CHAPTER FOUR:

Bardock gaped speechlessly at his best friend. He couldn’t believe it. How could Azusa ask him that sort of a question? Feeling his anger rise, he spat out sharply,

"N’ehi , Azusa. I have denounced the rebellion. I told you I have a wife and a family to look after. So you are wasting your time. I am not going back.”

“That is a measly excuse, Bardock.” Azusa said curtly, his face now tightened in brute determination. “Your boys are practically full Saiyan males now and they can take care of themselves. You do not need to keep babying them.”

“And what about my mate? Do I leave her to go out for some useless reason?!” Bardock screamed back in growing irritation. “I refuse to fight for a cause that is so useless and worthless!”

“Is that why you are betraying your people, then?!” Azusa shouted back, watching as Bardock’s face paled in the dying sunset.

“How can you say that?” Bardock whispered softly in pain. “How can you say that to me, Azusa? You know as well as anybody else that I have fought for our rights for years…”

“So why did you quit?!”

“Because I couldn’t do it anymore!!” Bardock yelled out in frustration. Turning away from Azusa, he stuffed a hand into his mouth to stop the harsh sob that had risen out of his throat. “I couldn’t…couldn’t …face it anymore. I had failed our people, Azusa.” Hitching in deep breaths of air to control his emotions, he continued thickly, “They put their trust in me and I failed them.”

“You did not fail them, Bardock.” Azusa whispered, resting comforting hands on the shaking shoulders. “That is why we need you back. We still believe in you and we know that when you join us, there is no way we could lose.”

“But we lost the last time…what difference does it make this time?”

Azusa grinned widely. “Oh, there is a lot of difference, my friend. You see when you were in the rebellion, Ha’j  Vegeta was strong and healthy and we were young and inexperienced. But now the tables are turned. Word from our spies say that the king is dying and his power over the main city is slowly dwindling. Think about it, Bardock. Over the past few years, I have been building up armies of wa’zuai  so strong, that we are sure to crumble down the Ha’an  in just a few months.”

“How come I have never heard of this army?” Bardock asked skeptically, staring at the excited face before him.

“That is because we have been hidden in the distant mountains of Cahon.” Azusa replied, his grin now a permanent fixture on his face.

“Cahon?! That is miles away from…anything!” Bardock gasped in shock.

“Exactly, nu kin’tai . The caves there are well secluded and safe. We have used that as our training grounds, readying ourselves for the day that you return.”

Bardock shook his head to clear away the muddled thoughts in his mind. All of this was happening too fast for him.

“How many…?”

“We are over five thousand strong, Bardock.” Azusa answered quickly.

“Five thousand…”

“Ahi . We have the firepower. We have the space pods, equipment, and machines. We have everything you could ever desire. We are ready for a full-scale war, Bardock. All we need is you. So say you will join us.”

Bardock frowned, his mind divided into two complete opposite spectrums. One side tingled with the growing heat and anticipation of battle. It was a dull fire, but the thirst was there. It longed for destruction and chaos. The other side cried out for rationale and thought. He had Laetha to think about. Radditsu was going to join the very people he was going to fight against and his little one was going to be mated soon in the upcoming Sai’joun festival.

“I need some time to think about this.” He finally replied.

“How much longer, Bardock?” Azusa asked, impatience filtering into his voice. “We can only wait for so long.”

“Until the Sai’joun  festival is over. My son, Kakkarrot, is to be with his mate on that day and I do not wish to miss it.”

“Ahi . I know him. He is just as wild as his father, ne?”

Bardock flushed brightly and smiled at the thought of his baby becoming a man in just a few more weeks. ~ Za’ani ! How time flies…~

“Fine, Bardock. Once the Sai’joun  festival is over, I will come back for you and hopefully you will be ready by then, ne?”

“Ahi , Azusa. I will be ready.”

“Ha’ku Ra’nan, nu ra’hi .” Azusa said softly, leaning close to brush his lips against Bardock’s again. “I will wait for you.”

And with a burst of energy, the tall warrior disappeared into the fading light sky, leaving the rebel and a silent watcher, alone with their quiet thoughts.

-*-*-*-*-

Radditsu chucked off his boots and tossed them into the corner of the room, watching from the corner of his eye at his little brother who had surprisingly been quiet throughout dinner and now here. The Kakkarrot he knew was as noisy as an a’kai  being milked during meal times and his incessant chatter was the key element to their family meals. But tonight had been different. There had been a tense silence on the table, as Kakkarrot had barely said a word. Even his father had been acting strangely and it had puzzled both he and his mother throughout the meal.

He wondered if they were upset about him leaving for the main city. But that couldn’t be. Kakkarrot had made sure that everyone knew he was leaving soon. The boy had been so supportive and proud of the fact that his older ba’rana  was going to be an elite. His father had displayed the same support and pride in him. So why was everyone so uptight?

Undressing quietly, he slid beneath his sheets, having decided to spend the night with his family instead of with Saida. Switching off the lights on his side of the bed, he watched as Kakkarrot undressed silently. ~ Hn. The boy is beginning to fill out. It’s a miracle. ~ Sure enough, Kakkarrot’s body was now becoming more defined. He had begun taking his trainings seriously, because he wanted to join Radditsu soon, and so his body was now hardened and toned in the right places, making the younger boy a beauty to behold.

~ Hn. No wonder the ha’ji  couldn’t keep his hands off him. My baby brother is a beautiful Saiyan. ~

Grinning widely, he turned onto his side, listening idly to the creaking sounds of Kakkarrot’s bed, as he willed himself to sleep.

For several minutes, a peaceful silence filled the room as the soft breathing of the two Saiyans resonated in the air. Just as Radditsu was about to give in to his exhaustion, he heard the softly asked question.

“Brother? Are you still awake?”

Sighing, Radditsu spun onto his back and stared blankly at the ceiling. “I am now, s’au ba’rana . What is it?”

“Forgive me for disturbing you, brother.”

“That’s fine. Now go on…what is bothering you?”

“I…I…” Kakkarrot began weakly, not sure of how to begin.

Radditsu snorted in growing irritation and turning his head he glared at Kakkarrot. “Are you going to tell me or not?”

“I will brother. I just don’t know how to say it…”

Radditsu stared at Kakkarrot, his brow frowning in thought. “Are you still not sure about what to do with Kayla on your wedding night?”

“Umm…that’s not it…and I do know what to do!” Kakkarrot whispered harshly, his face burning up with embarrassment.

“Okay, so what is it? You are not having second thoughts about the whole wedding in general, are you?”

“No…”

“I know you are still upset about me not being there to watch the whole thing, but just remember that I love you, little one and I will always be with you in spirit, okay?”

“I know that, brother.” Kakkarrot said softly, swallowing the lump that was rising up in his throat. Taking a deep breath, he tried to ask his question again.

“Brother?”

“Yes, Kakkarrot.”

“When you join the elite…will you have to fight against the…against the…?”

“Against the who?” Radditsu asked, his patience now wearing thin.

“Against the rebels from the city.” Kakkarrot blurted out in a rush.

Radditsu fell silent as the question rang around his head. He hadn’t really given that much of a thought. He had assumed that he was to join the forces that were to defeat the tyrant , Frieza.

“N’ehi , Kakkarrot. I think I will be in the forces trained to defeat Frieza.”

“How can you be so sure?” Kakkarrot asked, a hint of desperation in his voice. “What if you are sent to come for the rebels here?”

“So what if I am sent here to destroy the rebels?” Radditsu answered back sharply. “The rebels have been nothing but trouble for us and that’s why pa’un  left, remember?’

“But…”

“But nothing, Kakkarrot. The rebellions will find a way to be dissolved and no matter where I am sent, my duty now as an elite wa’zua  is to be loyal to my king and government and that’s all there is to it. And now if you are done with your questions, I would like to go back to sleep.”

Kakkarrot watched in anguish as his brother spun away from him and snuggled himself within his blankets effectively shutting him out. Staring blindly at the ceiling, Kakkarrot was powerless to stop the tears that began cascading down his cheeks. Things were beginning to spiral out of control and there was no way he could stop it.

-*-*-*-*-

Ha’ji  Vegeta walked down the long corridor towards his father’s chambers, his heart thudding painfully in his chest. Numbly greeting the guards that lined the hall, he finally reached the enormous double doors that had the royal emblem etched on them. Allowing the guards to lead him in, he nearly ran up to his fathers’ bedside as the loud, wracking coughs were heard again.

Getting to the large ornate bed, Vegeta knelt down beside it, watching the pale visage of his father being wiped gently by the quiet nurse. The old sickly looking Saiyan was no longer the healthy, vivacious king that Vegeta knew. This was a dying man and the decayed smell of death and sickness filled the darkened room. Nodding quietly, the nurse stepped out of the chambers, leaving father and son alone.

Vegeta grasped his father’s weak and cold hands into his warm ones, raising them to his lips and kissing them with a desperation that made the older man chuckle lightly, before once again succumbing to the painful, lung wracking coughs. Vegeta could only watch helplessly as his father shivered with the after effects and spat the foul smelling excretion out onto a nearby napkin. Collapsing back against the propped up pillows, Ha’j  Vegeta shut his eyes wearily and tried to breath in precious gasps of air. Vegeta reached for the wet towel and wiping the sweat off his father’s brow, he waited for his father’s spasms to pass.

“Aaahh…”the king mumbled weakly, causing Vegeta to raise his head sharply off the bed. “Nu sa’un …”

Vegeta had to lean in closer to hear his fathers’ words; for they were so soft he could barely make them out.

“I do not have much longer to live, Vegeta.” The king continued softly, reaching for his son’s hands.

“You must not speak of such things, father.” Vegeta whispered harshly. “The finest doctors in the land will be sent for and then…”

“N’ehi, nu sa’un …”the king said, interrupting the younger. “There is nothing left to be done. I am being punished for my crimes…”

Vegeta held up his father as the coughs wracked through the frail body again. Finally subsiding, the old man lay back against the pillows. He tried to speak, but Vegeta began hushing him up.

“No, father. I will not let you continue. You are making this worse.”

“No!” the king spoke up in a surprisingly strong voice. “There is something I must tell you. Something you must know…before I leave.”

“Father! I will not listen to this anymore…you need to rest…”

“I sold the planet to Frieza, nu sa’un .”

“Ja…ja’ri ?” Vegeta asked numbly, as he refused to believe what he had just heard.

“Ahi , Vegeta.” The king continued, his eyes pleading for his son to understand. “I traded my soul to the devil.”

“You…you… are not feeling well, father. That’s all. I will leave you now to get some rest…”

“Listen to me, ta’i l’arun !” the king said sharply, freezing Vegeta in his tracks. “I had no other choice. Frieza had threatened to destroy the planet and everything in it. He wanted me to give you to him as an exchange of sorts, but I refused. He got upset and then he said he would destroy us all. And so I gave him another option and that was to either have control of the planet or to send him other willing people as his slaves.”

Vegeta could only gaze numbly at his father’s words. This wasn’t real. It simply wasn’t.

“I see the disbelief in your eyes, my son. But I assure you, it is the truth. I could not use the Ha’an  or the Na’an  as Frieza’s playthings. They meant too much to my stability on the throne. And so, I decided that the Ba’an  would be as good a trade as any. It was not to become a widespread thing. At first, I had my armies capture only the older Saiyans there, but Frieza was not satisfied. He wanted more and so like a drug, I continued to send more of our people to him…”

“The Ba’an .” Vegeta said coldly.

“Ahi . It seemed like some of them had begun realizing what was taking place and so they began rebelling against us. I threatened to cut short their funds, if they did not cooperate. But that foolish Lord Nokanru was set out to stop us no matter what. Not that I blame him. He began sending his own troops to attack us. It was bad enough that we were already a divided planet, but then he just had to escalate the whole thing.”

“And that is why we are still going after the Ba’an  up till today?” Vegeta asked, his fists clenched into tight fists. “Za’ani, pa’un !! Why couldn’t you just sell me to the ka’tai  and at least leave the people alone?!”

“You were all I had left, Vegeta. I couldn’t lose you to that monster. I would rather sacrifice a whole village of Ba’an , than to sell you to him and if that makes me selfish, then so be it.”

Vegeta stared at the man he had called father for twenty-three years with mixed emotions. He wanted to hate his father for what he had done, but yet a part of him cried at the fact that he had sacrificed his own people for him. And to top it all, Frieza had had control of the planet all this time. All their plans and efforts to bring the tyrant down, was all a sham. They could never win now. The lizard monster knew everything.

Walking back to his father, he knelt down respectfully beside the bed and staring into the dull, onyx eyes that he had inherited, he whispered softly,

“What you did to our people was cruel and selfish, pa’un . However, you are my flesh and blood and you did it because you loved me, ne? So, dearest father, when you get to Za’ani’s  palace in the afterlife, perhaps you can explain to him on how you managed to send his people into slavery and despair. May the gods of Vegetasei be with you.”

And leaning up, he kissed his father’s now clammy forehead, shutting the glassy eyelids that now stared at nothing. Kissing the cold hands for the last time, he carefully removed the royal necklace that had graced his father’s neck for over two hundred years.

Placing the heavy, golden symbol around his neck, he bowed his head for several long minutes and then taking a deep breath, Ha’j  Vegeta stepped out to face his kingdom.

-*-*-*-*-*-