PART TWELVE: THE TASTE OF REVENGE

Chapter 58

Translated by Davidstarlingm

“Next match, Zangya from universe 6 against Son Bra from universe 16!” suddenly announced the Varga.

“This fight, I’m looking forward to seeing!” Goku said to Vegeta, glancing over to the space of Universe 16.

Bra was indeed the biggest mystery of this universe – they knew less about her than about Vegetto. Finally, she would display her power in a fight, something they were all eagerly anticipating.

“Zangya… Bojack’s girlfriend!!” exclaimed Bra, looking across the stadium at her new opponent. She would be able to spend her fury on this one.

“'Son' Bra? Pff.” Trunks made a sour face behind her back.

“Ha ha, she asked to change her name on registration!” laughed Goten. “I’m also her brother, don’t forget!”

“You’re gonna suffer!” muttered Bra eagerly, raising her fists.

Her father, seeing that she was about to explode, felt he had to do something. They couldn’t risk the same thing happening here as had happened in space. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he addressed her quietly. “Bra, wait.” He turned to the Varga present with them. “We need two minutes.”

It was not a request – it was more of an order. The little bird knew that Vegetto would not take ‘no’ for an answer. It bothered him, because they normally eliminated anyone who did not show up immediately after the announcement. And the tall warrior didn’t seem to wait for a reply – he merely announced his intentions. The Varga looked up at Vegetto – the Saiyan was almost twice his size. Bra’s fists were still clenched, but waited obediently, wondering what her father could possibly want.

Taking a break before a battle – it wasn’t exactly part of the rules. But the Varga thought twice before telling this to Vegetto; he was the warrior who had fought and defeated the terrible lunatic Broly! Maybe they owed him this much. Anyway, even if they exceeded the normal time for disqualification, it wouldn’t hurt anything…

“Er…ok,” he replied timidly, not waiting to consult his superiors.

Vegetto smiled at the Varga generously, then walked with Bra to the inside of their space. “Let’s get privacy.”

They walked a few meters, stopping at the first door on the left. Vegetto opened it. “Come in and sit down.”

The apartments really did provide comfort appropriate for everyone. Vegetto and his daughter stopped to appreciate it.

This room, well lit and bright with white walls, was simple and tidy. It looked oddly like a small apartment on Earth. A bed was placed against one corner, and a small table with two chairs was in the middle. Beside the door was a bookcase full of hardback books. No one had yet ventured to look at their contents – were they printed in the humans’ language or in that of the Vargas? No one would know, at least for now. The other side of the door had a small dresser; opposite, a door led to another identical room with a dresser and a bookcase on either side.

Vegetto sat down. Bra balked, but finally sat across from him. Her father folded his arms and looked at her.

“I forbid you to hurt this Zangya. And to kill her. You’re going to crush her in one strike, without unnecessary violence.”

“What!?” she cried, leaping to her feet and smashing both her fists against the table. Why had her father proposed such a thing? Finally, she had a chance to vent her frustration! Frantically, she explained: “But she’s Bojack’s girlfriend! It’s the perfect occasion to make him feel what he has done to us! We can play by the rules, and there will be nothing the bastard can do! This game has been decided perfectly for us to—”

“To train your resistance to anger,” said her father sharply. There was defiance in Bra’s eyes – she paused. Her anger was legitimate! This sort of thing was not new. For years, they had been in life-or-death space missions and Vegetto had not hesitated to give his students handicaps and orders to make each task more challenging. Usually, it was entertaining…but when he tried to tame her oh-so-well-rehearsed control, it was torture. The worst thing was that they could not disobey the orders of Vegetto – to do so would be contrary to the laws of physics.

“You got carried away once again, in space,” Vegetto said quietly before Bra could speak again. She started to shout.

“Yeah, I saved your life!” She would have said more, but Vegetto cut her off again without addressing her argument.

“And I thank you for that. You were awesome up there. You and Gohan managed very well. But, to be honest, your method was not very effective. You focused on the fight with Buu, but Gohan focused only on the pieces of him that were assaulting Broly. Stopping the absorption was our priority, not outright fighting. You could have allowed your abilities to be more effective if you had stayed at the lower level. Clearly, Buu was toying with us. He is a formidable opponent, much more powerful than any I’ve destroyed up until now.”

“Ah, yes, question my methods. You’re one to talk, Mister I-hit-like-a-madman-on-the-only-opponent-who-can’t-be-hurt.”

“I amused myself under controlled conditions. But this was a battle where the survival of the whole universe was at stake. Can you imagine what would happen if Buu added invincibility and infinite power to his already-immortal state?”

“The conditions were controlled, you say? Ridiculous. You’re stretching the truth there.”

Vegetto sighed. “Some other participants have more resources than you could imagine. They could have easily taken over. But that is not the point – the issue is that you hurt your brother and you very nearly killed me. What happened in space is still the proof of your greatest weakness.” He stood up, pulling his chair back under the table and held out his hand, inviting his daughter to follow him.

“You can’t use your full power without destroying everything around you. You need to control yourself.”

Bra stood up in turn and followed her father, who continued his monologue:

“Do your best. Or else, I’ll unsubscribe you from the tournament.”

Bra’s eyes widened and she started to swear, but Vegetto cut her off. “Repress your anger, it’s an order.”

Those last words silenced Bra. She restrained her anger and followed her father through he corridor. Dropping his hand when they went out, she looked out again at space 6. Zangya was still in full discussion with Bojack:

“I said I was giving up!” she said, hands on her hips.

“Yet, you aren’t,” Bojack ordered. “There are no cowards in Bojack Gang. None that are still alive, anyway.” His gaze was cold: His orders, his threats – he carried them out. He had killed several members of the gang himself; Zangya had no choice.

She knew that even if she lost or died in the tournament, he would forgive…but if she disobeyed, he would kill her, both now and again after the organizers had revived everyone at the end of the tournament.

Bojack rarely gave orders. He just said when and where they would attack. Methods, details – he didn’t care. Bojack didn’t care much about anything. But he did hate the cowardly and weak, preferring the reckless brawlers. If Bojack had not been the strongest being in the galaxy, he would have been dead ten times over from his recklessness. Zangya, who was naturally calculating and reasoned, found it increasingly difficult to cope with the wild orders of her master. But now that their group was shrinking, she had no opportunity to leave unnoticed.

She flew furiously, her long red hair flying in the wind, and landed on the ring.

“Well, at least I’m here against a kid…”

Bra flew in turn, already surrounded by an aura. Her eyes were hardened, her teeth clenched. She landed just in front of her opponent.

“Let’s do it.”

“Hey! I thought you’d run away!” said Zangya, thinking to destabilize her opponent with a few sharp words. “Ready to finish like your little friend?” she said, smiling.

The desired effect was reached – Bra had been destabilized. Her thoughts turned to Pan, and immediately her anger surged, filling her with energy. She transformed into a Super Saiyan instantly.

“Uh oh, bad start,” commented Vegetto, who hadn’t moved an inch. He would not interfere. If she did not take control, she would only disqualify herself…too bad for her.

“Shabby…piece…of…shit…you worthless trash…” breathed Bra, the ring beginning to crack and fall apart under her power. Zangya stepped back. The look on Bra’s face froze her blood, terrifying her. This was far worse than Bojack’s fury. She felt Bra’s strength skyrocketing until the girl uttered a piercing scream, stretching her arms straight up. Her energy erupted at once, her aura blasting out into a beam which rose into the sky and pierced straight down through the ring into the floor.

“Incredible? Is she stronger than us, too?” wondered Goku.

Vegeta, Piccolo, and Gohan beside them were also surprised. The energy of Bra’s Super Saiyan transformation was greater than theirs had ever been at the first level. How long could she maintain this kind of power? Was it just a temporary spike when she first transformed – the result of anger that would only last a few seconds?

Surrounded by the aura and shaking with anger, Bra glared at the terrified Zangya, then pulled back her right fist, preparing to attack. As Son Goku had done at the beginning of the tournament, and as Universe 13 Kakarotto had done against Kat, she merely struck the air in front of her with a kiai toward her enemy. The blow rushed with terrible force, smashing Zangya against the shield that protected the public. The shield held – the body of the red-haired warrior was not so strong.

She fell heavily to the ground in the middle of space 17. The Cell Junior knelt beside her to see whether she was still alive, along with a Namek and a Varga who were nearby. Nobody understood what had really killed Zangya – was it Bra’s blow, or the impact with the energy shield?

Bra paused for a moment with her fist still stretched forward, then began to catch her breath. Her energy subsided, no longer shaking the ring. Below, the Namek reached down to feel the redhead’s neck.

“12 seconds…” said the Varga, stopwatch in hand.

“No need to count, she’s dead,” stated the Namek simply.

Bra unclenched her fists and her hair regained its natural color. Vegetto appeared beside her instantly as the Namek carried Zangya’s body toward space 6.

“I did what I could,” said the girl, her head bowed before her father.

“I know,” he replied simply. “I know you didn’t want to kill her.” Bra felt a little comforted by these words, but was saddened to have failed.

“You’ve passed. You did control yourself,” declared Vegetto. Bra raised her head and looked at her father. A rush of emotion came over here. She was tremendously angry with herself for failing to maintain full control. Each time he told her to practice, she failed. Worst of all, she had risked her place in the tournament! And yet, even with such a motivation, such a goal, she had gone too far again. Her burning anger and frustration was mingled with relief as she realized she could continue the tournament. She was barely able to hold back tears of anger.

Together they returned to space 16. Along with Piccolo and Gohan, she stared into space 6, where the Namek arrived with Zangya.

“Hey, there’s no morgue here; put this useless meat bag somewhere else!” Bojack said, idly, without even looking at Zangya’s body that hung lifeless in the Namek’s arms.

“And he doesn’t even care about his girl…” murmured Bra, surprised.

“I don’t think they are together,” said Gohan. “In our universe, he killed her himself, just to distract me.”

“And now is when you tell me that!?” shouted Bra.

“What would it have changed?” asked Trunks as he approached.

Bra glared at him. “I would not have been so angry if I knew Bojack wouldn’t care if I killed her!”

“Sorry,” said Gohan gently – he meant it. Just as in every other universe, Zangya had become nothing more than another victim of Bojack.

Bujin sat on one of the benches in his space. He pulled away several of the bandages that he wore, amazed at how quickly his minor injuries had disappeared. Oh, sure, the Bojack Gang had amazing powers, and his broken rib was almost repaired…but what remained of the group? At first, they were so numerous, so proud: a true band of pirates sowing terror in their wake. But the company had decreased unrelentingly, and all thanks to their leader Bojack.

Bojack was powerful, and charismatic, and never took orders from anyone. But he was not a true leader. He was an asshole – nothing but the most powerful jerk in the universe. If Zangya had been the leader of the group, they would still be numerous. They wouldn’t have been imprisoned by the Kaios – they would have rise to the top of the universe. Bojack had done nothing but run this group of super-soldiers to ruin.

Maybe this tournament would change things. Bujin had magical powers – but as the only one left, it was far from enough for him to be able to make a difference. Yet in an all-out battle, Bojack could die. Oh sweet hope. If all went well, who was to say that he would not kill both of them on a whim? And if he lost, perhaps he would kill the witnesses to his shame.

What was certain, he thought, was that since their last major battle since the death of Bido and Gokua, the atmosphere was rotten. This tournament would change things, for better or worse. But at least it would change.

He cast a glance at the group who shared their world. They were all more-or-less weak, with a few magical powers. But nothing impressive. What were they doing here? They had to be hiding something.

Far above the twenty spaces, the ring began to reform itself. The next fight would be announced soon. While Bra and Gohan spoke quietly together about Zangya and Bojack, Piccolo approached Vegetto.

“What will you do now? Will you unsubscribe her?”

“I thought about it, but no,” replied Vegetto. “She really did her best, I could tell. Don’t you agree?”

Piccolo frowned. “Yes, but…”

“Do not worry, I’ll continue to monitor things.”

“Next match!” shouted the host Varga. “Eleim from universe 19 against #16 from universe 12!”

“You didn’t give up?” asked Trunks, seeing his friend start to move.

“It’s also about giving respect to the opponent – he doesn’t want to win without a fight. And this universe is particularly interesting to me.”

Trunks was a little surprised by this response. As #16 took off into the ring, he remembered his first encounter with the tall warrior, and their budding friendship after his mother, Bulma, set the robot to right…