PART SIXTEEN: FLASHBACK

Chapter 78

Translated by npberryhill

It all changed on planet Kanassa during an encounter with a sage, one who possessed an incredible power: the ability to see the future. As his dying act, the warrior had bestowed this gift upon Baddack and consequently sent the Saiyan on a rescue mission to save his home planet from destruction. Thanks to this new power and the insight it granted him, Baddack had been convinced to pay attention to the warning he received concerning Freeza and the imminent danger to his planet.

With great haste, Baddack and his unit abandoned their mission and returned to planet Vegeta with the news. As soon as their space capsules landed, they hurried to the throne room where an important discussion was already taking place:

“You know just as well as we do what this Legendary Saiyan truly is...a threat to us all!” yelled a long haired Saiyan. The King, sitting on his throne with arms folded, was listening intently to the debate. “Our records are clear,” Gerkin continued. “This is a monster that kills without reason or conscience. It doesn’t even make a distinction between killing enemies and slaughtering its own people! The child is nothing but a danger to the entire universe!”

“And this baby is him for sure,” Vegeta replied. “It’s been one thousand years since the last one, and such power at birth isn’t natural.” The King paused for a moment, making his final decision. “Well then...terminate the child...this Broly.”

Suddenly the throne room doors burst open and Paragus, the child’s father, came running into the chamber. His panicked face revealed both fright and desperation.

“Paragus...now is not the time,”

Before he could respond, two powerful Saiyan elites had barred his way to the King. They stared at him threateningly, but the King stood to his feet, signaling that Paragus would be allowed to speak.

“Spare my son! Broly will serve Prince Vegeta; he’ll become a great warrior!”

“Precisely...” began the king. His twisted smile hid his exact reasoning, but it was clear that he didn’t want any Saiyan to be as powerful as his son.

Baddack’s group was almost there, still briskly walking down the hallway that led to King Vegeta’s auditorium. Suddenly, from just inside the chamber doors, they heard a crashing noise and then the THUD of something collapsing onto the floor. Immediately the throne room doors swung open and two Saiyans carrying the unconscious and heavily injured body of Paragus rushed by.

“Well, there goes another fool who opened his foul mouth,” Totappo said, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, we’re about to do the exact same thing...” their leader stated, surprising the group and inciting a bit of instant nervousness.

Unannounced and uninvited, Baddack and his unit hurried into the throne room, pushing themselves through the crowd of Saiyans gathered around. Once through, Baddack boldly approached the throne.

“King Vegeta! Terrible things are about to happen!” Baddack loudly announced.

The king had turned to sit back down, having settled his ‘business’ with Paragus, but spun around at the intrusion.

“What is it now? Baddack?”

“Freeza is going to come to our planet and eradicate us all! We must prepare!” he yelled.

King Vegeta opened his eyes wide. Clearly, he thought such absurdities to be beyond the realm of possibility. Equally surprised were Baddack’s entire squad, whose jaws dropped in unison.

“That’s the big emergency! Has he gone crazy?” his crew uttered, barely able to speak.

Immediately the room erupted with sudden bursts of laughter, each of the Saiyans ignorantly content to trust in Freeza and the fragile peace that existed between them and their ‘lord’. Baddack’s face burned with frustration, his eyes angry as he tried to think of a better way.

"Of course no one believes me. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t believe it either!" Baddack thought through gritted teeth. He found himself in the same position as the Kanassien had been—trying to convince his own people of the impending attack on their planet. Even if the Saiyans had a clear dislike for Freeza, everyone knew that the frost demon was both invincible and unafraid; besides, they were a useful and important asset to his army. And if that wasn’t enough, Freeza had never attacked any of his allies before, except for when the revolt had come from within his own troops. Baddack bit his lip, deciding that only drastic measure had any hope of succeeding, and thrust his finger out at the king.

“Silence!!!” he cried. “The Saiyans have to follow their King. You’re the only one I have to convince.”

Vegeta was known for his strategy and intelligence. He might be open to the truth, that Freeza had secretly decided to get rid of the Saiyans. Having experienced his cruelty firsthand with regards to the kidnapped prince, King Vegeta knew better than most what a perverse tyrant Freeza was.

But once again, Baddack was interrupted by a sharp pain in his head, followed by a very clear picture: the heartless monster, Freeza, laughing with his finger raised. Then, a small sphere of power charging up as the demon prepared to launch a terrible attack on the planet. Lastly, he could see his homeworld exploding with his waking eyes, Freeza laughing jovially at the wondrous explosion.

"No...this isn’t going to solve anything. There must be another way!" Baddack thought. If he continued down his current path, this vision would come true. The Kanassian had seen this same vision as well, of planet Vegeta being doomed. Even with his warning to the king, nothing about the vision had changed. But what good was being able to see the future if he couldn’t fix it somehow? He had to take drastic action to save his people, there had to be a way. He would have to do something crazy, something so absolutely insane that no vision would have ever predicted it.

Baddack braced and stood tall, pointed his finger again to the king, and spoke with a booming confidence.

“King Vegeta, according to Saiyan tradition, I challenge you and shall get the throne!”

Everyone was immediately silent in the great hall. The stunned audience didn’t know what to say, including the king himself. Fighting off his hesitancy, Baddack continued.

“Everyone knows that you keep your status of king because you liberated us from the Tsufuls. But that title is for the strongest among us!”

For the last fifty years, under the reign of Vegeta, the Saiyan race had undergone dramatic changes in their social structure and economy. It wasn’t that long ago that they were barbarians living in caves and makeshift houses, but now they were a highly organized society adept at using the technology of both the Tsufuls and Freeza. They had schools and businesses rather than tribes and hunters. All the old rules and laws of their society (which had not even been written down, but were simply passed on orally) had been replaced by a complex and well organized political governing system.

But it was true, long ago in the times before Freeza, that the king or queen of the Saiyans was constantly being challenged for the throne. However, with those days long passed from everyone’s memory, no one would dare to challenge the king anymore. Rather, his successor would be his son, who was, for once, called "prince", a term never before used in their society.

“You insolent usurper! You’ll have to fight me first!” Gerkin yelled, stepping in front of Vegeta. He was one of the strongest Saiyans, the personal bodyguard of the king, and the very same man who had been killed in Baddack’s vision. A beefy but agile Saiyan, he wore white armor with shoulder pads and had long dark hair.

“No way, Gerkin. I challenge the king, not you.”

Several Saiyans quietly discussed the interaction to themselves.

“Of course he refuses. Baddack isn’t a strong as Gerkin!” one said.

“Even if Baddack wins, he won’t stay king for long!” replied another.

A third joined in the comments. “Pfu, if I knew it was allowed to challenge King Vegeta, I'd have done it long ago!"

But King Vegeta successfully silenced all these discussions by bending his knees and clenching his fists.

“Very well, Baddack, I accept the challenge!”

It was the biggest mistake of his life, his political life anyway. Regarding his actual life itself, he would end up being saved by this temporary lack of judgment.

Hatonek, another member of Vegeta’s personal guard, was quite surprised that he accepted. He almost pleaded with the king not to fight, but before he could Vegeta quickly launched himself into the confrontation.

“As if a low class...could beat me!”

But the battle for the throne didn’t last long. For a moment, at the beginning, they seemed like they might be equal. But Baddack rapidly gained the advantage. King Vegeta had not trained or fought in a long time, while many of his subjects progressed during their missions to conquer various planets. The years of politics and disputes had allowed him to go soft, losing the edge he once had. Suddenly, after a brief vision, Baddack anticipated the movements of his opponent and managed to deliver a powerful finishing blow, which knocked the unconscious King to the floor. Victorious, Baddack grabbed the former king by his hair and snatched the pendant Vegeta wore around his neck.

“Baddack...is our new king!” the Saiyans began to announce.

“Bastard...I challenge you!” cried Gerkin, more furiously than before.

“I accept the Challenge,” Baddack replied as he sat down on his new throne. “But according to tradition, I have one week to rest...we’ll fight after that.” His face had yet to lose its seriousness.

“Now, listen to me! My orders may sound strange, but you must follow them! If I’m wrong, you can dethrone and kill me. But right now I will not accept unruly behavior! First, do not let Freeza know that I became king. We’ll catch all of Freeza’s men that are present here and kill them. It is vital that nothing we do in the next few days be discovered!"

The orders were followed. The Saiyan society began its secret rebellion against Freeza. Officially, nothing changed. Once the contact was secured, the King invited representatives of all the Saiyans to come together...

King Baddack stood on a platform with his hands resting on a curved podium. Behind him were the former King Vegeta, Brasca, Hatonek, Gerkin, Celipa, and Toma. He spoke to the gathering of hundreds of Saiyans, his rousing speech moving everyone to loud cheers of excitement.

Former King Vegeta knew that Freeza would never forgive their rebellion, so he worked with Baddack to be sure it would work. If not, the entire Saiyan race would end up getting completely wiped out! This one act would forever destroy the delicate balance that allowed Saiyans to empower the army of the devil. But Vegeta knew how to take advantage of any situation; even before becoming the king he had been effective from the shadows

He remained with Baddack as an advisor. The latter knew Vegeta wouldn’t be foolish enough to stab him in the back, at least not immediately. He had told Vegeta several times the story of how he had seen his death, and in great detail. In the end it was enough to convince the former king that Baddack wasn’t as crazy as he might have appeared. Realizing all this, combined with the fact that there was no other option, Vegeta amiably worked with the new king for the success of his plan. With the former king officially voicing his approval and support, suddenly even the most reluctant Saiyans were on board.

A few days later, on the night foreseen by Baddack, the Saiyan people gathered in a desert near the city...

“Freeza will be here tonight,” Baddack said as he looked up at the stars. His wife Hanasia was at his side, but they were not alone. Thousands of Saiyans were there, all very powerful warriors.

“I warn you, if he doesn’t come, I’ll defy and kill you myself!” Hanasia threatened, her arms crossed.

“You’ll still have to go after Gerkin,” the King replied casually.

From the crowd, someone suddenly interrupted their conversation.

“King Baddack, I’d like to thank you for saving my son!"

Baddack turned his head towards the grateful Paragus.

“No need...I saw what he will become...we'll need his power,” he finally said softly.

Paragus had been treated in the medical center and his son had not been executed, as Vegeta had ordered. The new King had canceled the abortion, though he wouldn’t say why.

“Lord Freeza has just arrived!” shouted a Saiyan that had run up to the group. He had just returned from the city, where they had been tracking the radio communications from outer space.

Suddenly everyone began to murmur, mostly in surprise that the prophecy had come true. The Saiyans all now knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Baddack had been telling the truth. Their disbelief had now turned to wrath, and together they became united by it.

“Well then?” Baddack began, turning to his mate as if to say 'I told you so.' But she simply rolled her eyes.

“Ok, so his visit wasn’t announced, but nothing says he’s coming to kill us,” Hanasia replied.

“It’s not important now, because we’re going to strike first. He must not be allowed to flee. Hanasia, can you stop his ship?”

“You dare even ask? You're talking to the most powerful of all Saiyans!”

A pride-stricken Gerkin piped up when he heard her boast.

“Oh, I'm sorry? I recall whipping you quite thoroughly last time we dueled."

“I was pregnant,” she said flatly.

“Yeah, always a poor excuse...”

With a sudden burst, Hanasia blasted off into the sky. Baddack, looking around to the five Saiyans that surrounded him, began to give out orders.

“Ex-King Vegeta, Gerkin, Hatonek, Zukini, Paprika, you’re the only ones who can make fake moons. Do it!”

Each one raised their palms, creating blue balls of energy which were immediately launched into the sky.

“You three stay on the ground,” Baddack ordered to Zukini, Hatonek and Paprika. “Scatter and hide yourselves. If a fake moon is destroyed, launch another then get back to cover.”

“That’s a coward’s plan,” complained Paprika.

“That’s the plan of the king, and he’ll beat you down if need be! Now go.”

Up in the sky, the full moons suddenly blended with the oxygen and finished their formation. Immediately, the blutz waves they emitted began to affect each and every Saiyan. Some didn’t even wait for the transformation to finish before they took off into the air.

The first part of the plan, one no less integral, was for Hanasia to destroy the protective forcefield surrounding Freeza’s ship.

“They say Freeza’s ship has the best shields there are. Let’s put that to the test!”

At first, she launched a multitude of energy attacks, but they simply bounced off.

Hanasia thought for a second, then raced toward the ship, fist forward, increasing her speed.

“Change of plan!” she thought, passing through the invisible shield. She felt a kind of shock run through her body, but she stood firm: there was no way some dumb forcefield would keep her out. Tensing, she ripped through the round hull of the ship as if it were paper.

Inside, she quickly found a ladder to climb to the next floor.

“Some air at last,” Hanasia said.

She could now breathe and would have a quick chance to catch her breath before continuing towards the shield generators.

Outside, the multitude of Oozarus were waiting at the furthest reaches of planet Vegeta's atmosphere. But before they could make their move Hanasia had to destroy the ship’s defenses. However, Freeza was still quite determined to kill them and immediately ordered his entire army out to engage them in battle.

As Hanasia flew around a corner of the ship, she suddenly came face to face with the lumbering Dodoria.

“Well then, if it isn't Hanasia from the Saiyan elite,” said the pink warrior as he cracked his knuckles.

“Oh, I see you’re a fan?” she quipped.

Dodoria, looking both bored and annoyed, merely stretched one hand forward, and threw a fireball.

“Not really. Die!”

The energy blast missed its target and exploded against a wall, as she was more than fast enough to avoid it. Hanasia lunged at Dodoria and struck him hard in the face. The contact was solid, but the soldier quickly counter attacked, punching Hanasia on the left cheek and knocking her to the ground.

“Haha! What did you expect?!” Freeza's sidekick chuckled as he grabbed the Saiyan by her arms and hoisted her into the air.

He then swung her body, pinning Hanasia against the wall, her neck in his tight grasp. With his other hand, he prepared to give her several blows to the face. He wanted to repay her a hundredfold for the lucky punch she had gotten in.

“Come now. Your power level is only at 12,000, while I’m at 22,000! You don’t stand a...”

Hanasia suddenly opened her mouth and shot out a wave of energy, its full force slamming into Dodoria at point blank range. The large pink henchman was hurled backwards several meters, landing and nearly bouncing on his buttocks. That left Hanasia with the perfect opportunity to go look out a nearby ship window, observing the many fake moons that had been created.

"Where is that scumbag?" Dodoria groaned, picking himself up; one hand was clutching his damaged right eye, trying to ignore the pain. "Ah!" he said, finally spotting her. "You are SO dead!"

"Such a beautiful view," she whispered. "I can see the whole planet from this one spot...that, and several of our fake moons!" She turned, smiling at the obese Dodoria. Her eyes were already glowing with a strange luminosity.

Dodoria's busted bottom lip dropped in shock as he realized his dire predicament. But it was already a moment too late. Hanasia had already begun to change, and in a few seconds the transformation would be complete. She quickly became a full-sized Oozaru, growing so much that she burst through the walls of the corridor and began ripping her way through half of Freeza's ship--successfully creating a massive hole through the center of the vessel and consequently obliterating the energy shield. Her mission was complete; now it was time to get out of there.

She blasted off the ship quickly, but Dodoria, still intent on revenge, followed after her. Turning suddenly, she whipped her massive tail around which collided furiously with the henchman of Freeza. Now that Hanasia had become an Oozaru, her own power greatly exceeded that of Dodoria. Although the shockwave sent him crashing back to the busted ship, the blow itself was more than enough to mortally wound the pink skinned soldier. With a smirk, Hanasia continued hurrying back to the hoard of Oozarus, who were already charging an enormous amalgamation of their strongest mouth blasts. Just as she was safely away, the Saiyan army furiously spat their attacks, the number of beams numbering in the thousands. Then, as they shot towards Freeza, the attacks combined into one enormous point, which was poised to directly collide with the demon’s damaged vessel. Even as the tyrant inside had begun to transform, it was far too late, and instantly the ship was struck with unbelievable force, obliterating both the vessel and all on board.

Re-joining the Oozarus, Hanasia began to hear the joyous cheers of the Saiyan warriors, each proclaiming honor to their new king Baddack.

Thus ended the reign of the tyrant Freeza and began the lordship of Baddack, which was based on a single simple rule: the old methods of Freeza were outlawed and the Saiyans would now stick together, only attacking whole planets—starting with those of Freeza’s Empire. No longer would the Saiyan people receive orders from anyone else but their King.

But little did they know, someone was already interested in them...someone who, from the safe distance of his own vessel, had seen everything.

“They...the Saiyans killed your brother!” Sauza said to his master, Coola.

“Tsss! What a wimp! Being done in by a bunch of monkeys,” the demon replied, scoffing.

‘Lucky Saiyans. If Freeza hadn’t been in a reduction form, he’d have squashed them...’ Sauza thought. He then turned his head to speak again.

“Master Coola, shall we land on the planet? Or do you wish to destroy it from space with a single attack?”

“What?” his brother said, grinning. “Neither one, of course...remember, we’re not even supposed to be here...let's leave quietly before father finds out we were here. If he catches us, he’ll think it was me who killed Freeza.” Coola let a twinge of carefree apathy trickle through his tail causing the tip to coil.

“My little brother’s death was his own fault. And these Saiyans, they’re all going to die eventually anyway...as soon as Dad gives me this territory.”

With that, Coola left the control room to go relax in his personal quarters. All this had put him in a surprisingly good mood.