PART TWENTY TWO: THE FATHER'S FIGHT

Chapter 106

Translated by npberryhill

In the previous round, both Cold and Baddack had more than delivered in terms of providing interesting fights. The frost demon had proved to be twice the fighter of Videl from universe 9. All the viewing audience had been impressed by his strength, but especially his own family members from universe 8. Likewise, Baddack had faced his own son, an alternate Raditz. The parricidal duel had forced the two characters into their ultimate forms: the Oozaru Raditz and Super Saiyan Baddack. Both were truly exceptional. Despite a brief moment of weakness, due to his uncontrollable visions of the future, Baddack did in fact outshine his son—bad pun unintended.

In the second round, both fighters fully expected they’d prevail. What they were unaware of, however, is that both of their sons had fought on Namek in countless other universes. Chance was sometimes fun, unless a certain person was in fact manipulating it—as in the case of Broly and Vegetto.

“King Cold of the 8th universe will now fight Baddack of universe 3!” the Varga facilitator announced.

The two highly trained warriors flew to the ring and landed. The severity of 100G’s was no real problem for either of them. Nevertheless, Baddack turned into a Super Saiyan immediately. He knew Cold was more powerful than him in his base state. If the King of the Frost Demons wanted to end the fight quickly, he could easily rush Baddack at top speed and finish him with a few blows.

But Baddack felt no fear.

“This is your last fight, Cold! I’ve forseen your defeat...”

He was suddenly interrupted by what sounded like a vague scream only a few meters away from him, but there was nothing there...yet. After a few seconds, the voice grew louder and a sound somewhat akin to that of glass shattering was heard. Then, amongst the two combatants in the ring, another person suddenly appeared. It was the fused Super Saiyan. His eyes were shut casually and he wore a smile. He’d hardly arrived when he began boasting.

“Hah! You should’ve known I’ve faced this kind of thing before, parallel dimensions and all that... Getting out is simple, too bad for you, magician. I just did the same thing Buu and Gotenks did back twenty years ago and poof, I’m back.”

Vegetto finally opened his eyes, bringing into his gaze Baddack and King Cold. His smile vanished instantly. He certainly hadn’t expected to see the two of them. Similarly, the appearance of the Saiyan who defeated Broly had frozen both Cold and Baddack in their tracks.

“What the...?” Baddack began.

At the words, Cold’s mind seemed to refocus, acting quickly. If the Vargas said nothing, that meant the fight was still live, even if his opponent thought otherwise due to the interruption. He quickly launched Baddack flying with a right hook. The universe 3 fighter fell back three meters with a sore cheek.

“But...”

Vegetto didn’t immediately comprehend what had happened. Thirty seconds earlier he was facing XXI. After around fifteen seconds in the complete darkness of another dimension, he returned to the ring to find two completely different fighters there. While Cold had already continued attacking Baddack, a young woman from universe 16 called out to Vegetto.

“Dad, finally! You bastard!”

“What the hell is going on here?” Vegetto uttered, a bead of sweat on the side of his face.

Opposite his place in the ring, Baddack had barely caught sight of another punch from Cold and avoided it. “Just wait!” he yelled, noticing a sly grin from the King as he continued.

“What are you two doing here!?” Vegetto yelled towards the other two, though they seemed not to hear him.

“So, he finally returned. I just hope the Vargas will do the right thing...” Buu murmured from area 4.

The Kaiôshins of universe one quickly discussed the situation amongst themselves.

“He doesn’t realize how much time has passed...” said the South.

The Vargas up in the control tower were also in discussion, quite a few feathers being lost due to the sudden stress. It seems they couldn’t even come to an agreement, much less take action.

“Everyone should listen when I speak!!!!” Vegetto yelled, crushing the ring under his feet and causing an immense diffusion of energy throughout the ring. Baddack and Cold were then forcefully halted by the Saiyan’s boots pressing them down face-first into the ring.

Vegetto was not accustomed to being ignored. He was awaiting a clear concise response, and even the two closest people didn’t seem to care about him. Patience didn’t suit him at all, in fact he looked quite pissed and was acting impulsively. He was in fact, the most powerful being in his own universe, feared by all, even the Kaiôshins—it was impossible not to respect him.

Of course, Baddack had tried to pause the match when Vegetto appeared. It was a clear mix up, particularly since he hadn’t been the one to re-engage the battle. King Cold had understood the situation perfectly as well, but he hoped to turn the confusion of the Vargas into a momentary advantage for himself. A few free blows at the very least, better than nothing! His defense of the matter would be equally simple: “But the organizers didn’t ever tell us to stop fighting!”

While initially the Vargas had been caught off guard, as usual, Vegetto’s sudden display of fury awoke them. The leader suddenly yelled into the microphone. “Stop! Wait, it’s no good! Timeout!”

Vegetto stepped back, allowing Baddack and Cold to get back up onto their feet...painfully.

“Vegetto of universe 16,” the facilitator continued, once he had everyone’s attention. “You lost your match! Please leave the ring.”

‘Please oh please,’ thought the Varga, squeezing his beak, frightened by the contestant’s potential retaliation.

“Lost how!!??” Vegetto replied, turning to the control tower.

“You disappeared for more than thirty seconds.”

“Wrong! I know I came back in less than twenty seconds!”

Vegetto’s own daughter quickly intervened. “You’ve been gone the last two hours, dickhead! You missed my entire fight!”

“Two hours...that’s impossible!”

The Kaioshin of the West came flying into the ring quickly to manage the situation. “We figured out what happened to you. XXI trapped you in a dimension where time flows differently. For you, it was only a few seconds, but for us it has been an hour and forty five minutes. We’ve had several matches since then.”

The revelation left the Saiyan speechless. He’d been certain he would win the tournament, and now he’d just...lost?

‘I was tricked! That dimension worked like the Room of Spirit and Time, only backwards!’

“So, can we get on with our match now?” Baddack said. “Get lost!” he ordered, taking advantage of the fact that it was within his rights.

Baddack knew he was a hundred times weaker than Vegetto and that his defeat was actually good news. Normally he’d have never dared to talk to the fused Saiyan like that, but it felt good to avenge the humiliation he’d suffered, pinned to the ground so easily.

When Vegetto turned to him, Baddack felt a strange sensation, the same one that usually preceded his visions of the future, warning him one was imminent.

Son Goku of universe 18, always jovial, spoke to a rather frustrated Bra, the one from universe 16.

“We’ll find a way to stop Vegetto. He’s not invincible.”

“Yes he is! You just don’t understand, do you?”

This new vision seemed to imply that Vegetto had become an enemy with not only universe 18, but even his own daughter. What was he hiding? Baddack’s premonition warned also of an angry explosion by the girl. He certainly wouldn’t have spoken to her like that...

Gohan (though it was impossible to know which one) was then holding an object in his hand, a ball split in half which showed two stars.

“As long as we have this, he won’t get his wish.”

Gohan looked pretty sure of himself, if not also a little tense—however, he was wearing glasses, a sign that he wasn’t just about to start a fight. But who wanted the wish? Could it be that this was a Dragon Ball? Was this one of the magical orbs given to the winner, as had been explained to him?

Then there was Yamcha of universe 9, confidently pointing to himself.

“You may have defeated all the others... But you can’t touch me. Does that make me the strongest out of all the universes?”

Wasn’t he already eliminated from the tournament? Why was he in the final? Or was he really in the tournament again?

Lastly, a Namekian wearing a white cloak on his shoulders stood beside Bra of universe 16 and Vegeta of universe 18.

“My will is the only thing keeping you alive,” he said. “Remember that, and be civil!”

“Fine, then I’m sorry...” Bra replied, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, sorry or whatever,” Vegeta grumbled, looking away.

How surprising that those two, each renowned for their tempers, would throw their pride away so easily at the remark of a Namek who was far weaker than them. And what did he mean by ‘his will’?

When Baddack regained his mental control again, Vegetto was staring at him and was still quite upset. It seemed he’d said something, but the Saiyan hadn’t heard whatever it was. Gohan of universe 16 approached from below to speak to his father, which suddenly triggered a memory of one of Baddack's previous visions. The fused father held his son by the throat as if he’d just been strangled...

“Come on, Dad. Let them finish their fight.”

“No wait! It’s not fair! It was just a dirty trick! In an actual fight, I’d have beaten him in the end!”

Baddack clenched his fists, ready to defend himself. This could be the moment, it could happen any second!

“The tournament rules are stupid!” Vegetto went on to say.

“You really think that?” his son replied. “You’ve been gone several hours. Imagine what your opponent could have done! He would have had time to destroy the Earth a dozen times over! He could have killed all our friends and family, and destroyed everything you are supposed to protect! In a real fight, you would have been just as helpless. You lost, Dad.”

“Shut up, Gohan...I am not giving up this tournament!!” Vegetto’s teeth were grit in anger.

“Keep playing the fool and we’ll end up back in our own universe, remember your own attitude affects us all. One press of a button and we all leave together. If that happens, Pan will stay dead, and I won’t let that happen.”

West Kaioshin had approached them during the discussion, planning to intervene if necessary. Downstairs, though, Buu himself had gotten involved, calling over a Varga to him.

“You there, go ask XXI for a rematch.”

“Uh...Y...yes, sir.”

The Varga hurried into the universe 5 corridor, not knowing why he obeyed pretty much any request made of him. Buu smiled mischievously.

Above, Vegetto said nothing. He controlled his anger. Then finally, he spoke again.

“I need some time alone. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Then, he teleported who knows where, holding two fingers on his forehead.

“There he goes to sulk again...” Gohan said, hanging his head.

Whenever Vegetto was frustrated, he would typically go find a faraway place where he could be quiet and alone. Those of universe 16 were not at all surprised to see him just vanish like that, probably to brood for a little while. It had become a nasty habit of his. In fact, right after the death of Buu, he’d isolated himself to reflect on his new existence. Early on he’d had to choose between Bulma and Chi Chi, for one thing...

“The incident has been closed,” the Kaioshin said. “You may now resume the match. Would you like the Nameks to heal your wounds before we re-commence?”

“Yes,” Baddack replied quickly.

‘Damn!’ King Cold grumbled to himself before taking his turn.

‘Whew... Guess my visions won’t be happening now after all,’ Baddack thought as the Namek healed him. Just as the healer finished up, the Varga who’d gone into area 5 came back out of the hall rather timidly.

“He didn’t answer...”

Buu shot the fowl an icy stare, before speaking again, his voice in a sudden crescendo. “Are you KIDDING ME!!?”

All eyes turned immediately to Buu as the sudden sense of danger was palpable in the air. The tension had remained high, and the entire arena filled with unease. What did this interruption from Buu mean? What did he want?

Many light years away...

Vegetto had found an asteroid cluster drifting slowly in the endless void of space. He stood on the largest among them and threw wild ki blasts at the smaller ones, destroying each without hesitation. Surrounded by total intense blackness, only the light from his attacks shone in the darkness and reflected upon his body and eyes. His look was volotile, furious; his teeth were bared.

‘Damn it! Such a great opportunity squandered by a treacherous magician! And worse...’

Vegetto contained himself, but only for a second, the calm before the storm. He exploded in anger, becoming a Super Saiyan 2. In this universe without life or light, he blazed like the sun.

‘I wanted to punch Gohan so bad!! Even though he was right, I wanted to smash his skull!!’

Within seconds, all the asteroids around had been reduced to nothing but dust. All that remained was the single frozen rock he stood on. But having expended his frustration, he began to calm down.

This was not the first time he’d thrown a tantrum...occasionally they were even over trivial things! This time, his anger had been refocused onto Gohan, whom he wanted to fight so badly, to just take out his every frustration on him...to the point he’d even considered hurting Pan! Or even destroying the Earth! Afterwards, he felt deep remorse for even thinking such things...but even after all the years, those type of dark thoughts continued to pop up from time to time... Even though he’d never acted on any of them, it still made him ill at ease. He felt discomfort, distrust and anger against himself, and so he’d channel that Saiyan rage and release it in some remote area...a pattern he repeated tirelessly for years. But, for how much longer? So far, it wasn’t a real problem, as no harm had ever been done.

He just wanted, with everything in his being, to fight!

‘This frustration makes me like Bra...a wayward child unable to hide their own selfishness and anger. Oh well... at least Gohan is on good terms with the organizers. We can probably negotiate a few other matches. Or I can fight Buu here without their knowledge, surely he’d accept. I wonder if that Big Namek or Cell would agree to an outside match as well...’

Vegetto dropped out of his Super Saiyan 2 state and sat down on the asteroid.

‘Everything will be fine in the end...and I can still control myself perfectly after all.’

Vegetto recalled his discussion with the Chief Nameks. He had dared to reveal a few of his fears to them at that point in time. One such fear was that if he had a child, they might become more powerful than him and possibly fall prey to their Saiyan nature. A child like that could create chaos in the entire universe and be unstoppable, even by their father. Another of his secret fears was that one day he might drop everything and just destroy the universe—because of boredom, no challenges remaining, particularly there not being an opponent of his level.

Indeed, his daughter Bra had become very strong, and her Saiyan nature had caused Vegetto to fear many times now. At Super Saiyan 2, she was completely out of control and even stronger than Gohan! In her madness, she might destroy everything...

And that went equally for himself, if driven to such lengths by frustration...

‘Huh... I need to breathe.’