It was more like a direct statement. She turned her attention to the crowds of Saiyans and Tuffles and just… observed them.

The more I examined Queen Prodia, the more I realized that there was a single word that could accurately describe her entire being: subtlety. Every sentence that escaped her mouth had meaning, but the emotions behind them were almost non-existent. Her presence wasn't imposing like you would expect from royalty, but rather serene – just looking at her made you want to sit down and think. Her bodily movements were limited, with a stoic face, barely blinking, and no unnecessary gesticulation. Even her tail – despite being constantly in motion – was never distracting; it's like it was floating underwater, completely different from my tail with its twitches and occasional "whips." Everything about Queen Prodia had the grace that I would expect from royalty, but not a hint of the dominance that I imagined a Saiyan queen would have.

"I suppose I should be grateful to you, however. From what I've gathered, you've done a great sacrifice to summon us here."

"Oh…" She knew already…? "You're… Y-You're very observant, your majesty…"

"I believe they do not know of your efforts, however."

"Oh, hehe, it's OK, I just wanted to help!"

"Nonsense. You deserve recognition; that is the least the people owe you." Saying this, Queen Prodia began floating just slightly above the ground. "Follow me." She flew towards the top of the Capsule Corp. building. It looked like she wasn't going to take a "no" for an answer, so I obeyed and followed.

"Umm… Your Majesty? What did you want me to do?"

She didn't respond. Instead, she lifted her arm and held her open palm pointing towards the sky. Gathering energy, she formed… a Power Ball?! Like, the same kind that Vegeta and Turles used before! Was she going to turn all the Saiyans into Great Apes?!

"W-Wait, Queen Prodia, please, this is too dangerous! I-I don't think all of them can control themselves under… under…" I was already having a hard time talking, because my focus was now locked onto the Queen's Power Ball. She was still holding it above her hand, however – she hadn't thrown it and expanded it like the others normally would. Soon, all the other Saiyans in the area would be staring at the Power Ball. No one was transforming or even had the symbolic red eyes, but none of us could take our eyes off of that hypnotizing light… The Tuffles weren't affected by the Blutz Waves, but nonetheless still turned their attention towards the source of light.

"Saiyans and Tuffles that now stand on this uncharted land, I require your attention for an important announcement." The Queen dissipated the Power Ball, so now all eyes from the crowd were focused on her. That was all just to get everyone's attention? Man, Queen Prodia wasn't messing around… "This young Saiyan standing beside me is the one responsible for returning all of us to the realm of the living." Now everyone's eyes were focused on me!

"O-Oh, I, uhh… H-Hello…!" I waved at the audience awkwardly, not really knowing what to say in this situation. I saw Indi looking at me with a proud smile, which helped calm down my nerves… somewhat.

"She has brought us all here with the purpose of allowing us a second chance at living. We all owe her our lives, and as such she deserves nothing but the utmost respect." So much praise from the Queen of All Saiyans herself… Though, it seemed like only I was truly aware that she was a queen. Everyone in the audience looked confused at Queen Prodia's presence, like they'd never stood before royalty before… "Savior, please introduce yourself."

"Eerrr… M-My name is Court, and as you just heard from Your Majesty, I've revived you all so that you can reunite with your loved ones!" People then started cheering, shouting my name and thanking me. This wouldn't be the first time I would have a crowd doing this for me, as some inhabitants of other planets had done this already, but it was always a remarkable experience. "Geez, I feel so praised…! You didn't have to go through all that trouble just for me, Queen… Prodia…?" While the crowd roared in excitement, the Queen casually left the scene and no one except me noticed…

I talked with many of the Saiyans and Tuffles in the city. Most thanked me with words, some bowed to me as if I were the queen instead, while others were shy and simply watched from a distance. There were so many different personalities and distinct appearances from everyone that I once again questioned why both species were believed to be so one-dimensional. Not all Saiyans were brute savages and not all Tuffles were naïve cowards – considering how distinct Earthlings were from each other, why should other humanoids be any different?

Once all was said and done, an important question remained: how were we going to get all of these Saiyans and Tuffles to Planet Aether? Summoning Shenron on that planet would have been easier, but understandably Dende didn't feel safe about us taking the Dragon Balls to a completely different quadrant of the galaxy. Even using our transportation Cube, we would only be able to fit about fifty people per journey, not to mention that the Cube wasn't supposed to be used by non-gods so freely. Perhaps something like Frieza's spaceship would work… but bigger. But where the heck would we get something like that?

"Hey, Court."

"Oh, hey, grandma, what's up?"

"That lady you were talking with left you a message. She said that she was going to look around the city for a while and to meet her in an hour at… uhh, a… a 'place where souls come to rest…' or something like that…"

"'A place where souls come to rest…?' That's… odd. Also, grandma, 'that lady?' Don't… Don't you know who that was?"

"I… don't recall seeing her before, no."

"But… that was the Queen."

"Queen…? Umm…" A few of the people standing around us had confused looks as well.

"Queen what?" Someone asked. "I didn't know we had a queen…" Another spoke.

"Did she tell you she was a queen, Court?" Grandma was legitimately confused, and so was I, but for a different reason.

"Yeah, Vegeta even called her his mother and everything! If it's true that no one here knows about the Queen – not even her existence – then there's something very strange going on…"

"Maybe it'd be best if you meet her as soon as possible. Don't worry, me and the others will find a place for the Saiyans and Tuffles to stay while we figure some way to transport them."

"Thanks, grandma. Alright, then, I better get going soon."

"A place where souls go to rest…" A cemetery would be the most logical guess. But why on Earth would the Queen want to meet me there of all places? I was almost tempted to go find the Queen before the hour passed so that I could convince her to have our conversation somewhere else, but maybe she had her reasons. I decided to play along and went to West City's cemetery, a place I strangely never had the need to visit. Despite how often our friends and family members died, none of them would stay dead for long thanks to the Dragon Balls, so their bodies were never buried in an official cemetery. Except… dad, back when Cell killed him… I truly was sorry, but the situation really called for a different order of priorities. As someone who is supposed to treat all people equally, this technically was the right decision.

I took a seat on the walkway of the cemetery's mausoleum to wait for Queen Prodia. I watched as people brought bundles of flowers to the graves of the deceased – individuals of all ages and backgrounds were here. It was truly a shame, but death was the single most powerful force that could bring us together. Since I was immortal now, I realized that I'd have to go through that same pain of losing people close to me… for the rest of eternity… Oh, god, what the hell was I thinking all of a sudden? Get your mind out of the gutter, Court, this isn't the time to get all gloo—"WAH! Q-Queen Prodia, you startled me!"

"… My apologies." Before I knew it, she was just sitting right next to me! When? How? Talk about dead silence…

I composed myself from the scare. "A-Anyways, umm… What is it that you wanted to talk about, your majesty?"

"Please, there is no need for such formalities. 'Your majesty' is unfittingly grandiose."

"But, you're a queen!"

"… I wonder…" This… was going to be a very interesting conversation. "Allow me to ask you something: where do you believe that peaceful souls ascend to?"

"Umm… They go to the Other World, right? Specifically Heaven if they are peaceful like you said…"

"Heaven… It sounds like a pleasant place."

"Yeah… Actually, I went there once. When this bad guy called Majin Buu killed everyone on Earth, I and many others were sent there for a short while, until we were wished back to life with the Dragon Balls."

"Hmm… This sounds like an amusing story. I wonder if anyone I've known has passed onto this Heaven."

"Huh? Umm…" That was so out of the blue that I didn't know what to respond…

"Court… Have you ever felt the hands of a lifeless being?" And that was reaaaaally out of the blue, OK, that made me uncomfortable…

"Q-Queen Prodia…?! Wh-Why… uhh… I-I mean…" I… had. When I held my father's hands after Frieza's fight… It was… painful… A pain I wouldn't wish onto my worst enemies. A pain so deep that… that I didn't want to admit that I had felt it at all.

"… So you have." I guess my stuttering gave it away regardless… Then, Queen Prodia extended her hand close to mine, signaling for me to touch it…?

"Q-Queen, what…?" Once again, the silent treatment. She wanted me to feel her hand… So I did, and…?! It was cold… cold from the inside… The same frigid sensation that cursed my father's corpse. But how?! She wasn't dead, she was sitting right next to me, breathing, talking…!

"Does it feel familiar?"

"W-What's going on…?! Queen Prodia, I-I-I don't understand, how can…?!"

"It is ironic that you were able to revive me, Court… for I don't believe I have ever truly been alive." The Queen stood up from the chair and walked in the direction of the cemetery's thicker forest, an area less populated by bystanders. I know she wanted me to follow her, and even though I was scared from what I had just experienced… I was too far into this mystery to back down.

I followed closely behind the Queen as she walked through the woods. I wanted to ask her what was going on, but the words simply wouldn't leave my mouth… She was as silent as I was for a short while.

"… While I cannot provide you with anything of value, answers may be the best that you will receive from me, Court." So she was willing to answer my questions, but I still didn't even know where to start… She stopped for a moment, then turned around to face me directly. "I am, indeed, the mother of the man you call the Prince."

"What…? Oh, oh, no, I believe you, of course! It's just… you… don't look a lot like him… or his brother." I tried to find some hint on her facial structure that maybe signaled that she was Vegeta's or Tarble's mother, but I couldn't find anything… It's like she didn't even belong to the same family.

"As I mentioned previously, I do not and have never considered myself to be alive." She turned around and continued walking, with me following behind her. "Unlike many other Saiyans, I lack… presence."

As we continued into the forest, less and less people surrounded us, until it was just the Queen and I walking by ourselves. The air was starting to get cold, too…

"Despite this, I was born with an above-average amount of energy. Perhaps not quite to the level of the King or some of his most elite warriors, but enough to gather attention from those interested. These two features of mine were in King Vegeta's best interest – I could bear powerful heirs to the throne, while posing no obstacles in his rule."

"So… You're saying that the King made you his wife because you wouldn't bother him? That's… terrible…!" The Queen was chosen to give birth to Vegeta and Tarble, and nothing more… And here I thought Vegeta was a bad husband; his father was even worse!

"The reason my appearance bears little resemblance to that of my children is because my genes are naturally recessive. Only my high energy was inherited by Vegeta, while Tarble was left with nothing but his father's face. I am not entirely certain of how you know of Tarble's existence, but I doubt he is aware of mine. If you were not alongside me at this moment, you would probably forget about me as well, Court."

With every new detail, the Queen's story became more and more saddening. Someone whose special trait is to be ignored by the world around you… that is just too cruel. But apparently this trait of hers went even deeper.

"The King could have disposed of me after the birth of his two sons, but decided to put my unique abilities to use. I was to remain in the lowest depths of the castle, where 'obsolete' inhabitants were sent to be judged." That probably means that she only ever got to see Vegeta or, hell, anyone in the outside world on very rare occasions, if at all.

"Wait, so, the reason Vegeta is so mean to you is because you never even got a chance to parent him? And none of the other Saiyans and Tuffles recognized you because you were never allowed to leave some dungeon…"

"That is correct." She said this with a very serious tone, but I know there was resentment in her heart. Queen Prodia was cold… but not evil. "The faces I became most acquainted with were those of the victims that were banished into my domain. Weakened warriors, ill villagers, and those who were of no further use to the King; they were the restless souls that discovered my existence."

The forest continued getting colder. It was starting to get under my skin…

"They told me of their sins, their regrets, the pains that would haunt them in the afterlife. And my duty was to give their souls eternal rest. This cemetery… it feels like a home to me."

So that's why she wanted to meet me here…

"The separation of body and spirit… It is an art that curses those who possess it." It felt like we had changed seasons in the span of a few minutes… This place was eerily cold now…! "We who are cursed…"

"… Become phantoms of torment."

My heart skipped a beat. I jumped several feet forward when I heard the Queen's voice echoing behind me. I turned around with dizzy eyes to a sight I did not expect to witness… A… ghost of Queen Prodia was floating beside her…?! The spirit's hair seemed to have a mind of its own, moving as if it were underwater. She was… transparent, but had an ominous glow from within, contrasted by the cloud of darkness that engulfed her feet… assuming she had any feet at all. And her eyes… black like the night, but with bright pupils that could pierce the thickest of fogs. That's when I noticed that the "physical" Queen's eyes had gone completely lifeless, as she just stood there, staring at me with no sign of emotion… Nothing in the world could have prepared me for this.

Breathing heavily as I feared for my life (because immortality may not be fool-proof against this), I tried to ask the most obvious question. "Wh… Wh-What… W-What's going on…?!"

"This is my true self, Court. This body is but a mere carcass that allows me to dwell in what we consider to be the 'common society.'" Her voice was ghastly, but…

"A… A-Are you…?!"

"I apologize if the truth frightens you, but this was the most efficient way to explain my macabre characteristics. I do not intend to harm you."

Queen Prodia's ghost phased into her physical body, returning to its "shell." Her eyes went back to normal, and the somber cold that impregnated the environment vanished. I just didn't know what to make of anything that just happened… I stood up from the floor with an expression of worry and confusion.

"I hope that this experience has helped clear most of your inquiries, Court."

"Q-Queen Prodia, how… how did you become like this…?!"

"If you have further questions, I ask that you save them for a future occasion. I would like to have some time alone to assimilate with this world." Once again the Queen turned and walked in a different direction, but this time I didn't follow her. Just like her, I needed some time of my own to process everything I had witnessed…

As difficult as it was, I tried to put my "chat" with Queen Prodia in the back of my mind and go back to Capsule Corp. On my way there, I noticed that many of the Saiyans and Tuffles were walking (and flying) around the city, trying to get familiar with this strange new world they had been suddenly thrown into. I didn't consider the possibility that maybe some of them would have liked to stay here… actually, I had done virtually no planning at all after reviving the Saiyans and Tuffles. As a goddess, I was used to helping people, but not leading them…

I was going to search for Indi as soon as I came back, but a certain someone caught my attention first…

"What the…! Whis!"

"Oh, hello, milady! Looks like you've been quite busy."

"You can say that again! Where the hell have you been?! You just dropped me and Indi off here, like, over a week ago and then left!"

"My most sincere apologies, Master, but I had important matters to attend to."

"Like what?"

"Something similar to what you've been doing, Lady Court: spending precious time with family and whatnot."

"You don't strike me as the kind of guy who's devoted to their families… Are you hiding something from me?"

"Oh, milady, you hurt me with your distrust! Everything I do behind the scenes is in your best interest…!" He did some fake sobs after that. Man, Whis really knew how to get on my nerves…

"… Psh, whatever, look, just don't disappear like that again. I need help getting the Saiyans and Tuffles back to Planet Aether. Do you know of something or someone that could help with that?"

"Hmm… I'm afraid I can't think of anything at the moment, milady."

"Great… Ugh, I guess I'll just have to ask around and see if anyone has any ideas."

"Good luck, Lady Court!" That was Whis' way of saying that he was going to be of little help…

The only thing I could think to do was build a ship for them. Bulma couldn't help for obvious reasons, so I would need help from someone else… But who?

Author's Note: I have to strongly point out that this fan fiction is being written at a time when we do not know of Vegeta's mother in the official canon. If in the future they actually reveal Vegeta's mother and introduce her as a character like they did with Gine, the present me would have absolutely no idea about it. And considering that an official Dragon Ball movie has been confirmed for 2018 that will revolve around the "origin of the Saiyans' powers," who knows what characters will get introduced in there.

In other news, I have once again updated the image gallery for New Judgment, which you can check out at the bottom of my bio on my profile page. Since I constantly have characters hugging each other in this story, I put up a picture of Court and Indi doing just that. Though, I realize that it might have been better to get a picture of "ghost" Prodia, so you get a good idea of what she really looks like. I'll try to get that for next time, but until then, umm… Imagine Queen Prodia and Reika from Fatal Frame III did a fusion dance, that's more or less what she looks like.

Speaking of art, I normally reply to non-Guest reviews via private messages, but I do want to touch up on this one publically, since it concerns everyone.

The Fanfiction Criticist – That's a really fun review method you guys have with the back and forth dialogue, I like it. But it's funny how Jay keeps bringing up how sexy the girls are, because I can easily get a hold of some more… provocative artwork for them. You see, the truth is, I'm the writer of the story, while my, let's call him, "partner" is the artist. He enjoys drawing lewds more than anything, and the OC's of this story are right up his alley. Of course, I can't actually link you to any NSFW content from an SFW story in an SFW website. This is more of a heads up; if you come across New Judgment lewds in the near future, now you know why. The story has to end eventually, but art… that can go on forever.

That said, any lewd pictures that appear in the future will bear no resemblance to the plot. It'll just be something fun that the artist will do, not explicit representations of any scenes that will occur in the story.

As for the people conflicted over Court's decision to revive the Saiyans and Tuffles over Goku, that's good! It's not an easy choice, and if people aren't unanimously agreeing with Court, it means the choice had an effect on the audience. Naturally, I don't expect people to be happy when a character that has been part of their childhoods for decades gets put aside for a bunch of OC's. So now it's my job to flesh these new characters out so that the plot advances in accordance to them, even if people would rather have Goku instead.