Rest in Peace, Akira Toriyama. You're stories and characters inspired generations, and I wouldn't be the person I am now without Dragon Ball. Thank you for everything.


Paragus frowned as he stared at the basement door underneath the young Saiyan's, Turles's, home. That other boy still hadn't left that damned lab ever since he finished moving all his stuff down there. How long had he locked himself in there? Months now? Nearly a year? He at least still took the food Paragus brought to him, though everything else seemed to fall by the wayside. The last time Paragus brought him food, it looked like he hadn't bathed since locking himself in that lab.

That damn, stupid boy…Orion…

What was there to say about the Saiyan boy? Paragus was grateful to him for saving his son, Broly. That was obvious, but aside from that, Paragus wasn't sure what to make of him. They were kindred spirits in a way, the Saiyans having hurt them both due to how things worked for Saiyans, but it was clear they were hurt in different ways. Paragus was hurt by the actions taken against Broly, stemming from the King's jealousy over Broly's potential and his fear of it. Orion…endured everything done to him by himself.

Paragus could understand the boy's resentment, resentment born from the mistreatment of other Saiyans. He was a weakling—the weakest Saiyan Paragus had seen or even heard of. He supposed having a practically nonexistent power level would do that to a Saiyan, but what it had done to Orion was starting to concern even Paragus.

The boy was obsessed with his revenge and the new technology he was developing, which he claimed would finally grant him the power to crush the Saiyans. That armor equipped to the brim with weapons he's designing and modifying… It was certainly something from the few glimpses Paragus had gotten. The boy's planning to make something similar for Broly first, something he called a 'prototype' for his own design. A 'proof of concept'. Still, the fervor with which the boy pursued his vengeance was…startling.

Those silver eyes quickly became sharper and sharper, having been ground against the whetstone of abuse and weakness. Orion's envious tenacity in reaching that goal of gaining new power, to never be weak again, was growing and growing, and now it was starting to get out of hand. He was throwing everything aside in order to get his hands on that power. It didn't matter what happened or who he hurt. He would be fine with it if he got what he wanted.

Truly, Orion was a Saiyan to his very core.

Paragus was using him, to an extent, just as Orion was using him and Broly. The boy promised to deliver him and Broly away from Vegeta and the other Saiyans once he was finished researching Broly's 'quirks' and making those weapons and armor for both Broly and himself. And yet, Paragus couldn't help but worry for the young, silver-tinted Saiyan. Just what would he do to gain the power he so desperately craved?

It made Paragus wonder what he would do in order to get his revenge on King Vegeta.

Would…he do something he regretted? Perhaps it was why he was going much easier on Broly and in his training. He was still rightfully pissed at the king, and yet Paragus felt a better grasp on his anger and hatred instead of it being his driving force.

What about Orion? Where did he stand in his need for vengeance? Paragus feared that the longer time went on, the more it consumed the young Saiyan. But what right did he have to judge Orion for that? What right did he have in criticizing the boy's actions or telling Orion to stop?

None, as far as Paragus could tell, so he kept quiet as he watched Orion engross himself more and more in his research and work. Paragus watched as the young boy trapped himself in the basement that he had turned into a lab for days on end, hardly eating or sleeping to continue his work.

Work that Orion himself described as 'bashing his head against a wall until it gives way'. Tenacity and determination failed to describe the child properly.

Paragus was not dumb, but he was not a scientist or researcher. From the little he had spoken about with Orion, Paragus knew Orion was the opposite. Orion could easily be called a genius or prodigy with his mind's brilliance. When Paragus humored the boy and asked about his work, the young Saiyan seemed to light up like the child he was and could talk endlessly about things Paragus couldn't even fathom. It was the only time Paragus might see a ghost of a smile on that boy's face.

Yet what Orion was working on seemed to contradict all that. For all his intellectual prowess, Orion appeared to be at a deadlock in his research. He claimed that nothing had ever even scraped the surface of what he was doing. He said it made sense, considering he was researching anomalies present in himself and Broly. They were the exceptions to the rules normal beings lived by, apparently.

For some reason, Orion repeatedly compared himself and Broly to faucets, claiming they were just like broken faucets that could not turn on or off, respectively, when it came to their bodies. Paragus could see the comparison but failed to see how that was the key to solving their problems. Simply saying, 'If the faucet is broken, replace it or use a different faucet' did not give Paragus a clear answer.

For that reason, Orion continuously took notes on Broly's performance in battle while training. It was why he locked himself in his new lab to make this new armor that would 'be a new faucet to use' for him. It was even why Orion was training himself.

Orion was weak, and he didn't try to deny the claim. Despite how much he had endured and despite clear indications that Orion was at least strong enough to survive, which must be the case considering he can do things like walk on the planet despite its higher gravity compared to other planets, Orion's battle power when checked by a scanner would always be zero.

Because of that, Orion repeatedly claims that he is, without a doubt, the weakest being on the planet, and for a while, he used that as an excuse to ignore physically training himself. What was the point if the facts seemed to say that he wouldn't grow stronger?

Yet a few months ago, Orion hit a problem. Paragus found Orion struggling to lift chunks of metal into the house. Paragus recognized them immediately as the same material used to make the Saiyan pods for infiltration units and individual soldiers. Somehow, for some reason, Orion had managed to get his little hands on an entire pod's worth of metal, yet he couldn't even lift the larger chunks an inch off the ground.

This was the worst hurdle Orion appeared to hit, as his mood was infinitely worse than before upon that discovery. He tried to find ways to make the metal lighter while keeping its durability, yet nothing seemed to work out, considering the screams that rang out from the lab throughout the numerous days spent on this issue. At one point, Paragus heard a blast ring out and had to disarm Orion of the enhanced blasters he had gotten from the castle before the silver-haired Saiyan destroyed the house in a fit of anger.

In the aftermath of that rage, Orion eventually came to Paragus to ask him for help in training. He forced the request out venomously, clearly hating that he had to ask Paragus for the favor. Hating how he had to lower himself to physical training like a typical Saiyan. Yet he swallowed his pride and asked anyway. A Saiyan swallowing his pride in order to gain something was unheard of.

Paragus felt as though he could not deny him after such an act.

Thus began Orion's true training. Much to Paragus's surprise, Orion already had plenty to work with. He was not starting off with nothing, as his battle power level would suggest. He had solid foundations when it came to battle, especially when battling bigger, stronger foes. Despite his inability to use ki for energy blasts, flight, or anything else, Orion made up for his many weaknesses with cunning and strategy, something that even mid-class warriors tended to forgo in exchange for raw power.

Paragus could see why the King took to Orion and made him a scientist despite his age and even considered making him a strategist. Cunning described Orion to a 'T'. From the boy's use of tactics to his willingness to use tricks and schemes to gain the upper hand, Orion's lack of typical Saiyan pride had been weaponized into his own pride in a way.

He was weak, yet, in a way, he was strong. Orion was the biggest contradiction Paragus had ever seen in his life.

Eventually, the metal no longer gave Orion any issues regarding their weight, so Orion could continue with his work. Yet his battle power was still, impossibly, zero.

Paragus was starting to lose his mind at this fact. That damned number frustrated him to no end. It would be one thing if the scanners or scouters failed to get a reading at all from Orion. They failed to register beings like Whis and Lord Beerus all the time. They were deities. It made sense their power was something a machine could not fathom.

But Orion was different. The machines picked him up. They locked onto him and tried to get a reading like anyone else, unlike how they failed to view beings like the Lord of Destruction. Yet when scanning Orion, the scanners still came up with zero—zero, not NULL, or no reading at all. They specifically came up with the number zero.

What was Orion? How was he different? He repeatedly claimed he was far closer to what Broly was than anyone else, but it was clear he did not suffer from the same mutation that Paragus's son did. His power was not in an uncontrollable flux at all times. His power was almost nonexistent. So much so that Orion cheered with pure joy when he saw that typical weapons still worked with him. Yet another contradiction that surrounded the silver-eyed Saiyan.

That was another thing. The boy's appearance. It wasn't just Orion's demeanor that differed from the typical Saiyan. His appearance drew the eye as well.

Why did he look different from every other Saiyan? Why did his hair and eyes have silver in them instead of being pure black like normal? His parents were pure Saiyans, Paragus knew that for a fact, having known Bardock in Paragus's previous line of work. So why?

It seemed Paragus was the only one asking the question. His boy was too young to understand and too isolated to know any better. The young Saiyan who owned the house they were staying at, Turles, only cared about his own strength like many Saiyans and wasn't even there most of the time, being shipped out for missions shortly after returning from the previous one. He was at that age, after all. Even Orion himself didn't seem to care, being too drenched in his obsession and work.

Unfortunately, that was a matter Paragus had to drop. There were bigger things to worry about. He had to focus on training Broly to help him control his power. Revenge was still in his mind, but Paragus was less focused on that and more concerned with getting off the damned planet to get away from King Vegeta and the other Saiyans. Paragus also decided to drag Orion out of that lab whenever he could ingrain more fundamentals and battle prowess into the young maverick, much to the self-proclaimed engineer's chagrin.

However, something eventually happened a few years after all of this started.

Paragus was minding his own business, taking the rare opportunity to relax and unwind as his son slept after yesterday's training. Paragus was glad for the opportunity, as he was just now starting to realize that he was older than he used to be. His body didn't move as it used to, and now it ached all over despite his prowess.

But just as he laid back against the chair he was sitting in, he felt his mind wander, and his eyes started to close, and in that moment, the basement door swung open with a frightening crack, startling Paragus so badly that he nearly fell out of his chair.

"HAHAHAHA! Take that, you sons of bitches! I did it!" Orion cried out in the most victorious voice Paragus had heard since the boy had tested that blaster two years ago.

"Did you finally finish whatever it was you were working on?" Paragus hazard a guess as Orion happily stomped over and slammed something onto the kitchen table.

The old soldier raised an eyebrow at what Orion had brought with him. Just as the now six-year-old Saiyan had proclaimed, he had made armor—Saiyan armor, to be specific, but nothing like what Paragus was familiar with.

The easiest way to describe it would be 'advanced', or perhaps 'metallic'. Unlike the flexible armor Saiyans typically wore, the one appeared rigid and inflexible at first glance. It gleamed like steel in the light and had many tubes and wires sticking out of certain spots of the armor. Strangely, at the center of the armor was a circular hole covered by a piece of glass.

"...What is this?" Paragus asked.

"The answer to all my problems if it works." Orion smiled widely. "Get Broly and put it on him. It should be easy. I managed to preserve the original armor's elasticity, so don't worry about breaking it. Just get it on the kid and bring him out for training. I want to see if this works or not."

The boy didn't even wait for Paragus to give a response. He simply turned and walked out of the house with more pep in his step than Paragus had seen from him. The old colonel just sighed as he went to wake his son.

Once he had roused Broly, he managed to slip the strange armor onto the young Saiyan, though Paragus couldn't help but think he had done something wrong. Those tubes were hanging off the back, but he didn't know what to do with them, so he brought Broly outside for Orion to examine.

"What's going on, father?" the two-year-old asked. What's this weird armor?"

"Orion made it. He claims that it will solve your difficulty in controlling your power," Paragus answered.

"...Will it work?" Broly asked simply in a quiet voice. "I don't want to lose control all the time."

"I hope it does," Paragus replied.

As they approached Orion, the young boy turned and nodded at seeing Broly in his armor.

"Good. I'll finish hooking up the armor. Then you two can spare. We'll see how it goes then," Orion said in a detached voice. Hearing him sound like an uninvolved researcher watching an experiment play out was chilling.

"What are those even for?" Paragus asked as he gestured to the tubes Orion was now grabbing.

"There needs to be a direct connection," Orion said simply, though a grimace did form slightly on his face. "Sorry, kid. This will sting a bit."

Broly didn't say anything. All he did was give a slight nod. Orion returned a nod in response before he moved the tubes to small nodes on the back of the armor. He connected the first tube, paused, and then twisted the tube into place. Broly immediately winced and let out a soft whine of pain, but he held his tongue from letting out anything more than that.

Soon, all the tubes were connected, and Orion sighed as he stood up.

"Ok. Done. Try it out. Don't hold back, too. The armor is, well, armor. It's tough and flexible, so fight like you usually would and see how it works." Orion said as he took a few steps back from the father-son pair. "Well? Get to it. I need to see if this works or not."

"Very well." Paragus sighed again, motioning for Broly to follow him as he moved further into the field for battle.

The two separated from each other, putting a fair bit of distance between them as they readied themselves for a spar. Then, without waiting for too long, they began the fight.

Paragus and Broly rushed at each other and began sparring as usual. Shockingly, the armor didn't hinder Broly much at all. It was heavier than what Broly wore before but not enough to slow him to a crawl. In fact, it made the training better while still being effective.

Still, the armor didn't do anything else during the fight…until Broly's power started crawling upward as it was wont to do. Just as Paragus and Orion discovered in previous training sessions, Broly's uncontrollable power rose rapidly, making him fiercer, dangerous, and unruly. But once it reached that limit, once it reached a point where it was ten times greater than Broly's base power, he would become enraged in that berserker state.

But before he could even get close to that point, the glass center of the armor started to glow with green energy, and the tubes hooked up to the back of the armor started to glow as well. Paragus paused as he watched the armor do its work, and to his shock, Broly started to calm down.

Both Paragus and Broly were stunned. They immediately stopped battling and turned to Orion for answers. Paragus couldn't help but feel a chill when he saw Orion with a giant grin on his face.

"It works…" Orion muttered as he stared at Broly, or more accurately, the armor Broly was wearing. "This is it! I finally did! This is the answer to everything!"

"And what exactly did you do?" Paragus asked.

"Remember what I said about Broly's power? It's like a faucet that can't turn off. His energy keeps flowing into his body until he loses control. Ki is a physical power. It is directly tied to a person's body and maybe even the soul. That means that if a person's physical limits are the same limits their ki has, at least that's normally the case, but Broly is an exception. His ki has no limits, but Broly's body does. The moment his body is forced to try to contain more power than it can handle is when he goes berserker." Orion reiterated what they already knew.

"So, going back to my faucet metaphor, if you have a faucet that won't turn off and the sink is overflowing, how do you get rid of the excess water, or in Broly's case, excess power? You could turn off the faucet, but that's not what we want during battle. The best thing to do is eliminate the energy before it starts 'overflowing'. But Broly can't naturally use all that energy before it overtakes him. We've already tested that."

"That's what this armor does. It takes the excess energy from Broly while he fights. That's why it needs a direct connection to Broly's body, so it can quickly take that ki before it overwhelms him. As you can see, it does its job quite well. It's much faster at getting rid of that ki than Broly is by himself." Orion smiled.

"Is that so?" Paragus asked as he took another look at the armor. "That explains why it's now glowing with green energy."

"Yep, that's Broly's ki." Orion nodded.

"So…" Broly then began. "What happens when the armor reaches its limits."

"Hmm?"

"Well…the armor can't hold my power forever, right?" Broly pointed out in his soft, stoic voice. "So what happens when it can't take any more from me? Won't I still go crazy?"

"If you let it fill up to the brim, yeah." Orion nodded. "But this armor isn't just for taking ki from you. It lets you save that ki for attacks later."

"It's a weapon as well?" Paragus questioned.

"It's more like a storage tank to draw from. You see the center of the armor? At any point, you can unleash all the energy stored in the armor with a giant beam attack that'll shoot out of there," Orion said. I'm also making gloves that will connect to the armor so you can shoot out the reserve ki from your hands, but for now, you'll have to deal with just the chest piece."

"I see." Broly nodded as he touched the armor with a thoughtful expression. Orion immediately figured out what he was thinking and sighed.

"This isn't supposed to be a permanent solution. This is more like a temporary limiter for you. It's a way to help you learn how to control your power naturally. You can't do it on your own yet, so the armor will help you not lose control until you can. That's all it is, kid." Orion explained. "Don't think of this as a chain we're putting on you since you're uncontrollable. If we thought that, we would have just killed you."

That seemed to pacify Broly as the young Saiyan nodded, and his body relaxed.

"Good. Now then, you two can continue training or whatever. I'm heading back to the lab." Orion stated as he turned to walk back into the house.

"So soon? Are you still not satisfied with this?" Paragus asked.

"Oh, I'm not going to make those gloves for your son right now. I am satisfied with his armor." Orion clarified. "No, what I need to do now is make my own."

That's all he said before he walked off, leaving Paragus to stew in the words he left behind.

If this was what Orion had in mind for Broly, what would he make for himself?

Once again, Orion locked himself down in the basement and engrossed himself in his work. Now with proof that what he was doing had worked, he pushed himself even farther than he had with Broly's armor.

Paragus watched as the weeks went on, quickly turning into months as more time passed. He didn't interfere with Orion, letting him do as he pleased. Orion had fulfilled the first half of the bargain with the limiter he made for Broly; now, he just had to get them off the planet. That would only happen once Orion made his own weapon, so Paragus wasn't going to interrupt him. The sooner he finished, the sooner they could leave.

"Are you sure he's gonna be okay?" Turles once asked when he returned from one of his missions to see his junior still toiling away within his self-made lab in the basement. "He's been eating and sleeping, right?"

"When he has to, yes," Paragus had answered as he made food for himself. "Still, everything aside from his work seems to have been forsaken by Orion."

"Eh." Turles shrugged. "As long as he takes care of himself, that's fine, I think. Do you think what he's making will make him stronger?"

"Perhaps. It worked for what it was supposed to do with my son."

"Sweet! I can't wait. Maybe once he's finished, he'll spar with me again!" Turles excitedly proclaimed.

Of course, that wouldn't come any time soon.

Time passed slowly like this for years, and nothing seemed to change as Orion continued to work on his weapon. Paragus continued to train Broly, Turles continued to go out on missions, and the Saiyan society refused to change. Most importantly, Orion's need for revenge and power only strengthened.

Then, four years after Orion had saved Broly from banishment to Vampa, something finally did change.

Paragus and Broly were sparring outside as they normally did. Since obtaining his limiter armor, Broly had no longer lost control or gone into a rage, though he was still learning how to use the stored energy in battle. But as they were in the middle of their spar, Turles suddenly appeared and landed in front of his house.

"Turles. You're back. How was your mission on Arlia?" Paragus asked as he motioned Broly to stop.

"Fine, but no time for that. I just got back, but I'm here for an important reason," Turles said with a hint of nervousness, which was very odd coming from the typically outgoing Saiyan warrior. "Orion's in his lab, right?"

"Where else would he be?" Paragus huffed. "Why do you need him?"

"The king has called for him," Turles answered, causing Paragus to freeze up at the mention of the king.

"Oh…" The colonel muttered. "I suppose Orion is still technically one of the king's scientists. It's been so long since he's gone to the castle that I've nearly forgotten."

"Yeah. The king seems to be planning something and wants all hands on deck," Turles said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't know what it is since I'm a low-class warrior, but orders are orders."

Turles entered the house after that, quickly walking down to the basement. Without knocking, Turles opened the door and walked into Orion's lab, only to freeze up at how little space there was to even walk down there now. The whole lab was covered in junk. Metal parts were scattered about on the floor, and wires and tubes were everywhere. One side of the room had all the technological equipment like computers and other things Turles didn't know, but the rest of the room was covered in metal parts, tools, grim, machine fluids, and things Turles wouldn't expect to see in a lab like a smelter.

This was less of a lab and more like a forge in which Orion worked.

And there, in the far corner of the room, was who Turles was looking for. Orion was taller now but still short compared to other eight-year-olds. He was covered in dirt, mud, and what seemed to be mechanical fluids as he continued working, not noticing Turles at all as he welded metal together while whistling a carefree tune,

"Hey! Orion!" Turles called out, but Orion didn't hear him. Turles sighed as he called out again. "Orion!"

The welding stopped, and Orion seemed to pause before he turned around and lifted the welding mask he was wearing.

"Oh, Turles. You're back." Orion said in an uncaring voice as he turned back around, though he began working on something else instead of more welding. "Did you need something? I'm still busy, as you can see."

"Yeah, about that…" Turles muttered. "The king has called a meeting with all his elite soldiers and scientists."

"So?" Orion asked without hesitation.

"That includes you, doesn't it?"

"I hardly consider myself one of his scientists at this point," Orion grumbled as he fiddled with some metal parts.

"But the king does. You'll be punished if you don't come to the castle." Turles told him.

"He won't. He knows I'm making a powerful weapon and asked not to be disturbed by anyone."

"No, he specifically mentioned to bring you for this meeting even if you were still working."

"What's the purpose of the meeting, then?"

"He didn't tell anyone. It's only for his elites, strategists, and researchers."

"Is that so?" Orion stopped working at that point as he cupped his chin. "...He's planning a rebellion again."

"Huh?"

"He must be worried about Frieza. Even I've heard rumors of his dislike of Saiyans and how strong his main forces are getting. Sooner or later, he won't need Saiyans as his enforcers anymore."

"So…you think the King wants to fight Lord Frieza before he can do something to us?" Turles asked.

"Most likely. Not that I care. To hell with Saiyans." Orion hissed before he took a deep breath. "Tell the king I think his plan is worthless and that he should plan an evacuation or escape instead of a rebellion doomed to fail."

"Wh-What?! You can't say that to the king! I can't say that to the king!" Turles shouted.

"Sure you can." Orion ignored the protests and started working again. "The king is smarter than this. He knows just how strong Frieza is. We all saw how Frieza methodically destroyed the king's assassination plan when he first introduced himself to us Saiyans. How effortlessly it took Frieza to dispatch those snipers. That wasn't even a percentage of Frieza's power, so what can the king do?"

"Still…" Turles murmured but quickly stopped and sighed. "Nevermind. I'll do my best, I guess."

Orion turned to look at Turles again, but his silver eyes narrowed this time as he examined Turles. Turles caught sight of that but figured it meant nothing, so he started to leave, only to stop when Orion called out again.

"Fine. I'll head over. I wouldn't do to make you do something for me." Orion grumbled as he got up from his seat and stretched.

"Really?" Turles's face lit up at Orion's words.

"Yeah, I might as well. I haven't really taken a walk in a while," Orion sighed. "Alright, let me clean up and get dressed. I'll head over when I'm done."

"Thanks, Orion! I hope I see you again before I head off on another mission." Turles left quickly after that, leaving Orion alone to his thoughts.

"...Damn it. More distractions." Orion huffed as he ran a hand through his long, greasy, black-silver hair. "Whatever. Let's get this over and done with so I can return to doing something important."

Without much care, Orion took off his clothes, which were simply a basic black jumpsuit normally worn under typical Saiyan armor. If there was anything Orion had misjudged how much he would miss from his old life, it was the feeling of wearing normal clothes. God, how he missed something as simple as that. Being forced to wear Saiyan armor for eight years was slowly driving him crazy.

At least one good thing came with this new life. That was what Orion thought when he used his tail to grab a clean rag and dunked it into a bucket filled with clean water that he kept in the room should he need it. After that, he used his monkey tail to wipe his back from the sweat and grim that had built up from his long working days.

Having a fifth limb was a huge blessing in disguise—so much so that Orion couldn't believe he used to hate having a tail. Of course, when he was young, it was mostly a weakness he had no control over. Now, though, he had perfect control of it as though it were a third arm, and he had trained the weakness out of it. No longer would anyone catch him by surprise just by grabbing his tail.

After cleaning up as best he could (another thing he missed dearly was normal soap), Orion put on a new jumpsuit and the scientist's robes he hadn't worn in years. The last time he wore them was probably when he finished moving all his research materials to Turles's basement. All because that stupid destruction god outed his hiding spot. Stupid purple cat.

Once he put on the robes, he finished putting on his basic armor chest piece and sighed. Soon, he'd have something much better than this piece of flexible junk. But that would have to wait a bit longer, as Orion had a boring meeting to get to.

"It'd probably be better just to shut up and listen to the king's posturing as he explains his rebellion plans. I could tell him how stupid and pointless it is, but that'll only hinder my progress. It'd be funny, and I really want to do it, but better to be smart than brash."

With that in mind, Orion left the basement and made his way out of the house. As he made his way to the castle, Orion had no idea that what was about to happen would be the start of everything.


"We need to fight back! Lord Frieza is already showing his distaste for us Saiyans, and his army is getting stronger by the day. Soon, he won't need Saiyans anymore and will toss us aside like trash! We can not let that happen!" King Vegeta proclaimed to all his elite soldiers and scientists.

As Orion predicted, the King was preparing a rebellion against Frieza and his immense army. How foolish and utterly dull. Orion could already tell how this was going to end. The King and his men might take the Frieza Force by surprise, but they were done for the moment they encountered one of the force's head generals or, god forbid, Frieze himself. Even Orion knew just how out of their league Frieza was. Everyone forced to serve that monster knew what he was capable of.

Orion, for his part, could understand the Saiyan's predicament. He was in the same boat in many ways, as a Saiyan under Frieza's thumb and a victim of the Saiyan way of life. While he, in some small capacity, might sympathize with their terrible situation, Orion couldn't help but find it amusing how, in truth, the universe seemed to be granting the Saiyans a hilarious form of ironic justice.

What could be more ironic than the tyrannical, cruel Saiyans falling to an even more tyrannical, cruel monster?

It morbidly excited Orion, thinking of how the Saiyans, in trying to simply survive and gain freedom, would no doubt destroy themselves. In his mind, it was already set in stone. They'd already shown Frieze they were a potential threat.

Even if they never reached his level, the dictator would not tolerate the chance that the Saiyans could band together and form an even greater power than Frieze himself. It was only a matter of time before Frieza freed himself of the Saiyan burden, just as the King had thought.

This meeting proved that point entirely. The king had hundreds of elite soldiers, and his scientists could perhaps provide them with weapons to match Frieza's men's arsenal. Orion didn't believe it was possible, especially since he himself would never willingly help the Saiyans, but this constant rebellion would only further guarantee the Saiyan's destruction.

It was so hilarious to Orion that it was an achievement that he managed not to laugh out loud during the King's speech.

Each of the King's words was heard, but Orion had already determined his part of the plan he spoke of, which was none, so each word went through one ear and out the other...until the King called out to him specifically.

"Orion. How are those weapons you said you were making."

Orion blinked a few times before it registered in his mind that the King was now talking to him. His head spun toward the king, and it was only now that he noticed that everyone was looking at him with multiple expressions. The scientist looked at him with disgust and envy, and the elite soldiers looked at him with disinterest and outright ridicule that the king had called out to the weakest person in the room, all while the king looked at him not just with expectancy but also impatience.

"...Eh?" Was all that left Orion's month as sweat began to form on his face.

"Were you not paying attention? Fool." The King growled, annoyance flashing in his eyes. "The weapons! You said you were making powerful weapons. You moved to work outside the castle lab to focus more on its development. I only allowed such since you improved our blasters to show me just what you were capable of!"

The blasters. That's right. Orion got his hands on the newest models of the Frieza Force blasters and improved them to convince the King to let Orion make a lab away from the other scientists and distractions. Of course, the true purpose of that wasn't to give Saiyans better weapons to use, but for him to have better weapons to use, but he managed to use that to gain the peace and solitude he needed in order to really work on what would be his salvation and key to revenge.

Of course, that meant Orion lied to the king and told him he was making weapons and weapon improvements like those better blasters he made. A lie that was now back to bite a giant chunk out of his ass.

"Uh…" Orion only let out that confused sound for a fraction of a second before his mind quickly began to dig his way out of this mess before it escalated into something far worse. "The weapons–! Yes! Of course! It's going well, all things considered!" He quickly stammered. Perhaps too quickly, considering how the King raised his brow at Orion's sudden shift in demeanor.

"Is that so?"

"Of course! It's been years since I've started that work, so it only makes sense that I'm close to finishing!" Orion nodded rapidly. "It should take…Yes! It should take no more than a week before I'm completely finished with my work!"

"Hmm." King Vegeta huffed as he rested his head in his hand. "And these new weapons will aid us in our eventual battle against that tyrant Frieza?"

"Yes, most certainly!" Orion lied through his toothy grin without any hesitation.

The king stared at Orion for a bit, and then–

"Then show me."

"Excuse me?"

"Show me." The king repeated, growing slightly more angry when he did. "If you've been working on this as you've said, then you must have something to show me."

Shit

Orion gulped as he stared at King Vegeta with variable levels of disbelief. Was he really doing this now!? Now, of all times!?

"W-Well…I-I–"

"Let me make this perfectly clear for you." The king cut Orion off, and the sternest expression Orion had seen on King Vegeta appeared, aiming right at him. "I let you become one of my researchers and scientists because of the vast potential you showed when you arrived back on this planet. Never before have I seen a Saiyan with the intellectual potential that you possessed. I'd even call you a genius stuck in the body of a frail child. That is why I grant you more privileges and freedom than others in your field."

"However, do not mistake these acts for favoritism for you. If you have spent this time slaking off instead of working, I will have you killed immediately." The king warned, sending chills down Orion's spine.

With all his time bathing in his hatred of all Saiyan kind, thinking of them only as cruel, evil, mindless brutes, Orion had forgotten. He had forgotten that there existed some Saiyans that were not dumb. The king would not fall for his games and lies so easily when he himself is on the verge of paranoia.

'Think, THINK! Come up with something to give him!' Orion thought desperately to himself. He had not survived on this planet for eight years and worked himself to the bone, creating something to finally give him the strength to get out of this hell—only for it to end a week before he finished!

And then, it hits him. A bone he could throw to the king.

"Y-Yes. I understand. In fact, I do have something to show you that I believe will interest you." Orion began as sweat dropped down from his cheeks. "I-It's not a weapon, but it will be useful for your rebellion…Y-Your Highness…"

"If that's the case, what have you made that you believe will be so helpful?" the king asked in a no-nonsense tone.

"I-It's a new scouter I've designed." Orion quickly explained. "Unlike the models Fri–cough!–I mean, Lord Frieza provided us. This new model I made covers both eyes and provides not just the ability to determine the battle power of an opponent. It has multiple functions like night vision, thermal vision, and scope vision to zoom in on something from afar. It also displays numerous helpful details one might need in a battle in a heads-up display."

Many of the other Saiyans looked at Orion like he was crazy as he spoke, either not understanding what he was saying or not believing he could add such features to the already advanced scouters given to them. However, a few nodded along with his explanation, perfectly understanding what he said and what such an improvement to the scouters might provide their forces. This included the king, who nodded slowly but pleasantly at the news.

"Good. As soon as we're done here, you will take me to where you've been working and show me this new scouter model you've designed." The king said in a way that was clear it was an order and not a suggestion.

"O-Of course, Your Highness." Orion nodded as he bowed, biting his lips in frustration as he did.

'If he goes to Turles's home and sees Paragus and Broly training outside…' Orion thought as he did his best to stop himself from glaring at the king. 'Damn it, DAMN IT!'

The moment the king saw Paragus and Broly, the jig was up. He would know that Orion directly disobeyed his orders back then. It was akin to treason. A crime that would most certainly cost Orion his life should the king discover it.

He only had one shot at surviving this new problem, and it was something that would be out of his control.

Orion sat through the rest of the meeting tensely. The moment it ended, he quickly walked out of the room and prayed as he exited the castle.

Thankfully, it seemed as though his prayers were answered.

"Turles!" Orion nearly shouted through gritted teeth as he speedily stomped over to the fellow low-class warrior.

"Orion? How'd the meeting go? What was it even about?" Turles asked when he noticed Orion coming over to him.

"Forget about that. I need you to do something for me, and it's extremely important." Orion let out in a soft growl as he quietly spoke when he got closer. Turles noticed his tense tone immediately, and his relaxed expression shifted to one more serious.

"Yeah? Whatcha need?" Turles asked.

"Fly back to the house as fast as you can and hide the colonel and his son. The king wants to see my lab and what I've been making, and he cannot know about Paragus or Broly. If he sees them, all of us are dead, understand?" Orion asked.

Turles's eyes widened before he quickly nodded and flew off faster than Orion had ever seen him fly. Just in time, too, as King Vegeta and some of his entourage came out and moved over to Orion right then and there. Very little pleasantries were given as the King ordered Orion to take him to his lab.

Orion felt his heart in his throat as he guided King Vegeta and his men the long way to Turles's home. He was cutting it close with this, but it would be smooth sailing once it was over. He'd finish his project and finally be able to fight his way off this cursed planet. He'd dump Paragus and Broly on some random planet. Then Orion could finally fly away in his ship to a peaceful world. Perhaps if he were lucky, he'd return to Earth.

However, Orion had to survive this before stealing a ship and flying off. So he managed to keep calm as he and the King slowly approached their destination. It was completely silent as they walked, no one having anything to say to the other, making the atmosphere around them all even more tense.

The sharp silence only made it easier to hear the explosion that suddenly rang out in the direction of Turles's home in that instance.

"What in the–?!" Orion gasped when the explosion shook the area violently.

"What in blazes was that?!" The King shouted.

Orion didn't answer. Instead, all he could think about was how something had gone horribly wrong. So, without saying another word, Orion ran towards the explosion. The king had shouted at him, but he didn't listen. All he could think about was how the explosion was scarily close to the house, meaning Turles, Paragus, Broly, or even his work was caught in that explosion.

"No no no no no no no!" Orion screamed as he sprinted down the dirt path.'

The moment the small, humble house came into his view, Orion skitted to a stop, only to gasp at what he saw. More specifically, he gasped at who he saw.

"UUAGH!" Turles grunted as a punch knocked all the air out of his lungs, collapsing as he gaped like a fish out of water. Of course, his attempt to regain air in his lungs was futile when a foot stomped into his side, causing him to let out a breathless scream.

"Is this all you have to show, traitor? I'm disappointed, but I shouldn't have expected more from low-class trash like yourself."

Turles's attacker mocked the low-class Saiyan as he grinded his foot into Turles's side. His attacker turned his head and saw Orion standing there in shock, and he flashed the silver-eyed Saiyan a cruel, mocking smile.

"Oh… Hello, brother."

"Raditz…" Orion growled.

He was ready to shout at his idiot younger brother but was cut off when another blast rang out, sending something hurtling down to the ground. They came crashing down, creating a sizable crater, and as the dust settled, Orion could only stare in disbelief as Paragus groaned within that newly formed hole.

"You've gotten stronger, colonel, but you've gotten soft in your old age." Another Saiyan claimed as he landed back onto the ground.

It was a Saiyan Orion hadn't seen before, but he was massive in height and bulk. If Orion were to compare this guy to bodybuilders he had seen in his previous life, he was sure this guy would be able to bench press a hundred more tons than the strongest on Earth just from his bulk alone. Hilariously, though, the guy's face did not match his appearance, having an oval head with the stupidest haircut Orion had ever seen, looking more like a toupee that sat on his balding head.

"D-Damn you…Nappa…!" Paragus grunted out before the brute, Nappa it seemed, picked up the old colonel by the head.

"Oh? Still got some more fighting spirit in you, I see. Fine by me. I was hoping for a good fight here anyway!" Nappa shouted before he slammed his comically sized fist into Paragus's gut, sending the man sputtering backward.

It was around that point Orion's anger started to boil over.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" He yelled, catching Nappa's attention and getting him to stop mercilessly beating Paragus.

"Oho? Looks like the runt has finally arrived." Nappa laughed.

"Indeed. My foolish brother… Even I couldn't have imagined the weakest Saiyan would dare betray the trust the King provided him." Raditz added snarkily.

"I–" Orion began, but things went from bad to worse at that point.

"What is the meaning of this!?" The King had finally reached them and was clearly fuming at Oroin rushing ahead, but upon seeing Paragus on the ground heaving thanks to Nappa, confusion painted his face.

And then the king got his answer.

"It would appear that the scientist you spoke so highly of disobeyed your direct orders," a new voice said.

Orion and the others looked up in the sky, and Orion gasped as the blood drained from his face.

There, floating back down from the sky, was the young prince of Saiyans, holding the tail of a battered and bruised Broly.

"P-Prince Vegeta?" Orion couldn't help but question the sight in front of him. "Wh-What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hmm… So you're the weak, silver-haired, silver-eyed Saiyan I've heard about," the prince huffed. You were right, Raditz. He doesn't look like much. Even you look far stronger compared to him."

"Why you–!" Orion growled.

"To answer your question, your brother was chosen to join me on my missions when I eventually got put on missions. We were finishing up our briefing when Raditz saw that low-class warrior speak to you and fly off in a rush. He wanted to give chase and see what you were up to, and I decided to humor him. Look what we found as a result, Father."

The prince then tossed the hurt Broly over to the King's feet, and the king's eyes widened when he realized who this was.

"Th-This is–!"

"Yes. Nappa told me you had banished that foolish colonel's son to Vampa, yet he's been here this entire time." The prince explained with an evil smirk.

"It would seem that the child and the traitorous colonel have been hiding out in this low-class trash's home, along with another worthless piece of trash," Raditz added while shooting an amused glare at Orion. Why, dear brother, would you have hidden this fact from the King? Aren't you The King's loyal subject? Or perhaps this was all because you were the one who kept these two hidden here?"

"H-Ha…haaaa…" Orion couldn't even form proper words as fear began to creep up inside him. Instead of forming a proper argument, all Orion could do was ask the first thing that came to his mind. "H-How did you beat Broly? He's absurdly strong!"

"Oh, that? Yes, he was strong but exhausted from training, it seemed. And, of course, I am the Saiyan prince! I am the strongest Saiyan to live! My power level is greater than any weakling trash!" The prince proudly proclaimed.

"B-But that's…!" Orion stammered before it hit him.

Broly's armor kept him at a more controllable power level. Of course, you mix that with exhaustion from training, and Broly properly didn't have enough energy himself to use. And with how powerful and relentless the prince probably was, it seemed unlikely that Broly would be given a chance to use the stored energy in the armor. That was still something Broly was getting the hang of, too.

Before Orion could say anything else, though, King Vegeta grabbed him by the collar and lifted Orion to stare at him at eye level, the king's face now red with anger as he stared at Orion.

"This entire time, you disobeyed me and kept that…monster of a child on this planet!? Do you have any idea what could have happened!? He could have destroyed the planet! You remember his unstable power, correct!?"

"Of course I do!" Orion shouted back as he hung from the king's tight grip. "I-I knew how dangerous it was, b-but I also knew that if Broly could learn to control that power, he could become a great asset! A-And I needed him! For my own research! Because of him, I've made so much progress these four years! His power and how it works is incredible, and I understand how ki works so much better now!"

"And to do all of that, you directly disobeyed my orders! I am the king! My word is law! You are to obey my every command!" The king bellowed with fury.

King Vegeta tossed Orion back to the ground and stomped over to Broly. Pure fury shined in the king's eye as he aimed a palm at Broly and charged a ki blast. Orion's eyes shot open and, without even thinking or planning, leaped over and covered Broly with his body.

"NO! WAIT!" Orion screamed desperately.

The king's eyes widened, and his expression shifted to shock. Orion panted heavily and tried to find the right words to say. He didn't know why he had done this. If he was being frank, Broly had already served his purpose. Orion had gotten every piece of info he could from the unstable child, and the boy proved to be a useful guinea pig that proved Orion's armor idea was sound. It didn't do Orion any good keeping Broly alive, and yet…

"I-I…I…need him," Orion said, the words slipping out his mouth before he could really process them. But once he did process what he was saying, he managed to keep going without much issue. "F-For research. G-Good test subject and a useful tool. S-Same with Paragus and Turles. They're good assistance and muscle for me to have."

Orion's words seemed to have surprised everyone. The king stared at him in bewilderment, and even Nappa and Raditz seemed shocked that he was risking his life to protect these people. The only person who didn't seem impressed was the prince, who scoffed at such a sentimental act.

"You really are worthless as a Saiyan… Pathetic." The prince sneered.

Orion didn't pay the brat any mind. He kept his focus firmly on the King, who eventually lowered his hand, though his expression returned to one of anger.

"Fine. None of you will die. For now." The king declared.

"For now?" Orion repeated.

"That's right. If you wanted this boy around so much that you disobeyed me and are still willing to defy me to keep these people alive, then you'll have to prove all of your worth," the king said.

"Prove?"

"Tomorrow, you will fight for all your lives." The king explained, causing Orion to freeze up. "You may use any weapons you have during the fight, but you will fight. If you lose, you all will die. If you manage to win, you will all be spared. There will be no arguing with me on this point. Consider this a test for you and the weapons you managed to develop during this period of time. Show me just what you managed to make with the power of this unstable child."

Orion stared at the king in fearful disbelief. His plans seemed to crumble to dust as everything fell apart. He stared at the ground with a hopeless expression as his mind ground to a halt at this sudden, terrible development. He hardly even noticed when the King, his men, Raditz, that brute Nappa, and the Prince left, leaving Orion and the others who were either unconscious or wishing they were.

Slowly, Orion tightened his hand into a fist as he gritted his teeth in pure frustration. If they thought he was just going to give up and allow himself to die in their damn death match, they were clearly expecting this to be, then they were dumber than Orion thought. Like hell he'd let that happen.

The king said Orion could use the weapons he had and made, so he would. If the king wanted him to show them all exactly what he was capable of, then he'd put on the best damn show they'd ever seen.

But he couldn't do that alone—not when he still had a week's worth of maintenance left on his secret weapon. He might be able to reduce that to get his armor to the bare minimum of battle-ready status for tomorrow, but he'll have to go into maximum overdrive to pull that off and get as many hands as he can.

So, picking up Broly and carrying him over his shoulder, Orion walked over to the limp bodies of Paragus and Turles. Thankfully, Turles was still conscious, though he did seem to be delirious.

"H-Hey, Orion. S-Sorry. I led them…right here…" Turles grunted when he saw Orion approach.

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault that those guys were pricks." Orion replied. "Can you still move?"

"M-Maybe. Don't really want to, though." Turles answered with a weary chuckle. "Don't think…we can afford that kind…of luxury though, right?"

"Yeah. Sorry, but I need all hands on deck. My punishment for disobeying the king and standing up to him is that I have to fight a death match tomorrow, so I need my armor and weapons battle-ready by then. I can't do it on my own. I need all hands on deck if any of us are gonna have a chance at surviving this."

"Yeah…Yeah, I thought so." Turtles gave a weak nod as he slowly opened and closed his hands. "Can still feel my hands. That's a good sign. Damn, though. I'm sore all over. You didn't tell me you had a brother, Orion."

"I don't consider him my brother," Orion said grimly as he grabbed one of Turles's hands and pulled him up to his shaky legs.

"S-So what now?" Turles asked.

"We get Paragus to his feet and wake Broly up," Orion said. "Then, we prepare for battle."


A/N: Yeah...so it's been a while, huh? Over a year, actually. If you don't follow my other stories, I'll quickly sum up why I dropped off the face of the world for so long in regards to this story, as well as why I got rid of the original Bit by Bit on Wattpad, , and Quotev. If you don't care, then ignore this massive info dump. Just know the story will be in the third person from now on, and I'm not bringing the original back if you care about that.

Last year was probably the roughest year of my life. I nearly got kicked out of college, and I really started to hate my computer science major. I worked a lot more to make up for that, meaning much of my time was eaten up by work. Once things calmed down academically, I took a vacation to Disney World and spent last fall and winter mostly focusing on raising my classes to not get kicked out. Things are still shaky for me, but much better than last semester. I have a new major that keeps all my credits and lets me focus on writing-based classes, as I love writing way more than programming now.

As for this story, I had half this chapter written in March of last year, but I got caught up with all the shit I was in at the time. Once things calmed down and I tried to get back to writing this story, I hit some of the worst writer's block I've ever had. So much so that I couldn't write anything until now. I had to scrape everything I had written before and start over to get anything written.

The original idea for this chapter was supposed to be about Orion meeting Cooler, but I realized it wouldn't work. I didn't know what I wanted to do for half the chapter, and I realized what I did know I wanted was just a rehashing of what happened in the Beerus chapter. Not to mention that Cooler isn't going to be as involved in Orion's story until later, so there was no point in introducing him right now.

I was stumped. I wanted to keep writing for this story, and I constantly thought about scenes I wanted to write, but this one roadblock prevented me from doing any of it.

It was only last week when I finally figured out what to do. Truthfully, I really want to get off of Vegeta and leave the Origin Saga behind me so I can do the stuff I actually want to write. So I tried to speed through to the end in a few chapters but was having a few issues doing that. That is until I swapped from first-person to third. I was always going to do that once the Origin Saga was done, but switching over to third person now saved me and is the only reason I could get this out. The Origin Saga will end in the next chapter, and then we'll get to some new stuff the original story didn't have.

Speaking of which, I deleted the original Bit by Bit on the sites where I had posted it, and I am not bringing it back. I hate the original. I put no effort into writing it well and posted it on a whim, and it got the criticism it deserved.

Bit by Bit Kai is a story in which I'm actually trying to write something good and original. If you enjoyed the original Bit by Bit, thank you for your support, but as the author, I think the original is just bad. In fact, I realized how bad it was recently when I tried to remember what the Original Orion was like. I couldn't remember anything distinct about him as I hadn't touched anything from the original story since I dropped it. OG Orion was such a boring character, looking back. I only remembered that I wanted to make a light-hearted character compared to the more somber or tragic characters I tend to write, but I ended up getting a nothing character that I can't even remember.

In comparison, Kai Orion is a flawed, jaded asshole that I can put through trials based on those flaws, as you will see very soon. The story I now want to tell works far better with this Orion than the original, and he's one of the only reasons I still want to write this story, if I'm honest. I really enjoy this new Orion and writing for him. While people might not like Orion's 'power level' situation and what I'm going to do to 'fix' that, I really like my ideas for Orion, even if the way I'm writing them might not make sense within the Dragon Ball universe. It makes sense to me, but I guess I won't know whether it works until the next chapter.

So, to end this massive rant, I still want to write this story. Not just as a rewrite of the original, that will be way better (I hope), but as it's my own story that I want to tell. I want to leave the original behind me as I write Kai. This chapter was honestly kind of rushed, and I'm still worried about whether the pacing works or not, but I just want to get this saga over with so I can move on. I hope you can forgive this chapter if you didn't like it for that reason. On the flip side, I'm really excited to write the next chapter and jump into the next saga, which will be short but enjoyable, I think.

So I hope that if you stuck with me all this time, whether you started with the original or during this year-long hiatus, you look forward to what comes next.