CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: EMPEROR REVISITED

Amidst all of the garish, rounded-out buildings making up the skyline of Capitol’s capitol, one stood out among the rest. With it’s angular walls and towers, King Cold’s palace looked almost like something out of a twisted fantasy novel. It was a testament to the Emperor’s intellectual and artistic superiority to his subjects.

Of course, one of the reasons for that was because he had conveniently eliminated anybody competent enough to cause trouble-that is, if they had had enough ambition to do so. Cold had never had reason to fear Captain Ginyu and his Body Switch move. Of course, because of the great intellectual dirt on that planet, the Great and Mighty King Cold was perpetually bored. Check that, he was bored most of the time.

As of late, King Vegeta had proved to be nearly his peer intellectually, which was outstanding for a Saiyan. The two of them would often spend hours each day laying out the foundations of their future Empire, as the two kingdoms would soon become one. One had to wonder what it was they were saying in there, as not even Prince Vegeta or Cold’s three Elite’s were allowed in the meetings.

So, as a result of this, it was virtually impossible to schedule an appointment with the illustrious King Cold. Zarbon, however, had luck on his side. Because he and Sauzaa had been buddies since way back when, all that Sauzaa had to do was bump a certain Mr. Napa from his appointment.

“Déjà vu,” Zarbon muttered to himself, sitting in the waiting room, staring at Neizu’s less than attractive mug. Was it just him, or had these chairs become less and less comfortable within the past few weeks? Darned military budget cuts. The grandiose double doors to the Throne Room opened and King Vegeta came out. Deja Vu again. Only, this time there were no aides and no prince...

Vegeta looked down his nose at Zarbon. “Remind me to talk to you later,” the king said as he left the room. Neizu simply pointed to the door with his thumb, not even looking up. That was about the most articulate Neizu could be.

“Let’s go,” Zarbon told Zangya, heading for the Throne Room.

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The first thing that anyone noticed was that King Cold wasn’t sipping from his usual glass of wine. He was standing near a window, hands behind back, looking out. Apparently something big had just happened.

“You wished to speak with me?”

Zarbon immediately remembered his graces and knelt. “Yes, Lord Cold.”

“Good, then. I suppose it is a progress report?” Cold said as he turned around and faced them.

“Yes, and no, My Lord,”  Zarbon said, still kneeling, “We have not found any leads on Bojack or his Employer, but we have found something else that concerns Bardock, who is not here right now.”

“And why is he missing?”

“That’s what I’m trying to explain, my Lord,” Zarbon went on, “We found his son, who was supposed to be dead, alive and well on earth. Without proper Saiyan training, he had managed to nearly equal us in power, and he was born third-class. Also, his son-”

“Spare me the meaningless prattle. Why are you here?”

Zarbon continued on, “Kakarat’s son is half human, yet he displays more potential than any Saiyan I’ve ever seen. The Humans are intrinsically weak, but when they’re mixed in with the Saiyan, they seem to gain incredible power.”

Cold stopped completely. His eyes gained an interesting gleam in them. “What are you proposing?” he smiled.

“I’m proposing that earth be made a safe world until we decide what to do with it.”

“Do you have any more proof of the human/Saiyan hybrid?”

“Only the one specimen, sir.”

“Then I want him. Bring him to me, and you’ll have your Safe World.”

“It’s as good as done, my Lord,” Zarbon said.

King Cold smiled. Vegeta would love to know about this.

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