"Waterbending Bomb! YEEEAAAAH!" Katara cheered as she cannon balled into the pond, purposefully creating a liquid explosion that blasts Aang and Toph onto shore, causing them both to erupt in laughter.
It was a nice sunny afternoon. The group had camped in a box canyon with a cascading waterfall, and the three were enjoying a break from training.
"You know, using hydrokinesis to amplify the extent of your splash definitely counts as cheating!" barked Tarble. He was clearly miffed, having himself as well as the 5,000-year-old map he was studying soaked due to Katara's move.
"Sorry," Katara said, as she made a motion that pulled the water out of the map and Tarble's hair."So, how far is Ba Sing Sei from here?"
"Not very," answered the Saiyan."It's very fortunate for us that we have Appa - the only path on land to the city is this thin stretch of land called The Serpent's Pass. If it weren't for Appa, we would have to cross it to get to Ba Sing Se."
"Well, that sounds like it would have been very inconvenient," Aang noted."It's a good thing Appa didn't get captured, so we definitely can fly to Ba Sing Se."
"I concur," said Katara,"Just imagine, without Appa, we would have had to spend a day trekking through a highly dangerous natural bridge just to get where we're going. But thanks to Appa, we clearly do not have to do that. How convenient!"
"Quite," responded Aang."Isn't it great to having nothing to be upset about?"
"Hello there, fellow refugees!"
The bunch turned to see a trio of seemingly normal Earth Kingdom people, consisting of a young man, a bordering on labor pregnant woman, and a teen-aged girl.
"Hello there!" greeted the man." The three of us are headed to Ba Sing Se!"
"Well, how highly convenient for you!" Toph beamed."It just so happens that we, in fact, are in possession of a genuine flying bison!" she said in an unusually positive tone.
"Really? Wow, that IS highly convenient!" the man also beamed."If what you speak is the truth, then perhaps we may hitch a ride onto you airborne beast of burden, and thereby altogether bypass the dangerous path known as The Serpent's Pass!"
"Indeed you may!" Cheered Aang."Would you believe that our flying bison was nearly captured?"
"My, what a close call!" the pregnant woman felt her cheek."If that had happened, we would have been unceremoniously robbed of our opportunity to board said bison, thus leaving us all to use the aforementioned Serpent's Pass, which would have been extremely not convenient..."
"No question, madam!" said Katara."But, because that did not happen, we are still in possession of that bison, and can therefore resume our brief journey to Ba Sing Se absolutely unencumbered!"
The group shared a loud, hearty laugh...when suddenly, they were cut by the sound of a resonating slam, followed by a deep dizzy grunt and thud, forcing them into an abrupt silence. they all turned to see the source of the noise...and wish they hadn't.
Near the pond lie a motionless Appa, with Vegeta and Sokka in front of his huge forehead.
"HAHA! I TOLD you I could take out a sky bison with one punch!" Sokka yelled, pumping his previously extended fist into the air."Score one for my newly-realized super strength!"
"I'll admit, for a human, it was impressive; your training is clearly paying off." Vegeta compliment, crossing his arms.
The two then turn to look at the shocked faces of the rest of the room.
"...um...I can explain?" Sokka tried.
"No you can't," Mai denied.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Aang shrieked, rushing to his oldest friend.
"HOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHIT!" Katara gasped.
"WHAT THE F*(%, SOKKA!?" Toph pulled her hair.
"Will you dumb humans relax!?" Vegeta rolled his eyes."Your over-grown moose is fine! All I did was have Sokka here test his strength by seeing if he could render it unconscious, though I had my doubts, thankfully I was proven wrong."
"Thankfully!?" Katara repeated."You just incapacitated our ONLY ride to Ba Sing Se!"
"We're dooooomed!" the father cried hysterically.
"Dooooooooomed!" the wife and girl also cried.
Aang wept and sobbed a pair of waterfalls from his eyes, clutching his whole body around Appa's forehead.
"Calm the hell down!" Vegeta barked."All we did was knock him out! All we have to do is wait till he wakes up, and then we'll be on our way like nothing happened." he stated confidently
six hours later...
"He's still not waking up..." Mai pointed out.
Aang resumed his crying while hugging Appa.
Toph threw her hands in the air."Welp', guess it's off to the Serpent's Pass."
"DOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!" The family cried.
"Wait! No, we're not!" the father remembered, "We were never going to take the Serpent's pass! There's a hidden cove near here known as Full Moon Bay; it's giving ferry rides to refugees to Ba Sing Se."
"WE'RE NOT DOOOOOOOOMED!" the family cheered.
"But what about Appa?" Aang sobbed.
"I'm sure he'll awaken as soon as whatever future debacle awaits us is over," Vegeta speculated."Off to the cove!"
Vegeta and Sokka dragged the comatose Appa by his tail into the huge underground space. There was a harbor with three large boats, each facing the narrow exit out of the cave. There were hundreds of poor-looking denizens of the Earth Kingdom all anxiously waiting for their turn to board.
"I can't believe how many lives have been uprooted by the Fire Nation..." Katara lamented.
"Hah, this is nothing." Vegeta smirked."When and me, Nappa, and other guy forced civilians out of their homelands, it was just for fun...because there was no escape..."
This caused Aang to stare at the Saiyan with a greatly worried set of eyes.
Tarble noticed this."er-That is, no escape from us Saiyans safely relocating them to a different but equally hospitable planet!" he said to Aang, though that only made the airbender look away. Tarble wasn't sure if the child had bought it.
"No more talking out of you two!" Toph swung her finger at the Saiyan and to Sokka."You're on bison-dragging duty!"
"I don't see why I have to do this," Vegeta grumbled, "I'm not the one who hit the damn thing."
"No, you just goaded Snoozles here into doing it," Toph replied, "You're the fool that the fool followed."
"Can we please vote for a better nickname? Given my new powers and all?" Sokka asked meekly, earning a slap from the blind girl.
"Be silent, Snoozles!"
"Next!"
Aang was brought out of his thoughts by blunt voice; they were next in line. Aang walked before the ticket booth, managed by some middle-aged woman, giving Vegeta an uncomfortable flashback of his pre-Super Saiyan self registering for the earthbender tournament.
The airbender had to recount the number of people accompanying him; he made so many friends in the past month."Right, ahem, seven tickets please."
"Passport," the woman requested mechanically.
"Passport?" Aang repeated."No one said anything about a passport..."
"You are aware this is the Avatar you're talking to, right?" Sokka pointed out.
"Bah, I see fifty 'Avatars' a day!" The ticket lady dismissed, pointing over to a gang of Aang cosplayers."And by the way, not a very convincing costume."
Vegeta shook his head."Well, unlike them, this Avatar can prove it."
"Oh, really now?" the lady leaned forward skeptically."Can he bend all four elements?"
"I can bend everything but fire," Aang replied.
"The REAL Avatar can four, not three! Quit wasting my time, fanboy!" the woman grunted, gesturing for them to leave."Next!"
Aang raised his hands in confusion; Toph brushed him aside."I got this..." She then surprised the ticket lady with her own golden seal of the Be Fong Family."Surely this is worth four passports?"
The lady felt compelled to fulfill her request and hand the girl six tickets.
"Well, that was easy," Sokka remarked."And Vegeta didn't have to lose his clothes!" He beamed sarcastically.
Tarble eyed Sokka.
"Never get arrested in Omashu," was all the older Saiyan had to say.
Just then, Sokka was approached by some young girl around his age."Tickets and passports please."
"Oh, hi, Suki," greeted Sokka casually.
Suki's makeup-less eyes widened in surprise."How'd you know it was me?"
"I'dna," shrugged Sokka."Wanna make out?"
"YES!" Suki beamed regardless.
Vegeta and Tarble watched silently as the two embraced each other, their lips and tongues locked in mortal combat.
"Um, "Tarble muttered, as the teens continued to slobber over each other,"You're confused too, right?"
The squinting Vegeta slowly nodded.
Iroh stared forward solemnly." Who would've thought I'd ever return to the scene of my greatest defeat..." he then slapped a flowery hat onto his cranium," as a tourist!?" he cried happily to his nephew.
Zuko naturally stayed solemn, his arms cross."Look around. We're not tourists, we're refugees." he hissed as he sipped something awful from a wooden bowl, and threw it over the boat."I'm sick of eating like this!"
"I would think your impending arrival into the capital city of your nation's sworn enemies would be the thing egging you most," Cooler reminded.
"Why are you bothering me?" Zuko thought. Having learned not to talk seemingly to himself in public, let alone near Uncle.
"Why are you wasting your time floating on this boat?" Cooler retorted."You could easily fly to the city in less than an hour - an hour and a half if you carried your uncle."
"Maybe because I don't want to freak my out Uncle. Why do you care?"
"I have little choice to care, Zuko: If anything happens to you, I could die a second time. If this city is safe as the planet's population advertises, I'd like to be there sooner."
"We'll get there soon enough. Wonder how my sister is doing with your brother..."
"Oh, if I know my Frieza, he hasn't even said anything; I doubt he even knows that someone else's power she's in control."
"No kidding, I never would've known if you hadn't said anything."
"And yet I did say something. See? You CAN trust me; I could've just suppressed your consciousness entirely, but instead, I offered you a deal: my ki steadily strengthens your body; and when I finally escape this planet with my own body, you will be the most powerful being on this planet. You'll have the Avatar, you'll humiliate your sister - who's definitely not getting a similar accord from my brother - and your honor will be totally unrivaled!"
"My honor..." Zuko's eyes were mesmerized by the azure waves. Just then, he was taken out of his trance by a pair of fingers snapping near his face.
"Zuko...Zuko! You're doing it again," Iroh gained Zuko's attention, snapping his fingers.
The prince spun around to see a bunch of teens, staring at him awkwardly. Zuko felt his sinus."How long was I standing there saying nothing?"
"About five minutes," Jet replied."So...wanna steal the captain's food?"
"Sure," Zuko replied.
Thanks to the conversation, Vegeta now understood that this girl Sokka was seconds away from impregnating was an old acquaintance of the kids; they had once saved her home island from the Fire Nation and a sea monster at the same time.
"You look so different without your makeup and the new outfit," Katara remarked.
"What does she normally look like?" Tarble asked.
"She's a Kyoshi warrior," Aang explained."She's the leader of a group of cool warrior girls dressed as Avatar Kyoshi."He quickly spun to Vegeta." And if I hear one more joke about how I had sex with your father, I'm going into the Avatar State!" but then, his anger subsided upon realizing who was in earshot, Suki's expression simply priceless."Uh...y-ya'know, back when I was a woman...?"
"Avatar Aang, you have to help us!" The pregnant wife suddenly called. "Someone took all of our belongings. Our passports, our tickets. Everything's gone!" she began to cry, her husband comforting her.
"Don't worry! We'll talk to the lady!" Aang replied, unfathomably grateful for the change of subject.
"No."
"But she's pregnant!"
"No."
"What if we gave them our tickets?"
"NO!"
"But-!"
"NEXT!"
The forlorn Aang walked back to the group, an impression of the stamp against his forehead."Please tell me Appa's woken up yet...?"
Vegeta glanced at the motionless bison, the poor thing lying on its side."Nope."
Katara sighed."Well, guys, you all know that this means..."
The family looked among eachother."WE'RE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!"
The team resigned themselves to taking the previously mentioned dangerous oath to Ba Sing Se, the narrow sliver of land naturally carved between two lakes. Appa still being immobilized, the two perpetrators of animal abuse continued to drag him.
"You're a real friggin' piece of work, Vegeta," Toph glared."We all could'a been soaring safely over this stupid danger path and laugh about how we'd never have to take it, and NOW look at us!"
"If you're expecting this genuine specimen of a proud Sayian elite to apologize," Tarble began, "I assume you people have infinite youth.."
Suki leaned closer to Katara."How exactly did this man get Appa knocked out?"
"It was Sokka; Vegeta just bet he couldn't do it."
"Alright...so how did Sokka..."
"With THESE GUNS!" Sokka thundered, flexing his childlike bicep.
Suki giggled at the incredible statement, raising the appropriate eyebrow. "You knocked out a sky bison with one punch?"
"Oh yeah," Sokka replied cooly, "That tiny larva of a boy you first met on Kyoshi Island is no longer with us; for he has been brutally trampled to death under the weight of this monolith of MAN you see before you!" he jerked his thumb in his own direction, pounding his chest upon saying "MAN".
Suki narrowed her eyes."Wow, I bet you could raise the whole Fire Nation with those dangerous weapons..."
"Come a little closer and I raise somethin' else..." Sokka hissed, making Suki giggle more.
Vegeta's frowned widened the more he listened to this revolting teen foreplay. He hoped this new girl wasn't sticking around, as he could barely stand the waterbender's advances. Though, truly, all this romance was seriously making him Bulm-NO! He DOESN'T miss Bulma! He DOESN'T miss her family and friends, and most certainly DOESN'T miss Kakarot!
Now, what was definitely missed, however, was the full extent of his Super Saiyan power; Vegeta wasn't able to tell much of the difference as of late, having not blown up any planets, but he was definitely lacking. Aside from that, he literally couldn't tell the difference - it felt like every time he did go Super Saiyan, he actually was exerting his full power, and yet, the full extent could only put a huge crater in some small mountain, let alone blowing up the whole thing. Perhaps...perhaps "losing" his power wasn't the right word..."
"Look at this awful sign!" the wife cried.
The group had stopped before a small sign just in front of the beginning of the path.
"What, is the path closed?" Vegeta mused, feeling like breaking the rules would make him feel better.
"It says 'Abandon all hope'" Katara read.
"How could we abandon hope?" the wife whimpered."Hope is all we have left..." she buried her face in her husband's chest.
"Not with that baby coming, you don't," retorted Vegeta.
The wife suddenly cheered up."Really? that's so nice for you to say."
"No, I meant that once you two have children, you most certainly will lose all hope; t'was all downhill from your marriage."
"Oh, thanks for clarifying," politely said the wife...she then resumed crying against her husband's shirt. The husband glared.
The group carefully trekked single file along the steep stone pass. Since Appa was too big to drag along, Vegeta and Sokka had to dangle the bison over the edge of the path, causing a considerable strain on Sokka's back.
"Are you sure Appa's gonna be okay like this?" Sokka grunted.
"He'll be fine," Vegeta dismissed, lazily grasping the tail with one hand.
Suki had to admit, as she watched her bae carry that enormous bison around with minimal effort was truly giving credibility to his previously mentioned feat of strength." Sokka, how on earth did you get so...strong?" she struggled to say, thinking the word was putting it mildly.
The boy shrugged."Dah, you know, pushups, sit-ups, plenty of juice..."
"Turns out Sokka is what you call a 'Water Tribe Elite'" Toph explained."Apparently, he was born this strong, like Vegeta over there," she jerked her thumb to the Saiyan.
The mention of this name took Suki off guard."Did you say 'Vegeta?"
"Yes he did, I know what it sounds like; make food puns at your own discretion," Vegeta warned.
Suki gave the man a somewhat anxious look. But something else moved in her peripheral vision. She looked out into the ocean."It's another Fire Nation ship!"
They all quickly turned to see the black ship, which was probably too far to see them.
"Another ship?" Katara repeated."You've seen them around here before?"
"The fire nation controls the western lake," explained Suki, "Rumor has it they're working on something big on the other side, and they don't want anyone to find out what it is."
"It's a drill," said Mai.
Suki yelped in surprise, almost falling off the path."Who're you!?"
"This would be Mai, my brother's Fire Nation prisoner of war. "Tarble explained, "Don't feel bad about not noticing her until now; we do it all the time."
"uh, ok...Nice to meet you?" Suki tentatively raised her hand out to shake.
"No it isn't, you don't have to lie," Mai sighed.
Just then, the ground gave way beneath the husband's feet; as he fell, he was caught by a slab courtesy of Toph, who motioned the slab to flip him back onto the path, his family steadying him.
Unfortunately, the cluster of rocks splashing into the sea caught the attention of the crew of the Fire Nation vessel.
"Look! Innocent bystanders! Annihilate them!" the captain of the warship called out.
"How do we justify this war in the eyes of our children again?" the first mate questioned.
A flaming rock was launched from the ship's catapult, sending it flying towards the stone path.
"They've spotted us!" Sokka yelled.
"You don't say?" quipped Vegeta."I got this..." he said, letting go of the bison.
"Vegeta WAI-!" the weight of Appa yanked Sokka clean off the path as Vegeta blasted off for the sky.
With a loud scream, Vegeta flashed into Super Saiyan, cocked his fist, and swung it forth as he collided with the fire ball, causing it to explode into smoking rumble. The Saiyan smirked; from there he could see the terrified faces of the crew, and the prince was fixing to make them even terrified-er. He pulled back both hands to his right, cupping his left hand in his right palm."Gallick guuuuuunnnnn...!" his golden aura intensified the purple ball of light in his hands grew blindingly bright, causing the terrified-er crew to run around the deck screaming, some jumping over board."FIIIIIIIRRREEEE!" he releasing his signature move in the ship direction, the huge energy beam colliding with the ship and exploding out the other end.
As the ship sank into the lake, the smug Super Saiyan flew back, he powered down to normal form, landing on the path with his arms crossed in victory. He sighed with satisfaction."Ah, nothing like a litte air/naval combat to brighten up the day; please, no autographs, you'll just make me blush..."
"You know, I could've done that if I wanted to," pointed Tarble.
"So why didn't you, Prince of Lame?" Vegeta retorted, leaning into Tarble's face.
The shorter Saiyan stared blankly at the taller one."Are we certian that I'm the little brother here?"
"Wow, what a relief!" Katara breathed."That was a close call, wasn't it, Suk..." she froze, slowly turning to see the unhinged jaw of the Kyoshi warrior."...oh..."
"Don't worry, guys, I got'em!" Sokka announced, slowly floating back upwards while pulling the ten ton sky bison up with only his bare hands.
Suki was deathly silent."...WHAT THE F*&) IS HAPPENING!?"
Later that night, The group had camped for the night on a more spacious section of the Serpent Pass. As they sat around the fire and ate their rations, they did their best to explain to Suki the facts behind what she had saw
"Okay, let me get this straight..." Suki tried on more time, pointing both fingers at the Saiyans."You guys are the sons of the same Vegeta that invaded the Earth Kingdom with his army of giant monkeys centuries ago, who was never defeated by Avatar Kyoshi but an older Avatar, and free by Kyoshi centuries later?"
"You skipped the part where they did the dirty dance in Misty Palms Oasis love, but yes," Vegeta clarified.
"And..." Suki tried her best not to stumble over her own words."...You - and your father - are from another world?"
"On the now non-existent Planet Vegeta, formerly known as Planet Plant," clarified Tarble.
"That's amazing!" the husband exclaimed."If what you say is true, then you two have aged phenomenally well!"
"Oh, no, I'm only 33 years old," Vegeta explained, "It's Father who aged well. Of course, he never told me or anyone...wonder why he waited so long to have children?"
"Lack of commitment?" Tarble speculated.
"Sounds like him..." Vegeta agreed.
"So what about Sokka?" Suki questioned."Is he a Saiyan too?"
"Evidently, he's just an especially strong specimen of your people; our people had them all the time," Tarble said as he point to his brother," he's what you'd you call an Elite Class."
" 'Course I'm personally still betting on Nappa..." Vegeta admitted.
"My mother was faithful!" Sokka barked at Vegeta.
"You're telling me Sokka was just born this way?" Suki asked."I've never heard of anyone other than the Saiyajins being like that, and you just told me you're from space."
"Hey, if Katara's special, I can be special too," Sokka crossed his arms.
"But, there's nothing really special about being a waterbender," replied Suki.
"Rub it in my face, why don't you!?" Katara huffed.
Aang raised his hand."But the real mystery is that we have no idea how Avatar Yangchen defeated the other Vegeta."
"Didn't she just, you know, fight him?" Suki shrugged.
"Impossible," dismissed Tarble with a wave of his chopsticks."We Saiyans are known to destroy entire planets; even if she were as powerful as Sokka is, she never would have stood a chance. All I know is that, somehow, she did something to this planet that causes Saiyans to become far weaker, it even limits the natural strength of our bodies."
"Your brother seems pretty strong to me right now," Suki pointed out.
"That shows you how powerful I was before" replied Vegeta.
"We're still trying to figure it all out too, Suki," Katara chimed, "But what we do know is that Vegeta and Tarble aren't alone: there's this...person named Perfect Cell who's also here. He's just as strong as Vegeta, and he's able to make other people around him stronger. He and Vegeta are mortal enemies."
"What did this cell of perfection do to you?" the husband asked Vegeta.
"None of your business!" Vegeta suddenly snapped, startling the young man.
"He doesn't wanna talk about it..." Toph said.
"The only upside to our predicament is that Cell is also weaker," Tarble said. He played with his dinner for a second, and chuckled."It's actually kinda' funny: all this time I spent trying to catch up with my brother's power level, and fate brings his level closer to mine. Vegeta honestly hasn't managed to do anything I couldn't ever since he got here."
"There is nothing funny about me being as weak as you..." Vegeta glared daggers at his brother.
"mm, I would disagree..." Tarble replied, still staring it his reflection in his soup."It was pretty funny to me after I, the weak little Tarble, ended up being among the only survivors after Frieza destroyed the entire planet."
"What?" Katara's back straightened up.
"Were you not paying attention when I said 'the now non-existent Planet Vegeta'?" Tarble reminded."The entire planet was annihilated by Frieza; he destroyed it all, and killed millions, on the chance that one of them could grow strong enough to defeat him. I doubt he actually believed it was possible, but he probably just wanted to feel better."
Vegeta blinked."Tarble, how did you-"
"Figure out it wasn't a meteor?" Tarble finished."The planet I was on at the time wasn't under Freiza's rule, so it didn't broadcast the same propaganda that others did. Of course, Freiza couldn't let any information get leaked to the Galactic Patrol, so he went ahead and blew that planet up too."Tarble chuckled again."I also heard that just before Planet Vegeta was destroyed, my bastard father lead some feeble resistance into Frieza's flagship in an attempt to stop him...Freiza killed him with a single uppercut." he stated flatly.
"You seem...okay with this...?" Toph noticed.
"Okay?" Tarble smiled."I mean, I was just 3, so I was pretty sad that Mommy and Daddy were dead, but then a little common sense started pouring in, and ever since then I never mourned Father's death. In fact, I was more than okay with it..." Tarble took a sip of his soup."I was happy that all the Saiyans were gone: it's not like I ever liked anyone on that planet; it's not like anyone on that planet ever liked me. No, they hated me..."
Tarble chuckled some more, his grip on the bowl tightening."See you were never there, but trust me when I say that Saiyans love to beat the shit out of whatever they consider to be less them. That's just how it is with Saiyans, they just...hate anything that's not strong." He laughed a little."Or should I say 'that's how it was? Honestly, I'm STILL happy they're all dead! I'm happy Nappa is dead, I'm happy Raditz is dead, I wish I could've seen them all die myself! Every last one of their petrified faces being blown to hell by someone they were too WEAK to beat up!" the bowl shattered in Tarble's fingers, drenching his glove with hot broth."Oh! 'Scuse me, I-heh- I need to wash my hands..." He quickly hopped to his feet and walked away from the stunned group.
There was nothing left to hear but the crackle of the campfire. Sokka blinked his wide and managed to open his tightly sealed lips."Um...he lost me at 'my planet was destroyed '..."
"Excuse me as well," Vegeta said, throwing his bowl away and not waiting for a response as he angrily paced after Tarble.
He found the younger Saiyan sitting at the cliff's edge, his feet dancing in the open air as he watched the calm waves smashing the rocks on the bottom. He didn't bother turning around when he heard his brother's loud footsteps nearing him."Something I could help you with?"
"What the hell do you mean you're glad the Saiyans are dead!?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Responded Tarble in a beat.
"How could you be glad!?" Vegeta demanded."That was your people, our people! Our home! We actually had a home once, and it's gone! And you're GLAD!?"
"Correction," Tarble turned his head halfway."It was your home, your people, it was no home of mine."
"It was home enough!" Vegeta growled."Home enough for us to say we had a home planet like every other race! There was a time where our race traveled the galaxy; everyone knew just who and what we were! The proud, strong Saiyan Race! The greatest fighters in the universe! If it weren't for Freiza, just think of how many of our people would have lived to become Super Saiyans! We would have ruled the cosmos!" he shouted, practically crouching, his body was tense.
"But Frieza did, and now they're gone...poo..." Tarble retorted sarcastically, turning back to the lake.
"IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT!?" Vegeta's body exploded with blue energy, lighting up the whole area, kicking up a dust cloud, and causing the mountian pass to echo like thunder.
The shockwave disturbed Tarble's hair, though he remained unfazed. Still, he lazily arose from his position. He faced the furious taller Saiyan with notably dead eyes."Do you think your temper tantrum is going to scare me? It's all for show; we both know that even with that golden-haired gimmick of yours, you're no stronger than I am. Really, what is it with my people and strength? You talk about our strength, but the Saiyan's were just about average with everyone else in the universe. What exactly made us so special? We were just another race of livid assholes that were erased from the mortal plain on the whim of a much, much stronger livid asshole. Do you think you could count on your finger how many of those races Frieza ended? Or Lord Cold? Or Lord Cooler? Or Lord Chilled?"
"Where are going with this!?" Vegeta demanded in angry confusion.
"Or how about Lord Beerus? Where'd that guy get off to? Would've given my good hand away to see him pummeling Father for giving him the second softest pillow in the universe instead of the softest." He looked up dreamily."In fact, I would've given both hands to see how you three were treated in the Frieza Force; I'll bet Raditz had it rough, as weak as he was compared to-what-Qui?"
"You know what I'm hearing?" Vegeta interrupted."I hear a Saiyan of small stature and even smaller powerlevel bitching about weak he was and how happy he is that all the mean bullies are gone."
"Of course that's what you hear, Mr. Saiyan Elite!" Tarble shouted."That's all you ever hear! It's not like you could hear the laughter of our 'beloved' peers at the power reading of the pathetic Saiyan prince! The rage our father had toward Mother for bearing such a weak child even after having a grand prodigy of a first child. 'They say I fired out of my mother's vagina like a cannonball!'" he mocked his brother."My screams from being pounded into a fine jelly by training Saibamen, or my pleads to Father to make them stop beating me turned down on the dying hope that I might have some kind of hidden potential, until he gave up, and thought the best option was to get rid of me! No, all you heard was the unbridled praise for this most excellent and record-breaking son named Prince Vegeta! The most powerful Saiyan in over a thousand years, who by the way was barely any better than the average Frieza Force solder, but who cares!? You had your fill of praise from the moment you were born! But for me!? I was just lucky to be born!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"So yes, Big Brother, I'm glad they're all dead, and yes, it IS funny! Funny that after all this time of living a code of power ruling all, you end up as weak as me! I'm glad all of these weak humans have given you so much trouble when on any other planet you could've just atomized them. But now you CAN'T! You have to know your limits just like me, or else you and your weak self could end up getting killed, just like every other weakling!"
Vegeta's body crackled with electricity." I..." he hissed, his gloves squeaking from his tightly wrapped fingers."...am not..." his teeth bared like fangs. He exploded into Super Saiyan."WEEEAAAAAAK-!"
When suddenly, his whole body lurched, and he flickered out of Super Saiyan. Tarble's fist was embedded into his stomach. Vegeta toppled to the ground, curling his body like an unborn infant. He could barely breathe, and barely managed to turned his trembling head up to the offender. He now saw that tears streamed from Tarble's eyes, as well as blood streaming out of the glove of his extended fist.
"Doesn't feel so great on this end of a punch, does it?" Tarble asked, walking away as he held his bleeding hand.
Vegeta's wide eyes gazed at Tarble as he disappeared into the darkness."...no...it does not..."
The continuing journey the next morning was a rather awkward one. No one wanted to ask Vegeta why he suddenly wanted to carry Appa by himself or ask Tarble why he didn't want Katara to heal his injured knuckles. All anyone knew was that they were upset, did not want to talk to eachother, and were not in the mood for any tomfoolery the day was expected to bring, which made it all the more unpleasant to stop before an enormous gap in the Serpent's Pass, each end separated by a great deal of water.
"Everyone, single file!" Katara announced. Katara motioned the water to curl intro a depression, revealing some exposed ground."Aang I need help with this."
The group followed Aang and Katara across the bed of the lake, protected by the huge bubble they were maintaining. Just when they were halfway there, a huge serpentine form waved over the bubble.
"What is that thing?" Katara wondered.
"If I were Kakarot, I would say the stupidest thing that came to mind." Vegeta speculated."In this case, it looks liked Shenron."
Katara turned back to Vegeta "What is Shenro-AAAAHHHH!" she screamed, and the bubble was burst by part of a huge scaly mass crashing into it. As the water collapse over them. Toph forced the ground upwards as a stone column that pushed them all back up through the surface. As the group caught their breath, something exploded out of the lake: they all stared wide-eyed at the gigantic snake-like sea monster, the creature releasing a deafening roar.
"I think I just figured out why they call it the Serpent's Pass..." Sokka meekly vocalized.
"The Serpent's Pass?" Vegeta repeated."I could have sworn this whole time it was called 'Snake Way'."
"Suki! You know about giant sea monsters; make it go away!" Sokka begged his bae.
"Just because I lived near the Unagi doesn't mean I'm an expert!" Suki yelled back to her bae.
Sokka then grabbed Mai and presented her to the creature."Oh great and powerful sea serpent, please accept this sacrifice!"
"Please eat me, living sucks," Mai said.
The serpent lunged its huge maw forward, intent on consuming more than just the girl. Aang immediately landed in front of Sokka and swung his staff, smacking away the serpent's head. "I'll distract it! Katara! Get everyone across!" he spread the wings of his glider and took off
"Why don't you let Vegeta kill it?" Tarble asked with a tone of voice as dull as Mai's." I'm sure he's itching to murder something with all that pent-up Saiyan pride of his..."
Vegeta simply growled with his mouth closed."Aang can handle it. Just move, Katara." he jerked his head upwards, gesturing for her to do something.
The waterbender was briefly taken back by Vegeta's use of their names, but then jumped into the water, created a block of ice for her to stand on; she ran across the lengthening ice, landing on the other side of the gap, resulting in an ice bridge for the rest to cross.
"Don't worry, Aang, I'll help you!" Sokka called. He happily took out his boomerang."Forgive me for neglecting you, my child..." he said quietly and he tenderly held the weapon in his caressing hands. With a mad battle cry, Sokka powered up, and leaped high into the sky, sailing toward the giant serpent.
Aang was having an alright time evading the monsters strikes when suddenly the creature noticed the teen flying straight for him, and so did Aang."Sokka, No!"
His clothes and wolf tail whipping in the wind, Sokka gripped the boomerang with both hands, raising it back over his head." PREPARE TO MEET YOUR END, YOU HIDEOUS-!" his epic moment was was cut by the massive snake lunging for him and clamping its jaws around his airborne body, swallowing him whole.
"SOKKA!" Aang screamed.
Katara and Vegeta whipped their heads around; they saw only Aang and the serpent. It was Katara first that assume the worst."NO! SOKKA!" she cried. The girl leaped back into the water, skidding and break speed over to the creature. It saw her coming and lunged for as well. Katara caught it by the neck with a pair of thick water tentacles."GIVE HIM BACK! GIVE HIM BACK, YOU BASTARD!" Katara roared, rooting her legs into a huge ice platform. The tentacles started to freeze over as well, strangling the serpent. In a fit of rage, the beast shattered the ice restraints and roared like the launching of a rocket.
It went for her again, before its teeth were grabbed by Vegeta, hold it mouth open. The Saiyan strained as the serpent pressed against his outstretched limbs, both rows of teeth growing ever closer. Vegeta let go with his right hand and pulled it back."SPIT HIM OUT, YOU UGLY SON OF A BITCH!" he blasted a huge energy ray into the throat of the serpent, the beam bursting out the back of the serpent's head. The lifeless husk dropped back under the surface with a massive uproar of water.
Aang landed back in front of the group, and Katara as well. They all resisted the urge to blink, everything silent in raw tension. Suddenly, something red shot out of the water. It was Vegeta, covered in blood and carrying Sokka in his arms. He landed before the group, carefully laying Sokka on the ground. "Come one, wake up, you dumbass!" he pushed against Sokka's chest repeatedly. He then closed Sokka's nostrils and exhaled into his mouth.
Tarble watched in utter shock as Vegeta continued to push Sokka's chest, trying his best to save him. The effort pulled off when Sokka began coughing; the teen flipped himself over and threw up a liter of serpent blood.
"Sokka!" Katara cheered as she and Aang rushed around him, hugging his gasping form.
Vegeta fell on his back, tasking his own deep breaths."Take that, death..."
"Did we get'em?" Sokka asked, his mouth gaping for more air.
"We sure did..." Aang answered.
"Don't you ever do something as stupid as that again, you big moron, do you hear me!?" Katara rebuked, masking her joy.
"ukay..."Sokka muttered.
Vegeta slowly arose from the ground, and patted Sokka on the back."Next time, maybe fire some ki down the monster's gullet; works like a charm..."
Tarble could only blink, his mouth hanging, at the group of four people sitting there together...
"Right then," Vegeta wheezed, rising his feet and stretching the kinks out of his back." Any more pressing matters?"
The pregnant wife blinked, feeling like something just broke."Ummmm."
"It's a girl!" Katara announced to the group outside the Toph-made tent.
So, after the incredibly productive 24 hours, the group finally made it to the gargantuan outer wall of Ba Sing Se, just in time for Appa to wake up and not be of use. After the naming of the newborn, Suki abruptly told everyone she was getting ready to leave, resulting in a bit of hard goodbye between herself and Sokka.
The group parted ways with the family and resumed their journey.
"I told you," Vegeta affirmed to Tarble, cocking his head at the bison." It was just one of those days..." he crossed his arms, shaking his head."Whatever, off to Ba Sing Se..." he said, walking over to the bison.
Behind him, Tarble maintained the same blank expression."...you saved him..."
"Pardon?" Vegeta turned his head around.
"You pulled Sokka out that creature's stomach, and then you resuscitated him by yourself!" Tarble went on.
"What's with that dumbass look on your face?" Vegeta demanded."Any good soldier knows such basic medical exercises; if you were a real warrior, you'd know that." he said before turning back around.
That did nothing to lesson Tarble's confusion."b-But...Why?"
Yet again, Vegeta halted; he whipped his own body around and stared at his astonished brother. The brothers stared at eachother for a moment."What was I suppose to do? Let Sokka die!? Enough with the damn questions!" Vegeta spun back around for the bison.
Tarble couldn't believe his eyes. His brother did that? The same man that blew up planet Arlia just because he felt like it? Then again that was just a rumor, but even so, he's never seen Vegeta do anything like that for anyone except Tarble himself, and that was only because Vegeta..."But I'm his brother! So of course! But these people? Don't tell me he actually saved Sokka just because he..."Tarble watched as Vegeta climbed onto Appa's saddle; Aang raised his hand to Vegeta, who grabbed the boy by the wrist, and raised the smile boy up eye level; he then dropped him on his feet. The others climbed up with him.
"Hey, Vegeta Jr.! Whacha' waitin for!?" Toph called."That's your official nickname by the way!"
But Tarble paid no mind to that; he stood stone still as he saw the five together, staring back at him."..cared..?" escaped Tarble's lips.
The bison soared up and over the edge of the wall.
"We made it!" Sokka cheered."Now, we can finally head to the Earth King and assemble ourselves army for the Day of Black Sun!"
"I'm not calling it that," Mai sighed.
"Gah, finally," Vegeta felt his forehead."Civilization. I wonder if their baths are comparable to that of Omashu?"
"Is that the place where you lost your armor?" Tarble asked.
"We do not speak of that," Vegeta said quietly.
"And now we finally have a place we can go that's completely safe from the Fire Nation!" Aang beamed. Just then, Momo looked to his left and noticed something that frightened him."It's been so long since we had a place like that to stay!" Momo crawled over to Aang and pulled at his shirt."Of course those places were all invaded at some point." Momo tugged at Aang's shirt harder, his tiny head whipping back and forth."First the Northern Water Tribe, then Omashu..." Momo began to point at something desperately,"But this place? This place has never even been breached by the Fire Nation!" Momo screamed trying to pull Aang with both arms."It's been the single bastion of safety from war for the last century! I'm confident we won't be seeing Princess Azula or any army at this city's doorstep for a long ,long-ow!" he grunted upon Momo striking his bald head with Sokka boomerang."What is it MomOHMYGOD!" he cried, having finally turned his head to the left.