OPENING THEME:
Episode 27:
TO WITNESS GREATNESS AT ITS GREATEST: THE END OF THE GREAT RULER
"Release him," Vegeta ordered in a calm tone.
"Huh!" Poompa asked in a quivering tone. The other saiyans wore similar faces of skepticism.
"You cannot be serious," Berrie growled, "He has killed and hurt far too many of us today!"
"I do believe I was speaking to Poompa," Vegeta said sternly, casting a menacing glance at the woman.
Berrie held down her head and forced herself to apologise, "I am sorry, sire."
"But - Prince...she has a point, though," Poompa said in a quivering voice and after several seconds of staring into the emotionless face of Vegeta, he finally let go of the Great Ruler.
With a fierce chokehold, Berrie threw the Great Ruler into a nearby tree. She darted after him and unleashed aggressive blows that quickly bruised and bloodied the man.
"Why does she get to have all the fun, eh?" a male warrior yelled and several others grunted their agreement.
"Do as you wish but do not kill him," Vegeta calmly said.
The Great Ruler looked on with sheer dread at the incoming group of saiyans. Many successfully connected blows thus forcing him away from Berrie's clutches and she reluctantly watched from the sidelines. After a few minutes passed, the soldiers all stopped at the sound of a commanding roar.
"Stop!" Vegeta bellowed, raising a commanding hand as emphasis.
However, a few continued to pounce on the man until Vegeta drew closer. They immediately withdrew, lowering their heads in shame.
"But, sire..." one spoke up, "He turned on us - he and the King have been allies for years and yet he turned on us!"
Suddenly, with a flash of great white light, the Great Ruler dashed off. His aura was thinning as he wobbled to and fro while he made his escape. It was clear that he was using every last ounce of his energy to get as far away as possible.
Several saiyans revved up their auras and about to pursue but with a commanding hand, Vegeta begged them to stop.
"So, you're just going to let him get away?" Ringo begged after some time passed.
"Hmmm...just where I want you to be," Vegeta mumbled to himself and in blinding speed took to the skies. With one kick, he sent the Great Ruler flying towards the earth right back to the spot he initially was; at the tip of Poompa's feet.
The band of saiyans marvelled at the sight and eagerly waited as the debris settled. Without warning, another saiyan had settled amongst them but only Vegeta was not perturbed by her presence.
"Hiya!" Yu-Natto cheerfully greeted, "No way I could ever convince Hendo to join even if I did catch up to him! I was going back to the castle when I saw you guys marching along."
She hugged the tail in her hands and admired it as though she was taking in the sight of a newborn baby, "To think, I could be reuniting with my one and only but the curiousity has gotten the better of me! So what are you guys up to, huh?"
She looked up and her smile widened into a goofy grin when she recognised Vegeta, "Is that who I think it is? Wow - aren't you suppose to be dead or something?"
"Woman, shut your mouth! That's the Prince you are talking to," a male warior warned.
"Oh! Why didn't somebody say something before then?" she asked innocently.
"You moron, you were right there with us the entire time," Berrie growled.
"Huh, aren't you suppose to be dead too? Lucky the big green guy didn't just finish you off with one blow. You shouldn't have been showing off by trying to fight in your base, you know?" Yu-Natto lectured like a school teacher to a six year old.
Berrie shook with frustation but she rubbed her hand against her now bare throat in an effort to calm herself down. Even without the jewellery, it was obvious that this method was a habit.
The Great Ruler fearfully looked up at Vegeta and with great effort he retreated, using his hands as a guide. Vegeta stepped on the man's cape to which he stopped, trembling furiously.
"I suppose I just let the saiyans have their way with you, for the heck of it!" Vegeta casually remarked, making a reference to the exact words spoken to him after he was stabbed by the metal bar from none other than the very man before him.
"What now, Prince?" asked Ringo.
Vegeta grabbed hold of the Great Ruler by the collar and he turned to face his people but what he said next was clearly not meant for them.
"Sentee!" he yelled.
The saiyans all wore baffled expressions but hiding beneath nearby overgrown foliage, Sentee shook with fear. He quickly pushed aside the patch of grass he was peeping through and gulped. He cupped his head in his hands and wallowed in self-pity.
"Come on out, boy!" Vegeta barked, "I don't have all day!"
'Oh, no! Why me? I should have listened to Piccolo and stayed where I was,' Sentee thought as he parted the leaves and stuck his head out. The band of saiyans eyed him curiously and he withdrew his head in an instant. A whole crowd of saiyans were out there and with Vegeta at the helm, all waiting for him. How was he going to get out of this one?
"Sentee, for goodness sake, come out," Vegeta said annoyed.
"Alright, alright," Sentee responded and finally made his way forward. Tagging along in a mesmerizing trail was a large supply of metal bars encased in purple mist.
"Ah, I see you were able to collect more than sufficient," Vegeta calmly stated.
Sentee caught on immediately to what he was referring to and he started to back away but stopped when Vegeta continued.
"You said you can control where they go, correct? One at a time, perhaps?"
"Yes, but..."
"Follow my lead!"
"But..."
"Why are you behaving so silly at a time like this, boy!" Vegeta growled, "There is no need to fear me - just do what I say!"
'No need to fear you, huh? I'm not so sure,' Sentee thought but he nodded nonetheless.
With a commanding hand, Vegeta directed where and how he wanted each metal bar to be placed about the Great Ruler and in a great display, he used a specialized beam to weld the pieces together. Alas, he stopped Sentee and the Great Ruler was lodged within a makeshift prison.
"Whoa!" Yu-Natto remarked as she held up her tail and twisted it around and forcing it forward as though she wanted it to get a better look, "It's a good thing we came, huh!" The tail wiggled in response.
"So that was your idea all along, huh?" Sentee asked.
"You did well," Vegeta calmly said.
"Um, well, it was really the Namekian that did most of the talking to convince the Igmites," Sentee added in a rushed statement.
"I never realised that Piccolo could be so influential," he smirked.
"So, you knew he was here as well?" Sentee asked but he never got a response.
"Finally, we can all rest and continue to thrive as a people - as saiyans. Under me as your Prince.."
"Why not as our King?" asked Poompa, hopefully.
Vegeta turned his head in the direction of his father, "He's my reason why!"
"Him! That bastard!" yelled Berrie, her fists shook under pressure. It was only now that she caught on to his presence. "I don't care what you do to me but on Nasu's behalf I will kill him myself!"
She darted forward but crashed into the stiff fist that caught her in the face. Vegeta had suddenly appeared in her path and she swore under her breath. He cast an unnerving glare at the girl but Berrie proved that she was not easily intimidated and returned the favour. The two locked eyes for what felt like an eternity before she tried once more to attack the King. Yet again, she was stopped by a speedy Vegeta.
"It is over!" yelled Vegeta.
"It will be over when he's dead!" Berrie growled.
In awesome speed, Vegeta wormed his way around the girl and fired a blast at another female saiyan. She fell at the feet of the King, her attack reduced to nothing.
"Looks like I should have knocked you out for longer," growled Vegeta, disgusted by Zakura's attempt.
"As much as I hate that snake, I agree with her - the King is a worthless scum," Zakura said as she feebly regained her footing but she was taken down with one punch.
"Do not speak ill of my father, girl!" Vegeta said menacingly, "So help me God, with me present and he ever tries any more wrongdoing to any of you, I will be the one to kill him myself." His eyes met his father's for a brief moment.
"I believe the Prince means for things to be different," Poompa spoke up, "He means for us to forgive and move on. Even if I just saw my own cousin Sukasshu and his wife gone because of him - I still forgive him."
"Because your heart is weak!" yelled another saiyan, "Do not buy into this bull! His father came out of nowhere and talked about peace and a new world for the saiyans and when he got what he wanted he made us his slaves. We have a start to a growing empire - I do believe with the kind of power the Prince has, he most certainly will be rid of us soon enough!"
"What makes him any different to us? Where has he been all along? Ringo is our true king! Not this poser," another saiyan bellowed but before he could continue he was met with a tight hold on his throat by Vegeta's pressing fingers.
"I respect my father in every way - I was once lost as well until someone showed me the light. Everyone deserves a second chance - everyone!" Vegeta declared as he released his hand.
He settled into a calm demeanour and looked up at Berrie with keen interest, "Why is it so important to you that Nasu be the one to kill my father!"
Berrie lowered her head but she did not respond.
"Answer me girl!" Vegeta barked but she did not flinch.
Vegeta drew closer and she finally looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears, "I wasn't born yet, of course, but it was the first act under the King's law..."
"To wipe out the halflings he did not see fit to live," Tomaro finished off the sentence for her, still clutching about his stomach in agony as he drew closer.
"What!" Vegeta's eyes widened.
"Quite a few of the saiyans had children before he took over. Ringo lost his two sons - my grandfather lost a daughter - Sukasshu had a newborn," Berrie continued, her voice almost a soft whisper, "She was adamant that she was in love with a Yungnitan and against this forebearing law, she went ahead and married him. Of course, not much can be kept secret from the King - he killed him and every one of their five children in front of us all in a most brutal fashion, to make an example - to reawaken the understanding in those who might have forgotten."
Tears sprung to Vegeta's eyes as he continued to stare at his father in awe.
"You killed their children!" Vegeta gasped, "Like how you threatened to kill my son and Kakarot's boy just simply because they are of human descent! To enslave your own race is one thing, to leave me in the hands of Frieza willingly is another but this - this father - this is unforgivable!"
The King growled, "And why is that, my boy. Please, enlighten me."
With a swift punch, Vegeta's fist sunk into the King's cheek to which the earth beneath him sunk upon impact, "Just because you never gave a damn about me father, it is still very much true - a bond between a father and his son is impossible to break but here today, at last - I have broken my bond with you. Everything that I am, everything that I was - it was all because of you! Because of you I don't even know who I am."
"A warrior of course."
"No, not what I am!" snapped Vegeta, "Who!"
Vegeta charged a growing blast in his hand as his father looked on in devastation. Was this finally his end? And at the hands of his own son?
END THEME:
PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE
Trunks and Goten are standing in a thick forest.
"Son Goku here! Um...this is weird. I thought they were...um...hmmm...maybe the dragonballs were used to...but wait, hold up, that doesn't make any sense. I'm glad that they're OK but...oh, man - now I'm seriously confused!"
Yu-Natto gleefully falls into a laughing fit.
"Yeah...not funny at all! This isn't really a laughing matter at all! I mean, one minute they were wiped to smithereens and the next, they're there? Huh!"
Vegeta lowers his hand and the blast is reduced to nothing.
"Maybe Vegeta is freaked out by this as well. I mean, who wouldn't be. See you NEXT TIME ON DRAGONBALL SUPER: THE PRINCE SURRENDERS: THE NEW ORDER OF THE SAIYAN RACE"
END CREDITS: Author/Creator of the DBZ series and characters: Akira Toriyama
Author/Creator of this Story/Series; Creator of some pretty cool makeshift prisons: Chrissi B (c) 2023