The reaction was instantaneous, yet no less expected.
Despite how the Saiyans were stunned and frozen by their commander and seemingly their past, the hooded figure moved to motion to the viewing screen. "Well, shall we move on? I do believe that we have the rest of the… viewing… to get through."
The hooded figure barely had time as immediately, the elite's power levels raised at the tone. He was thrown off his feet with a kiai blast from the female elite who had finally lost her own temper, unable to maintain her self control in her equilibrium. The force of the ki blast did not harm, only burning through the sleeves of his robes as he raised it to block the energy blast that slammed him into the wall, creating deep gouges. A ki blade formed from her wrists were aimed with surgical precision at his neck, the tip of it glowing with flares of a brilliant orange that was scant away from his vocal chords. Despite the violent, sudden reaction from the Saiyans, he still merely only stared amusedly at the elite, then turning his attention to the others of the warrior race who looked ready to fight.
"My, my… If I had known such a past event would have been such a traumatic experience, I would have skipped it altogether."
The ki blade of the owner was ready to sink it into his neck and King Vegeta from behind, alongside the group of elites, their arms raised to blast him, while the King himself was torn between addressing the stranger who had knowledge of the past of what had just occurred. All the instincts of battle and as conquerors made them wary as the figure knew of the past.
"My King…" Kohlrabi was ready to sink her blade into his neck, her gaze turning to her King before it burned back onto the hooded figure. "I will eliminate him now."
King Vegeta did not let anything surprise him. His own pride and experience in the field of battle, ever since they took over the control of the planet of their home that once belonged to the Tuffles, the Saiyan King could not stop himself from freezing in place.
As he gazed at the man, he knew that this hooded figure knew far too much. He knew far too much for his own good. What else could he possibly know that was dangerous to them all?
It led to perhaps another thought. Above all, he desired the future that this stranger supposedly spoke of. A future in which their race would be extinguished and their culture and history and all they strived for would be forever gone.
Perhaps it was a mistake. Perhaps this stranger knew far too much, even of the past. All signs indicated he should destroy this man now, or imprison him to gather the information out of him before disposing of him.
Yet he could not, and he knew it and the rest of his brethren knew it.
It was the reason why the hooded man did not even respond to the threat posed by one of his Queen's elites. There was no danger presented to him, for even as they could not accurately detect his level of power with their scouters, this individual had abilities and knowledge that, should they eliminate him, would be lost forever. It was the reason they could not eliminate him now.
"Release him, Kohlrabi."
"Sire…" Kohlrabi glanced at her King in disbelief.
"Release him."
For the first time, the Elites heard their King sound… accepted. As if there was truly no option presented other than to continue on and see what had been presented.
Kohlrabi looked back at the hooded man in her grasp, and after a long second of reluctant deliberation, released her grip and extinguished her ki blade, only able to glare at the individual who knew far too much.
The hooded man brushed himself off, smiling at the group. "Of course… The past is as important as the future, and as such, it's almost the entire reason why I showed you Frieza taking the reign and control of the formerly Cold Force. You have to understand the past as much as the future to make a decision that benefits you all." He crossed his arms. "That of course, means every decision you make… every action you take… even if it's for the benefit of your race…" He looked at King Vegeta, then to the race.
"Or even your own kin and blood…"
Bardock felt the gaze on him as he narrowed eyes at the stranger, wondering what the hell he possibly even meant.
"Every single action matters, down to the smallest choices."
The entire Saiyan race was now simply the audience to the past and future.
"Shall we continue then?"
All eyes turned to King Vegeta, the current reigning ruler of the Saiyan race, as he opened his mouth to respond.
Immediately, King Vegeta recognized the part of the palace that housed the incubators, his anger surging into a violent wave of energy exploding outward that staggered back the elites and Saiyans.
"You dare show this?!"
Even as he already knew, the very sight of such only froze him in place.
The question at the hooded man was directed at him, and the figure smiled, shaking his head. "King Vegeta. I do believe that this is important. As I stated, the past is important as much as the future. You need to understand why one flows into the other. How can the future come to fruition without the choices that led it to the exact point in time?" He clapped his hands together. "That of course, includes everything. Especially your former colonel elite… Paragus."
Murmurs and shouts rang about the Saiyan race. Paragus? The former Saiyan elite turned traitor of the Saiyan army?! Could this knowledge of what has happened to him be finally revealed? Attention was focused predominantly on the King, even as the guards attempted to remain a semblance of calm once more.
"Silence!" The King flared his ki once more as the Saiyans turned silent.
Bardock and his crew however, alongside Leek and even Taro, had their own thoughts.
"What is he referring to? What happened to Paragus? Bardock?"
"The hell should I know, Taro..." Bardock growled in response to one of his long-time comrades and friends at the inquiry regarding his former superior. But the low class mercenary himself was curious.
What had happened to Paragus? He was rumored to be on Vampa for treason, at least according to the rumors that circulated between the higher ranks, but it was not certain. Many higher ranks didn't try to capture Paragus and his son due to the fact that it was uncertain Paragus and his son would be on Vampa anymore. Wherever either of them were… none of their race could be certain.
Even more was compounding the very fact that there was no accurate reasoning for why both were exiled and deemed as traitors to their race. Only speculation was thrown around that Paragus had attempted to overthrow the King along with many others. Such was an act of treason, yet Bardock and many knew it was not even the truth. It remained only in the mouths of the higher ranks, and they were not privy to sharing such.
Was this the truth behind the lies and false information that many did now know?
The scene warped from blackness once more, and the incubation chamber was shown.
Of course, Kohlrabi and many of the elites recognized it, along with King Vegeta. Shortly after the prior scene, with the multicolored incubation pods of the chamber.
"How is his growth?"
"Just as we have checked his progress, his power grew at an astonishing rate since the prior week we checked."
King Vegeta took the stairs up to the top. When the sight of his bloodline was sleeping peacefully in his nursing pod, a chuckle sounded out.
"He's growing bigger and stronger every single day." He placed a hand on the incubator. Even if he wasn't developed enough to speak, he knew the words resonated within his flesh and blood. "My son, the pride and joy of our race. Your latent developing power within you is astonishing. It will be you who rules this universe. You will make our race proud."
Both King Vegeta of here and now and the past clenched their fists, as if they knew. The Elites watched the Prince in the pod they would serve and follow.
"That monster Frieza thinks the Saiyans will blindly lick his feet and follow him without question, but both he and Cold and their empire… will fall to us!"
Simultaneously, King Vegeta of the past and now reached out, with the former hands touching the incubation pod; an event of the past, while the latter repeated what had already occurred. A gesture of pride that meant everything to the King of the Saiyans.
Even then, the Saiyans all steeled their gazes. They had their pride, and they would rather fall in battle than cast aside their pride than lick Frieza's or Cold's heels.
"I look forward to watching you grow one day into a vicious King"
The Elites watched the heir of the Royal Bloodline sleeping in his pod. It has always been our honor to serve you, our Prince.
Kohlrabi recalled the sparring sessions. Even at an early age, he was already able to generate ki blasts and copy the famed techniques of the bloodline.
They would remain with their Prince all the way to his ascension to the throne.
But their sworn fealty was cut off as the King Vegeta of the past moved away from the throne. Many Elites narrowed their eyes, while the remainder of mid and low classes were now witness to what had happened, alight with tension and wariness.
The cowled hooded figure smiled. It was time for them to discover what had happened.
King Vegeta had barely taken a few steps away when an elite addressed him. "My King, I have received word from Queen Vegeta that her conquest of planet Bracca has been a success."
King Vegeta was about to address him in return, to inform the elite to continue monitoring his mate's progress of her return until he noticed a green tinted incubator.
"What is this…?" He uttered in a low voice.
In the green tinted incubator was a baby with messy hair and the familiar tail of a Saiyan. Yet the King did not recognize him. He had ensured to know every accurate detail and report of a Saiyan's birth, those consisting of high ranks. This baby was unknown. He did not recognize him.
Many Saiyans recognized the baby, even now as he and his father were now nothing more than exiled dissidents.
"Broly…" She had hardly known Paragus or even spoken with him. Paragus had only frequented their home only on rare occasions where he and Bardock were able to converse briefly in the week before his exile.
"What is this child doing in the same room as my son?!"
The harsh tone made the few scientists, Shito and his partner, Moroko, scramble to address their King quickly.
"Apologies, your Majesty! This… this is Broly. He is the child of Colonel Paragus." Shito held up the scouter to the incubation pod of Paragus' son.
"And why is he here then?"
Shito flinched. "You see my King, we-"
The King snapped in response. "Are you fools not aware that this nursery is only reserved for the most exceptional children who will one day become elites?! Not some low ranking whelp taken off the streets!"
The insult to the lower classes made a few grit their teeth, but they could do nothing. It was far apparent to them that even while being Saiyans themselves, with their own pride, they were just the bottom of the chain, their own meaning nothing. Just fodder for the higher class to trample on.
Meanwhile, Gine was struggling with her own internal conflict as the memories flashed by.
Weakpatheticworthlessnothing-
The smell of smoke and fire rang as she held a hand up to a crying mother and her children, a pink ball radiating from her hands.
I'm sorry… please… I didn't have a choice. Forgive me!
Her eyes, wide and unfocused, even barely registering Kakarot in her arms now, was lost in her own past.
Raditz noticed his mother's plight. "Mom, are you okay? Mom?" The voice was enough to snap her out of her own past, and Gine smiled down at her eldest, ruffling his hair, quietly whispering. "I'm fine, sweetie." She forced a smile to return to her face, to which Raditz accepted, even if the look on his face was indication he didn't believe her.
"Explain yourselves this instant before I have your tongues!"
Shito scrambled once more to address his king. "Y-yes sire! Of course! You see, when we went through the records of the children born this year, we heard a report that there was an…" He rubbed the back of his head before continuing. "A strong child whose latent abilities are… are exceptionally high… At first, we scanned through the nursery here before we moved onto the… mid class until we found him. That was Colonel Paragus' child." He barely managed to finish.
Gasps rang out at the implication and realization. The hooded man smiled. There it is.
The Elites scowled. Even if it had already passed and both Paragus and Broly were long gone, harsh words escaped their lips. It was even clear a few high ranking Saiyans were completely unaware of the reason before then for how widely it was covered up.
"Preposterous!"
"Impossible!"
The collective of the low class however, were shocked into silence at the implication and truth behind Paragus. Why he and Broly were outed as traitors and exiled permanently from the Saiyan Army and their kind.
As if matching their thoughts, the King Vegeta of the past continued to speak. "What are you saying is absurd… the Prince's power rating broke through every record in Saiyan history! He surpassed his mother and my own father! Explain yourself!"
"Sire… We…" Shito and his partner traded glances with another as if debating on whether to reveal such information or not. Shito reluctantly spoke, knowing he could not keep his King waiting. "When… Whenever we analyze Broly's power, it…"
The Elites narrowed their gazes, daring him to finish.
"It far exceeded Prince Vegeta's…"
The Elites' power surged as they began to shout in disbelief and fury. No power would be able to match their Prince much less even their King or Queen. The prospect was against what had been set in stone for centuries upon centuries ever since King Vegeta I. Many called for the Shito's head.
"What you are saying is nonsense!" King Vegeta narrowed his gaze at Shito, who took a step back in fear. "My son, the Prince's rating has broken and surpassed every known elite record in Saiyan history and bloodline!" If this fool was lying, he would have his tongue. He snatched the scouter from the hands of the scientist, before placing it onto the incubation pod.
The Saiyans watched with bated breaths, their voices speaking yet silenced once more. Even the mid and few high ranking Saiyans were quiet as the attempt to read Broly's power seemingly made the room turn quiet.
Clicking the button to begin scanning, Broly's power read only a meager 4000 initially, before it began to rise and continue to rise as the baby within, seemingly distressed by a nightmare, began to wail, subconsciously attempting to fight his dreams.
The Saiyans watched as the scouter no longer began to display accurate numbers, fluctuating up and down before it completely shattered and broke, shouts and cries of surprise rang across the room, with the guards themselves attempting to return the room into one of calm but failing as they too were stunned by the scouter breaking apart.
King Vegeta staggered backwards as the device exploded, staring at the gauge in bewildered fury. Both immediately approached. "I'm terribly sorry, sire! It appears the gauge has shorted out! We will send for a new one immediately!" He looked to Nion, who motioned to her coworkers with a sigh.
"I'm sending for one now."
The Elites narrowed their gazes. Coriander muttered as a scowl lit up upon his lips. "It's an overestimation. The scouter is probably outdated scanning a bunch of other babies and has been in usage since. His power level could never exceed the Prince's."
As the scouter arrived, they positioned the scouter once more on Broly, with both "Well sire… upon further inspection, it seems that Broly's power is less than half of its usual rating. We have a handful of anomalous ratings lately. His must've been tuned to a device that caused it to malfunction."
Most of the collective Elites sighed in relief.
Nion spoke up. "That being said…"
The Elites flicked their attention back up.
"Ignoring the previous data as the scouter has malfunctioned, Broly's latent capabilities and abilities are quite remarkable…"
Silence rang through the Saiyan Army once more as they watched the event unfold, half in disbelief and bewilderment at what she was possibly implying.
"And sire…" Moroko managed to speak. "Once he controls his strength, he will grow to be a remarkable asset and powerful warrior to our Army… He'll be a powerful asset to our forces, that is…" He looked to Nion, who finished for him.
"He could even end up being the Legendary Super Saiyan. The one spoken in legend since Yamoshi."
Silence rang through the room once more at the words and implication.
Many Saiyans dreamed of obtaining the fabled status of Super Saiyan. A warrior who was able to break free of their limitations and achieve an unprecedented level of power that was beyond anything. Tales and legend of stories of the Super Saiyan since Yamoshi rang around. Many spoke of him being a true Saiyan warrior, who desired a challenge above all, once in every thousand years, whose bloodlust was so deep that he even slaughtered his own in order to sate his desire for battle as he achieved such a status that none could defeat him. Young Saiyans quietly spoke of a warrior among them, and Saiyans who mated and sired children, even if it was a fruitless hope, desired their children to become one, even achieve what Yamoshi had obtained.
The very fact that a mid class ranking Saiyan, especially of Paragus, filled the Saiyan's words. Many were shouting in disbelief. It was only believed that the royal blood were able to achieve such a status, while mid and lower classes could only imagine through stories passed down by their broodmares and parents and relatives of what was believed. Nothing of Yamoshi's time was certain, only that he was the last Super Saiyan whose destructive impulses led up to his own end.
King Vegeta and the Elites attempted to calm and quiet the voices, to little avail. This, they realized, why Broly had been sent away. Yet the other half remained adamant. Broly looked as any other Saiyan. They have not seen his capabilities. Merely a reading of power that could just as fluctuate or drop. It was not accurate.
And the hooded figure simply smiled as once King Vegeta and the Elites managed to quiet down many of their race, as King Vegeta turned back to the image, it panned to the one that caused it all, both glaring furiously at Broly.