Son of Broly

Chapter Two: The Nightmare Victorious pt.2

Piccolo watched the demise of Vegeta from on high, looking down upon the ruined surface of the planet with Gohan and Trunks in his arms. The violet-haired youth had been retrieved just after the downward arc of his impromptu flight, the Namekian managing to catch him a mere thousand or so meters before he became an unrecognizable splatter on the ground.

He sighed as he suddenly felt older than he ever had, watching the giant cast off the impaled Vegeta from his arm, flinging the corpse like a piece of filth towards a nearby building – and like said piece of filth, the late Saiya-jin Prince was smashed into an unrecognizable, bloody pulp upon the surface of the concrete wall. The Namekian shook his head at the unnecessary brutality of Broly.

How strange it was NOT to be unnerved at the sadism of the brute… Piccolo supposed that he was simply desensitized as he witnessed the aftermath of so many villainous rampages over the years. He just could not be surprised by such things anymore. While he could lament the actions taken by the likes of Frieza or Cell, the callous bloodthirstiness of Broly was simply noted for future reference before the Namekian allocated his wits to more worthy pursuits.

Like staying alive…

Besides, decades ago, Piccolo mused with a dark frown, he probably would've done the same thing. Son Goku's son changed things – changed him. And after teaming up with the boy's father to fight his uncle, after training him, dying for him, and since then fighting beside him as a fellow warrior, Piccolo could honestly say that he didn't regret the shift in his once cold heart.

The green-skinned fighter glanced down at the still form of Gohan, whom he held under slung an arm, and then to Trunks, who was hefted over his other shoulder.

Good thing, these two haven't woken up yet, he thought before his face softened in a rare sympathetic expression. What do say to two kids who just lost their fathers to a murdering psychopath? Piccolo then cringed as an even grimmer thought came to mind. And just what the hell do I tell their mothers? Between Son's harpy and Vegeta's loudmouth… both of them screaming at once… with my hearing?

He sighed. Why did he become a hero again? Oh yes… it was all Kami's idea.

The Namekian remembered the old fart's proposition weeks ago, the one about how they couldn't match the power of Cell, though the villain was still incomplete. Kami said, in that gravely condescending voice of his, brought up the concept of merging with him, much as he and Nail did in order to pick apart Frieza back on Namek. But unlike that situation, this fusion was more natural because both Kami and Piccolo were once a single entity. Together, Kami reiterated, rather than apart, they could combat the Cell before he achieved his full potential... and win.

But it wasn't until afterwards that Piccolo discovered what the title of hero truly meant and what Kami withheld of the true nature of the merger. Incredible power aside, if he had known beforehand what he knew now, he would've told Kami to shove the idea… up Po-Po's ass!

What a nice little tidbit for the old fart to leave out… Yeah, see the world, meet new and interesting people… and have them beat the hell out of you in new and interesting ways, Piccolo mentally quipped before his rant was cut short.

Something was happening down below. Broly interest was piqued… and thank all the Kai's in Other World it wasn't because of his, Trunks', and Gohan's propensity for being amongst the living. Suddenly, the mammoth Super Saiya-jin ignited his golden-green corona and blazed off to the southwest, flying far, far away from the confused Namekian.

Piccolo watched the golden ki contrail fade away as he adjusted his carefully-laid plans for escape. The heavy hitters – Goku and Vegeta – were dead. The kids in his arms barely had enough energy to power basic life functions – meaning that they were effectively out of the fight for the foreseeable future. He himself was at less than fifty-percent of his strength, which meant that he might be able to conjure up maybe five seconds of reasonable defense before being torn apart by the walking, talking, flying, blasting, 'never-worn-a-shirt-in-my-entire-life' nuclear war.

Oh, and lest he forget, the moon-sized Comet Camori that was an hour or so away from turning this crumbling planet into a nice big smear across the cosmos, dooming everyone… unless Broly found them first, of course.

"Great, what do I do?" he asked rhetorically as he shook his head at the absurdity of it all. Damn it, he wouldn't bitch so much if he was actually getting paid for this hero crap.

You could start by flying to meet your friends instead of practicing your Vegeta impression, said a small voice in the back of his skull. Piccolo's face twisted into frown though he snorted in amusement – he could've sworn he heard Kami's dry, chafing wit echoing in his thoughts.

As he descended towards the surface of the planet, Piccolo lowered his ki output to its minimum level, hoping that Broly could not sense energy like the Earth-dwellers (plus the late Vegeta) could. As of yet, the giant hadn't displayed anything beyond the raw, overwhelming power that was fast becoming his trademark feature. But the Namekian wouldn't be surprised if Broly did have that kind of fine manipulation. Although if he did, it would be hard to differentiate their respective power levels from the vast aura the Super Saiya-jin emitted like a sun.

Broly's power was great enough that it could be felt from the Lookout as it was Dende, the Earth's new Guardian and Kami, who first clued Piccolo in. And like most of the alien creatures the Z-warriors fought and defeated over the years, none of them could harness their 'inner eye', the spiritual senses that seemed to come so naturally to the Earthlings.

But just in case, the clever Namekian decided to fly an evasive route through the wreckage, adding another level of difficulty for the giant should he pursue. Piccolo sighed again as he coasted along at roughly five miles an hour.

Krillin, Roshi, Oolong, and what remained of the Shamoans were ten miles away… it was going to be a long two hours.

XXXXXXX

"Only a few hours left before this planet comes to an end… such a waste," The Saiya-jin called Paragus sounded wistful as he climbed the stair to his backup launch pad. A Saiya-jin pod-craft lay undisturbed at the peak of this mountain, unlike the vaporized mothership he first arrived in.

All his plans for Earth's conquest were scattered into wind when Broly broke from his control. The headpiece that his scientist created for him decades ago finally was overcome by his son's relentless will – he supposed that he should take pride in that.

Instead, he cursed the day Broly was born. Kakarot was next on the list, followed swiftly by the late King Vegeta… both of them. And while he was in a ranting sort of mood, he also extended ill wishes towards the spirits of Frieza and his family, for it was their galactic conquest that ingrained such slovenly attitudes amongst Paragus' extinct race, King Vegeta Sr. most notably.

"Broly…" he murmured, pausing in his ascent to look back in the direction of where surely his SS son was destroying the Z-warriors with insane fervor. "Now that I can't control you, son, you're worthless to me. You're going to die with this planet no matter who the winner is."

The stairs ended and Paragus' ship came into view. He never told his men the reasons why such a valuable single-person craft was needed so far away from their mothership. But now the former was a non-issue – the Saiya-jin's army was now free-floating atoms that would soon undergo yet another atomic change once Comet Camori hit.

The elder Saiya-jin took that moment to glance to the sky, his lone eye twitching along with jerky motion side of his cheek – he was nervous now, feeling curiously excited yet nervous all the same. Perhaps it was due to the comet's gravitational influence that was currently lifting chunks of firmament from the surface of Neo Planet Vegeta. That or it was because he was, by proxy, committing an action that was once tried before: Trying to kill his son. But where King Vegeta was more direct and to the point – pun intentional – Paragus was letting a celestial body act as his knife.

Paragus bowed his head as if in prayer and whispered his last condolences over what needed to be done. "I'm sorry that I couldn't control your madness. I'm sorry that I wasn't a better father. I'm sorry Broly… but your continued existence poses a threat to all life in the universe, not just my own. Your endless rage will be sated once you are dead."

And with those callous words, Paragus stepped into the pod-craft, pressing one of the buttons of the console that triggered the start-up sequence. But just before the door could close, two huge hands held fast the portal, making the mechanisms squeal in protest before opening once more. The elder Saiya-jin watched in mute horror as his son, glorious in his True Super Saiya-jin form, looked down upon him with mad eyes and a horrible smile.

"Hello father… you seem shocked," Broly widened his smile until he showed gleaming white teeth, causing Paragus to cringe in fear. "What, you really didn't think to leave me here on this doomed rock to die, did you? As if a comet could kill what Frieza could not back when I was a baby…"

Paragus wanted to cry, wanted to beg, but at that moment, he mustered his Saiya-jin pride and faced his executioner with a bored expression. "Yes, Broly, I was going to leave you here. You're too much of a risk now for me to have to deal with."

His son looked amused by his blunt explanation and was momentarily taken aback. But after a couple seconds, he replied with, "I hope you know that it was bound to happen eventually. This kind of power cannot be controlled by a weakling like you… father." He said the last with a touch of bitterness, something that Paragus couldn't rightly blame him for.

"So, my son, are you here to prove the old Saiya-jin proverb true? Is the son going to finish off his father in an act of revenge for the way he was brought up?"

The smirk disappeared and a look of schooled apathy came to Broly face. Seconds passed as father and son stared into each other's eye, one weighing the pros and cons of patricide while the other was simply tired. Honestly, Paragus was beginning to feel quite better about his own incoming death – he supposed that when one knew it was just a matter of time, death didn't seem all that scary anymore.

"No…" Broly said at last, tearing his eyes away to peer curiously at the console. He was identifying the coordinates set by Paragus, noting that they were awful familiar. "No, I won't be killing you. The last Saiya-jin worthy of death at my hand was defeated at the beginning of the fight – you aren't worthy of my attention," he spat imperiously, sounding a bit like the late Prince.

"However, this craft is mine and you will have to find another way off planet, father," he continued, much to Paragus' surprise. But before he could comment, a large rock-hard hand reached in and gripping his chest plate, crushing it in a monstrous grip as the elder Saiya-jin was ripped from his seat like a child, to be deposited face first on the ground.

"Broly!" Paragus groaned as he lifted his head. He was shocked at what he saw.

His son's body glowed green as cracks and ripped opened across his flesh, the wounds shining with hellish-green light. There was a loud, long sigh – a cry of release – and his son exploded with energy, knocking him backwards and blinding the older man who began blinking rapidly to clear his vision. When the bright spots finally faded, he sat up, looking quite stupefied to find that Broly had released his massive transformation, reverting back into the usual SS form.

He was also looking down upon him with cold fire in his emerald eyes. "We are done, you and I. This is my repayment for trying to save me when I was a child. If you are smart, if you survive… do not let our paths cross again," Then, the now-less-than-grotesque-yet-still-quite-muscular man grinned once again. "As my father, you are dead to me and should I see you again, I will make it quite literal. Understand?"

All Paragus could do was to nod his head dumbly, not even daring to breathe lest this unimaginable act of mercy from Broly become a falsehood. Seemingly satisfied, Broly turned back to the pod-craft and entered it, closing the door and staring at him from the viewport. Within ten seconds, the spherical vessel finished its pre-flight checks and began to rise from the surface, the drone of its reactionless drive humming so deeply that the elder Saiya-jin felt it in his bones.

A single dark eye tracked its upward flight until the sheer distance made Paragus lose sight of it. Paragus sighed in relief as he lay there, fighting to control his trembling body and rise to his feet. Eventually, he did so and he reached underneath his cloak, to the utility belt that was hidden by his long, furry tail. When he his hand pulled out, he placed a curious-looking devise on his ear and pressed a concealed button on the side, making it beep rapidly as figures and symbols appeared on its Heads Up Display.

"So, there you are, Earthlings…" he muttered grimly as he noted the distance on his scouter, rising from the surface and into the air, harnessing his own power. "I have a deal to offer you all, one that may prove most beneficial."

Paragus, father of no one now, blasted across the sky like a meteor, pushing himself as fast as he could towards the cluster of power readings nearly twenty miles away. He hoped that when he finished forming the speech he began to utter, his words might have some effect to his gain. For all his coming to grips with his own mortality, now that a chance for life appeared, Paragus really didn't want to die on this piece of shit rock.

The only question was: Could he, the one who deceived them all, somehow persuade the people from Earth, a planet he was very vocal about conquering, to spare his life?

XXXXXXX

Piccolo noticed Broly's drop in power and looked to the skies with disbelief upon his face. The devil was leaving… already? Again, all his prior planning dissipated before his eyes though I despite his annoyance, the relief he felt threatened to make him roar in triumph.

But no, he wouldn't do such a thing. He wasn't Goku after all.

For the past twenty minutes, he had been working through the issue of who he could save should the worst happen, i.e. Broly coming to find them. Gohan he knew was first priority. Then Trunks, next Krillin, Roshi, Oolong, and the survivors of Shamo, the recently-destroyed planet that once orbited this one. And to think, for all his usual propensity for survival, Piccolo's sense of honor proved to be paramount and it prevented him from factoring his own safety into his equations.

He died once before and knew where he would end up should he get killed. Thank you, merging with Kami. Besides, pain would only be temporary, even if it would royally suck; the subsequent self-disgust and guilt would have lasted all eternity.

A hopeful smile spread across his face as he chose to accelerate his flight, now that Broly was no longer an issue. Perhaps their string of bad luck concerning every homicidal alien that might've heard of the Earth warriors was now showing signs of being broken. He snorted at the thought.

Yeah right, with our running luck, it would take an intersession of one of the Kai's in Other World to save our hides now, he thought grimly before looking thoughtful. That… might actually be possible.

Reaching outwards into the afterlife dimension with his telepathy, he called out, :::King Kai… King Kai… I'M TRYING TO TALK TO YOU, CAN YOU HEAR ME OR NOT?:::

His head throbbed and he grimaced as a voice reverberated though his skull like a drum.

:::No, he cannot. The Galactic Ordinator you know as King Kai is currently unavailable. Now, again, stop wasting time and get into the cave. We have much to discuss…:::

Piccolo looked thunderstruck as the unknown voice sounded eerily similar to the snarky quip from before, the one he assumed was from Kami. Then he realized his mistake as the former Guardian didn't technically exist anymore. But who was this speaking into his mind?

:::All will be answered in time but if you do not hurry, I WILL leave you here!:::

Wincing at the louder volume of the telepathic command, the Namekian did as ordered, drifting down inside the mouth of the cave, landing as light as a feather.

"PICCOLO!" shouted a short, bald man who wore an orange gi, Krillin. He ran up to him but stopped short when he saw the two half-breeds in his arms. "We thought you were fighting the big guy… with Goku! What happened to Trunks and Gohan?"

"Broly," was Piccolo's short reply as he looked around, searching for the originator of the telepathic communication. Perhaps it was one of those Shamoans?

Muten Roshi, the Turtle Hermit and Earth's resident immortal, stepped up and asked, "What about Goku and Vegeta? We couldn't sense them or you for that matter until a few minutes ago. Something was blocking our mind's eye, like a vast cloud of angry fog…"

Again, the Namekian answered with, "Broly…" as his eyes peered into the darkness, catching the gaze of every pale green alien there.

The pall of silence that hung after he spoke was so thick and heavy that that it might take a knife to cut through it. Surprisingly as it was, Oolong, the shape-shifting pig and eternal ne'er-do-well, voiced the question that was on everyone's mind, "So… are we screwed?" he asked bluntly, ignoring the others' looks of open-mouthed shock.

Piccolo was about to answer when another beat him to it. "No. You are not, as you say, screwed…"

Now Piccolo spoke… or rather, shouted. "Who's there?" he growled. "Show yourself!"

"There's no need to yell, Piccolo-san," replied the obfuscated speaker, his voice quiet and sounding amused. But even though the volume was just about a whisper, everyone in the cavern heard it clearly and the words held a hint of awesome power. "I am here…"

And with that, a single step resounded around the cave like a drum beat and the shadows parted like the folds of a curtain. In seemingly mid-air, as if it had stepped out of inexistence into reality, a fine, red leather boot appeared, flexing as its owner revealed itself. The boot was attached to a leg garbed in teal cloth, ending at a waist which was concealed behind a long, deep blue tunic bound with a blood-red sash. More and more of the mysterious being stepped out from this… gap in the fabric of space until finally, the purple skin and gleaming-white mohawk completed the image of a rather dashing, albeit short, humanoid.

The being's face held a soft smile as he – for Piccolo and the others could discern the masculinity from the flawless beauty this creature had – looked around, stopping momentarily at each individual before moving onto the next. Piccolo watched as everyone paled as the being met their gazes fearlessly before those whom he had stared at, sighed in relief when he moved on. Eventually, the purple-skinned man rest his eyes upon Piccolo and the Namekian froze in shock as he was captivated by the twin pairs of dark eyes that seemed to spear into him.

Every event in Piccolo's memory, from the best to the worst, was drawn up and laid out before alien man's eyes – the Namekian could not stop the other even if he wanted to. He realized that the man's pitch-black eyes were not, in fact, dark at all, for they held within every speck of light that one could see in the night sky from earth. Stars died and galaxies formed within those pits and Piccolo uttered a name that only Kami could've provided, a title of a being so powerful and so ancient, that it was rumored to be only a myth.

"Kaioshin…" Piccolo whispered in awe and fear as he continued to be impaled upon the sight of a Power mightier than any he had ever encountered. Not even Goku, Vegeta, or even Broly – at full strength – could compete with this level of energy. This was not the sort of strength that could be obtained through training one's spirit or muscle and sinew.

This being, Kaioshin, was of divinity… a true deity that was so far beyond the scope of imagination that it was a wonder Piccolo wasn't insane from trying to comprehend His incomprehensible nature. And He was here, in this cavern, on a doomed planet mere minutes away from annihilation, smiling gently at them all, like a loving parent or a benevolent ruler.

Or a God most Supreme, Piccolo thought.

"Yes, Piccolo-san… and now you know the truth," said Kaoishin in that soft, resonant tone.

The God blinked just then and the naked feeling in the Namekian's soul vanished, eliciting a sigh of relief. Kaioshin now addressed the rest of the gathered species, the Earth-dwellers and Shamoans respectively.

"Gather round, little children, and listen to My words. For I bring tidings of fate and lessons of the highest import. Gods and mortals, worlds far and wide, lay in the balance. And so I say hello to you all, for I am… the Supreme Kai!"

…

To Be Continued…