Chapter Text
It had been so long. Forty cycles, trapped in what could only be described as hell. Paragus had considered ending his own life many, many, many times.
But there were two things that kept him going. His son, Broly. And... getting his revenge. The royal family was going to pay in blood for what they did to him. But he couldn't achieve the latter no matter how hard he tried. The ship he arrived on this hell had been destroyed, and he was far from studied enough to even consider building one of his own.
So Planet Vampa was his home, whether he liked it or not. Paragus wondered if this was his punishment for what happened to Beets, what he did to Beets.
Paragus stood on the outside of the cave he was using as shelter, holding a telescope that had managed to survive the thirty cycles they'd spent trapped here. He was initially just observing the movements of the monsters outside. Broly had a knack for figuring out when he should or shouldn't hunt, but Paragus didn't have that sense.
But Paragus spotted something much better. A ship. "Broly!" Paragus called, and his son stood up from his rest. "We're getting off this rock. A ship just came in for landing. Be careful not to damage it."
Broly nodded. Ideally, there wouldn't be a fight at all. Paragus was going to try negotiation first, but if it came down to it...
Well, Paragus would not lose sleep over doing what was necessary.
Broly followed his father to the 'ship'. He didn't actually know what one looked like. He saw the remains of the one that Paragus said he came here on, but that was just scrap metal by the time he found it.
It had landed out in beast territory. He picked up the pace, accelerating past his father. Broly may not have ever seen the world beyond Vampa, but he knew that his father would not be happy if the beasts ate the ship.
"Think we lost them?" Someone said. A higher pitch than him or his father. Broly thought it sounded like the pups of the beasts that inhabited this part of the desert.
"I sure hope so. You shouldn't have tried to cheat them." Another, more hoarse, voice said.
"They tried to cheat us first! Ugh, I knew we shouldn't have tried our luck with the Heeters!"
"You were the one who suggested we even approach them in the first place!"
Broly and Paragus landed nearby, approaching the ship. Paragus raised his hands, so Broly did the same. "Hello, visitors to Planet Vampa." Paragus said, projecting his voice so the people in the ship could hear him. "We would like to hitch a ride. We've been stranded here for... a very long time."
The people in the ship stepped outside, and Broly finally got a good look at them. An orange-skinned one that was wrinkly like his father, and a green-skinned one that was... cute. The comparison to those pups was more accurate than Broly thought.
The green-skinned one was aiming a blaster at them, clearly wary of them. "No way you people have been living here." She said. "Look at this place. I went here because I knew nobody would be hanging around, and..."
The ship was beeping. "That would be our distress beacon. It's the only thing our ship is capable of doing." Paragus said. "My son is a strong boy, and I'm certain we can pay you back. All we want is passage to a civilized planet. I can find my way home from there."
To Planet Vegeta. His father talked about it sometimes. It seemed... scary, full of people like his father but meaner and stronger. The monsters were easy. They were strong, but they never tried to trick you. Broly understood them, and they understood him.
The green-skinned alien scrutinized Paragus' face. Eventually, she relaxed. "I suppose if you wanted to rob us, you wouldn't try negotiating. Lemo, what's the nearest inhabited planet?" She said.
"Cereal, I think." Lemo, the orange alien, said. "You insisted we go hide out here, you sure you want to leave so soon, Cheelai?"
"For payment, can your son act as our bodyguard for the next... few weeks?" The green alien, Cheelai, asked.
"Of course. I will need to stay with Broly, but I'm perfectly willing." Paragus said. Broly didn't really have a choice, or an opinion.
"Then we'll be fine. The Heeters probably won't mess with us if we got some actual muscle on our side." Cheelai said. "Come on, get in."
It felt strange, sitting in a cramped ship like this, Broly decided. It was only meant for a few people to sit, and Broly was a much bigger boy than most.
"So... what exactly are a couple Saiyans doing so far out?" Cheelai asked, looking back at them. "Especially with such ancient Frieza Force armor."
Paragus paused. "Are you not familiar with what Saiyans do with their children?" He asked.
Cheelai took a moment, trying to remember. "Oh! Right, they used to send out their kids to conquer planets for the PTO." She said.
"Used to?" Paragus repeated.
"I mean, they're gone." Cheelai said. "Not really any reason to conquer a planet for the sake of a dead man."
Paragus was silent. "I should remind you that I have been unaware of the comings and goings of the universe for somewhere around thirty cycles." He said. "What... happened?"
"Frieza, Cooler, and Cold are dead. Killed by... I know Kuriza took the credit, but do you remember who took out Frieza and Cooler, Lemo?" Cheelai asked.
"I don't know." Lemo said. "Probably one of the many species that Frieza tried wiping out. Might've even been a Saiyan, for all we know."
Broly didn't feel very wiped out, so that 'Frieza' guy clearly wasn't very good at it. "The Saiyans..." Paragus muttered.
"Oh, shit. Uh... Planet Vegeta was destroyed. Most of the Saiyans died with it." Cheelai said. "I don't think we officially know, but most people these days think it was Frieza."
"What of the king?" Paragus asked.
"Died with his planet." Lemo said. "Oh, looks like we're coming up on Cereal. We can get a bite to eat and talk about your job."
Paragus didn't have much appetite. Only two plates worth of food, the best food he'd ever tasted in his life, and then he stopped feeling hungry. There was too much on his mind. Frieza was gone. Vegeta was gone. The Saiyan race was reduced down to less than a hundred. Scattered across the cosmos, reduced to nothing but a dying breed. More than anything, the reason Paragus lived was now moot. Merely caring for his son was not enough on its own to keep Paragus going. His revenge was the driving force behind him, and without it...
Even slaughtering the prince, if he still lived, wouldn't be enough. He needed King Vegeta to suffer, to feel the torment he put Paragus through first-hand.
At the very least, Paragus could take some solace in the fact that he outlived the Cold family.
"You should probably change out of that armor." Cheelai said, addressing Paragus directly. "Only people who still wear that stuff are the kind of PTO loyalists who'll keep fighting to conquer planets until all the stars in the sky go out."
Right. He hadn't even thought about that yet. "Unfortunately, we don't have clothing stores on Vampa, and I don't have any credits on my person." Paragus said. "So unless you'd rather I go shirtless like Broly,"
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you. I got a good amount of scratch from my... talks, with the Heeters." Cheelai said. "You remember the deal, right?"
Broly was to protect Cheelai and Lemo for the next few weeks. Paragus didn't know who the Heeters were, but they were apparently some kind of criminal underworld group that Cheelai had some 'dealings' with. "Of course. Broly will keep you safe." Paragus said.
In truth, Broly was strong enough that he'd be more worried about them becoming collateral damage, rather than anyone actually defeating him. He was so fast, so strong, that he could have easily ripped Vampa in half with his bare hands if he wanted to.
Broly wasn't sure how he felt about the shirt that Cheelai gave him. "Tight." He said, sitting in a changing room with her. She'd volunteered to help Broly out, which he was happy about. "Is there nothing bigger?"
Cheelai was staring at his chest. He looked down, trying to figure out what was on him. It didn't look like anything was on him, so Broly just assumed Cheelai was being weird. "Oh, uh... yes. Hard to eyeball measure this stuff, so cut me some slack."
"Cut... slack?" Broly repeated. "What is slack?"
"It's a figure of speech." Cheelai said. "What's with that... thing, around your waist, by the way?"
Ba's ear. "It is from a friend." Broly said. "Father scared him away."
"Ooh. Sorry. Didn't... realize it was a sore spot." Cheelai said, handing him a larger shirt. Broly took off the old one and put on the new one. It was... fine. "Your dad... I dunno, he rubs me the wrong way."
"Father is... scared. He couldn't fight the monsters." Broly said. His father wanted him to be strong, to be able to protect himself even after Paragus was gone.
"I... guess living all that time on a desert planet like that would make anyone a mess." Cheelai said. "I'll keep an open mind."
Broly walked out of the clothing store with Cheelai, preparing to meet up with his father and Lemo. Those two took a lot less time to get done, and went back to the ship.
"Hey, Cheelai, you shouldn't run off like that." A man said. A blue-skinned alien walked up, putting a hand on Cheelai's shoulder. He was very round, and smelled bad. "Now, how about we go-"
He was scaring Cheelai. Broly didn't like it, so he put a hand on this guy's shoulder in response. "Leave." Broly ordered.
"Broly, this is Oil, he's-" Cheelai started to say, only for the man to cut her off.
"I'm a Heeter. Messing with me means messing with the whole gang. So you better let go if you know what's good for you." Oil said. "Me and Cheelai have some talkin' to do,"
Broly did let go. He then punched Oil in the face. It wasn't anywhere near Broly's full strength, but he hoped that would be enough.
Oil tumbled across the street, bleeding from his nose. "What the fuck?!" Oil exclaimed, clutching his face. "What kind of freak did you pick up,"
"This is Broly. He's a Saiyan." Cheelai said, grinning. She liked it when he protected her, Broly realized. "So maybe you should tell all your buddies to buzz off."
"Fat chance! We're all here for the same reason, those Dragon Balls, and once Gas finds out about this... you and that freak won't live long enough to regret messing with us!" Oil said, running off.
"Did he... hurt you?" Broly asked.
"Thanks to you, not at all." Cheelai said. "Though... if the whole gang's here, we should probably leave sooner rather than later."
"That was not my full strength." Broly said.
"How strong are you...?" Cheelai wondered, though Broly didn't answer. He wasn't really sure himself. The monsters on Vampa stopped being scary a long time ago, and he'd never met anything as strong as him since then.
They made it back to the ship soon after, not wasting any time. "We should get going soon." Cheelai said to Lemo and Paragus.
"Heeters?" Lemo asked, and Cheelai nodded. "What the hell are they doing out here now, of all times?"
"Chasing Dragon Balls, supposedly." Cheelai said. "Oil spilled that much after Broly clobbered him."
"Broly 'clobbered' someone?" Paragus asked.
"Hit him. In the face." Broly said. "He was going to hurt Cheelai."
"Right. And the Dragon Balls are...?" Paragus asked.
"Supposedly they're a bunch of magic orbs that'll grant your wish if you gather 'em up." Lemo said. "But they're a myth. I had an old buddy in the Frieza Force back when they were still running around, he said that Frieza was heading to some nowhere rock in search of immortality with them. That was the last thing anybody heard about Frieza before he up and vanished. Or Cooler."
"Interesting. Well, your enemy is the Heeters, right?" Paragus asked. "I have a... proposal."
Paragus didn't know whether he actually believed in these 'Dragon Balls', but it sounded like the perfect answer to his problems.
Even if they weren't real, removing the Heeters from the equation was a simple matter. While Paragus wasn't necessarily the most keyed-in on interstellar events, he could not imagine they were anywhere close to as strong as Frieza, and Broly...
Well, Paragus had faith in his boy. Maybe Frieza was beyond him, but he knew Broly could crush anyone short of him.
Thankfully, Broly's growing attachment to this Cheelai girl was proving useful to motivate him. Perhaps removing her from the equation would be unnecessary... or rather she might actually be worth keeping around. With the thought that fighting the Heeters and claiming the Dragon Balls would protect Cheelai, Broly easily tracked Oil's scent down.
The Heeters had gone out into a forest, where a strange hut made with materials Paragus had never seen laid hidden from view. "Y'know, all it would've taken was just a little bit of cooperation." The Heeters' apparent leader said, holding a pair of crystal spheres. "And maybe we would've gotten along a lot better."
An eldery Namekian stood strong. "I won't grant you your wish." He said. "Those Dragon Balls are useless without the password."
"Maybe, but we'll see how long your resolve lasts." The leader said. "Macki, Oil, you two grab him. We'll take this somewhere more... private. Gas,"
Paragus' eyes widened as one of the Heeters turned to face them. "Broly-" Paragus tried to say, only for Gas to move. Broly met his advance, and it soon escalated into an all-out brawl.
"I'm surprised. We don't usually see Saiyans out in this neck of the woods." The leader said, looking right at Paragus. "Name's Elec. I can tell you're not much of a fighter either, so how about we just talk?"
Paragus stepped out of hiding, a blaster hidden underneath the cloak he was wearing. If Elec tried anything funny, he'd shoot him right between the eyes. Broly might need to be reined in after the battle, but that could wait. Even in his worst fits, he never risked the planet.
"You look like shit." Elec noted. "What, did you crawl out of a dumpster before coming here?"
"Something like that." Paragus said. Oil was staying at Elec's side, while Macki kept the Namekian from running. Paragus doubted his blaster was going to be much help if it came to all three of them. Even if it had the stopping power for the actual fighters, Paragus knew he couldn't hit all of them before one got him. "Curious, what do you even want to wish for?"
"Oh, no, I don't got a wish." Elec said. "But I know plenty of people who'll pay the big bucks for one. Let's just say this is a... business venture."
Like the PTO. Those that enslaved his own people, gave King Vegeta the power to send Broly away to hell. It may not have been planets for sale, but he was the same as Frieza at heart.
Paragus looked to the Namekian, who was clearly trying to hide his fear. He wasn't going to be able to easily force that Namekian to grant his wish... but Paragus had to hope that he could convince him without the need of violence. What they say about flies and honey, and all that.
Something crashed down nearby, and Paragus turned to see...
Broly. Standing over the brutalized form of Gas, who was missing an arm and a leg. Broly was clearly in a state of fury. If he kept fighting...
Paragus activated the shock collar. He had to calm Broly now, lest he killed the Namekian. Or Paragus.
"Gas!" Elec exclaimed, rushing to Gas' side. "Oil, Macki, we're getting out of here! This isn't worth-"
Paragus shot the Dragon Balls from Elec's grip. "I suggest you make your exit." Paragus said. "Don't bother trying to keep your spoils of war, unless you want my boy to make you match yours."
It was an empty threat. Broly couldn't fight for another few minutes. But the Heeters didn't need to know that.
But it was enough to intimidate the Heeters into hightailing it out of there. Paragus took a breath, and turned to face the Namekian. "I apologize for... you having to see that. My boy is strong, but he struggles to control himself. This has been the only method that works." Paragus said.
"You want the Dragon Balls." The Namekian said.
"I do, yes." Paragus said. "Treat it as a reward for protecting you from those 'Heeters'. I wish to revive my people, after they were slaughtered by a great evil."
The Namekian paused, glancing to Broly. He clearly didn't want to do this, but... "Your wish will be granted... but it will exact a great cost upon you." He said. "Place the Dragon Balls on the ground. If this is truly your desire... I can't stop you."
Paragus did as ordered, but kept his blaster trained on the Namekian. He uttered something in his native language, and soon came a dragon. With dark skies and a flash of lightning, Paragus' revenge was within his grasp.
"Dragon, heed my wish! Bring back the Saiyan race, our Planet Vegeta, and allow them to stand atop the universe as the greatest warrior race once more!" Paragus declared. There was no cost too great, not for his vengeance.
The cosmos would shake. He would set the skies ablaze, shatter the very fabric of the universe, for the sake of his revenge.
King Vegeta will pay in blood. Death will be no escape.