The Bond

Eagla howled in pain as the wounds were sealed shut with heat. Not the most practical things to fix up the gaping wounds, but they didn't have much left after twenty years of having about 3% of their original population. When the medics finished, Eagla lay gasping in the cot, sweat across his brow.

"Eagla."

"E-Elder Karik…" Eagla gasped, looking up at the elder as he entered the room, "How many… did we lose?"

"Five," said the Elder flatly, "And it seems that His shield did not protect you fully."

"It was no fault of His…" said Eagla softly, "The human's attack- w-was not what He is used to. It will be corrected."

"I thought He could deflect anything, that is what you told us," said Karik evenly.

Eagla gritted his teeth as ointment was applied to his wounds, soothing them yet making them burn at the same time, "What are you saying, Elder?"

"Do you think that His faith in you is waning?" asked the Elder in his monotone voice.

Eagla's eyes bulged, a strange and wild anger flaring through him, making him clench his fists and get red in the face, "How dare you suggest such!" he howled in a strangled voice, as if he were not used to voicing anger, "I was His chosen! I was the first Awakened, the first that He gave his wisdom to!"

"It just seems odd," said the Elder softly, not seeming in the least bit perturbed by Eagla's outburst, "That a mere human could get past one of His barriers."

"It… was punishment…."

The voice whispered in his head and Eagla froze, stiff in his cot as a strange spike of fear went up his spine a feeling not too foreign for him, but his reactions were as if he had never felt fear before, his body reacting too strongly to it, making him sweat and go pale, the feeling in his hands disappearing.

"My Lord…" he whispered, eyes wide with terror as he looked up at the ceiling.

"You… have failed me again… Eagla…" this voice sounded deep and vicious, full of malice and fury, "You let… your stupid, misguided… confidence blind you…"

"Y-you taught me to embrace these emotions, my Lord…" Eagla whimpered, almost begging, "I thought, that feeling of confidence should have been stretched-"

"SILENCE!"

His voice made Eagla flinch, and it seemed the whole room heard him that time. They all looked up, showing mild fear, though it looked and felt unnatural with them.

"Even you, Eagla, who have been Awakened for over twenty years, still lose control over it at times, I thought I taught you better than this! You promised me when I came to you, that your people had power!"

"W-we do!" Eagla cried to the ceiling, "Please, My Lord, once we get the Bond from those Saiyans, we will continue what we were doing before the warriors interfered!"

"If you plan on getting your power back, then perhaps you should be more aware of those that are already on your planet…" hissed the voice as it slowly faded away.

Eagla's eyes widened in overly expressed shock. The Saiyans…

They were already here.

*scene change*

Night fell.

Vegeta stared up at the ceiling, eyes narrowed. They had managed to find a sort of housing complex and were now inside, pushing several beds into one room so as to stay close to each other. He knew one of the others would be awake, on watch, in case someone came for them in the darkness.

In the bed closest to him was Katima. She was asleep, he could sense it through the bond. She hadn't pressed her bunk to his like he knew she would normally do. He found that a part deep inside him was upset about how angry she was with him, but he was mad at her too. Why couldn't she understand? Why couldn't she see- feel- that he needed this? They could have power beyond imagining, be able to defeat any enemy they ever came across, and she didn't want that?

It could mean protection for the Earth, for all her ridiculous friends and family, and still, she refused to understand… It could mean being stronger than…

Vegeta sat up. Glancing around, he saw nearly everyone was in the room asleep. Only one bed was empty, and he could see a shadow in the hall. The older Namekian, Sol, was on watch. Vegeta narrowed his eyes, looking carefully around the room. This building, like the rest, had no windows. There was only one way out.

Slowly, Vegeta slipped out of the bed. He silently pulled on all of his armor but his boots, and quietly padded around the beds toward the door. He could have sworn Rilan stirred when he passed and stiffened, pausing, but the Tygrian merely rolled over and continued sleeping. Vegeta nearly sighed and kept going. Once he reached the door, he barely peeked out to check the Namekian's position.

Sol was leaning on the wall a few paces down the hall on the left side, arms crossed and head bowed, eyes closed. Vegeta kept his power level pressed down as he tip toed out of the room. There was a room cattycorner from theirs that had more than one door to it, he remembered passing through it when they were exploring the building. He lithely stepped inside it, his socked feet not making any more noise than a whisper as he went. He heard something stir in the hall and pressed his back to the wall beside the door, holding his breath.

Vegeta heard a soft, "Hm…" from Sol, and some footsteps.

They got uncomfortably close, and Vegeta knew the Namekian was looking in the room. Vegeta felt his heart pounding slightly, and tried to calm himself. If his heart rate got too intense, it could wake up Katima. He heard another grunt from the Namekian and retreating footsteps.

The Saiyan Prince resisted sighing in relief and stealthily moved across the room and out the other door way. Making his way outside, Vegeta quickly pulled on his boots and began running down the street. Once he was far enough, he would fly, but slowly, so as not to let his power level alert anyone. He was going to find this Eagla.

And he was going to become the strongest warrior alive, just like he was destined to be.

*scene change*

"Am I… dreaming…?"

Katima looked around. She was in the forest at home, the one she grew up in. The trees seemed taller than she was used to, and there was a blurred state about them, and the sun coming down seemed so bright…

"Katima, are you paying attention?"

Katima turned and found herself looking up at her grandmother, Lily. Looking up? Yes, she wasn't taller than her yet. Katima looked down at herself to notice she was still a child.

"Katima!"

"I am!" said Katima, startled, "Er, what were you saying?"

Lily sighed and frowned down at her. Her face, covered in so many wrinkled looked like a map, and her eyes were a soft green, gleaming lightly in amusement. Her long salt n' pepper hair cascaded down her shoulders, which were slumped with age.

"These techniques aren't something to be toyed around with, Katima," said Lily sternly, "All that I'm teaching you is extremely important, and they will save your life one day."

Katima looked up at her grandmother, "I know, Lily, they have. I've already used them so much, I even used the Bond!"

"What?" Lily blinked at her, "Don't be silly, you don't even have that technique down yet…"

Katima frowned up at her, "I wish you could see me now, Lily… I wish I could ask for your help. There are these aliens that want to use the bond, they say it was theirs originally. So where did you learn it, Lily? Maybe if you tell me, it'll help me know what to do."

Lily smiled down at her and placed a hand on her head, "I want you to know, Katima… that I am very proud of you, but the path before you… is dangerous. And in order for your world to live on, you have to survive. Because without you, the one who will save everything won't come to be."

Katima blinked as Lily removed her hand from her head. Slowly, Katima found herself growing to her normal height. Now she was taller than Lily, and the little old women was holding bundle. Katima frowned down at it.

She saw a pair of dark eyes looking up at her, and then she startled awake.

Katima gasped, as sudden pain flooded to her from the bond. She bolted upright, the room was still dark, and as she guessed, Vegeta's bed was empty.

"Vegeta!" Katima shouted, her mind throbbing, making all of the others wake. Sol looked in from the door, blinking.

"What?" Rilan rubbed his eyes, "Katima, wha…?"

"What's goin' on…?" moaned Krillin.

"Vegeta's gone-" Katima clutched her head, "And he's dying!"

*scene change*

Running over what had happened, Vegeta found himself regretting his actions.

As he had left the building that they were hiding in, he took to the sky and began flying toward the only source of light in the night other than the two moons that hung in the sky. As he grew closer, he saw that the lights were coming from a large castle like structure in the distance. There were several life sources within it. Vegeta paused in the air, looking down, his eyes narrowed. He felt one source in there that was

slightly familiar.

Eagla…

Vegeta flew down to land and press his power level to become non-existent. He slowly approached the wall lining the castle. There was a gate and it had two guards outside it, both of them in rather shoddy armor, and with rather average power levels, a bit stronger than human. He guessed they had the ability to use ki and fly. He narrowed his eyes.

Now here was the question, to blast his way through, or to silently sneak in? Both were easily doable. He pondered for a moment. Sneaking… it seemed cowardly. He smirked. It'd be best to show this Eagla who is the true warrior here by bashing in his front door, to show him the true might of a Saiyan.

Vegeta came out of the shadows, allowing himself to be seen by the two guards at the gate. They both spotted him and held up hands in his direction, palms facing him.

"Halt," said a terribly monotone voice from the female on the left, "You are one of the wanted ones. You will come with us to Elder Kerik."

Vegeta smirked and tilted his head to the side, "Will I now?" he sneered.

"Affirmative," said the male on the right, stepping toward him, "Comply, or force will be used."

Vegeta laughed, "Aren't you just adorable," he said under his breath, aiming his hand like a gun toward the male. A small prick of power appeared on the tip of his finger, and he pressed his thumb down at the same time as his hand went up and a blast of white power erupted from his fingertip. It slammed into the male, sending him crashing back into the gate which with the orb of power, exploded upon impact.

This explosion sent the female flying in the other direction, wailing. Vegeta smirked and walked casually through the flames where the gate used to be and into the confines of the wall. There were several people running at him across an incredibly plain looking cement courtyard. They all paused a few feet's distance from him, about four or five, looking at him with mild, yet wary eyes.

"Tell me," said Vegeta, smirking at each of them, "How many will I have to kill before that Eagla comes out?"

"One of the wanted ones," said one to his left, "You come here seeking Eagla. Come, we will bring you to him."

"I don't think so," snapped Vegeta, turning his black eyes on the speaker, "I'm not going anywhere he wants me, he will see me on MY terms. I'm Vegeta, Prince of all Sayians, and we're doing things MY way!"

He let out a blast of power that enveloped the speaker in light, making him scream and fly backward into a wall of the castle and through it, leaving behind a large explosion that took away more of the wall in its wake.

"That's three," snarled Vegeta, looking at the rest, who had backed up slightly, looking at him with slightly wider eyes, "Now, anyone else want to volunteer or do you think it only takes three dead bodies to get Eagla to show his cowardly face?"

They remained silent, readying their stances for battle.

Vegeta chuckled, "I see, that's how it has to be. I don't know, seven dead bodies seems like an awful lot to just get one bastard to come out of his filthy hole, but if it's what you all think, then by all means!"

With his last word he rushed the nearest one, grabbed his shoulder and punched him in the gut. With a spray of gore, his hand exploded from his back. Smirking as he felt the shock and life fade from his victim, Vegeta retracted his arm just in time to block a kick from another of them. He caught the ankle with his bloodied hand and pulled the attacker closer, making her hop on one foot to avoid falling. He then slammed his elbow down on her knee, making her leg bend backwards.

She wailed in pain and he released her leg just to twist and kick her across the jaw before she fell on her own, sending her colliding into the castle, bursting through the wall like it was drywall. As he smiled at her defeat, a rather decent sized blast slammed into his shoulder. He barely flinched, and turned to see the man who had sent the blast was looking shocked, his mouth slightly agape, though it still seemed very toned down for an emotion.

Vegeta held out a hand, thumb tucked in, "I think what you meant to do was this- BIG BANG ATTACK!"

His arm pumped and a massive wave of power spurted forth. It sent the man flying off and into the wall that surrounded the castle, and then through it, making a large gap there. Vegeta rolled his shoulders, smirking, and looked at the last one, who was glaring at him with mild irritation.

"This is pathetic!" Vegeta crowed, "You call yourself warriors? To think that you once threatened the galaxy! I suppose I shouldn't have expected much from the people of a coward who kidnapped a human just to get us to come here!" Vegeta spat on the ground, and smirked at the remaining man, beginning to walk toward him, "You're supposed to be emotionless for the most part, but I wonder, can you feel fear?"

The man stared at Vegeta as he approached, his fists slowly clenched, but he didn't run. Vegeta wondered if he realized there was no point in that. Vegeta grabbed the front of the man's armor and lifted him slightly, smiling crookedly.

"I guess you might… maybe we should test it? See how much pain I can put you through before I see fear- or before your cries of pain bring out Eagla. Whichever comes first," Vegeta laughed, clenching his free hand in a fist, "I wish we had a crowd, we could take bets!"

"Enough of this."

Vegeta turned his head to see Eagla limp out of the entrance of the castle. He was on two odd mechanical legs that seemed to be sealed to his flesh, probably by burning guessing by the fresh scars. They make an odd clanging sound as he walked, and he glared out at Vegeta, the most emotion that Vegeta had seen out of any of these weaklings.

The Saiyan Prince tossed the man away from him, where he hit the ground and remained there, propping himself up by his elbows. Vegeta smirked at Eagla, turning to fully face him, "It's about time you showed your face," he said coldly.

Eagla glanced around, a look of anger coming to his eyes, "All this violence when I was just inside?"

"You think I would come see you on your terms?" snapped Vegeta, his smirk fading, "I'm not a fool. You're guards are trash, by the way. I didn't even have to power up to take any of them out, I thought your race was one to be reckoned with!"

"We are, when we wield the Bond," said Eagla, looking at him again, "Something that you too could wield. Limitless power."

"Why do you think I'm here?" asked Vegeta, smirking again, "You're going to tell me every detail. All of the secrets to become unstoppable!"

Eagla smirked back at him, "You think that that is how this is going to work?" he asked, tilting his head, "How adorable."

"What are you talking about, coward?" spat Vegeta, his smirk disappearing again, "You think you stand a chance against a high class Saiyan warrior? A Prince?"

"Not me," said Eagla, looking up, "But Him…."

Vegeta furrowed his brow, looking up. A strange mist seemed to be up there. It slowly fell down over Eagla, and the alien seemed to gasp and stand taller. His power level took a sudden spike- a spike that made Vegeta take a step back.

How? How could his power rocket up that high so fast? Eagla shook on the spot, and he hisses through his teeth. His eyes snapped wide, looking at the sky, bulging. Vegeta gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. What was going on? He wasn't even channeling Ki and his power kept growing!

Eagla began laughing, however his voice was different, deeper, more emotional, and the laugh was like mad barking, echoing across the courtyard. It was only now Vegeta noticed more of the aliens coming out of the castle, looking upon Eagla with mild aw, though for them, that was probably considered star struck.

With a snap, Eagla's head suddenly dropped, looking at Vegeta, and his eyes were pure white, the pupils and irises gone. He smiled, the most expression that Vegeta had ever seen on his face.

"This whole time, I thought only the Xekians could learn the Bond…" said that strange, deep, maniacal voice that was not Eagla's, "But now that I know that other species can too learn it, you've no idea what power I could gain…."

Vegeta clenched his fists, staying in a defensive position, "What the hell are you? You're not Eagla!" he demanded.

"I… am Dengen…" said the voice from Eagla's mouth, "And you… are a Saiyan, a Saiyan that can be planted by the Bond. Your people are strong indeed… I have seen what powers the Bond can hold, and with your blood, you're race could become unstoppable once again…"

Vegeta narrowed his eyes, "How do you know of my race? What are you?"

Dengen laughed again, that strange barking, and a strange green aura surrounded Eagla's body.

"I. Am. Power!" he suddenly screamed, nearly making Vegeta flinch it was such a sudden switch from the laughter. Eagla's face smiled down at him again, "Tell me, Saiyan, you say you were a Prince? But your people were destroyed, weren't they? I can help you build your people back up, become a King, a ruler, powerful and unstoppable by anyone!"

Vegeta felt the yearning inside him. To have his people back? Power… power to defeat anyone…

Kakarot's face flashed in his mind.

Vegeta started smirking. To rebuild planet Vegeta… to live as the strongest warrior as he was meant to be, ruling over a reborn Saiyan race!

"All you need to do," said Dengen, "Is bring her here. The other one, the one who share the Bond with. She is the one who knows the secret to planting it- once I have this knowledge again, we can begin to train you in the arts."

Vegeta paused, stiffening. Katima…

"She won't tell you," said Vegeta flatly, "And tell me this, Dengen…" Vegeta glared up at him, "What makes you think we're doing things your way?"

Again, with that laugh, Dengen made Eagla's head tip back with the motion, then it snapped back down, looking at Vegeta with a suddenly ferocious expression, "You are not in a position to bargain, Saiyan. You have what I need, and the only way you could hope to stop me from obtaining it is by knowing how to use the Bond, which you do not. So tell me… where do you think you stand on this scale?"

Vegeta narrowed his eyes, "What do you take me for, a weakling?" he cried, "You yourself said that the Saiyan race is one of the strongest! And you haven't seen me at even a fraction of my full potential!"

Dengen smiled widely at him, head tilting to the side, almost at a sickly angle, "You will bring her to me, Saiyan, and I WILL learn the Bond," he said, still smiling as he spoke.

Vegeta gritted his teeth, "You think I'm going to take orders from you? A coward who's using someone else's body to challenge me?"

Eagla's hand slowly raised, palm aiming at Vegeta.

His face smiled.

"Yes."

Vegeta powered up and jumped up into the sky to avoid the green blast that launched out from Eagla's hand. It crashed into the ground where he had been standing, leaving behind a decent sized crater.

Vegeta spat, looking at Eagla's face, "You will tell me how to control the Bond! I will become the warrior I am meant to be!" he cried, powering up to Super Saiyan, his hair leaping into a golden blonde, his dark eyes shifting into an emerald green. He clapped the heels of his palms together and cried, "FINAL FLASH!" sending down a massive attack at Eagla.

He saw the strange green aura around his smirking face before the blast consumed him. Several of the stray aliens all rushed out of the way, just barely escaping the radius of the blast as it dug a crater into the ground. Vegeta laughed loudly, "Still think you can beat me?"

As the dust cleared, the smirk on Vegeta's face faded. There was Eagla's body, knelt, and with a strange electricity sparking shield around him. He stood and smiled up at Vegeta, a long electric whip sliding out of his hand.

"Yes!" Dengen's voice cried, sending the whip flying up at him.

Vegeta made to dart away, but it still managed to snake around his left ankle. Pain rocketed through his body as he was shocked, his body seizing up and falling to the ground. He felt the whip retract and Vegeta propped himself on an elbow, shaking his head, trying to stop his muscles for twitching.

"Give up, Saiyan," said Dengen, "You stand no chance."

"Bullshit!" Vegeta jumped to his feet, shaking himself out, "You've only tasted my power!"

Dengen laughed, lashing the whip, "Such a stubborn race…"

Vegeta rushed him. The whip was too much of a danger to be at range, it seemed like he could make it to any length he pleased, so if he got close and made it impossible to maneuver with it, that'll place it out of the equation. He threw a punch up, slamming it into Eagla's gut. The body bowed over his arm at the blow, and Vegeta smirked in satisfaction at the feel of the breath being forced out of the lungs. He quickly made to ram an elbow down on the back of his head, but before he could bring it down, Eagla's head was thrown back and hit him in the face.

Cursing, Vegeta nearly stumbled away, but he had to keep close ranged, and shook it off, rushing a wide kick up to his side, aiming to land him on the side of the head. Eagla's body ducked it, but Vegeta was quick to recover, roaring and throwing a fist to slam into his nose. Eagla's arm darted up and parried his arm away, but twisted it around so he was gripping Vegeta's arm under his own, making Vegeta swing his other fist, which Eagla caught in his other hand. It held strong despite Vegeta pushing so hard.

Hissing in annoyance, Vegeta was about to head-butt him, but a knee slammed into the Saiyan's gut. Vegeta lost his footing at the blow, therefore being held up by Eagla's grip. Vegeta tried to regain his breath and wretch out of his grip, but Eagla's body lifted him up and tossed him across the courtyard. Vegeta landed rolling, but he quickly got to his feet, ready to quickly close the distance between him and his opponent, but as soon as he was upright, that whip was flying at him.

Vegeta jumped up into the air again, narrowly avoiding the crackling weapon. While Dengen had to readjust the angle of the whip, he shot out rapid fire, sending dozens of strong little orbs of power down at the white haired man. That shield appeared again, and all of his attacks were absorbed uselessly. Vegeta growled in frustration, "Stop hiding behind your trickery and FIGHT!"

The Saiyan dived to the ground, landed rolling and ran at Dengen, determined to fight him hand to hand again. The shield disappeared, and Eagla's hand raised, a green orb forming there.

Shit.

Vegeta tried to stop and dodge, but he was coming on too fast. The green blast slammed into him, sending him flying backwards where he landed in a heap, fresh wounds across his body stinging. Stupid! How could he had been so foolish to run into that? He got to his feet, wiping blood from his mouth, but it was just in time to see that damn whip come flying at him.

There was no time to avoid this time, and it twisted around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides and sending who knew how many volts of electricity through his body. Vegeta wailed in agony, body flailing. When it stopped, the whip was still around his torso, but the volts no longer shocking him. He collapsed to his knees, gasping.

"Have you learned your lesson yet?" asked Dengen, smirking at him with Eagla's face, twiddling the end of the whip that was embedded in his palm.

"F… fuck you…" Vegeta spat blood on the ground.

"That's not very Prince like…"

Vegeta growled, which turned into a roar, which turned into a scream. He flexed his arms to rip out of the whip's grasp, but then, his body was being shocked again. He howled in pain and fell to his side this time… it was now that he looked back to recount how he had come here, the reasons behind it, and how he was starting to regret his actions…

He also felt Katima wake in the Bond.

The shocking stopped, and Vegeta lay gasping on his back. His hair went back to black from his exhaustion.

"There we go…" said Dengen, laughing that disgusting bark like laugh again, "Not so hard? Even you, Saiyan Prince, can't deny the power that is Dengen. Can you imagine this with the potential of the Bond? And you could join me. I would let you rebuild your race, so long as you served me when I called."

A memory flashed in Vegeta's mind. So very long ago, when he first arrived on Earth and fought Kakarot for the first time… He remembered looking at Kakarot and offering him a place at his side, to help him go across the galaxy, destroying all in their wake. Nappa was dead, and at the time, Vegeta saw himself stronger than Kakarot, but Kakarot stronger than Nappa since he had been the one to break his spine.

Kakarot had refused…

Vegeta clenched his eyes shut as he felt the terror come to him from Katima from the Bond.

"If he didn't need it, then neither do I…" hissed Vegeta, "I don't need you!" his eyes snapped open, "I was under Frieza's boot long enough- if you think for one goddamn second that I'll go back to that- then you're dead wrong!"

"Ahh… Frieza, yes, I remember him…" a sort of darkness came to Dengen's voice, making Vegeta turn his head to look at him. He was looking at the ground, a look of pure fury in his face, the blank eyes stretched wide, "Frieza, who thought himself so superior… so perfect and powerful so that he could go and do anything he pleased! But then- he disappeared. And rumors spread across the galaxy that it was a Saiyan that defeated him!"

Vegeta tried weakly to get out of his bindings as Dengen was destracted.

"He's dead, and now, the galaxy deserves a true ruler! One that can conquer all just as well as protect it! I was destined for this- the moment that Frieza came to my planet- my home- and killed EVERYTHING!"

Vegeta was trying to push his arms up, though a part of him was listening with interest. Frieza had killed whoever this Dengen's was planet and home up. It was possible he was last of his race. So they had something in common.

"With the power of the Bond, we can take enough of the galaxy to protect it from itself," continued Dengen, "Do you realize how much darkness there is out there- how much pain and torture and horror? This galaxy is doing it to itself! It needs order! It needs justice!"

Vegeta felt the whip starting to loosen. If he could just get lose for a moment… he could try to flee, to get to Katima before she came here and fell into this freak's clutches.

"I will do what no one else has the guts to do," snarled Dengen, "I will take all that I can to raise the ultimate army to keep order. Can you picture it? So much blood, but it will make peace- peace that will be there forever! Eh…? What do you think you're doing?"

Vegeta wailed as the whip tightened and he was shocked again. It was a brief shock, as if just to swat his hand for being naughty, but it still seemed to wipe out what little was left of the Saiyan's energy.

"Peace… is a fool's dream," Vegeta said hoarsely, laying on the ground, limp now, "No matter how you pursue it, it will not happened, It's not supposed to, you idiot…"

"How can you possibly say that when your life was also plagued by Frieza?" demanded Dengen, "Don't you want this just as bad as I do?"

"Why wish for something impossible?" snapped Vegeta, looking at the sky with defeat lingering in his chest, "There will never be peace, no matter how hard you want it, and I… I will never be stronger than Kakarot… not matter how much I try…"

Vegeta clenched his teeth. It was true. No matter how hard he tried… he couldn't beat him.

And he never will…

"Vegeta!" he heard in the distance as darkness greeted him, "Vegeta, NO!"