As the time-traveling prince had expected, none of the warriors and civilians assembled seemed to entirely believe what he had told them, with the notable exception of Dende, who furrowed his antennae in thought over what Future Vegeta claimed.
"The future?" Piccolo repeated skeptically, taking a step forward to gauge Vegeta's reaction. When the prince didn't move and continued to stare down the Namekian warrior, Piccolo simply scoffed. "How do we know this isn't some elaborate deception?"
"You don't," Future Vegeta replied simply, at which point Dende interjected.
"Believe me, I know how it sounds, but...it would explain everything we've observed since Goku returned from space," Dende argued. "How he even knew where to find Goku, for starters, let alone how he knew what Goku was suffering from and the precise moment it would be too late to save him." In response to the young guardian's reasoning, the others began to pile on.
"You did mention that Capsule Corp was working on a cure for the heart virus," Chi Chi said, gesturing to Blonde Launch. "If he really is from the future, it stands to reason that he probably got the cure from them before he traveled back here."
"It'd also explain how he knew my name," Blonde Launch added. "He never would've had the chance to learn it before now, although the idea of us being pals is a little tough to swallow. No offense," she added on after a second's pause, to which Future Vegeta simply chuckled.
"None taken," he replied, prompting Tien to add his own two cents.
"Honestly, roughly two decades of therapy is about what I imagine it would take to leave Vegeta in a position where he'd actually apologize for his past actions," Tien pointed out matter-of-factly, causing Future Vegeta to rub his shoulder awkwardly.
"You aren't wrong," he remarked, his remorse evident. Gohan, meanwhile, still had a question on his mind that the time traveler had not yet explained.
"But how did he get here, though?" Gohan asked, turning the question over in his head. "I can't imagine there's some kind of ki technique that lets you travel through time, and technology like that seems way too advanced for anybody to produce, alien or otherwise." Future Vegeta nodded along with Gohan's analysis, smirking to himself as if he knew something they didn't.
"Way too advanced for anybody...save for Bulma," he remarked with an all-too familiar air of pride in his voice, albeit unusual in that it seemed to be pride for someone else. The group, however much Chi Chi in particular noticed the way Future Vegeta's posture shifted when he mentioned her friend's name, nonetheless was left in disbelief.
"Look, Bulma's pretty smart, I grant you, but I don't think even she could come up with something that crazy," Blonde Launch argued. "I don't suppose you have whatever gizmo you say she made for you to come here on your person?" At this, Future Vegeta shook his head.
"Unfortunately, I do not; I left the machine on a deserted planet in order to ensure that it was not accidentally destroyed when I went into combat," Future Vegeta replied. At the group's skeptical looks, he sighed. "I suppose I can go and retrieve it if it will help to establish my credibility, but regardless of all the reasons you have not to believe me, you must believe me when I tell you that we do not have time to debate this. Every second I spend explaining all of this to you is another second for Dr. Gero to discover my presence here and engage some kind of countermeasures-"
"One moment," Dende interrupted before teleporting away, leaving the rest of the group confused for a few minutes before he returned just as suddenly as he left, now holding hands with none other than a particularly panicked Bulma.
"Now just what do you think you're-AGH!" Bulma began before flinching backwards as soon as she spotted Future Vegeta, who seemed somewhat put out by yet understanding of her fear. As she rushed to hide behind Piccolo, she rapidly looked around the area and said the first thing that came to her mind. "Could somebody please tell me what's going on?!" she whispered frantically.
"This Vegeta claims to be a version of himself from twenty one years in the future, hailing from an alternate timeline in which Goku died out in space," Piccolo replied simply, still skeptical of the prince's claims. "He appeared suddenly on two separate occasions, once to drop off a comatose Goku and again just a few moments ago to try and convince us of his story's legitimacy." Once he was done, Bulma calmed down slightly, yet still had a particularly pressing question to ask.
"Okay, weird, but more importantly: why did you need to kidnap me for this?!" she asked Dende indignantly, who remained nonplussed in the face of her righteous outrage.
"He claims that the version of you from his timeline built the device that he used to travel back in time. We weren't sure whether or not that was possible, and I figured that you would know your own capabilities as an engineer better than anyone."
Bulma sighed an exasperated sigh as she weighed over the question. "So, you want to know if I think I could theoretically invent a time machine twenty-one years in the future?" she asked for clarification, to which the group nodded while Future Vegeta looked at her with a fond expression that she did not have time to unpack at the moment. "Let's see...with a power source like the kind we used for the Capsule Ship...a reason to do so that's compelling enough for me to dedicate every waking moment of my life towards it...and a maximum of over two decades of R&D...maybe." As the rest of the group was taken aback by her conclusion, Bulma saw fit to clarify the matter further. "To be clear, that is a very big maybe!"
"Which, coming from you, is practically a guarantee," Future Vegeta interjected smoothly, fixing that same fond look upon her that had puzzled her earlier. "As I learned many years ago, there is nothing that Bulma Briefs cannot do when she puts her mind to it, in this or any timeline." Caught off-guard by the prince's flattery, Bulma nervously glanced away from him and towards the rest of the group to figure out what they were going to do next.
"Okay, so, consensus? What are we thinking here?" she asked the group, to which the majority of them nodded while Piccolo continued to stand there with his arms crossed.
"I must admit that I remain skeptical of his claims, but in the face of the evidence we have currently...I am prepared to hear him out, on one condition," Piccolo remarked, to which Future Vegeta saw fit to respond immediately.
"Name it."
"We will wait until Krillin and Roshi are revived and Goku is healed, in order to ensure that you are either telling the truth or can be swiftly dealt with," Piccolo demanded, to which Future Vegeta was about to interject before he continued. "And at that point...you are going to tell us everything that led to you traveling back to our time, and why you came here, before we go along with anything that you tell us to do." Seeing that Piccolo was finished, Future Vegeta spoke up.
"I can appreciate your caution, but I must again remind you that we have no time to-!"
"Piccolo's right," Bulma cut in, silencing Future Vegeta immediately. "Either you wait until we're ready and tell us everything...or we ain't going anywhere." Faced with Bulma's swift rebuttal, all that Future Vegeta could do was simply sigh in resignation and direct the group to head inside.
"Very well," he said. "You best prepare yourselves, for this will take some time to explain..."
Age 763, Several Months Prior
"Attention: now approaching star system YT450. Repeat: approaching star system YT450. Entering the atmosphere of Yardrat in five minutes."
The message, delivered in a monotone male voice by the ship's navigational computer, would have ordinarily provoked a rapid response on the part of the crew of fifty seven which manned the medical transport. After all, medical officers in the Frieza Force had to be prepared to deliver treatment immediately in a crisis situation, lest they risk losing a valuable soldier. In the case of this particular transport, designated simply as "Frieza Force Spaceship M-17," their task in the vicinity of system YT450 was perhaps the most crucial of any ship in the fleet: the recovery of an Attack Ball believed to contain the body of Emperor Frieza himself.
After so much time with no word whatsoever, the universe largely believed him to be dead, killed by something or someone which few could ascertain following an unexpected mission to the remote planet Namek. Rumor and speculation abounded among rank and file Frieza Force members and the common people alike, but few had much in the way of legitimate information to go on. The most common rumor, spread around by several low-ranking soldiers with contacts aboard Frieza's personal flagship, stated that Frieza had received compelling evidence supporting the existence of the fabled Namekian power spheres, known as "Dragon Balls," and went to the planet in order to obtain immortality. This rumor, which would have otherwise been laughed off as ridiculous fiction, gained considerable validity once those soldiers disappeared, a clear sign that they had been discreetly executed on the orders of their superiors.
To make matters worse, a number of facts gradually dispersed across the universe over time, in spite of all efforts on the part of the Frieza Force to smother them. The current whereabouts of Frieza's aides, Dodoria and Zarbon, were unknown, as were the whereabouts of the entire Ginyu Force, which had been ordered to Namek in the midst of their efforts to conquer Yardrat. It was also definitely known through testimony from the survivors that Vegeta killed Abo, Cado, and Cui on Frieza Planet 79, three of the Frieza Force's highest ranking officers, before heading to Namek himself. And, naturally, it would be unimaginably difficult to cover up an entire planet exploding, only to be restored moments later as if nothing had happened. Stars know that King Cold and his administrators had tried and failed.
Nobody knew what to make of these developments as they slowly became known. Some believed that the Dragon Balls were in fact real, protected by an all powerful "Dragon God" that annihilated Frieza and his soldiers for their hubris. Others believed some other entity was behind Frieza's disappearance, ranging from the last survivor of a planet Frieza destroyed to a mythical being who had terrorized the universe in the ancient past known only as "The Beast," who was said to be slumbering somewhere in a remote corner of the universe. Amidst all of this rampant speculation, this medical transport, merely one of hundreds throughout the universe, was being sent to retrieve what could have been Frieza himself, the only known witness to everything that occurred on Namek. They had been told expressly by their superiors that failure to retrieve the pod and save its occupant would be punished by death.
So...they brought it aboard. And were quickly made aware of exactly who they had found.
Now their bodies lay strewn wildly about the ship, most of them scattered in the hallways, but some remaining in their quarters, brutally torn apart before they even knew what was happening. Most of the corpses were still recognizable, having not had too much time to decompose, while others were left with entire sections of their bodies burned clean off, taking any hope of a positive identification with them. Still others had been sucked out of the ship through hull breaches, never to be seen alive again. Dried blood in five different colors still covered almost every surface, some of the red blood belonging to the assailant due to the few occasions in which the crew had actually managed to hurt him. That same red blood formed a trail all over the ship, and could be found sporadically in almost every room before settling into a more well-defined line starting at the bridge. After that, following a brief stop at the communications console, the blood trial led directly to the ship's advanced medbay, terminating at one of the medical machines.
Now, having been healed following the initial attack, the man responsible for murdering everyone else aboard stepped out of the machine, regarding the environment he found himself in with disgust. Resolving to sterilize it later, he paused to sense his newfound power, now that his long process of rejuvenation had finally been completed without any further interruption. He flew towards the bridge at a speed which astonished even him, in order to determine where the ship's autopilot had brought him. As he suspected, the ship, upon detecting the damage inflicted upon it, had sought to land at the nearest planet, so that its crew could attempt to effect repairs. The sight of that planet, a green and yellow blob of a world with a single large moon orbiting it, was all he needed to see to understand where he was heading.
Not wasting any time, he rapidly flew around the ship, searching for a fitting uniform to replace his damaged one. He eventually found one in the captain's personal quarters, the captain being the only person aboard who wore uniforms his size. Although her uniform was a female model, their natural flexibility made them easily adjustable in the event of a uniform shortage, and thus, after a great deal of agonizing, the man ultimately took off his old uniform and replaced it with the new one after making the required modifications. This done, he returned to the bridge just in time to glimpse what he could of the yellow skies of Yardrat through an orange fireball.
"Attention: now entering the atmosphere of Planet Yardrat!" the computer repeated, intended for an audience which was no longer present. Vegeta smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest, ready to see just what was in store for him on a planet said to hold martial arts knowledge that could render a person like him unstoppable.
The needle-like medical transport braved the heat of atmospheric entry relatively easily in spite of its extensive damage, preparing to land on the nearest flat patch of land its navigational computers could find. Down below, not far from the landing zone, a small village populated by small, light blue figures in baggy clothes and with small black pupils for eyes looked up at the sky nervously. The Yardrat had seen spaceships with that insignia descend upon their world, and their intentions had not been peaceful. They already hid their ki signatures from standard means of detection as a matter of course, a constant habit which was all the more vital knowing that the people who used those ships could track them with devices across their eyes. Thus hidden, at least for the moment, they attempted to take shelter where they could, awaiting a clear plan of action.
One Yardrat, dressed in the garb of a village courier, hastily put two fingers to her forehead, feeling around the planet for the hidden ki signature of the one person who might be able to save them. Once she had located it, she vanished in such a way that her body seemed to disassemble itself before the other villagers' eyes, before reappearing fully intact in front of that person, who stood in his private chamber alone, deep in contemplation. The man was of similar size and build to her, save that he possessed two small extensions on either side of his face, almost like facial hairs, which indicated his advanced age.
"Elder Pybara! There's-!"
"I know, my child," Pybara responded, looking in the direction of the descending ship despite standing on the other side of the planet. "I can sense him." His tone worried the courier, who had been hoping that the elder had some sort of plan to deal with this mysterious stranger. Evidently, he was even more aware than her and the others just how powerful this person was...and how dangerous.
"What are we going to do, elder?" she asked, desperate for some feeling of hope. "He's leagues beyond even the leader of the previous invaders, and all of the damage that they were able to do was-!"
Pybara moved to silence the courier, both to prevent her from falling into a panic and due to the unpleasant memories that incident brought to the forefront of his mind. "Indeed," he said simply, contemplating the stranger. "The specter of death surrounds him, but from what I can sense of his nature, he will not kill any of us unless he feels disrespected or impeded, and he does not desire our home, simply the knowledge we possess."
The courier paused, unsure of how to respond. "But?" she prompted, expecting a catch to the statement.
"But, while he does not pose as immediate a threat to us directly as the previous invaders did, his intentions at this time are nonetheless evil. If he is not given the knowledge he seeks, he will kill almost everyone on this planet with little effort or remorse. And, if he is allowed to leave this planet with or without that knowledge, he will cause death and destruction throughout the universe."
The courier absorbed this information relatively quickly, the full gravity of it hitting her like a truck. "But...what can we do? His power...we cannot hope to overcome him through pure strength or through trickery! ...Must we die as a race, in order to protect the universe?" she asked, her eyes widening as she contemplated the complete extinction of her people. Pybara stared out into the distance, sharing her concerns and trying to think of a plan that would resolve the situation and save his people. After much deliberation, only one possibility presented itself.
"There is a way," Pybara said. "It will be difficult to pull off, but if it works, we can postpone the threat he poses to the universe for a great deal of time. Perhaps forever. But...it will not be without sacrifice."
The courier looked at her elder worriedly, fearing the worst. With trepidation in her voice, she asked the question that she simply had to ask. "Elder...may I have your thoughts?"
Pybara nodded, opening his mind for the courier to see as she attempted to access it. Once the connection was established, she understood his plan instantly, and tears immediately sprang to her eyes.
"No..." she said in disbelief, not wanting to accept it. "No, no, no! Please, elder! We almost lost you once, you can't!"
Pybara rested a hand on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her, looking into her tear-stained eyes with a look of solemn acceptance.
"I must. It is the only way."
"S-surely someone else can execute the plan in your stead, if you'd only share your thoughts with them!"
"I cannot ask anyone else to take this risk on my behalf. To do so would be the height of selfishness. Besides..." Pybara paused as he contemplated every decision he had made until now. "I must do everything I can to ensure that my friends do not die a second time."
The courier's expression softened as she looked at the elder, clearly struggling with his own guilt and remorse. "Elder...what happened wasn't your fault. You know the other elders don't blame you for it. There's nothing you could have done."
Pybara smiled at her sadly, the smile of someone who knows some horrible truth that others remain ignorant of for one reason or another.
"And now there is something that I can do," he said simply, a statement to which the courier couldn't possibly respond. After a brief period of silence, the two of them felt a change in the mysterious ki signature. "He's landed," Pybara said simply, looking around the chamber with purpose before turning to the courier. "Synara, listen to me very carefully. You must return to your village and greet the invader along with several other adepts. You will not transmit yourselves directly to him. Be on your guard, but do your best not to anger him or disrespect him in any way. Answer all of his questions as truthfully as you possibly can, and treat him to every hospitality you can offer. I will join you shortly after I relay all necessary instructions to the others."
Synara nodded. "Understood, elder. It will be done." She put her fingers to her forehead and looked at Pybara one last time. "Elder?" she asked, desperately feeling the need to say something.
"Yes, my child?" he responded calmly, causing tears to come to her eyes once more.
"Thank you," she said. "For everything." With that, she left just as she arrived, leaving Pybara alone to reach out to the rest of his people, telling them everything they needed to know as quickly as possible. When this was done, he lingered in his chamber, his mind dwelling on the events of the recent past. Pybara sighed. It was no use wallowing in guilt over what could not be changed. All he could do now was to correct his mistakes, in the only way he could.
Alright, here we go! The prologue is out and all the pieces are in place for the rest of this mini-arc to continue!
Originally, this prologue was going to be much shorter, only including the brief introduction that picks up where we left off with the end of the Frost Demon Saga, but I decided to tack on the original introductory scenes for Part One to the end to give y'all a bit more to tide y'all over until two weeks from now. As always, let me know what you think in the reviews below, and I hope that this mini-arc will ultimately prove to have been at least somewhat worth the wait.
Power levels aren't super relevant here, save for a quick reminder that Vegeta's power level when he arrives on Yardrat is 3 million, so on to the one new review!
Force Smuggler says "Yamcha and Maron? OMG. That's hilarious." Indeed! I figured that, after getting his arm chopped off again, then getting dumped on an alien planet by his on-and-off girlfriend of twelve years, then getting beat up and murdered by Frieza before being brought back and finally taking the opportunity to come back from Other World...the guy deserves another win. ;)
Anyway, with all that said, thank you all for reading, have yourselves a fantastic night, stay safe, wear a mask and get vaccinated if possible, and take care. See y'all in two weeks!