It began as any other stupid day: after the stupid kids landed their stupid bison in the middle of a stupid clearing to camp out for the stupid night, and he woke up to see the stupid light of the stupid sun peer into his eyelids. He turned to his stupid left to see the stupid lemur cramming its stupid arm into the stupid teen boy's throat for some reason (undoubtedly a stupid one).
"What are you doing in my mouth!?" the stupid teen warrior stupidly demanded."Momo you need to be a little more sensitive to my boundaries..." the stupid boy complained.
Of course, just then, the stupid sound of galloping was heard; a second later, another one of those stupid triceratops riding soldiers leaped into view; a few stupid seconds later, a few more stupid riders emerged out of the stupid forestry, flanking him and the stupid kids around the stupid campfire.
"Give up! You're completely surrounded!" the stupid leader of the stupid riders announced stupidly.
At this, the stupid kids hastily sprung from their stupid sleeping positions as the stupid riders tried to attack them.
Vegeta yawned, slowly emerging out of his stupid sleeping sac to follow them. The stupid kids and Vegeta climbed onto the stupid bison as the stupid Avatar commanded it to take off into the stupid sky.
"Wait, my [stupid] boomerang!" Sokka cried.
"There's no [stupid] time!" Katara replied.
"Oh I see, so there's time to get your [stupid] scrolls time to get and your [stupid] staff, but no [stupid] time to get my [stupid] boomerang!?" he lamented sarcastically.
"That's correct, [stupid]" was the waterbender's stupid response.
At this point Vegeta lost all interest in listening to the stupid kids, simply substituting the word 'stupid' for everything they said.
So the stupid kids continued their path on stupid foot, heading to a small stupid shack to get some stupid supplies.
At this point, it was simple to deduce the Saiyans mood: he clearly wasn't all too happy about still being stuck with the children, although he wasn't really upset enough for it to genuinely vex him. At this point, Vegeta was maintaining pure indifference, not allowing anything to disturb him as before. For now, the Saiyan at least had the comfort of a new set of armor to where: another one of Sokka outfits padded on the shoulders, chest, back and, chins with a special type of wood offered by the swamp dwellers (the skinny one insisted the wood was fireproof); and perhaps he could take a little pleasure in knowing that the goth girl Mai was experiencing a situation similar to his own, as she still was without outdoor clothing, aside from a brown cloak Vegeta allowed her to wear for modesty's sake. Of course, that proved to be a rather difficult task, as the girl's expression was so void of emotion one might say she did not mind it at all.
"Sorry about your boomerang, Sokka..." the Avatar brought up.
"I feel like I've lost part of my identity," Sokka moped, "Imagine if you lost your arrow, or if Katara lost her hair loopies..."
"Oh my, none of us has ever experienced such a loss..." the unpowered Saiyan reminded.
The teen glared."As I said, I lost the thing I actually had..." Sokka corrected himself.
"I had clothes once..." the underwear-clad Mai lamented.
The merchant at the vendor handed Katara the basket of food she requested. Sokka came forth to pay.
"Here's your produce, Pony-tail guy..." he thanked bubbly.
That only worsened Sokka's depression."I used to be 'Boomerang Guy..."
"Never in all the days I have been with you have I ever heard anyone refer to you like that," Vegeta replied sternly.
"Well, how do you know? You've only been here for like, what, a week!?" Sokka defended.
And then the merchant went on about how Katara paid with "Water Tribe money" and just accepted it as regular currency (why on earth would he do that? How does he know that coin isn't made of ice!?)
Honestly, Vegeta no longer cared, he was abstaining from caring, every time he inquired something of these nimrods, it always resulted in some kind of heated dispute to which Vegeta either screams at the top of his lungs or gets badly hurt, usually both in that order. Well, not this time, Vegeta thought as he walked away from the shack - no sirree, there was absolutely not one thing that could come out of this random pedestrians mouth that could grasp the Saiyans attention so deeply that he would have totally no choice but to question him in the slightest: he was just gonna walk away, and hopefully acquire no outstanding memory of this character whatsoever.
"Happy Vegeta Day!" the vendor wished.
At the very sound, the Saiyan's joints locked so tightly as if he were a painted image; he remained in that position for a few more seconds, then instantly dashed for the man pinning his body against his own shack." What did you just say...?" he hissed, pushing his forehead against the clerk's
"I mean, um! Happy Holiday!" the man censored himself, making sure not to offend anyone of a different religion.
"Vegeta Day!?" Aang repeated, while still nowhere near as unable to process it as Vegeta himself.
"w-well, yeah, y-you've never heard of Vegeta Day? There's gonna be a big festival and..."
"Where is this day of which you speak celebrated!?" Vegeta demanded.
His lip quivered."i-in-in chi-Chin Village of course!" she almost whined.
The Saiyan flung the man aside, he then turned to the kids with a renewed fervor." Then that's where we're going..." he announced to them, regardless of whether or not they headed there already...
The five continued their way down the main street of the village, passing by buzzing villagers, various stands for food and souvenirs, and children frolicking around with green streamers. If Vegeta weren't distracted by his objective, he might have been irritated to watch Mai rather casually announcing to anyone she passed by that she was from the Fire Nation, no doubt as an attempt to coax the clearly Earth Kingdom villagers to arrest her, therefore, free her from the rest of the group. Strangely enough, none of the villagers seemed to be moved in the slightest upon hearing of her statement, either from disbelief or simply not caring.
"I don't believe this," Katara marveled, "A holiday that has the same name is you, Vegeta!"
"No need to remind me, woman..." the Saiyan grumbled, still focused on getting to the bottom of this.
The waterbender blinked twice, and then smiled to herself" he called me his 'woman'..." she misinterpreted.
"mmmmyess, indeed, what an awful coincidence, isn't it?..." Sokka stroked his chin with a smirk.
"Are you implying something, Sokka?" asked the bald child.
"You guys don't get it, do you?" he queried."If Vegeta were from space, then why would people of our world be using a supposedly alien name as their holiday?"
"Well, that would be no different from asking why we speak the same language..." Aang noted.
"Exactly! It just proves that Vegeta is obviously not from outer space! Heck, this place might even be his hometown!"
"You cease your nonsense, child!" the Saiyan rebuked. Although, he had to admit the stupid teen brought up a not so stupid point: how could these ignorant natives possibly have a holiday in his name? According to the Avatar, he and his friends were the first in their world's recorded history to make contact with an alien lifeform, let alone anything having to do with...
"Vegeta!"
"WHAT!?" he barked in response to Katara.
"It's a float of Avatar Kyoshi!" she pointed out for the Saiyan to see a gigantic float of some woman in green samurai-like armor and white face paint.
The Saiyan blinked." Avatar Kyoshi? I thought you were the Avatar, so who is that?" he pointed to Aang.
"Oh, well, technically, that was also me..." he explained sheepishly.
The prince blinked, looking back and forth between the two."...I'm not seeing it..."
"Hey, here comes Avatar Roku!" Sokka pointed out to another large float of an old man in red.
"Looks more like Space Santa to me..." Vegeta observed, feeling the strangest urge to destroy the float. He then blinked twice."Wait, so he's the Avatar as well?"
"No no, see, the Avatar reincarnates after each lifetime into a different person," Katara explained."Aang is just one of the thousands of past lives..." she said.
The latest Avatar rubbed the back of his head."Actually, I've been having the sinking suspicion that Roku was over-exaggerating about the number of avatars - like, maybe they're just barely one hundred."
"Oh like I even care how many alter-egos you have!" the prince groaned."All I want to do now is get to the bottom of this enigma, and then we can be on our marry wa-" but he paused, now beholding the latest giant float to enter into his view, and apparently, the rest of the group (and maaayyyybe Mai if you looked hard enough) were also at a loss for words upon the sight of it.
"no...no...that-that can't be possible..." Vegeta breathed.
As the large shadow passed over them, they gawked at the sight of a gigantic float of one who was very much so not of this world, but very much so of Vegeta's - the king of it in fact.
"It...it's you..." Katara whispered in astonishment."...with a beard..." she added.
"That's not me, you naive peasant, that's my father!" Vegeta blurted out of both anger and shock.
Indeed, it was nonother than King Vegeta, clothed in his brilliant armor with blood-red shoulder pad and black spandex, even that little flower thing he wore around his neck, all captured within the display of paper and wood.
Sokka nudged his chin." Welp, I guess that settles it: if Vegeta's dad is from this planet, then so is he." he declared.
But Vegeta could not hear him - he was too engrossed in utter shock of seeing his father, the King of Saiyans, being used as decoration for celebration for these primitive natives! How is this possible!? Was his father on this planet before!? And why would they be commemorating him!?
As they beheld the float, they caught sight of a random shirtless man in the distance, dashing toward the float of his father with a lit torch.
"What's that guy doing?" Katara wondered.
Her answer was realized as the four witnessed the man leap into the base of the King Vegeta float, popping out the other side while yelling, the torch's fire spreading all around the float.
Vegeta's mouth hung open." WHAT!?"
He watched as the same man dashed through the other two floats, setting them ablaze as well.
But what shook them the most, was the sound of the crowd cheering even harder than they did before.
"DOWN WITH THE AVATAR! DOWN WITH THE SAYAJINS!"
"d-d...down...with the 'Saiyijins'!?" Aang repeated in paralyzing shock.
"What's a Sayajin?" Mai wondered.
"Waaaaiit, isn't that what Vegeta said he was?" Sokka queried."Or, was it something different?"
"HOW DARE THEY DO THAT TO MY FATHER!" Vegeta exclaimed, charging ahead through the crowd, toppling citizens over seamlessly. He eventually made it to the torch guy and punched him in the face so hard, he was sent flying away while the torch momentarily floated in the air.
The crowd kept on cheering regardless.
"Hey! That's not part of the festival!"
Having heard this, the crowd stopped cheering and went "oh" in unison...they then started haggling Vegeta.
Aang quickly leaped to Vegeta's defense, landing beside him and using powerful air blast to blow away the fires off of the floats."What's going on here!?" Aang demanded.
"Took the words right out of my mouth, boy," Vegeta agreed.
"Who do you people think you are!?" whined a whiny-voiced man with a weird tall hat."You think you can just rush in here with your disorder and violence!? Don't you know that running up to people and punching them in the face comes after the customary dancing portion of the festival?" he inquired, speaking of the festivities.
"You pathetic worms think I care about your little customs!?" Vegeta roared."That's my FATHER you're desecrating!" he vocalized for all to hear.
The haggling crowd stopped...all was silent.
The tall hat man blinked, then leaned forward and took a good look at Vegeta. He then balked away in fear."nnonoooooooo...It cannot be...!" he whined in inner terror.
At this, the prince's grimace morphed into a sinister smirk."Yes, I think you know precisely who I am..."
"A complete lunatic..." Sokka noted.
Vegeta then jumped into the air and landed atop the platform on which the Roku floated stood." That's right, humans, cower in fear for Vegeta, the son of Vegeta is upon you!" he announced to the gasping crowd.
They all cringed in horror.
"So...Vegeta Jr.?" Mai queried Sokka, who shrugged.
Katara immediately rushed in front of the crowd with raised hands."WAIT! What's the matter with you people!?"
"Didn't I kinda just ask that?" Aang asked.
"You fools!" the whiny man began, "Have you no idea of whom that is!?" he pointed to Vegeta."It's a Saiyajin!"
"A Saiyajin!" a random man screamed.
"They've returned!" a woman added.
"Doooooom to us alllll!" Whaled an old man hysterically.
While Vegeta was enjoying their fear of him, he was slightly annoyed by their mispronunciation; no that it mattered - for the first time in such a long while, he was finally getting the recognition he deserved."Yes, the prince of 'Saiyajins' has come to claim revenge for the mockery of the king! I shall start with the youngest!"
Mothers fearfully huddled their children.
"Then the oldest!"
Elders then pulled their children in front of them.
"Alright! ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH! Sokka tried to quiet the crowd down."Now, could SOMEBODY TELL ME what the fuzz is all about!? It's just one guy!"
"No, not a 'guy' - an inhuman monster!" the whiny mayor exclaimed."Have you not heard the tales!? The Saiyajins were a race of ravenous savages that plagued the world with their evil! Three hundred years ago, they came and they annihilated homes, slaughtered hundreds of thousands, and laid waste to the entire continent! Nothing could stop them! their power was unlike even the strongest firebender - not even the great Ba Sing Se was spared from their wrath!" he dramatized.
Sokka stroked his chin contemplatively."sooo...you're saying that these 'saiyajins' were a race on earth?" he asked for clarification, completely oblivious to the horrific details of the man's tale.
"You mean...Vegeta's people did this?" Aang exhaled in shock.
"How could you say that about Vegeta!?" Katara cried."He would never do that! In fact, I'm confident that no Saiyan would, right Vegeta?" she asked softly.
"uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh..." Was all the Saiyan could say to the naive youth as he looked away.
"But wait a minute," Aang began, "If this holiday is supposed to be against the Saiyans, then why are you burning floats for Kyoshi and Roku?"
"Well, why not!? it was Avatar Kyoshi's duty to protect us in our time of need, but she failed! So we come together every year to spit on her grave for failing us!" the whiny man explained.
A deep-voiced man behind the mayor scratched his temple"'Course Avatar Kyoshi's grave's on a whole'nuther island, and those people won't let us have our festival there, so we just settle for spitting on everything having to with her, including this float," he demonstrated by spitting on it himself.
The mayor complimented this by spitting on it as well.
Soon, the whole crowd was spitting at the Avatar floats, sending a rain of loogie upon the group.
"WILL YOU STOP IT ALREADY!?" Vegeta howled, flailing his arms wildly. As a response, an additional loogie landed on his forehead."WHO DID THAT!?"
Sokka sneakily wiped his spit from his lip.
"Look, can't we just have a chance to clear Vegeta's name?" Aang asked.
"The only way to prove whether or not he's a Saiyajin is to stand trial," the mayor said, putting his wide sleeves together."Until then, he will have to stay in the town prison."
"BAH! As if I would humble myself to you lowly humans!" Vegeta naturally objected."There is no way any of you will put me in a cage - you're not going to arrest me, and you are most certainly not going to take away my clothes," he concluded, crossing his arms defiantly.
Two minutes later...
The prince chuckled."You see? I've been standing in this same spot for over two minutes and you cowards haven't done a thing!" he gloated, right before he was hit in the head with a flying rock, knocking him off the platform.
The Saiyan, once again stripped to his underwear, currently restrained via wooden stock and behind a row of metal bars."Never before in my life have I wanted to kill so many innocent people..."
"Really sorry, Vegeta, but they wouldn't take Water Tribe money..." Aang apologized, standing just outside the bars.
"Maybe if you didn't breath on it, the money wouldn't have melted," Mai speculated."Also, I'm Fire Nation, can I be arrested too?" she asked the guard, who shook his head.
"What I don't get is why they think Vegeta's people invaded the earth," Katara wondered.
"Yeah, you're right," Aang nodded," I mean, if it was that significant and happened three hundred years ago, it should be common history by now."
"And if it was that long ago, there's no way that was supposed to be Vegeta's father..." the waterbender added.
Sokka once again stroked his chin contemplatively."hhhhhhhhhmmmmmm...Aang, are you sure there are only four elements?"
The Avatar blinked."Of course, why?"
"Because..." the teen began cooly, slowly putting on an odd hat with a revolving spectacle."It looks like someone's bending the truth."
*cue CSI Miami theme*
Mixing things up a bit, we shall now move on to the other characters at this point, so as not to give the reader the impression that their very purpose is simply to serve as mediums for the main protagonist's torment.
They were now following the mayor of the village to a small temple near the cliff-side with a statue of an unknown man covered in some ancient military attire.
"This is the crime scene..." Mayor Tong (we are doing this from the Gaang's perspective, so the subjective nicknames shall subside for now) announced to the group.
At this, Sokka blinked."Hang on, 'crime scene'? I thought this was supposed to be some kind of long-forgotten war, not a homicide case..." he reminded.
The mayor crossed his arms." Well, excuse me for not using the perfectly appropriate jargon! Crime, war crime, what's the difference!?" he flung his hands in the air."anyway, This is the footprint of the killer, Vegeta Sr," he announced, pointing to a certain footprint imprinted in the stone ground." It was at sunset three hundred and seventy years ago today that he descended from the sky with his forces to begin their invasion of the Earth Kingdom." He gestured up the aforementioned statue."Our beloved Chin the Great did all he could to hold off the Saiyajins' horde of ferocious little green people while the town was evacuated. Chin and his men fought hard; much blood was spilled on either end: legends say that the earthbenders began to bend together to hurl whole chunks of the island at the enemy, thus making the island much smaller, and one of the gargantuan mountains missed and landed in another part of the world, becoming known as Kyoshi Island..." he narrated theatrically.
The Avatar stared at the statue."So, they came from the sky?"
Katara gazed up at the clouds."I knew it! Vegeta must be from space!
"Waywaitwaitwait..." Sokka rapidly swayed his hands for the mayor to stop for a moment, "Little green people? I thought you were invaded by Saiyans, so what's with those things?" he asked.
"Well, obviously they were demons that the first Vegeta summoned to overtake the kingdom..." the mayor explained (speculated, honestly).
"What did they look like?" Aang asked.
"How would I know that!? I wasn't there!..." the mayor defended
"Then how do you know all this stuff about the green people and the island throwing even happened?" Mai drolled.
"What do you mean 'how'? The same way all members of the village know of it!" the mayor continued."It was passed down from our ancestors!"
"Did your ancestors pass down any actual evidence?" Mai asked.
The mayor began to perspire profusely."Ugh, w-well um...we have no evidence as I know of uh-but surely there must be some relics from the invasion on Kyoshi Island!" he defended."After all, it was her who fled to that make-shift island to escape the utter shame of failing to save us from the Saiyajins!"
The goth shrugged."Then I guess it's off to Kyoshi Island..."
"Aang, do you think Vegeta's dad really did all this?" Katara whispered to the Avatar.
"I dunno..." he shrugged."But I guess it would make sense why these people would even know about the Saiyans in the first place..." he explained. Just then, his pondering expression was shrouded by an epiphany." Aw dangit! I thought we were the first humans to ever meet space people!" he lamented woefully.
"By the time I'm through, you're all gonna feel like idiots for even believing in space people..." Sokka boasted edgily.
Aang sighed."I hope our Vegeta's doing well..."
And, once more, the day went on like the previous:
Vegeta was minding his own business with the stupid kids, then they end up in a new place where they confront some senile characters; and right when things appear as though the Saiyan is about to come across something useful...he loses his clothes and is trapped/separated from the kids.
The prince would have grudgingly blamed the Avatar for this, but he reconciled the idea as mere petty squabble at this point. And speaking of this point...
There are apparently a few things that Vegeta's father was hiding from him, from the conquest of an unknown world to battling the Avatar to evidently being a lot older than even the prince estimated. Really, it wasn't the fact that the Saiyan's conquest or his father's staggering age surprised him: it was the fact that this planet and its population had somehow managed to survive a full-blown Saiyan invasion. There should not be a single rock left of this planet, let alone, well, this planet! Obviously, that mayor was lying to him...unless...
...unless the Saiyans of the past suffered the same ki-crippling ailment as himself? But how? Did Avatar Kyoshi do it? Was there just something about this planet that naturally drains the ki of ki-wielding warriors?
"hm...no bald head...no tattoos..." ominously began a voice from the shadows on the other end of the tiny prison yard; before Vegeta walked into the light a lean, intimidating-looking man with no shirt and a serpentine tattoo running along his chest; there appeared to be a metal brace around his neck. Without warning, the man madly charged for the Saiyan while screaming, but before he could make it to him, the chain attached to the brace runs out of length, snapping straight and stopping the man just a few feet short of the Saiyan." You're not gonna fit real well in here..." he finished forebodingly.
Not that it needed to be said, but Vegeta's expression was as dull as Mai's." In what dimension do you think you will honestly frighten me?" he inquired as Mai would.
"What's that supposed to mean? You sayin you ain't afraid of me?" the inmate growled.
"I am simply lamenting the fact that the little elephant shrew that scurried by a few seconds ago offered a more potent jumpscare than your pathetic display..." Vegeta lamented.
"oooooooh, So THAT'S how it's gonna be, huh?" the man grunted, "You just wait till I get this dang chain offa me, then we'll see who the pathetic one is!"
At this, the Saiyan broke out of his wooden restraint, arose, and tore the metal collar off of the man's neck.
"'m waiting..." Vegeta said, crossing his arms expectantly.
The now free to move inmate gazed at the shorter male in shock, drips of sweat sliding down his temples."uuuuuuuuhhh..."
"That's what I thought you said..." the prince replied before punching the man in the gut, sending him flying back to the other end of the yard.
"Whoah! That was awesome!" one other inmate marveled.
"Do it again!" a larger inmate arose and picked up the tattooed inmate, only to shove him back toward the prince.
"Sure..." Vegeta obliged, punching the man straight back to the end of the yard a second time."Now then, unless you wish for me to do the same to you, you will answer me a few questions..."
"duh, sure, spiky dude; whaddya wanna know?" a fourth inmate asked.
"What do you people know of...The Saiyajins?" He inquired dramatically.
An awkward silence fell.
The inmates looked between eachother.
"...Well...?" Vegeta quired impatiently.
One inmate shrugged."Well, I'm pretty sure 'saiyajin' is another way of saying 'vegetable man' but other than that..."
That was as far as he got before the "vegetable man" seized him by the throat." Wrong answer, human..." hissed with narrowed eyes.
"Whoah! Calm down, man," the fat inmate tried."What he meant to say was we don't know nothin' about the Saiya-people or whatever."
"What are you talking about!?" Vegeta demanded as the inmate in his grasp silently begged for air."The Saiyan's invaded your planet and ravaged the continent - this should be common history!"
"Well, either it never happened, or there were no survivors to record it, 'cause I got nothin'" another inmate concluded.
The man still being choked, Vegeta stroked his chin with his free hand - the latter was most likely the truth; however, if that were the case, there would be no life left on this planet to even hold this conversation with. Still, that continued to beg the question as to why and how this particular race still knew of the Saiyans.
This was going to require some serious investigation; but first, he had to get out of here to do that investigating...
"Alright then, here's the deal: I shall help free you degenerates, and in return, you will assist me in securing the town hall," Vegeta announced.
"huh? Why the hall?" another inmate asked.
"Just say yes! Please say yes...!" the inmate being choked begged them.
"Well, obviously, if there were any evidence of an alien invasion, it would be hidden somewhere within the central government's building," Vegeta explained.
The fat inmate blinked."Do you think the government would hide something like that? Why would they keep secrets about cataclysmic events from their own people?"
The Saiyan rolled his eyes."If you ever make it to Space-America, you'll understand..." he dropped the previous inmate to the ground."Now, we are going to have to plan this carefully; the guards can easily outnumber us, and given that you are all nonbenders, you will not be able to defend yourself..."
"Hang on a second," one inmate interupted,"What gave you the idea that we're nonbenders? I'm an earthbender."
"me too," added another inmate.
"And so is he," another pointed to another.
"Heck, that guy you were choking is a firebender," said the bald, tattooed one.
The prince looked among the inmates in disbelief."What!? What are you talking about? You can't be earthbenders; if you were, then why would they place you all an a cell carved from stone?"
The prisoners stared at Vegeta, not sure what he was leading to.
"...That you can bend!" he finally added in frustration.
The fat one shrugged sheepishly."Well, most of us figured since these guards went through all the trouble to lock us up, we'd come off as rude if we tried to bend our way out..."
Silence...
Vegeta's brow twitched - he wasn't too miffed, though, being used to this sort of thing..."Sometimes, I wonder if I'll ever be free from the fog of eternal idiocy that ever seeks to consume me..." with that, he raised his palm to the bars of the entrance."LITTLE BANG ATTACK!"
In a flash, the cage was blown to ashes, blasting the nearby guards off their feet.
As the inmates gazed in wonder at the smoldering edges of the entrance, Vegeta could only smirk."Like Arlia all over again..."
Needless to say, the citizens of Kyoshi Island were elated to see the Avatar's bison descending down on their land once more. Of course one of them was a bit too elated, the young lad once again earning his infamous title of "Foamy". And since the Avatar was actually there, there was no need for any awkward embarrassment.
"Is he okay...?" Mai inquired.
"Dah, he's fine..." the village leader blew it away with a hand.
"Oyagi, our friend is in jail. The town of Chin says his father wiped out their village." Katara explained.
"And everything else, allegedly..." Sokka added.
"hmm, Sounds unfortunate, but in what way does this require our help?" the not-so-whiny leader asked.
The Avatar shrugged."Well, it kinda' has to do with him being part of an extraterrestrial race of super-warriors."
The leader was stumped."...extra-whatnow?"
"He's from space..." Mai explained.
The leader gawked." You mean to tell me that the people of Chin Village claim that their people and the Earth Kingdom were ravaged by Spacemen!? That is preposterous!"
"Well, it's nice to know I can relate to someone in the sense department..." Sokka gratified.
The leader chuckled while crossing his arms."Everyone knows that the Earth Kingdom was ravaged by an army of giant fire-breathing monkeys - it's common history!" stated factually.
Silence...
At this, Sokka's very ponytail drooped lower."Sometimes, I wonder if I'll ever be free from the fog of eternal idiocy that ever seeks to consume me..." he lamented.
Even the Avatar found this a tough swallow." umm, so, anyway, the leader of Chin said you might have some relics from that...event..."
The leader nodded."Ah, yes, we keep them within the shrine dedicated to Avatar Kyoshi that was built to commemorate her legendary victory over the giant monkeys!" he said."Follow me," he walked away and gestured for them to follow.
Katara and Aang looked at eachother.
"Victory?" Aang repeated.
"But the other guy said Kyoshi could never defeat the Saiyans..."
"He also didn't mention any giant monkeys..." Mai noted
Sokka eyed the goth."I'm sorry, since when did you get a voice in our discussions?"
"Since your big buff bodyguard from space vanished..." Mai replied.
"HE'S NOT FROM SPACE!" Sokka defended.
"Guys, we're getting off the subject!" Aang reminded."We might actually have proof that it wasn't the Saiyans who terrorized the Earth Kingdom!"
"Hey, you prove what you want; all I'm here for is to prove to you two that there is no such thing as space people!" Sokka concluded, storming off to follow the village leader to the temple.
Mai and Aang followed suit.
Katara, now alone, was provoked into momentarily fantasizing about Vegeta as her own personal bodyguard."mmm..."
Meanwhile back at Chin Vili-
*BOOOOOM*
Villagers ran for their lives as Vegeta and his newly formed gang of benders terrorized the village.
Various carts, animals, and people were launched into the sky with up-shooting columns of earth. Buildings were bashed with boulders that reaped large damage to the interior.
The authorities tried their best to hold off the troupe, but their efforts were in vain, and their failure was sealed with Vegeta, proudly riding atop an ostrichhorse and firing ki balls from his hand.
"AHAHAHHAHHAHAH! Flee! Fleee from Vegeta!" the Saiyan practically cheered over the screams of the villagers.
Yes, this was it: the feeling of complete domination the prince had been denied for so long! First, it all started with that miserable clown of a Saiyan Kakarot, and everything went downhill from there. But now, as he rode this suddenly magnificent bird-equine hybrid, he new felt his prestige returning to him!
"THERE! The town hall is before us!" Vegeta pointed to the larger building in the distance.
The former inmates roared happily as a response.
Suddenly, the whiny mayor popped into view from the open window."Hey! I'll have you know that happy roaring is outlawed!" he then gasped at the sight of the group's leader.
"BRING ME HIS HEAD!" Vegeta ordered the inmates, as he and they bashed through the remaining forces like a flash flood.
Meanwhile, in Kyoshi's shrine...
"This piece is called 'The Birth of Kyoshi'" the leader explained to the group, gesturing to the large mural on the wall ."It was painted three hundred and seventy years ago this day, on the day of the Avatar's victory against the giant monkeys."
The mural was a depiction of a vague replica of the very cliffside they stood on, with a crown of cheering citizens in the right, the shrine in the middle, and (most strikingly) what looked like Avatar Kyoshi standing victoriously on top of the bloody corpse of one of the alleged giant monkeys.
"I just don't get it..." Aang contemplated."what do these giant monkeys have to do with the Saiyans?"
"Beats me; I'm still on the 'this is all a bunch of hippocow leavings' platform..." Sokka reminded.
"I believe I can assist you..." the leader reassured. He paced over to a chest on the side of the room. opened it, and pulled out what looked like an aged set of blood-red upper body armor.
"Hey! That looks like what Vegeta's dad was wearing!" Aang realized.
"Apparently, the monkeys were guided by somekind of leader, but the leader was never seen with the monkeys at the same time," the village leader said.
"So, there is no connection?" Katara wondered.
Just then, a disturbing thought came upon the Avatar."Unless...the Saiyans...turned into the monkeys...?"
"can't...even...comprehend..." Sokka muttered, august at his friend's imagination.
"I cannot answer that...but, that is not the only relic we have kept..." the leader paused, reaching back into the chest and producing an equally aged wooden case."Behold..." he flipped the case open for the kids to see"... the tail of the very giant monkey in the painting!"
An awkward silence fell...
"...What...?"
Peculiarly, the tail itself was not nearly as large as the youths expected.
Sokka blinked."Well, judging from the length of this thing, those firebending monkeys couldn't be all that big."
"Heck, that could be from any monkey. And how'd it even last this long without decaying?" Mai quired.
"Probably not even real..." added Sokka.
The leader huffed."Well, it might appear that way to an outsider, but any resident shall tell you that this tail, upon being cut off, shrunk down this size - its longevity is undeniable proof that it came from a supernatural monkey."
Aang stroked his chin."I don't understand. I all this stuff between what the mayor and you told us don't add up."
"No kidding," Katara agreed," I mean, on one hand, there was Vegeta's dad - a spaceman - with an army of green demon's that defeated Kyoshi; but then they're are these giant monkey spirits that may have been led by Vegeta's dad who might not have been from space that Kyoshi did defeat."
Aang nodded."Alright, so that leaves is us with either green people or giant monkeys and whether or not Kyoshi defeated them..."
"Guys, we're missing an important part of the story!" Sokka announced, gathering the others' attention."This painting was made on the same date the mayor of Chin claimed the invasion itself began: if Vegeta's dad was already defeated on that day, he couldn't have attacked Chin village or the Earth Kingdom!"
The Avatar smiled."So not only did Kyoshi defeat the Saiyans, the fact that she did it on that day would make Vegeta Sr. innocent!" he beamed."Vegeta's gonna be so happy when we get back...!"
Later that night, as the Gaang flew back toward Chin Village, they could see the flames, ruins, and utter chaos resonating across the village.
"0.0" Aang gawked.
"O0O" Katara sputtered.
"o_0!?" Sokka demanded.
"-_-..." Mai shrieked.
Rocks and ki balls flew from their respective ends of the hall; the whiny mayor was cowering behind his desk as the guards on the other side of the door fought with all that had, gnawing on his stupid hat in fear.
Just then, the door was blown off its hinges by a flash of light, scaring the mayor out of his hiding spot and forcing him to hesitantly peal over the desk; the smoke cleared to reveal the triumphant Saiyan prince and his band of inmates.
"Alright then, mayor..." Vegeta began venomously, "You locked me up without a word and left me to rot, but now, it's time to answer a few questions..."
The inmates rooted for their new leader.
As the Saiyan progressed for forward, the mayor stammered into the right corner with hands spread."n-Now l-listen to me, you brutish ruffian! I'll have you know that I will not tolerate this behavior in my village! You believe you can stomp in here on my fine rugs imported from Gaoling and intimidate me into giving you a pardon, but I am more stern than I look...!"
At this Vegeta stopped." A 'pardon'? A 'pardon'!?" His laughter humiliated the mayor. Vegeta turned to his henchmen."You hear that, boys? He's considering giving me a pardon!"
The inmates cheered victoriously.
The Saiyan deadpanned. No time to rebuke, he turned back to the mayor."The only 'pardon' I'm looking for is to pardon your skin from being attached to your miserable body," he spat, before leaning down and seizing the cowardly mayor by the collar."Unless of course...you can fulfill this one request..."
"Please tell me it doesn't involve dying!?" the mayor begged.
"Oh no, you're still going to die, but if you tell me the truth about my father's coming, I'll make it quick and painless," Vegeta explained.
"What!? I already told you what happened! The Saiyajins came and the Avatar failed and...!"
"NO! THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" the prince lurched into the mayor's face."How did your people survive that encounter!? What happened to the Saiyans that made them lose their ki!?"
"VEGETA!" the voice of Aang cried as he and his friends rushed into the office."What are you doing!?"
"What's it look like I'm doing, boy? I'm showing this fool never to mess with a Saiyan regardless of what state he's in," Vegeta replied.
"But you don't understand!" Sokka tried."We actually pieced together an alibi to prove your people's innocence!"
"Basically, we figured out the whole thing is a load of komodo-crap..." Mai elaborated.
"I don't care about proving anything!" Vegeta objected."In fact, I agree with just about everything this man had told me!"
"You WHAT!?" Sokka gaped.
"HAH! So you confess!" The mayor vocalized, flinging his finger at the Saiyan.
Once again, Vegeta pulled him closer, this time with a sneer."Ohohoh, not only do I confess..." he paused, charging a ki ball in his free hand,"I'm going to prove to you and this village the utter brutality of the Saiyan race!"
"YEEEEAAAAAH! KILL'EM!" the inmate cheered on.
"Vegeta, don't!" Aang yelled.
"There's another way to do this!" Sokka exclaimed.
"You're gonna get us all executed..." Mai said.
"Vegeta, if you love me, you won't hurt him!" Katara begged.
...silence...
All eyes were on the sheepish waterbender, who twiddled her thumbs."...um, too soon?"
Taking advantage of the prince's bewildered gaze, the mayor pulled a dart from out of his sleeve and jammed it into the Saiyan's wrist; Vegeta's whole body convulsed and plopped to the floor. His mouth guzzled with suds.
The mayor arose triumphantly to his feet, folding his fingers inside his sleeves once more."Shirshu dart: works every time..."
The next morning, the prince found himself shackled within a metal stock, sitting at the center of an assembly of the village citizens before the village shrine.
So many profane and shameful words the Saiyan wanted to blurt out, but the combination of pointlessness and the fact that his lip muscles were still a bit numb from the toxin deterred the idea. The prince had also wasted a great portion of his already skim supply of ki, so any physical resistance was out of the option; at least if he was to be hanged, he wouldn't die alone, as the other inmates who assisted Vegeta in the rebellion (as in all of them) was arranged around him in similar restraints, glaring at him with all the hatred that they could muster.
The oh-so whiny mayor paced dramatically between the crowd and the shackled Saiyan, shooting a finger at him."Last night, this heresy of a human being stormed into your mayor's town hall and assaulted on his very life!"
"You're already assaulting your life with that outfit; I was only helping..." Vegeta retorted.
"ooooooh, Burn!" one inmate encouraged, much to the disdain of the others.
"Clearly this, from his great ferocity to his strange ability to shoot sunlight from his hands, which may I remind you is what was told the first Vegata could do, this man is undoubtedly a descendant of the Saiyajins - a fact to which he openly confessed to me - and must be destroyed from the face of existence!"
The villagers screamed in approval.
Sokka leaned to Vegeta's left."Okay, look, I've read over the laws of this crazy village, and they're actually is no penalty for physical assault- it all depends on the mayor's verdict, and nothing else; all we have to do is convince him to leave you off the hook..."
"So how are you going to do that? Is the goth going to seduce him?" Vegeta retorted irritably.
The teen shrugged."We thought of that, but then I thought of something that could do the trick in a more moderately ethical way: just wait for it..."
"Mayor!" Katara suddenly called, hand raised."We call a surprise witness to the stands!"
"A witness!?" Whiny Mcmayorface repeated."We have no need for witnesses in our court system!"
The Saiyan's jaw hung, though his lips did not part."You don't use witnesses?"
"Pah! We don't waste our time with such things as 'witnesses' or 'evidence' - that's why we call it 'justice', because it's just-us!" he laughed at his own wit.
His right cheek twitch."How do people even remember how to eat?..."
"Oh but this witness is a very special witness - one who witnessed the Saiyan invasion with her own eyes: Avatar Kyoshi!"
The crowd, the inmates, the mayor, and even Vegeta himself were shocked to hear this revelation. Of course, then, common sense kicked in, prompting the Saiyan to smirk."Now I get it: they found some actress and paid her off to play the role of the deceased avatar-ess; and here I thought these kids were stupid..."
As he finished the thought, he saw who apparently was the actress walking into view before the whole assembly concealing her face with a pair of golden fans; strange how diminutive she was - in fact, she looked to be around the same height as...
The prince's eyes widened.
No...
The "actress" pulled the fans away, revealing the face of the current Avatar, his mug covered in white make and lipstick and his body adorned with the clearly loose-fitting replica armor of the aforementioned female avatar." teehee, hey, everybody, Avatar Kyoshi here!" he greeted while feigning a mature feminine voice.
One could even see the crown of the Saiyan's spiky hair dipping a tad lower than usual. "You...you inept...idiotic... braindead, worthless, INSIPID MORON!" his voice echo throughout the village."BY DENDE, I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WEREN'T FULLY CAPABLE OF ANY COGNITIVE REFLECTION, BUT WHAT POISONOUS GAS FUMES ACTUALLY POSSESSED YOU TO THINK-!"
In that very instant, the Avatar was swallowed by a mass of swirling dust; the ground, surroundings, and sky were darkened by a beige hue; the boy's silhouette in the twister vanished, and was replaced with the shadow of a much taller individual. The twister dispersed to reveal a tall, steel-eyed grown woman, wearing the very same kamino armor and make-up the boy was wearing, only these clothes fit her perfectly.
"I killed Chin the Conqueror..." Avatar Kyoshi began abruptly,"A horrible tyrant, he attempted to gather control over the continent. When he came to the penisula where we lived, he demanded our immediate surrender. I told him that I would not sit passively while he takes away our home, but he would not back down. On that day, we split from the mainland. I created Kyoshi Island so my people could be safe from invaders."
"Question..."
Kyoshi paused, turning to the raised finger of Mai.
"What's any of that stuff got to do with Vegeta?" the goth inquired.
" 'Vegeta'?" Kyoshi repeated. It was then the former Avatar took notice of the half-naked Saiyan prince in question. The tall woman blinked in surprise."Vegeta!?"
"Miss..." he greeted glibly, waved his restrained hand.
The entire village was frozen, all anxiously waiting for the past avatar's reaction. Would she be afraid of Vegeta? Sorrowful? Indifferent? Would she lament her victory? Or wallow in the shame of her defeat?
"Please be the last two besides the fifth one, please be the last two besides the fifth one..." Sokka prayed mentally.
However, it turned out to be none of those predicted emotions; instead, if one was able to look closely enough, he might very well see that beneath the cloak of thick white makeup were a pair of red flushed cheeks.
As far as her expression was concerned, a sudden heir of indignation played out on the woman's face."...yoouuu Bloated pig!"
"eh?" That was all Vegeta could utter before the former Avatar smacked the Saiyan across his face.
The village gasped.
The space warrior was flabbergasted"wwuhwhat What was that for-!?"
"Don't you give me that, you back-stabbing serpent! You know full well what you did to me!" Kyoshi berated the confused Saiyan, furiously leaning above his face.
"Bu-But I did nothi-!" Vegeta started.
"I saved you, nurtured you, gave you a home..." she went on.
"I don't even know you-" Vegeta tried again.
Closing her eyes, she placed her hands upon her heart," and for while, I honestly thought that night at the Misty Palms Oasis actually meant something..." she reopened them, glaring at the prince, "Oh, but only then did I finally see you for the cruel monster Yangchen tried to convince me you are..."
"Yangwha-?" he repeated
"You know, one would have thought that after what she did to you and your people, you would have been humbled in your weakness, especially considering that vessel we tirelessly built together!"
At this point, the entire crowd was captivated by the previous Avatar's sudden emotional breakdown, afraid to speak a word that would disturb her in the slightest; even Sokka found himself sitting in the stalls, eagerly munching on salted earth flakes in fascination.
"Vessel!? Look, you're not making any sense-!"
She wiped a single tear from her eye as she sniffed."You told me you would show me the universe in a way I could've never imagined...well, you certainly showed me something: a universe's worth of HEARTBREAK!" she waled, her voice crumpled by her forlorn demeanor.
"Granted, this is starting to sound awfully familiar, but I'm pretty sure..."
"I Don't know why you've returned, Saiyan, but I am honestly glad you are helpless again: I can assure you will receive no sympathy from this avatar...!" she concluded, turning and stomping away from the crowd.
At this point Vegeta's jaw was threatening to fall off."WAIT! Where are you going!? What weakness!? What's a Yangchen!? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SAIYANS!?" he practically begged her as she ignored him. As she did so, the little twister from before consumed her, making her vanish; the hue of reality returned to normal, and the twister dissipated, revealing the current avatar who fell to the ground unconscious.
His two blue-clad friends ran to him and helped him up; Aang arose to awareness." ugh...what happened...?" he asked weakly, and blinked in confusion, "And why do I have the weird sensation that the air between me and Vegeta will never be the same again...?"
Sokka didn't quite know how to relate this information to the boy, so settled with how it related to the subject, "ugh, well, the good news is, Vegeta Sr. never killed Chin the Great..."
Katara grimaced."But, the bad news is..."
"YOU DID IT!" the mayor finished, furiously pointing his finger at the young Avatar," It was Avatar Kyoshi who murdered our beloved Chin the Great! I, Mayor Tong, hereby find Avatar Aang guilty! Bring out the wheel of punishment!"
But, just then, a random explosion caught the attention of the crowd; they all turn dramatically to see the Rough Rhinos halting into view.
"We've come to claim this village in the name of our Fire Lord!" the stupid leader announced, "Now show be your leader so that I may..." one of his men sliced a statue in half with a halberd "...dethrone him..."
Said mayor was frozen solid in fear."ummmmm..." he meekly points to Vegeta "...He's the leader..."
Colonel Mongke's subordinates looked to him for an answer; the leader shrugged. The Yu Yan archer drew his bow and arrow and shot at Vegeta, who quickly jerked his body and the stock to the left, causing the arrow to strike and break off the lock holding the stock in place. The Saiyan broke free and immediately cupped his hands forward, blast a large ki shot that knocked Mongke off his Rhino.
"Avatars! Assemble!" Sokka cried out at the spur of the moment as he, his sister, his friend, and even the goth charged into battle.
The enemy having been subdued, the village now resumed its celebration, only now with the group as their guests of honor.
"Let it be remembered this day that the Prince of Saiyans and the Avatar redeemed themselves by saving our home from the Rough Rhinos!" the mayor announced the crown, who cheered in agreement.
"Well, this was quite the turn-around..." Sokka noted.
"I'm just glad it turned out okay..." Katara lamented.
"I can't believe Mai killed members of her own nation..." Aang recalled with a very sober expression, staring into nowhere," they might have been here to rescue her!"
The goth shrugged."Meh, I'm a self-hater..."
The waterbender blinked as she recalled something."What about all that stuff Kyoshi said? Did she and Vegeta Sr. have somekind of...relationship?
"If they did..." Sokka began," it just points further to the fact that this Vegeta is from this world..."
"You think you could drop that for five seconds!?" said Vegeta growled."However, you three are beginning to make a point: the woman mentioned something about a person named 'Yangchen' and that she apparently did something to my father that made him 'weak'..."
"So maybe whatever this Yangchen person did to your dad and the Saiyans, it's affecting you!" Aang vocalized.
"Indeed..." Vegeta nodded, "Now all we need to figure out is who this Yangchen was and just how she accomplished this feat..."
Sokka blinked."I'm sorry, 'we'? Maybe that's your mission to figure out who you are, but our mission is to train Aang to master all four elements and defeat the Fire Lord, and I am confidently certain there is and will never be any other matter more pressing than the matter I have just spoken of..." Sokka settled, inserting another mass of unfried dough into his mouth. After a few chews, he muttered, "worst. village. ever..."
Meanwhile, Azula and Ty Lee were riding into another Fire Nation encampment.
The princess was quite annoyed, having sent multiples letters announcing her arrival, and yet, not only was there not a single reply received, but it appeared as though not a single soldier had exited one of the tents to greet them.
In fact, as far and she and Ty Lee could tell, the camp itself appeared empty, devoid of any person whatsoever as if a great predator had come and devoured them all. Absence - yet a second example of impudence.
"Oh, this is unforgivable!" Azula complained." These have to be the most disgraceful warriors in all the Fire Nation! Why have none of them replied to us!?"
At this, Ty Lee tapped her chin tentatively." Well...it could be because they're all dead..." she noted.
Azula noticed this as well, the whole camp covered with the bodies; some tents were torn open, cart hauled over, stains of blood here and there, and even a few tanks with wholes ripped into them." Hm...they are dead..."
Of course, this promoted another irritated thought:
"Why are they dead!?" the princess demanded.
The gymnast then cartwheeled off her giant gecko and bent over to scan one of the bodies."hmmm...Hey! This armor is empty!" she pointed to it with her big toe.
"Empty?" At this, Azula scanned the rest of the "corpses" herself: as far as she could tell, there were no dead bodies at all, just bits and pieces of armor and clothing sprawled across the encampment."What is this?"
Ty Lee scratched her hair."Maybe they all went skinny-dipping at the same time?"
Unknown to the two, they were being watched from above...a small smirk appeared on the figure's face.
"Then they would have taken their clothes with them instead of just leaving them in the camp, not that that would have accounted for the destruction..."
"If I may, your highness..."
The two girls jolted in surprise.
"...I may be able to assist you with this conundrum of yours..."
They attempted to follow the voice but found themselves turning their heads to the sky, their lips parting in shock. Their eye followed the figure as it slowly descended, carrying the last survivor of the camp with him.
"However, I would have to answer your question...with another question..."
A pair of yellow and black boot-like feet made contact with the ground, dropping the man to the ground.
The pale face smirked even wider.
"Wanna see me drink this guy?"