In Darkest Knight

Bak wak watched his sons spar, amazed at the progress that each of them had made; both had grown tall and strong, and neither had any shortage of female companionship (though the affairs were brief and stormy). Both boys were sleek and graceful as wild cats, thanks to the extensive training from the various members of the Corps. Brolli\'s control of his incredible powers was nothing short of miraculous; he had fine-tuned his senses and his abilities, and had such fine control over his powering up that it caused nary a ripple in the air.

His attention snapped back to the two in the specially-reinforced chamber below him as Radditz suddenly let out a shriek. Brolli quickly took several steps back as Radditz\'s thick black mane spiked outward and flickered once, twice, then burst in bright gold, holding steady. The younger male cried, \"You did it, onii-san!\"

\"I... I did it... I DID IT!\" He yelled, and the two brothers came together in a tight, back-slapping embrace, laughing happily.

\"Oy, tousaaaaaaaaaaan!\" Brolli called up to their father, waving; Bardock chuckled and waved back. He had known it was only a matter of time before Radditz broke the Super-Saiya-jin barrier; now it was a matter of training him to bring on that state and power down from it again at will.

\"Its amazing how happy he is, given his background,\" another Green Lantern murmured as he walked up beside the distinguished Saiya-jin.

\"Yeah, I\'m just glad I was able to keep him here, Hal.\" He leaned on the rail, tail swaying behind him.

\"The Guardians\' training him has made all the difference. What would have been a dangerous wild-card is now an incredible force for good.\"

\"Speaking of forces for good, how\'s Kakkarot doing?\"

Hal chuckled quietly. \"Cleaning up in the tournament circuit, righting wrongs and protecting the world in his spare time, putting all-you-can-eats out of business..

B

Bardock laughed heartily. \"That\'s my son, all right.\"

\"When are you going to see him?\"

\"Soon, I think. I\'ve got a trade agreement I need to work out between Namek and Yardrat first, but that won\'t take too long. They both want it, it\'s just the matter of a few small details.\"

\"Like the Dragonballs, and Yardrat\'s teleportation technique.\"

\"Precisely. Each is going to want access to the other, I can *feel* it.\"

\"You might be wrong, you know.\"

\"I\'m hoping I am.\"

The middle-aged gentleman patted Bardock on the shoulder, then let out an \'oof\' as he was suddenly scooped up by a boisterous young Saiya-jin. \"Didja see, Uncle Hal?! Radditz did it! He\'s like me now!\"

Hal laughed. \"Not quite, son, not quite. You\'re the only one that\'s like you.\"

Brolli pouted, an odd expression on a 20-year-old\'s face. \"I know... being unique sucks sometimes.\" He put Hal down on his feet, but his good mood was only barely muted. \"But he *DID* it! He became a Super Saiya-jin!\"

\"Oh good!\"

\"Let\'s go celebrate. I\'m starving.\"

\"You\'re always hungry.\" Bardock teased, grinning.

\"Gaaaaah!\" He groaned as his father and brother laughed.

/If only Pinache could be here.../

***

Meanwhile, half a galaxy away, Prince Vegeta sat with some of his most trusted guardsmen, going over some maps and strategies. \"Nappa, I want you to hold the door. You\'re strr thr than any of my father\'s men, you shouldn\'t have a problem. Besides it won\'t take long.\"

\"Hai, Ouji-sama.\"

\"Ouji-sama, is this really wise?\"

\"Probably not, Daikon, but I am at my wit\'s end. I\'m wondering if things would be easier if my aunt were still alive.\"

\"Most likely. Pinache had a head for strategy, even if her motives were weak.\"

\"NEVER speak so of her again, bald fool!\" He hissed at Nappa, tail lashing, and the big man knew he had overstepped his bounds. He relaxed as Nappa stepped back, turning back to the discussion.

Nappa quietly excused himself from the room. /A fool, am I? Well, then, let me show you how much of a fool I am.../

***

The Prince led his men up the hallway, moving stealthily up the darkened hallways. /I don\'t like this. It\'s too quiet.../ The fine hairs on the back of his neck prickled as they approached the royal bedchamber. /There should be guards out here... where *is* everyone?/ He held up a hand, signaling a stop, and scented the air carefully. He didn\'t detect anything untoward, but the quiet still bothered him, even as he opened the door.

The bedchamber was dark and still, and his instincts continued to nag at him as they entered. The tip of his tail twitched as his men fanned out around the bed. /... empty? Then where.../ At that moment, every light in the room came on, blinding sensitive eyes. /Its a trap!/ He and his soldiers were stunned and helpless as they were taken into custody and hauled forcefully into the nearby throne room. They were forced down on their knees and held there.

\"Well, if it isn\'t my dear, *loving* son.\"

\"Father, I can explain...\"

\"No, this is beyond explaination.\"

The younger man looked his father in the eye and let out a low growl. \"How did you know?\"

The king smirked. \"Your man, Nappa, was more than willing to tell us of your plans, namesake.\" Vegeta paled as he continued. \"Yes, we know everything: the assassination, the purging of my loyal soldiers, even the revoking of the traitor, Bardock\'s, banishment. Were you so foolish as to believe you could pull it off?\"

Vegeta\'s eyes went slowly to Nappa, standing at the bottom of the dais, looking quite pleased with himself. \"How much did he pay you, Nappa?\"

\"I\'ve been promised one hell of a reward, Oujisama.\" He spat the word like a curse. \"Not that it\'ll matter to you shortly...\"

\"Indeed. And here is your reward, Guardsman Nappa.\" Ki flared and punched a hole through the huge man\'s chest; the dead Saiyan managed to look very startled as he collapsed. The Prince panted quietly, the scent of char and ozone coating his mouth and throat, horror driving every thought from his brain. The King sat back, watching his son with relish. \"Kill all of my traitor son\'s soldiers. Now.\" He said flatly.

It was over quickly, fortunately, though their blood pooled on the stone, cooling, the smell choking him. \"What of your son, Ou-sama?\"

\"Throw him out with the rest of the garbage. You have six hours to be gone from my domain, traitor-child. After that...\" He let the threat hang in the air as his only son--and now his worst enemy--was carried away with the corpses of his friends.

He could have broken free; horror still had him tightly in its grip, held him paralyzed. The only thought in his mind was, \"Why?!\" Even as he and the bodies were thrown down on the midden heap, he wondered... then deep crimson rage flooded his brain. He pushed himself up and moved amongst the bodies, speaking words of solace to their souls that they would find a peaceful rest, carefully plucking a hair from each. When finished, he swiftly plaited the hairs and bound them to his wrist. \"I promise you... I promise you all, I *WILL* seek revenge for what he has done. Just... forgive me now for my foolishness...\" He crouched, quickly plundering any money that hin han had been carrying, then sped into the darkness.

***

Bardock paced restlessly in his room, gnawing on his thumbnail. Ever since he had gotten word of what had happened, he had feared for the prince\'s life, and was terrified that his agent would be caught before he could make it back with Vegeta. There was a brief knocking on the doorway before Kilowog entered; the exiled Saiya-jin looked up at the pink alien. \"Well?\"

\"They made it past the border, and are on their way straight here.\"

Bardock felt his bones go slack with relief. \"Thank the Supreme... how long?\"

\"A couple of hours, max, barring recharge, and even *that* only takes a minute at the most.\"

The tailed Lantern nodded. \"Let my sons know we\'re expecting company. I\'ll head down to the kitchen, see if I can inspire the cook to work her magic.\"

\"Right.\" With that, Kilowog retreated, Bardock following.