PART SIXTEEN: FLASHBACK

Chapter 79

Translated by npberryhill

The three girls from Universe 6 left for their apartment before Bojack and Bujin. And, in order to avoid the surprise of any uninvited ‘guests’, they asked a Varga to stand guard on their doorstep and prevent Bojack or his henchman from entering.

Of course, if the space pirate had actually wanted to get in, there wasn’t a single Varga who could have prevented him...but it was more calming for the girls to have at least the appearance of security than to have none at all. The girls had a plan, and they couldn’t afford to overlook even the smallest detail, lest they fail.

They were gathered around the table in their apartment, discussing their plans in-depth before finally going to sleep. Throughout the night, their sympathies and sorrows had been appropriately spent on the unfortunate Syd; she had been coldly killed by a Saiyan who seemed no different from the Machiavellian Bojack himself.

In their universe, Bojack was the number one enemy. Back home, on their peaceful little planet, they carefully hid themselves. Like many others, they knew the best chance of avoiding the pirate was to simply disappear. Jet and her friends were members of a group of experienced magicians, a line extending down several generations. They were not very numerous, and had kept their existence a well guarded secret. And indeed it was warranted, as their powers were highly sought after.

Every woman had a specialty, a unique gift she developed throughout her life. In recent years, they had sought to form an elite group that might be able to cope with Bojack, were he to ever threaten them.

Initially, everyone’s hopes were put on Kat, the most physically powerful. In addition to her great strength, she had the power of sexual attraction, which was their path to manipulating the most fragile male minds. Certainly, though, it wouldn’t work against Bojack; the magicians knew he was too strong willed; therefore, they couldn’t rely on that power to overcome him. Although her powers were far superior to any of the other witches she had met, she was not their only defense against the tyrant of the universe.

There was also Syd, who had the power of body exchange. This allowed her, if she was overwhelmed by her opponent, to regain the advantage by swapping genders with her enemy. She considered the psychological impact of such a transformation very useful, but it also split her foes power evenly between them; another useful advantage. Her ability could prove very helpful if they ever wanted to lessen Bojack’s powers...but during the tournament here, the move had been an utter failure, costing Syd her own life against Vegeta of Universe 13.

Then there was Jet, the leader of the small squad, who had telepathic powers.

“What are they thinking right now?” asked May.

“I can’t read them at the moment; these apartments are insulated somehow. But earlier, I discovered some interesting things.”

“Like what? That Bojack is crazy?” Kat replied.

“For example..." she paused, knowing this is what they all feared, "he has plans to kill us when we all return to our universe. But his sidekick, Bujin, has begun asking questions. He's tired of Bojack. It could be a very interesting situation, one we might take advantage of.”

“You mean...a potential ally?” Kat said aloud.

“Maybe...”

Kat thought about it a few seconds, but the idea of teaming up with a proven killer wasn’t ideal, even if he could be of use. She just couldn’t forget all the horrible stories she had heard about Bojack’s gang; since childhood they had haunted her nightmares.

Still frightened, Kat decided to argue further:

“Listen, we can't keep this up much longer—it has to end soon! Syd is already dead and I almost died too! Jet, maybe we should just leave.”

Her leader sympathized, but was quick to remind them of everything that was at stake.

“I know...but we have to wait for her to be revived. We still need a bit of patience, ok? Now, May, It’s up to you to tell us how much longer you need.”

The fourth daughter concentrated a moment, then pictured the pirate’s head inside her mind.

“Another day and I'll be ready...then Bojack will be destroyed.”

May’s magic, when controlled, was the most powerful of all: the only power that could defeat Bojack. She was the whole reason they had stayed in the tournament. The only downside to her abilities was that once she was near the target, it took hours and hours for her power to take effect. And it took an especially long time if the opponent was incredibly powerful.

‘I need to stay near Bojack a little while longer,’ thought May. ‘But even so, we are incredibly fortunate! This tournament is such an unexpected and perfect opportunity, it’s the one we’ve been waiting for!’

For years, in fact, they had searched for a way to defeat Bojack, but it had been in vain. But one day a sister of theirs, one whose gift was seeing the future, had a prophetic revelation. She saw a race of brilliant bird-like creatures, called Vargas, come and invite Bojack to their tournament in another universe. But according to the vision, the girls were supposed to also be detected by these Vargas, and some of them even participate. Much thought and debate had gone into the prophecy, but in the end they decided to act. And if they hadn’t used this ploy and attracted the Vargas to themselves, they never would have been discovered...

This tournament was the ideal solution. May could stand only a few meters from Bojack without being in any danger. This plan had been developed so they might avoid the doom of becoming the servants of Bojack...or worse; if they failed, they knew they had a brief life expectancy of only a few days. Many options had been considered, but none met with their approval but this. They wouldn't have dared trying to sneaking into his main palace; it wasn’t that he had extremely efficient guards, but simply that Bojack had very sharp senses. Zangya, also, could spot a suspicious scenario from miles away. Plus, she had become Bojack’s lover. But in spite of how long she had been with him, he would surely still kill her like any servant if the situation required.

In front of their apartment, Bojack and Bujin seemed to be having a bit of a celebration...but mainly Bojack. He had been drinking from a stout bottle of liquor, congratulating himself on having killed his opponent. Bujin, however, was merely sitting there idly in his chair; in contrast, Bojack propped his feet up on the table. Raising the bottle in toast, the pirate leader grinned to his subordinate.

"Well...to us, the survivors!"

He then clumsily raised the entire bottle and started chugging; as far as he was concerned, providing alcohol was the best thing the Vargas had done yet.

"Do you realize, there are only two of us left from the original group? It's crazy, right?" he said after emptying half the bottle.

'Damn right, I know!' thought his sidekick.

Bojack was too thick to catch on to the fact that Bujin had been bottling up his hatred and frustration. Clearly, he was tired of working for him...tired of him in general, for that matter.

Finally it was down to just the two of them, although it would be temporary. Normally, their group would be three, and at the end of the tournament it would become so again. ‘Zangya will be revived eventually...unless you plan to kill her again!’ he thought as he continued to watch his chief drink.

"How many did we have back then anyway? Twenty...thirty?" asked the latter, who didn’t realize that Bujin wasn’t enjoying their little conversation.

"Twenty-seven," replied the henchman coldly.

"Ha-ha! They really weren't very resistant were they...”

And who was to blame? It was Bojack's fault, no one else’s, that twenty-seven had now been reduced to two! Bojack was just a chaotic leader: clumsy, rash, and the type to simply hurtle himself into a crowded fight. He was powerful, true, but equally ridiculous and foolhardy. He never had a plan. Of course, he would always get his own hands dirty...he was, after all, four times stronger than the others—even when they had also found a way to transform and become more powerful, like Gokua and Bido.

Bojack was not a leader, not a commander or strategist. He was a loner who did whatever the heck he wanted. And for a brief moment, others flocked to join him and he decided to allow it...that was all. That's why, rather than being the masters of the universe, they were just a bunch of violent fools, drowning in wealth until they got bored and decided to change planets, destroying and killing all in their path.

Bujin, like the rest of the team, had enjoyed the gratuitous violence while committing his share of atrocities. But that was decades ago, practically a different lifetime. It was time to move on, right?

Bojack had been considering the situation in which Zangya died. She had been humiliated miserably, so for the pirate leader it was an easy decision to make—determining that she didn’t deserve to live. He would do no less for any of those who were once his companions, now dead. Bojack had never been one to hesitate, and would sacrifice anything to get what he wanted, even a comrade. If Zangya was resurrected at the end of the tournament, Bujin had little doubt that Bojack would just kill her again once they returned home.

But right now, Bujin found himself alone with the greedy warrior, and would be careful, simply because he liked having his head remain atop his head. He had seen far too many examples to not realize how easily he could end up just like all the others. Bujin had actually been convinced that it wouldn’t be long anyway.

Unless he very careful, and studied and waited for the right opportunity, there would be no chance of any plan of his working. For example, what if Bojack prevented Zangya from being revived at all? He would have to account for every possible scenario, every detail.

Bujin thought back to the time when all was well and he didn’t have a care in the world. A time when they were the strongest. It wasn’t luck or coincidence, either. No, they deserved to be the strongest and they worked hard for it.

One day they were just suddenly released, their supernatural imprisonment broken. Bojack and the rest of his gang never knew why, as no explanation came nor did they wait around to receive one. They thought they could simply go back to their old lifestyle, picking up where they left off, but Bojack became distracted by a powerful force emanating from a very distant planet in space. Immediately, without even asking any questions, he ordered his group to investigate.

It was the energy of Son Gohan and Cell that he had felt. The two were fighting on Earth, just after Goku had sacrificed himself in vain; teleporting Cell to the realm of the Kaios where he could explode without destroying the Earth. But the death of King Kaio had weakened the imprisonment of the Bojack gang, who had been able to break free, subsequently investigating the blue planet.

It took them several days to arrive, though, as it was quite a long distance to Earth. The journey provided them ample time to contemplate the world, the most beautiful they had seen in their lives. Seizing the opportunity to once again simply steal what they desired, they decided to take over the world.

The residents of the planet were pathetically weak, though great in number. Still, with the five of them, they could conquer the Earth in a single day. But strangely, the Earth had some exceptionally powerful fighters, who stood up to them. Not everyone in the group was human. There were three Saiyans and a Namek warrior as well...though initially, only the three humans, the Namek, and two of the Saiyans tried to stop them.

Before they came across the fighters, they had wandered around and spotted a large tournament about to take place on an island. By mutual agreement, they decided to crash the party and participate, despite not being invited. Each member of the group broke up, sneaking out to face one of the four challengers one on one. That’s how Gokua ended up choosing to fight a young man with a sword on his back, just like him. He approached the fight rather casually, predicting his opponent would be a pushover. But even after expanding his power by transforming, Gokua was nothing compared to the Saiyan. During his last and equally futile attempt to win, Trunks punched straight through the green-skinned warrior’s gut, Gokua’s death being broadcast to thousands of viewers.

It was not long before the rest of Bojack’s gang found themselves in the same situation, struggling against the most powerful warriors of the Earth.

Both groups faced off, but that was only the first round. While the Earthlings had demanded that Bojack and his gang leave immediately, the pirate leader had other plans. Refusing to leave without a fight, he proposed one against one, his team against the Earthlings in a fair fight. But the Namekian knew better, uttering an insult and rushing the group. Bido quickly intervened and engaged his new opponent. The short bald Earthling helped Trunks, and together they attacked Zangya. Bujin wanted to fight against the man with the scar, but Tenshinhan, the man with three eyes, stepped in to help out. Bojack took on the last remaining foe: the youngest, a Saiyan.

The boy did well against the Bojack Gang leader, but he had not yet transformed or begun to use his true power. Bujin, however, had no trouble getting rid of the two Earthlings, knocking both out quickly. Elsewhere, Bido was on par with the Namek, and Zangya amused herself with the little bald one while dodging the Saiyan. When the latter got angry and became a real threat, powering up, she kicked Kulilin away in order to properly deal with a more worthy opponent. If Gokua had been defeated by him, it meant that Trunks could potentially be a threat to her as well. She actually found herself on the run, strategically trying to avoid her own death until Bujin could come and help. When he finally did, he used his magical energy bonds technique to stop Trunks, paralyze him, and drain his energy.

Son Gohan struck Bojack hard, sending him crashing into a building which collapsed upon impact. He quickly took advantage of this respite and rushed to help Piccolo out against Bido; the two were on nearly equal footing with one another. But Bojack was back quickly and ordered his henchman to assist Bujin and Zangya, deciding to take care of the Namek himself. Despite all Piccolo’s efforts, he could not cope with Bojack.

But Zangya wanted to play a little more, so when Trunks was again paralyzed because of Bujin, assisted by Bido, she sought out Kulilin again. He was still unconscious. All the while keeping an eye on the Saiyan, she prepared to kill the bald Earthling. But she had not anticipated the intervention of another warrior, a blond woman whose power far exceeded that of a conventional Earthling.

“Leave him alone!” she demanded.

“Who are you, his girlfriend or something?” Zangya retorted.

The woman did not answer. Curious, the redhead dropped Kulilin and turned to her. She was ready to accept the challenge, but mostly for the sake of enjoyment. “But before we begin, one last thing,” Zangya smiled wickedly. Then without looking, she reached a hand toward the human and fired an energy blast at his unconscious body.

The blonde screamed in rage and lunged at Zangya. Their fight began while Trunks was still immobilized by Bujin and Bido, his struggle becoming more and more desperate. They were in complete control. Together, they were stronger than Trunks and had him completely contained. Then finally, his energy sapped dry, the Saiyan sank into unconsciousness. Both Bojack gang members laughed at the pitiful body of the warrior. But yet again, though it would be the last time, someone interrupted. Another Saiyan had just arrived.

“I'm going to kill you,” the prince said, advancing toward them.

They were not impressed, but Bojack still wanted to play with him. Vegeta instantly became a Super Saiyan, just as Trunks and Gohan had before him, and rushed Bojack. He fired rapid shots, but Bojack blocked them all without much effort and then counterattacked. The Saiyan managed to parry some of the leader’s blows but soon realized that he was outmatched and couldn’t win.

Bojack knocked out his third opponent in the blink of an eye. Not far from him, Zangya had just finish her opponent as well. Android 18 had given her a little trouble, but not much; she was clearly the stronger of the pair.

The four members of the gang regrouped around Bojack to savor their victory, but Gohan had suddenly risen back to his feet. Seeing his friends near death, he screamed and turned again into a Super Saiyan.

“Aw? Is the little tyke upset?” Bojack chuckled. “Don’t cry, boy, let me ‘take care’ of you.”

Bojack was now entitled to a new battle against the young Saiyan, whose anger seemed to have restored his strength. Unfortunately, he was not going easy this time. He was by far the stronger of the two, and took great pleasure in the gratuitous child violence; Bojack tortured the boy, crushing his bones and organs as he squeezed the life out of him. Gohan screamed in pain, his long cries piercing and terrible, until finally, the young Saiyan died. With a big smile on his face, Bojack dropped his prey lifelessly on the ground, laughing.

“Very well. Time to kill the rest!”

Suddenly, behind him, a strong energy shook the ground. Standing on top of the destroyed building was the Namek, whose wrath had just exploded.

“Another angry fool?” Bojack said, turning to Piccolo.

“Gohan! NOO!” cried the latter just before swinging at the Bojack gang leader.

And for once in his life, Bido took the initiative. He wanted to finish his fight from before. He appeared in front of Bojack and launched a powerful attack that the Namek only narrowly managed to avoid. But Piccolo replied with a swirling kick to Bido’s face. Yet this time the creature merely smiled back at him.

“Get outta my way!” cried the Namek, reigning down a flood of attacks on his opponent.

They fought for a long time in melee, where they went blow for blow, but neither of them was able to gain the advantage. But this allowed Trunks time to wake up, rising into the air with a little difficulty as he was still somewhat numb. When he saw Piccolo fighting and his father unconscious beside him, he immediately wondered where Gohan was. That’s when he saw the boy lying dead on the ground; inert, lifeless at the feet of his murderer.

His own anger suddenly burst onto the surface and Trunks began to transform once again, this time using all his energy. His muscles thickened up, tearing his jacket. His hair stood in thinner, more jagged strands atop his head. He was determined to get revenge for the murder of his mentor, and he now had the strength.

Bujin then glanced over at Zangya, who understood immediately. Together, they encircled Trunks and re-initiated the same paralyzing technique as before. Despite the strong will of the Saiyan, he couldn’t find a way to escape the powerful binds; his strength would be sapped to nothing in mere moments. Once again, he could not keep his Super Saiyan transformation.

“Trunks!” Piccolo shouted, worried.

But Bido, seizing the momentary advantage, elbowed the Namek in his neck.

“Don’t let your guard down!” he laughed.

“You'd better give up,” said the henchman. His arms were casually crossed in front of the Namek, who was struggling just to get up. “Master Bojack might allow you to live...You'd become his favorite slave!”

Piccolo rubbed his neck and spat.

“You'd better not underestimate me...”

He cracked the joints of his hands and moved into attack position. Then the Namek concentrated his strength for several seconds, charging and then firing his attack.

“Die!”

The force and speed of the attack completely surprised Bido. The ex-military grunt did not think his opponent still had that much energy in reserve. Having no time to dodge, Bido took the brunt of the attack. It exploded all around him with a large BAOOW.

“Who's next?” the Namek said as he directed his gaze to Zangya and Bujin.

If he could quickly eliminate them, it would allow Trunks to fight along with him, possibly giving them a small chance to win. But the pair merely smiled, along with Bojack who was laughing as hard as ever.

“Nice demonstration...But don’t think the fight is over already...”

Piccolo turned in shock, finding himself once again face to face with Bido, still smiling and alive. Stunned and amazed, Piccolo never even had a chance. Before he could think, two powerful blows struck his head on both sides, right on the temples. The impacts were simultaneous and devastating, nearly knocking the Namek out. Worse, he had absolutely no defense against Bido’s next attack, which blew a six inch hole in the left side of his torso.

Piccolo fell to the ground...lifeless.

“We’ve played around long enough...Finish them!” Bojack ordered.

Bido was already preparing to attack Trunks, still trapped by Zangya and Bujin, but behind him he suddenly turned to see the last Saiyan standing charging up a powerful attack.

“How dare you mock the Prince of Saiyans?!” he cried.

Bido, confident, prepared to fight. He didn’t have a clue how much power Vegeta had put into the attack, though. But Bojack, standing behind him, wasn’t so foolish. He suddenly realized how much damage the attack was capable of dealing; it was anything but harmless.

“Final Flash!”

Vegeta yelled, firing his attack at Bido and Bojack, hoping to destroy them both. But the leader of the gang vanished, leaving Bido there on his own to face the full force of the Prince’s wrath. For a second, it seemed as if Bido might be able to contain the attack, but it quickly blew past his defenses after that. Overwhelmed by the completely superior power of Vegeta, Bido’s body began to break apart, disintegrating bit by bit.

Vegeta smirked briefly, but it quickly vanished, replaced by a wad of blood being spat from his mouth. Bojack had appeared just behind him and run him through with just one hand. He was going to die, it was all over. Smiling, Bojack began to sadistically comment on the attempt.

“Nice attack! But you become completely vulnerable afterwards...”

Trunks, being forced to watch helplessly, couldn’t help but call out to his dad.

“Father!”

“Father? “Bojack chuckled.

At the revelation of their kinship, Bojack laughed louder than usual. All this was simply too amusing for him to ignore.

“Don’t you worry...You'll join him soon!”

Bojack approached the son of Vegeta himself. The boy was clearly frightened, having seen almost every one of his friends die. He tried again, struggling to free himself from the energy bonds, but in vain. Amused, Bojack hit him again and again. Finally, he got bored of pounding on the boy and decided to finish it with the coupe de grace.

The only ones who remained now were the unconscious humans. While certainly far more powerful than any others on the planet, they weren’t near the Saiyans in strength or the Namek for that matter. Without remorse, Bojack went and crushed the neck of each one under his boot.

The defenders of the Earth were all defeated. And the mysterious "Mr. Satan", the so-called martial arts champion of the world, could not stop them. After the tournament they took control of the Earth, becoming Kings, and demanded a huge palace be built for them by the humans. They remained there for several months, enjoying the most beautiful planet in this part of the universe, along with the joys of being masters of the whole world. But after a while they grew bored with the mundane trifles of ruling and having their every needs met by slaves. Bojack and his gang were accustomed to fighting, it was what they lived for. And they were always thirsty for conquest; it wasn’t long until they left.

After all three of them left Earth they attacked hundreds of worlds together. Everyone everywhere began to fear them, hearing of their conquests and ruthlessness. They quickly surpassed even the fame of Freeza. His old empire eventually became known, instead, as the empire of Bojack...