DB Multiverse

Without losing sight of Zarbon, Vegeta allowed the more violent portion of his character take the reins. The pretentious goon had always been unbearable and his spits gorged in the copied contempt of Frieza fueled his anger. The era of submission was over, all Zarbon would obtain from him was a correction to his pretty face and a one-way ticket to the abyss of oblivion!

Zarbon waited for Vegeta's answer with an Olympian serenity, curious to hear the underling ensnare himself in murky explanations to attempt to justify his unjustifiable behaviour. But the renegade remained for now silent and seemed to concentrate his combat strength. A whirlwind was agitating the wind around the Saiyan and the numbers streamed across the scouter of Frieza's right-hand. Dammit! How had vegeta progressed so much so quickly? It wasn't surprising that the Master was fascinated by this strange race, whose elite had often shown a certain aptitude to increase their combat strength in sometimes impressive leaps, all proportions kept, of course. Zarbon wondered where Nappa and Raditz could be, but his gadget wasn't picking up on their location. Stranger still, the ridiculous prince was accompanied by an unknown warrior, a Heloïte no doubt. Had that traitor sold his services in exchange for promises of protection against the plans of conquest of the Master? The cretin! What imbeciles they all were! All this merited a little refreshing.

— Soldier of Helior, I'm guessing, he shouted towards Wigner. I serve the all-powerful Lord Frieza and I have a proposition for you, but first, please suffer that I take the time to correct a disciplinary problem that is of no concern to you. You and the others will then have my complete attention, he continued in a suave voice.

The Ultra leader's nose wrinkled, an uncommon sign of characterized anger. His arm swerved over the surroundings covered in debris.

— And this? A present to manifest your good intentions, no doubt?

— A thousand pardons, but it wasn't intentional. When I'm fired at, I counter, nothing more natural, couldn't you agree? I thought I saw something akin to a force field, and therefore didn't hold back, but alas, the filter was already pierced, explained the alien with a smile lathed in irony.

He omitted that the existence of the protective shields were one of the reasons that had pushed the Master to postpone the conquest of this planet. But now that they knew them vulnerable to attacks of the elite warriors... the annexing of Helior and its technological treasures would simply be a formality. He'd take care of it personally after having taken care of the Saiyans, the Master would approve. Tough luck for Ginyu who dreamed for the longest of times to face off against the warriors of this planet with their overly made reputation. The band of Vegeta under the rule of Kiwi had no problems rendering part of the planet to fire and blood, no surprise that he had managed to convince the Heloïtes to hire him once Kiwi eliminated. The Saiyans, dogs barely worthy of groveling at the Master's feet! Dogs that didn't know the meaning of the word "loyalty"... but that would soon learn the meaning of "punishment".

A quiet moan marked Vegeta's satisfaction when he stopped rising the visible portion of his combat strength. Not that he didn't want to shove it in the face of the snob, but reserving him a little surprise in the finale would be all the more enjoyable. His senses confirmed him that the pompous flabir was still at the same level, which had been his for years. Like many elite warriors, the imbecile, too infatuated with his superiority over the masses, had rested on the combat strength that had allowed him to shine at one point. The Saiyan then concentrated on his new faculty to feel vital energies to scan the area around as far as it was possible. Delighted to not perceive anything that didn't appear to be more or less anything different from a Heloïte, he finally launched, with a hint of joy in his voice:

— Why lord Zarbon, what a surprise!

The confidence of the traitor made the tall warrior frown. Indeed, the savage had increased in strength, but not enough to even pretend to surpass him. The victories of the monkey over Kiwi and the Heloïtes had evidently gone to his head. His execution would be all the more amusing!

— Do you intend of asking forgiveness for your errors? he asked delicately, all the while briefly extracting him hand from under his closed arms to brush off with airiness an imaginary speck of dust on his right biceps. Such a beautiful body merited to be valued and to mark his disdain to those of inferior class was a small pleasure that quickly became addictive.

The Saiyan's answer nevertheless succeeded in cutting him short.

— Because you seriously think I did all this to keep kneeling? Me, the prince of the most powerful fighters of the universe!

Zarbon burst out laughing.

— Ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh Vegeta, I didn't know you had a talent for comedy, you truly surprise me! He suddenly took a more grave tone. Saiyans are only good to obey orders. And prince... prince of who, of what? Two slugs that kiss your rear end to give you a semblance of importance? Please, let me laugh. If you really want to know, just so you don't die completely stupid, it wasn't an asteroid that eradicated your precious race of proud warriors. No, it was Lord Frieza, and with only one finger! Pffft, evaporated the glorious race of Saiyans! I never understood why he kept you three alive, against my better judgement, be sure of that, but the hour of complete extinction approaches. Really, I do wonder if the universe will survive such a loss, he joked with a cruel light in his eyes.

The inheritor of the Saiyan throne winced despite himself. Of course, he had always found the story of the asteroid suspicious, as if no one on planet Vegeta would have been capable of pulverizing such an obvious threat before the fatal hour! The idea of a lie, and therefore of a treason, had long since made its way in his mind, but he had preferred to ignore it. What good would it have made? He had grown up learning to stay clear of all emotions, to consider life not as a right, but something reserved only for those capable of not dying, were it for an individual or a whole population from an entire planet, even if it was his own. Yet, he felt his heart was heavy and his throat stuck.

Not this! Emotions were for the weak! Only rage mattered, that emotion allowed one to surpass oneself in a fight! This story landed perfectly, one more reason to make these filthy groondas swallow their pride.

Vegeta felt a trickle of sweat run under his armour while he tried to appear unfazed. Keeping control to stay master of the situation, reserve the fury for the fight to come. When he opened his mouth, his voice had kept the ironic tone he cherished.

— Poor little Zarbon, did you really think I didn't know? You always took me for a fool, didn't you? You really think you found me while I was trying to hide? Hehe, I think the idiot isn't the one you think it is! You are exactly where I wanted you to be. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't know where Raditz and Nappa are, do you?

It was the pony-tailed warrior's turn to not let show that the other had landed a blow. The desire to action his scouter to scan the surroundings tickled, but he restrained himself.

Vegeta scowled and continued on a tone that transpired with hate:

— I'm going to make you regret taking me for an idiot! You will all pay for having made your pawn for all those years.

Wigner eyed the two strangers with more mistrust than ever... these two revealed themselves to be as treacherous the one as the other. To say that he had thought the leader of the barbarian commando was worthy of trust would have been exaggerated, but he had still hoped for more sense of honour. Aware that the verbal exchange between the two invaders was soon over, he discretely consulted his energy gauge before checking Waals' levels. The central command was counting on them, they didn't really have the choice... under-armed against these monsters, they'd have to play smart. The amplitude of what was asked of them gave the young captain vertigo and the fear of failure wrenched his guts. He swallowed the assault of tears ready to submerge him and chased away the terrible images responsible of this instant of panic. Furious that he had allowed himself to be submerged by these feelings, he activated an adrenaline discharge that shivered from his lower spine to his neck : Helior would not fall! To finish convincing himself, he sent the message through his mental scripter to send it over all frequencies at his disposition. In response, a thunder of cheers trumpeted in his implants. Reassured by the union of all the voices, he had an idea that finished pushing off the undesirable feeling of disarray.

In the midst of the agitation of the hive within the command centre, Radom tried to stop hearing. Lodged in the chair he had let himself fall into, isolated from the outside world by the right hand pressed against his forehead, he tried to find the serenity necessary for optimal thinking. At each lighting, the nightmare took root and darkened even further. In similar situation, the ancients would have undoubtedly placed themselves in the hands of the Gods, but it had been long since the rituals were only part of the folklore. After the cataclysmic death of their original land, sacred places and creatures included, the Legend Guardians hadn't been able to maintain the flame within the hearts of the survivors. Radom still surprised himself invoking these forgotten entities... who else to call for when the human dimension didn't suffice anymore? Indeed, the army wasn't yet on the ground, Galasir seemed to have given up on Dardan and the Ultras had been able to disengage to take the route home, Wigner's call had proved that the Heloïte flame still burned bright and strong no matter the odds... but sacrifice wasn't the solution; no, he had to find a way to definitely eradicate the threat with minimal losses!

But how?

Ineffective shields, targets too fast, an energy capable of sundering in one shot stellar class ships, to damage the planet even, undoubtedly... and these strangers that arrived in vehicles so discrete that all had penetrated the spatial security space without being noticed. Who knew how many more could be en route?

Defining their arrival trajectory to stop them before they reached Helior, that would already be a good start, it should already have been done! Radom thought of his friend Mox. The reinforced security cell of the command centre of the Thetor had saved his life, but he had deactivated the automatic programming which should have brought him back to the survival module of the case. The Grand Sage knew him well, the commander wouldn't leave so easily from a combat that had cost the life of his crew. Giving him this mission would help him feel a little less powerless and no one would acquit himself to the task with more diligence and efficiency.

Ah! A new message from Wigner... the young man didn't lack stepping up to the task, excellent choice for the Ultras.

Zarbon and Vegeta were now observing each other in silence, each waiting for the move that would start the fight without giving the other the pleasure of not being responsible. The little game quickly annoyed Vegeta, the desire for revenge, of triumph was too strong. He threw himself at great speed such that Wigner thought he saw him dissappear.