Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Butterflies & Hurricanes ❯ Chapter 21 ( Chapter 21 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Froglady15 
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Drama / Hentai / Romance / Suspense / Angst | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 02.14.2016 | Pages: 13 | Words: 7.4K | Visits: 311 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Drama / Hentai / Romance / Suspense / Angst | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 02.14.2016 | Pages: 13 | Words: 7.4K | Visits: 311 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just my Husband,
laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon
Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm
just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.
Butterflies & Hurricanes
Chapter 21
Brolly was almost at the capital. It had been a few hours since he had left his grandmother’s place. Part of him felt guilty for flying off the handle at her the way he had and his resentment towards her had abated somewhat; however the closer he got to the capital, the angrier he grew at Paragus, or his father he supposed.
Brolly still wasn't sure how to react to this information. His entire life had been turned upside down in the matter of a few minutes! He had been lied to and controlled like a pawn his whole life!
He could see the capital in the distance and knew he would be there in about a half hour now and noted gleefully how quickly he had made it; he had not known how much he has been stifled until now. His speed had increased nearly tenfold! Imagine what else he could do once he started training again.
He still wasn't sure how he would confront Paragus. Part of him wanted to just show up and knock him out but the rational side of his brain was telling him to look for some answers and an explanation first.
Brolly upped his energy and continued towards the palace in hopes that maybe they hadn’t left with Bulma, Trunks and Tarble already. If he was lucky, maybe they would still be there and he could intercept Cold’s ship before their departure.
-0-0-0-
What with Bulma and the two boys securely in their custody, Burter and Jeice had two of the Saiyan soldiers escort them to where Paragus was hopefully cooperating with Guldo and Recoome in the board room.
"It's already been taken care of! The investigation is closed and all I am asking now is for respect to be shown in not looking any further into this matter,” Paragus said in an impatient tone. “The planet is in mourning; I have held up my end of the bargain with Cold by surrendering the girl and her child, I have even provided you with unnecessary details of what happened to our beloved King.”
“We appreciate your cooperation, however King Cold is not convinced,” Guildo replied unsympathetically.
“Then that is his problem because I have nothing more to disclose where the death of the king is concerned; it is time you leave, now.”
“What’s this about?” Jeyice asked as they walked into the board room and heard the discussion.
“He won’t answer our questions.” Guildo snipped, pointing accusingly at Paragus. “And he will not allow us to conduct a thorough search of the King’s private office, quarters or the ship docks just in case he is in fact is alive.”
“The king is dead, there is no reason for you to conduct a search through our private offices and there are no more questions to be answered,” Paragus argued. “It is time you all left.”
Jeyice shrugged, “Other than that, are you satisfied with your findings?” he asked Guildo; he just really wanted them to be on their way already. Thoughts of Bulma flashed through his mind. The sooner they made it back, maybe the sooner she wouldn’t be off limits to him.
“No, he hasn’t really told us anything.” Guildo said, glaring at Paragus.
“That is because there is nothing more to tell than what I have already told you and you are wasting my time as well as yours.” Paragus interjected. “I thought you said you were on a tight schedule?”
“We are,” Burter nodded. “However, we are also under strict orders to obtain as much information about King Vegeta’s death as we are able.”
“I will personally send his highness a full detailed report as soon as I am able.” Paragus said, hoping that would suffice and make them go away.
“Alright,” Jeyice nodded. “We will return in one hour and expect a full, detailed report to take back to Cold then; that should work.”
“No, I will send it to him within the next few weeks,” Paragus sighed in exasperation. “I do not have time for this at the moment!”
“Well, we will return in an hour,” Jeyice shrugged. “We will talk to Cold and let him know and if he’s alright with that then we will leave, but not before.”
“Ya, we kind of have to take our orders from him now if you know what I mean,” Recoome said.
Paragus growled at them as they left the boardroom without further comment. How was he going to pull off a full report that would be satisfactory to King Cold within an hour? Somehow he would have to do that and get everyone ready for an attack.
Treaty or not, he would destroy that ship if he felt pushed.
-0-0-0-
"So what is your opinion?" Cold asked Burter once they had reconvened back at the ship again.
"I don't really know," Burter shrugged. "Jeyice and I only came at the end and Paragus wasn't being cooperative. Guildo and Recoome were the ones who spoke with him most so I recommend you speak with one of them, my Lord."
"I can speak," Guildo piped up.
"Very well, what was your impression?" Cold asked in a bored tone.
"Well, we didn't find any evidence to support that King Vegeta is alive and on planet or on his way out to pursue you, however we didn't find any evidence to support that he isn't either," Guildo said formally. "Something definitely is not right though; he was extremely nervous and getting any information from him was like pulling teeth."
"Ya, but he said they are in mourning and that we were being insensitive with our questions," Recoome cut in. "He did show us some pictures and he said they took care of the person who did it, I think he's just still really sad."
"Shut up, you!" Guildo snarled at him. "I apologize, my Lord. He did show proof of the King's gruesome death but something is still off. He is hiding something and was wanting us to leave as quickly as possible."
"Hmmmm," Cold grunted in deep consideration. "And so you told him he has one hour to comply in proving that his story is accurate?”
“We did,” Jeyice nodded proudly.
“Alright. If he manages to come through you may leave; if not, I will take that as a formal declaration of war.”
“Very well, my lord,” Burter said. “Jeyice and I will speak with him again in one hour and we will refer back to you.”
“See that you do,” Cold nodded. “You retrieved the Prince’s mate and child?”
“We did, my lord,” Jeice replied. “She actually has two infants, not one, so we brought back both.”
“Two children?” Cold exclaimed. “Well now isn’t this an interesting turn of events. So be it, I will make a decision once you return here; in the meantime, and neither of them are to be harmed in any way. You are to see to it that they are provided food and the proper accommodations.”
“Already taken care of, my lord,” Jeyice nodded. “They are settled in their own room right now as we speak and are being heavily guarded to ensure they do not escape.”
“Very good, I will speak with you again in one hour,” Cold replied. “Be thorough, the future of an entire race and planet rests in your hands.” He said, shutting off the transmission.
“Bring Prince Vegeta here at once.” He commanded the Android.
-0-0-0-
Vegeta was woken up from an uncomfortable and unrestful sleep by the Android and was hauled down the hall to Cold's throne room in haste without any explanation. He still didn’t have any foot wear and all he was wearing was the tattered remnants of his flight suit from the waist down.
He would have fought and kicked up a fuss at the rude awakening but he was too cold, too tired, too hungry and simply too drained at this point to care about where they were taking him and why. Besides, his hands were cuffed firmly behind him anyway; he couldn’t do anything even if he thought he had the slightest chance, not if he wanted to live anyway, and staying alive was what he needed to do for Bulma for the time being.
"What is your father up to?" Cold demanded without so much as a greeting as the Android effortlessly tossed him before the large Ice-jin king.
Vegeta stood up and shrugged nonchalantly, trying to control the uncontrollable shivering that had wracked his body since his arrival. "How should I know? I am here and he is there."
Cold nodded at the Android and it back handed Vegeta across the jaw, knocking him down from not only his unpreparedness of the blow but exhaustion.
"Can we try this again?" Cold sighed. "What little scheme did your father have with regards to you?"
Vegeta stood up and shrugged again. "You tell me. So far as I know, you're looking at it."
"You expect me to believe that?" He snorted and then nodded at It again and the android struck him in the jaw again, only harder this time.
Vegeta fell to the floor again, gritting his teeth in anger that he could not stand up and return the blows to the Android or to Cold himself. This was a disgrace!
"Your father was having second thoughts with regards to our agreement where you were concerned," he continued as Vegeta stood back up. "He is planning something and I am sure you are in on it. You will tell me!"
Vegeta smirked at Cold arrogantly. So his father was having second thoughts and was planning on coming after him after all? While very unexpected, he found himself moved by the notion of it. He had entertained the possibility once or twice since he had been imprisoned here but always had berated himself for even allowing himself to think something so ridiculously sentimental and uncharacteristic of his father; King Vegeta had never once shown him compassion or concern, why would he now?
Perhaps the full gravity of realizing that he had just sabotaged, betrayed and essentially signed his own son's death warrant had actually shaken him up?
Vegeta supposed he had Bulma to thank for that as well, as she had said she had reamed him out over his disloyalty to him. He now felt even guiltier for his cruel words to her since all of this had started; maybe her being captured by his father had unexpectedly worked to their advantage?
"I can honestly say I haven't a clue as to what that old man's plans are," Vegeta said. "We did not part on good terms so if he is planning something, I will be as shocked as you are."
Cold narrowed his eyes at him. "I still do not believe you."
"He detests my mate, will never accept her or my son and I refuse to have anything to do with him unless he does so that he has possibly had a change of heart is news to me,” Vegeta told him. “Why don’t you bring me up to speed and I will tell you then what I know of it.”
"His advisor, Paragus, was trying to renegotiate our terms. He was wanting to keep your woman and give me your son." Cold said, looking suspiciously at him. "He was also trying to convince me that your father was killed by one of his many whores he likes to keep around yet for an entire week prior to this supposed event, I was unable to contact him. Then conveniently I was informed that he was killed and the terms we had agreed on were supposedly up for renegotiation. Where is your father? I refuse to believe that he was killed by a few whores."
Vegeta snorted and laughed. "While I agree with you that it is highly unlikely, at the same time it would not surprise me either if one of them did end him. However, no. I know nothing about it."
Vegeta reached out to Bulma then, but she was still asleep. He remembered that she had told him a few days ago that there was something with regards to his father that she had wanted to tell him. He had cruelly lashed out at her and since then she had not mentioned anything about his father. Now, however, he was curious about what she had wanted to tell him. Maybe she knew something about whether or not his father was planning to betray Cold and coming for him or if something had actually happened to him?
Cold glared at him suspiciously. "You and your entire race," he spat. "Nothing but a nuisance and not to be trusted. You know, your father's own advisor doesn't want you back. He did not want to make any negotiations with regards to you. He only wanted your woman. Why would he attempt to make a deal like that if your father was not on his way here to betray me?"
Vegeta shrugged. "Paragus is an idiot. How should I know? I would not trust that snake further than my own nose."
"So you are saying there is a possibility?" Cold asked, narrowing his eyes.
Vegeta did not reply quick enough for Cold’s liking and was rewarded with another slug to the face.
"I do not know!" He shouted in anger. "Paragus and my father both can rot in hell together at this point for all I care!"
Cold did not say anything for a minute. "That may very well be their predicament in the next few minutes unless your father's idiot advisor begins to cooperate with me."
Vegeta frowned at Cold. "Paragus is an idiot. I doubt he will cooperate with you. What will happen if he does not?"
Cold smirked at Vegeta. "Boom." He said, expanding his hand.
Vegeta felt his face blanche, his mouth go dry as his stomach dropped all at the same time. "That won't be necessary," he managed to choke out; he was thankful for the first time that Bulma and Trunks were already on Cold’s ship.
"Oh, I think it is." Cold nodded. "Your race has been nothing more than a thorn in my side since we came across your miserable planet all those decades ago. Your kind does not seem to understand that they work for us. You all exist because of me. We have given you Saiyans every opportunity to fall into line and I will admit, every once inwhile you do for a short time and then we need to do something drastic to remind you of your place in the universe.
"I have made deals and treaties with your father and grandfather and great grandfather over and over again in the past only to be let down and betrayed time and again," Cold said. "It is one of the reasons why I handed my control of your kind over to my son. Frieza had a way of inspiring obedience and loyalty through fear. In the beginning, when your father first took over the throne, it went over quite well. It was a good arrangement and good relations were once again established until you came along.
"I don't know what my son's obsession with you was, as far as I am concerned you are no more special than any of the rest of the vermin monkeys on your planet. However, he took a personal interest in you despite my warnings that you would bide your time and turn on him just like the rest of your race has the tendency to do. He insisted that if you grew in the right environment without your father's influence, you could be turned and made loyal to him and only him.
"Look at what you did to him; after every opportunity he extended to you because of the interest he took in you. Despite his kindness and generosity, you turned on him and killed him like a crazy dog."
"Your son needed to be stopped!" Vegeta spat, interrupting Cold. However he was given another brutal back hand to the side of the face. "Had he left me alone after my service, things could have been fine; we may have been able to co rule our sides of the galaxy without incident had he left me the hell alone and found someone else to be the object of his infatuations! You are aware of his interest in grooming me to rule as his right hand, well I would have been good enough to have kept a cordial business relationship with him-"
The Android struck him again, this time, Vegeta thought that his jaw had possibly been broken.
"Enough! I will not listen to these disgusting lies with regards to my son!" Cold Bellowed. "You betrayed him."
"It is the truth," Vegeta insisted once he was assured his jaw was not broken. "Barring his disgusting and unwanted advances towards me, his final error was going after my mate. That is what signed his death warrant and I refuse to apologize for that."
Vegeta tried again to reach out to Bulma but she was still asleep. Woman, I need to talk to you, he said urgently. It is regarding my father.
He waited a moment, hoping she had heard him but still got no response.
"In any case, I was going to do away with your entire race for good after you murdered my son but your father persuaded me that if he handed you and your mate over to me we could renew our friendly dealings. I was content with that until your father refused to speak with me once I acquired you into my custody. Paragus has been giving me the run around and given nothing but excuse after excuse. I am tired and bored and at my wits end with you Saiyans."
Vegeta felt his stomach turn. He could not allow Cold to destroy his home. "I know my mate spoke with him since my capture. Though I know nothing of him having plans to deviate from your original agreement. Let me speak with her first before you make a rash decision."
Cold was quiet a long time before shrugging. "I fail to see what difference it will make to you, being that you will never leave this place for the remainder of your days."
"Let me speak with my mate," he said, once again, prodding Bulma mentally with the hopes that she may wake up and have some useful information for him that may save his planet. Wake up, damnit! He tried again as the sinking feeling of deeper despair began to take hold.
-0-0-0-
Brolly landed on the platform just outside the palace. He noticed a huge ship sitting and idling at the palace’s ship dock and assumed that was the ship sent by King Cold to collect Bulma. He hadn’t missed it and decided that was a good sign and debated a moment about whether or not to just forget Paragus and get Bulma and the boys to safety or to first deal with Paragus and then seek them out?
He really wanted to confront Paragus but wondered if it was even worth it? What did it matter? No matter what he learned about the reasons and excuses it wouldn't change anything. His whole life was still a lie up to this point. What was getting further insight going to do?
Upon further thought on it, he decided he needed answers. He did want to help Bulma and Trunks out and he would but for now they would have to wait. His whole life was in pieces.Besides, he had no clue whether or not they were on the ship yet or still in the palace. Once he got some answers of his own, he would check in on them first before going to the ship.
Brolly headed into the palace, ignoring anyone in his path as he headed towards Paragus' office. Without knocking, he walked in only to find it empty. Instead of leaving to continue on with trying to find Paragus, he decided to take a look around and see if he could find any useful information on his own.
He sifted through a variety of papers on his desk but found nothing useful pertaining to him and so he moved on to the drawers and cupboards attached to the desk with the same fruitless result.
Brolly went on and continued to rifle through many documents and files found throughout the office but still could not find anything; he should have known that Paragus would not be stupid enough to leave something like this out in the open. He was about to abandon his search and move on to find Paragus and speak to him himself. In his anger and frustration, he sent a minor ki ball at a statue of a Saiyan warrior adorning the corner of the office.
“Shit,” he cursed under his breath. He had not meant to make such a mess but this only served to remind him that he needed to calm himself down before seeking out Paragus; especially if he wanted answers. He went to try and clean up the mess a little bit so that debris wasn’t everywhere but accidentally stumbled on a locked cabinet, hidden under a dark table cloth which had been concealed and used as a stand for the statue.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Brolly carefully blasted it open without further thought.
He held his breath as he opened it and looked in to see an abundance of paperwork.
Brolly stared at it a moment, silently deliberating. Something told him that this was it; he wasn’t sure what it was, as there were still so many files and shelves he hadn’t even attempted to go through in the rest of the office; yet something told him that everything he wanted to know was contained in this cabinet.
Don’t you want to know? A voice in the back of his mind chided him. You’ve always known there was something different about you, here’s your chance!
Did he really want to know the specifics though? What difference would it really make, in the overall grand scheme of things?
As the moments ticked by and the full safe with more paperwork and files than he had ever seen in such a small confinement almost begging to be read beckoned to him, he took a deep breath and made a decision. “Who am I?” he quietly asked himself out loud and reached for a thick file that seemed to be sticking out further than the rest in the jumbled mess.
Brolly opened it and recognized plans for the bracelet, necklaces and head bands that had been gifted to him all his life, as far back as he could remember since he was a boy. All the information behind the different gems used to keep him subdued and confined were there. Some were for wearing him out, some stifled his ki and others were used for mind control as a means of keeping him complacent and agreeable.
As he went through everything, he found documents on his growth and progress. How often the gems needed to be switched out to remain effective, even the frequencies of some of them and why he could not be exposed to some of them for long lengths of time.
Literally everything he needed to know was here in this small safe and it confirmed everything. Not only that he had been lied to and controlled his whole life but the more he read, the more he came to understand that he had also been the subject of an experiment.
What had his father been up to?
He reached in and found what looked to be a journal and opened it.
Today marks the day of the greatest accomplishment of my life.
The birth of my first son finally happened; he is the spitting image of his mother and born with a strength never measured before in that of a Saiyan infant. As a father, I could not be more proud. Not even King Vegeta’s son, our own Prince Vegeta XIV, prophesized to be the Legendary reborn was born with a power this strong!
I have done my duty for my planet. With the strength of my son and that of the Prince, Vegeta-sei will rise to be great again and be free of the rule of the Ice-jin within just a few years.
I anticipate informing the King of this miraculous event as soon as I finish this entry.
We named the child Brolly, after the first Legendary Super Saiyan King Vegeta’s loyal subject, commander and right hand all those thousands of years ago. How fitting. It is almost too perfect.
Brolly held back a wave of emotion as he read the first entry. So what his grandmother had told him was true, that he had been born with a very high power. He did not think on it long before continuing on to the next entry.
It is with a heavy heart that I write this entry.
It would seem that King Vegeta sees the strength and ultimate potential of Brolly as a future liability and threat to his throne. I tried to convince him that this was not true, that both his son and mine could accomplish great things together for the good of the planet but he refuses to see it that way and has demanded I execute Brolly before he has a chance to grow in strength and surpass Prince Vegeta.
I am beside myself and have not notified my mate as of yet; there must be something that can be done.
I must do this and provide proof of it before the council meeting first thing tomorrow morning.
The next entry was written a few days later.
I could not do it.
Brolly is my first born son. I have been a loyal council member and advisor to his Highness all of my adult life. I would do anything he would ask, but this… This I could not do. I know this makes me weak and a disgrace as a Saiyan to not accommodate his majesty but how could I execute my son for that which is not his fault?
I therefore stole him from the nursery and left him with my mother under the strictest of confidence. When I returned to the nursery to grab needed supplies and to fabricate my story for King Vegeta, there happened to be a Saiyan infant about the same age as Brolly who had passed away from whatever reason, set aside for disposal.
Without thinking, I grabbed that infant, removed the tail and disposed of the body myself.
King Vegeta in his arrogance and blind trust in me asked no questions, nodded in approval and merely dismissed this whole ordeal as though it was nothing. He did not even thank me for my loyalty in putting him and his throne and interests ahead of my own family; he simply acted as though this was expected of me and nothing more.
His reaction and lack of gratitude only solidifies to me that I made the right decision in not killing my son for him.
My mate is broken and is not aware of Brolly’s continued existence and I doubt she will ever forgive me for this, however she cannot know the truth. It is for her own safety.
Brolly is safe with my mother and they have been sent away to the other side of the planet where they will reside by themselves under the pretense that she is angry with me and the King for such harsh actions.
Brolly balled his fists as he continued to read through the diary; any remaining guilt he’d had lingering around over killing King Vegeta completely dissipated by this point.
He flipped through the diary, skimming through entries here and there; nothing of much interest came to him. There was a brief bit about Asia’s birth but that was about it.
Our queen has passed today while in childbirth.
I cannot say I am pleased with this news, as she was honorable and everything a Saiyan queen ought to be; her presence will be greatly missed by all, for it is a shame that she was the real ruler of this planet, not Vegeta.
Interestingly enough, the son she bore him was so weak the king did not even want to acknowledge him as his son and so he took care of the brat himself immediately before anyone else would find out and has passed it off as the infant being stillborn. Only I know of this truth as only I was present to witness such a thing.
I must admit, I did feel the slight pang of shame as I watched my king do what I could not only eight years ago. On the other hand, I do not feel any sympathy for the man for his loss.
The next entry a few days later was an interesting one:
King Vegeta is a complete mess. It has been nearly two weeks since the passing of our queen and he is barely hanging in there and is as insane as ever. Therefore he has appointed me as his hand for the time being.
I shall make the most of this amazing opportunity the gods have been so generous as to grant me. I see it as my just reward for not murdering my own son at the king’s request.
The first order of business is to be rid of Prince Vegeta. Although only ten years of age, he has already proven to not only be very strong physically, but sound in mind as well; for he shows more prudence than his father already.
Lord Frieza will be dropping by within the week and he has expressed interest in the young Prince. Perhaps I can convince his majesty that this would be to our advantage. This would permanently remove young Vegeta from the picture and make room for me to find a way to integrate my son somehow, who grows stronger every day.
While strong, our young prince will not survive life under Lord Frieza’s thumb; his arrogance and spoiled palace upbringing will be his downfall, making this almost too easy.
-0-0-0-
It is done.
Prince Vegeta is gone and the king agreed to my suggestion so easily, I almost thought he was toying with me.
Now to bring Asia to the palace and begin her training. I have not yet decided a good way to introduce Brolly so as to not attract unwanted questions. Therefore it will be her for the time being that I must groom and shape for something great.
Brolly flipped and skimmed through some more.
My son is beginning to become a handful. Keeping his true potential hidden is proving to be more difficult than we originally thought. I have had to do some research and found a way to hinder him; it was very expensive, more than I could afford but ultimately will save his life.
I travelled to a far planet for this technology. It is so simple; all I have to do is get him to wear something and not only will it hide and suppress his true power, but it will alter his mind, keeping him easy to control and compliant.
It is my expectation that once he is of age, he will join me here and he will put an end to King Vegeta’s rule.
Brolly did not bother to read any of the rest of Paragus’ journal. He shouted in anguish and frustration as he sat there in the trashed office unsure of what he should do or how he should react to the news. He had been hoping it wouldn't be true, even though in his gut he had always known something wasn't right with his life; on his way back he had still been hoping that it wasn't true, that maybe all these years he had just simply been paranoid.
In his frustration, he torched the safe and all of the information it contained and laughed almost maniacally. How ironic that he should be the one to destroy all of the information he had unknowingly helped his father to accumulate all these years.
Brolly stood up, almost in awe at how easily the ki flowed through him now that he wasn't impeded by anything. He turned his palm upwards and let a ki ball for effortlessly in the palm of his hand and looked at it in wonder; formulating ki was always something that he had struggled with his whole life. Growing up he had been made to feel like there had been something wrong with him that he couldn't do the simplest thing that was almost second nature to a Saiyan; even Trunks had been able to do it and he was a half breed, he had lamented in jealousy to himself more than once. That the reason for his handicap was because of his family was more than he could take at the moment.
After taking a moment, he decided to quickly check in the nursery, just in case the boys were still there and perhaps Bulma was still in the confines of the palace below. If they weren’t, he would check the ship for them if it wasn’t gone by then.
He made it to the nursery only to find it empty.
“They took the boys,” Neesa said to him; truthfully, he hadn’t even noticed her.
“Who?” he asked.
“Some soldiers that claimed they were with King Cold,” she replied. “That was about a half hour ago; they still may be here. Bulma is being taken with them from what I know.”
Brolly nodded, noting that the room was mostly empty. “Where’s Aro?” he asked suddenly with a frown.
“I put Aro in Bulma’s room shortly after she was taken,” she said. “That animal is crazy, I didn’t know what to do with him so I put him there and have been slipping him food daily but he's crazy and I am too afraid of him to keep looking after him.”
“Thank you, I will see to him.” Brolly nodded and left, heading to the Prince’s quarters immediately without further deliberation.
He opened the door cautiously and whistled once, closing the door behind him.
The Shepherd was standing in the middle of the room and approached him cautiously with a slight limp on his step. He knew Brolly of course but he was always with Bulma whenever he had interacted with him.
"Hey," Brolly said to him, unsure. The dog had a kind of wild look to him; he was panting and breathing heavily and he wondered how long he'd been cooped up, no doubt worried about Bulma. It wasn't until he walked in and took notice of his surroundings that he noticed the room was completely trashed. The chairs were upturned and there were deep claw marks all along the walls and door to the balcony.
Brolly stepped further into the room and looked at the damage and winced. The door and walls on either side had been sufficiently chewed and clawed in his attempt to get out of the room. What amazed him was some of the scratches went as high as ten to twelve feet high. Guilt washed through him as he looked at him again. He had more than likely just been abandoned here since Bulma's arrest. He wondered when the last time was that the nurse maid had fed him?
Bulma had packed up everything so there would have been nothing for him to get into, no water either. While it was good that he was still alive and no one had killed him, Bulma was going to have a fit when she found out.
Brolly crouched down and offered a hand out to Aro. He was fairly confident the dog wouldn't freak out on him but he was still cautious.
Aro sniffed him and his tail wagged somewhat in recognition before he walked up to Brolly.
He reached out to touch him and was surprised to find that his coat was damp from perspiration, presumably. As he sat there a moment, calming both himself and the dog down he noticed that his paws were bleeding; he had torn most of his nails off in his clawing, scratching and climbing Brolly realized with shock.
After taking a few moments to collect his thoughts and deciding what to do next, he decided it was time to go. Aro's leash was still attached so he took it and decided to bring him with him to confront his father and then go after Bulma.
He wasn't sure what they would do, but it looked like she had packed up everything she needed. If she still had that on her and he left with Aro there would be no reason for either of them to remain here. They could either go after Vegeta or find some place safe to hide as they made a plan.
Brolly closed the door behind him and strode quickly down the hall to the board room where he hoped his father would be. He looked down at Aro, trying to remember what Bulma used to say to him to walk nicely on her side but he didn't need to. Aro was walking perfectly parallel with him on his left side as best as he could despite his sore feet.
Brolly made it into the boardroom, not pausing to knock.
Paragus was in the middle of trying to organize his affairs quickly; he needed to make sure they were prepared for an attack. He didn't like the way Cold's men had spoken to him and he didn’t trust that they weren’t up to something.
What right did they have to interrogate him on matters that did not concern them or even Cold for that matter?
In his panic, he did not notice Brolly walk in to the board room until he was standing just a few feet away. "Brolly, what are you doing here?" He asked in surprise.
"I know everything," he said quietly, shaking in restrained anger; just seeing the man had nearly set him off into a blind rage.
"What are you talking about?" He scoffed. "You are supposed to be at your grandmother's until I am finished dealing with this mess you have created for me." He said dismissively continuing to rifle frantically though several documents.
"You mean I am still supposed to be in a drug induced coma, hidden away and then summoned once you decide it is alright, father?"
At that, Paragus suddenly dropped everything and turned to Brolly, the blood drained from his face. "What did you say?"
Brolly smirked at him, his reaction confirmed that the story his grandmother had told was true. "I know everything; I know that you are my father and that you have lied to me and have controlled me my whole life. I know all of it!"
Paragus looked at him a long moment and then shrugged. "I suppose now is as good a time as any for you to find out, though I would have much preferred if it was more like a week or so from now as I don't have the time to discuss with you the specifics at this moment."
Brolly laughed at him. "Oh, I am so sorry this did not quite fit into your time schedule but I think now is a great time to discuss it. I have waited my whole life to be told."
"Exactly! So why now?" Paragus snarled. "What's another day or two? I don't have time for this right now."
"Make time," Brolly said through grit teeth, pulling out a chair and forcing him to sit. "I want you to tell me everything from the beginning."
Paragus sighed and looked at the clock. He had twenty minutes to come up with something that would make Cold’s people happy and they would hopefully leave for good.
-0-0-0-
Butterflies & Hurricanes
Chapter 21
Brolly was almost at the capital. It had been a few hours since he had left his grandmother’s place. Part of him felt guilty for flying off the handle at her the way he had and his resentment towards her had abated somewhat; however the closer he got to the capital, the angrier he grew at Paragus, or his father he supposed.
Brolly still wasn't sure how to react to this information. His entire life had been turned upside down in the matter of a few minutes! He had been lied to and controlled like a pawn his whole life!
He could see the capital in the distance and knew he would be there in about a half hour now and noted gleefully how quickly he had made it; he had not known how much he has been stifled until now. His speed had increased nearly tenfold! Imagine what else he could do once he started training again.
He still wasn't sure how he would confront Paragus. Part of him wanted to just show up and knock him out but the rational side of his brain was telling him to look for some answers and an explanation first.
Brolly upped his energy and continued towards the palace in hopes that maybe they hadn’t left with Bulma, Trunks and Tarble already. If he was lucky, maybe they would still be there and he could intercept Cold’s ship before their departure.
-0-0-0-
What with Bulma and the two boys securely in their custody, Burter and Jeice had two of the Saiyan soldiers escort them to where Paragus was hopefully cooperating with Guldo and Recoome in the board room.
"It's already been taken care of! The investigation is closed and all I am asking now is for respect to be shown in not looking any further into this matter,” Paragus said in an impatient tone. “The planet is in mourning; I have held up my end of the bargain with Cold by surrendering the girl and her child, I have even provided you with unnecessary details of what happened to our beloved King.”
“We appreciate your cooperation, however King Cold is not convinced,” Guildo replied unsympathetically.
“Then that is his problem because I have nothing more to disclose where the death of the king is concerned; it is time you leave, now.”
“What’s this about?” Jeyice asked as they walked into the board room and heard the discussion.
“He won’t answer our questions.” Guildo snipped, pointing accusingly at Paragus. “And he will not allow us to conduct a thorough search of the King’s private office, quarters or the ship docks just in case he is in fact is alive.”
“The king is dead, there is no reason for you to conduct a search through our private offices and there are no more questions to be answered,” Paragus argued. “It is time you all left.”
Jeyice shrugged, “Other than that, are you satisfied with your findings?” he asked Guildo; he just really wanted them to be on their way already. Thoughts of Bulma flashed through his mind. The sooner they made it back, maybe the sooner she wouldn’t be off limits to him.
“No, he hasn’t really told us anything.” Guildo said, glaring at Paragus.
“That is because there is nothing more to tell than what I have already told you and you are wasting my time as well as yours.” Paragus interjected. “I thought you said you were on a tight schedule?”
“We are,” Burter nodded. “However, we are also under strict orders to obtain as much information about King Vegeta’s death as we are able.”
“I will personally send his highness a full detailed report as soon as I am able.” Paragus said, hoping that would suffice and make them go away.
“Alright,” Jeyice nodded. “We will return in one hour and expect a full, detailed report to take back to Cold then; that should work.”
“No, I will send it to him within the next few weeks,” Paragus sighed in exasperation. “I do not have time for this at the moment!”
“Well, we will return in an hour,” Jeyice shrugged. “We will talk to Cold and let him know and if he’s alright with that then we will leave, but not before.”
“Ya, we kind of have to take our orders from him now if you know what I mean,” Recoome said.
Paragus growled at them as they left the boardroom without further comment. How was he going to pull off a full report that would be satisfactory to King Cold within an hour? Somehow he would have to do that and get everyone ready for an attack.
Treaty or not, he would destroy that ship if he felt pushed.
-0-0-0-
"So what is your opinion?" Cold asked Burter once they had reconvened back at the ship again.
"I don't really know," Burter shrugged. "Jeyice and I only came at the end and Paragus wasn't being cooperative. Guildo and Recoome were the ones who spoke with him most so I recommend you speak with one of them, my Lord."
"I can speak," Guildo piped up.
"Very well, what was your impression?" Cold asked in a bored tone.
"Well, we didn't find any evidence to support that King Vegeta is alive and on planet or on his way out to pursue you, however we didn't find any evidence to support that he isn't either," Guildo said formally. "Something definitely is not right though; he was extremely nervous and getting any information from him was like pulling teeth."
"Ya, but he said they are in mourning and that we were being insensitive with our questions," Recoome cut in. "He did show us some pictures and he said they took care of the person who did it, I think he's just still really sad."
"Shut up, you!" Guildo snarled at him. "I apologize, my Lord. He did show proof of the King's gruesome death but something is still off. He is hiding something and was wanting us to leave as quickly as possible."
"Hmmmm," Cold grunted in deep consideration. "And so you told him he has one hour to comply in proving that his story is accurate?”
“We did,” Jeyice nodded proudly.
“Alright. If he manages to come through you may leave; if not, I will take that as a formal declaration of war.”
“Very well, my lord,” Burter said. “Jeyice and I will speak with him again in one hour and we will refer back to you.”
“See that you do,” Cold nodded. “You retrieved the Prince’s mate and child?”
“We did, my lord,” Jeice replied. “She actually has two infants, not one, so we brought back both.”
“Two children?” Cold exclaimed. “Well now isn’t this an interesting turn of events. So be it, I will make a decision once you return here; in the meantime, and neither of them are to be harmed in any way. You are to see to it that they are provided food and the proper accommodations.”
“Already taken care of, my lord,” Jeyice nodded. “They are settled in their own room right now as we speak and are being heavily guarded to ensure they do not escape.”
“Very good, I will speak with you again in one hour,” Cold replied. “Be thorough, the future of an entire race and planet rests in your hands.” He said, shutting off the transmission.
“Bring Prince Vegeta here at once.” He commanded the Android.
-0-0-0-
Vegeta was woken up from an uncomfortable and unrestful sleep by the Android and was hauled down the hall to Cold's throne room in haste without any explanation. He still didn’t have any foot wear and all he was wearing was the tattered remnants of his flight suit from the waist down.
He would have fought and kicked up a fuss at the rude awakening but he was too cold, too tired, too hungry and simply too drained at this point to care about where they were taking him and why. Besides, his hands were cuffed firmly behind him anyway; he couldn’t do anything even if he thought he had the slightest chance, not if he wanted to live anyway, and staying alive was what he needed to do for Bulma for the time being.
"What is your father up to?" Cold demanded without so much as a greeting as the Android effortlessly tossed him before the large Ice-jin king.
Vegeta stood up and shrugged nonchalantly, trying to control the uncontrollable shivering that had wracked his body since his arrival. "How should I know? I am here and he is there."
Cold nodded at the Android and it back handed Vegeta across the jaw, knocking him down from not only his unpreparedness of the blow but exhaustion.
"Can we try this again?" Cold sighed. "What little scheme did your father have with regards to you?"
Vegeta stood up and shrugged again. "You tell me. So far as I know, you're looking at it."
"You expect me to believe that?" He snorted and then nodded at It again and the android struck him in the jaw again, only harder this time.
Vegeta fell to the floor again, gritting his teeth in anger that he could not stand up and return the blows to the Android or to Cold himself. This was a disgrace!
"Your father was having second thoughts with regards to our agreement where you were concerned," he continued as Vegeta stood back up. "He is planning something and I am sure you are in on it. You will tell me!"
Vegeta smirked at Cold arrogantly. So his father was having second thoughts and was planning on coming after him after all? While very unexpected, he found himself moved by the notion of it. He had entertained the possibility once or twice since he had been imprisoned here but always had berated himself for even allowing himself to think something so ridiculously sentimental and uncharacteristic of his father; King Vegeta had never once shown him compassion or concern, why would he now?
Perhaps the full gravity of realizing that he had just sabotaged, betrayed and essentially signed his own son's death warrant had actually shaken him up?
Vegeta supposed he had Bulma to thank for that as well, as she had said she had reamed him out over his disloyalty to him. He now felt even guiltier for his cruel words to her since all of this had started; maybe her being captured by his father had unexpectedly worked to their advantage?
"I can honestly say I haven't a clue as to what that old man's plans are," Vegeta said. "We did not part on good terms so if he is planning something, I will be as shocked as you are."
Cold narrowed his eyes at him. "I still do not believe you."
"He detests my mate, will never accept her or my son and I refuse to have anything to do with him unless he does so that he has possibly had a change of heart is news to me,” Vegeta told him. “Why don’t you bring me up to speed and I will tell you then what I know of it.”
"His advisor, Paragus, was trying to renegotiate our terms. He was wanting to keep your woman and give me your son." Cold said, looking suspiciously at him. "He was also trying to convince me that your father was killed by one of his many whores he likes to keep around yet for an entire week prior to this supposed event, I was unable to contact him. Then conveniently I was informed that he was killed and the terms we had agreed on were supposedly up for renegotiation. Where is your father? I refuse to believe that he was killed by a few whores."
Vegeta snorted and laughed. "While I agree with you that it is highly unlikely, at the same time it would not surprise me either if one of them did end him. However, no. I know nothing about it."
Vegeta reached out to Bulma then, but she was still asleep. He remembered that she had told him a few days ago that there was something with regards to his father that she had wanted to tell him. He had cruelly lashed out at her and since then she had not mentioned anything about his father. Now, however, he was curious about what she had wanted to tell him. Maybe she knew something about whether or not his father was planning to betray Cold and coming for him or if something had actually happened to him?
Cold glared at him suspiciously. "You and your entire race," he spat. "Nothing but a nuisance and not to be trusted. You know, your father's own advisor doesn't want you back. He did not want to make any negotiations with regards to you. He only wanted your woman. Why would he attempt to make a deal like that if your father was not on his way here to betray me?"
Vegeta shrugged. "Paragus is an idiot. How should I know? I would not trust that snake further than my own nose."
"So you are saying there is a possibility?" Cold asked, narrowing his eyes.
Vegeta did not reply quick enough for Cold’s liking and was rewarded with another slug to the face.
"I do not know!" He shouted in anger. "Paragus and my father both can rot in hell together at this point for all I care!"
Cold did not say anything for a minute. "That may very well be their predicament in the next few minutes unless your father's idiot advisor begins to cooperate with me."
Vegeta frowned at Cold. "Paragus is an idiot. I doubt he will cooperate with you. What will happen if he does not?"
Cold smirked at Vegeta. "Boom." He said, expanding his hand.
Vegeta felt his face blanche, his mouth go dry as his stomach dropped all at the same time. "That won't be necessary," he managed to choke out; he was thankful for the first time that Bulma and Trunks were already on Cold’s ship.
"Oh, I think it is." Cold nodded. "Your race has been nothing more than a thorn in my side since we came across your miserable planet all those decades ago. Your kind does not seem to understand that they work for us. You all exist because of me. We have given you Saiyans every opportunity to fall into line and I will admit, every once inwhile you do for a short time and then we need to do something drastic to remind you of your place in the universe.
"I have made deals and treaties with your father and grandfather and great grandfather over and over again in the past only to be let down and betrayed time and again," Cold said. "It is one of the reasons why I handed my control of your kind over to my son. Frieza had a way of inspiring obedience and loyalty through fear. In the beginning, when your father first took over the throne, it went over quite well. It was a good arrangement and good relations were once again established until you came along.
"I don't know what my son's obsession with you was, as far as I am concerned you are no more special than any of the rest of the vermin monkeys on your planet. However, he took a personal interest in you despite my warnings that you would bide your time and turn on him just like the rest of your race has the tendency to do. He insisted that if you grew in the right environment without your father's influence, you could be turned and made loyal to him and only him.
"Look at what you did to him; after every opportunity he extended to you because of the interest he took in you. Despite his kindness and generosity, you turned on him and killed him like a crazy dog."
"Your son needed to be stopped!" Vegeta spat, interrupting Cold. However he was given another brutal back hand to the side of the face. "Had he left me alone after my service, things could have been fine; we may have been able to co rule our sides of the galaxy without incident had he left me the hell alone and found someone else to be the object of his infatuations! You are aware of his interest in grooming me to rule as his right hand, well I would have been good enough to have kept a cordial business relationship with him-"
The Android struck him again, this time, Vegeta thought that his jaw had possibly been broken.
"Enough! I will not listen to these disgusting lies with regards to my son!" Cold Bellowed. "You betrayed him."
"It is the truth," Vegeta insisted once he was assured his jaw was not broken. "Barring his disgusting and unwanted advances towards me, his final error was going after my mate. That is what signed his death warrant and I refuse to apologize for that."
Vegeta tried again to reach out to Bulma but she was still asleep. Woman, I need to talk to you, he said urgently. It is regarding my father.
He waited a moment, hoping she had heard him but still got no response.
"In any case, I was going to do away with your entire race for good after you murdered my son but your father persuaded me that if he handed you and your mate over to me we could renew our friendly dealings. I was content with that until your father refused to speak with me once I acquired you into my custody. Paragus has been giving me the run around and given nothing but excuse after excuse. I am tired and bored and at my wits end with you Saiyans."
Vegeta felt his stomach turn. He could not allow Cold to destroy his home. "I know my mate spoke with him since my capture. Though I know nothing of him having plans to deviate from your original agreement. Let me speak with her first before you make a rash decision."
Cold was quiet a long time before shrugging. "I fail to see what difference it will make to you, being that you will never leave this place for the remainder of your days."
"Let me speak with my mate," he said, once again, prodding Bulma mentally with the hopes that she may wake up and have some useful information for him that may save his planet. Wake up, damnit! He tried again as the sinking feeling of deeper despair began to take hold.
-0-0-0-
Brolly landed on the platform just outside the palace. He noticed a huge ship sitting and idling at the palace’s ship dock and assumed that was the ship sent by King Cold to collect Bulma. He hadn’t missed it and decided that was a good sign and debated a moment about whether or not to just forget Paragus and get Bulma and the boys to safety or to first deal with Paragus and then seek them out?
He really wanted to confront Paragus but wondered if it was even worth it? What did it matter? No matter what he learned about the reasons and excuses it wouldn't change anything. His whole life was still a lie up to this point. What was getting further insight going to do?
Upon further thought on it, he decided he needed answers. He did want to help Bulma and Trunks out and he would but for now they would have to wait. His whole life was in pieces.Besides, he had no clue whether or not they were on the ship yet or still in the palace. Once he got some answers of his own, he would check in on them first before going to the ship.
Brolly headed into the palace, ignoring anyone in his path as he headed towards Paragus' office. Without knocking, he walked in only to find it empty. Instead of leaving to continue on with trying to find Paragus, he decided to take a look around and see if he could find any useful information on his own.
He sifted through a variety of papers on his desk but found nothing useful pertaining to him and so he moved on to the drawers and cupboards attached to the desk with the same fruitless result.
Brolly went on and continued to rifle through many documents and files found throughout the office but still could not find anything; he should have known that Paragus would not be stupid enough to leave something like this out in the open. He was about to abandon his search and move on to find Paragus and speak to him himself. In his anger and frustration, he sent a minor ki ball at a statue of a Saiyan warrior adorning the corner of the office.
“Shit,” he cursed under his breath. He had not meant to make such a mess but this only served to remind him that he needed to calm himself down before seeking out Paragus; especially if he wanted answers. He went to try and clean up the mess a little bit so that debris wasn’t everywhere but accidentally stumbled on a locked cabinet, hidden under a dark table cloth which had been concealed and used as a stand for the statue.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Brolly carefully blasted it open without further thought.
He held his breath as he opened it and looked in to see an abundance of paperwork.
Brolly stared at it a moment, silently deliberating. Something told him that this was it; he wasn’t sure what it was, as there were still so many files and shelves he hadn’t even attempted to go through in the rest of the office; yet something told him that everything he wanted to know was contained in this cabinet.
Don’t you want to know? A voice in the back of his mind chided him. You’ve always known there was something different about you, here’s your chance!
Did he really want to know the specifics though? What difference would it really make, in the overall grand scheme of things?
As the moments ticked by and the full safe with more paperwork and files than he had ever seen in such a small confinement almost begging to be read beckoned to him, he took a deep breath and made a decision. “Who am I?” he quietly asked himself out loud and reached for a thick file that seemed to be sticking out further than the rest in the jumbled mess.
Brolly opened it and recognized plans for the bracelet, necklaces and head bands that had been gifted to him all his life, as far back as he could remember since he was a boy. All the information behind the different gems used to keep him subdued and confined were there. Some were for wearing him out, some stifled his ki and others were used for mind control as a means of keeping him complacent and agreeable.
As he went through everything, he found documents on his growth and progress. How often the gems needed to be switched out to remain effective, even the frequencies of some of them and why he could not be exposed to some of them for long lengths of time.
Literally everything he needed to know was here in this small safe and it confirmed everything. Not only that he had been lied to and controlled his whole life but the more he read, the more he came to understand that he had also been the subject of an experiment.
What had his father been up to?
He reached in and found what looked to be a journal and opened it.
Today marks the day of the greatest accomplishment of my life.
The birth of my first son finally happened; he is the spitting image of his mother and born with a strength never measured before in that of a Saiyan infant. As a father, I could not be more proud. Not even King Vegeta’s son, our own Prince Vegeta XIV, prophesized to be the Legendary reborn was born with a power this strong!
I have done my duty for my planet. With the strength of my son and that of the Prince, Vegeta-sei will rise to be great again and be free of the rule of the Ice-jin within just a few years.
I anticipate informing the King of this miraculous event as soon as I finish this entry.
We named the child Brolly, after the first Legendary Super Saiyan King Vegeta’s loyal subject, commander and right hand all those thousands of years ago. How fitting. It is almost too perfect.
Brolly held back a wave of emotion as he read the first entry. So what his grandmother had told him was true, that he had been born with a very high power. He did not think on it long before continuing on to the next entry.
It is with a heavy heart that I write this entry.
It would seem that King Vegeta sees the strength and ultimate potential of Brolly as a future liability and threat to his throne. I tried to convince him that this was not true, that both his son and mine could accomplish great things together for the good of the planet but he refuses to see it that way and has demanded I execute Brolly before he has a chance to grow in strength and surpass Prince Vegeta.
I am beside myself and have not notified my mate as of yet; there must be something that can be done.
I must do this and provide proof of it before the council meeting first thing tomorrow morning.
The next entry was written a few days later.
I could not do it.
Brolly is my first born son. I have been a loyal council member and advisor to his Highness all of my adult life. I would do anything he would ask, but this… This I could not do. I know this makes me weak and a disgrace as a Saiyan to not accommodate his majesty but how could I execute my son for that which is not his fault?
I therefore stole him from the nursery and left him with my mother under the strictest of confidence. When I returned to the nursery to grab needed supplies and to fabricate my story for King Vegeta, there happened to be a Saiyan infant about the same age as Brolly who had passed away from whatever reason, set aside for disposal.
Without thinking, I grabbed that infant, removed the tail and disposed of the body myself.
King Vegeta in his arrogance and blind trust in me asked no questions, nodded in approval and merely dismissed this whole ordeal as though it was nothing. He did not even thank me for my loyalty in putting him and his throne and interests ahead of my own family; he simply acted as though this was expected of me and nothing more.
His reaction and lack of gratitude only solidifies to me that I made the right decision in not killing my son for him.
My mate is broken and is not aware of Brolly’s continued existence and I doubt she will ever forgive me for this, however she cannot know the truth. It is for her own safety.
Brolly is safe with my mother and they have been sent away to the other side of the planet where they will reside by themselves under the pretense that she is angry with me and the King for such harsh actions.
Brolly balled his fists as he continued to read through the diary; any remaining guilt he’d had lingering around over killing King Vegeta completely dissipated by this point.
He flipped through the diary, skimming through entries here and there; nothing of much interest came to him. There was a brief bit about Asia’s birth but that was about it.
Our queen has passed today while in childbirth.
I cannot say I am pleased with this news, as she was honorable and everything a Saiyan queen ought to be; her presence will be greatly missed by all, for it is a shame that she was the real ruler of this planet, not Vegeta.
Interestingly enough, the son she bore him was so weak the king did not even want to acknowledge him as his son and so he took care of the brat himself immediately before anyone else would find out and has passed it off as the infant being stillborn. Only I know of this truth as only I was present to witness such a thing.
I must admit, I did feel the slight pang of shame as I watched my king do what I could not only eight years ago. On the other hand, I do not feel any sympathy for the man for his loss.
The next entry a few days later was an interesting one:
King Vegeta is a complete mess. It has been nearly two weeks since the passing of our queen and he is barely hanging in there and is as insane as ever. Therefore he has appointed me as his hand for the time being.
I shall make the most of this amazing opportunity the gods have been so generous as to grant me. I see it as my just reward for not murdering my own son at the king’s request.
The first order of business is to be rid of Prince Vegeta. Although only ten years of age, he has already proven to not only be very strong physically, but sound in mind as well; for he shows more prudence than his father already.
Lord Frieza will be dropping by within the week and he has expressed interest in the young Prince. Perhaps I can convince his majesty that this would be to our advantage. This would permanently remove young Vegeta from the picture and make room for me to find a way to integrate my son somehow, who grows stronger every day.
While strong, our young prince will not survive life under Lord Frieza’s thumb; his arrogance and spoiled palace upbringing will be his downfall, making this almost too easy.
-0-0-0-
It is done.
Prince Vegeta is gone and the king agreed to my suggestion so easily, I almost thought he was toying with me.
Now to bring Asia to the palace and begin her training. I have not yet decided a good way to introduce Brolly so as to not attract unwanted questions. Therefore it will be her for the time being that I must groom and shape for something great.
Brolly flipped and skimmed through some more.
My son is beginning to become a handful. Keeping his true potential hidden is proving to be more difficult than we originally thought. I have had to do some research and found a way to hinder him; it was very expensive, more than I could afford but ultimately will save his life.
I travelled to a far planet for this technology. It is so simple; all I have to do is get him to wear something and not only will it hide and suppress his true power, but it will alter his mind, keeping him easy to control and compliant.
It is my expectation that once he is of age, he will join me here and he will put an end to King Vegeta’s rule.
Brolly did not bother to read any of the rest of Paragus’ journal. He shouted in anguish and frustration as he sat there in the trashed office unsure of what he should do or how he should react to the news. He had been hoping it wouldn't be true, even though in his gut he had always known something wasn't right with his life; on his way back he had still been hoping that it wasn't true, that maybe all these years he had just simply been paranoid.
In his frustration, he torched the safe and all of the information it contained and laughed almost maniacally. How ironic that he should be the one to destroy all of the information he had unknowingly helped his father to accumulate all these years.
Brolly stood up, almost in awe at how easily the ki flowed through him now that he wasn't impeded by anything. He turned his palm upwards and let a ki ball for effortlessly in the palm of his hand and looked at it in wonder; formulating ki was always something that he had struggled with his whole life. Growing up he had been made to feel like there had been something wrong with him that he couldn't do the simplest thing that was almost second nature to a Saiyan; even Trunks had been able to do it and he was a half breed, he had lamented in jealousy to himself more than once. That the reason for his handicap was because of his family was more than he could take at the moment.
After taking a moment, he decided to quickly check in the nursery, just in case the boys were still there and perhaps Bulma was still in the confines of the palace below. If they weren’t, he would check the ship for them if it wasn’t gone by then.
He made it to the nursery only to find it empty.
“They took the boys,” Neesa said to him; truthfully, he hadn’t even noticed her.
“Who?” he asked.
“Some soldiers that claimed they were with King Cold,” she replied. “That was about a half hour ago; they still may be here. Bulma is being taken with them from what I know.”
Brolly nodded, noting that the room was mostly empty. “Where’s Aro?” he asked suddenly with a frown.
“I put Aro in Bulma’s room shortly after she was taken,” she said. “That animal is crazy, I didn’t know what to do with him so I put him there and have been slipping him food daily but he's crazy and I am too afraid of him to keep looking after him.”
“Thank you, I will see to him.” Brolly nodded and left, heading to the Prince’s quarters immediately without further deliberation.
He opened the door cautiously and whistled once, closing the door behind him.
The Shepherd was standing in the middle of the room and approached him cautiously with a slight limp on his step. He knew Brolly of course but he was always with Bulma whenever he had interacted with him.
"Hey," Brolly said to him, unsure. The dog had a kind of wild look to him; he was panting and breathing heavily and he wondered how long he'd been cooped up, no doubt worried about Bulma. It wasn't until he walked in and took notice of his surroundings that he noticed the room was completely trashed. The chairs were upturned and there were deep claw marks all along the walls and door to the balcony.
Brolly stepped further into the room and looked at the damage and winced. The door and walls on either side had been sufficiently chewed and clawed in his attempt to get out of the room. What amazed him was some of the scratches went as high as ten to twelve feet high. Guilt washed through him as he looked at him again. He had more than likely just been abandoned here since Bulma's arrest. He wondered when the last time was that the nurse maid had fed him?
Bulma had packed up everything so there would have been nothing for him to get into, no water either. While it was good that he was still alive and no one had killed him, Bulma was going to have a fit when she found out.
Brolly crouched down and offered a hand out to Aro. He was fairly confident the dog wouldn't freak out on him but he was still cautious.
Aro sniffed him and his tail wagged somewhat in recognition before he walked up to Brolly.
He reached out to touch him and was surprised to find that his coat was damp from perspiration, presumably. As he sat there a moment, calming both himself and the dog down he noticed that his paws were bleeding; he had torn most of his nails off in his clawing, scratching and climbing Brolly realized with shock.
After taking a few moments to collect his thoughts and deciding what to do next, he decided it was time to go. Aro's leash was still attached so he took it and decided to bring him with him to confront his father and then go after Bulma.
He wasn't sure what they would do, but it looked like she had packed up everything she needed. If she still had that on her and he left with Aro there would be no reason for either of them to remain here. They could either go after Vegeta or find some place safe to hide as they made a plan.
Brolly closed the door behind him and strode quickly down the hall to the board room where he hoped his father would be. He looked down at Aro, trying to remember what Bulma used to say to him to walk nicely on her side but he didn't need to. Aro was walking perfectly parallel with him on his left side as best as he could despite his sore feet.
Brolly made it into the boardroom, not pausing to knock.
Paragus was in the middle of trying to organize his affairs quickly; he needed to make sure they were prepared for an attack. He didn't like the way Cold's men had spoken to him and he didn’t trust that they weren’t up to something.
What right did they have to interrogate him on matters that did not concern them or even Cold for that matter?
In his panic, he did not notice Brolly walk in to the board room until he was standing just a few feet away. "Brolly, what are you doing here?" He asked in surprise.
"I know everything," he said quietly, shaking in restrained anger; just seeing the man had nearly set him off into a blind rage.
"What are you talking about?" He scoffed. "You are supposed to be at your grandmother's until I am finished dealing with this mess you have created for me." He said dismissively continuing to rifle frantically though several documents.
"You mean I am still supposed to be in a drug induced coma, hidden away and then summoned once you decide it is alright, father?"
At that, Paragus suddenly dropped everything and turned to Brolly, the blood drained from his face. "What did you say?"
Brolly smirked at him, his reaction confirmed that the story his grandmother had told was true. "I know everything; I know that you are my father and that you have lied to me and have controlled me my whole life. I know all of it!"
Paragus looked at him a long moment and then shrugged. "I suppose now is as good a time as any for you to find out, though I would have much preferred if it was more like a week or so from now as I don't have the time to discuss with you the specifics at this moment."
Brolly laughed at him. "Oh, I am so sorry this did not quite fit into your time schedule but I think now is a great time to discuss it. I have waited my whole life to be told."
"Exactly! So why now?" Paragus snarled. "What's another day or two? I don't have time for this right now."
"Make time," Brolly said through grit teeth, pulling out a chair and forcing him to sit. "I want you to tell me everything from the beginning."
Paragus sighed and looked at the clock. He had twenty minutes to come up with something that would make Cold’s people happy and they would hopefully leave for good.
-0-0-0-