The morning light of the throne world's blue star filtered through the crystalline windows of the imperial palace, casting prismatic patterns across the polished floors.
Several days had passed since Bardock and Goku's conversation, and a new... rhythm had established itself among everyone
Goku adjusted the ceremonial golden armor that marked his position as Megumi's guardian, still uncomfortable with the formal attire despite wearing it for weeks now.
He preferred his orange gi, but Freeza had insisted that anyone responsible for her son's safety should "at least look the part of an imperial protector."
(Chi-Chi supporting Freeza since Goku finally has a job, and asking Freeza for help to have Goku participate during Megumi's education lessons, didn't help either. Freeza loved messing with the monkey so she gladly helped Chi-Chi.)
"Still not used to it, huh?" Bardock asked, approaching with a knowing smirk. Unlike his son, Bardock wore his Saiyan armor with natural ease, the result of decades of military service.
"It's just so... stiff," Goku complained, rolling his shoulders. "Hard to move freely."
"That's because you're wearing it wrong," Vegeta interjected, striding toward them in his Grand Regent regalia.
The Saiyan prince had adapted to his administrative role with surprising efficiency, though his perpetual scowl remained unchanged. "The chest plate should sit higher. You look like a third-class soldier who stole a commander's armor."
Before Goku could respond, Nappa and Turles joined them, both wearing the modified armor of the imperial guard.
"They're almost here," Nappa announced, his massive frame blocking the corridor light. "The Hand's ship just entered the atmosphere."
Vegeta's expression darkened. "These Saiyans better be worth the trouble. I don't trust refugees appearing out of nowhere, especially not after all this time."
"You didn't trust me either," Turles reminded him with a smirk. The dark-skinned Saiyan had been integrated into their ranks after being found by the Shadow Court months earlier. "Yet here I am, a valued member of your elite."
"Don't push it," Vegeta growled.
Piccolo and Gohan arrived next, followed by Freeza herself. The Empress moved with practiced grace, her white bio-armor gleaming in the morning light.
Despite her composed exterior, those who knew her well could detect the subtle signs of her ongoing grief – the slight tightening around her eyes, the occasional distant gaze when she thought no one was watching.
"Let's get this over with," she said, her voice carrying the imperial authority that had cowed countless worlds. "I have more important matters to attend to than greeting stray monkeys."
(The only reason she was even here was because Gohan convinced her, but she would never admit it.)
As the group made their way to the landing pad, Gohan fell into step beside Goku. "Dad, do you think these Saiyans will be friendly?"
"I hope so," Goku replied cheerfully. "It'd be nice to have more friends around here."
"More Saiyans doesn't necessarily mean more friends, Kakarot," Bardock cautioned. "Our people weren't exactly known for their warm welcomes."
The imperial landing pad stretched before them, a massive platform of polished black stone inlaid with the Cold Dynasty insignia.
Palace guards lined the perimeter while technicians prepared for the approaching vessel. In the distance, a small dot in the sky grew steadily larger.
As the ship began its final approach, something strange happened to Goku. A voice – barely audible at first – whispered in his mind.
"Hide... hide your ki..."
Goku frowned, looking around for the source of the voice.
"Hide it now... hide it completely..." The whisper grew more urgent, seeming to come from everywhere at once.
A chill ran down Goku's spine as his battle instincts flared in agreement with the mysterious voice.
Without fully understanding why, he immediately suppressed his energy signature, drawing his power so deeply inward that it became almost undetectable even to those standing beside him.
(Though not completely.)
Vegeta was the first to notice, his head snapping toward Goku with narrowed eyes. "Kakarot, what are you doing?"
The others quickly realized what had happened – Goku's typically radiant ki signature had vanished completely to their Ki sense, as if he'd suddenly ceased to exist.
"Is something wrong?" Bardock asked, his protective instincts immediately engaged. "Do you sense danger?"
Goku rubbed the back of his head, looking genuinely confused. "No, not exactly. I just... felt like I should hide my energy. I can't really explain it."
Piccolo's antennae twitched with suspicion. "Your instincts have rarely been wrong before. Perhaps we should be on guard."
"Or perhaps Kakarot is simply being Kakarot," Vegeta scoffed, though his posture remained tense. "Always with the dramatics."
"Let's focus on our visitors," Freeza interrupted, her patience visibly thinning. "We can discuss Goku's peculiar behavior later."
The ship touched down on the landing pad with a hiss of hydraulics.
Steam billowed from beneath its hull as the engines powered down, and for a moment, all was still.
Then, with a mechanical whine, the hatch opened.
A figure emerged from the steam – an older Saiyan with black graying hair and a scarred face.
He wore modified Saiyan armor that had clearly been repaired multiple times, and his left eye remained closed, a jagged scar running across it.
Despite his weathered appearance, he carried himself with strength, surveying the reception committee with calculated interest.
"Greetings," he called out, offering a formal bow. "I am Paragus, formerly of the Saiyan Elite Guard. My son and I have traveled far seeking asylum within the mighty Cold Empire."
As he spoke, a second figure emerged from the ship – and everyone present felt their breath catch.
The young Saiyan towered over his father, standing nearly seven and a half feet tall with a physique that made even Nappa look small by comparison.
His muscular frame seemed barely contained - especially since he was shirtless - and his face bore an oddly vacant expression.
Most striking was the golden headband encircling his forehead, a blue gem gleaming at its center.
"This is my son, Broly," Paragus continued, gesturing toward the imposing figure. "A warrior of... considerable strength."
Broly remained silent, his eyes unfocused as if looking through rather than at the gathered officials.
Vegeta stepped forward, his royal bearing evident despite his shorter stature. "I am Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans and Grand Regent of the Eastern Quadrant. How is it that you survived the destruction of Planet Vegeta?"
A flicker of something – perhaps hatred, perhaps calculation – crossed Paragus's face before his diplomatic mask returned. "Prince Vegeta... how you've grown. Your father would be... proud."
The pause before the final word was almost imperceptible. "As for our survival, we were stationed on a frontier outpost when the tragedy occurred. We've been searching for surviving Saiyans ever since."
"And you just happened to find them now?" Piccolo's skeptical voice cut through the formalities. "After all these years?"
"Fortune favors the persistent, green one," Paragus replied smoothly. "When we heard the rumours of the Cold Empire stationing Prince Vegeta as Grand Regent of the Eastern Quadrant, we knew there were other survivors out there and could scarcely believe our good fortune."
Throughout this exchange, Broly remained motionless, his expression vacant – until his gaze drifted across the gathered officials and locked with Goku's. The effect was immediate and dramatic.
Broly's blank face contorted, his eyes widening with recognition and growing rage. A low growl emerged from his throat as his ki flared visibly around his massive frame.
(Within his mind, the blade flashed, glinting in the darkness as an unknown man hidden (King Vegeta) stabbed him in the chest as a baby, the cries of another infant echoing, the Ki signature triggering old memories, and with them pain. Only thing familiar to that moment.
Painpainpainpain. Stabbed and stabbedandstabbed again againagainandagain.)
Paragus reacted, surprised but not letting it stop him, stepping to his son's side. "Broly! Control yourself," he commanded sharply. "Do nothing unless I tell you to, boy!"
Simultaneously, he almost imperceptibly raised his palm, on which a small golden device glowed green.
The effect on Broly was immediate – his flaring ki subsided, his expression returned to its vacant stare, and his body relaxed into its previous docile posture.
"I apologize," Paragus said, lowering his hand. "My son sometimes has... episodes. The unfamiliar environment must have triggered him."
But Vegeta had noticed the device. With speed, he appeared beside Paragus and seized his wrist, forcing the older Saiyan's hand upward for all to see.
"What is this device?" Vegeta demanded, his voice cold with suspicion. "And why did your son react to Kakarot that way?"
"It's merely a medical device," Paragus replied, attempting to pull away. "To help manage my son's... condition. His power sometimes overwhelms his mind, you see."
"He's the Legendary Super Saiyan."
All eyes turned to Goku, who looked as surprised by his own words as everyone else. He blinked, seemingly confused by what had just come out of his mouth.
"What did you say?" Vegeta asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Goku's expression shifted from confusion to certainty, though he clearly didn't understand the source of his knowledge. "Broly is the Legendary Super Saiyan – the Flaw of War, as King Cold calls it."
Paragus's face drained of color. "That's... that's absurd! My son is powerful, yes, but-"
"Silence!" Vegeta hissed, his grip tightening on Paragus's wrist.
Panic flashed across Paragus's face as he realized his deception had been discovered. He opened his mouth, likely to command Broly to attack, but before he could form the words, Freeza intervened- having sensed his intention from his Ki.
With a casual flick of her finger, she exerted her telekinesis, immobilizing Paragus's tongue. In the same motion, she telekinetically removed the control device from his wrist, pulling it through the air to her own hand.
"How interesting," she said, examining the device as Paragus struggled against her invisible hold. "A control mechanism for your 'son.' Or should I say your weapon?"
Paragus's eyes bulged as he fought against the telekinetic restraint, unable to speak or command Broly.
"Don't bother struggling," Freeza continued, her voice carrying the casual cruelty that had made her feared across galaxies. "You won't be speaking until I allow it."
She turned the golden device over in her hand, studying its construction with cold interest. "You've brought quite the danger to my planet, my capital..." Her thoughts flashed to Megumi, though her expression revealed nothing. "I don't take kindly to threats, especially not from you monkeys."
With deliberate slowness, she placed the device on her own wrist. "If this creature truly is the Legendary Super Saiyan – an anomaly among your kind – then he belongs to me now."
Broly remained motionless, his vacant eyes showing no recognition of the exchange happening around him. Without Paragus's commands, he seemed content to simply stand and wait.
A communication alert chimed, interrupting the tense moment. Freeza frowned but activated her hologram projector. The blue-tinged image of an elderly alien with a long white mustache and small round glasses appeared before them.
"Your Majesty! Ho ho! Dr. Myu has the most fasssscinating news to report!" The scientist's high-pitched, nasal voice was practically vibrating with excitement.
"This had better be important," Freeza replied coldly.
"Important? Tsk tsk! Merely revolutionary, universe-altering, and absolutely unprecedented!" Dr. Myu adjusted his glasses, leaning closer to the projection.
"The dimensional tear created by Lord Duskborn - hmmmm, yes - while seemingly closed, has left what Dr. Myu can only describe as a quantum scar in the very fabric of reality!"
Despite herself, Freeza's interest visibly sharpened. "Explain. Quickly."
"The good doctor has been studying the remnant energies at the site where Lord Duskborn breached the barrier between realms,"
Myu continued, his hands gesturing wildly. "Most fascinating! The tear itself has sealed, but the... structural integrity, shall we say... of the dimensional barrier remains weakened!"
Freeza's expression remained carefully neutral, but those who knew her well could detect the subtle tension in her posture. "And?"
"And - ho ho! - Dr. Myu believes he has discovered a method to reopen the pathway!"
The scientist's voice rose with excitement. "A breakthrough of unprecedented magnitude! The calculations are perfect - yes, yes - requiring only a sufficient power source to execute!"
"What kind of power source?" Freeza asked, her voice betraying nothing of the hope beginning to flare within her.
"Your power, Your Majesty!" Dr. Myu exclaimed. "Only your magnificent energy signature possesses the capability needed to interface with the scar tissue of reality! With your power and my genius... ho ho! The barriers between life and death shall become merely... theoretical constructs!"
For a brief moment, Freeza's carefully maintained mask slipped. A kaleidoscope of emotions flickered across her face – hope, fear, anticipation, joy, and finally steely determination.
The display lasted only instants before her composure reasserted itself, but everyone present had witnessed it.
"I'll be there within the day," she stated, her decision made. "Prepare whatever equipment you need."
"Yes, Your Majesty! Dr. Myu will have everything ready for your glorious arrival!" The scientist's image flickered and disappeared as the communication ended.
Freeza turned to face the others, her eyes now burning with purpose. "Bardock, Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo – you will accompany me to the desert planet. We leave immediately."
She glanced at Broly and Paragus. "These two will come as well. I prefer to keep potential threats where I can see them."
With a casual gesture, she released her telekinetic hold on Paragus's tongue. The Saiyan gasped, drawing in ragged breaths as he regained control of his speech.
"Now listen carefully," Freeza said, stepping close enough that only Paragus could hear her next words. "I can kill you faster than you can form your next thought. If you attempt anything – anything at all – I will ensure your death is neither quick nor painless. Do we understand each other?"
Paragus swallowed hard, his single eye wide with fear. "Perfectly... Your Majesty."
"Good." Freeza stepped back. "And don't think you can hide your intentions from me. I can sense malice as easily as breathing."
She turned to Gohan, and to everyone's surprise, her expression softened slightly. She approached the boy and placed a hand on his head – a gesture so uncharacteristically gentle that several of the palace guards exchanged confused glances.
"Gohan," she said, her voice losing some of its imperial edge, "you are now the strongest warrior remaining on the throne world besides my father."
Gohan looked up at her with wide eyes, clearly surprised by both the touch and the trust being placed in him.
"While we are gone, Megumi's protection falls to you," Freeza continued. "Guard him well. He... means everything."
The admission of such vulnerability, however indirect, stunned everyone present. Gohan straightened his posture, his expression becoming serious beyond his years.
"I promise I'll protect him with my life," he said solemnly.
"You won't be alone, kid," Nappa added, slapping Turles on the back hard enough to make him stagger. "We'll be here too. Nobody's getting near the heir while we're around."
Freeza barely acknowledged them, her focus already shifting to the mission ahead. "Prepare a ship immediately," she commanded the nearest officer. "Fastest in the fleet. We depart as soon as it's ready."
As the imperial staff scrambled to fulfill her orders, Bardock moved closer to Goku, speaking in a low voice. "How do you know about him being the Legendary Super Saiyan?"
Goku shook his head, genuinely perplexed. "I don't know, Dad. The words just... came to me. Like someone else was speaking through me. It's... A voice spoke to me in my head before they arrived. One I've never heard before," Goku admitted. "It told me to hide my Ki, and I did."
Bardock's expression grew troubled. "There are old stories from other worlds about the spirits of ancestors sometimes reaching across time to warn their descendants of great danger. I always thought they were just legends, but..."
"You think a Saiyan ancestor was warning me about Broly?" Goku asked, watching as palace guards escorted the towering Saiyan toward the ship preparation area.
"Maybe." Bardock's gaze followed Broly as well.
"If he truly is the Legendary Super Saiyan, then the stories don't do him justice. Believe me, I've ventured close to the prison of the First. I still have nightmares from the presence of that Ki. The legends say he appears once every thousand years, a warrior of unimaginable power driven by pure rage. A destroyer of worlds."
"But he seems so... empty right now," Goku observed. "Like there's nobody home."
"That headband must be suppressing more than just his power," Bardock replied grimly. "If Freeza's right about Paragus using him as a weapon, then he's found a way to control the uncontrollable. For now, at least."
Across the landing pad, Vegeta stood with Piccolo, both watching the proceedings with wary eyes.
"I don't like any of this," Piccolo stated flatly. "Too many variables, too many unknowns."
"For once, Namekian, we agree," Vegeta replied. "First, Kakarot starts acting strange, hiding his ki for no reason. Then these Saiyans appear with a convenient story about surviving all these years."
"Kakarot then for some reason calling that giant the Legendary Super Saiyan. And now we're rushing off to a desert planet because some mad scientist thinks he can tear open reality again while the first time it took the power of a being close to godhood."
"And you believe Goku?" Piccolo asked. "About this Broly being the Legendary Super Saiyan?"
Vegeta's jaw tightened. "I don't know what to believe anymore. The legend has been part of Saiyan culture for millennia – a warrior born with power so vast and uncontrollable that he destroyed himself and the original Saiyan homeworld. Most considered it just a story to frighten children."
"But you don't."
"My father..." Vegeta hesitated, clearly uncomfortable discussing the topic. "My father was obsessed with the legend. He believed the next Legendary Super Saiyan would be born into the royal bloodline – specifically, that I would fulfill the prophecy from birth."
Piccolo raised an eyebrow. "And when you didn't?"
"He... adjusted his expectations. Believing I would achieve it when I grew older." Vegeta replied, his voice hardening.
"But not before he started looking elsewhere. There were apparently... rumors, before Planet Vegeta's destruction, about a Saiyan infant born with an abnormally high power level."
"My father ordered the child executed, but the records were... incomplete. I could only salvage a bit from the Cold Empire's database."
They both turned to look at Broly, who stood motionless, awaiting instructions.
"If Kakarot is right," Vegeta continued quietly, "then we're bringing a universe-killer on a mission to tear open the barrier between worlds."
"And if Toji returns?" Piccolo asked. "What then?"
Vegeta's expression darkened further. "Then we'll have two gods next to one another- and believe me, the world is too small to contain the both of them. Let's hope Freeza knows what she's doing."
Nearby, Freeza herself was issuing final instructions to her staff. Her thoughts, carefully hidden behind her imperial mask, were fixed on a single goal – bringing Toji back from Hell.
Everything else, even the potential threat of the Legendary Super Saiyan, was secondary to that mission.
As preparations for departure continued, no one noticed the calculating gleam in Paragus's eye as he watched the proceedings.
Despite his current predicament, the wheels of vengeance continued turning in his mind. He had waited decades for his revenge against the house of Vegeta – he could wait a little longer.
And perhaps, just perhaps, this unexpected detour would provide new opportunities.
The desert planet awaited, along with Dr. Myu's breakthrough and the thin scar in reality that might – just might – provide a path back to Hell and the man they had lost.
And somewhere, deep within Broly's mind, a single thought continued to burn like an ember refusing to die out:
Kakarot...
-------------------------
(Author note: Yes, it's Z Broly.
Before anyone says anything. Z Broly is my favorite because of the symbolism and how he embodies the Legend.
He isn't mindless, he is articulate when he fully transforms. Is sadistic. Is the peak of what a Saiyan is to the point even other Saiyans fear him. Sadistic beyond measure, that rivals even Freeza.
Is the reflection of Goku, both being based off Sun Wukong.
Goku with his Nimbus and Power Pole.
Broly with the Golden Headband.
Broly is the Prisoner of the Golden Headband.
He has PTSD it's why he wants Goku dead. Since his Ki signature triggers the bad memories. It wasn't his cries or whatever, Broly can sense Ki from birth.
I've done my research on this guy, besides you my friends can't honestly believe a multi-million dollar company creates a movie where the villain is motivated by a crying infant right? Nowhere in the movie is that stated.
Well, I hope to see you all next chapter,
Bye!)