A strong flux of bubbles washed upward in the healing tank connected to countless steel wires extending both from the ceiling and the floor. As the thick, green liquid drained from the tank, the glass door opened up and revealed a hanging body of a Saiyan warrior with dark spiky hair that was just beginning to recover his consciousness. Having overseen Vegeta's recovery, Bulma and Trunks stood and watched the head of their family opening his hazy eyes and getting control of his body back as the wires connecting to the tank and to various parts of his body pulled out and retreated to where they came from.
Bulma tapped her foot with her arms crossed. As if pleased by the rhythm of her foot, she repeated it with her index finger while giving Vegeta a look that beamed satisfaction in her own self-righteousness. Where young Trunks seemed worried over his father's well-being, Bulma hid those feelings deep down and coated the hole she burrowed them in with an external layer of sass.
Accelerating the recovery process by forcefully pulling the slower to retreat wires out by yanking them out of his flesh and bones, Vegeta slumped on the pad of the modified healing tank that used the best aspects of the Namekian herbs and natural remedies, Frieza Army healing pod technology and the Capsule Corps Star's native healing system. The humbled king remained on one knee and looking down at the wet floor and the leaking remains of the Namekian herbal fluid mix.
"Mom pulled you out just in time! We couldn't believe the enemy was this strong! He devastated the entire star system! You must have wildly powered up after healing those nasty injuries. When are you going back to fight him again, dad?" Trunks pumped his tiny fists, having run up to his father and tried to reignite his warrior's spirit after a tough and seemingly hopeless loss.
"It's useless…" Vegeta croaked and stood up. Bulma's sassy "I told you so" look softened, as she could barely recognize her own arranged husband anymore. There was not a hint of tension in his muscles, not a lick of wrath in his expression or salt in his system. This was the first time that Bulma saw her husband completely and utterly defeated. "I need to be alone for a while."
"Vegeta…" Bulma muttered, trying to let her husband know she was there for him if he needed her. The humbled king didn't even look at her as he dragged his feet by her. It was only when he noticed a good dozen of other bubbling healing pods and the mangled Saiyans bathing in regenerative juices inside that he busted down the wall of self-pity to acknowledge anything at all.
"What is this?" he asked, pointing at the pods.
"Broly destroyed his own ship with that blast. He killed his own crew. There aren't any life signals coming from that system anymore. I couldn't get one from either of the nearby space stations either. It's safe to say that he's snapped and that he's begun rampaging free of his father's leash. These are a few of the Saiyans I pulled out from the system before Broly went wild," Bulma scanned the busy room that she's transformed into the healing chamber. "Maybe they can give us some information about how to stop Broly? Either way, isn't the idea to expand the Saiyan population on Earth and accept those that Paragus recruited into our fold? Maybe they can still fit in here on Earth? You're in no condition to push people away, even if they were the rejects and exiles of your people."
"It doesn't matter… I'm not the king anymore…" Vegeta gnashed his teeth with crystal droplets forming in the outer corners of his eyes. "My entire life has been a goddamn joke! The super-elite royal bloodline… All just a lie based on wanton baby slaughter…"
"Vegeta…" Bulma tried approaching her husband, but Vegeta turned away from her, hiding his emotions and pain while storming out of the room.
"Mom…" Trunks' face began wavering with panic. "What now?" the boy was terrified as he had never seen his father like this. As far as Trunks could remember him, King Vegeta the IV always had an answer or a plan of action. He always had aspirations and a clear destination to move toward. It wasn't always the right answer or a good plan, the destination was seldom a noble one. However, King Vegeta was always firm with his beliefs and determined if nothing else. Trunks had never seen his father crushed. Even after a painful defeat.
"We need to let the others know. As much as I want to lick the wounds to your father's pride, I'm afraid that if we don't let Son-kun and the others know about Broly and his senseless rampage, we might end up in his crosshairs again. We might not have much time to prepare and we absolutely need to stop him or else the solar system won't fare that much better…" Bulma sighed and began pacing out of the room. Young Trunks hesitated. He wasn't sure which of his parents he'd rather follow and help, however someone his age could help.
Father needed help, but he also was adamant about hiding the fact he was hurting from them. The last thing he wanted was for them to see his tears or hesitation. He wanted to maintain the image of the head of the family, who always knew what was best for them or at the very least represented order and direction for them to follow him to. Even if he no longer believed in himself to be able to give them that. Mother still resisted. Even if she lacked that same confidence that Trunks' father usually had in spades and acted merely out of necessity and desperation to resist, she acted nonetheless. Trunks jumped up and hurried after his mother before he lost her.
A bright flash from the sky followed by a hefty electric thud at the enchanted and hallowed grounds atop God Temple signaled Bulma's arrival. Mr. Popo promptly abandoned the task of standing still and absorbing Videl's punches in his hands to help the budding martial artist get accustomed to the atmosphere of the God's Temple and ran up to welcome the guest while Dende and Kami Upa appeared from the shady entrance to the palace atop of the temple.
"Bulma, Trunks? What are you doing here?" Mr. Popo wondered with the usual look of exaggerated surprise that was so definitive of him.
"There's no time for me to explain in too much detail. I need to gather everyone and let them know about Broly," Bulma rushed through words. "The more time we spent standing around and talking, the more he'll destroy and the more wildly powerful he'll grow. I'm planning on beaming him off somewhere we can confront him. I need you to let everyone know. We don't have any time to waste, if he continues like this, he'll destroy the entire quadrant of the universe with us in it."
"I'll contact everyone," Kami Upa nodded. "Dende, retrieve Piccolo from the Room of Spirit and Time and let him know that we will challenge Broly shortly. Contact us when you know the location, Bulma. Yamcha will take everyone there. I'm glad you've decided to confront him as far away from Earth as possible."
"Tsk…" Vegeta clenched his fists and let his crystal-clear aura unfurl while he stood atop of the Capsule Corps Star's hatch and stared off into blank and distant space. Everything was just too much for the Saiyan royalty. The news that he was never the super-elite of his species like he always believed himself to be. That his father and he weren't inherently more powerful or special, but that his father simply culled the horde to cut out those with the potential of surpassing the Vegeta bloodline and threatening to take over ruling the Saiyans.
Then again, who was Vegeta to blame his father? He was never the best option to be the King of Saiyans. It was Kakarot that awakened the Super Saiyan transformation first when Vegeta still struggled to accept his responsibility as a ruler. Not to mention, he was just fooling himself considering himself the king after Chayote revealed she was the Legendary Super Saiyan. She must've been just mocking him by leaving him on the throne. Even if Chayote hated his guts for what he did during the Saiyan Invasion and forcing her transformation on her, she never as much as touched the edge of the Saiyan throne or looked that way. She could've had his people in her hand with the claim of being the Legendary Super Saiyan and this punk Broly was the proof.
The super-elite Vegeta bloodline, his elite-class power, and the ability to become a Super Saiyan that was so fabled, respected, and feared amongst his people. It was nothing but a cruel and tasteless joke! He was just a scarecrow, a stuffed pansy put in a position that his father wanted him in. Vegeta had no right to claim rulership over his people. He was no king! Vegeta's father may have ended up killing off more Saiyans than Frieza did in his twisted quest to maintain power. Who knew if this was always Ginyu pulling the strings behind the baby massacre or if he just continued his father's selfish tradition after finding it to his liking? Either way, Vegeta was just a joke and Broly was all too eager to laugh it up at him.
Did it have to be him, though? Did it have to be a brainless, sadistic lunatic that craved nothing but destruction and thought little about the prosperity of his own people that was to rule over the Saiyans? Even if deep down Vegeta knew that Broly fit the bill of the Legendary Super Saiyan from the folk tales, at the same time he wasn't so sure if a madman of a ruler such as him was what was best for the Saiyan people. Still, he had the bloodline; he had the claim, and he beat Vegeta fair and square while barely breaking a sweat. Even if Vegeta had his doubts, the question of what was best for the Saiyans was no longer his to ponder on and answer.
"Damn you!" Vegeta grumbled out loud, letting his cry sink into the oblivion of cold and careless space before retreating. Seeing the mossy and cerulean marble rotating in front of him, the humbled Saiyan elite took off in a wild charge toward the planet's surface.
"Hmm… You seem to have gotten accustomed nicely. But you still make loads of needless moves," Mr. Popo observed after pressing his meaty index finger to his plump red lips and outfitting himself with a goofy expression. This revelation made Videl stumble back and fall on her rear.
"Didn't Chayote and the others go through this training many years ago? I thought I was strong enough to help them on the battlefield, but am I really this far behind?" Videl ran her hand through her hair to push them out of the way of her face before collapsing on her back and stretching out to look at the cerulean sky above. So high up the God's Temple, the sky was always cloudless and blue.
"It is true that you are much stronger than the others were when they trained here initially, but there is still much you need to learn besides just raw speed and power. Hmm…" Mr. Popo explained before turning his head up. Videl received the nasty pinch in her gut at the same time as her new teacher. A powerful Ki was approaching God's Temple from space.
"Is that… That Broly guy that's everyone's so terrified about?" Videl asked.
"No. That Ki is much weaker than someone like Broly should be. Besides, it feels like it's been suppressed even further…" Mr. Popo muttered. "That Ki feels familiar but… It couldn't be…"
"That Ki does feel familiar, it's Vegeta-san," Dende ran up to the two training martial artists and joined them in staring at the sky and waiting for the humbled Saiyan royalty to show himself. Vegeta landed with both of his feet firmly planted in the ground, extinguishing his crystalline aura in a blink before sneering at the welcoming committee. He refused to explain the reason for his coming and just walked toward the entryway to the palace of God's Temple.
"W-Wait, Vegeta!" Mr. Popo exclaimed with a stressed expression and ran up in front of the Saiyan warrior with open arms and palms pointed at Vegeta as a signal that Mr. Popo will fight in order to prevent Vegeta's entry. "Korin hasn't approved you for Kami-sama's training yet. Leave at once!"
"I didn't come here for training. As if small-time runts like you could offer me useful training!" Vegeta clenched a wrathful fist in a threatening gesture. It was only when he sensed a familiar Ki signature approaching from the shady depths of the palace that the warrior relaxed and turned toward the entryway, while Kami Upa appeared wielding a decorated spear in his right hand. Despite the impressive size and magical enchantments applied to the weapon, Kami Upa seemed to use it as a walking stick, mostly.
"You know you aren't welcome here, King Vegeta. You may have fought the Earth's enemies on multiple occasions, but you did so for selfish reasons and you don't truly care about Earth. All you care about is your Saiyan people," Kami Upa answered Vegeta's sneering look of disdain with a solemn expression of his own that seemed to deflect Vegeta's imposing presence entirely.
"You're wrong, Earth Kami. My people have built bonds and families with the Earthlings that are inseparable from them now. I too have come to tolerate my Earthling family. I'm willing to put my life on the line protecting Earth as both a husband, a father, and a king. Never mind that though, I didn't come here to bicker," Vegeta crossed his arms and looked away. From the looks of it, he truly meant it, though seemed a bit embarrassed because he was in a weaker negotiation position than he was used to being. "I came here to ask you something."
Mr. Popo shifted the focal point of his look from Vegeta to Kami, who had grown silent and softened up a bit to the unwanted guest on his temple. Kami Upa must have sensed some sincerity in Vegeta's answer, or else he wouldn't have even entertained hearing the King of Saiyans out. He was, after all, responsible for a great deal of trouble to Earth at one time and was one of the first major cataclysms that Upa had to protect the Earth against as Kami.
"I cannot guarantee that I will fulfill your request, but out of respect to you holding your end of the bargain we've made during your wedding, I'll hear your request out," Kami Upa replied after a brief pause and a solemn stare-down with the Saiyan royalty.
"I want to see my father in the Other World," Vegeta said without skipping a beat. "I need to talk to him. Without this talk, I don't think I can keep fighting for my family and for Earth. Paragus said a lot of things about my father, and I need to know if they are true or not. I and my people need to know those things. None of my father's men that worked for him at the time are currently alive. There's no use in seeing any of them in Hell if I can just see the man himself and hear it from his lips."
"Very well, I will approve this request," Kami Upa nodded after a moment's deliberation. This seemed to come much to Dende and Mr. Popo's surprise as the two exclaimed vocally in reaction to it. "However, Earth is now busy preparing to confront Broly. I haven't the time to spare to guide you across the Other World. You'll have to meet Fortuneteller Baba at the location of FS 199644 CC. She has a palace there. Be advised, however, unlike me, Fortuneteller Baba is a shrewd witch and she doesn't do charity. She'll ask you for something in return."
"That's even better with me," Vegeta snickered with a content smirk. "I'm not the biggest fan of charity either."
As the King of Saiyans took off southward and off the God's Temple, Videl, Dende, and Mr. Popo all turned to Kami with confused looks on their faces. Kami Upa hasn't been keeping it a secret that he didn't like Vegeta all that much in the past. Because of that, everyone was a bit taken aback because Kami Upa agreed to violate the natural order of the Other World and the laws of the afterlife by letting a mortal roam the otherworldly planes.
"Kami-sama, are you sure that approving King Vegeta's request was a good idea?" Mr. Popo wondered out loud, voicing everyone's concerns.
"He was sincere in his wish to defend the Earth. Despite that, I could sense a great deal of hurt in him. A pain that not even a man I hate deserves. Besides, Vegeta has kept up his end of the deal and done his best to keep the Saiyans in line. Even if most of the time he fights for selfish reasons, he still fights our enemies alongside us. He and his people deserve to know the truth they seek. It will help avoid confusion and deceit on Broly's part," Kami Upa sighed and turned around to walk back to the palace and resume his telepathic communications and astral projection sessions.
"And what if King Vegeta confirms our suspicions and tells Vegeta that he did all those things?" Mr. Popo wondered.
"Whatever King Vegeta tells his son, the truth, even an uncomfortable one, has a tendency to set things straight and bring serenity to one's life. That is something that young King Vegeta needs very much right now," Kami Upa replied before vanishing in the shade of the palace entryway and disappearing into the palace's vast corridors and hallways.
"Well, are you ready to resume your training or shall I kick you off the tower like I did Chayote?" Mr. Popo turned to Videl and put his arms behind his back.
"Wait, what!? You kicked Chayote-san off the tower at some point?" Videl freaked out.