Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Seal ❯ Counterweight ( Chapter 16 )

The journey had been long, and even longer in Krillin's perception of time. As he and Vegeta had been travelling, his mind could not help but dwell on their latest objective: to find the Saiyans.

With the exception of Goku and his son, Krillin's experiences with Saiyan's had been less than stellar. It seemed that those two were unique among their race; gentle creatures among a species of ruthless warriors. It was small wonder that the more he dwelled on it, the less Krillin was looking forward to meeting with yet more members of this largely deceased race.

Perhaps Krillin would have taken some small comfort for having King Vegeta at his side, were it not for the fact that Vegeta himself seemed unsettled by the whole affair. As the two had spent more and more time in each other's presence, Krillin had to some extent become able to gauge the emotions of the oft-detached Saiyan. What his newfound sense told him now, was that Vegeta was anxious, even nervous. He seemed to be flying more slowly than before, and though he still maintained his usual lofty position above Krillin, he did not seem so keen to stay ahead of him. If Krillin didn't know better, he would say that Vegeta was scared. Not that he would actually *say* that. He dared not guess the consequences of such a folly.

But still, the question remained of why Vegeta was so agitated by the idea of tracking down his own brethren. Even at Yemma's office, he had not seemed enamoured with the idea. Only when persuaded that it was the only way to ensure his continued participation in King Yemma's *operation* did he succumb to pressure and agree to track down the Saiyans.

A dimension in chaos, its skies darkened, its winds heavy with tortured lamentation, and its pastures infested by the most corrupt of souls; none of this had been enough to so much as ruffle Vegeta. But for whatever reason, the thought of contacting his subjects had left him deeply troubled.

Just as Krillin's thoughts were returning to his own anxieties, Vegeta began to slow down. At first Krillin slowed down with him, believing that he was simply preparing to alter his low course to avoid an upcoming rise. However, he was soon forced to overtake as the Saiyan slowed to a stop, and descended to the ground.

Cautiously, Krillin too came to a halt, then turned to face Vegeta and dropped to the ground. At first, he wondered what could have prompted Vegeta to stop. It was unlikely that the Saiyan had sensed the presence of a strong power signal, since if such a thing were possible amid the maelstrom of ki energy then surely he would have sensed it too.

Then, the answer occurred to Krillin. Vegeta had found what he was looking for.

As the king began to pace purposefully towards him, Krillin realised that Vegeta's elevated position must have allowed his to see just clear of the rise. This, he surmised, must be where the Saiyan he had sought was located.

Krillin watched Vegeta pass him by, and then began to ford through the long grass in the Saiyan's wake. The fighter was unsure as to whether following was well advised, but for some reason he felt the urge to see the Saiyans for himself, and moreover, find out why Vegeta was so unsettled by the prospect of confronting them.

Gradually the two mounted the slope. It seemed that with every yard he gained, Vegeta's footsteps became increasingly tentative. Eventually he did crest the rise, then stopped and stared out across whatever vista lay beyond.

Krillin stopped a short distance behind Vegeta, and from his less lofty vantage point, peered over the hill and down to the scene below. What he saw caused him to flinch away, and then cautiously crane his neck like a prey animal having spotted an oblivious predator.

At the foot of the hill lay what appeared to be a small encampment. Saiyans, a dozen or so per group, were clustered around a number of small fires. Each warrior bore a shock of dark hair that waved in the tepid wind, appearing flame-like as it caught the sombre orange glow of the modest pyres. All were clad in the familiar brown and white breastplate, white gloves and boots, and were squatted in circles around each fire, the hum of their numerous conversations blending seamlessly with the cackling laughter of burning wood.

Realising that they had yet to be noticed, Krillin moved slowly to the crest of the hill. Making a conscious effort to walk, breath, and even think quietly, he began to scan across the scene below. But as he did so, a softly spoken Vegeta broke his concentration.

"My people." He said.

Krillin looked up, but held his response as he realised that he was not being addressed.

"They are even more magnificent than I remember." Vegeta continued.

Krillin looked back at the Saiyans below. Indeed, he could see how such a race could be deemed magnificent; every one a born warrior, crafted by nature as a flawless engine of killing.

Suddenly, Krillin caught his breath. One of the warriors below was terrifyingly familiar. Tall and burly, even by Saiyan standards, this fighter bore all the hallmarks of this great warrior race save one. Where all the others had a full head of hair, this one had none at all. Even at this distance, the warrior was unmistakeable. It was Nappa, the ruthless warrior that had been at Prince Vegeta's side when he had first come to Earth.

The sight of this fighter evoked a memory in Krillin. He recalled something Nappa had said back on Earth, during his fight with Goku. The behemoth had claimed to be the commander in chief of the Saiyan army. If this were truly the case, then perhaps Nappa was the trusted warrior of whom King Vegeta had spoken in Yemma's office.

Krillin was not given time to ponder this point however, as he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw that Vegeta had begun to back away.

"I cannot." The Saiyan uttered, still looking down to his former subjects.

Vegeta then turned around fully, and began to walk away slowly.

"King Vegeta." Krillin said softly. "Aren't you going to. . ."

"I cannot." Vegeta repeated, this time more firmly. "My leadership has cost them too much already. I cannot ask them to relinquish their souls as well."

"But what about. . ."

"No!"

Vegeta then began to levitate slowly from the ground. Krillin felt he had to do something, but he was unsure of just what that was. He could not force Vegeta to solicit his people's help, and doing it himself was entirely out of the question. Somehow he had to find a way to coerce Vegeta into confronting the Saiyans. Reluctantly, he came to the only conclusion he could.

Boy, Krillin. It's a good thing you're already dead; he thought to himself.

Then, turning to face the Saiyans, he began to accumulate a sizeable quantity of ki energy in his right hand.

"Here goes nothing." He sighed.

Then, sucking in a deep breath of the foul tasting atmosphere, he hurled the incandescent ball from the hill. Fizzing from his hand, the ball raced through the air above the encampment of Saiyans, projecting its ice blue glow against both the green ground below and the mud-brown skies above.

Krillin watched anxiously. Needless to say, he was having second, third and fourth thoughts about this course of action. However, there was no time to back out as, within a few short seconds, the ki ball reached a zenith in its trajectory, and then plunged earthwards. It struck the ground in an instant, right in the very midst of the Saiyan encampment. The ball exploded on impact, producing a deafening crash and causing the ground to belch seared grass and earth.

Though this attack bore no real power, the pyrotechnic display that had resulted had had the desired effect. The eyes of each and every one of the Saiyans at the foot of the hill were now trained on the impact site.

Krillin stared down in satisfaction for a moment at the sight of a job well done. However, satisfaction soon turned to panic as all eyes began to turn to the source of the attack. Dithering for an instant, Krillin looked about feverishly for a hiding place. Then, looking down, he allowed himself to drop into concealment amid the tall grass.

"Don't panic, Krillin. M-maybe they didn't see you." He deluded himself softly.

And as if Krillin wasn't already worried enough, a fearful sound began to rise above the confused barking of the Saiyan warriors. The sound, a low pitch growl, was emanating from directly overhead. Gingerly, Krillin peered up from between the anxiously twitching blades of grass.

There he saw Vegeta, hovering ominously and baring his teeth in a frightful expression of building rage. He apparently had not appreciated Krillin's rather obvious attempts to manipulate the situation.

The fighter could feel Vegeta's power building, becoming ever more evident amid the otherwise inseparable quagmire of energies. However, just as Krillin felt sure he would endure the King's wrath, a single, Saiyan voice grabbed Vegeta's attention.

"It's King Vegeta." The voice asserted above the hum of bemused conversation.

Vegeta was now looking out across the meadow below, and thankfully away from Krillin. Though his face as always bore a stern cast, Krillin's growing ability to spot the subtle gradations in the Saiyan's expressions told him that the King was experiencing some concern, even anxiety.

Mortally scared, but deathly curious, Krillin raised himself slightly and peered above the level of the grass. From here he could just about see the Saiyans, all standing and gradually turning to face Vegeta. Each one was staring upwards with a look of surprise, their soft mutterings drifting to Krillin on the tepid breeze.

Then the fighter's heart sank. The hulking Nappa was beginning to rise from the ground. Slowly he climbed until he reached a level equal to that of his King, and then he began to steadily coast towards him. As the imposing warrior did so, Krillin began to sink back into his grassy hide, his eyes trained upon Nappa all the time.

Finally, Nappa reached Vegeta, and stopped a couple of meters before him. There he remained for some seconds, meeting the King's gaze. The tension was tangible. Krillin remembered how Nappa had met his rather unceremonious end at the hands of the younger Vegeta, and was now beginning wonder how he would react at the sight of the prince's older namesake.

Each Saiyan stared unflinchingly into the eyes of the other for an age before finally, Nappa made the first motion. Raising his right forearm across his chest, he lowered his head solemnly and uttered with an air of quiet respect,

"Lord Vegeta."

Superficially, Vegeta appeared unmoved. However, for Krillin the relief that radiated from him was quite evident.

"General Nappa." Vegeta replied sternly. "In future you will address me only when you are addressed."

"My apologies, Lord Vegeta." Nappa replied keeping his head lowered submissively. "But it's just that, it's been so long and. . ."

The Saiyan paused. It appeared that something nearby had caught his eye. Krillin glanced briefly from side-to-side searching for what it could have attracted his attention. However, he found nothing in the immediate vicinity, save grass and himself.

Krillin swallowed hard. It was he that Nappa had spotted.

"Hey, you!" he called, apparently forgetting that he was standing before his king. "Get out here!"

Krillin looked about once more. Whether he did so to buy himself some time, or in the vain hope that Nappa really was addressing someone else, even Krillin could not say. Either way, he was the only one to whom the Saiyan could possibly have been speaking. His only hope now was that the brute had a short memory.

Standing reluctantly from his hiding place, Krillin pointed gingerly to himself.

"Who, m-m-me?" He stammered.

"Yeah, you!" Nappa roared. "What's the big idea spying on. . . hey. Hey, I know you."

It was as Krillin had feared. His distinctive face had not escaped Nappa's recollection. It was unlikely that the fighter would look back nostalgically on their time together either, since the last time they met had been on the day of his humiliating demise.

*Oh man. Why can't anyone around here just forget who I am?* Krillin thought.

Nappa turned his whole body to face Krillin, and adopted an aggressive stance.

"You're that guy from Earth!" he stated. "You've got some nerve coming here!"

Krillin began to detect a change in the Saiyan's energy. It was climbing above the background ki, and was doing so at some pace. In moments, the Nappa was engulfed in a sheath of blazing power as his energy level soared. And soar it did. It seemed that Zarbon and Dodoria were not the only ones who had benefited from their stints in the underworld, for Nappa's power level had already significantly surpassed the level it had reached upon his trip to Earth.

Krillin took on a defensive poise. But it was a token gesture. Already he could tell he would be little match for the enraged Saiyan.

"Nappa!" Came Vegeta's stern voice. "Stand Down!"

Krillin was only partially aware of Vegeta's words, and might have been more surprised by the Saiyan's stance had he not had more pressing concerns. However, his attention was held completely by Nappa, who now seemed near ready for an attack.

With a mighty roar, Nappa flung back his right hand.

"I said stand down!"

There was a flash of light. Krillin winced in its momentary brilliance, and then ducked quickly as the limp body of a stricken Nappa cruised overhead. A moment later the Saiyan struck ground with a resounding thud, ploughing a deep rut in the soft earth before finally coming to rest.

Startled, Krillin stood upright and peered across at Nappa as he heaved himself slowly from the ground. The giant warrior appeared shaken - as well he might - as he rose, rubbing his bare head as he did so. However, as he peered up at the glaring King Vegeta, his gaze seemed to carry little anger. In fact, his look seemed almost apologetic.

"It would seem you have grown undisciplined in my absence, General Nappa." Vegeta commented. "There was a time you would have known better than to act without my consent."

"My apologies, Lord Vegeta." Nappa replied. "But the presence of this Earthman was. . . unexpected."

Nappa shot a hair-curling glare at Krillin, who flinched in spite of his lack of hair.

"The presence of this `Earthman' is of no consequence." Vegeta said. "You need only concern yourself with my presence."

Krillin did not take offence at this. Indeed, after his transgression of moments earlier, he was only too grateful that Vegeta would bother to spare him from a sound thrashing. Perhaps the Saiyan now understood his action as being the favour it had been intended to be.

Nappa glided through the air and pulled up at his King's left, being sure to remain at a submissively lower altitude as he did.

"General Nappa," said Vegeta. "I would address the men."

"Yes, my lord." Nappa replied, and then turned to look out across the still gawking horde of Saiyan's.

"Listen up, insects!" he roared, causing Krillin to cringe at the din. "Your king will speak now!"

With that brief introduction, Nappa moved aside allowing Vegeta to slowly glide forwards. Steadily, King Vegeta moved off the crest of the hill, but lost no altitude in doing so. Then, stopping as the foot of the hill passed beneath him, he surveyed the rabble that lay before him. This inspection went on for some time, with Vegeta's head not once turning downwards to face his men.

Suddenly, Krillin noticed something. Though he wasn't certain, what with his angle being so poor, he saw what seemed to be the slightest of smiles dart across the monarch's face. Fleeting and elusive as the tepid winds that combed the land, it did not linger, but Krillin recognised it nonetheless. It was the smile of a man who had finally returned home.

Vegeta drew breath, and spoke.

"My warriors. My people. My fellows. I come before you as your King, the rightful ruler of all Saiyans, and the last of our kind to bare that title. Many of you will know me, and many will know only my lineage. Perhaps, there are even those of you whose existence predates all of this. But this is immaterial. All you need know is that I am the king of all Saiyans, and that my word is law."

Vegeta paused. There followed a moment of apparent introspective, and then he addressed his people once again.

"This, however, does not make my word right."

This startling admission prompted a wave of surprised utterances to sweep across the scene below. Indeed, had Krillin not been alone atop his hill, he too would have been muttering to his associates.

"Hear me!" Vegeta bellowed.

Silence fell.

"For me to come before you and claim my rule was without error would be a falsehood unseemly of my status. Indeed, my reign, and that of our race, ended with an unjustifiable misjudgement. One that led to my demise, and that of out great race."

Another pause.

"But I do not come here to ask forgiveness, nor to demand it of you. The mistakes we make in life are etched in the stone of time, and no hollow words of forgiveness can erase them. No. What I have come for is to secure the one thing that even I as your king, cannot order you to relinquish, the one thing that is yours and yours alone. I ask you to pledge to me. . . your souls."

Even from his distant vantage point, Krillin could resolve the confused expressions lining the faces of the leading Saiyans.

After a moment's reflection, Vegeta elaborated.

"I ask you to fight with me once more. I ask you to aid me in returning this realm to its intended state. I ask you to once again, condemn yourselves."

A storm of confused exclamations and bemused muttering swept across the crowd as the Saiyans realised that they were being asked to surrender their newfound freedom. This did not come as any surprise to Krillin, who had doubted whether such a brutal race could be persuaded to make such a sacrifice to those they would have considered little more than prey in life. But still, the fighter maintained faith in Vegeta, for surely no one man could rise to the head of such a race without himself possessing extraordinary powers of persuasion, and a mean streak that outstretched the galaxy his species had prowled.

Vegeta remained idle for a time, allowing his people to air their disbelief. Then, in a sudden surge of power, the air around the king was ignited in a swathe of blue flame. Flinging back both fists and head, Vegeta cried,

"Hear me!"

Instant silence.

Wow. He *is* good; Krillin thought, as he beheld with some trepidation the fearsome site of an enraged Vegeta.

Slowly, Vegeta's ki subsided, and he looked down upon his charges once more.

"I cannot command your souls, but I can command your ear." He informed them. "My reasons for this request must be heard."

The king paused, and looked over the heads of the Saiyans and out across the unending meadows that reached away forever. Before he began his explanation, Vegeta made one, short, soft utterance. So quiet was it that Krillin was unsure as to whether the Saiyans below could have heard.

"For all things, a purpose."

Vegeta then cast his gaze down upon the waiting throng.

"For years I wandered. Exactly how many, I do not know. Through darkness and strife I drifted, with only my thoughts as a companion. And my thoughts were many. They were of our people, our lives, our deaths, and our history. I strived to find an explanation, for our existence and our condemnation. What was the purpose of it all? The more I thought, the closer I drew to the only conclusion possible; that our purpose, as a race, was destruction. It seemed clear. Our lives, our deaths and our history seemed to be both source and product of destruction. And yet, this could not be. Why would a universe, bent upon its own survival, breed a race for the sole purpose of its destruction? It confused me, vexed me, and damned near drove me to madness. And further, it seemed an injustice that we should be bred for chaos, and then punished for the same; cast in to the pit while those born too weak to inflict suffering were rewarded for their fragility in paradise. It was then, as I contemplated these contrasting worlds, that I realised our true purpose. Balance. Good and evil, strength and weakness, heaven and hell; each is meaningless without the other. Our purpose was to bring balance to the universe; to keep the weak from growing so fat and numerous that it could not support them. We brought the gift of darkness where light would have blinded all."

Krillin was hanging on every word. It was so backwards; Vegeta's justification of his race's deplorable ways. And yet, it made sense.

"Look around you, at the darkened skies and at the deserted wastes. Do you believe that we can truly rest here? Do you believe that this world could now give an eternity more comfortable than that in the underworld? Such thoughts are a delusion. Darkness and suffering will be all our race can know, because it is what we are. In life we worked to build a world where the strong preyed upon the weak, and where darkness permeated all. And in death, that was what we where given. Damnation was not our punishment; it was our reward. Being here, on this plane of light, is a perversion of our purpose. Our presence here has no meaning. But we can change that. We, the strongest of all the great warrior races, can restore the balance that so sorely needs our strong, steadying hand. Only through *our* strength can this world be healed. Only by *our* will, can balance be restored. Now, brothers, sisters, soldiers of every class, I ask you: will you follow me?"

A profound silence fell upon the meadow as the last Vegeta's words rolled away on the warm breeze. The Saiyans, stood below, gazed up in awe at their ruler's eloquent oration. For an eternity, not a sound could be heard, and not even the slightest evidence of a response detected.

Then Nappa, who had been hanging back behind his king, began to drift forwards. Slowly he moved up alongside Vegeta, and then stopped at his right.

Suddenly, the fighter drove his right fist aloft and roared at the very peak of his deafening voice.

"All hail King Vegeta!"

The response was instant. An earth-shattering roar erupted from the Saiyans, filling the air and shaking Other-World to its foundation as they sung discordant praises of their wandering king. All around, Saiyans ignited in a blaze of ki energy, extinguishing the campfires and turning back the very winds themselves. For the first time in decades, the Saiyans were united behind their King, and were prepared for a battle the likes of which eternity had never seen.

King Vegeta had his answer.

As the roar of the crowd swelled, Vegeta too added his baritone cry to the mix, flinging both fists aloft triumphantly as he did. He then lowered both his arms and his voice, and wearing the broad, arrogant smirk of an adulated monarch, he steadily descended into the bosom of his people. The sea of Saiyan bodies parted readily before him, and he was accepted into their midst.

As Krillin watched with satisfaction while Vegeta reacquainted himself with his adoring subjects, his thoughts turned to his own place in this world. His mission was complete. Should he wish, he could easily sit out the rest of this great adventure. The seal was with Yemma, the Saiyans were enlisted, and most likely his fellow deceased Z-fighters were drawing near Yemma's check-in point. All he need do now was to inform Yemma of his success, and simply wait on the outcome of what would doubtless be a singular battle.

Krillin knew he couldn't sit this one out. Not now.

Standing out of the long grass, he looked down upon the scene below. Watching as the bustling crowd of elated warriors consumed King Vegeta, he uttered to himself,

"I think he can take it from here."

Then, turning from this scene Krillin leapt from the ground and took flight to the horizon where King Yemma, the seal, and the greatest battle he might ever know awaited him.