EPIC Side Story: Dragon Ball

Chapter 29: Secrets of the Universe

Chapter 29: Secrets of the Universe

Never one to mince words, Broly simply intoned an affirmative, "Nn…" before following it with a curt, "It's nice…"

Patting the young Saiyan's head, Vahn guided Broly through the large entrance gate in the Eastern wall. His actual manor was relatively small, but, taking advantage of the fact that the King of Central City, effectively the King of the entire Earth, had implemented a policy that allowed people to settle and create villages pretty much anywhere, Vahn had claimed most the hinterlands near West City as his territory.

Though he had no intention of building an actual city at the present moment, Vahn's experiences had taught him to plan for such eventualities. This time, however, he had no intention of starting an Empire. Instead, he intended to convert the 500-square-kilometer region into a secondary holy land for martial arts. For now, it was basically a walled preserve filled with a few types of flora, fauna, and a single manor.

Guiding Broly towards the manor, Vahn explained, "The area inside these walls will be your home from now on. I don't mind if you want to travel abroad in the future, but, no matter where you go, never forget that this is your home."

Nodding his head in implied understanding, Broly's eyes were wandering all over the place as he allowed Vahn to gently usher him inside. Everything he was seeing and experiencing right now was new to him, so, while his expression appeared remarkably tranquil, his excitement was approaching levels comparable to his past spars with Ba.

Feeling the young Saiyan's excitement, an amused chuckle emanated from Vahn's throat as he spread his senses through the manor. It had been several hours since his departure so he half-expected to find Sarina and Cheelai conversing with one another. Instead, Sarina was lounging about and watching anime in their room while Cheelai was staring out the window of her own with a bored expression on her face.

Calling out to the both of them using his Telepathy, Vahn asked them to meet in the dining room so they could share a meal and get to know each other. Immediately after that, he shifted his intention over to Chi-Chi to find the young Princess lying on her stomach in bed, her eyes intently focused on the contents of a book while several others littered her surroundings.

Noticing that many of the books were college-level texts, a prickly sensation spread across Vahn's body. It didn't help that the outliers were romance novels, anatomy texts, cookbooks, and self-help books related to improving marriage and being a proper wife. As for the text Chi-Chi currently had her face buried in, it was an introduction to child psychology…

("It's no wonder she was so hard on Goku. If she read these types of books for seven years straight, she probably thought she knew everywhere there was to know about being married. It would have been difficult for anyone, much less someone as pure as Goku, to meet her expectations…")

Since Chi-Chi had never actually gone to school in the series he was familiar with, Vahn had always been confused regarding her obsession with Gohan's education. Now he understood perfectly. She had basically brainwashed herself into thinking a certain way. Without anyone there to correct her, she would have transitioned to reading books that exclusively corroborated what she believed to be true. By the time she married Goku, even a psychiatrist wouldn't be able to convince her she didn't know what was best for her family and children…

Though he now realized there was a very good chance that Chi-Chi would be able to graduate with honors, Vahn wasn't too concerned. He had become accustomed to being the penultimate goal of young girls with powerful fates, so, as the person who had set the objectives for her to complete, he couldn't exactly complain about Chi-Chi taking his words seriously. Instead, he decided to focus on the far more pressing matter at hand, Chi-Chi's propensity for delusions.

As even the excessively violent adult version Chi-Chi was able to ride the Flying Nimbus, it couldn't be denied that she was still pure of heart. She had just convinced herself so thoroughly that even lie detectors and magic intended to expose a person's true nature wouldn't be able to find fault in her behavior. This was the same logic that allowed kind and pure-hearted people like Goku to massacre the entire Red Ribbon Army without losing the ability to ride the Nimbus. He was so convinced that he was doing the right thing that even the Laws regarded his actions as enacting justice rather than simply murdering people.

Perspective and intent were key.

Deciding to nip the problem in the bud, Vahn sent a telepathic message to Chi-Chi stating that she could join them for dinner if she received her father's permission. This startled the young Princess quite a bit, but, upon realizing who was speaking to her, she bolted from her room with such speed and intensity that she ended up leaving a dent in the reinforced metal door at the entrance…

Understanding that Chi-Chi wasn't going to take no for an answer, Vahn rightly assumed she would be joining them for dinner. What he didn't anticipate was that she wouldn't simply be asking if she could join them for a single meal. Instead, she informed the Ox-King that the time for her departure had come. Then, after a tearful embrace, largely on the part of the Ox-King, she gathered up all the luggage she had prepared before taking a seat atop one of her suitcases and waiting patiently for him to come and retrieve her…

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With Bulma telling him she was too busy to attend a social gathering, Vahn introduced Broly and Ba to Sarina and Cheelai before excusing himself to go pick up Chi-Chi. Both she and the Ox-King were waiting for him, so, while it would have been easiest to simply teleport her over, he figured it would be more 'appropriate' to retrieve her directly.

Upon arriving outside the castle, Vahn was immediately greeted with a bear hug from the Ox-King, who, prior to letting him go, silently threatened that he would never forgive him if he made Chi-Chi sad. Then, as if he hadn't been releasing bloodlust moments prior, a massive grin developed across his face as he gave Vahn a few weighty slaps before laughing heartily as he retreated to his castle in an effort to disguise the fact he was on the verge of tears…

Seemingly oblivious to her father's melancholy, Chi-Chi was even bubblier than the last time Vahn had seen her. She had basically spent the last three and a half days eating, sleeping, and dreaming about the life they would have together. The latter was the motivation that had allowed her to stay focused during her sixteen-hour study sessions. In her mind, she had already convinced herself that she and Vahn were husband and wife. She just needed to convince him and the people around him that she was ready to fulfill her duties…

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After helping the overly excited Princess get set up her room, Vahn convinced Chi-Chi to change into something more suitable for a dinner party before showing her the way to the dining room. Along the way, she kept glaring at his hand as if it were her mortal enemy, but, likely as a result of the 'requirements' he had set for her, she never attempted to reach for it. Instead, she followed a short distance behind and to the left of him, a behavior she had picked up from one of the books she read…

"We're here…"

Startling when she heard Vahn's words, Chi-Chi ceased 'glaring' at his hand, her ears immediately picking up the sounds of several people talking. The tensions in her body immediately reached a peak, but, without hesitating in the slightest, she followed Vahn into the dining room with a fierce and determined look on her face.

As everyone had heard Vahn's voice, Sarina, Cheelai, and Broly all shifted their attention toward the entrance as Ba, currently in his cat form, continued lying on his side with a disinterested look on his perpetually grumpy face.

Taking advantage of the fact Chi-Chi had removed her helmet, Vahn plopped his hand down atop her head, shattering the growing tensions as he said, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Chi-Chi. She's going to be staying here starting today."

Blushing fiercely in response to the unexpected contact, Chi-Chi promptly cupped her cheeks as an adorable yet silly smile developed across her face. This immediately caught the attention of Cheelai, who, completely lacking a filter, adopted a teasing smile as she mused, "Oh, what's this~? Someone appears to have a bit of a crush…"

Though she still appeared somewhat bashful, Chi-Chi's expression became markedly more serious as she stated, "I don't have a crush. Once I graduate, Vahn and I will be married. Now, tell me, who are you? I've never seen a woman with green skin before."

Rather than taking offense to Chi-Chi's words, the expression on Cheelai's face became even more amused as she answered, "The name's Cheelai. I'm an Orionite from Frieza Planet 297. Let's try and get along, okay?"

"Orionite? Frieza…?"

As most Earthlings were unaware of the existence of aliens in the present timeline, Chi-Chi couldn't help feeling confused by Cheelai's words. At the same time, a markedly similar expression appeared on the face of the latter as she asked, "You've never heard of Frieza…?"

Interjecting before the conversation could get sidelined too far, Vahn gently urged Chi-Chi towards the table as he explained, "Earth is an Underdeveloped Planet located on the edge of the Northern Quadrant. A few hundred years ago, the people of this world were nearly wiped out by a tyrannical monster calling himself King Picollo. As a result, most Earthlings aren't even aware of the existence of the Galactic Patrol, much less the Frieza Force."

Having grown up under the tyranny of Frieza her entire life, it had never even occurred to Cheelai that places beyond his reach existed. She knew there were planets he had yet to conquer, but, as a matter of course, most of those planets were actively fighting the Frieza Force. After all, Frieza and his father, King Cold, had already conquered 70% of the habitable Universe. The notion that there were people unaware of their existence bordered on nonsense…

What Cheelai, and, for the most part, even Frieza didn't know was that the Eastern Supreme Kai had cast a spell that altered the impression people had of Earth. Unless there was something compelling them to visit, most people would simply ignore it or regard it as a backwater planet with nothing of value. This was, somewhat ironically, the reason Bardock and Gine had chosen the Earth when they were searching for worlds to send their son. It was perceived as such a backwater planet that it had literally been assigned the lowest priority for conquest within the Frieza Force's registry of planets…

Were it not for the arrival of the Nameless Namekian three hundred years prior, Earth would have gone unnoticed until the resurrection of Majin Buu. There was even a chance that the manifestation of evil would never awaken, as, without a tremendous supply of energy over a short period of time, it was nearly impossible to remove Buu's seal. The energy it absorbed would gradually leak out, so, even if Babidi harvested the energy of every human on the planet, it wouldn't be enough.

Simply put, the arrival of the Nameless Namekian was the catalyst for nearly every major event in the Dragon Ball timeline. Goku may have been the main character, but, were it not for the creation of the Dragon Balls and the destruction wrought by King Piccolo, he likely would have remained in the mountains until Raditz appeared to claim him. After that, even if Raditz did lay waste to much of the planet, it would actually benefit the Universe in the long run as that would make the awakening of Majin Buu even more difficult.

Fortunately for Kami, his decision may have brought innumerable troubles to the Earth, but, were it not for the choices he made in his youth, the entire Universe would have been destroyed. After all, by the time of Dragon Ball Super, there were only 28 advanced civilizations remaining in the whole of Universe 7. This was the main reason Beerus slept so much. Majin Buu and Moro had wiped out nearly all life in the Universe on two separate occasions, so, even if he wanted to destroy, he risked lowering the level of his Universe even further. If that happened, an event similar to what was seen in Dragon Ball Super would occur. One where the entire Universe was simply erased with the push of a button…

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Chi-Chi's most powerful Innate: Delusional Princess','RIP Ox-King…','Beerus isn't actually as lazy as most people think. The death of Supreme Kais and the destruction wrought by Buu simply left him without anything to destroy…')