The Saiyan Royal Castle was of a majestic, exquisite, fine taste that showed off the wealth while also simultaneously giving a clear glimpse of the power that the elites held. Always, it had been a sight of interest for largely the finest ever produced, serving as a shelter and living quarters. Not only did it house Vegeta IV, the son of King Vegeta III and Queen Vegeta and the Prince of Saiyans, next in line to succeed his father, but also a large number of elites.
As early as the Royal Castle was built by Vegeta I, a law was set in place largely limiting the lower class Saiyans who could visit the Castle, as the Royal Blood was far too busy with matters that they saw the matters pertaining to lower classes being of little importance.
What King Vegeta was witnessing now, however, was of seemingly great importance.
"Hello, King Vegeta. Let's talk."
Murmured gasps and hushed conversations traded around, as even Kohlrabi gave a critical look at his address of the king.
King Vegeta glowered, but did not raise his power yet. Yet. "And who am I speaking to that dares take away my time?"
"Well, the one who has a great deal of information that feels you and the rest of the Saiyan Army needs to know."
Hushed voices spoke again, before King Vegeta snarled at the Saiyan Army. "Silence!" Raising his ki ever so slightly to cause a storm of gust, it quelled the Army into silence.
The figure noticed it. Despite how much the many faults and his own blind self centered control over others, King Vegeta perhaps in the typical Saiyan standard of the time, not Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, or even the Universe 6 Saiyans, because they did not quantify as "typical" after Goku's clash with Frieza and at the current time, were nothing more than babies, earned his reputation as the strongest Saiyan. Even despite that other timeline Bardock achieving the legendary status of Super Saiyan, it was not until after his near death state did he receive that power up that all Saiyans, hybrids, and those with an ounce of Saiyan blood within them, that came after recovering, and being the only Saiyan left after the death of his timeline's Gine and others.
Speaking of which, was he even technically alive despite traveling to the past? Towa brought him to the past but he couldn't be considered alive then, could he?
He shook his head. Time travel, and by extension, timelines were such a hassle. No wonder the Supreme Kai of Time required that version of Trunks to form the Time Patrol to make sure the flow of time went as smoothly as possible for every single timeline. It was that version of Trunks, along with many other versions, who used their time machine to create radically different timelines with changes from each other. He had already seen far too many different versions of Goku and Vegeta, especially the main two that split off from Kid Buu's defeat: the ones who took the path of god, and the ones that took the path of their Saiyan roots, nevermind those other two who also worked for the Time Patrol, and various other versions of the Z fighters.
Regardless, of course that had been Zenkais.
Speaking relatively, too much Zenkais and an absurd amounts of higher level of transformations the Saiyans could achieve with just Super Saiyan after the battle of Namek muddled the waters of an average Saiyan, without speaking of the destruction of their homeworld dwindled the Saiyans down to only a handful of purebloods left.
Zamasu within Goku's body, or Goku Black as he referred to himself, was right. There were two reasons why the Saiyan warrior race was to be feared: Transformations and Zenkais.
Nevertheless, he digressed.
The only problem with King Vegeta it seemed, was his overwhelming arrogance that made him believe he was the strongest Saiyan, and the strongest in the cosmos. While that power did hold true if the entire Frieza Force did not come into play and speaking on the galaxy wide terms, it still made him blind to his own faults and allowed him to coast on that power in actual combat, instead of resolving to train to breach their limits as with his and Bardock's flesh and blood. Power did blind others.
"And what may that information be? Why should I care about such things?"
Under his cowl, he let the corner of his lips turn up, knowing that the King would be very much interested in what he had to say next. "Because, King Vegeta. It pertains to the survival of you and the entire Saiyan race in the three years after. It pertains to the survival of Planet Vegeta."
The entire room became pandemonium. Shouts and cries became directed at the individual who seemingly brought these news of their destruction. King Vegeta's eyes bulged in fury and a vein formed on his forehead, his own anger surfacing.
"Blasphemy!"
"I knew it! He's going to invade Planet Vegeta!"
"He wants to kill the King!"
"Order! Order! We will have order!" Most of the guards attempted to quell the cries and shouts directed at the individual who started it all himself, but their voices were lost to the combined concerns of the Saiyan Army.
"I said silence! I SAID SILENCE, YOU WORMS!" King Vegeta intoned his voice across the Royal Castle, and all fell silent, yet their combined gazes were of concern, fury, and bewilderment.
From every Saiyan, each was trading chatter among chatter.
"S-survival of the Saiyan race?!" Shugesh repeated, as if he couldn't believe such words. Many surrounding him didn't either. "What the hell is he talking about?!"
"Mom. Dad. What's going on? What's he talking about?!" Raditz looked into his parent's gaze, baffled at what was going on, and asked his parents for information.
Bardock had many answers for questions. But for the first time in his life, he had no answer he could reliably give his friends, to give them knowledge, because he was just as lost as every other Saiyan present.
Gine was lost in her own worries as Raditz hugged her leg. "Bardock?"
"What?"
Gine met his eyes, and he saw the concern in them again. "Earlier when we were heading to King Vegeta and the Royal Castle, he was staring at us."
Bardock noted that. When he saw the stranger staring at his wife, Bardock could barely resist the urge to smash his face in, because he knew how most Saiyans saw Gine, even despite having little to no combat skills. For a moment, Bardock believed he was staring at her because of that, and he thanked Tora, Shugesh, and the rest of his crew was there, as he would have done something he would or would have not regretted later on.
"Is there something you want to say to my wife, buddy? Or are you going to keep staring?" He had stepped in front of Gine and Kakarot in that walk to the Royal Castle.
"Ah. It's nothing."
Raditz agreed with his mother. "Yeah. It was kind of creepy."
Fasha chimed in. "It was as if…" She turned her gaze to Bardock. "It was as if he knew you somehow, Bardock. He knew you personally."
Bardock gave an incredulous scoff and look of disbelief. "Me?!" He looked at Tora, Borgos, and Shugesh but they traded looks of acknowledgement and nods of agreement at their sole female teammate's words, and even a few other lower class Saiyans who heard the conversation chimed in.
"Bardock. It did feel like he knew you, Gine, Raditz, and Kakarot. It felt like he knew you. Or he was interested in you."
"How?" Bardock gazed at the back of the unknown stranger's head. "I never even met the guy in my life once. I don't know who the hell he is or where the hell he came from."
Shugesh stared, deep in thought before he answered. "Could it be because of Turles-ow!" Fasha kicked him in the side.
"Idiot! Shut up!" The group turned to see a few other Saiyans giving them looks, as if they heard what Shugesh had said.
"Is there something you want to say, you low class trash?" A higher class Saiyan approached.
Shugesh snarled in anger. "Yeah, it's-" He felt a stomp on his foot that sent a bolt of pain up his leg. "Nothing."
The Saiyan sneered, satisfied. "That's what I thought."
The group gave him a look as the elite turned away, and Shugesh rolled his eyes, whispering to his team. "I get it. Turles is forbidden to talk about. Okay, so it's not him. Then what? Any brilliant ideas?"
"I don't know, but be quiet! They're talking again." Tora quieted him, as they, like the rest, turned back to see the King and the robed individual converse.
"And what may that be? What calamity would threaten my world and my people in the span of three years?" King Vegeta narrowed his gaze and slowly increased his level of power to intimidate the stranger before him into crumpling into fear. Against any other, it would have worked, but not to the stranger.
Oh. It was tempting to simply just say Frieza, but that wouldn't do. The Saiyans at this moment in time were completely indebted to the space tyrant. Of course they wouldn't believe him, so they would have to see it for themselves. Only a few Saiyans, and even King Vegeta himself at the last moment he realized the true treachery of the Emperor, attacked him in an ill suited rush, suspecting his betrayal, but it still amounted to little as Frieza had effortlessly destroyed their entire race save for the survival of their children.
"Well, let's just say it's a threat." He raised his arms, giving off an innocuous gesture. "And it's not me. After all, you have me surrounded. And why would I walk into the home of an enemy and give their beloved king such a warning that their world would be destroyed in about three years?"
"Perhaps it's a trap to lure us into a false sense of security?"
He acquiesced, "Perhaps… Or it's because I want to see what you will do with the information provided."
"And what do you plan to get out of simply giving us this information?" When King Vegeta did not receive an answer, he repeated himself. "Well?"
"Well… Nothing, if I'm being honest with you and your kin. There's nothing I am gaining out of this." Well, besides their reactions, but that was so minor it may as well have been nothing. "In fact, King Vegeta. I think you and the rest of the Saiyan race are gaining much out of this deal."
King Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "You lie."
The figure gave a shrug in response. "Then I'm afraid we're at an impasse. There's nothing else I can do to prove my honesty." He thought for a moment. "Unless…"
"Unless what?"
"I can prove my abilities."
"How so?" King Vegeta and the other Saiyans were now tense and wary.
He looked around the hall. "Is there a room that's acceptable that would allow me to show my abilities off? If perhaps you will not believe me, maybe my abilities will be enough of an indication that I am not deceiving you or your Empire."
KIng Vegeta had only taken a few seconds to ponder. His face was stern and harsh, contemplating, before he nodded. "Very well. Show me then."
Cries came out from many of the higher class. "My King, you can't just possibly believe him-"
King Vegeta skewered those with a glare. "Silence you worms!" The shout echoed through the halls, his voice reverberating through. He turned his gaze once more back to the stranger before him.
King Vegeta did not make his way as with his own father through the cosmos with roadblocks. Any that came his way blocking from the most powerful race in the universe, the Saiyan King had erased all that came crossing his path or dared to question him.
This stranger had come with the news of his race, a fact that was impossible to ignore. He would not take any threat of his race or his planet kindly. Whether this stranger intended so as a threat or desired something out of the offer, King Vegeta would never consider this fool who dared to enter his planet. He would provide him information of his race, or he would face death.
It was a risk. A risk to himself and his planet and his kind. But if there was a hint of deception or a concealed threat, trickery behind his actions, then he would erase him, and that was it. He was merely entertaining this fool of his supposed information.
The Saiyans moved, but renowned for their energy and activity, did not speak, did not talk in low murmurs. For once, all remained silent as their gazes were predominantly focused on the figure that donned the dark robe. King Vegeta walked in close behind him, his ki flared high enough, in warning and in anticipation of a trap, along with many of the Royal Elites.
Including Kohlrabi, who spoke in a voice quiet enough to the King himself, walking
"My lord… if this does prove to be a trap… I ask that you let me and my team engage him first in combat." The female Elite was all aware that the stranger was holding back from what she had seen in the fight between the lower classes and the stranger. Lower classes were of lower classes, but in years serving her Queen and King, it was apparent when a foe was holding back.
King Vegeta simply nodded. If there was one thing he was reassured for, it was his son, Vegeta, out on another neighboring planet training. Scouters proved to be essential for their kind to measure a level of power, but were they truly accurate?
It was because of that… brat… Paragus's son…
He could vividly recall it all.
Even then, he had begun to doubt himself…
Then, he recalled now and it was gone. There should be no such doubts. He casted them aside.
He was King Vegeta III, son of Vegeta II and his father before him. He would continue their Saiyan name until entire galaxies would be theirs.
The figure moved into the large expansive room, and the rest of the Saiyans recognized the place immediately. It was the Royal Council. Encompassing a large portion, it was built to allow those of the Royal Bloodline to meet and discuss current as well as new campaigns, along with keeping track of the Planet Trade Organization of Lord Frieza when they would next arrive on the planet to deliver various goods.
Many lower class Saiyans, including Bardock and his team, along with Gine, who took and guided Raditz by his hand, cradling Kakarot in the other were positioned from away furthest most, while the higher and mid class Saiyans took closer to the middle. The Royal Elites and King Vegeta himself took to the middle, and along with the stranger.
King Vegeta simply crossed his arms. "Well?" An intimidating figure he was. Kohlrabi and the rest of the elites hung to the side, staring expectantly at the figure.
He smiled underneath his cowl. "Very well." Moving his hands and arms in a circular motion, before they crossed. Reaching inward, he then proceeded to move his arms and hands out.
At first, nothing had happened. Many Saiyans tensed as if it was an attack on them of sorts, but watched as then, indigo wisps began to sprout out of his arms, moving down from his elbows to his wrists and then hands. Still uncertain, they watched as it continued trailing down before expelling outwards.
The wisps began to widen outward at each corner, pushing away furthest from each other. From within, they watched as figures moved. Blurred and unfocused, it moved into untraceable imagery, where they began to hear sounds and shouts from within. It was captivating yet also completely unknown.
From one, they heard a speech filled with rage and fury, yet they did not recognize it.
"Don't you know who I am…? I am the Saiyan who came all the way from Earth to defeat you! I am the one they foretold in legend and the one you fear! Pure of heart and awakened by fury, that's who I am!"
Another pride, wrath, and unmistakably anger.
"You… You're a coward! You disgust me! I'm not like you! I cast aside nothing! With only this amount of power, how can you call yourself stronger? You're pathetic! Someone who can't even protect his own pride and when they do have it, tosses it aside at a moment's notice?! People like you make me sick! I won't ever lose to someone like you!"
Another… younger, softer, yet determined.
"I… I think that's why my dad chose me to fight you in his place. Because I… I have had this power inside of me, ever since I was little."
Then, it vanished. Many of the Saiyans gasped in hushed tones of awe and in the spectacle, and then, the blurred images were gone, replaced by the familiar images of what was unmistakably King Cold and the words:
41 years ago…
Both this and the last chapter are dedicated In honor of Akira Toriyama, who passed away on Friday, March 1st, 2024 due to acute subdural hematoma.
When I started Dragon Ball, I will never forget the day when I first found the manga in the local library I visited. I will never forget Goku's battle with Vegeta on Earth, his fated confrontation with Frieza on Namek, declaring his speech of being the Super Saiyan of legend, Vegeta firing his Final Flash at Cell, testing his perfect form. His sacrifice with Majin Buu, and feelings of regret and remorse and pride. I will never forget when Gohan transformed into Super Saiyan 2 against Cell for the very first time, when Android 16 told him that it was okay to fight for what was truly right, to protect others.
Toriyama has made one of the inspirational, widespread, and rich works in not just shonen but in all of manga history. His works inspired other shonens including One Piece, Naruto, Yu Yu Hakusho, Bleach, and various others, laying the groundwork for mainstream anime. His world was extremely expansive and rich, and his characters had their own goals, flaws, and depth. Regardless of its flaws and it being admittedly a mess, I still had a soft spot and love for what it is. A fun mess it was.
Thank you, Toriyama, for creating one of the greatest works that we can all join and band together to watch our beloved characters fight. Thank you for creating such a unique and expansive world that we can fully join in and watch as those characters grew, and we felt we were there with them every step of their journey. Thank you for making my childhood along with a million others.
No small feat.
Rest in peace, legend.
1955-2024
Again, this AN isn't an excuse for my tardiness and my long burn out from this story without planning ahead. I had admittedly run through this story trying to set up and lost interest in it, but now, I'm back, and the AN above is simply to honor the man who created Dragon Ball.
Next chapter will start the reaction.