#but Zarbon’s move set is there~

[bliss-wily]

Idk if you're busy right now, but will you be posting specific intros from sparking zero? Even if you won't, will screenshots of Zarbon's moveset be OK for now?

Yeah, absolutely. I’ve been playing (just trying to grasp the controls ^^”). I’d love to post videos but I might need to upload elsewhere as Tumblr has a file limit, as some of this is fun - really fun.

I’ll post what I have at the moment which admittedly isn’t much yet. I’ll share for both his forms on this post.

[floating-mid-air]

The Princess of all Saiyans

-

𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

-

𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠. 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚁𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚣'𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚙𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍. 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜��𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝙳𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚗 𝙱𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚉 𝙺𝚊𝚒 𝚘𝚗 𝙽𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚗𝚜, 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝. 𝚂𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚜𝚘 𝚏𝚊𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚁𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚣 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚕. 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝙸 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍'𝚟𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛.

-

Chapter 2

-

Several months have passed, and while the Z-Fighters have spent all their time training. Our Sayian's have had a much different experience. The unit of four has been traveling to Earth at an alarming speed. Each member confined in their own pod, spending most of their time in silence. 

Boredom has completely taken over. You haven't fought, let alone killed anything in months, and it's starting to make you antsy. In an attempt to ease your restlessness, you occasionally talk to your fellow Saiyans, but that only seems to tick Vegeta off.

And to make matters worse, Zarbon refuses to answer both yours and Raditz's transmissions. You both may have pranked him one too many times. And the green-haired narcissist only rubbed salt in the wound by narking on you to Vegeta. This earned you both an infamous scolding from the kill-joy himself.

You move your hand to your scouter, messing around with the settings. You look through the purple screen, glancing at the power levels around you, excluding the other Saiyans, of course. An idea pops into your head as you turn on the transmitter function of your scouter.  "Hey, Raditz. I have a question for you." The weaker Saiyan hums in acknowledgment.  "How does it feel to have been demoted?"

"What are you going on about this time?" Vegeta's gruff voice invades your conversation. "We've all had to deal with your foolishness for months on end, and I think I speak for all of us when I say we've had enough."

You intentionally ignore the second half of your brother's complaints. By now, you've learned to toon out his endless lectures. "Well, since Kakarot and Cado are both out of the picture. That makes Hair-Boy here the new runt."

"I'm older than you!" The three of you laugh at Radiz's outburst. He always provides some sort of quality entertainment. 

"So." You click your tongue at him. "I'm stronger than you. If I wanted to, I could make you join your little brother Kakarot in hell."

"I'm with (Y/N) on this one," Nappa interjects. "Raditz the Runt has a nice ring to it."

"Well, what about Kakarot's brat?" Raditz huffs. Getting under his skin will never get old.

"The half-breed?" You rub your chin. "That's a tough one. It entirely depends on how severely his Saiyan genetics were diluted."

"I don't know about that one, Princess. As far as I'm concerned, he shouldn't even be considered a Saiyan." Nappa makes a fair point. The only one who saw the full extent of the brat's abilities was Cado, and he's no longer a possible informant.  And from what Raditz had told you, he's a weak, sniveling brat, so it doesn't look good for him.

"That's enough! All three of you!" Vegeta's voice rings through your ears. He really is the buzz-kill of the group.

"It's better than total silence." You retort. "Six months of being trapped in this damn pod, I'm starting to go stir-crazy." You begin to fidget, remembering that you're enclosed in the small space.

"Well, good news for you, my impatient sister. We're expected to arrive on Earth in a few days." You feel a rush of relief at Vegeta's words. In only a few short days, you'll be free and able to have some destructive fun. "Now, if you behave yourself for the rest of the trip. I'll allow you to explore the planet before we turn it into rubble. Sound good?"

You nod. " Ya, okay, Vegeta." And with that, you turn off your scouter, returning to the familiar silence you have grown accustomed to.

---------------------------------------------------------

11:43 AM

Even a being, with a basic understanding of feeling power levels. Could sense the abnormal presence of insanely high power from multiple sources. Piccolo, however, has a greater comprehension of this technique than most. He and Gohan had paused their training, the second they could feel the large clusters of energy.

The pair had a conversation about the Saiyan's arrival before a scowl spreads across Piccolo's features as he stares off into the distance, in the direction that the power levels are located.  "What's wrong, Piccolo?" It was clear Gohan wasn't referring to the Saiyan's early arrival, but something else entirely. 

"Cado said there would be four Saiyans." His deep voice contained a hint of alarm. "I can only sense Raditz and two other high power sources."

Gohan furrows his brows, with a slight tilt of his head. "Isn't that a good thing? Maybe one of them isn't here. Or they could just be much weaker than the others."

Piccolo scoffs. "Somehow, I don't think it's that simple, Gohan."

Meanwhile, our Saiyan's have attracted quite the audience from their flashy arrival. Vegeta and Nappa already stand before the crowd, identical smirks on their lips. "So this is Earth? It's not nearly as bad as I expected." Vegeta's eyes scan the crowd, feeling great pleasure over the terrified faces in the mob.

"Be careful boys," You fly up to stand beside your brother, blowing a strand of your hair away from your face. "I think you're scaring them." Your mocking tone was hard to miss, especially since it was mixed with the satisfied look on your face. 

"Don't worry, Princess, I was just thinking about how we should show them our appreciation. How about you let me greet the locals?" Nappa holds up his hand, a cluster of energy forming in his palm.

Vegeta chuckles. "Just go easy on them. We don't need another mishap like what happened on planet Polar. You wiped out their entire population in one blast."

"I'll try my best, Vegeta."  Nappa adheres to his promise, creating a crater, killing several feeble humans in the process. 

You toon out most of Vegeta and Nappa's conversation, taking out the significant pieces. It was mostly about Nappa's lack of self-control and the financial turmoil he can cause us. Vegeta has more of a focus on economically supporting the group, while you're more focused on the fun parts of your job.

You look around, noticing a certain loud-mouth has yet to make an appearance. You lock your eyes on the fourth pod. The door is still shut. You launch yourself from the ground, flying over to the area. "Raditz?" You hover above the pod. A faint mumbling and a light banging can be heard from the inside. You chuckle to yourself. "Are you stuck?"

He remains silent for a moment before letting out a sigh of defeat. "Yes."

A smirk appears on your face. "Need some help?" You tilt your head as you land in front of the pod.

"Yes." You can hear the agitation in his voice, which only makes the situation more amusing. 

You shake your head. "Nuh-uh. What's the magic word?"

You can hear him growl at the sound of your laughter. "Please." Taking a hit at a Saiyans pride is the worst thing you could do to them, and you're currently milking the blow to Raditz's ego.

You pry the door open, finally releasing Raditz from his prison. A scowl present on his face. And even though his tail is wrapped securely around his waist, you notice the tip twitch in agitation. The shit-eating grin on your face only seems to make him angrier. He stands beside you, his onyx eyes meeting your own. "Have I ever told you how much I hate you?" You chuckle, grabbing his arm, pulling him over to the other two Saiyans.

"Now that everyone is accounted for. Let's scope out the highest power level on this pitiful planet. Finding whoever killed Caddo should be as simple as that."

Nappa turns on his scouter, his brows furrowed as he looks around. "That's strange. My scouter has readings for multiple power levels over one-thousand. How are there so many?"

"I'm so touched." You place your hand on your chest as Raditz raises a brow at you. "Obviously, they've been anxiously awaiting our arrival. This is gonna be more fun than I thought."

"My sister is right. There is no reason to be alarmed. As I said before, just locate the highest power level on this rock, and we should find him."

Before Nappa can even find Piccolo, Raditz beats him to the jump. "I found it." He points straight ahead. "Two high power levels beside each other are in that direction."

"Yes, it seems that you're right. How about we go have some fun?" You finally get a whiff of yourself while your brother is speaking. Those past six months in that pod were not kind to you.

"You guys go ahead. I'm gonna bathe first." Vegeta nods at you before his gaze meets Raditz, his eyes narrowing.

Raditz takes a strand of his long hair, curling it around his finger. "Ya, I should probably wash my hair too."

"Alright, when you're done. I trust one of you will be competent enough to locate us." He looks back and forth between you two before his eyes once again glue on Raditz. "You don't take your eyes off her, even for a second." You huff, crossing your arms as Raditz nods at his request.

The two of you fly in the opposite direction of your companions. You spin in the air, doing all sorts of tricks, as Raditz laughs. "It's a shame we'll be destroying this planet."

"Why's that?" He furrows his brows at you. "Have you finally developed a conscience?"

You chuckle, throwing your head back. "That's insane. The gravity here is so light. Think of all the fun we could have."

"Ya, that sounds more like you (Y/N)." The two of you increase your pace as the shoreline enters your field of vision. You land on the beach, taking in the view for a moment. You've never seen anything quite like this before.

You remove your armor, leaving you in your blue bodysuit. It's almost identical to your brothers, the only difference is yours is a two-piece. You toss your armor to the ground before diving into the water. You move deep into the ocean, observing all the life forms in the water. For such a weak planet, there is a wide variety of creatures. 

You swim back up, gasping for air. Raditz stands directly in front of you, his head cocked to the side. You remove your tail from your waist, letting it flow freely. He shakes his head. "Vegeta will be mad."

You growl at the mention of your brother. "What Vegeta doesn't know won't kill him." You narrow your eyes at your fellow Saiyan. "I'm sick of him always telling me what to do."  Your hands ball up into fists. "Raditz watch (Y/N). Nappa, keep an eye on my sister." Your impression of your brother is insanely accurate. It must be all the time you spend together. "I can take care of myself."

Raditz laughs at the pout on your face. "He knows you can take care of yourself." You raise a brow at the older Saiyan. "You just have a knack for getting yourself into trouble."

"Me? Trouble? Never!" You exclaim with your hands before breaking out into a fit of laughter. You can't even fool yourself into believing it.

Raditz gets out first, as you wade in the water for a bit. "Let's go (Y/N)! Vegeta will have our heads if we're not back soon!" You, nod removing yourself from the water.  You fly up spinning around, successfully drying yourself off. You pop your armor back on before re-wrapping your tail around your waist.

You turn on your scouter. Finding Nappa and Vegeta was easy. However, there are definitely more than two power levels surrounding them. "Looks like my brother and Nappa have more company than expected. We can't let them have all the fun, now can we." Raditz smirks at you before the two of you take off in the direction of the mass amounts of power.

Before the two of you arrive, you stop Raditz with your hand. "You go and join the others. I'm gonna have a bit of fun." Raditz nods. Before taking off once again. You take a deep breath before circling around the battlefield. You always love toying with your prey before the kill.

Raditz joins his comrades, his figure landing beside Vegeta. "Sorry, I'm late. The traffic here is just awful." The prince's eyes narrow at him. He was about to ask for your location until you entered his field of view. You stand behind your future victims, with your hands on your hips. Your companions notice your arrival. Raditz and Nappa both with slight curves of their lips while Vegeta rolls his eyes at your nonsense. 

Piccolo scowls at their newly arrived enemy. "Where is the other Saiyan?" You mimic the Namekian gaining a slight chuckle from Raditz.

Vegeta clicks his tongue. "I don't think you're in any position of making demands, Namekian." 

"Ya, where is this guy?" Your eyes narrow at Yamcha. You could easily remove him from the equation. You'd barely have to lift a finger. "Don't tell me that he's scared." Your mouth hangs agape. You take a deep breath, keeping your composure.

Gohan's eyes scan the group of Saiyans before his gaze locks on his uncle. His eyes widen as a distant memory fills his thoughts. "They're not a he! The fourth Saiayn is a girl."

Piccolo's head snaps toward the boy. "How do you---" Gohan cuts off the green-alien. 

"I remember her fighting with Raditz on his scouter."

Before anyone else can respond, your voice booms from behind them. "Perceptive little thing, aren't ya?" You decide to use a simple Destructo Disc shooting the yellow saucer just above their heads as you turn an entire mountain into ruins. As soon as the blinding light disappears, your opponents turn around to meet you. You're looking at your nails, a look of boredom apparent on your features. Now you direct your attention to the earthlings. The look of surprise mixed with fear was quite pleasant. This should be fun.

[duhragonball]

I was thinking about Goku and Krillin's friendship and it occured to me that they spent months training with Roshi together but then only saw each other for maybe a day every few years. Have you ever had a realization that tripped you out like this?

This is a really good ask, anon, and I just wanted to take a moment to say so. 

I have had a few ‘a-ha’ moments like these, but I’m kind of blanking on specific examples.  I’ll see what I can come up with.

1) For openers, there’s the whole thing where the Red Ribbon Army has a Dragon Radar, but it’s nowhere near as sophisticated as the handheld one Bulma invented.  I think the same holds true for Emperor Pilaf, but his gang is only three people.   You’d expect the RRA to have the best equipment possible, because that’s their whole deal, and by normal standards they probably do have the best possible Dragon Radar... but Bulma’s is simply that much better, because she’s on another level.   And it’s easy to overlook that, because Bulma’s supposed to be a genius teenager, like Donatello in TMNT, but the RRA’s Dragon Radar is the first hint that she’s even more special than we could have guessed. 

2) Rewatching Dragon Ball in 2019, I gained a new appreciation for the filler episodes where Mr. Popo trained Goku.  The first time I saw them, I was hoping we’d see Goku grow up and make progress over the three year gap, but instead they just focused on his early days on the Lookout, with Popo just saying things and Goku failing to understand.  It was very frustrating to watch.  

But in 2019, I noticed that all those episodes get paid off in the Piccolo Junior fight.   Popo kept telling Goku to be “quicker than lightning” and “quiet as the sky”, and Goku just couldn’t figure out how to do that, let alone fight at the same time.   He had to unlearn all the stuff that had helped him defeat King Piccolo, and he couldn’t do it... at first.    But by the time he fought Piccolo Junior, he put it all together, as demonstrated with his big finishing move.   Piccolo thought he had vaporized Goku, only for Goku to fly up into the air and crash into him.   Why didn’t Piccolo sense Goku’s presence?   Because Goku had learned to become as “quiet as the sky”.  Why couldn’t Piccolo dodge it?   Because Goku had learned to become “quicker than lightning.”  So it vindicates those filler episodes pretty nicely.   They weren’t just marking time, but they were setting up what the manga was going to do later.

3) I think last year, it hit me that Vegeta had probably never lost a fight before he went to Earth.   That alone isn’t probably any big deduction.  The only people stronger than him were all working for Frieza, and he knew to steer clear of them until he was ready.   But it explains why he was so giddy about the zenkai effect.   He had always known about it, but he never mentioned or cared about it until he experienced it for himself after losing to Goku, and then Zarbon. 

Yeah, I think this occurred to me during a conversation about Vegeta killing Nappa instead of helping him.   In theory, Nappa could have recovered and gotten a lot stronger, just like Vegeta did.   But Saiyans Saga Vegeta didn’t care about that.   He only gave his henchmen one chancemand discarded them as soon as they lost.   This attitude would also explain why he never dared to challenge anyone at a higher level.    He knew no one would show him any mercy, so the zenkai boost would have been meaningless to him. 

So he might have regretted killing Nappa after he experienced the zenkai firsthand, although he was so drunk on his own increased power that he probably never stopped to consider it.   But before Earth, Vegeta probably dismissed the zenkai as a crutch for lesser Saiyans.   In his mind, a truly great Saiyan never loses battles in the first place.  Or so he believed, until he lost a few times, and became stronger for it, and had to reconsider.

And that also explains how he warmed up to the Super Saiyan Legend over the course of one afternoon.   He and Goku made such sick gains that week that he started to wonder if you could zenkai your way to Super Saiyan, and then he was begging Krillin to shoot him just so he could get a step closer.

4) In the same vein, it occurred to me at some point that Bardock was probably stronger than King Vegeta, and neither of them realized it.   Maybe it was just a dub-ism, but I’m pretty sure “Father of Goku” has a line about Bardock’s power level being 10000.   At the time it was released, 10k wasn’t that big a deal, but in the Saiyans Saga, Vegeta was somewhere around 18-24k. Later, he would claim to have surpassed his father as a child, so I think it’s fair to assume that King Vegeta must have been in that 10,000 neighborhood. 

Which makes a nice subtle commentary on why the Saiyan Kingdom failed. They tried to breed better warriors, putting all their stock in the royal family, when the true secret lay in warriors like Bardock, who were constantly getting clobbered and healed.  Prince Vegeta only started to make real progress once he began fighting on that same regimen.

5) Also about “Father of Goku,” Frieza only wanted Planet Kanassa subjugated because of the psychic powers of its inhabitants.   I think the dub insinuated that the planet itself gave people those powers, but whatever the case, Frieza heard about these people with unusual powers and wanted them stamped out immediately.   Just like he wiped out the Saiyans over the Super Saiyan Legend, and just like he planned to destroy Namek to prevent anyone else from using the Dragon Balls. 

In short, Frieza fears and despises legends.  Why?  Because he’s so powerful that real people can’t hurt him, so his fears naturally turn to half-truths and folklore.   He chases down ghost stories and rumors, because let’s face it, what else does he have to occupy his time.   That’s why King Cold was happy to have the Saiyans working for him, while Frieza wanted them all dead.   Cold didn’t share Frieza’s hangups.   Cold barely knew what a Super Saiyan was, while Frieza thought about it all the time. 

6) One day I thought about that timeline where Cell killed Trunks and took the time machine to find the androids.    That specific timeline is pretty much empty.  The Z-fighters are all dead, and so are all of the androids and Trunks.  They don’t even have a Cell anymore because he went back in time and never returned.   There’s still a population, I guess, because the Trunks of that world wouldn’t have just stood by while Cell absorbed everyone on Earth, but that’s about it.   Bulma might have survived Cell’s attack on Trunks, but she’d be the only “name” character on the board.  It just sounds like a pretty depressing world.   Maybe this was the timeline Whis picked out to relocate Blunks and Future Mai in Dragon Ball Super.

7) It sort of blows my mind that the entire Majin Buu arc takes place over a couple of days.    Like, episode 207 through 250 all takes place over one day.   We know this because Goku only had 24 hours to be back in the living world, and that time was cut short by his use of SSJ3.  Then the Elder Kai started doing his ritual to make Gohan stronger, and that took like 25 hours, I’m pretty sure.  That wrapped up in #262, and there was no break in the action from that point onward, all the way up to the defeat of Kid Buu in #287.  So yeah, eighty episodes over two days.   It’s practically real-time footage, save for skipping over the Elder Kai’s ritual and Goten and Trunks practicing and sleeping. 

It’s hard to catch on to this, though, because so much stuff happens in the anime version that leads you to think that it’s a much longer span of time.    After Vegeta wrecks the stadium, the anime can’t decide whether or not Mr. Satan would stay there or return to his dojo.   In the Fusion Saga, Mr. Satan wanders from Buu’s house to the nearest town, then he wanders to the next town over, doing his “Last Man on Earth” bit, except this all happens during the Gotenks/Super Buu fight, which barely lasts half an hour.   In the afterlife, Chi-Chi is worried that she can’t find Gohan, but she wouldn’t have even been there that long, and wouldn’t she still be in line to meet King Yemma?  She was one of the last Earthlings to die, so how did she end up in heaven so quickly?

8) I used to think Movie 13 (the Hirudegarn one) was canon, but the last time I watched it, I noticed all these glaring problems.  They use the Dragon Balls in this one, which means it has to be set six months after the wish to make everyone forget about Majin Buum which means it’s been a year since Kid Buu was defeated.  Okay, fine, except Gohan and Videl are still in high school.   Shouldn’t they have graduated by then?   

More importantly, their high school and Bulma’s house seem to be in the same city.   I guess that’s an easy mistake to make.   It took me a long time to even notice, but Orange Star High is in Satan City, which is a totally different place from West City.   I mean, right?  They’re not terribly far apart, but they’re not the same place either.

Then again, they seemed to make the same error in Episode 287, where Bulma’s out shopping and Great Saiyaman 1 and 2 foil a robbery.   Are they in West City or Satan City?  Maybe there’s more to this...

[elisajdb]

GoChi Week 2021: A Fulfilled Life: Part Six

GoChi Week 2021

A Fulfilled Life

Day Six: Modern AU @gochi-week

Four-year-old Kakarrot hid behind several crates, frightened and unsure of what to do and why this is happening. Earlier that day, his Mommy and Daddy told him they were moving to a place that will make them all happy. Kakarrot didn’t like that he had to leave many of his toys behind but Mommy promised to buy him new toys.

Daddy drove them to an old building where Daddy said a friend of his will take them to their new home. There, they met a tall burly man Kakarrot knew as Gyumao and the one who will take his family to the happy place.  

It was a lie.

In his mother’s arms, Kakarrot heard words being exchanged between Daddy and Gyumao, loud bangs, his Daddy falling to the ground; Mommy screaming and running away with him; more loud bangs that caused his Mommy to fall and drop him. Before Mommy closed her eyes to sleep, she told him to run. Kakarrot ran and hid behind the crates.

Kakarrot could see and hear everything. Daddy was still awake but sounded in pain. Daddy’s shirt changed colors, too. It turned from light blue to a dark red over his tummy. More people entered the building. A short man Kakarrot heard called Freeza stood over his Daddy. With him were two other strange people and Gyumao.  

“Bardock, you dumb fuck. You got greedy. If you only tried to save Gine and Kakarrot I would’ve looked the other way. I would’ve thought Gine planned her escape behind your back and ditched you because I took Raditz.” Freeza sadistically laughed over Daddy. “I would’ve taunted you at every opportunity your wife took her other son and ditched you. I would’ve had sympathy for you and not ordered them killed but you got greedy. You wanted out yourself.” Freeza pressed his booted foot on Bardock’s neck. “You would leave me after all I’ve done for you? I’m hurt, Bardock. Deeply hurt.”

Freeza removed his foot and stepped away leaving Daddy to cough up red liquid. “Done for me?” Daddy sounded in pain. “You made me and all the members of the Oozaru organization your flunkies. We did your bidding after our boss Vegeta submitted control of our group to you. Your organization became the strongest and the most feared group in the land because of OUR muscle. Without us, you’re nothing!”

A pale skin man Kakarrot heard named Zarbon laughed haughtily, “He thinks the Oozaru should take credit for your strength, Mr. Freeza. How insulting he doesn’t give you the credit you deserve.”

“Indeed. Something must be done.” Freeza turned to Gyumao. “Kill him.” When Gyumao only reacted with shocked eyes, Freeza snarled, “Use your gun and kill him.”

“No.” Gyumao shook his head refusing him. “I betrayed Bardock and my partner to keep my wife and daughter safe. I won’t kill him.”

“Useless.” Freeza snatched the gun out of Gyumao’s hands. He fired two bullets in Bardock’s head. He shot Gyumao’s left shoulder.

Kakarrot gasped. Daddy stopped talking. He was sleeping like Mommy. Kakarrot didn’t understand everything that was going on but even his young mind understood he and his parents weren’t going to the happy place and it was all Gyumao’s fault.

Kakarrot yelp as he was pulled in the air. He saw a burly, bald man grinning at him. “Gotcha, kid.”

****

Twenty-Two Years Later

“Here he comes. Right on schedule,” Lazuli remarked as she noticed the familiar tall man with wild spiky hair and dressed in a suit that cost more than her rent for six months approaching. Lazuli turned away and pretended to not notice him as she placed signs of today’s menu outside the food truck.

Inside the truck, ChiChi looked herself over in the small mirror hanging in a corner. Her face wasn’t wet with kitchen sweat yet and her makeup looked perfect. She checked her shirt. No food stains yet. Good. Lazuli stepped into the truck. She smirked at ChiChi’s primping. “Aren’t you thirsty for your favorite customer?”

“I am not thirsty. I’m happy to see my favorite customer. It’s because of him Mt. Frypan Food Truck has got off the ground. He recommended this and other locations around the city. I’m so much closer to opening a restaurant. I owe him a lot.”

College roommates and both laid off work, ChiChi used her savings to start her own food truck business. Lazuli never thought ChiChi would have the guts to do it. She even teased if ChiChi got a food truck, she’ll be her partner. When ChiChi arrived in her apartment parking lot with the food truck, Lazuli became a woman of her word and partnered with ChiChi. She helped with the designs for the truck, marketing flyers and building the company’s website and social media accounts.

Business started slowly. They made some money but Mt. Frypan was always in the red. Six months in and behind in her rent, ChiChi started to wonder if this was a good idea. Then Kakarrot appeared. He purchased a sandwich, complimented ChiChi, paid and left. Lazuli and ChiChi thought that was the end of it but Kakarrot returned the next day ordering another item on the menu. Kakarrot eventually ate every item on the menu. Noticing the slow business, Kakarrot recommended locations and ideas to ChiChi. She listened and her business turned around. She became one of the most in-demand food trucks in the city. Her dream to own her restaurant was a lot closer now thanks to Kakarrot.

Every day, Kakarrot arrived at Mr. Frypan Food Truck at 10:30 am when Lazuli and ChiChi began setting up for the day. ChiChi always had Kakarrot’s lunch ready. She cooked extra for him. It was very obvious ChiChi was smitten with Kakarrot but ChiChi never made a move which aggravated Lazuli.

“When are you gonna ask him out?”

“Why would I ask him out?” ChiChi looked out the food truck. Kakarrot had stopped to talk on his phone. She chewed her lower lip. He looked so hot in that suit. “He’s a nice man who’s helped my business.”

“You’re always checking yourself when he comes by. You always give him extra food for lunch.”

“He helped me with my business. It’s only fair I give him extra.” Lazuli raised her eyebrow at her. “I’m not his type, okay. You see him in those expensive suits. I’m just an ordinary woman trying to make it in this world. I know I’m attractive but I know my limits.”

Lazuli scoffed. “You’re being stupid. It’s very obvious Kakarrot is into you. I don’t know what problems you both have in not making a move.”

ChiChi shushed her as Kakarrot pocket his phone and made his way to the food truck. Kakarrot smiled at the two women. “Good morning, ladies.” Kakarrot read the menu outside the truck. “Barbecue today. You should do well.”

“We hope so. We got a lot of meat cooked and ready to go.” ChiChi handed Kakarrot his lunch through the sell window. “Here’s your lunch.” Kakarrot took his lunch and handed ChiChi her money. He paid in cash every time with a hefty tip.

“Thanks. I appreciate this.” Instead of walking away as he always did, Kakarrot lingered. “I know you have to finish setting up before you open but do you have a minute? I’d like to talk to you alone.”

“Uh….” This is what ChiChi wanted to hear Kakarrot say to her for months and instead of saying ‘Yes’ her brain freezes.

“She has time,” Lazuli spoke for her. “I got this.”

ChiChi shook her head at Lazuli flushed. She couldn’t do this now! Her brain wasn’t working! She couldn’t speak! Lazuli brushed past ChiChi and opened the door. She shoved ChiChi forward, forcing her to leave.

Kakarrot stood at the door waiting for her. Pushing down the butterflies in her stomach, ChiChi stepped out of the truck. She noticed Kakarrot’s eyes sweeping over her. “What is it?”

“This is the first time I’ve seen you from the waist down. I only see you behind that sell window. Nice.” His eyes were on her legs. She looked cute in her shorts. Being a runner and having a black belt in martial arts, ChiChi kept herself in excellent shape. “Shame I’m only seeing it now. Maybe I would’ve made my move sooner.”

“Move?” ChiChi inquired innocently.

“Are you seeing anyone?”

ChiChi’s breath hitched, her heart jumped. Was Kakarrot going to…? “No,” she answered breathlessly. “Are you?”

Kakarrot grinned. “I wouldn’t ask if I were.” He stepped closer to ChiChi. ChiChi stepped back until she was pressed against the truck. “We’ve been doing this little dance for way too long. I’ve found you attractive since I laid eyes on you.”

“All of me from the waist up?” ChiChi quipped.

Kakarrot chuckled. “Yeah.” His eyes swept over hers again. “I wasn’t sure you felt the same way but I thought, ‘Fuck it. I’m gonna do this.’ So, I am. I wanna take you out.”

Don’t be shy, ChiChi told herself. Go for it. “I want you to take me out.”

Kakarrot grinned. “You’re very certain of yourself. Not shy like I thought you’d be. I thought I will have to assure you I want you.”

“Why act shy when we both want the same thing?”

Kakarrot’s intense coal eyes bore into hers. “Do we both want the same thing?”

“I…..” his eyes were intense, the cologne he wore smelled so good and there was a definite bulge in his pants that was making her wet. “What do you want?”

“You. In my car. In my bed. In my shower. The breakfast bar in my kitchen.” Kakarrot leaned over her. He was so close he was almost touching her. “You’ve been on my mind a lot lately. I had an intense dream of us last night. So much I had to beat myself off three times before I could leave my place.” The visual of Kakarrot rubbing himself off to her caused her own core to tingle and more moisture to soak her lacy underwear. “It’s not just physical though. You’re beautiful and I admire your drive and determination to make this business a success. I really want to get to know you.”

Kakarrot pulled back allowing ChiChi a moment to breathe. “Oh,” his eyes dropped. “I guess we do want the same thing.”

ChiChi’s eyes followed Kakarrot’s. She looked down at her chest. Damn thin bra. Damn her light-colored shirt.

“How about Friday night?” Kakarrot suggested.

Friday night would give her today, tomorrow and Friday afternoon to shop for a dress. Maybe she’ll go to the salon. She was attracted to Kakarrot for a long time. She never told Lazuli but many lonely nights Kakarrot filled her mind and provided her with relief. If he was impressed with her in shorts and thin shirts, he’ll really be impressed when she’s dressed up.

“Where are we going?” ChiChi asked.

“Bansho’s for dinner and Kame House afterward.”

Bansho’s was an expensive restaurant and Kame House was an exclusive club where many celebrities, the rich and athletes appeared in. Food truck owners like her didn’t qualify but she wanted to. “Sounds nice.”

“I’ll see you, Friday.” Kakarrot took his lunch and walked off. His phone rang. He pulled it out of his phone. The contact’s name calling him read “Asshole”. Kakarrot answered on the second ring. “What is it, Vegeta?”

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” Vegeta warned him. “Remember your father, Bardock? He got attached to Gine. It blinded him. It made him reckless. It cost him his life.”

“No. That was Freeza and that asshole, Gyumao. They’re both gonna pay. Gyumao will be first.”

“Then kill him and his daughter and be done with it.”

“No.” Killing Gyumao would be too easy. Kakarrot wanted him to suffer. “He needs more than a quick death. He needs to suffer like I have. He needs to lose everything like I have. His daughter is the key to getting my revenge and no one will stop me from getting it.”

[bearstarseraphffxi]

Anxiety

Also available at https://archiveofourown.org/works/28257798

The blasts shaking the palace had servants and soldiers running, some even jumping out of windows.

General Nappa was grabbing people in the panicking horde.

“Have you seen Prince Vegeta?” “Have you seen Little Geta?” “Has anyone seen Prince Vegeta?!”

~~***~~

Prince Vegeta was ducking in and out of doors. Many adults had tried to grab him, but he forced himself out each time.

Vegeta turned into a servant’s hallway to cut through one of the kitchens. There was another boom and plaster from the ceiling dropped.

“It’s coming from the throne room,” he thought. “What is Papa doing?”

He had tried hiding Tarble from his father and succeeded for a month before he was captured. He knew the palace inside and out.

Vegeta jumped in the dumbwaiter.

~~***~~

Vegeta opened the door and found it blocked by a large block of stone. He quickly kicked it out of the way and climbed out.

The throne room was a pile of rubble. Vegeta’s eyes darted around the broken columns and shattered marble. He made his way towards his father’s throne as more stone tumbled and crashed. He went to cross the room when he discovered a feasting table full of food, now covered in dust.

“Can your miserable little brain comprehend why I’m so angry, Saiyan King?”

Vegeta saw his father on his hands and knees with a purple cat-like man stepping on his head.

“Forgive me because I promised to fulfill your mission in the time you gave me, Lord Beerus, but it took longer than I thought it would.”

“Wrong!” Beerus said.

“Father’s being humiliated. How can he take that?” he said softly.

“I consider myself a rather flexible deity. I know you mortals have your limitations but there is one thing I cannot tolerate. The callous arrogance of those who do not pay the respect a Destroyer is due.”

Beerus then shoved his head deep into the floor.

“I ordered you to find the most comfortable pillow in the universe and I know for a fact you obtained it. Your tenacity was impressive, although your methods a bit severe.”

The man pulled his father up by his hair. “I bet you don’t even know how many creatures you killed in that raid. Of course, being what I am I could have accepted all that if you’d actually given me the best pillow, instead of keeping it for yourself and try to fool me with the second best.”

He then began to beat King Vegeta.

“Papa!” Vegeta charged forward.

Beerus glanced over his shoulder and Vegeta felt a pulse go through him.

He instantly collapsed.

King Vegeta turned his head to look at his son on the ground.

Beerus dropped the king back on the ground and stood. “Well, that little stunt almost makes up for the utter waste of time this was. Whis, let’s go.”

“Yes, Lord Beerus,” Whis said walking towards him.

Then he stopped walking and looked down at the prince’s body.

“Oh!” Whis laughed into his palm. “Lord Beerus, you are so merciful. You surprise me.”

Beerus looked over his shoulder. “What are you talking about?”

“The little prince is still alive.”

Beerus spun around. “What?! That would have dropped Frieza. That’s impossible.”

He saw Vegeta begin to get his limbs under him.

“Are you trying to stand?!” Beerus stomped over as Vegeta got on his hands and knees. Beerus kicked him sending him flying.

Vegeta landed on the throne. It tilted backwards before coming to rest.

King Vegeta looked behind him. His son was still moving.

“Consider this my greatest mercy,” Beerus said.

King Vegeta turned back to him and saw Beerus raise his hand with his fingers touching his thumb.

“That you get to see your son die on the throne.” Beerus snapped his fingers.

King Vegeta spun around hearing his son scream.

The prince was almost bent in half backward. His legs were straight, arms twisted, wrists reared back and his fingers clawed the air. The screaming stopped but his body did not relax.

King Vegeta heard an explosion behind him. He looked and saw Beerus had blasted a hole in the ceiling to the outside. He turned his head and smirked as Whis cast his bubble and they vanished.

The king got off his knees and ran to his throne. Vegeta was stiff as a board, unseeing eyes wide with his tongue sticking out of blue lips.

King Vegeta cupped his son's face in his hands. “Gods no… Please no… Please…” Then his face hardened. “No. No gods. This is their fault.” He pulled his son’s face to his. “Listen to me Vegeta! You are stronger than this! You are the Saiyan of legend! Greater than every Saiyan to come before you! Greater than Frieza! Greater than all the damn gods! But you need to breathe! BREATHE! Fight it, Vegeta! Fight it! Don’t give up! Breathe! BREATHE! BREATHE! BREA—”

Vegeta’s head suddenly jerked as he gasped.

“Yes, Vegeta! Keep fighting! Keep breathing!”

Vegeta’s head jerked again in the opposite direction as he gasped again. The tips of his fingers started to twitch.

King Vegeta picked up his son. “You can do Vegeta! Keep at it! You can beat this!” He ran. “Keep breathing!”

 ~~***~~

King Vegeta sat in the elite hospital. After almost an hour, Prince Vegeta was still randomly twisting and jerking in the fluid. Suddenly, Vegeta unbent and went completely limp in the fluid. The doctors scrambled as the rhythm of the machines suddenly changed.

“What’s happening?!” King Vegeta demanded.

“Checking!” a doctor shouted.

King Vegeta watched his son hang in the liquid. He saw his son’s right hand weakly paw at the fluid.

“Sire!” the doctor turned around. He smiled. “He’s stabilizing.”

King Vegeta walked over and put his hand on the glass.

Prince Vegeta seemed to respond and tried but failed to lift his arm.

The beeping on one machine quickened.

“King Vegeta, please,” a doctor put his hand on his chest. “Please step back.”

He stepped out of the way and Vegeta’s arm lowered.

The beeping slowed.

“Ok… Ok, his heartbeat is stabilizing again.”

“King Vegeta,” the doctor asked again. “If you could wait in the side room. We’ll call you if there are any changes.”

King Vegeta took one last look at his son. “…Alright…”

~~***~~

After another half hour, there was an explosion. Then he heard Vegeta scream.

King Vegeta burst through the door just in time to get the remains of a doctor splashed across his face.

The room was destroyed, with one wall collapsed into the next med bay. Body parts covered the floor and equipment.

And his son was screaming, attacking everything that moved. Prince Vegeta lunged at his father.

King Vegeta struggled for his life against his son. The prince was born over twice his power level, and the gap had only grown. But he was crazed, wild like an Ozaru on a moonlit night.

The king got behind him and locked him in a bear hug. He could feel his leg bones cracking from his repeated kicking as he struggled to dodge the flailing headbutts. Suddenly, a doctor climbed the rubble and jammed a needle into the boy’s arm. After a few minutes, he stopped flailing and began to moan.

King Vegeta looked up at the ceiling, took a deep breath and sighed.

~~***~~

The king stepped out of the medical shower stall and found new royal robes waiting for him on a table guarded by Nappa. King Vegeta relaxed at the sight of the one man he considered a confidant. They were raised together. Destined battle partners, the supreme general had become a second set of arms to his brain.

Publicly, the prince’s power was so overwhelming he would not be able to have a proper partner. In reality, the king had no intention of keeping the tradition. No one would share his son’s glory.

“How is he?” King Vegeta asked, dropping his towel. He reached for his clothes.

“Tranquilized.”

“How many did we lose?”

“Nine doctors. Five were technically employed by Lord Frieza… their commander has contacted him. Frieza has ordered the best doctors the PTO have to offer to take care of him and to keep him updated.”

King Vegeta facepalmed. “Perfect… so much for keeping this quiet…” He lowered his arm. “When will they arrive?”

“About 40 minutes.”

The king grabbed his clothes, “Then let’s get ready to greet them.”

~~***~~

“Oh! Lord Beerus, you are so merciful. You surprise me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The little prince is still alive.”

“What?! That would have dropped Frieza. That’s impossible.”

“So, this is the video our spy collected?” Frieza asked, glaring at the screen.

Zarbon bowed, “Yes sire. Straight from the security cameras of the throne room itself.”

“Consider this my greatest mercy… that you get to see your son die on the throne.”

Frieza listened to Vegeta scream. “So… you’re telling me a child survived two attempts by Lord Beerus?”

“Apparently, sire,” Zarbon said. “But our doctor’s review of the data suggests the strong possibility of brain damage. He said it is impossible that something he called a “status epilepticus” of that severity didn’t do something to his brain.”

Frieza moved his gaze from the screen down to a tablet. “Seems his heart has been struggling as well.” He scrolled through it. “His file also lists a near fatal dose of adrenalin and other hormones.”

“Lord Beerus sure picked an odd way to kill him,” Dodoria said.

Frieza smirked and handed an aide back the tablet. “Actually, it’s quite simple Dodoria,” he chuckled dismissively. “Fear. Lord Beerus tried to kill him with fear.”

Frieza looked back up at the video as King Vegeta was screaming at his son to breathe.

“This monkey survived two attacks that would have killed me,” he thought. “Either Lord Beerus underestimated my power,” he glared at screen. “Or this child will be trouble.”

“Make a public announcement that Vegeta has caught an unknown virus from clearing a primitive world, and is in isolation and receiving the best care we have to offer. That planet will be destroyed as a safety measure, as this is clearly dangerous to sicken Saiyans, who have the best immune system in the galaxy.”

~~***~~

A few months later…

King Vegeta stormed into the care team’s office.

“You’ve been tranquilizing my son at night! Why?! Why wasn’t I told?!”

A reptilian doctor turned to confront him. “Because you have been interfering with your son’s treatment time and again, so I went over your head! It’s because of you his healing has stagnated!”

“My son does not need tranquilizers!”

“He’s barely slept in five months! Whatever mask he has been wearing to stroke your ego evaporates when he sleeps!”

“My son is fine! He has never been stronger and more ruthless! What happened to him was a blessing in disguise.”

“The prince’s brain chemistry has never recovered! If anything, it’s more unbalanced than before. He’s overcompensating trying to hide his symptoms. And you and your people’s view towards emotions are only making things worse!”

“Saiyan elite do not feel emotions! We are not weak! Watch your words defaming the Saiyan Prince!”

“Your son has brain damage! And his brain chemistry shows he’s in constant anxiety and fear.” He waved the tablet in his hand. “You can’t argue with science! The stress of  the shame you are forcing on him is only exacerbating the problem! If you ever want your son to actually heal, you need to relieve that stress before his brain completely scars over! If you don’t, you might as well toss him in the trash like your last child and find a new wife! Isn’t there a law about a couple producing two defective children? Because fuck it, my child should be able to survive two murder attempts by the fucking God of Destruction without a scratch!”

The king grabbed him by the arm and threw him out of the room. “Get off my planet! All of you! Off! Off! Off!”

King Vegeta chased the entire group into the hallway. “Out! Out! Out! Out!”

“King Vegeta!”

“What?!” he spun around and saw Nappa. He relaxed. “What is it?” he said calmly.

Nappa only extended a piece of paper.

King Vegeta thought he felt his heart stop in his chest as he read it.

“KING VEGETA 3,

IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT I HAVE BROKEN MULTIPLE SACRED LAWS OF HONOR. COMPLETE FAILURE CAN ONLY BE DEALT WITH BY DEATH OR EXILE. I SURRENDER ALL TITLE AND HONOR AND GO INTO EXILE BY MY OWN POWER.

LONG LIVE THE KING AND HIS UNBORN HEIR.”

“How many have seen this?”

“Just me,” Nappa answered.

King Vegeta burned it to ash with his energy.

Nappa stood at attention. “Orders, sire?”

King Vegeta formed his fist as the ash fell from his hand. “We find him and bring him back.”

~~***~~

A few weeks later, the two men landed in the middle of a blizzard.

“Holy fucking shit,” Nappa said jumping up and down and rubbing his arms. “It’s fucking cold.”

“I told you the signal was in the northern latitudes,” King Vegeta said, dressed in royal furs.

“But this planet is listed as tropical!”

“Low priority worlds are only surveyed every few million years. And this planet had obvious markings of recent glaciation even then, if you read the description.”

“What type of fucking planet swings from tropical to glaciers every few million years?!”

King Vegeta touched his scouter, then pulled it away from his ear.

“Damn it,” he began to play with the settings. “A local transmission is messing with the scouter communication link.”

Nappa turned his scouter on. “Oh, music… Catchy. Flees Navy Dad. Flees Navy Dad. Something anus Flees knee dad.”

“Nappa… Just stop…”

“You sure? The lyrics just switched to partial Uni.”

King Vegeta put the scouter back on. The numbers began to roll across the eyepiece. “Yes… I’m positive.” He looked left after its final beep. “There he his.”

They made their way through the blowing snow and discovered a small dwelling with smoke coming from a chimney.

“Scouter says only one person in there,” Nappa said.

“He better have killed the previous occupant, at least,” King Vegeta growled.

~~***~~

King Vegeta kicked down the fragile plant-derivative door. “Vegeta the Fourth!”

He saw a small form scurry on an upper platform.

King Vegeta grabbed his son and held him off the floor. “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING HERE?!” he shouted millimeters from his face.

The king then saw something he never thought was possible. His son started to whimper and cry.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” King Vegeta wound him up and threw him through the wall, causing the structure to partially collapse.

“Vegeta, what the hell?” Nappa shouted, digging himself out as it caught fire. He followed the path of broken trees and discovered King Vegeta on the ground clutching his stomach.

“Did you really think screaming at a kid that was strong enough to kill you as a newborn was a good idea?”

King Vegeta coughed as he struggled to sit up, “He’s -cough- never acted this way before.”

Nappa crouched down. “As if these past 6 months have been anything but normal. Here, let ol’ Uncle Nappa work his charms. Kids love me.”

“Fine…”

Nappa stood and flew off.

Vegeta laid on his back. “It’s because you’re such a freaking moron. You’re just a bad joke without me…”

~~***~~

Nappa followed his scouter and it led him to one of the many trees with needle leaves, its bottom buried in snow. He stood next to the tree.

“Hey Vegeta!” Nappa shouted. “Where are you?!” “Oh…” he said loudly. “I hope the little prince is all right. I’m REALLY SCARED something bad happened to him.”

The tree shivered, knocking snow from it. Nappa turned his back knowing Prince Vegeta was peeking through the branches. “The king was SO TERRIFIED when little Geta got sick. I never saw him SO SCARED. He even CARRIED and HELD him IN HIS ARMS. He could have CAUGHT IT TOO, but HE DIDN’T CARE. All he cared about was his SON OVER HIS DUTY and HONOR.”

“Nappa…” he heard a soft voice behind him. “Is that true?”

Nappa looked over his shoulder, “Of course. You should know better than anyone I’m a terrible liar.”

The tree shook again.

“Come in,” he heard louder.

Nappa circled the tree and a hole had been dug in the snow bank. He crawled through and found the prince had cut down the branches to make a cave. Even then, it was a tight fit for the giant.

“Wow, it’s actually warm in here. Nice job, my prince.”

He smiled at him and the child’s face hardened into a miniature of his father’s scowl.

“I order you to tell me the truth,” he said. “Tell me everything.”

“Vegeta, even elite Saiyans feel fear. It’s rare, but it’s true. Our strength means very little challenges us, but,” he leaned in, “We are not Super Saiyans. There are races stronger than us.”

“But that’s temporary!” Vegeta protested. “Saiyans grow and evolve! We will surpass all and rule the galaxy!”

“That’s very true,” Nappa said. “But we are not there yet. Vegeta listen, the sickness you got is very rare and very deadly. In fact, you are the only known survivor in millions of years. It even wrecked your body so badly you even got a huge zenkai. Your power nearly doubled.” Nappa held his finger in front of his face, “That is how close you came to dying. And you are actually still in recovery.”

Vegeta looked up at him, shocked.

Nappa nodded, “I’ve overheard your father screaming at the doctors constantly. They say you’re still in recovery, but your father hasn’t taken them seriously.” Nappa tapped his head, “Because it’s in here. The fever left you wild and uncontrolled like a third-class Ozaru; you were sedated for weeks. Then you were confused which left you crying and screaming, so your father drugged you again.”

Vegeta began to tremble. “Is father going to sedate me again?” he asked, burying his face in his knees. “So I can’t move?”

“Wait, you remember that?” Napa asked, shocked.

Vegeta nodded.

“Your brain scans said you were completely unconscious.”

Vegeta lifted his head. “Well, I wasn’t!” he shouted before burying his face again. “It was no different than looking at the moon, but I couldn’t get my body to obey me.”

Nappa’s eyes widened. “You don’t just remember your nights, but can control your form?”

Vegeta nodded.

Nappa looked forward. “Well, fuck…”

“But it was harder last time, I almost blacked out transforming. I… I was afraid. I was afraid of myself. And I almost lost my grip. I don’t think I was fully in control. I couldn’t play.”

“You shouldn’t waste time on the battlefield,” Nappa scolded.

“I just like practicing making noises. I want to be able to talk.”

“But why?”

“I… think it would be scarier… if I could talk. Ozarus are supposed to be mindless beasts. What if during battle one actually talked and fought intelligently? An Ozaru can still be wounded because it’s nothing but an animal, and can be outsmarted like any animal by a skilled hunter.” Vegeta peeked above his knees and Nappa saw his signature smirk. “I want to turn the hunters into the hunted and watch their faces when they realize everything they planned was useless. How powerless they are.”

Vegeta buried his face again, “But now I’m the powerless one…” He started to shake. “Please just go. Father can do so much better than me. I’m broken now. I’m scared,” his voice cracked, “I’m always scared. I’m scared of everything!”

“Vegeta, you’re young. You’re barely four years old. You have a century of battle ahead of you. This will heal. It will get better. Let’s go home and talk with your doctors. Figure out how to make this heal. But that can’t happen if you keep lying that everything is alright.”

“But what about Papa?”

“You mean the man you left rolling in the snow after a single punch?” Nappa held his palm out, “Vegeta, you’re now the strongest Saiyan in modern times.” He formed his fist. “You can take anything you want. Even the throne, if you wanted.”

“But no one will follow a weak king. I feel fear. What if my guards strike me while asleep?”

“Wow… you’ve really thought this through, huh?”

“Papa told me what guards are for…” he answered. “But what’s stopping them from turning?”

“Wow… you are so paranoid right now.” Nappa shifted. “Vegeta… I don’t know if I’m saying this right… but… Stop being afraid of your own fear. …A warrior can still dominate the battlefield without an eye or even an arm. The only thing stopping a warrior from doing that is their fear of that injury and being unable to see past it because of that fear. These emotions you can’t control at the moment are from a head injury. But even if it leaves a scar that never fully goes away, you can embrace it and alter yourself around it to make yourself a better warrior.” He patted Vegeta on the back, “But hey!” he chuckled, “If you have the patience and determination to conquer the impossible feat of becoming a talking Ozaru, then you can become the strongest Super Saiyan that’s ever lived, even if you feel a little bit of fear inside.”

Nappa put his arm down. “And you’re already well on your way. You really blindsided your father and I with that letter, which was burnt to ash before anyone else saw it. No one knows you abdicated. All this can be forgotten.”

Vegeta’s voice cracked again, “I just didn’t want to disappoint Papa. I thought everything would get better if I toughed it out, but it never did.”

“Which is why you need to be honest with the doctors now. If your head isn’t healing on its own, you are going to need help fixing it. Which is why we need to go back and tell the doctors everything you just told me, my prince.”

Vegeta nodded.

Nappa leaned in smiling, “Does that mean you’re ready to go home and get fixed up?”

Vegeta nodded.

Nappa stood up breaking the tree into splinters. “All right! Let’s get moving!”

Vegeta looked out over the snow bank. “Papa?”

Nappa turned around and saw the king.

“So… how long have you been there?” Nappa asked nervously.

“Long enough,” he answered. King Vegeta walked over and stared down into the hole in the snow.

Prince Vegeta squared his shoulders and looked up at him at attention. “I will agree to return to take my place as heir.” He then pointed at his father. “On the condition you no longer interfere with my recovery so I may become the heir required of a Saiyan Prince!”  

King Vegeta looked down at his son’s hardened, determined face.

“Agreed.”

~~***~~

King Vegeta unburied his son’s pod, programmed some coordinates, then sent him off.

“Man, I can’t wait to get back home and get warmed up,” Nappa said.

“Oh, we’re not going home just yet,” King Vegeta smirked and he began programming Nappa’s ship.

“What? Why?”

“We need an excuse for being missing these few months. There’s a desert planet nearby with a breathable atmosphere. The story will be we took Prince Vegeta for special training in a place where there could be no collateral damage.”

He stood up and put his hand on Nappa’s shoulder. “And I think for the crime of plotting a coup with my child,” he gave a sickly smile, “spending a couple days in a healing pod upon our return is quite merciful.”

Nappa chuckled awkwardly.

~~***~~

A month earlier…

Frieza smiled down at his tablet. “So this is the final composite rendering of that note King Vegeta burned?”

“Yes, sire,” a technician bowed. “We used every camera angle that caught a glimpse of the paper.”

“Thank you, you may leave.”

After the door closed, Frieza began laughing.

“Sire?” Zarbon asked nervously, “May I ask what you find so funny?”

Frieza passed him the tablet to him and Dodoria looked over his shoulder.

“Prince Vegeta has abdicated his throne?!” Dodoria exclaimed.

Frieza continued to laugh, “Poor little Vegeta is so tormented with anxiety and fear he’s run away from home! Oh! What lovely blackmail for when the king brings him back!”

~~***~~

A couple weeks later, the three ships land back on Planet Vegeta. Prince Vegeta ran to the crews before the door even fully opened. “Help!”

The crew stopped, shocked at the mangled state of his clothes and armor.

“Prince Vegeta? What’s happened?”

“I hit Papa too hard! We were training,” he dropped to his knees. “I hit Papa too hard.”

“Hey! General Nappa needs attention too!” the crew that recovered his pod shouted.

A Saiyan knelt down to the crying child. “Don’t worry my prince, I promise the king will be fine.”

Vegeta followed the medical teams into the elite hospital at the palace. He grabbed onto the coat of a passing staff.

He looked down, “Yes, Prince Vegeta?”

“Can I please see my doctors?” Vegeta asked softly.

He nodded, “Yes. Of course. Let me tell them.” He hurried off.

~~***~~

Vegeta waited on a bench swinging his feet in the air.

The lizard doctor walked quickly down the hall. “Young prince. It is good to see you again. If you could follow me into an empty room, we can go over your father’s and the general’s conditions.”

Vegeta followed him into an exam room. He climbed on the table as the doctor opened his tablet.

“You will be happy to hear that they will both make a full recovery,” he said sitting down on a spinning stool. “They won’t need more than three hours in the chamber, then they will be good as new.”

“Actually, doctor,” Vegeta looked up at him with a stern face. “I want to talk about me.”

“Oh… I see. What is it you want to talk about?”

“General Nappa has told me I am actually still in recovery, but my father has been ignoring your advice on my treatment.”

“…Yes…” he hesitated. “That is the case.”

“General Nappa has convinced my father to no longer interfere. You can confirm once they wake up.”

The doctor gave a sigh of relief, “That is good to hear. Lord Frieza was growing quite impatient with the stall of your recovery. Now we can finally work. And I promise we will heal you.”

“General Nappa compared my…” Vegeta hesitated. “my… my… my fear…” he stuttered. “To a warrior losing an eye. And I need to adapt as a warrior and overcome. But to do that, I need to tell you everything.”

The doctor smiled, “The fact you were able to say the word fear is a great start, Prince Vegeta. And I promise that word will never leave my team. I know how hard that word is for a Saiyan to say. But if it is easier, the special type of fear you have is called anxiety.”

“An-xi-ety,” Vegeta said slowly. “I will need to ask my father who I am allowed to say that word around.”

The doctor nodded. “So, what else did you want to tell me?”

“The machines lied to you. I was awake the whole time I was sedated. I just could not move.”

“What?!” the doctor stood. “How?!”

“It felt no different than being an Ozaru, that’s why.”

“Wait, I thought Saiyans were unconscious during the transformation?”

“Almost everyone is, and only a handful remember anything, like Papa. But I not only remember. I am in full control. I’ve even been working on trying to learn to speak if we finish before the moon sets.”

The doctor set down with a plop. “That… that is incredible. I don’t even know where to begin. Would you be willing to undergo testing in that state? The change in brainwaves would go far in understanding what’s going on in your brain.”

Vegeta nodded. “I’ve been having trouble the past couple months. It’s safer to confirm I’m awake before weaklings like you approach me.”

“Yes. Yes.” he nodded looking at his tablet. “Oh, I’m writing this in the wrong file. Darn it, give me a moment, Prince Vegeta, before we continue.”

Prince Vegeta chuckled as the frantic doctor swiped and poked his screen.

~~***~~

That night, Vegeta was sitting up in his bed drinking a small glass of water.

“Did your pill go down smoothly?” the nurse asked.

Vegeta held up the empty glass, “Yes.”

The nurse took it.

“If everyone is finished,” King Vegeta said, “I would like a moment alone with my son.”

Everyone bowed, and the nurse and guards exited the room.

After the door closed, King Vegeta sighed. Then he looked down sternly at his son.

“Papa?” he asked nervously.

“I’m told you gave quite the performance when we landed. Why? You knew our injuries.”

“You destroyed your honor when you carried and held me when I was sick. Now we are even in the public mind.”

“I see. Politically astute for a small child. You have a sharp mind.” He took a deep breath.

“I’m told you can fully control your Ozaru… and have been practicing speaking?”

“Yes, Papa,” he nodded.

King Vegeta smiled. “Prince Vegeta the Fourth,” he paused. “I am in awe of you. I am proud, that you are my son.”

Vegeta’s jaw dropped as he gave a tiny gasp.

King Vegeta chuckled. Then he put his hand on top of his son’s head. “And since this is private, don’t feel the need to even the playing field. I already know.”

“Yes, Papa,” Vegeta said softly.

King Vegeta turned and walked away. He opened the door to discover Nappa with a cup.

King Vegeta bristled. “Nappa!”

“Worth it!” Nappa shouted as he ran away.

Prince Vegeta laughed as his father quickly disappeared from view.

~~***~~

One year later…

“Sire,” Zarbon bowed. “Prince Vegeta’s quarterly medical report has just finished being reviewed by your private physician and is ready to present.”

“Show him in,” Frieza said, not turning his back.

The doctor entered. “Sire,” he bowed.

“So, how is our dear little monkey doing?”

He pulled out his tablet and synced it to the screen. “Quite well. The prince has seen rapid improvement since the start of his specialized cognitive therapy after his Ozaru study.” He scrolled to a new page. “But there does seem to be permanent damage that will most likely leave him emotionally unstable the rest of his life. He’s currently on a mild antidepressant that was specially developed for him to overcome Saiyan livers.”

“What do you mean unstable?”

“Well, he is still exhibiting behaviors not seen in Saiyans, like showing unusually strong emotional attachments and being quite clinging to his father in particular. This neurodivergence seems to be permanent and will most likely cause continuing issues functioning in Saiyan society.”

“So, he has a soft underbelly,” Frieza said. “What are his improvements?”

“He is now able to enter the throne room without experiencing distress. He is now cleaning and organizing to the same extent he was prior, according to staff, but the doctors feel it is quite excessive and may be a sign of preexisting control issues or OCD. His nightmares are still present, but he is no longer experiencing waking terrors. He hasn’t wet his bed in 47 days of this report. His sleeping tranquilizers have been discontinued accordingly.”

“What is this section on his power level?” Frieza asked, reading the screen.

“Apparently the nursing staff informally used a sudden drop in power level to predict an oncoming panic attack or other sudden issues, and reviewing records they discovered a steady depressive state of between 10 to 15% that only began correcting recently. His precision and speed have picked back up in training but his awareness of his surroundings has dropped, but that can be interpreted as a drop in anxiety and the resulting hypervigilance.”

“So, what you’re saying is that under stress Prince Vegeta’s power drops and his fighting ability suffers?”

“Um, yes. Fear and anxiety causing a drop of energy is quite common in other species but this is the first time it has been documented in a Saiyan.”

“I see,” Frieza said. “You may go now. I’ll read the rest of the report on my own time.”

“Yes, sire,” he said surprised. He bowed and left the room.

Frieza smiled.

“May I ask what you are thinking, sire?” Zarbon asked.

“I’m thinking I may have a use for the little monkey after all.” He turned his floating chair around, “Dodoria, call ahead and tell King Vegeta I’ve decided to bring his son into the main army, but this is not the announcement I have ordered his people to gather for. Tell him not to worry for his health. Any continuing treatment will be handled by my own private physicians and he will be in constant communication. I will pick him up personally after my official visit, so have him ready to depart.”

“Sire, won’t that complicate matters?”

“Did I give you permission to question my orders?”

“No, Sire! Right away, sire!”

“Zarbon,” Frieza said as Dodoria ran from the room. “I want you to remove mentions of his medication from Prince Vegeta’s medical file. The doctors and chemists will take care of themselves. And also,” he smiled. “Make sure the men know they will have free reign with young Vegeta. As long as they do not hurt him. We can’t have him getting stronger, can we?”

“Yes, sire,” Zarbon bowed while Frieza laughed.

~~***~~

On planet Vegeta, the King was reading the decoded message in the radio room.

“Your Majesty,” a guard said. “You’re not going to let him take the prince, will you?”

King Vegeta crumpled the paper in his hand. “No. Of course not.”

~~***~~

…

It was almost two weeks since Bulma’s birthday, and her shoulders and back were sore. She had been going to bed early to avoid the coming conversation, but tonight was not to be.

She opened her bedroom door, only to discover Vegeta already sitting on the side of the bed. He was slumped over with his elbows on his knees. He gripped the first three fingers in his left hand so hard his knuckles were white. It was rare for him to use this technique because it was so obvious. Physical pain helped clear his head when everything else failed, but this meant something was wrong even the GR couldn’t handle.

“You’ve been going to bed and waking up early,” Vegeta said.

Bulma put her hand behind her head, “Well, after our cruise so much work built up so—”

Vegeta lifted his head slightly and side-eyed her. “Don’t lie to me woman,” he hissed. “I know I injured you.”

Bulma sighed and sat next to him on the bed. She put her hand across his back and held his wrist with the other. “Don’t worry about it,” she said leaning into his ear. “It hurts no worse than going to the chiropractor. I don’t even have a mark.” She ran her hand up and down his lower arm. “Are you ready to talk or was this just about me?”

Vegeta let go of his fingers, and Bulma knew he’d be wearing his gloves the next few days to hide the bruise forming.

“You know…” he began breathing hard, “after that allergic reaction… How the therapist thought the holes in my memory were most likely from a traumatic event even I couldn’t handle, based on some random medication the doctors found in the medical files we got from the dragon?”

Bulma tightened her hug, already knowing the answer.

“The time you met Lord Beerus he mentioned?”

Vegeta began shivering, just like he had been doing every night since her birthday.

“Don’t force yourself, just tell me when you’re ready.”

“Promise me you’ll never attack Beerus again,” he said breathlessly, “and I’ll do it now.”

[emotionaldepravity]

Dragon Ball Android Au Hcs

-In this Au, most of the dragon ball characters are androids that exist as companion bots to the general population. Some are used just for emotional support. Some are body guards, personal or otherwise. Others are used as aids for specific jobs. No matter what they might be doing, these bots are quite loved and a huge part of the society. 

-The first Android ever created was Bulma. Dr. and Mrs. Brief loved Tights so much that they would do anything in the world for her. One day, a very young Tights begged her parents for a little sister. Dr. Brief wanted to promise Tights that she could have a sibling, but he found it difficult to explain to a child that her mother wasn’t able to have another child or that even if she could there was no guarantee that the child would be female. To circumvent those issues, Dr. Brief decided that he would build an android so that Tights would have her little sister. Since he wanted Bulma to have similar experiences to her sister, he made different body frames for her, and when she was ready, he transferred her memories into the next frame to let her grow up.

-Bulma was happy with this for a while. She was happy to “get older” after her older sister and enjoyed going to school or helping her father in his lab. Over time, Dr. Brief showed Bulma more and more of her code, and once she was able to understand it, she took over for making her own frames to better suit her own desires.

An explanation of the different type of bots below. 

The Originals 

The first androids created. They are quite special and coveted by many collectors especially by those who know how special they are.

-As she worked late one night, she had come to realize that she was lonely. She had dated humans before, but she never stayed long in a relationship. Seeing her parents happily married and eventually Tights too, she made the decision that she would make herself the perfect partner just as her father had created her. 

-She thought long and hard about the sort of partner that she wanted: what they may look like, their gender, their personality, their hobbies, etc. When she was done, her list of traits was so long she had to make a program to sort through all of them. Unsure of what exactly she might like, as there where many possibilities that she fancied, she decided to randomly generate ideas from this list and just make every combination. Eventually one would be perfect, right?

- Each model that she made were deemed the “originals.” She programmed them to be like her in her sentience, but with an extra bit of code that made them want to love and be loved. She didn’t want to make the perfect guy and them him reject her because he wasn’t interested in a relationship.

-As she made each new model, she began to get to know each of them to see if she was interested in pursuing a relationship with them. For the most part, they were all interested in her, Zamasu being one of the few that was actively disinterested in her which she was surprised of but not terribly hurt by, but she wasn’t that interested in them. She recognized that they all had their merits, but none of them quite fit what she was looking for. Some, like Zarbon, were very attractive to her, but the more she spoke to them the less interested she was.

- However, it was in two different originals that she felt as if they were close to what her heart desired: Yamcha and Vegeta. 

-Being one of the first, Yamcha got to spend a lot of time with Bulma, actively trying to make himself known to her. He might have thought he was cool, but she never did. He was dorky and she liked that about him. For a while, she was happy. As Bulma made more and more female androids, she noticed his eyes wander. Though he was never disloyal physically while they were together, she couldn’t help, but question if he would be genuine or not if they continued dating.  

-Vegeta tired to deny his feelings for a while, and with her being with someone else, it was easy enough for him to do. When she was no longer with Yamcha, he always found himself drawn to wherever Bulma was. If they were alone, he would lightly brush his tail near her to get her attention. Again, Bulma was happy with Vegeta. His clashing overprotective nature with his tsundere one charmed her. However, he wasn’t as emotionally close to him as she had been with Yamcha. She wanted to tell Vegeta about everything on her heart, but he felt so cold sometimes that she wondered if she falied to code his emotions properly. Of course, it was a shock to him when she broke it off as he didn’t seem to understand that they had grown apart, but he simply went with her wishes. 

- When she finished the last combination, she felt like a failure. Not a single one felt like the perfect partner for her that she had set out to create. Eventually, as Bulma got more and more fed up with her “failed” creations she decided that they had to leave her home and lab. She couldn’t just randomly abandon them somewhere so she started offering them out to help her friends with jobs so that they could eventually have their own lives. 

-If someone needed a caterer then she offer to have Chi Chi help them, if they needed a garden, then she’d have Nappa go, if they needed someone to eat them out of house and home, then she’d send Goku, etc. 

-Her friends were very grateful to Bulma and the “kind stranger” who assisted them. It only took one of her friends to mention that she’d like to for the android who helped her to live with her, to get Bulma to realize that maybe she should let them. 

-As she found out, most of her friends kept wanting to see the originals, fell in love with their new companions, and eventually convinced Bulma to let all of them move from Capsule Corp to their homes.

-For most of the originals, this change was quite welcome. They had an understanding that Bulma wasn’t that interested in them, and during the time they interacted with her friends, they had realized that perhaps they could come to love someone else.

- For others, they were heart broken. In some way they had help out hope that Bulma would still love them, or, in the case of Yamcha and Vegeta, that she would love them once again. 

-Bulma felt a bit sad to see the last one go, but the entire experience gave her hope that if she started dating again, maybe she too could still find someone out there for her. 

The Fakes

The androids that most anyone can buy. If you see an android on the street somewhere, they most likely are a “fake.”

-After word got out that all the androids were given out, people still sent calls to Capsule Corp asking if she had any more “boyfriends” 

- A bit surprised that anyone else would be interested in more of her “failures,” she turned the strangers away until one single mother promised a ridiculous sum of money if she just happened to have another Yamcha model so her kid could have someone to teach him how to play baseball. Moved by the thought of this little boy having the chance at having some sort of father figure, and a paycheck that was just enough for her to get some even better lab equipment for herself,  she quickly started working. As the next call came from a very wealthy family with a similar ask for a Chi Chi as they had eaten the food made by the original one, and had a lot of zeni up for grabs for their own personal chef. Both were very pleased when she presented them with their new companions.

-She rushed out a few of the early ones thinking that her technique was just as flawless as before, but in her next few she decided to check to be sure. The looks and personality of each model she made seemed to be perfectly replicated, but as she inspected further, there was one major difference: the code that gave them ability to love wasn’t working properly. Diagnostic after diagnostic, she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Though the fakes didn’t seem to act that much differently than intended, she knew that there was always the possibility that something could be messed up based on this faulty code. However since the buyers of the fakes didn’t seem care, she never thought about it again.

-Though she did eventually find some consequences to the faulty code. For instance, the reals retained the ability to actually have children with their human significant others, but the fakes sadly did not. 

- Another difference that was found out was that the ”real” androids have the benefit of better fighting strength. For example, if they are saiyans then only they have the ability to go Super Saiyan and the forms beyond. This is typically something that only the owner of an original would know as most of the time the greater strength is unlocked due to their desire to protect their owner. 

-Sometimes people will trade androids between each other if they need help with what that android is good at or if they think that a different model is more attractive.

-Most people that have an android got them second hand as they are extremely expensive new. They are even more expensive if you try to get them customized, the saiyans having tails that aren’t originals can be a heavy increased price since after a while Bulma got tired of make them. 

-For the originals that get traded, they actually feel a bit upset by being passed around. Doing a job for someone else is not necessarily hard on them, but if that means a permanent change in owner, and possibly lover too, then they can get quite heart broken. 

The Minis

The minis are smaller versions of the originals. They are small enough to fit in your hand and have a chibi style appearance. 

-In her experimenting with making new frames and possible lovers, she had realize that she needed some help. As she was a bit too embarrassed to let her dad help her, she made a smaller scale version of herself to help with everything from welding and board processing to coding and inspection. 

-When people started coming to her for copies of her creations, she gave into to making mini versions. They had the functional capabilities of the original model, but were much cuter and easier to handle, at least in Bulma’s opinion.

-Bulma loves seeing pictures of people taking cute pictures with their minis or having their big bots take candid pictures with their minis.

-Minis can be modeled after humans too if you are rich enough to afford it. Bulma is very meticulous with her work and so having a custom mini might be expensive, but they will look and act exactly like you!

-Minis can get very lonely if they aren’t interacted with regularly so generally they should be bought with other minis or live with a big bot if they aren’t welcome at your work. Bulma herself found this out with her own mini and made minis of her entire family. 

-Mini Bulma likes to make things for her Mini family to keep them entertained, and for Big Bulma as a way of saying thank you.

-If you do have multiple minis, you might notice that they act a bit differently than if they are by themselves. These “combos” can determine if your mini acts like an angel or a gremlin. 

-For example, a combination of any saiyans will mean that the two are competing or fighting all the time. 

-Mini Cooler and mini Frieza one of the most destructive combos, but if you have a mini King Cold, then they will generally be on their best behavior. They will still fight behind their father’s back and yours too though.

-If you own a big bot and a mini, you might find that they do get jealous of each other, especially with they are the same model. They both love you very much and want your attention so badly it hurts. 

[iamtheempress]

A Vegeta x OC Fanfiction (part 3)¤ ¤ ¤

Many things ran through her mind and all she could think was, abit of excitement! Something to prove herself and show her worth, that shes not just some pretty piece to hang onto the emperor's arm, she pushes the button on the wall and the door to the Saiyan chambers and comes face to face with Nappa out of his armor. “Calamatta! Was just wondering why it took you so long to get back!” He smiled down at her and rubbed his hand over his bald scalp. 

The sliding door shut and they both walked side by side in tandem, Calamatta walked abit faster to keep pace with Nappa. “Did Vegeta tell you about the mission?” “Briefly! He didnt look too happy about it.. What gives.” She gets to her room and she sighs a bit anticipatory for this month long excursion made extermination mission.

 “Vegeta and I are to go to this one super planet… to completely wipe within a month but its just the both of us.” Nappa blinks and shakes his head Raising his eyebrow his eyebrow looking down at the small Saiyan. “Are you serious? Dont get me wrong your great at conquering planets entirely, but… what happens if you dont.” Calamatta looks away from Nappa and her tail deflates to the floor. “I...Dont know..” She answers. At the end of the day,  Saiyan or not shes terrified of what could happen, the last thing she wants is to have everything come crashing down all because of her.

Nappa stood up straight and pat her on the shoulder and startled her straight out of her stupor, grinning. “hey now! Where's that pride you had in you earlier!? Dont you get down on yourself now that your life's on the line!" She gawped at him and shook her head. "What do you-"  "What i mean is when you start facing something dire, you gotta pull your head out of your ass and charge forward!!" He bellows to her, Raditz shuffled over to her and pat her shoulder. Both of them looking down upon her. "Listen to Nappa. Hes got experience on all of us.. and you're a killer. Youll realize that when you get to To-Rot."

 Calamatta nodded and smiled hopefully for the first time in a while. Actual hope. Actual excitement! "Thank you Nappa." "AHEM" Calamatta rolled her eyes and punched Raditz in the arm. "Yea yea thank you too Raditz…" she turned and went into her room, holding her suit up she twitched and groaned. "Your fucking with me…" her tail deflated to thw floor. 

She put the suit on and goddamn did she think of herself as some kind of joke, she knows she's shapely but this is egregious. A form fitting blue bodysuit bikini type briefs and short sleeves to her elbow, the new armor covered her chest in a more shapely manner than the men. She rolled her eyes shamelessly, checked herself out in the mirror and pulled up her boots and jumped upon hearing hard pounding on the door. "Calamatta? You decent?" 

It was Vegeta

"I mean yea." The door slid open and he was focused on the holopad in his hand to  notice what she looked like "dinner is ready. Get out of your room and ……." He had to do a double take and it kinda made her sneer "its the… new suit Lord Frieza wants me to wear." He made a disgusted face and turned his head "W-whatever just come out so we can eat and you can turn in…" he turned fully and the prince blushed a tiny bit. 

Calamatta followed side by side with him and he kept with all his might to keep his eyes forward. "A-are you serious.. they made you wear th-" "yeap.. trust me it's uncomfortable to walk around in." she kept her eyes forward heading to the table with Nappa and Raditz who both simultaneously dropped their food. "Nice costume change! You can see those killer legs!" Nappa barked, bringing alittle attention to the small Saiyan and making her face red as hell. "Nappa, i'm pretty sure she wants to be wall paper at this point." Raditz kicked his shin and pushed a plate over to her. "Eat up, Cala.." she groaned.

They spent their time sitting together all eating except Cala who earned some hoots and hollers. A degrading damn get up for a saiyan who wants to be seen for more then yarm candy to the fucking emperor.. her respect for him has dindled to 0 but she has to cater to him till the 20 hours are up.. she dejectedly pushes the rest of her food away "i cant eat anymore." She sat up and realized theres a chair flush against her back "no your gonna eat.." Raditz protests as he nudges her shoulder.. a big brother figure to the little saiyan.. she felt more comfortable near him, no matter how big a jackass he is. "No damn saiyan is going hungry because of whay they have to wear." He glares at her, and smirks. 

Vegeta looks at her and leans back. "We will walk back with you to ensure you dont get any seedy looks." "Dontcha think thats pathetic" she said between bites. "Nonsense.. as the last woman of our kind you deserve alittle respect." Raditz protested, earning a curt nod from both Nappa and Vegeta.

Her mini family is small, its made up of men. But it's all she's got and she's got a hefty amount of respect for them all. 

The four walked in tandem with one another Raditz and Calamatta leading the way and Nappa and Vegeta following.

 "So does being a daughter of a general give you a leg up?" Raditz asked, tucking his hands behind his head, Calamatta walked with her hands folded in front of her, peering over at the tall long haired Saiyan. “I mean. Not entirely, same sort of treatment as everyone else here actually! Im just something pretty to gawk at while Lord Frieza does what he needs to.” Vegeta pipes up keeping his voice dead flat as he makes his point known. “If any race sees Frieza with a Saiyan at his side they’ll perceive him as a threat. Why do you think he has her within arms reach.. A warrior race reduced to a pet and something to look at is insulting but i cant necessarily blame her for not going after him.” He flippantly rolls his eyes. “I suppose your right… Calamatta is basically the next best thing to Vegeta.” “Hey now i'm not that great… i only went out once with yall.” She nudges Raditz and rolls her eyes.

The 4 were stopped in their tracks when Zarbon cut a corner and met with them, promptly making the tension between the four starkly apparent. “So apes travel in packs now? Hmhm.. Calamatta. Come. I wish to speak with you please.” The tall reptilian walked in the opposite direction of the saiyans, shoulder checking the Saiyan prince causing the vein in his forehead become more prominent, he crossed his arms and scoffed, raising his chin and moving forward. “Well go follow the vain bastard…” Vegeta growls and marches away. Calamatta turned on her heels and ran to catch up to him.

Zarbon had his hands behind his back beneath his cape, he chuckled upon seeing the short saiyan besides him. “Took you long enough, Calamatta.” “What is it you wanted to speak with me about Zarbon?” He ushers her into a room overlooking a massive planet, ripe with lush greenery and red deserts. “Thats the planet you and Vegeta are set to conquer. It has a high population density of 4 billion. What that document that Vegetas been analyzing doesnt mention the fact that the planet experiences a full moon every other day. The inhabitants will attack on sight… i should know weve sent 15 other squads before you and Vegeta.” Calamatta gawked at the planet then up to Zarbon. “Why are we just being sent then?” “I asked the same to Lord Frieza… He said he sees the prince of nothing as an excellent protege and this will prove Frieza right if one or the both of you return in one whole piece.” Calamatta looked over the two multi colored belts in the distance.. One bright white and the other red, absolutely magnificent and terrifying in retrospect. The magnitude of this entire planet was bigger then shes ever seen before. 

While she was busy being thunderstruck she was caught off guard by a weighted cloth on her shoulder. Becoming strapped to her one shoulder followed by Zarbon cooing. “Its a shame Dodoria doesn't really like your acquaintance. You'd be beautiful as a General.” It caught her off guard as he adjusted it perfectly to her armor, the end of his long velvety cape dragged haphazardly on the floor. 

“Dodoria… i never understood why he never liked me...what about you Zarbon? You have been so kind to me for years and you really don't have to be.” The green haired general tilted his head and sighed as he took two hair bands from his wrist and walked behind Calamatta and started to pull her hair back. “You're just a kid. You'll never understand the position Dodoria is in. He wants to be the general in the spotlight instead of you.” 

Calamatta remained silent and allowed him to pull her hair into two large buns on her head, he pulled any fly aways out and reviewed her facial features in the reflective window. “I honestly could give a damn one way or another but on account of why I like you is purely because you're not like the rest of your ape-ish race.. You're pretty, you have a defined face and you have a way of carrying yourself with grace and poise… the amount of times i have heard other alien councils talk about how attractive you are adds to Lord Frieza's intimidation factor..A beautiful little warrior on his arm is a display of power... So yes he prefers you much more highly then the likes of Dodoria.” He pats her shoulders and she looks back at herself. She never puts her hair up so this is something new. 

Two large pretty black buns on her head, loose fly aways of her hair make her look effortless, she could actually see her gold piercings on her ears. “You have plenty of hair so i couldnt put it all in one hair tie…” The hatch door to the side slid open, the two of them turn to see Lord Frieza seated in his chair, a small smile grew on his face as he saw Calamatta all dolled up. 

“Well WELL my little monkey is playing dress up! OHohohohooo stunning.” Calamatta goes to disrobe the cape and is promptly stopped by Zarbon. “Keep it Calamatta. It suits you. Farewell.” He turns on his heel and saunters out of the room leaving her and the Emperor in this room. She bows respectfully to him, when she raises back up Frieza is out of his chair, tail fluttering around with his arms behind his back.

Calamatta gulped while Frieza analyzed her up close; both her and the emperor are easily the same height but the Saiyan knew her place to him. Behave and dont die. “I want you to take a good look at that planet right there. Realize that you and Vegeta are my star pupil...and that being the star pupil means that one of you two simians is the best!” He preens and moves the cape to see her hands held at her front, he smirks devilishly and tilts his head.

 “That suit looks very nice on you, powerful shapely little legs for a warrior..” He raises his hand and makes a fist to emphasize the word power. Calamatta remains quiet and blushes alittle bit. “Thank you, Lord Frieza.. What exactly do you mean by the best..? I only helped out with one planet!” She stated only to be met with the steely flat stare of Frieza. 

“What im saying is that i expect you to listen to what i say, woman…” She nodded obediently and her tail droops abit. “Yes Lord Frieza sorry..-” She was cut off almost instantly “Hush now Calamatta if you know whats good for you.” He states making little calamatta bite on her lips. 

“Good.. Both of you are excellent but just so you know so you dont get a big head about it… Vegeta is the better of the two of you.. By lightyears infact.. I suspect that Zarbon told you that I plan on making Vegeta my protégé, I dont expect you to be any better than what you already are, your prince would possibly say the same of you… your untrained and unskilled in anything and i'm surprised you even came back alive and without a scratch, girl. The three other apes were to see you as useless and not want you anymore… not want you apart of their damned group.”

Calamatta looked upon Frieza disheartened, her stomach dropped to her feet and she felt like nothing, like her purpose was to be nothing more then a pretty face and nothing more, living a hollow existence. SHe felt ultimately like nothing. She twiddled her thumbs infront of her and drooped her head abit. 

“Oh now now Calamatta.. No need to look so sad.. I'm just speaking the truth to you, child… Here i know a way of earning your trust. Give me your tail.” Her head shot up and she gulped. “My-my tail?” She shivered and let her long pretty fully groomed tail come from behind her back and with trepidation she handed her most sensitive-untrained limb- to Frieza.

"You stupid little runt…" The Emperor smirked and narrowed his eyes closing his fist tightly around the tail sending Calamatta to the floor with a pained cry and a beg. “L-Let it go please! Frieza please!!” SHe begged him feeling this hot pain rocket up her back as she looked at the emperors feet through pained tears. 

Her head raised to be met with the end of Frieza’s pointer finger inches from her nose. "The prodigal prince is no where to be seen to protect you now.. oh woe is you.." The very one that death beams people without care. She panted heavily, started to sweat and tear up “W-Why I dont understa-” 

Frieza’s voice became dark and grave, she feared Frieza but this was a side of him she had never seen first hand and to be directed at her. “Your life though as entertaining as it is.. Is forfeit to me. You only serve your worth as useful until I become bored of you and when I do you will die by my hand. You will come to realize that on To-Rot your life is just as forfeit to Vegeta as it is to me… Vegeta works alone, I know him better than anyone here, Calamatta. You will discover that when your need is used up and you're on the ground begging for help… he will gladly leave you to die… tragic isn't it…? To be worthless to everyone including your own races Prince…”

 He furrowed his brow and stared her sadistically in her face and chuckled upon seeing a single tear. “I dont expect you to return after your little trip… should you return you can go with your little mates so they can ravage you.” He growled and released her tail making her tail disappear under the cape, she gasps and scrambles to her feet. “You are excused, Calamatta. Sleep well!” He turned on his lizard-like feet and left to his hoverpod. Leaving Calamatta frightened, depressed… and worthless.

She just wanted to go to bed. She just wanted to stop caring. She just wanted to feel like a Saiyan.

The day had drawn to a close and the 4 waved eachother off to wish each other a good night, Vegeta said nothing and returned to his room. The small saiyan lay down in her bed and fell asleep very quickly, a deep peaceful and relaxing sleep to ease her tense and tight muscles and weary emotional state. 

5 hours later Vegeta opened her room door and walked right in like he belonged there. the prince being deep in thought and not really in any mood to fully wake Calamatta up. He sat at the end of her bed and looked through acouple files. That being the inhabitants of To-Rot. 

An insatiably hungry and carnivorous race that wiped the original inhabitants of the planet by the guise of an infection which then grew into hunger then a form or zombified state where food is the only primary objective, while still maintaining full sentience they scour the planet for new victims to eat or to find other like minded groups and repopulate. Vegeta sneered and twitched at the sight.. both he and Calamatta wont be the first of the Frieza Force to go there, and meet an untimely demise. "Dammit.." he grunts and the female saiyan begins to stir sitting up in bed to see the spikey haired prince hunched over with his chin in his hand at the foot of rhe bed.

"Hm…? Vegeta.. what gives?" She yawned and gently kicked the princes back with her bare feet. "Read this.. brush up on what were going to face.. its not going to be easy. Especially with me doing all the heavy lifting." He growls and hands her the holo pad. "Hey.. i'm just as capable as you dont give me that crap when i just wake up, Vegeta..." "im not 'giving you crap' i'm being realistic and percautionary. The planet before hand wasn't that hard. This ones lethal and were not the firsts to go here" she pulls her tail under the covers of her blanket and rubs her eyes. Still very in a daze of sleep. "If you are tryna scare me im not scared. Well be fine and well do this planet and ill be with the 3 of yall." She reads over the holopad. 

Feeling a sense of dread and nervousness bubble up in her stomach. "Dont pass that arrogance around so easily… its not just YOUR neck on the line here its mine. And i'm not willing to die because you end up being cocky." "Can you lighten up? Your the one that came into my room and looked pretty comfy at the end of my bed." She retorts to the prince who looks mighty taken aback by the implication hes looking comfy around her.

 "Gah! Quit with your nonsensical babbling and take this seriously! Ugh.. just read that over.. ill be in my room. Ill see you in 5 hours, i need my sleep too." He goes to the door. "Vegeta, you haven't slept yet?" He stops before the button, confused as to what's with the change in tone, he turns his head and looks at her through his bangs that still hung in his face. "Please.. sleep for like.. a little longer than that. Ok? I need you as much as you need me" she asked and smiled softly, pressing her hand to her chest. 

Vegeta scoffed and blushed from nose to the tips of his ears "worry about yourself, woman… go to sleep" the begrudging prince leaves and Cala smirks. Laying back and looking at the ceiling and sighing a tear ran down her cheek and she grit her teeth hard.

“Atleast he pretends to give a damn…” Calamatta sighed wearily. CUrling in on herself and letting herself fall back into her slumber.

¤ ¤ ¤

Tags:  @memevember @dragonblobz @gonuclear @msgreenverse @fallen--lilith​ @jimbobslurpnchug​ @dragonballzforlife​ @nikabriefs​ @lilhemmo​ @lizardhipsdontlie​ @hierophantblue​ @supremeleadershitlord​ @thotful-writing​ @chickiedinner​ @anti-jaina @dragonball-hcs-or-sum-shit

[ibitchytimemachine]

Chapters: 53/? Fandom: Dragon Ball Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con Summary:

With Earth destroyed, Bulma and the Z gang find themselves in an outer space guerilla war against a tyrant. The mysterious Vengeance seems to be the only hope to win the war against Frieza, but teaming up with him brings its own set of problems.

 AU, ensemble cast but with focus on BV. Several other pairings (m/F and m/m) and non-romantic relationships get significant screen time.

While Vengeance often appears to be a light-hearted, funny story, there are darker elements running through several storylines. Warnings of non-con are for isolated incidents and don't reflect the story as a whole, but explicit descriptions of sex, violence, and general depravity are contained within these chapters.

Of all the Vegebul fics I have read, this one is easily my favorite. It has nuance, gives (almost) every character full and rich motivations and story lines. You find yourself rooting for the oddest pairs and weirdest people. I can not recommend this story enough, and if you wanna read my thoughts on it, lets dive into spoilers below the cut! 

So this story has something for everyone. You want thick well thought out and executed plot? DONE! Humor? DONE! Large cast of characters, both canon and OC who are all pretty well flushed out? DONE! Smut? Name your poison, chances are, its in here. There is so much about this story that I love that I am struggling with exactly the best way to organize my thoughts. So instead of agonizing over it, instead I am just gonna throw away all my careful notes that I have taken during my read and just freaking ramble! 

I think the first thing that people are a little put off on is the rare pair of RaditzXPuar. I will tell you that I 5,000 percent ship these two and it is all because of reading this fic. I love it so much that I MAY have even taken some time to draw my own fan art for the pair, but lets just leave THAT in the vaults xD When Raditz first encounters Puar, he is NOT a cat. Puar is in a Human form and is shifted to be Bulma. Raditz immediately is attracted to Puar’s scent and when they later encounter each other in a bar and end up ( ͡ᵔ ͜ʖ ͡ᵔ ) Ray is still just enamored by Puar’s scent. Whenever we see Rays POV in-between the time that Ray has fucked Human Puar, and the time that Puar is discovered, Ray keeps catching scents of the cat. And it drives him fucking wild. He later says that he is so crazy for Puar that he was about to fuck a houseplant cause it reminded him of Puar. Beyond that we get the backstory on Bonding and that basically Saiyans bond to a mate kinda at random so Ray has basically taken Puar as his husband. Raditz is really a great lover, there is a relationship imbalance between the two, but Ray doesnt take advantage of it. Its really a pretty healthy relationship. Puar gets jealous of some stuff, Ray gets WAY jealous of stuff but they always seem to talk it over. Shit at one point Ray dreams of having kids with Puar, and he is swiftly reminded that Puar is a MAN and will never be and never wants to be a WOMAN. 

A huge part of me feels like this Puarditz pairing is commentary on identity, self acceptance and love. Ray is constantly telling Puar that he doesnt care what his body looks like (except that he is excited to see Puar has a tail), only that it is Puar that he is in love with. It is only Puar Ray wants, no matter if he is a human, cat, plant, screwdriver or anything else. Puar talks about how he feels weird in his cat body, but it is his natural form and he wants to change and be bigger, more menacing, or just different. And I think we can all appreciate that sentiment at some point in our lives, but I can also see this as a low key message about trans acceptance and its fucking beautiful. Hell even Bulma tells Puar that he should take whatever form he is most comfortable in and basically fuck everyone who disagrees. I love that message and I love this pair - fight me. 

I really want to talk about another pretty complex character in this fic, Zarbon. He struggles with so much shame and negativity in this story. He hides behind his good looks and his hair, and when that shit gets cut off, Zarbon is a completely different man, it is shedding his old evil skin and literally growing into his own as a new man, a better person, and you start to care about him. His time with Frieza has basically ruined his ability to have any sort of healthy relationship - friend or other, because he resorts to sex for just about any close relationship he has. The FIRST person he meets after being rescued from Frieza, he starts bedding. Hell he promises a pity fuck to Burter for rescuing him, and come on.. I have never wanted a Burger sex scene more than when I was reading this fic. No really... Catgirl has a way of making you root for just about everyone... I think  that besides the slavers, the only character I HATE is Frieza, and thats pretty cool. AND Speaking of Frieza, shit hes a bad dude in this story. There aren't many POVs of him, and we see a lot of Frieza through Zarbon, Vegeta and Burter, but the POVs after Zarbon escapes and Frieza is trying to replace him is she fucked up shit. You really see his madness when he is sitting in the bloody tub stroking the hair of the dead attendant wishing it was Zarbons. He repeatedly states how much he gave to Zarbon, and how he basically loved him, but then you see him torture the poor man, sexually assault him, and generally just be a complete tyrannical asshole to him. 

The way the Nameks are handled is really cool. I love the nod to canon with them living with the Briefs on Red Station, I love watching Dende figure out how to lead, and struggle with his followers. I love how he makes the decision to room with Gohan as a way of bridging the gap between the Namekians and the Saiyans. The decisions Dende makes shows that he is dedicated to moving forward and not being stuck in the past. But you see him still struggling with things in the past, Zarbon for example. it is hella tense for a while when he first comes aboard because Dende feels Zarbon is responsible for the demise of his people, and Dende seeks out others help and advice on how to manage his feelings. He gets several peoples views and chooses what he thinks is the best, just like a good leader would. He even attempts to make Piccolo feel more welcome in the Namekian contingent of beings on Red Station.

Nappa is a super important character for the beginning of the story. He is the voice of Saiyan past and he advises Vegeta, wether he takes the advice or not. Overall he is the Father figure Vegeta needs (a common role for him) but he tells Vegeta and Raditz about bonding and Gohan comments that it sounds like LOVE. Nappa has some really shitty moments with Bulma, but overall I really like the sweet peeks into his head, when he thinks about his dead wife and babies, or when he tears up about the thought of Bulma and Vegeta having “little princes” of their own, is just heartwarming. And the attraction to Momma Briefs is cute and funny and provides so much ammunition for Bulma to hate Nappa (and boy do they hate each other)

I kinda hate how K18 gets treated in this story, and part of that is how long it takes for 18 to come about, and another part of that is the fact that the story isn't finished. I feel like 18′s android qualities are REALLY played up, which isn't a bad thing - great characterization in fact... but poor Krillin deserves so much better than being mounted with no foreplay and then immediately being engaged... Now I will say that I really like both of these characters in this fic, just wish things were finished cause their relationship has so much more to explore. 

I have both love and hate the Vegebul relationship dynamics in this story. They obviously care for one another, but the relationship seems super unhealthy... there is really no talking, relationship building going on in story. a LOT of fucking sure, but it almost feels like these two banter, fuck but don't really know one another.. and thats kinda sad.. I like that part of a Vegebul fic. Bulma is legit scared of Vegeta on multiple occasions and even in the last published chapter Vegeta looks at her and thinks that she is a monster just like him. And hell with her improvements to the Ki Circlet, she probably is. I will say that their smut is A++ fantastic, it is real, sometimes it is awkward (when they fuck in her lab it is both hot and funny) and there is always a mention of safe sex. 

With all the time spent on, pretty much everyone, including 2 OCs, it is sad that 17, Dr. Briefs and Tien don't get a little more love. They have very very brief scenes peppered throughout the story, and they just seem like after thoughts.. Shit Roshi and Oolong have more impact on the story than any of these three do and thats just a bummer. I am gonna say that maybe they have parts in the unwritten bots of the fic, but who knows if it will ever be updated, much less finished at this point. 

This story is fantastic. I can not recommend it enough. The relationship dynamics alone are fantastic, never mind the fact that Catgirl is FUCKING FANTASTIC at showing not telling, but even when she tells it is impactful. She has a wonderful grasp of character voice and each POV feels like it is actually that characters POV, told through them, not through the lens of a narrator. There are some amazing quotes in this story, some are just funny, 

Others.. Not so much.... 

These are a bunch of misfits thrown together, fighting to survive, and ultimately building a home. Hell Zarbon sees it and is shocked by it.. He says he is amazed by Vegeta “Floating around this country cottage of a ship, lord and master of an assortment of weaklings.” And Zarbon is right. Vegeta is the lord and master of this rag tag crew, and Bulma is their Queen. Their relationship is the glue that holds this little family together. This story is a tale of their struggle to defeat Frieza, but thats not what this story is ABOUT. This story is about, family, friends, love, home and ultimately all the wholesome things humanity has to offer. Sometimes we fuck up, and fight and create drama, but we persevere through those trials and (hopefully) become stronger, more well rounded and more human. And that is a really nice message. 

As a bonus, @rutbisbe drew this amazing Puar/Raditz fan art for this fic and I love it (AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH)

If you liked this review, after you check this fic out, head over to my A03 and read some of my stuff!

[impuretale]

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2: Some Stray Observations

- The first thing Yamcha teaches you as a trainer is how to play dead.  - While the game does not shy from talking about death, killing, or the existence of Hell, Zarbon, of all people, appears to be a believer in the Next Dimension (TM). - Piccolo is a giant pushover. I don’t mean in terms of battle power; I mean he will go from “I’m going to kill you if you don’t pass this test” to “I’m sorry I was so hard on you here’s some candy” in the span of a single mission. A reminder that this is the guy who has gone from main supervillain in the series to concerned godfather who couldn’t let somebody else babysit Pan for a single day without getting antsy and interfering, and this is perfection. - Each character you pick as a trainer has different standards for how your grades go in matches and missions. Vegeta is personally offended if you get anything lower than an A and he will send letters home to your parents so they know what a disappointment you are. Freeza’s response to a B is along the lines of “*sigh* Fine, at least you’ve proven you can move.” Yamcha’s praise of you is higher the more average your score is and will call you power-hungry if you are a straight-A student. 

More beneath the cut.

- The game acknowledges as much canon as it’s able, so it’s interesting to think of the implications behind the fact that the Z Warriors all train you using Saibamen, most notably the ones that were killed by them in the series.  - Jeice and Burter live dangerously by stealing from Captain Ginyu’s personal snack stash. In particular, his ice cream. They also appear to blackmail each other with this knowledge because they are THAT kind of loving couple.  - Freeza and Zarbon think kotatsus are earth weapons that render its denizens useless.  - Radditz is overjoyed to train you because 1) it means he’s no longer the lowest rung on the ladder in his group (but he is because he’s not a trainer option until after you’ve already advanced to Namek in story mode), and 2) he believes helping you improve will make Vegeta and Nappa respect him more as a warrior.  - Ginyu doesn’t realize that Goku and Turles are identical, having met both, within minutes of each other. He refers to Turles as “Guy I’m Sure I’ve Seen Before.”  - Trunks, at least in the English dub, does not have an inside voice, though he appears to have gotten better since the first game, where he literally shrieks every line at you regardless of context or setting. I prefer not to view this as an issue of voice acting as opposed to a sound character decision.  - Dodoria, of all the soldiers developed on over on Freeza’s ship, is shown to be very concerned for the people that work in his group, whether you side with him or someone else. He bonds with his soldiers over meals, asks after their health, and if he loses his ranking, he doesn’t completely conceal his concern that his loss is also going to affect them negatively.  - The Supreme Kai of Time is a terrible cook and almost gets the earth blown up because of bad pudding. 

[missfinefeather]

pablo360able

Did anyone ever explain to you the “Vriska is Hussie's Wife” joke?

MissFinefeather

Well, he's been stalking her forever, so I guess it's a doomed timeline where she reciprocated?

pablo360able

It's older than that, and probably the out-of-universe reason in-universe Hussie was stalking herI don't remember the full story, but I want to say it comes from his old Formspring?

Wakraya

There's two sources to this actuallyThe Fandom-side and the Author-side.

MissFinefeather

Oh?

Wakraya

So, Fandom-side, on Twitter, someone asked Hussie if Feferi's chubby, and he refused to answer the question straight

Be it ironic, or him not wanting to give a set body type, or whatever

NoBrandMinda

that's getting into Fat Vriska, which is a whole other thing

Wakraya

No no, it was Fat Vriska

Wait- No no you're rightFat Vriska was the by-product of his love for her

Whoops

NoBrandMinda

The short version

Wakraya

Okay so to finish that thought, I don't know how the comments got twisted and it ended saying that Hussie loved making fat characters, and as Vriska was his fave she had to be the fattest of them all

Fandom-side I don't know how we framed his adoration of it, Minda seems to be about to drop the tea

NoBrandMinda

People kept accusing Hussie of giving Vriska too much screentime because he loved her. Hussie (being Hussie) was always like "Yes. I love her. She is my beautiful wife." And then his in-story character started stalking her.

Wakraya

Author-side, though, Hussie recently added in his Book Commentary that Vriska appears as an avatar of Authorial Scorn. There's always creative forces at play when making a story, he mentioned, there's the love for his creation and the hatred. One wanting to build it further, the other wanting to tear down its very foundation for fun- And Vriska, at the time of her inception, represented this destructive forceBeing the one who made Bec Noir be Bec Noir, the source of all the accidents and conflict in the Trolls, she was what would later be embodied better with Caliborn

So of course she'd become an author-favorite, as she allowed all those sort of awful conflicts to blossom for the story to get juicy.

MissFinefeather

Hmmm

NoBrandMinda

Something I find a little ironic is that in terms of story structure, Vriska is very much like Vegeta in DBZ. Both characters pretty much exist to fuck shit up in a way that moves the story forward, but Hussie loves Vriska for that, whereas Toriyama hated Vegeta, and has said on the record that he only kept him around because he was useful that way.

Wakraya

Imagine Toriyama making a self-insert that's always wanting to get with Vegeta

tenaciousDecapitator

I mean, he did have a self insert, but to my knowledge he never tried to date Vegeta.

(Yes, this is an actual character) https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Akira_(character)

MissFinefeather

Hmmm... Would Toriyama even know gay people were a thing back when he created that character?

I dunno Japanese attitudes on that sort of thing back in the 90s

tenaciousDecapitator

I know there's two potential lesbians in Dragon Ball Super, but I can't remember if there was any gay characters in the first few series.

(I'm pretty sure Zarbon dosen't count)

MissFinefeather

Zarbon has a girlfriend anyways...okay that was DBZA

[the-ash0]

surviving paradise ch 26 - loss

Lekus was dead.

They stood outside Frieza’s on-world throne room, the giant doors slammed on them after the shortest debriefing ever, and it just would not stick. His head throbbed with the attempt to find the logic in a timeline of completely unrelated events.

Lekus was dead. What had just happened?

The Saiyans had returned a day late. Just a day, but one day should have been enough for another epic prose session detailing their failure. Not to mention that Vegeta had expected another public debasement, another one of Zarbon’s great tales. He had also expected Frieza to reiterate its proposal where the tyrant implied that Vegeta was not cut out for command. That he shouldn’t bother with any delusions about being self-reliant; he should just sit at Frieza’s side from now on and wait on the Icejin’s orders before he acted.

He had been ready to accept the offer.

But none of that occurred. Frieza had given Zarbon one warning to ‘keep it short’, then still cut him off after less than a minute, dismissing his elite with a: “so, the mission was a success. Great” Next, the Icejin turned to the Saiyans and addressed the whole group in another out of character act. ”You’re all on stand-by until further notice. Well done.”

It wasn’t fucking well done. Vegeta was infinitely aware of that; aware that he’d finally and irrevocably messed up. Frieza should have sensed that. The lizard should have been well aware that any advantage the Prince had gained last time could have been taken back with interest in that very moment. Yet Frieza had acted distracted and absent-minded. So, apparently, any game they had been playing was already over.

Why had Frieza lost interest? Vegeta was nearly sure he could have just ordered his squad to turn around and go back after one look at that planet and their defences. That he could have reported to Frieza the job was impossible and he needed to send the Ginyus or something, and he’d still have gotten the same glowing review. Hell, in its present state of mind, Vegeta could have taken the squad on an intergalactic pleasure-cruise and the tyrant would still have complimented him on a good job and sent them on their way.

It didn’t make sense. Frieza was nothing if not perfect: immaculate, obsessed with cleanliness and time-tables, and devoted to micromanagement. For the lizard to just drop his modus operandi was unsettling. And Lekus? Lekus was dead, and it didn't even seem to matter.

Nobody gave a fuck. Not Frieza, not his Saiyans... No one. Couldn't they see? Couldn’t anyone see? Granted, Vegeta supposed he should not have expected the lizard emperor to care. But his own men, he had at least expected to be somewhat upset. Instead, they stood around outside the doors, clapping each other on the back in congratulations. An odd relief was expressed on their faces, any tension long gone. All his Saiyans, except for Raditz, who was still in the tanks because his wounds had worsened on the return trip despite cryo sleep. And Lekus...

Lekus was fucking dead, and Vegeta had just gotten congratulated on a job well done.  

“A celebration is in order!” Jack roared, as coarse and boisterous as ever.

Nappa guffawed right back. “Let’s get shit-faced drunk!”

Even Nion, who believed himself to be the voice of reason, laughed. “Drinking is called for.” He paused, then looked the prince's way with uncertainty. “Will you toast with us? In memory of Lekus?”

Why were they happy? Vegeta snarled, countering his own pounding head. “In Lekus’ memory? You fucks crazy?”

“My prince, please relax. We did well. We received a good review and some down time, finally. And he earned it for us, together with your outstanding tactics, of course. We should celebrate!”

Vegeta wasn’t really sure why that set him off. Nion was not smart enough for this level of sarcasm. Still, a ‘job well done’ was a bald-faced lie, and it lit the Prince’s face bring red as he screamed. “Fuck that dumb fuck for getting himself killed. And fuck you all!”

With a punch to Nion’s gut, Vegeta shoved the elder out of the way then growled a warning at the others. They stepped back, cowed. Still, the Saiyan teen felt suffocated. Smothered, like he was drowning. Outside; that’s what he needed. With an angry tread he took the fastest way out one of the ornate balconies, then pushed off and flew up into the white clouds overhead.

The air was frigid cold on his face, whipping in his ears so loud it hurt. But the cold, wet air calmed the rage and numbed his pounding head. After a little while, it felt good to just dive down and wind through the white-topped jagged peaks that covered most of the planet’s surface. Vegeta was not one to notice beauty, and he hated this planet too much to consider such a possibility. But the action was mildly entertaining, perhaps even enjoyable when done at a speed that made the curves a challenge.

When the novelty had worn off, Vegeta returned to the heights above the clouds, watching his long shadow in front of him in quiet contemplation. A prince should practice cold logic, even if his gut felt like it was on fire. Vegeta felt like that a lot lately, and he hoped it was an age thing. He was royalty, and only lower classes were supposed to be susceptible to bloodlust bad enough that they could not see past their own rage.

And looking at it now with a literal cooler head, he wondered why he had been angry at all. Vegeta had planned to downplay the loss. But he had been so sure he would have been called out on Lekus’ death, that when it did not happen it caught him off guard. In fact, Vegeta though he would have preferred it if someone had blamed him. It would have made it easier to brush off.

Yes; brushing it off had been what he had intended to do. Act casually. Drinking with the men would have been perfect for that. It's what commanders did. Probably. He’d just been blindsided by these fool reactions. And Frieza’s. Which worried him to his core.. But. No, he should have accepted the offer to go drinking.

It would not do to turn around and find his squad though. If Vegeta showed up now, someone might think he was apologizing for his earlier behavior. But he couldn’t keep flying like this indefinitely either. At the rate he was burning through his ki, even a Saiyan could not keep the cold at bay for much longer. The small sun was already half-hidden behind the jagged peaks, so it would be dark soon and colder still. Besides, he had worked up quite an appetite. After getting his bearings, Vegeta grudgingly opted to go back to Frieza’s ship and get a filling meal.

On return, he checked the med-bay first to find Raditz still immersed in healing liquids. At least the third-class was going to live. Not that he cared; at least not enough to have his mood lifted. Vegeta trekked to the mess hall next, thankful that most staff had disembarked. He was in no mood to talk to anyone.

Sadly, there was still a short line at the feeding station. Five men out of the six in the room stood waiting, and the line did not move. At all. After a minute, Vegeta shoved past the waiting men until he found the culprit: a tall, thin green alien that moved slowly and deliberately, collecting his slob with agonizing slowness. Like an old man, although Vegeta doubted the creature could be much older than himself. Vegeta growled at him, but when the man turned, recognition fluttered inside the Saiyan’s mind.

The feeling, it turned out, was mutual. The creature froze, and the closer Vegeta studied it, the more disgusted he felt. It was too thin and had grown up weak. Then the man started to shake as well. This was not an unusual reaction to the Prince of Saiyans from a civilian but for a soldier… it was just odd.

“Don't I know you?” Vegeta pondered.

The green man’s face contorted, either in rage or fear. Or both. “You...” it hissed. Then it seemed to lock up and as it looked down at its ugly, crooked fingers.

What a mess of a man. How could Frieza allow something like that to work for it? Vegeta mused, and yet. He knew this creature… well, it didn't really matter. Food, now that was important.

“What the hell is the hold up?” he inquired.

The look of shock that came over the man’s face sparked another memory. Of someone younger, a lot healthier looking, and... Yes, this was the boy... The one that could... cook … right? Vegeta certainly didn't remember him being this ugly and crooked, or this weird in the head.

A purple face pushed the tall green thing to the side, and this one Vegeta definitely recognised: Cui. “Can't even remember his name, can you, Vegeta? This is Cordwell. You’ve caused him a lot of suffering, you know?”

If Cui had meant to talk for the gaunt thing, he met some opposition from the creature in question. The thing called Cordwell leaned over Cui’s shoulder, and pushed round fish-like eyes close to Vegeta’s face as it spat out: “It’s all your fault!”

Vegeta returned the challenge with another snarl. How dare he speak that way? Lekus... No. And now this creep? No. he was not responsible. “You might want to be more specific. You upset I didn't kill your mom before she had you or something?”

Cordwell made an attempt to climb over Cui, long limbs reached out and twisted fingers grabbed for the prince. “You put me up to it. Put us up to it.”

It foamed at the mouth now, and the spectacle was disgusting enough to make Vegeta rethink fighting the creature. Maybe he’d eradicate it from a distance, but he didn't want to catch whatever madness held the lanky alien. Its words made little sense, and despite any real belief that this thing was capable of intelligent conversation, Vegeta heard himself ask: “What?”

“We tried to run,” Cordwell panted, having made a path over and past Cui, who now tried to restrain him from behind. The squid didn’t have enough footing, and so the green mess inched closer to Vegeta. “You told us we’d die if we didn't. That we should take the pods. But we were caught.”

Confused, Vegeta fixed Cui with a questioning glare. But he was met with such a hostile look  that he had to ask: “What nonsense is this freak talking about, squid?”

Cui tisked at him, then violently wrestled the much larger alien back. “You gonna deny this now, monkey? Everyone knows your father was a traitor. But you had to go on and pull us down with you, didnt you?”

“What are you talking about?” Vegeta inquired, disgusted.

The foaming, sick thing accused with a voice that jumped another octave: “When your stupid old man got himself killed. You told us they’d come for us too. That we’d be killed. That we should run. But we only ever got the pods to lift off before we were retrieved. And we ran, so we were guilty. I’m... I’m all that’s left. We... we... we should never have listened to you. You killed them.”

That didn't make sense. Vegeta had not known about his father’s coupe until after it had happened. He’d not had the chance to tell anyone anything, with Frieza smacking him around. And even if he had... What the man claimed was impossible. No one could get a pod to take off without clearance.

Nothing the boy said made any sense. None of whatever was supposed to have happened to those boys was his fault... and Lekus...? That wasn’t his fault either. Vegeta stared down at the tray in his hands, red pushing up and around his vision. The tray shook as his hands threatened to bend it, until found the perfect place to bury it: right in that lying green slime’s lying face. The Saiyan didn’t pause before he socked Cui in his tentacled mouth. Vegeta turned again to charge a blast at Cordwell, but the thing was already swinging its own tray at Vegeta. It contacted with a smack to the side of his skull, but the Saiyan took it with a grin, just so he could fire off the ki he held.

It was not rage that overtook him, rather something empty and uncaring. Vegeta swung punches without even blocking, and when he felt Cui rain blows on his back he took the punches to his kidneys and spine as well. He was probably smiling, perhaps even laughing. Vegeta’s fists throbbed with every impact, and he clung to that feeling regardless of any other body parts screaming that he was taking actual damage.

Vegeta didn’t give a fuck anymore, he just methodically punched the tall green creature to the beat of some alarm that had gone off and now blared across the mess hall. He turned to exchange fists with Cui again, only slightly hampered by the green beanstalk that now tried to restrain him. Vegeta swung out his elbows left and right, not even caring what he hit. This bought him a few seconds, which he used to turn his assault back to Cui, until something dropped on his head hard enough to daze him.

It must have been Cordwell, dropping something hard on him. But it was impossible to tell, because his head was ringing. It didn't matter though. With a shake of the head, Vegeta waited for his vision to clear enough so he could pummel the first shape he made out. He’d drink it up, all of it, drink it up and spit it out tenfold. And it was working. Cui and Cordwell were so confused and rattled by Prince’s willingness to take anything they dished out that they guarded more than attacked.

With one last hard hook, Vegeta pushed Cui back far enough to make another one-eighty turn and lounge at Cordwell. But the creature had already backpedaled at least six paces and then dropped to his knees, eyes wide as he looked off to Vegeta’s left and cowered. It was not as the Saiyan had it pissing its pants though.

“Dodoria.” It shuddered, like that monster was something worse than the Prince. Vegeta was less impressed. He just turned to face this new threat, and charged up another blast.

The pink brute reached out a large fist and engulfed Vegeta’s entire arm, blast and all. “Making trouble, little Prince? And while our master is getting ready for his guests no less? Bad timing.”

What guests?

“Fuck you,” he raged and tried to pull his arm free, unwilling to extinguish the shot, even when he started to smell cooked flesh. That ki was intended for Dodoria’s face, to wipe that ugly smile off it. Vegeta bared his teeth.

Dodoria blinked, then smiled a toothy smile. “Oh yeah. I think you need a little time to cool off, don’t you?”

“Fuck. You.” It burned, and it occurred to Vegeta that his hand would sear off before he even pierced Dodoria’s thick skin. Logic. He was going to think, not act like some blood-raged… The ki went out.

“I’m guessing that’s Saiyan for yes.”

read the rest on https://archiveofourown.org/works/15338988/chapters/35590152 or ff.net

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z 095

Last time, Goku used the Spirit Bomb on Frieza and it totally worked!    Frieza’s dead forever.    Then Goku made a rainbow and said “Gay Rights”.

The four heroes convene on a small island.   They’re all exhausted, and it’s a bittersweet moment because of all the Namekians who died before.   Still spirits are high, and it looks like all they have to do now is find Goku’s ship and head home.

Buoyed by the news of Goku’s victory, the Z-Fighters on King Kai’s planet polish off the Ginyu Force by knocking them off the planet, causing them to fall into Hell.  

Recoome tries to force his way back up, but there’s some sort of force field, so he’s trapped.  

King Kai then reveals that he arranged for the dead Ginyus to be sent here so the boys would have some worthy foes to fight.    That seems kind of odd, but okay.

Yeah, shots like this one are the only times I really get sore about the Orange Brick DVDs being letterboxed.    Sorry, Piccolo.

Oh, hey, even Frieza’s shown up to help celebrate Goku’s big win over Frieza--OH SHIT!

OOHHHHHHH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT

Frieza shoots a laser at Goku, and Piccolo shoves him out of the way and ends up taking the blast himself.   So we’ve officially reached the point where Piccolo is a good guy.    He was originally created to kill Goku, and now he’s sacrificing himself to save Goku.

Goku tells Krillin and Gohan to run away while they still can, but Frieza isn’t having any of that.    Even he thought that Spirit Bomb would be the end of him, and that’s finally pissed him off enough that he’s done toying with these guys.   He uses some technique to levitate Krillin...

...And then he makes Krillin explode. 

Then Frieza turns his attention to Gohan.   

Throughout all of this, Goku has barely moved.   He’s just been hunched over, twitching his clenched fists.    Then all this lightning starts up, and...

Yeah, the most important moment in the entire franchise happens.  

I’m not sure what to say about this moment that hasn’t already been said.  It never gets stated in this episode, and the only time “Super Saiyan” is mentioned at all is in the title.   And yet, we all know what’s happened here.    It’s obvious.   Characters have been talking about Super Saiyans for the last thirty episodes.   No one knew exactly what a Super Saiyan was, or that it was a transformation you had to do to become one.    But now it’s as clear as day.   The tide has turned.  

So why not Vegeta or Gohan?  In Vegeta’s case, I think the moral of that story speaks for itself.   He assumed that his royal bloodline and ruthless approach to fighting would guarentee his supremacy, but it only sealed his fate.   He molded himself into what he thought was the ultimate Saiyan warrior, but all he really did was turn himself into Frieza Lite.    Vegeta believed he represented the best and brightest things about his species and culture, but that was only because his people had become wicked and corrupt.   

By comparison Goku was the stone the builders rejected.   His society deemed him unworthy and tossed him into space.    Every Saiyan wrote him off as a low-class warrior, and he defied their expectations and surpassed all of them.    And he did it by embracing his feelings instead of casting them aside.   Goku is what’s right about the Saiyan people, and yet the things he values and cares about were completely odious to the Saiyan race.    Vegeta never had a Krillin that could be killed before his eyes and send him into a transformative rage.   Of  all Saiyans, that moment is only possible for Goku.   

Gohan seemed like a possible fulfillment of the legend, since he’s been displaying uncommon bursts of strength throughout the series, and Goku’s transformation looks a lot like the sort of fits of anger Gohan’s been experiencing.     There was a gag in DBZ Abridged where Goku wonders why Gohan didn’t turn Super Saiyan in this episode, because all the same stuff was happening to both of them.   Here’s the difference: Gohan didn’t have a son in the line of fire.    

I think this line gets overlooked a lot, because in the original Funimation dub, Linda Young doesn’t mention Gohan.    Instead she says “Pop goes the weasel”, as a final sendoff for Krillin.    It’s a good line, harsh and cruel and completely contemptuous of Krillin as a person who might have mattered to anyone.   So you have a whole generation of fans, including myself, who figured that Krillin’s death was what triggered Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation.   

And Krillin’s death does play a part.   I don’t want to diminish that.    But I think it’s telling that the very last thing that happens pre-transformation is Frieza threatening to kill Gohan next.   Goku’s still processing Krillin’s violent demise, and the next thing he hears is Frieza saying he’s going to do the same thing to his son.

Does that mean you have to be a parent to turn into a Super Saiyan?   Well, no, but it doesn’t hurt.   My point is that Goku is in a much deeper state of despair than Gohan at this moment.    He had been fighting Frieza this whole time, desperately trying to find some way to beat him.   The 20x Kaio-ken failed.   The Spirit Bomb failed.  There’s absolutely nothing he can do.    And he was so sure that he’d won.    Just a few minutes earlier, he was convinced that the battle was finally over.  To have that relief stripped away from him like that is just too horrible for words.   Yeah, Gohan went through the same thing, but he wasn’t the one fighting.    He was watching from the sidelines, trusting his father to save the day.    That’s the difference.   

So how exactly did this come about?     Why is there only one Super Saiyan every thousand years?   This time it’s Goku, fine, but why was it such a rare thing in the past?    I think DBZ provides its own answer to that question.    Look at all the battles where Goku survived by the skin of his teeth, only to come back even stronger.    Vegeta defined that as a trait of Saiyan biology.   I’ve heard it called “zenkai”, the ability to gain lots of power after a Saiyan recovers from the brink of death.    Think about how many times Goku and Vegeta had to experience that in order to get as strong as they did.    Lots of Saiyans did the same, but the thing about “near-death” is that it often leads to “actual death”.   Goku had to die to get strong enough to take on Vegeta, so it was just fortunate for him that he happened to be living on a planet with the means to resurrect him.    And he was lucky enough to get timely help from his son and his friends.    Without them, he probably would have lost to Vegeta, or died from his injuries.  

Likewise, Vegeta probably would have died in that battle, except for the fact that Goku let him leave, and Frieza’s men treated his wounds.   Then he got beat up by Zarbon, and Zarbon treated his wounds because he needed information from him.   Then Goku gave him a senzu bean, despite the fact that they were enemies.    Then Dende healed Vegeta because Piccolo and the others convinced him to do it.   

When you stop to think about it, you begin to realize how these zenkai moments are more and more improbable.    The only reason Goku was able to challenge Frieza was because Captain Ginyu switched bodies with him, which allowed Vegeta to beat up Goku rather easily.     Then Vegeta turned around and healed Goku, because he would need his help later against Frieza.    There may have been other Saiyans like Goku in history, but very few of them would have ever gotten such a lucky break like that.    Most of them would probably end up dying, or they’d never get beaten so badly in the first place. 

I think that’s why Raditz had such a low power level.    It’s not that Raditz was a weakling or a failure.   It’s more likely that he just never got in a situation where he lost a battle, so he never benefited from the zenkai boost he would have gained from recovering.   What was he supposed to do?   Wander into a war zone and let himself get hurt, then hope one of his allies would rescue him?   That’s insane, and yet that’s what Goku managed to do his whole life.    That’s why Raditz was so frightened of Goku’s willingness to eat a Special Beam Cannon.     Goku was ready to die to win that battle, and that willingness to do whatever it takes was what set him apart.    

I don’t recall my reaction to seeing this episode for the first time.    I think maybe I had already seen it coming, since there was some blonde Goku merch floating around already, so I knew something was coming, and Goku needed to pull some kind of rabbit out of his hat to beat Frieza after ten episodes of getting beaten down.     I remember thinking the yellow hair looked bad, and I preferred Goku the way he was.   But when I finally saw the story behind the yellow hair, and realized what it meant, I quickly came to appreciate it.   I was 22, by the way, just in case anyone picturing me in little kid pajamas or something.   

So yeah, that’s it.    And it also closes out the second phase of the Frieza saga.    From here on, Frieza’s trapped in Super Goku Town.   And it all goes downhill from there...

[coola98-blog]

❛ keep going, make my legs shake. ❜

    NEVER HAD HE taken too kindly to demands, at all times had he preferred to do things upon his own accord– lest the commands had come from Cooler, of course. However, this was something he had found himself pleased to hear, and perhaps, something he had found himself willing to comply to.

    A jerk of his hips presses himself down against Zarbon’s skin again, moving at a teasingly slow, steady pace, almost as if he were trying to bother the other. His breaths cause a rather steady rise and fall of his chest, despite the fact that he was hardly breaking a sweat.   ❛ How about I hear you beg for it, cher? ❜ he responds, half a smile forming on his lips.

    His hands set themselves upon Zarbon’s abdomen, raising himself up again. They both knew he was capable of far more than just this, but in any situation involving the other, it seemed almost like his sole aim was to frustrate.

   ❛ Come on, now. I want to hear those words from those pretty lips of yours, just say please. Then, if I am feeling generous, I shall take this far more seriously. Having to look at your face alone is hardly enough to even turn me on, tu sais. ❜

[nonsensical-rants]

Dragon Ball FighterZ is all over the place.

Apologies for anyone who actually looks forward to these posts (as little as a group as that may be), but I have been playing an increasing selection of games to talk about in order to make up for that fact. Right now, i’m back on Dragon Ball Z and specifically the newest fighting game created by ArcSys. To be quite honest, it’s a mixed bag of feelings for me. Like everyone has said in the past it IS indeed one of the smoothest fighting games of the current generation and takes the 3v3 format of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 (a game i love immensely) and adds Dragon Ball Z characters too it. Its such a vast and amazing world full of characters with different personalities and goals and fighting styles. However, the roster reflects only a small portion of this variety. And this is where my (and most likely other peoples) main problem with the game arises. 

To put it simply, the game is a damn Goku fest. Everyone knows it. SSJ, SSJB, Goku Black, Vegito, Base Goku, Bardock (i realize he’s a different character, but aesthetically hes just Goku with armor, a scar, and a headband), and even cell if you wanna argue over that 10.78% of his DNA. While that last one may be a bit of a stretch, there are still to many variations of this character for some people’s liking. But some people are still requesting more versions of him! Kid Goku, Ultra Instinct Goku, SSJ4 Goku, etc. What happened to this extended universe with hundreds of unique characters shown across the series?

A couple of my personal selections would be Roshi, Videl, Raditz, Cooler, Zarbon, Tapion, Hercule, Dabura, Gero/Android 19, Toppo, Cabba/Kale, Uub, Pikkon, Omega Shenron, Janemba, Bojack, and Android 13 to name a few. Not all of them are possible/realistic but I mainly just wanted to point out the diversity that this franchise has, instead of rehashing the nostalgia of growing up with Goku. But, regardless of what I say all of the characters that are added to the game will have unique move sets and play styles that are able to differentiate them from the rest of the roster. I enjoy playing and watching people play this fast paced fighting game full of characters they cherish and appreciate. But i didn’t grow up with DBZ so i am a little more critical of what I see in this as a game and as a product.

No but for real, add my boy Raditz to the game and i’ll be on there everyday.

[vulcanlsj]

Rightful Heir Chapter 1 (DBZ Alternate timeline fanfic)

Imagine a world where Goku didn't hit his head as a child, and took over Earth. In such a world, Vegeta decided to take Earth as his own, and enslave the humans. My OC Vulcan and Vegeta spar, with Vegeta having secret plans...

Two metal balls hurtled through space from the only area of the north galaxy that the iron grip of the Saiyan Empire didn't reach. One of the balls had a small round glass window, and the sigil of the Royal House of the Saiya-jin. Inside the ball, laid a large man, roughly built, with a scar on his left biceps. He wore silver and red chest armor, with a red cape attached to his shoulders. On the left breastplate was the sigil of the Royal Family. That signaled that he was not only a Saiyan but related to the royal bloodline as well. A brown tail was wrapped around the waist, and red hip guards that ran down his thighs. He wore light blue pants, and silver armored boots, the same style wrist protectors accompanied his arm.

His face was his most interesting feature. The first was the unusual dark brown hair, which might signify that he was a Demi-Saiyan, including its short nature. It was parted up the middle, and was barely half an inch in length. He had three noticeable scars: one on the left side of his neck. It was as though the maker tried to puncture his jugular.

The other ball held a young woman, with equally unusual violet hair. She might have been a Demi-Saiyan as well, her straight hair didn't betray that aspect. She was wearing similar armor to the man in the first ball, minus the royal sigil on her breastplate.

The occupants were concentrating on a task that they would soon be putting into action. She seemed more calm than he did, as his face had a look of pure determination. In his mind, he though about a day 27 years ago, that brought about this day.

He entered the atmosphere, and landed on one of the landing cushions. A couple of guards came out, and opened his space pod.

"Hai, Vulcan-sama, it is nice of you to visit Earth," one of the guards said as Vulcan got out.

"Today, is something supposed to happen that I wasn't told about?" Vulcan asked with a stern face.

"Y-yes sire, Vegeta plans on beginning a tournament for the humans to prove themselves to us. He hopes it to bring some form of entertainment to the planet."

Vulcan tensed at that statement. He never liked holding entire races that had very similar appearances below his own race. He based his opinions on the person, like in the case of Zarbon or Dodoria.

"You think forcing people to make a bloodbath is called entertainment? That is just a disgrace!"

"Y-y-yes Vulcan-sama, but Vegeta-sama wishes that you attend. He wishes to talk with you over certain matters."

"Alright, but first, tell me why he called me here in the first place. And don't test my patience," Vulcan stared down at the guard.

The guard stepped back, and tried to think, but couldn't get anything. "I don't know, the sire did not tell me any information about your arrival, just that you were coming, and to tell you to come to the arena. I will have some escorts take you there." The guard just looked scared out of his wits, and reached to his hip. He grabbed a communicator, and turned it on.

Vulcan turned away and stopped paying attention. He looked down to the streets of the city. There were many humans in ragged clothing, straggling around trying to clean up through slave labor.

The guard tried to get Vulcan's attention by tapping him on the shoulder, which was a bad move for him. Vulcan instinctively swung his arm backward and smashed his fist into the guard's face, breaking his nose, and fracturing his cheekbones. The guard fell to the ground holding his face. Vulcan stared down at him with a look of irritation.

"Never startle me. Understood?" Vulcan belted at the fallen guard and everyone else that was there.

"Y-y-yes s-sir Vulcan-sama, it won't happen again," the guard stammered back. "But what I was going to tell you was that your escorts are here, follow them through that door, and to Vegeta-sama's palace arena."

Vulcan followed his escorts without saying a word. He looked at them both, and learned that one of them was female, a rarity among Saiyans. He looked at her with amazement. She had long, wild black hair, wore a dark blue suit, with the normal shoulder guard armor with white gloves, and toed boots. At her hip, she had a restraining collar gun. She was pretty strong looking for a Saiyan, appearing as though she could take a few Saiyans on at once, and come out the victor. She probably could take more, but Vulcan couldn't tell at the moment.

"Excuse me miss, can I ask your name?" Vulcan asked the woman as they were walking.

"What, oh, my name is Lenora, why do you ask sire? Have I done something disrespectful?" she questioned him with a puzzled look.

"No, its just that you look like you could handle yourself in a big fight, and not a lot of female Saiyans I've seen can."

She blushed slightly, and turned away. "Thank you sire, I appreciate that."

"Good, I like a woman that can accept a compliment. Why don't you see me after the tournament today? I'm not sure where I'll be, but I'm sure Vegeta has a special place for me." Vulcan emphasized the word "special."

"Hai, sure Vulcan."

"Yeah, but when you visit, you don't have to call me by my formal name, alright?"

"Okay, um, this is the place, Vegeta is through this door."

"Thank you, I'll see you later." Vulcan opened the door, to see the short prince sitting on a throne, looking out to an arena, where spectators were screaming for something to begin. The prince turned to look at Vulcan, and then a wicked grin grew on his face.

"Welcome Vulcan, I'm glad you could come. I see that you decided to join me at the arena to watch what I hope to be a magnificent tournament. Please, sit down next to me and Kakarot, we have the best seat in the house," Vegeta welcomed Vulcan as he offered him a seat.

"Thanks, but no thanks, I'd like to stand if you don't mind."

"Oh, no, I don't mind, as long as you are comfortable. I mean, I don't want you to strain yourself."

"I'll be fine Vegeta."

Then came the signal to begin the tournament. The tournament consisted of 32 people in two sets of brackets. Which makes for a total of 16 qualifying fights. The first fight was between a small bald headed man, and a large bear of a human that was nearly three times his size. He performed many back flips to show off his amazing agility. Then the small one leaped at the large one, and hit him with a roundhouse kick, sending the large one into the wall. Vulcan looked at this with a surprised look on his face.

Vegeta saw this reaction from Vulcan. "Yes, I see that some of these humans are much stronger than they look, especially that little one," Vegeta commented. "Kurilin is his name I believe. He stands to show that some of these human may have some potential. Don't you think so Kakarot?"

Kakarot nodded, "Humans like that one may make for good soldiers that we can exploit."

Vulcan interjected with a demand, "Why do you have to treat every other race as though they are inferior? You make them into slaves for just that reason."

"They are inferior because of their weakness, but I am trying to help them make a reputation by having this tournament. They just have to prove themselves to us," Vegeta assured Vulcan.

"Yeah, and what exactly does the winner of this tournament get?"

"They get a chance to fight an elite of my choice. If they survive, they get made into a ranked soldier."

"Humph, sounds like a death wish to me." Vulcan just crossed his arms, and leaned back against the wall, looking out towards the arena, just in time to see Kurilin snap the neck of the fat man. The crowd roared and cheered, and called for the next fight.

The next fight turned out to have another big man, although not as big as the last. His opponent was a bulk man, with an average height. The big one yelled out his name in show of quick victory, Spopovitch. The average man fell into a defensive crouch, as Spopovitch charged at him. He attempted a sweep, which didn't stop or slow Spopovitch. Spopovitch then grabbed him by both of his arms, and gave him a crushing hug.

"Die, Stiener, be a quick death, and you will not regret it," Spopovitch said. Stiener passed out from the pain, and Spopovitch let him fall to the ground. He then picked him up by his head, and smashed his head between his hands.

"Now that was interesting," Kakarot said.

"Yes, he would make an excellent soldier. He reminds me of Nappa, so large, and well built," Vegeta remarked. "All he would need is to train in my newly constructed gravity chambers." He then looked to Vulcan. "Don't you find this entertaining Vulcan? This is the reason that I asked you to come here."

"Not all that much. I only find true joy in personal fighting," Vulcan replied.

"Well, that's odd. I thought that this would be entertaining. What exactly do you want to do?"

"I want to go back to Planet Vegeta, that's what I want."

"I can't let you do that, that wouldn't be very host like me. You're my guest, what would make your stay more enjoyable, hmm?"

"I'd like a challenging fight, that would help." Vulcan looked down to the small section of elite watching the fights. "So which of your elite are you going to have me fight? Will it be the hulking Nappa? Or the sick sadistic bastard Raditz? Or even Kakarot here? Any others I'm forgetting?"

Vegeta thought for a few seconds. He didn't think Raditz would give Vulcan much of a challenge, though it would be fun to see Raditz's tactics put up against Vulcan's legendary fighting skills. Nappa fought Vulcan years ago, before Frieza put distance between the Saiyans and the Ice-jinns, and Vulcan easily took Nappa down. He wasn't sure if Nappa was now stonger than Vulcan or not. And Kakarot had been getting a lot stronger and had tactics that Vegeta thought even compared to his own. But he needed someone to kill Vulcan, after all, that was the real reason he had summoned Vulcan here.

"No, it will not be any of my elite," Vegeta decided, "as a matter of fact, I think I'll fight you." Vegeta smirked as he pondered over how he was going to kill Vulcan. He needed to take him out before he reached something that Vegeta was on the edge of himself. That and he planned on taking his father's place as leader of the Saiyans. Vulcan could complicate things. Of course, Vegeta would have to have a couple of training bouts, to judge how strong Vulcan really was.

Vulcan was surprised as he responded, "You're gonna fight me?"

Vegeta killed his smirk, "If it keeps you happy and on Earth for a week or two, then yes. Your sparring partner will be me." He kept his emotions of elation to himself.

"OK, but I need to get prepared first, where is my room?"

"I'll have one of my guards show you to your room," Vegeta raised a hand to signal for his guards to come forward. They led him out of the room, as Vegeta and Kakarot discussed Vulcan's desire for a fight.

"So Vulcan is actually becoming part of your plan for the throne?" Kakarot asked quizzically.

"Yes, sooner than I had expected." Vegeta smirked again, and watched the next fight.

Outside of Vulcan's room, Vulcan turned to the guard before he left his sight. "Excuse me, but before you leave, find the guard known as Lenora, and bring her here. We have a meeting that needs to be held ASAP."

"Hai sama, I'll be right back." The guard continued down the hall as he checked his hand held scanner. Vulcan just looked around the room, and decided to rest. He'd wait for Lenora to show.

[risingsouls]

Recruited: Chapter 1

[Yeah it’s for real happening because I’m weak. So here it is. I’m basically going to write out my new recruited verse because I have lost control of my life.

Shoutout to @kiealer for a mention of her OC’s healer race and the HC we have that Vegeta and co demolished most of them. :3]

Nabooru

Traveling beyond the bounds of her desert home had always been limited. Within the desert, never ending sandstorm made venturing too far from known landmarks treacherous for fear of never returning or serving as a meal for the beasts lurking beneath the sands or in caverns. Beyond the eastern border lay greater Hyrule. Lush, green, thriving. 

To Nabooru, it always felt like she was stepping into an entirely different world and not simply because of the stark contrast of weather and scenery. In her younger years, the culture shock hit her harder than more recent years. Women didn't fight and served their husband's needs and desires. It was rare that they served in government, and it was almost taboo for them to talk about it. To have an opinion of matters deemed "too dirty" for the so-called fairer sex. Most resided in the home and only the men provided. They dressed modestly, and did not speak out of turn. None of which would have bothered Nabooru had the denizens not tried to hold Gerudo women to to same standards while traipsing through Castle Town or outside of the desert. The mostly matriarchal Gerudo, where women ruled and fought and drank and cursed. Where their sexuality was celebrated and not demonized (though many Hylian men and women alike had celebrated right along with them for at least one night of their lives until the sun rose and those same Gerudo became whores and heathens once more). Who cooked and cleaned and raised children. Gerudo women did everything Hylian women did and then some. 

If the lesson didn't stick with Nabooru the few times she ventured out with her best friend, Aveil, against her will, it certainly did when she joined Ganondorf at court. When she spoke among the other delegates of Hyrule's court, it wasn't uncommon for her to face chortling, eye rolling, or grimacing. Ganondorf could then repeat the same point moments later, word for word, and be met with at least some modicum of agreement or a proper debate.

And that only touched on the prejudice spurred by anger and fear Hyrule harbored toward her people. The Civil War may have ended in a peaceful treaty, one promising unity and safety, a new beginning. But none forgot how avidly and proudly the Gerudo fought for their sovereignty until their second to last breath. The skills and power of the demons from the desert.

None of that mattered for Nabooru any more. Hyrule was far behind, somewhere in the vast, new realm of space that she could never possibly fathom before she boarded a ship primed for traveling such an expansive place beyond the world and reality she understood. She could only guess what other planets might offer her in terms of terrain or people. What her new life as a soldier to a galactic emperor entailed. But beneath the inorganic lighting and in the midst of technological advances even the brightest on her home planet could not begin to dream up, she hadn't found much opportunity to ask while she struggled to process her surroundings. Stars and debris whizzing by windows as they passed them. The words her new commanders spoke amongst themselves. 

“Remind me your name?”

It took Nabooru several seconds to note the silence that had befallen her company, curiosity and shock holding her gaze transfixed to the door that slid open of its own accord to admit them. She tried to mask the hurried step she took over the threshold as well as she could, though her continued awestruck surveillance of her surroundings--the large screens along the walls displaying information, the flashing lights, the beeps and low, mechanical hums--displayed the mixture of her curiosity and apprehension of it all no matter the measures she took to downplay them. And, when she finally found the emperor and his generals again, their mixed bags of expressions confirmed her failure. Frieza stared at her with an increasingly amused smirk, his tail tapping against the side of his chair, one a parent gives a learning child. The wide, pink general with a layer of spikes on top of his otherwise bald head and forearms grunted, his expression squished in impatience. The taller of the two sporting a green braid and a tiara with matching earrings tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, yellow eyes half-lidded in either boredom or disbelief.

Nabooru straightened her posture, mind working overtime to replay the last few seconds and figure out what sort of answer they expected her to give to a question she hoped she heard. She chewed the inside of her cheek, and hoped the blush in her cheeks was less apparent than it felt when she came up short.

“I apologize,” she bowed her head, unsure of the proper etiquette, “did you ask me something? I’m...a little overwhelmed.”

“Yes, I suppose even just this ship is quite a marvel to you, isn’t it, coming from such a technologically barren planet as yours? It has been quite some time since we recruited someone from a planet like yours.” Nabooru released the breath she held and raised her head again, returning to her full height and her hands behind her back when Frieza didn’t berate her for her misstep. A small voice inside her whispered how it wished he hadn’t whisked her away from her home, but she tamped it down like a stubborn weed before the sentiment could reflect itself in her eyes. “You will get used to it soon enough. As for what I asked, I requested your name. I like to know what to call my more promising acquisitions.”

Another fight to keep her expression neutral, her pride festering at being referred to as some otherworldly trinket that caught his eye. She lowered her head again. “My name is Nabooru, my lord. I thank you for the opportunity to serve you.” 

Bitter words on her tongue. Subjugation didn’t suit her, but laying the act on thick felt like the right move with the emperor. The whispers of his other soldiers about his temperament swirled through her mind as a constant reminder to behave if she wanted to survive. A reality that would take some adjusting to, and, once more, a role she didn’t want to play. One given without the luxury of choice.

“Splendid. Then, let’s get straight to business then.” He raised a pitch-taloned hand and the taller of the generals stepped forward. “Once we arrive at the base, Zarbon will give you the tour and enumerate your daily schedule for the time being. He will also outfit you with a proper uniform.”

Nabooru glanced between the three of them, taking the time to note that they all sported similar attire, as had the soldiers who first landed on Hyrule. She still wore the clothes she left Hyrule in: her patterned bandeau and pink pants in the typical Gerudo style along with the jewels she adorned herself in. The chest piece looked like armor of some sort, and though she never cared much for it, it didn’t look entirely uncomfortable. She wasn’t worried about the look of it either, as there seemed to be different styles and perhaps she would get lucky with one that suited her taste and figure. What did bother her was that her attire was all that she had with her to remind her of her home, her past and people, due to the instruction to pack light if anything at all. She gripped the strap of the bag slung over her shoulder; the changes of clothes she brought along felt all the more irrelevant.

She nodded as a show of understanding, sensing that resistance or questioning of the regimen set out for her would only go ignored if she was lucky. When the three returned to their own conversations about the successes of a few planetary ventures, the prospects of others to be considered in the future, Nabooru used the rest of the flight to drink in whatever information she could from them and her surroundings. What she would be expected to do. How the technology surrounding her worked or what she would needed to understand for her own purposes. The personalities of the emperor and his most trusted generals. A difficult task when, perhaps purposefully, they kept their talk clinical and impersonal. Emotionless reactions to each report, whether good news or bad.

When the ship landed at the base, a large edifice that could pass for a castle on her home planet save for its plainness and more angular architecture, Zarbon led her away from the emperor and his fellow general, his boredom once more pervasive on his immaculate face. His tone of voice matched it as he pointed out areas of interest: the mess hall, showers and bathrooms (a mild concern to her when she only saw what she identified as male bodies entering or exiting them), and the expansive halls that held the soldiers’ quarters where she would sleep. He did not spend much time discussing any of them, their functions self-explanatory enough. So Nabooru hoped. The last thing she wanted was to find that, after a long day, her bed was some sort of complicated apparatus or had some fancy voice command that made it comfortable enough for rest.

The door to another room slid open and she followed. “This is where you will have your daily lessons considering your...under educated background,” he said, the hint of a sneer on his lips. “Mostly teaching you the basics you will need to operate the most rudimentary of our tech needed to do your job efficiently along with the expectations of your role in planetary trade.”

“Trading planets?” Nabooru couldn’t help how her eyes narrowed, the implications of such a business unpleasant at best in her mind. Not to mention what that could mean for her own home. Was their fate as secure as she thought? She hid her distaste by continuing to survey the room and commit its location to memory. It looked like a fairly ordinary, all purpose classroom. Another expansive screen replaced a chalkboard at the head of the room with a metal podium in front of it. Two rows of glass-topped desks faced the front of the room. It made her wonder if others would be joining her for her lessons.

Zarbon flipped his braid over his shoulder. “Yes. Our business is in finding planets to trade or sell and readying them for such transactions in most cases. Others are used for the empire’s purposes if they’re deemed worthwhile for some reason or another. Much like yours.”

Hyrule had been lucky, then. Avoided a likely more violent takeover, potentially thanks to her people’s warrior prowess. While she doubted Ganondorf and the rest of the Gerudo would be horribly merciful when they took over, she had a feeling they would spare far more than Frieza’s forces if the decision concerning their planet had swung the other way. She would have laughed at the irony of it had better circumstances been offered for amusement.

“I see…”

“You will learn more about that here. It isn’t my job to teach you such basics.” He moved to the door and Nabooru took her cue to follow. “You will be expected to report here first thing in the morning after the first meal and your lessons will last until the afternoon meal. The rest of your day will be spent training so you can get a better handle on your ki and utilizing it in the most efficient ways for your station.”

“I mean no disrespect and I understand the need for learning the other facets of my new job, but that sounds more up my alley than sitting in a classroom for several hours.”

“Of course. It is expected of you warrior types.” Nabooru could hear the eyeroll in his voice despite her position behind him. Along with the scrunch of his nose with his next scoffed statement: “Speaking of brainless imbeciles…”

Her curiosity outweighed the split second surge in her temper over the insult to her and her people along with whoever the general had spotted in front of him. She took a step to the side to peer around Zarbon as they continued down the corridor. Three men in the similar style of armor as the rest of the crew strode toward them, a shorter one flanked by two much larger figures, the sight reminiscent of her first exposure to Frieza and his generals. The two in the back--a bald one with a mustache and the second’s large stature the only thing keeping him from being swallowed by the mass of black spikes sprouting from the top of his head down to the top of his boots--appeared to be in high spirits, excitedly discussing their latest victories and sharing in each other’s laughter. The one in the middle paid them little mind, his dark gaze only shifting from its fixed, forward position to note the two of them approaching. His lips curled into a smirk.

“Well, well. Did Frieza let you off your leash for once?” He cast Nabooru a fleeting glance but little more. His hand rose to press a button on the side of the device fitted over his ear connected to red glass over his eye. The two behind him had stopped laughing and followed suit, exchanging a glance between them. “And for babysitting duty nonetheless. Is there a demotion in your future?”

“Remember your place, Vegeta, before I have to forcefully remind you of it,” Zarbon sniffed, his haughty air rivaling that of the shorter male. Any ounce of resentment she had sensed over the task meted out to him disappeared, replaced by what she could only describe as pride in his sense of duty to Frieza. Once more, Nabooru had to dampen the urge to, at the very least, snort at the display. “I do hope the report from your latest mission is better than the last. Frieza wasn’t particularly fond of the amount of near irreparable collateral damage you and your baboons caused in sacking it.”

“Hmpt.” Movement at Vegeta’s waist caught Nabooru’s eye. What she had mistaken for a furry belt turned out to be a tail, the end of which had loosed itself from its secure position for a moment before it tucked itself back into place. “Whatever. We got the job done when all your other units failed. It’s a sad day when Nappa here can figure out the secret of their healing abilities when none of your top picks could. How many fleets failed and crawled back to base with nothing to show for it? Three? Four?”

“It hardly matters when you can’t follow simple instructions. Two prisoners is hardly recompense for the damage. But unfortunately, your fates are not mine to decide.” Zarbon twisted around to nod to Nabooru. “Come. We’ve wasted enough time with filth.”

The two larger men stepped aside as Zarbon pushed onward, and Nabooru didn’t miss the fire in their supposed leader’s or their own eyes as she passed. The seething rage bubbling beneath the surface at such a dismissal. The kind she had grown used to on her home planet when dealing with Hyrule’s court. She bit the inside of her cheek to distract her from such empathy she couldn’t afford. While she didn’t trust Zarbon either, she had no real intent of making alliances here if she could help it. She worried enough about the welfare of her people whose fate could very well be tied to her own performance within Frieza’s ranks. Whatever the story of those three tailed warriors and the animosity they had toward Zarbon and he to them, it was of no importance to her. Squabbles between ranks and authority were bound to happen in a militaristic environment.

Another door slid open and the pair entered what Nabooru could only describe as a storage room. Arrays of what she assumed were weapons lined the walls alongside cabinets and displays for the armor she would soon don. She waited near the doorway while Zarbon considered each set. “You would do best to steer clear of those Saiyans if you want to avoid trouble. Or be successful.” He picked out a set and held the pile of clothing out to her. “Before you ask, yes, it will fit. All of it stretches to even the most extreme sizes.”

When Zarbon turned around, Nabooru took that as her cue to change into the new outfit. Setting her satchel on the floor, she picked through the garments to figure out the sequence with which she was meant to put them on before undressing. She started with what looked like the pieces that went beneath the armor: a long sleeved, high neck-lined top in a deep red several shades darker than her bright hair and a matching pair of bottoms cut to cover little more than her private areas. A single test revealed that they did stretch with incredibly little resistance and enough for her to slip them on with little trouble. Though far from what she was used to, the fabric was more breathable than expected and fit her like a second skin.

She picked up the armor next, the same cut as that she had seen on most of the other soldiers save for the wings on the shoulders and hips, and the chest portion looked more suited to a feminine form. It stretched just as easily as the singlet, and she pulled it on over her head, sliding her arms through the straps. Once more, even the armor seemed to mold to her shape without being too tight or restricting her movement. 

As she tugged on the last few pieces of her new uniform--thigh high socks of the same material as her singlet and a pair of white, leather gloves and boots much like those she noted the smaller Saiyan wore--she watched Zarbon shift to another storage unit and tap in a code. A drawer popped out and, when she informed him she was decent and he faced her again, he held one of the devices they all wore over an eye in his hand. This one with orange glass.

"This is your scouter. It scans power levels and acts as a communicator, among other useful functions you will be taught in your lessons." He handed it over, and Nabooru turned it over in her hands. "I'm sure you will find it useful."

“Power levels? Like how strong another person is?”

“Indeed. No need to worry about wearing it now, but do remember to take it to your lessons.” Zarbon swept past her and back to the door, and Nabooru didn’t need any coaxing to follow. She dropped the scouter into her bag along with the rest of her belongings and shouldered it before following him back into the hall. 

"We have one more stop, the medical bay," the general continued in that same bored tone, but Nabooru noted a flicker of what she assumed was excitement over the prospect of finishing the task so beneath him and returning to his proper duties. "Its use is what you would expect, of course. It is where we will part ways. You will have your translator chip installed. By the time you wake up, it will likely be dinner. After you'll have time to do as you please for now. Fill it how you wish."

She almost failed to register any other information that followed the first bit. "Translator chip?" She felt dumb asking so many seemingly obvious questions. "Installed how?"

"It is a simple and near painless procedure," he responded, his sigh just barely held back. "We all have them for ease of communication. The task of learning every language in the universe would be all too time consuming, and not everyone can speak the galactic standard."

Nabooru nodded despite the discomfort she felt over what sounded invasive and too foreign for her liking. The reason behind it made sense. She had taken the time to learn as much of the other languages of Hyrule as she could, and to describe the endeavor as time consuming put it lightly. Not to mention the imperfection of it. In the time she left her home, she had only gotten a taste of the vastness of the universe. If it took her years to get a grasp on just a handful of languages, it would take eons to manually learn all the languages of every race in the universe. Reasoning through it, deeming this chip useful, still did nothing to ease her apprehension.

The double doors to the medical bay slid to each side and admitted them into the sterilized space so unlike the healing ward back home. Several tanks lined the far wall, and more screens lined half of the one adjacent to it The doctors wore the similar armor the rest of them did, though the one who approached the pair from the rows of cots on the other end of the room wore a white robe of sorts beneath his armor. His bushy orange eyebrows and beak-like snout made him resemble a rotund, wingless bird.

The conversation he and Zarbon held between one another was clipped and short, all business and no filler about the reason for their visit--one the doctor had been made aware of and prepped for prior, he proudly noted--as well as a discussion over new recruits to the medical bay and their adjustment. From the sounds of it, they were the prisoners he had mentioned in the conversation with the Saiyans. She had to keep herself from snorting when the doctor discussed a certain reluctance to help; if she didn't fear her own rebelliousness would trickle down to the fate of her people, she might not be so compliant. Piecing together the brief tiff in the hallway with this information suggested they had little left to lose.

Zarbon turned to her once more. "This is where I take my leave. Keep to your schedule and don't cause trouble. Frieza may have chosen you specifically out of a gaggle of mediocre warriors, but that does not mean you're valuable."

With a toss of his head and one last pointed glare, the general left her alone with the doctor and a smoldering combination of helplessness and anger searing her heart and lungs. He wasn't wrong; that she had no reservations about. But hearing it, feeling it in the presence of these warriors, generals, and other help within the base, she could not deny her expandability. How her rank on her home planet meant nothing now, and she had been kicked from the top to the bottom, her life of hard work and pushing herself to fight better and harder than the next Gerudo, learn everything she could to improve her station, all she did to earn rank and respect among her people had been reduced to cinders here. She was starting over with no real idea where she was headed. Where she could head, if anywhere at all.

Survive. That's what she had been taught to do first and foremost. The costs of survival, of not endangering the deal made to ensure her people got the better life she always wanted for them, would have to be worth paying.

The doctor led her to one of the tables and instructed her to lie back, the cool metal on the few portions of skin left uncovered making her shiver. She listened for a moment to the explanation of the procedure--a gas to put her under, an incision behind the ear, and just a bit of prodding around in her brain--before she decided that her ignorance of it would keep her from bolting. He fitted a mask to her face and told her to simply breathe deep and count backward or recite some poetry. Nabooru hardly made it through a line of a Gerudo poem she did happen to memorize before the gas clouded her brain and muddled her words. Her eyes fluttered closed, the tension in her body eking out of her, her hands balled into tight relaxing as she succumbed to sleep.