Vegeta let out a yawn as the first rays of the sun entered the room that he had been sleeping in and landed on his eyes, effectively causing him to wave his hands for a few seconds before snapping his eyes open and rising into a sitting position so he could get the sun out of his eyes. Bulma had been generous enough to allow him to spend a few nights in her own house, before he decided what to do with his life now that he had finally gotten his vengeance on the tyrant Frieza, but he hadn't expected the party that he and everyone else had attended the night before. The entire group had gathered in the area around the spherical ship and shared stories with each other as they toasted to their victory, where he learned a little more about Kakarot when he was a child, and all the deeds he had done before Raditz had landed on the planet, but he joined in everyone's laughter when he felt it was appropriate.
Unfortunately he, Rainbow, and Applejack didn't have too many stories to tell, as the girls had been asleep for so many years and couldn't tell most of what they knew because they would end up revealing who their parents were, but they were able to tell stories about the three years they spent together and saved people from Frieza's grasp. Despite that fact the rest of the group was more than willing to laugh at whatever the tree of them did while they were children, which he considered to be fair considering how much he had laughed at the stories that Bulma told about Kakarot from when he was a child.
Dr. Brief had prepared a large feast for them to celebrate the downfall of Frieza, to go with the rest of the party the group had originally planned out, though he was smart enough to give Rainbow and Applejack juice, considering that they weren't at the legal age to drink alcohol like most of the group they were hanging with. Vegeta chuckled as he remembered his hunger getting the better of him as he dug into the feast that had been laid out for everyone, but judging by the look on Bulma's face he knew that her family was already used to Saiyans eating a lot... though he wasn't the only one stuffing his face at the time. He had seen Rainbow and Applejack chowing down like he was, with Applejack eating in a more respectable manner than the manner that he and her sister had been eating in, but truthfully he was enjoying their victory and decided to have fun.
Now, on the morning following their party, he stretched as he pulled himself from the bed he had been laying on, which he honestly didn't remember collapsing on after the group had finished their party, before he made his way out into the large living area that the kitchen was located in... where he found Dr. Brief sitting at the table and sipping from a cup that he placed on the table in front of him.
"Ah, good morning Vegeta," Dr. Brief said, though he put down the paper he was reading from, moved to the counter and grabbed a second glass, before he poured something into it and returned to the table, where he set the steaming cup down in front of him, "Do you, by chance, drink coffee at all?"
"Yes, but the only variety of coffee I have ever tasted is the blend that Frieza allowed his underlings to drink... though I will admit that it isn't the best blend in the universe," Vegeta answered, to which he picked up the cup that had been placed in front of him and blew on it a few times, before taking a few sips and smiling at Dr. Brief, "Oh that is so much better than anything the tyrant ever let us drink."
"Wait, so the worst tyrant in the universe's history can have awesome spaceships and great warriors," Dr. Brief said, surprise appearing on his face for a few seconds, as if he actually couldn't believe what Vegeta was telling him, "but he willingly allows his citizens to drink subpar coffee and expects them to enjoy it? Its a wonder why no one else bothered to do what you were planning... terrible coffee would have been a decent reason for me planning on bringing some change to his empire."
Vegeta stared at the cup for a moment, as he hesitated to even add the lackluster coffee he was forced to drink as a plausible reason behind all of his planning and hard work, but he decided not to say anything about it. If anything whoever was in charge after the death of Frieza might actually be better than the tyrant... otherwise he was sure that someone would be coming to Earth sometime in the near future to get their revenge on him and everyone else. Still, regardless of where coffee rested on the list of reasons behind him wanting to topple the tyrant that destroyed his home planet, he was happy to have finally gotten his revenge and no doubt satisfied all the Saiyans that had perished on that fateful day.
"Though I guess at this point it doesn't matter," Dr. Brief said after a few seconds, causing Vegeta to look up from his cup, "You and Goku beat the tyrant in fair combat, and cut him to pieces with his own attack I might add, though I think its safe to say that he was destroyed when Namek exploded. You saved the universe from such an evil creature, which I'm sure that all the various races are grateful for... even if they don't know what the two of you did for them."
Vegeta nodded and the two of them spoke for a time about Frieza's empire, as Dr. Brief wanted to know more about the technology that was used throughout the empire, though he could only offer him some information on the pieces of technology he knew about. After a few minutes, and they had both finished their drinks, they moved out into the area that the Namekians would be staying in, finding that the majority of them were up and about already. Vegeta guessed that it made sense, considering that they were in an unknown location and wanted to know everything about where they were, but he had to chuckle when he spotted Rainbow sleeping on a cloud... especially when Dr. Brief commented on how weird it was for her to bend the clouds to her will.
Truth be told Vegeta had never figured out how Rainbow was able to do that, he just assumed that it was something unique to her, as Applejack had never done something like that in the time he knew her... and speaking of Applejack he noticed that she was talking to someone that was standing in front of a floating carpet. He had never met the person before in his entire life, but he was sure that Applejack knew him based on the fact that neither one of them were annoyed with each other, which meant that he was an ally of some kind. A few seconds later the man pointed towards Vegeta, to which Applejack looked back and smiled at him, before beckoning for him to come over and join the two of them.
"Mr. Popo, this is Vegeta" Applejack said, though that was followed by her beckoning to the strange man that she was standing near for a few seconds, who had his arms crossed behind his back as he stared into Vegeta's eyes, "Vegeta, this is Mr. Popo. It was thanks to his carpet that Piccolo, Rainbow, and I were able to join everyone on Namek and help you take apart Frieza's elite soldiers. He's also the one that our mother entrusted us to when we were in our enchanted sleep, where we slept on Kami's Lookout until we woke up from our slumber."
"Is that so?" Vegeta replied, to which he turned towards Mr. Popo and gave him a small bow, because he had the feeling that there was more to the man than what he was seeing at the moment and decided to be respectful towards him, "I'm happy to hear that the two of you had such a powerful person watching over you... and I am grateful to you, Mr. Popo, for making sure that nothing happened to them during the time that they were asleep."
"If you say so," Mr. Popo remarked, to which he turned his full attention to the Saiyan and glared at him, though Vegeta knew better than to say anything about the man's attitude, especially when he was sure that he outranked him, "King Kai has called in a favor and asked me to come here, where I'm supposed to retrieve you, Rainbow, and Applejack. Apparently he has something special he wants the three of you to see, though I'll have to make two trips between here and where King Kai is waiting; one for the girls and one for you."
Vegeta had to admit, he was slightly curious as to why this King Kai wanted both him and the girls to come visit him, but he guessed that Frieza was the root of the decision. He turned his eyes towards the cloud that Rainbow was sleeping on and found that it was empty, though he then noticed that she was walking towards them with a smile on her face.
"So King Kai wants to see us?" Rainbow asked, to which she stretched her arms and legs for a moment, while at the same time both Vegeta and Applejack nodded to her, "I'm sure that we'll be able to pick up something to eat later... unless he's willing to wait an hour for us to eat something?"
"He told me that there would be a feast prepared for the three of you when you arrive at your destination." Mr. Popo said, to which he beckoned to the carpet for a moment, "I'll take you and your sister to where King Kai wants to meet you first, then I'll come back and pick your friend up."
Rainbow nodded as she and her sister climbed onto the carpet, to which Mr. Popo climbed on after them and disappeared in an instant, though it was far from the strangest thing Vegeta had ever seen by this point in his life. A few seconds later the man returned with the carpet, where Vegeta discovered that the girls were gone, so he assumed that it was his turn and climbed onto the carpet. He wondered what was going to happen next, though before he could say anything the area around him disappeared and he traveled to wherever Mr. Popo had taken Rainbow and Applejack.
The next thing Vegeta saw was that he, Mr. Popo, Rainbow, and Applejack were all near some sort of shrine of some sort, which happened to rest near the side of what appeared to be a walkway that had been constructed to resemble a serpent, though he couldn't see either end of the beast from where he was standing. As Vegeta climbed off the carpet he noticed that there was a short man that wore a black robe that covered the majority of his body, though when he looked at the symbol on the man's chest he knew that this had to be King Kai. The moment he was off the carpet Mr. Popo announced that he would be back later in the afternoon to pick the three of them up, before disappearing as quickly as he had arrived, leaving the three of them alone with King Kai.
As the trio approached King Kai, who was standing in front of the shrine waiting for them, Vegeta noticed that he was carrying some sort of pouch as well, one that was perfectly rounded and reminded him of the perfect spheres that were the Dragon Balls.
"Good morning King Kai," Applejack said, though she bowed to the world god that was standing before them, something that both Rainbow and Vegeta repeated not moments later.
"Morning Applejack. Morning Rainbow Dash." King Kai replied, smiling at the two as he turned his attention to Vegeta, who offered him a smile in return, "And good morning to you as well Vegeta."
"Likewise King Kai," Vegeta said, which was followed by him and the girls standing straight once more, "Mr. Popo didn't give us a clear picture of why you wanted to see us. Is this about what happened on Namek?"
"Yes, and I will explain on the way," King Kai said, to which he beckoned for them to follow him as he lead them down the winding road that they were standing on, "You see, I was content to let you guys party on Earth, which would have served as your reward for defeating the dreaded Frieza and fracturing part of his empire, but someone else decided that you deserved a better reward than a party. I met with a certain someone who desired to see the three of you again, so he asked me to invite the three of you into the Other World, to which I had to call in a favor with Mr. Popo. Trust me, I never thought I'd use my favor in such a manner, but considering what's ahead of us... well, I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise just yet."
Vegeta started to open his mouth, so he could question what King Kai was saying, but before he could actually say anything he noticed a shimmering golden gate resting off to the left side of the road that they were on, one that seemed to be calling out to him. He had the feeling that behind that gate was what King Kai wanted to show them, though at the same time he had to wonder who had convinced King Kai to allow the three of them to come here. When they reached the front of the gate King Kai stopped for a moment, as if he was mentally debating about something, before he let out a sigh and tapped on the metal gate. A few seconds later the gate opened for the four of them, to which they were able to see what laid on the other side... though Vegeta knew that he wasn't ready for what he saw.
What was resting in front of them was a literal copy of the city that his father had ruled over since he had held the Saiyan uprising against the other inhabitants of the planet, who had been treating them like dirt the entire time, but the major difference was that it looked pristine and well maintained. Vegeta looked to the left and right for a moment, finding that the city stretched outwards in all the directions it possibly could, while at the same time keeping the palace in its usual spot near the middle of the city, where the large courtyard rested in front of the palace. Before Planet Vegeta had been destroyed Vegeta remembered seeing a statue of his father in the middle of the courtyard, a symbol to celebrate his victory over the Tuffles, but that statue had been replaced by a silver sphere that was resting on some sort of base.
What surprised Vegeta the most was the fact that the people who called this city home, and ran it like any other city he had been to in his entire life, were Saiyans. He didn't mean what they were before they forced to work under Frieza, because these Saiyans were wearing the same battle gear that he was wearing at the moment, but from what he could tell the gear the others were wearing had been slightly modified, as if the dead had made it their own. He was also sure that all of the Saiyans in front of him were dead, if the circular halos above their heads were anything to go by, but he was still shocked by what he was looking at.
"Welcome to the resting place of every Saiyan that followed the path you father set them on," King Kai commented, nodding to a group of Saiyans that were walking by them, who nodded in return as they picked up the conversation they were having, "Originally we thought about calling this place the Halls of Justice, but then decided that it really wasn't the best name despite the fact that all of you fought for the greater good of the universe. Now, however, we have taken to calling the city 'Asgard', where the Saiyans live and train between missions to ensure stability in the Other World... though one of their major jobs is making sure that the denizens of Hell stay where they belong."
"Or capturing rogue spirits and returning them to their rightful place," a voice said, to which a male Saiyan landed in front of them and started walking beside them, "I swear, keeping Chilled in Hell is actually kind of fun... especially when he always tries to fight his way out of every situation I encounter him in, despite the fact that I've beaten him more times than I can count."
As the Saiyan looked back at the group Vegeta had to do a double take, because for a moment he thought that Kakarot was standing in front of him, but then he noticed the scar on the Saiyan's left cheek and knew that it couldn't be who he was thinking about. The Saiyan was wearing a dark blue and green colored suit of armor, without the shoulder pads, along with a pair of black pants that most Saiyans had refused to wear, but there were some exceptions to that opinion. This Saiyan was even wearing a blood red colored headband, something that was generally uncommon among the Saiyans, but Vegeta didn't mind the change at all.
"Oh, where are my manners?" the Saiyan asked, rubbing the back of his head as he looked at the group, "My name is Bardock and, judging from the looks you three are giving me, I can tell that you figured out that I have some relation to Kakarot... I'm his father."
"You're Kakarot's father?" Vegeta inquired, to which the Saiyan nodded to him as they continued walking towards the palace, "The family resemblance is uncanny."
"That's the same thing that my wife, Gine, tells me every now and then," Bardock said, a smile appearing on his face as a female Saiyan walked out of a building and came their way, "and here she comes now."
Vegeta discovered that Gine was actually shorter than Bardock and had a more slender shape to her body, though she had skin colored like his, had onyx colored eyes, and had shaggy black hair that reached her shoulders. Gine was wearing a sleeveless black bodysuit, though her combat armor was green colored and was outlined with white lines, which happened to end in a thigh length hoop. In addition to all of that she was wearing purple armbands and white boots, all of which looked custom made at some point in her life, which was common for most of the female Saiyans if Vegeta was remembering correctly. Vegeta even noticed that Gine was allowing her tail to move freely as she walked, while her husband Bardock had his wrapped around his waist like a belt, which was what he had done while he still had his tail.
"Bardock, I thought you weren't supposed to be back until tonight!" Gine said, wrapping her arm around Bardock's as she fell in with the rest of the group, though she was smiling the entire time.
"I would still be out there if Chilled hadn't made a mistake while he was trying to hide from me," Bardock replied, a smile appearing on his face as he looked at the rest of the group, "If you'll excuse us, I'm sure that my wife would like my company for an hour or two... and I'm sure we'll be seeing more of you in the future."
Vegeta could only watch as Kakarot's parents bid the group farewell and departed, leaving him to wonder who else he would be meeting while he and the girls were here. As they walked down the street he recognized Saiyans that he had seen when they came to the palace to report their success on whatever missions they had been sent on, before Nappa had gotten them killed. It was strange to see all of them again, especially when a few of them came and greeted him as the group passed them, but he couldn't help but call them by their names and talk with them for a minute or two before excusing himself once more.
As they neared the palace Vegeta turned to King Kai, deciding that it was time to ask what was going on for all of the Saiyans to be walking around the afterlife like this, but before he could say anything he was interrupted by someone he thought that he would never see again in his entire life; his father.
"Hello son," King Vegeta said, to which he stepped down the rest of the steps that led up to the palace and placed his hand on Vegeta's shoulder, while at the same time a smile appeared on his face, "I'm sure that you and your friends have questions for me... which I will answer over breakfast. King Kai, would you like to join us?"
"I'm afraid that I can't stay much longer," King Kai replied, to which he pulled off the pouch he was wearing and handed it to King Vegeta, who collected it with his spare hand a few seconds later, "I'll be back late this afternoon to pick them up, unless something more demanding requires my attention."
King Vegeta nodded and King Kai departed from the city that they were in, allowing the Saiyan king to beckon the trio into the palace, where both he and his son were saluted by the guards that were standing at the entrance. Rainbow and Applejack looked at the inside of the palace that they entered, remembering their visits to the original palace that their friend had lived in, finding it strange that the entire palace they were walking through was an exact copy of the one that had been on Planet Vegeta. The halls were the same, the various statues and pillars were the same, the draperies were the same, and even the table and silverware that was waiting for them was the exact same. It was like someone had taken a snapshot of the city that King Vegeta had ruled and transplanted it in the heavens, only to improve it beyond what it had been before its destruction.
As they entered the dining room Vegeta noticed that the chair that his father generally sat in, recreated to look exactly like the original that had rested in the palace he had grown up in, was accompanied by another chair... one that looked almost as grand as his father's seat.
"I'm sure that all three of you have questions," King Vegeta said, to which he beckoned to the seats that were arranged around his own, where they all took their seats as he set the pouch down near them, "So go ahead, ask away."
"How... how is all of this possible?" Vegeta asked, waving a hand around for a moment, though he meant both the palace and the surrounding city that was just outside the walls.
"I asked King Kai the same thing when I first arrived in this afterlife," King Vegeta answered, to which a light chuckle escaped from his lips as he looked at his guests, "He told me that those who devote their lives to fighting for the greater good, and knowing when to make sacrifices for the good of other races, kept their bodies when they entered the Other World when they died. He said that he and the other Kais had gathered together and came to the decision that the entire Saiyan race, those that fought for the greater good, saved innocents, and defeated tyrants, deserved a place in this realm, to which I discovered that they had recreated our city in perfect detail.
Once we had settled into our new home, and came to terms with the fact that we had been granted a second chance to do the right thing in a new realm, we discovered that our new role was to keep the denizens of Hell where they belong, as well as deal with certain spirits that are trying to take over this realm. I'm sure that you met Bardock when you entered the city, no doubt returning from hunting Chilled down yet again, so you have some idea of what we do around here. Basically when a spirit causes trouble we receive a notice on what's going on and select the appropriate person, or group, to deal with whichever spirit is the culprit... though there are some special cases, like Bardock being the one to constantly deal with Chilled."
"That reminds me," Applejack commented, noticing that some of the castle staff walked into the room and started placing dishes on the table, "who is this Chilled that Bardock mentioned?"
"He's Frieza's ancestor," King Vegeta replied, raising a hand to his chin for a moment, as if remembering something that had happened a long time ago, "He and Bardock have a certain... history... with each other, though personally I'm beginning to think that Chilled is only doing this to have fun with his foe, as Bardock seems to be the only one that can find and contain him. That could explain why the old space pirate is able to get around his guards so much, they might be allowing him to exercise with the knowledge that he'll be brought back to them in due time."
"His descendant should be joining him in a few days," Vegeta said, a smile appearing on his face as he recalled what he and the others had celebrated the previous night, as he was sure that his father was going to find this amusing, "Kakarot, who is Bardock and Gine's son, helped me take out Frieza on Planet Namek yesterday... so the last two surviving Saiyans took out the person responsible for destroying our race and planet in one swift decision."
"Speaking of Saiyans, there's someone I wanted you to meet," King Vegeta said, his own smile widening as he heard a door open behind him, "and trust me son, she's been dying to meet you and your friends."
Vegeta looked up as a female Saiyan, who was just as tall as his father and had a body that was as slender as Gine's was, walked into the room with a smile on her face. She was wearing a dark blue colored bodysuit that didn't have any sleeves, just like the suit that Gine was wearing earlier, though the area covering her stomach was bare, telling Vegeta that the bodysuit was in two pieces. The lady's armor was white colored and broken into a chest piece and a lower body piece, as if she was intentionally showing off her midriff, which Vegeta found odd considering most female Saiyans never wore their armor like that. Her hair style was like Gine's and colored black like Vegeta's hair, though her hair stopped a few inches passed her shoulders, while Vegeta noticed that there were a few bangs hanging in front of her eyes, but she didn't seem bothered by them at all.
As Vegeta and the girls looked at the lady he noticed a few interesting things about her; like the fact that her tail was freely moving behind her body, exactly like Gine's had been, and the fact that the Royal Mark of his family happened to be resting on the left side of her chest piece.
"Allow me to do the introductions," King Vegeta said, to which he turned his smile to the lady that was approaching the table, while at the same time gesturing to Vegeta and the girls for a moment, "Darling, this is our son, Vegeta, and his friends Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Vegeta, this is my wife Mizuna... she's your mother."
Vegeta and the girls were taken aback by the declaration that the lady that was standing behind his father was none other than his mother, which unfortunately Vegeta couldn't remember much about because she had died shortly after his brother Tarble had been born... but that didn't stop him from rising from his chair.
"My darling little angel," the lady, Mizuna, said, a smile appearing on her face as she walked forward, while at the same time she took a few seconds to look over Vegeta as he stood up, "you look so much like your father... but a mother recognizes her child, regardless of how much time has passed since they last saw each other."
Vegeta's eyes widened as he heard Mizuna's voice, as several long forgotten memories resurfaced for a few seconds, but they all had the same lady speaking in the same voice he had just heard, to which he felt some tears starting to swell up. Not a few seconds later Mizuna held her arms out and Vegeta, suddenly feeling like his younger self for a moment, ran forward and threw his arms around her, embracing her tighter than he ever had before... while at the same time letting his tears fall.
"My son, there's no reason to cry," Mizuna softly said, though she embraced her son in the same manner than he was doing to her, but it was clear that she was as happy to see her son as Vegeta was to see her... even as a few tears fell down her face as well.
"I... I never thought that I would see you again," Vegeta managed to say, though this time his speech was broken up by the sadness that had been inside his heart all these years, which he was finally letting go of at long last, "One day you were there, showing me how you moved when you were in combat, and the next you were gone, ripped from my world and leaving a scar that was never going to heal. I heard stories of other children having their families torn apart by Frieza, so I devoted myself to doing everything in my power to save the innocent people he targeted as well as taking out every tyrant that I encountered... so the same fate wouldn't befall them and their families. I didn't want anyone else to go through the pain of losing their parents like I had, which was why I constantly undermined all of Frieza missions on other planets... just to keep my pain from spreading to other people."
"You did that and so much more in the time you worked under the tyrant," King Vegeta said, walking over to his wife and son, where he embraced the two of them with a smile on his face, "and for that alone your mother and I are proud of your actions. The entire Saiyan race, however, is proud of you for a very different reason..."
"And that would be?" Vegeta managed to ask, though after a few seconds he decided that it had been a foolish question to ask to begin with, especially when the answer was the reason he and the girls had been invited to this place in the first place.
"You fought side by side with another Saiyan, one who followed our example without even knowing what we did for the universe, and defeated Frieza in combat," King Vegeta replied, to which he helped his son and wife over to the table, "You and Kakarot, or Goku as he prefers to be called, defeated the tyrant that destroyed us and avenged our entire race at the same time. Every Saiyan that lives in this city has, by this point in time, heard about your deeds... and they are proud of the two of you for carrying on the legacy of Saiyans protecting the innocent and defeating the wicked."
"I am also happy that you didn't let your rage control you when Dodoria told you what happened to me," Mizuna commented, noticing the anger in her son's eyes return for a moment, but it was squished by the happiness that came from being reunited with both of his parents, "I came to terms with that a long time ago... but that didn't stop me from grinning when King Kai told the two of us that you beat both Dodoria and Zarbon in combat, as well as avenging me at the same time."
"They got what they deserved," Vegeta replied, though as he said the words he and his mother finally broke away from each other, to which the three of them returned to the table and took their seats.
"Indeed, though they are not the only ones to receive a fitting punishment," King Vegeta said, to which he beckoned for everyone to dig into the food before it got cold, where he smiled as all five of them helped themselves to the feast that had been prepared ahead of time, "Those that willingly followed Frieza and enjoyed slaughtering innocent people, like the Ginyu Force for example, will have been sentenced to Hell for the rest of their lives, while those that were only trying to survive, and wanted nothing to do with the tyrant, may have the chance to redeem themselves. Of course this also applies to the two Saiyans that were with you, before you found Rainbow and Applejack, but of the two of them Raditz, if he chooses to redeem himself and overcomes his demons, might be able to join all of us here... and see his mother and father again since our planet was destroyed.
The other Saiyan... we have taken to calling him 'He Who Must Not Be Named', because he was the black stain that would have eventually ruined countless other worlds had you not taken him out when you did. He will remain in Hell for the rest of his existence, without there being any hope for him to join us here, in our new home, which is all he deserves for what he did to us and our home. We also have to thank young Rainbow and Applejack for helping you overcome the man responsible for betraying our race and causing our downfall... though my wife and I agree that at some point we'd like to see that special move of yours."
"Actually, I insisted on seeing it once I heard who your father was," Mizuna said, correcting her husband, who decided to pick up some eggs and proceeded to eat them as she spoke, "but we can go over the rest of your visit once we finish eating."
Vegeta smiled at the girls for a moment, knowing that Rainbow wouldn't pass up an opportunity to show off her lance to the entirety of the Saiyan population, as he was sure that everyone else would see the blast and feel it from a distance, but his mind turned towards the real reward he had been given. King Kai could have easily left him and the girls back on Earth, where they could have partied for a few days before getting back to the task at hand, but the World God had been persuaded by his father to allow both him and the girls to come here. He was thankful for his father going through the effort to set all this up, because it allowed him to get to know the one person he never really knew... and it gave her the chance to get to know him as well.
He could already feel the hole that had been left by his mother's death starting to fill already, which made him happier than he had been in a long time... though he was sure that this feeling would be with him for the rest of his life.