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Chapter Text

“Now, repeat this vow after me;”

“I swear my loyalties to serve the people of Konats. My sword is my life; I shall use my sword to sever evil and bring peace wherever my journey leads, I shall use my sword to protect the young, the vulnerable, and to the elders and lend my strength and skill to aid them, and I shall use my sword that if there is a time where I falter and begin to betray my convictions, then I shall surrender my sword and my life.”

A vow. What did this mean when all that once was, was now all gone?

Under the heavy, black hands of the sky, one could only wonder why one awoke in this world. A faint whistle lingered in the icy winds.

A lone warrior rose up from his tomb of shattered bronze and rubble, his blue scarf wavering in the wind. His teal eyes gazed into the ashen, misty mountains afar, contemplating the world of a bygone era.

Yet what laid before him was a barren wasteland of desolation. 

His gloved, leather hands clenched tighter as his unwavering eyes searched for any doubt that he was wrong. One minute… Two minutes… Five minutes… No. This had to be a nightmare.

However, nightmares have an end.

After taking in a deep breath with closed eyes, as a means to calm himself, he looked to the sky hanging above him.

The guiding light, the nurturing warmth, the laughter of the townsfolk, where were they in this vast, inky void surrounding the lone warrior? And the gentle monsoon winds brushing over his pearly skin, where was the fresh breeze from the highlands from his youth?

Only rubble drifted in the sea of darkness above, aimlessly reaching out to the far ends of the sky. Nothing. Silence remained.

Home… No home remained for one of the Legendary Heroes of Konats, Tapion.

Ktch!

With his sword sheathed in its scabbard, he stabbed into the arid earth, Tapion fell onto his knees. His head hung low as his hands tightly grasped the handle of his sword. 

"Master, I swore a vow for the sake of the people of Konats. What happened?" Tapion questioned himself, his eyes squeezed shut. "Myself and my brother swore a vow so that everyone can live safe from their destruction," His gaze fell onto the glint of his reflection from his blade, "Where did we go wrong?"

His question met with silence.

“Did the Kashva's succeed?” Tapion spoke with a dry voice, “Was all of this in vain-”

“Don't do this! You need me-”

A deafening explosion caught Tapion's attention. He snapped his head up to the sky, catching a glimpse of the massive sparks of green scattered across the dark sky like fireworks. As Tapion drew his sword from his sheath, his sword clattered against the stone ground.

From within Tapion's mind, a pair of crimson eyes blazed like a fire.

The lone swordsman stumbled onto his knees. Tapion grasped his head, hearing the roars of a familiar phantom rattling inside his flesh and bones.

"Stay back, phantom!" Tapion grimaced, his eyes squeezed shut. "You will bring no more destruction to this land!"

The Ocarina!

At the sudden realisation, Tapion slowly drew his trembling fingers to the blue ocarina tied to his belt.

And with one deep and shaky breath, Tapion played a solemn tune.

The Phantom within was hushed once more.

"The Kashvas, they had to be the ones responsible for all of this." Tapion muttered to himself, pondering who could have caused this destruction. He tied the ocarina to his belt. "But, how long was I sealed for so that they could have conjured this mass scale of destruction?"

He sheathed his sword and ventured forth into the dull and unknown world before him; the stench of dust and blood wafted in the heavy air, and a lone whistle passed over him.

As he searched the vast, barren planet, he began to ponder how many years had passed whilst he was sealed within the music box via his master. From the ashen mountains, tainted crimson by the dense mist, his footsteps retraced a familiar, clear path. As he travelled, every moment or so, a green light would envelope the empty skies with a deafening boom. He turned his attention after the third boom, much closer to his location than the last. He slowed his pace and observed where the light came from, and why.

"A survivor?" Tapion thought, observing the green light scatter like dust in the breeze. He judged the situation, analysing whether the flare was sent out for help, or whether it was a warning. 

Or perhaps out of hostility.

After several minutes of following the last location of the green light, Tapion stood at the rusted gates, gazing upon the city of ruins. Shattered pillars of granite laid as his leather boots strode past the charred, pearly, marble ground of the once flourishing city. He halted at the crumbled altar, his teal eyes widening at the sight of such an ancient artefact, or what importance the altar held prior to its destruction.

His innocent eyes, and that wide, goofy smile…

“Minotia… My brother… Where are you?”

Tapion blinked away the stinging sensation in his eyes. 

This altar was the birthplace to the ancient artefacts that ended the Kashava's terror over Konats. But now looking at the empty altar, Tapion's gaze reflected the emptiness of the altar. This was the last place he saw his little brother, Minotia, before they were both sealed in a music box separately for eternity. The lone swordsman brushed his hand against the crumbled altar, gently as to not break what remained of his memories of a bygone era.

Only death and ruination lurked.

Upon hearing another deafening, green explosion, Tapion's gaze glanced to the ruins of the Sanctuary looming behind the altar; a far cry from the sacred place that once towered over the Planet of Konats, and the heartland of the Konatsians.

His eyes widened.

Still bodies laid scattered across the broken ground. Just with a glance, Tapion assumed that those who died were warriors who belonged to an organisation of some sort by the attire they wore; a dark blue helmet, and a dark blue uniform for combatants.

The Sanctuary was no longer a safe haven, but a graveyard.

As Tapion searched his surroundings, a horrible surprise sprung up.

CRIK!

A body slammed against the marble ground in front of Tapion, forcing the lone Konatsian to halt. Then his face twisted with disgust and anger. 

Who was the monster playing this foul game?

A glint of green whistled towards the Konatsian.

With one leap, Tapion retreated and drew the ocarina to his lips. With one tune, a blue barrier enveloped him and repelled the green energy ball to the dark skies above. His gaze then fell onto what remained of the roof of the Sanctuary.

A small silhouette of a person lounged on the remains of the rooftop with an audience of golden flames dancing behind him.

“A child?”

Tapion drew the ocarina away from his lips. No… This destruction… Surely a mere child couldn't have orchestrated this?

“He's not a Kashva,” Tapion thought to himself. He tried to fathom the bizarre situation unfolding before him, “Could he be enslaved by them?”

"You there," Tapion raised his voice, drawing his sword from his sheath as caution, “Are you in allegiance with the Kashvas?"

The faint light of the golden flames glinted against the red liquid streaked across the boy's face. The bridge of his nose creased as his face twisted into a scowl.

"Kashvas?" The boy growled, "I hold no loyalties to no one." His dark eyes shifted to the sword, aware of the possible hostility he may face.

"Then if you're not with them, then I ask, who are you?" Tapion kept his arm poised, “And why is a child as yourself here alone?"

The boy rose up to his feet. Yet behind him swayed his bristly tail.

It was then when Tapion realised who exactly he spoke to.

A Saiyan.

"A Saiyan from the North Galaxy,” The boy answered. He tensed his bloodied fists, a grin crept on his lips, "My name is Broly," He faced his palm down at Tapion, his hand crackled with a green ball of ki, “And I'm here because I'm finally free,” He arched a brow at the Konatsian, "So what can a bug like you possibly do to stop me?"

Tapion drew his ocarina once again, protecting himself from the blast consuming where he stood. The Sanctuary walls crumbled, leaving nothing but the sacred, mahogany altar.

"I see,” Tapion spoke as the dense smoke cleared, “In that case," He drew his sword to one side, "Your act of destruction ends here." His hands clasped the handle of his sword, his steely eyes fixed on the Saiyan-

Wait… Why was this child full of rage?

With a roar, Broly fired another barrage of ki. Tapion leapt through the barrage, his hands tensed on the handle of his sword. As he aimed to slash the Saiyan in two, he froze for a moment.

“Thou shall not raise his sword at a child!”

A pair of crimson eyes of a familiar phantom blazed throughout Tapion's mind.

Hirudegarn!

The sword shifted in Tapion's grasp. He tightened his grip and swung his sword away from the boy with every ounce of energy he had.

However, a delay in action could cost the Konatsian swordsman severely.

The sword missed slashing the Saiyan's neck. With a smirk twisting on the boy's lips, Tapion assumed that the Saiyan child had figured out a strategy against him. As Tapion swung his sword back at the Saiyan child as a warning, Broly slapped away the sword and gripped Tapion by his ginger mohawk. 

The Saiyan hurled Tapion away with a ki blast to the face.

With a spark of green, Tapion slammed through several desolate buildings, an ashen mountain and then laid at the brink staring into oblivion. With a whistle, the Konatsian shifted his bloody gaze to the dark sky above.

“If this situation gets out of hand, I'll need to seal him away,” Tapion thought to himself as he caught sight of two brown boots plummeting towards him. Tapion rolled to his left, leapt up to his feet and then deflected an incoming ki blast with his sword. He fended off Broly's reach by striking the Saiyan's beige arm bands and diverting his strikes, “This child is tougher than he looks!”

The boy leapt away. A green light sparked from His hand. 

Tapion drew his sword to his side. A blue light enveloped his sword, then Tapion drew the sword in front of him, preparing to dismantle the next attack the Saiyan child plotted.

Broly hurled a barrage of ki towards Tapion. 

Tapion slashed his sword in rapid succession, countering the Saiyan's relentless attacks. Tapion met each blow for blow, until the battlefield became consumed by a dense, white fog.

With that distraction, Tapion hid within the dust storm and planned his next action.

Tapion covered his sword; a blue light sparked forth and enveloped his sword. Despite blood trickling down from an open wound from his pale scalp, the swordsman mustered his strength and kept his composure.

-Wsh…

Tapion's eyes widened as the scorched air licked his back. 

To think a child would harbour such malice and bloodlust.

As Tapion slashed his sword at the Saiyan behind him, Broly deflected the sword up with a swipe of his hand. Then the child lunged at Tapion's throat.

However, Tapion used the momentum of Broly's strike and soared upwards.

With a growl of agitation, Broly fired another round of ki-

The ocarina's solemn tune played once more.

With another roar, the Saiyan zoomed after Tapion.

“I see,” Tapion thought, drawing the ocarina to his belt, “He goes into a state of rage when I use the ocarina, just like Hirudegarn.” He turned away from the Saiyan, turning his attention to the ashen forest laying at the foot of the black mountains. “Could it be that the ocarina repels evils lingering in the heart?” His eyes finally stopped at a gaping crater before the mountains. Such destruction…

Tapion darted over the crater, his teal eyes focused on the ashen forest ahead.

A line of green light levelled the forest to nothing. White specs of ash drifted in the silent winds, as though one would think that it began to snow.

“This child is anticipating what I'm going to do.” Tapion thought. He took a sharp U-turn, just missing the Saiyan's fist to his head,

Yet those dark and twisted eyes... 

Tapion knew that those eyes were on the verge of madness. Such hatred and rage, why did a child harboured this much of it? And why here of all places? Did the Konatsians wronged him?

No. The Konatsians would never hurt anyone, they only punished those who were evil.

A pair of blazing, crimson eyes gazed upon Tapion once more.

Tapion squinted his eyes. Hirudegarn tugged on his nerves from within, the claws of the phantom scratched against the walls of his prison of flesh and bones.

Tapion stopped at the forest clearing. White specks of ash swished around him. He gripped his head, lines creased from under his eyes. 

Broly skidded on the chalky ground, sending up a flurry of ash. He then came to a halt, before standing up tall with those same murderous eyes.

"You had no right to rob the innocents of their lives!" Tapion aimed his sword at the Saiyan, his teal eyes levelled like arrows at his throat, "Don't you feel any guilt for your actions?" He furrowed his brows.

The Saiyan's only response was a laugh.

"I'm only here for a good time,” Broly replied, raising his chin up at Tapion, "Show me, what's that power you're hiding?" He raised his hand and pointed at Tapion. A smirk crept on the end of his lips.

“He sensed Hirudegarn?” Tapion clenched his jaws shut, “Could it be that Hirudegarn is feeding off the negativity from this child?”

From a low snarl erupting into a thunderous roar, Broly's hair sparked gold. His black eyes sparked teal. His lightning aura lashed around him, zapping the stone ground beneath him and shattering the stones to dust.

Tapion grasped the handle of his sword tighter. He sensed the Phantom Majin Hirudegarn becoming restless from the surge of power the Saiyan child emitted.

The Saiyan roars halted. His teal eyes fell onto the Konatsian before him.

"I'll test my power against yours." Broly smirked. He pointed at the swordsman, "It's been so long since I used my own power."

“So long… What does he mean?” Tapion thought, his eyes focused on the Saiyan before him.

Broly lunged towards Tapion, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. Tapion raised his sword towards the Saiyan, preparing to slash the Saiyan. As the Saiyan's fist zoomed towards Tapion's head, Tapion vanished at light speed.

A sword grazed the Saiyan's abdomen. 

Broly clenched his jaws tightly shut, a vein throbbed on his brow.

“An Afterimage?” Broly searched for his prey, his teal eyes flicking from the pale ground to the dark sky.

Tapion played a solemn tune on his ocarina once more, his eyes fixed on the Saiyan. 

The whites of the Saiyan's eyes cracked red with veins.

Rage. One could not think clearly when their actions are blinded by such powerful, negative emotions.

As Broly twisted his head to face the lone Konatsian, a blue light enveloped the Saiyan. He froze. He lost all sense over his body. His teal eyes trembled as he held his gaze with the Konatsian.

"You will bring no more destruction." Tapion declared after drawing the ocarina away from his lips, "You will spend the rest of your days sealed away within the Brave Sword, unable to move for eternity." The sword laying on the ground next to the Saiyan glowed blue, "You can only look on, and think about the atrocities you have committed."

It was as if molten lava washed over Broly's body. The Saiyan roared, writhing his head as he struggled against the force of magic constricting him. He screamed louder, sending a shock across the ashen ground. His eyes faded to white. The child's soul was ripped from his body, erasing his physical body in a hue of blue light.

Though, those eyes... Tapion turned his gaze away from the child. Under all that rage, that child pleaded. 

Pleaded…

After a spark of blue light, nothing of the Saiyan child remained, only just an echo of his wrath. Tapion strode to his sword, fading from the gentle, blue hue. He took a hold of his sword, observing the stainless, silver hilt.

"It's a shame, you're a child." Tapion spoke, running his fingers over the blunt end of the sword, "Your actions created pain for everyone. I cannot allow your destructive actions to continue any longer." 

He looked up at the dark skies once more, taking in the bleak world around him. 

"A thousand years later, and nothing's changed. I'm a prisoner outside looking in." 

Tapion looked at his sword once more, "And now you're fated… As a prisoner bound to this blade for as long as you live.” His voice became dry, yet his words held a sharpness to them.

Tapion returned his gaze to the crumbled lone altar standing in front of the levelled Sanctuary in the distance, thinking about the bodies of soldiers laying there. Surely there had to be survivors. 

Tapion took off in search of answers.

Upon reaching the altar, disfigured bodies and debris lay scattered across the charred ground. Despite the severity of the damages, the lone swordsman was quick to find a survivor. He knelt down beside a crippled body of an elderly male, resting his hand under the elder's head.

Yet the lone swordsman knew that he could only ease the elder's pains.

A breathy set of words left the elder's cracked and bloodied lips.

"... My son,” The elder spoke faintly, his words squeaking on his lips, “His freedom… " His only eye, flickering with a faint light, met Tapion's ones. "Please, stop him. He's a danger to everyone and to himself…" He raised his shaky hand to Tapion, indicating the golden ring wrapped around his hand. 

Tapion grasped the elder's hand, inspecting the ring. He could only assume that it was a device of some sort.

As Tapion parted his lips to speak, the elder's eye rolled to the back of his head. His hand fell from the swordsman's grasp. 

Only a cold, empty breeze howled over the tainted Sanctuary.

Tapion drew the elder's eye to a close, taking a moment of silence.

"I hear two stories," Tapion spoke to himself, "One says he was freed, assuming that he was only a slave. However," He looked at the elder's empty face, "The other, your father, says he's doing this because he's aware of the destruction you can cause," He unsheathed his sword, "And I believe him." His steely eyes hardened on the silver hilt of his blade.

The blade blazed a molten crimson. The heat burned through the Konatsian's leather gloves. With a grunt, Tapion tossed the sword away from him.

With an eruption of green and gold, a form sparked forth from the sword, roaring up into the abyss of the voided sky. Tapion froze, noting the behemoth's features; his golden aura lashed at the atmosphere around him, lightning from the shockwaves struck the ground one after the other, and the air hung heavy.

Tapion stumbled, trying to keep his balance.

“The child… What happened to him?” Tapion thought, noting the towering form of the Saiyan child. “How did he muster that much energy to break out?” He clenched his teeth shut. “If I can't seal him, what else am I supposed to do?” He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head side to side. “My master, and Minotia, please… Lend me your strength!”

The Saiyan child twisted his head at the Konatsian, his blinded eyes scowling at the insect before him. He clenched his fists, letting out another thunderous roar. The marble ground beneath him shattered, hurling up crumbling stones into the scorched air.

And the mystic sword landed blade first into the marble ground behind the Saiyan.

"You know nothing,” Broly snarled at Tapion, his jaws trembling with scarlet anger. He thrusted his fists close to his chest. "NOW DIE!" He vaulted towards Tapion, obliterating everything in his path of marble and blood.

Tapion drew his ocarina, only for it to be knocked from his grasp by the Saiyan's vicious aura.

In that brief moment, Tapion's shaky eyes followed the ocarina. His safe keep, it drifted further from his grasp, into the depths of black oblivion. His heart beated hard against his chest.

And once the ocarina struck the floor in front of him, Tapion's dull, teal eyes cracked wider.

Hirudegarn's eyes blazed like a wildfire, setting Tapion's mind alight. 

With an agonising scream up onto the hollow sky, Tapion's body hung paralysed. His physical form ripped into multiple strands of smoke, as though his entire being was sucked away from the mortal realms. 

And in Tapion's place, a ginormous creature with two scaly claws, and a massive jaw materialised through a rift in space. However, the creature hovered in the air due to what seemed like his lower half was missing. 

Is this how it ends?

The Phantom Majin spewed flames at the enraged Saiyan and diverted the Saiyan's path. Though, one claw shielded his vessel, Tapion, from the flames.

Drained, Tapion collapsed onto his knees, his shallow breaths snatched from him. His weak eyes fell onto the battlefield before him. Two monsters… Unleashed into the world, both wrecking havoc across the desolate planet. How was he supposed to stop such beings from destroying the planet he and Minotia vowed to protect? He hung his head, panting as chaos brewed before him.

Hirudegarn vanished in a swirl of dense smoke, evading a punch by the enraged Saiyan. The Saiyan halted and roared up at the dark skies. He expelled a volley of ki from his body, sending multiple tremors across the planet.

As one stray blast was about to strike Tapion, Hirudegarn's claws plummeted in front of Tapion, shielding him once again. Tapion snapped his worn gaze up at the Phantom Majin, meeting the creature's luminous, red eyes.

Was the Phantom Majin… Protecting him?

Tapion shook his head. No, the Kashva's surely crafted a beast full of hatred. Why would Hirudegarn protect his vessel other than to ensure its survival?

However, Tapion heard a subtle growl. He met Hirudegarn's glowing gaze again. He followed the beast's flickering gaze, until he met the ocarina. 

This must be a scheme of some sort.

"If I do that, you'll become weakened.” Tapion raised his voice at the towering beast, “You'll get torn apart!"

Tapion's options were cut short.

The area around Tapion and Hirudegarn sparked a glaring green, before draining away into a smaller and denser ball of ki. Tapion turned his attention to the brawny Saiyan, then to the sword behind the Saiyan. It was then when he knew what Hirudegarn implied.

As Tapion lunged for the ocarina, Broly's aura slammed into Tapion, hurling the Konatsian far away from the ocarina. The Saiyan twisted his gaze onto the ocarina.

As he brought his foot down on the ancient instrument, Hirudegarn swiped his claws at the Saiyan. The Saiyan planted his foot into the stone ground, refusing to budge from the ocarina. However, the shock from Hirudegarn's strike sent the ocarina several metres from the Saiyan. As the Saiyan watched the ocarina casted away from his sight, he mustered his devastating power to shove the beast from him. However, Hirudegarn continued to keep the pressure on the enraged Saiyan.

Tapion rose up to his feet once again, rubbing the blood from his lips. Perfect. Even of the initial plan didn't go as he hoped, he still got what he needed. He prepared his sword, which glowed a smooth blue.

"For the people I have failed, forgive me for not being there to protect you all in your time of need." Tapion recited, holding the sword in front of his face. He shifted the sharp end of the blade towards the Saiyan, his eyes fixed on the Saiyan's nape, "I will bring this monster to justice as a testimony of my oath as a swordsman."

As Broly threw a punch at Hirudegarn, the Phantom Majin vanished once again in a swirl of smoke. With another frustrated roar of anger, Broly fired off another multitude of ki blasts from his body. Another tremor shook the barren planet, leaving deep craters scattered across the ashen ground. Once the Saiyan's ruthless volley ended, his blinded gaze searched for the Konatsian responsible. His gaze fell onto the location where the ocarina once laid.

Gone.

The Saiyan frantically searched for his preys, using his senses to locate and murder that bug.

The Saiyan was too late.

His body tensed up as the sound of that cursed instrument whispered in his ears.

The Saiyan youth snapped his gaze to the direction of the ocarina's beckoning to find Tapion hovering above the altar. As Broly twisted his enraged gaze onto the Konatsian, Hirudegarn materialised behind the Saiyan from a mist of murky smoke. As Broly lunged towards Tapion, Hirudegarn fired a blast of flames.

The flames washed over the Saiyan like a blanket of smoke, his ki acting as a barrier against the futile attempts that his preys had planned.

"DIE!" Broly roared, zooming towards the direction of where Tapion was. 

As the smoke cleared, the area ahead of Broly was empty. His eyes cracked wider, his thoughts lost in a haze of frustration and rage.

A second worth of mistake sealed the fate of the battle.

An excruciating burn ripped across the Saiyan's abdomen. The Saiyan's body twitched violently. His blinded gaze slowly fell onto his abdomen. He caught sight of his blood glowing a luminous green and flooded out from his body. He shook his head. The Saiyan roared, feeling the rare sensation of pain crippling his body.

As Tapion landed, he turned on his heels and darted towards the Saiyan child again. He aimed for the Saiyan's legs, his steely eyes cold and ruthless.

Such a quick and painless death was something this Saiyan was undeserving of. The thought of their smiles, their peace, who was this monster to rip away their lives' from them?

As Broly threw a punch towards Tapion, he screamed once again. Blood seeped from his knees. The Saiyan lost his footing. 

Then another slash, aimed at his elbows. The beige wristbands stripped his arms.

And Tapion continued, shredding the Saiyan monster down until he drew his last breaths. And it occured to him, for every lashing the Konatsian struck, what did it mean to be a monster? Or how did one come to be? 

Or if it was right to call this child a monster?

As every slash struck the Saiyan, Hirudegarn observed the tortured Saiyan, absorbing the pain, the anger, and sorrows. However, the Phantom Majin shifted his gaze to Tapion, as though trying to reach out to the Konatsian about something. 

The Saiyan child no longer screamed. His arms hung limp as he only stared into sea of darkness above. His black pupils reappeared as his green hair vanished into a shade of black. His body; shrivelled, scarred with bloody cracks all over his raw skin.

After several slashings of blood streaked across the shattered marble ground, the Saiyan knelt in front of Tapion, his deep breaths rattled against his lungs.

"You..." Tapion hissed through his clenched jaws, his silent anger seethed on his tongue, "A child like you killed so many people I vowed to protect." He pointed his blade down at the Saiyan, "Why did you rob them of life they could have had?" His voice cracked, "They did nothing to you!"

The Saiyan's dull gaze remained on the tainted marble, his blood dripping from his cracked, pale skin. His black eyes shook, the rims of his vision falling darker with every pained breath.

"... Stop wasting your breath," Broly uttered as blood dripped from his lips, "I was freed, and that's all to it."

Freedom?

"Your freedom doesn't mean you have to exchange innocent lives that had nothing to do with you.” Tapion raised his voice, "Why did you think it was alright to rob them of their life?" He pressed on his conviction.

The child refused to answer.

After several moments, Tapion took a deep breath.

“Thou must not take the life of a child.”

“Thou must not let their emotions dictate their actions.”

“Thou must eliminate all injustice.”

Tapion reflected on the teachings of his master in silence. As he gazed upon the crippled state of the Saiyan, a child, he pondered if the action he planned to take did not betray his master's teachings.

But this child…

What a shame would it be for this child to throw it all away?

“Broly,” Tapion spoke as he lowered his sword to his side, “Tell me, what is the current year?”

Broly raised his brows. Why would the concept of time be important right now? 

"Year seven-hundred and fifty-two," The Saiyan answered with a raspy voice, the bangs of his spiky hair concealed his eyes.

Tapion widened his eyes, his pupils shrivelled into the size of pinheads.

"It's been under a millennium." Tapion uttered to himself, losing his balance. He planted his sword into the ground in front of him and knelt, "I can't believe it," Tapion's heart dropped, "How could you have destroyed a millennium's worth of generations in such a narrow span of time?"

The child kept his gaze low. Yet his anger burned from beneath his bloody skin.

“Broly-”

"Stop acting stupid! You saw exactly what I did." Broly showed his teeth at Tapion, his dark eyes glared. He hung his head once more, exposing the nape of his neck at Tapion. "End this worthless chit chat already." He drew the tips of his bloody fingers over his raw skin, marking it for Tapion to slash his nape.

Tapion fell silent. After a moment, he realised what the child was asking for.

Tapion turned the sharp end of the silver blade towards himself, looking at his own reflection. Then he tilted his sword, looking at the reflection of the crippled child kneeling before him.

To slay a monster hiding under the guise of a child, or was this slaying a child hiding under the guise of a monster?

Was this truly the right decision?

"Not yet." Tapion turned his blade to his right, reflecting the Saiyan's head, "What did you achieve with your freedom?" Tapion asked as Hirudegarn's top half hovered above them.

"Why would that matter?" Broly muttered, gripping his bloodstained, tattered pants.

Tapion drew the sword up from the ground and pointed it at the child. Yet he lowered the sword upon noticing a small smirk cracking on the child's lips. 

"All I know is that you are a Saiyan, a race where your home world Sadala is located in the North Galaxy-”

“You're ancient as Hell,” Broly interjected with a scowl, “Planet Sadala is no more old man.”

Tapion paused. That was uncalled for. However the swordsman continued with a calm composure, “Thank you for the correction,” Tapion turned away from the child and gazed up at the empty sky, “I'm sorry to hear that. Regardless, you're a child roaming far from your home." 

Home…

"Home? Don't make me laugh." The Saiyan child twisted his head up at Tapion. Although his eyes were empty of light, the anger seething beneath his skin pierced the Konatsian. "There's no such thing as a home, only life and death."

"Why do you think that?"

The child squinted his eyes at the Konatsian. He then hung his head once more, as if he could not give an answer.

"...People are only out for themselves once they find out who you truly are." Broly hung his head. "I'm… Gifted with a… Power." He averted his eyes to his right, looking at his scarred knees from the gaping holes of his pants. "There's nothing here for me but chaos and destruction. It's in my blood to fight- or that's what my Pops said."

"I see." Tapion looked at the child again, "You seem to have witnessed a lot of…" He grasped the handle of his sword tighter, "Violence for your age." He sighed. He turned towards the child, "There was a Saiyan about twelve years ago before I became a swordsman. I heard he created havoc across the North Galaxy, even to these parts."

"... You must be speaking of Yamoshi." Broly said, closing his eyes, "He was a Saiyan legend, considered to be a powerful warrior with a righteous heart." He laughed bitterly to himself.

“A righteous heart? Could it be that Yamoshi lost control over his power?” Tapion thought to himself, his teal eyes watching the Saiyan youth kneel in front of him, his body now covered in scabs. He looked up at Hirudegarn, who seemed to have watched over both him and Broly.

Tapion rounded the kneeling child. What was the right thing to do? 

Broly… A child with a devastating power… Surely there must be some Saiyan survivors out there to help him understand the true extent of his powers.

Tapion sighed, shaking his head as he left Hirudegarn to observe the Saiyan.

What was the right thing to do?

Tapion looked over his shoulder. Upon meeting the empty gaze of the child, his conscience hurt. It was as if looking into a void with no light ahead.

A child. Should a child be subjected to such punishment? Or should they be allowed to turn a new leaf and rebuild their life? Tapion could only wonder what Broly learned as he roamed the galaxy, and maybe understand why Broly became the individual he is today.

"Broly," Tapion said, sheathing his sword with a click. He looked at the child and approached him, 

"How did you come to be the person you are now?"

The Saiyan child widened his shaken eyes. He snapped his gaze to Tapion. He closed his mouth, taking in several quivering breaths as Tapion loomed over him.

“What do you want from me?” Broly asked as he began to back away from the approaching swordsman.

“Wait, Broly-”

“Stay the Hell away from me!” Broly swiped his hand at Tapion as he staggered away from him. Then he looked at his hands for several seconds, his breaths fast and shallow. Upon seeing Tapion looming over him, he staggered again, falling over several times as he attempted to escape the swordsman's clutches.

Hirudegarn shook his head side to side, aware how futile it was to escape.

Broly slammed head first into the ground with a breathless gasp.

Tapion stood in front of Broly, yet his teal eyes held sorrow.

“I had no intention of causing you grief,” Tapion replied with a softer voice, “I don't understand how a child can-”

"I was raised rough by my father." Broly replied, though he turned his head to look up at Tapion. "I was taught I had to kill others so that I could live. Sometimes, it was fun to watch those weaklings run and cling onto their worthless lives, but…" He averted his gaze from the Konatsian, "Sometimes, I lost control." With his trembling hands, he collected a handful of dirt.

"It hurts..." 

Tapion paused. Yet he knew any sudden action would cause the child to flail, and undoubtedly hurt himself further.

"It hurts." Broly repeated, but his voice cracked, “I can't go through another one of those episodes again-”

“Why?"

Tapion waited. Yet the child fell silent. He noticed the silent tears streaming down his bloody face.

“What do you mean by why?” Tapion said, though he knelt down in front of the child, who wept silently. Though he raised his hand out to the child, he drew his hand back, cautious that he did not want to startle him.

Broly did not answer. Instead, he laid on the ground, his eyes squeezed shut as his face was damp with tears and sweat.

Tapion sighed. Every question ended with more questions. 

Tapion rose up to his feet. Then he drew his sword with both hands and raised the end of the blade above the Saiyan child’s throat. He tightened his hold on the handle of his blade, trying to focus on the task at hand.

"What will you do?" Tapion squinted his eyes at Broly. He hardened his gaze on the Saiyan child. "Will you aid me and rebuild those who have lost their lives so that you atone for your malice?" He raised his voice, "Or will you continue this path of ruination, only for me to end your era of destruction?" 

A silver glint flashed past the Saiyan child's eyes.

Crack!

After several moments of silence, Broly’s trembling eyes met the dull end of the blade… Resting an inch away from his face.

"...What say you?"

Upon hearing the swordsman's voice crack, Broly lifted his gaze at the swordsman, noticing his steely eyes glistening. The only word the child uttered on his trembling lips was,

“Why?”

Chapter Text

“You were born to bring entire civilisations to their knees. Do not pity those weaker than you for the fate of the lives of those slaves are only yours to control.”

Yet, those words spoken to the child sparked an unforeseen event;

“Understood.”

The child raised his hand at the elderly man who stood by his side,

“I’ll pass judgement on your wretched life first.”

In that moment, the child remembered how his father screamed his punctured lungs out, flailed his crippled limbs, then begged to be spared as his body was tossed away into the jaws of the dark abyss.

Silence fell.

The child turned away from the fading pleas lingering behind him in a vortex of green.

Fire and blood, ash and smoke. Nothing changed.

“Broly…”

A green light zipped past the child from behind. 

The child froze in his tracks, a drop of sweat dripped off his chin.

Just as the child turned around to face the danger, a hand, the flesh blackened from decay and crawling with maggots, latched onto the child's shoulder from behind.

“Bro… ly…“

A stench of rotting flesh… And the feeling of something hot and sticky gripped the child.

Once the child locked his gaze with the danger, a shiver shook his body.

That man… His father… No…

His “Father's” face… It was horribly deformed, as if lava had melted the flesh off his face, and leaked with scalding puss. The right, hollow eye-socket leaked with blood and dripped wriggling maggots.

And his breath… Death lurked…

“Broly… My son… Your fate… You cannot escape…”

Fate…

The child, Broly, shoved back the rotting corpse who claimed to be his father. Yet as he fought back, the decaying body towered over him, forcing Broly to look into his hollow eye.

“ Lord Ravager … You will bring down entire civilisations and claim the throne of the Gods.”

The screams, the smoke and flames, the utter chaos and destruction racing across the stars of different worlds… It was as if the child was forced to look through a window to reveal what had elapsed.

“Stop it!” Broly shook his head side to side, “STOP IT!” He screamed, his ki flared around him like a wild storm and shoved the corpse away from him.

The ground beneath the Saiyan child shattered, giving way to a blinding, scarlet void.

And the child fell…

Falling endlessly…

For no one to guide him back out of the vortex of destruction of what had been ingrained into him.

*******

“STOP IT!”

The Saiyan child awoke from his nightmare. Broly gasped for air, his heart pounding against his chest, and his skin damp with cold sweat. Then he groaned; a sudden weight of exhaustion washed over him.

Broly stumbled onto one knee, his body rattled in pain. He noticed a glowing orb in the darkness of the sky. Just as he looked, someone leaned over him and blocked out what he assumed was the full moon.

“I see you had a nightmare.” 

Broly met the gaze of a familiar pale swordsman sitting beside him.

His teal and unforgiving eyes… And the glint of the blade of “Justice” he wielded…

Thump… Thump… Thump…

The sound of the child's heart beated against his ears, the fur on his tail prickled like a cat, and his body shivered violently.

With a frantic gasp, Broly face-planted into the cold, stone ground.

The swordsman, Tapion, sighed.

“You should focus on saving your energy,” Tapion advised. He walked over to the Saiyan child, “Your wounds…” He looked at the bandages wrapped around the child's torso, “It looks like they will take some time to heal.”

Broly remained silent.

“Broly, you were unconscious for a week-”

“A week?” Broly exclaimed, snapping his head towards Tapion, “How am I-”

A loud grumble escaped from the child's stomach. Broly scrunched his face up; several sharp pangs of pain gripped his stomach.

“I see you're hungry.” Tapion noted. He turned away from the Saiyan child, “I've already set up camp for the night at the Sanctuary, so make your way over when you're ready.”

As Tapion walked on ahead, though he looked over his shoulder now and again, Broly remained face down on the ground. 

After several moments, a frustrated growl left Broly's throat. He gripped a handful of dirt in his shaky hands

“Damn it!” Broly whispered harshly to himself, “Damn it all!” He dug his fingers into the palm of his hands. Despite digging his fingers into his palms to feel pain, he could not muster the energy to move his body.

“Instead of cursing to yourself, why not ask for help?” 

Broly paused. He lifted his gaze and met the teal gaze of the swordsman.

“And you want me to be nice in exchange, right?” Broly's words seeped through his gritted teeth, yet he dropped his gaze to the ground, “No thanks. I refuse to be in debt to someone, or be a slave to anyone for that matter.”

Tapion remained silent. He observed Broly for a moment.

“I don't know what made you think that,” Tapion replied with a gentle voice, “But I have a duty to help those in need.” He reached his hand out to Broly.

Broly glanced at Tapion's hand for a moment.

“Oh please,” Broly rolled his eyes, “You're beginning to sound like those heroes from those fairy tales, like Yamoshi- Wait a minute,” A gleam glimmered in his eyes, “You're an old man with stories to tell about him, right?”

Tapion’s brow twitched. The audacity of this child…

“Lets not jump to conclusions,” Tapion replied, “Right now, you must rest up. Once you have recovered, then I’ll answer your questions, alright?”

“And how am I sure that’s the perfect opportunity to kill me?” Broly narrowed his eyes, “I’m no fool to trust someone I’ve just met.”

Tapion drew his hand to his chin. This child was unusually sharp.

“I won't say that I'm a good person, anyone can say that,” Tapion replied, “But, I have a creed to abide by as a Swordsman of Konats,” He raised his hand out to Broly again as a gesture to help him.

Broly looked at Tapion's hand for several moments. Then he shifted his gaze to Tapion, aware of his unwavering gaze on him.

This warmth… No… This had to be a facade of some sort…

But for some reason, the Saiyan child was drawn to this… Warmth. 

This warmth… It felt safe…

“... Fine then,” Broly said after a moment, “I'll see what a so-called hero you call yourself,” As he raised his shaky hand to Tapion, he furrowed his brows, “But, don't think for a second that I'm in debt to you for anything.”

“Then that's settled.”

Just as Tapion reached for Broly's hand, the Saiyan child pulled his hand away from him, clutching it as if the child was hurt. Tapion waited with his hand held out to Broly as a gesture to help him when he was ready.

After several shaky breaths, Broly grasped Tapion's hand.

“Easy now.” Tapion spoke with a gentle voice. He lifted the child onto his feet and supported him as they ambled towards the Sanctuary, “We'll make our way back to camp and rest for the night.”

Broly looked at Tapion for a moment, then he shook his head. 

This has to be a facade!

“Broly?”

“It's nothing.” Broly lowered his head, “I'm tired and sore. That's all.”

“I see. We’re not far from the camp now. We'll be there soon.”

The camp's location that Tapion spoke of was within the walls of the Grand Sanctuary, a key pillar of Konatsian civilisation, or what was left of a bygone era.

As the golden flames crackled in the centre of what remained of the worn altar, the altar cracked in most places from the lack of preservation and safeguarding from the elements, silence fell heavy over the Sanctuary ruins. Despite the darkness, several stars shone in the black abyss above and adorned the lone full moon above. Yet the light from the nearby stars and moon was a reminder that there was still life compared to what one would see next.

If one stayed long enough, they would notice several thousands of white bags, the sizes varying from as small as a child to a full grown adult, neatly lined up in several rows in the garden of white roses outside the Sanctuary. A single, lit candle burned besides each and every one of the white bags.

Was there anything left to save once the jaws of destruction and ruination ceased?

Broly shifted his dark gaze from the many rows of white, which seemed to have glowed in the embrace of the candle light, to the flames flickering on the crumbled altar before him and Tapion.

Besides the altar, there was another campfire, though these flames were used to roast several small fishes, skewered from head to tail with a thin, metal rod.

“What was the point of all of that?” Broly asked, raising his hand out from the blanket warming him to the rows of white. However, his voice held a roughness to them, as though he was curious yet disgusted.

Tapion, who knelt beside the Saiyan child, remained silent. His teal and sombre gaze observed the white rows laid against the floor of the Sanctuary beyond the altar.

Broly's face twisted with annoyance.

“Hey, old man!” 

Tapion snapped his gaze to Broly, startled by the child.

“That got your attention now,” Broly smirked at him as he lowered his hand. Then he looked away from an annoyed Tapion, snickering as he knew he startled Tapion.

Tapion took a deep breath to calm himself.

“For the most part, I'm tolerating you.” Tapion replied, “What do you ask from me?” He raised his hand out to the child.

“That,” Broly asked as he pointed to the white, rose garden beyond the altar.

“... The fish?”

Broly's face dropped.

“No-” Broly glanced to the flames on the altar, then to the campfire beside the altar. It was a waste of resources to have two fires when one could have sufficed for roasting fish, “Well yeah, but that's not the point!” He shook his head side to side, “I’m assuming you're the one who wasted your time burying those murderers.”

Murderers…

Tapion parted his lips, then he fell silent.

“Whatever has happened has happened,” Tapion began with a quieter voice, “All I did was to give all those who have passed on respect and let them rest in peace-”

“You're letting murderers like them rest in peace?” Broly exclaimed, the fur on his tail prickled like a cat, “You should have left those wretched bugs to rot like the weaklings they are!”

Tapion remained silent for a few minutes.

“Alright then,” Tapion's voice held a sharpness, “You seem to know quite a bit about them to label them all as murderers, so tell me,”

“What allegiance did you swear to them?”

Broly held his tongue, aware of the subtle shift in Tapion's voice. He lowered his head, aware he was at Tapion's mercy.

Or so the Saiyan child assumed.

“...They were soldiers of Angol who served my Pops,” Broly began, though he shifted his gaze away from the Konatsian, “So naturally, they served me,” He paused, as though he wanted to say more.

Then he drew his arms under the blanket and fell silent.

The screams… The rancid stench of blood and ash… The heat of the flames burning against his skin…

And then that endless abyss of red, and only red.

The Saiyan child widened his eyes for a moment, then he closed his eyes tightly, shivering at those thoughts.

Tapion observed how the Saiyan child withdrew into himself.

“I take it that you weren't exactly on good terms with them.” Tapion sighed, though he shifted his gaze to the golden flames flickering from the altar before them both, “I'm not here to open old wounds, but I do know that if someone needs help,” He placed his hand firmly against the ground next to the Saiyan child, “Let it be known that I'm here to help.”

Broly met the sincere eyes of the swordsman.

“Alright Mister Hero.” Broly snided, rolling his eyes and dismissing Tapion's words.

However, when he met Tapion's firm gaze again, Broly's smirk faded from his lips, unsettled by Tapion's convictions. Was this adversary keeping true to his word?

“To keep it simple,” Broly continued, “The soldiers hated me for the most part. And as for my Pops…” He sighed and rubbed his bare left wrist with his right hand, “It's… Complicated.”

“I see…”

Silence fell around them again.

Then Broly thumped onto his front. He took a deep breath and screamed into the ground.

Tapion remained quiet. He instead looked at the crispy and charred skin of the fish, indicating that it was time to eat.

With a tray of roasted fish slid in front of the Saiyan child, Broly raised his head. Upon noticing the fish, his eyes gleamed. Then he blinked.

“Huh?” Broly tilted his head to one side, “Just two for me?”

“Two is plenty,” Tapion replied as he sat down beside the Saiyan child, holding a single stick of roasted fish.

“For you it is. For me, no,” Broly shook his head as he sat up, “I’ll be out cold before midnight.”

“Considering it's night, hunting is a bad choice right now.” Tapion replied. He took a bite of the roasted fish, then spoke once his mouth was clear, “But if you insist, I'll teach you how to catch fish once dawn arrives.”

“Hey, I know how to hunt,” Broly looked from Tapion to the fish, “I'm not just some helpless kid.” He pouted yet he knew he was in no condition himself to hunt, let alone walk for a while.

Broly chowed down the fish.

As both swordsman and child ate, Broly would cast his gaze from his meal to Tapion. He observed how quiet he was, and why he stared off into the distance, whether it be the altar, or the white rose garden.

“Hey,” Broly noted, twirling a thin fish bone in one hand, “What's with this place?”

“This place is the Grand Sanctuary,” Tapion answered, though his gaze fell onto the far walls of the crumbled Sanctuary, overgrown with black and thorny vines, “This was a sacred place for the Konatsian people, a home to not only worship our Deity, but to also pay respects to those who have passed on.”

“Pay respects to the dead?” Broly tilted his head to one side, “Why waste your time doing that?” He tossed the bone to one side. Tapion stared at the boy with a stern gaze, to which Broly picked the bone up and left it in the tray.

“... Broly,” Tapion said with a firm voice, “Who was Yamoshi to you?”

Broly parted his lips. Then he fell silent for a moment.

“He was a pure-hearted Saiyan who became a God.” Broly replied, “But instead of saving anyone, he ended up destroying the Saiyan's original homeworld. Some hero he turned out to be.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Would you say Yamoshi held any relevance to you?”

“Well… Yeah.” Broly itched the back of his head, “He was a legend worshipped by most Saiyans. But…” Broly sighed and slumped his shoulders back. He placed the tray of fish bones to one side, “That's all I know about Yamoshi. From what my Pops told me, every Saiyan seemed to have worshipped him because he ascended to Godhood. I don’t know if it was out of awe, or hate.”

“So let me understand, the Saiyans would only pay attention to their brethren if they were powerful?”

“Yes… But…”

“Unlike Yamoshi, you Broly… Your birthright, and those who were gifted with the same birthright before you, will always be known as the Ravagers of Worlds.”

Broly fell silent as he remembered those words spoken by his father. He shifted his gaze to his shaky hands.

“Whatever you touch, death and destruction will only follow.”

“My fate…” Broly whispered to himself, “There has to be a way to reject my fate.” He gripped his chest tightly with one hand.

Tapion raised his brow, unable to hear what Broly had said.

“Fate?” Tapion asked, concerned about the Saiyan child.

“Nothing...” Broly spoke with a rugged breath. He turned away from Tapion and pulled the blanket over himself. He closed his glistening eyes and uttered,

“Why was I chosen?”

Tapion paused and lowered the roasted fish from his mouth. Was this the “Why?” that Broly wanted answers for?

After several moments of silence, Tapion sighed to himself.

“Broly,” Tapion said with a gentle tone to the child, “I want you to know that fate can be cruel, but…” He looked up at the sky, scattered with stars from afar, “That shouldn't define who you are.”

“... Old man,” Broly bristled under his breath, as though he was annoyed at Tapion's words, “How do you do that when fate is a predetermined thing?”

“Okay then, before you were born, did anyone know what type of person you'll become?”

Broly perked his head up, confused at what Tapion was saying.

“No?” Broly answered, looking over his shoulder, “But there is a Saiyan legend-” He hung his head again a moment later, as though regretting the thought of bringing it up.

“Then you should know what I'm going to say next.” Tapion said, after finishing his tray of roasted fish.

Broly sat up for a while and thought about where Tapion was going with this. He pondered about his own power; a power he believed only brought about destruction and death.

“I am the Legendary Super Saiyan,” Broly thought to himself, “Or that's what my Pops kept harping on about day in and day out.” He squinted his eyes for a moment, “But that legend… Once someone was born with that power… There was no cure for that hunger.”

Broly shook his head.

“What the hell old man?” Broly exclaimed at Tapion. He pointed his finger at the swordsman, fuming at his own lack of understanding, “You're playing mind games on me!”

“If you didn't understand what I meant, you could have asked for an explanation rather than getting angry over it.” Tapion answered calmly.

“Huh?” Broly widened his eyes.

“Very well.” Tapion placed the tray of fish bones to one side, “Even if you were chosen by fate to be a legend of some sort, why should you allow that to control your life?” Tapion met Broly's confused gaze, “I'll be frank with you, I know nothing about you aside from you being a Saiyan child.”

“You do know that the Saiyans were sent off to conquer planets as children, right?”

“And if you had a choice, would you still commit to those heinous acts?” Tapion narrowed his teal eyes on the child, “I'm aware of how the Saiyans of old conducted themselves, Broly.”

“So what? You were friends with Yamoshi or something?” 

“Broly,” Tapion sighed, rubbing his eyes, as though his patience was being tested by the child, “The point that I'm trying to explain to you is-”

“I shouldn't let my fate dictate who I am and blah blah blah,” Broly rolled his eyes.

Tapion's brow twitched. This child…

A twig snapped. A merry hum followed.

Both Tapion and Broly glanced in the direction of the merry hum.

A short form ambled from around the corner of the derelict, gravel pathway, which acted as the entrance into the Sanctuary. The newcomer's long and white beard trailed across the floor as he carried what seemed like a pile of folded clothes.

Just as Tapion was about to greet the newcomer, Broly raised his hand in the direction of the newcomer. Tapion glanced back at Broly, his eyes widened at the green light crackling from his palm.

“Broly,” Tapion raised his voice, “Wai-”

Tapion knocked Broly’s hand, redirecting the shockwave towards the open roof of the Sanctuary. The newcomer ducked behind the cracked wall, taking cover from Broly’s unexpected strike.

“Damn it!” Broly bristled to himself. He snatched his hand away from Tapion and glared at his shaky hands, “I still can't use my powers!”

“What were you thinking?” Tapion spoke with a firm tone, yet Broly did not meet his gaze, “He was a civilian-”

“I could have murdered that traitor.” Broly growled lowly. He slowly turned his head towards Tapion, his dark eyes quivering from an intense desire.

Tapion remained quiet, unsettled by the Saiyan child’s sudden shift in his voice and ki.

“It's a darn good thing you missed, sonny!”

Upon recognising a familiar voice, Broly's eyes shrunk into the size of pinheads.

The newcomer peered from around the corner of the wall, making sure the coast was clear.

“Sonny?” The newcomer's voice spoke with a rasp, as though fear had gripped his throat upon meeting Broly’s furious gaze, “I mean no harm to you,” He raised the now messy pile of clothes as evidence of his actions, “You know that unless Paragus specifically ordered me to aid you-”

Just as the newcomer spoke, a specific name clung onto the child's mind.

Paragus…

“That wretched, insufferable insect…”

“ROT IN HELL!” Broly roared at the newcomer. The whites of his eyes cracked red with veins, his ki crackled around him and the ground around him shattered.

As Broly raced towards the newcomer, Tapion grabbed the Saiyan child from the back, his fingers gripping onto the bandages wrapped around his torso as a means to stop the child from closing the gap between himself and the newcomer.

“Broly! Get a grip on yourself!” Tapion raised his voice at the Saiyan child, “He's unarmed-” Tapion tilted his head to the side, evading a sharp blow of the child's elbow to his face. As Tapion stepped back and pushed Broly's elbow down, Broly swung his leg at Tapion’s face.

Yet Tapion weaved in and out from the Saiyan child’s furious yet sluggish flurry.

“Enough!” Tapion raised his voice at Broly.

As the back of Broly's fist was about to hit Tapion's face, Tapion swiftly tapped the nape of Broly's neck with a firm strike with his scabbard. Broly fell unconscious. Tapion caught the child and laid him on the ground.

However, the swordsman's heart beated against his chest. It took only one mistake for Broly to kill Tapion.

Tapion and the newcomer exchanged eye contact. Then they sighed.

“A part of me assumed he was going to lash out,” Tapion spoke, looking over to the unconscious Saiyan child, “Broly is quite the handful to deal with, Krang.”

“Oh I know,” The newcomer, Krang, replied with a slight chuckle, “Paragus's sonny is a very tough one to deal with. Whoever Paragus assigned to watch Broly ended up refusing to be anywhere near him.” His voice softened at the end. He looked at the crumpled pile of clothes in his grasp, “Poor kid, he had no one to really speak to since…” Krang paused for a moment, “Well… Everyone was scared of him.”

“To be scared of a child?” Tapion questioned, though his eyes widened for a moment, “I would have never imagined a child to be feared. It must have been painful to be isolated from everyone around you.” 

“Mmhm,” Krang hummed. He placed the clothes to one side. He then raised his tentacles over the Saiyan child. He measured the child's body heat, then measured his pulse, and then inspected his current wounds.

Then with a flip of a tattered notebook, Krang jotted down his results. Then he sighed deeply.

“I take it that he's not doing too well?” Tapion asked, raising his hand to Krang.

Krang took a deep breath before meeting Tapion's gaze.

“Unfortunately, that is the case,” Krang replied with a solemn tone, “I had hoped Paragus would have taken my words to heart but… I suppose he had other plans for his son.” He spoke with a softer tone, “I haven't seen Paragus around either, so I'm assuming he must have left.”

“About that…” Tapion said, “His father…” He looked away from Krang for a moment, “He passed on.”

A moment of silence fell around them. 

Krang lowered the notebook to the ground, as if the contents of the notebook became heavy in his grasp.

“Ah…” The Krang’s voice dulled, “This is unfortunate. This confirms what I've feared.” His gaze dropped to the dishevelled ground before him.

“So you knew something like this was going to happen?” Tapion glimpsed at Krang's notebook. Then he met Krang's gaze.

Krang pressed his lips against each other. Then he lowered his head and answered, “Yes.” He raised his brows, “I told him countless times that his methods were not fit to stop the inevitable he feared for his son-”

Krang glanced at the night sky.

“Let's change locations.” Krang emphasised. He tucked the notebook into his shaggy robes, then picked up the pile of clothes and began to make his way towards the altar within the Grand Sanctuary, “We need to make sure sonny over there doesn't look at the full moon, otherwise unspeakable horrors will happen.”

“Understood.” Tapion nodded.

Tapion and Krang shifted their position. They used the crumbled walls of the entrance of the Sanctuary as a structure to block out the moonlight. Then they sat facing towards the altar set in the middle of the Sanctuary, still flickering with a golden flame.

Tapion observed the vastness of the Sanctuary; from the garden of roses set for those whose time has passed, to the several, shattered glass paintings that stood on each side of the grand hall leading to the altar, then to the lone altar itself that burned brightly with a single, golden flame.

His gaze fell onto the sleeping Saiyan child, tucked under a blanket.  

Yet the crest that was embroidered on the blanket… A distinguished white sword…

A symbol of hope that was deeply respected and revered by the civilians of Konats.

“About Broly,” Tapion asked Krang, “You seem to know a lot about him. Who is he to you?”

Krang remained silent for a moment. Then he took a deep breath.

“It's not who he is to me, but rather I saw him as a mere lost child.” Krang replied, though his gaze remained on the Saiyan child, “I don't know the full story of what has happened, or what mission Paragus deemed so important that he had to drag his son over here, but…” He brushed his beard with a tentacle, “I do know that Paragus was obsessed with some mystical gem, saying it held the answer of some sort… Or whatever his duties were.”

“But why here on Konats?”

Krang remained silent for several moments.

“I was ordered to research Konatsians and their proficiency in magic,” Krang continued, though he stroked the side of his face with one tentacle, “Paragus was so fixated on the thought that whatever he sought in those magical gems would hold some cure to the disease that sonny over there is suffering from.”

“Wait,” Tapion glanced at the Saiyan child, “Broly's ill?”

Krang lowered his gaze from Tapion.

“... Unfortunately,” Krang sighed, “Time and again, the results of my tests revealed that Broly is ill in the sense that his mind is constantly fighting for control. Eventually,” Krang closed his eyes, “He will lose his battle to fate, just like all those before him.”

Tapion parted his lips. Then he fell silent.

“... I think I can understand Broly to a degree.” Tapion spoke with a softer voice, “To be bound to a fate… I know how difficult it is to not get trapped into believing that this is the only way-”

As Tapion continued to speak, Broly opened his eyes partially.

“But I do know that there is a limit to Konatsian magic.” Tapion continued, “Konatsian magic may be advanced, but it is not an answer to everything.” He looked to Broly again, whose eyes were closed, “If Broly is willing to ask for help, then I will do what I can to help him find his freedom.” He placed his hand on his chest, “My oath as a swordsman, and as one of the Guardians, is to make sure that those who need help will receive help.”

Freedom…

“You're crazy!”

Tapion and Krang turned their attention to Broly. Krang found the child pointing at Tapion.

“Ah…” Krang’s cheeks lifted under his bushy beard, as though he was smiling, “I see that sonny is awake. How's your sleep?”

“You…” Broly showed his canines at Krang, “I don't trust you, you crusty fossil!” He pointed at Krang, with a mixture of anger and annoyance.

“That's fair.” Krang stroked his beard, not bothered by the childish insult.

Tapion looked from Krang to Broly. He sighed and rubbed his head as Krang and Broly squabbled. This did not seem like a healthy way to communicate.

As Tapion closed his eyes to think, a pair of crimson eyes glowed within Tapion's mind. Tapion snapped open his eyes; a single, red eye glowed within his shadow.

Yet the single eye did nothing but stare at Tapion.

Spooked by the sudden realisation that he was being watched, Tapion leapt up onto his feet, unsheathing his sword. Yet wherever he moved, the single, crimson eye followed his shadow.

“Hirudegarn!” Tapion exclaimed, pointing his sword at his shadow.

Broly and Krang snapped their attention at Tapion, then to where Tapion had pointed his sword.

“Is that a new friend of yours?” Krang asked, confused by Tapion's sudden movement.

“No.” Tapion replied with a sharp voice, “Don't get it confused. This phantom is merely trapped inside my body as a solution to prevent any more disasters from breaking out.”

“You mean…” Broly pointed up at the night sky, “That big insect looking thing that…” He gritted his teeth together in annoyance, “LET ME AT THAT BUG!” He clenched his fists, prepared to fight Hirudegarn.

Then the Saiyan child collapsed onto his knee. 

“What the-” Broly winced, his body rattling from pain and exhaustion.

“Easy there sonny.” Krang said, raising his tentacles to Broly. However, Broly swiped his hand at Krang with a snarl. Krang sighed, the ends of his bushy brows dipped up.

After witnessing Broly's hostility against Krang, Tapion turned his attention away from Hirudegarn.

“I don't understand your history with each other,” Tapion noted, drawing his sword to his side, “But I do know that anger is like a poison; the longer you hold onto it, the more damage you'll suffer.” Tapion looked to Broly, “So I ask of you, put that bitter feeling to one side for now.”

“If only you knew…” Broly growled under his breath.

“Broly-”

“I'm going to sleep,” Broly interrupted Tapion. He turned away from Tapion and Krang, “I can't stand being around that useless weakling.” 

As Broly pulled the blanket over himself, Tapion looked at Krang. He noticed how Krang hung his head low, refusing to meet Tapion's gaze, nor face Broly's gaze.

“Krang?” Tapion asked, concerned about him.

“Sonny's right,” Krang spoke with a quiet voice, “I am useless… And a weakling.’

“Hm?” Tapion looked from Krang to Broly, now aware of the strained relationship between them. “Do not take Broly's words to heart, Krang,” Tapion continued. He drew his hand to Krang's shoulder, “I don't know what has happened between you and Broly, but your life is not useless.”

Krang met Tapion's gaze, but he did not smile.

“... I'm useless because…” Krang spoke with a slight wobble in his voice, “I couldn't save him when he needed me.”

“Krang,” Tapion spoke softly, “I'm here to listen,” He raised his hand out to Krang, “I meant what I said back there and I'm not going to betray the promise I made to my people.”

Krang met Tapion’s gaze. 

A promise… When was the last time he heard that word? No… When was it the last time when someone had acted upon their promise?

Krang rubbed his eyes. Yet he could not hide his tears rolling down his face.

“You truly are a noble soul.” Krang spoke, his throat felt heavy from his tears.

After several minutes, Krang managed to calm his emotions. Though his head hurt from crying, he took a deep breath and prepared to speak to Tapion.

“I worry a great deal over sonny,” Krang said, looking from the flames flickering on the altar to Tapion, “I've witnessed how a quiet soul like him grew into a violent and callous character. I…” He paused for a moment, “I became scared of a mere child.” His voice dipped up at the end, “A child! Do you know how absurd that sounds?”

“A child should never be someone to fear, but someone to guide when they seek help and praise when they accomplish something they’re proud of.” Tapion replied, looking from the sleeping Saiyan child to Krang, “Which makes me wonder, how did Broly become that way?”

“I… Don't know. But I also refuse to believe what Paragus has said is true either.”

“About a legend? Like Yamoshi?”

“It's… much worse than Yamoshi.” Krang's voice dropped into a whisper, “And I mean a thousand times worse.”

Tapion drew his hand to his mouth, “Let me understand this; Yamoshi was a Saiyan praised for his ascent into Godhood, so…” Tapion tilted his head to one side, though he gazed up at the night sky, “Is this legend you speak of a curse of sorts?”

“When you put it like that, it kind of is.” Krang stroked his beard, as though thinking how to explain what he was about to say to Tapion, “Okay,” Krang drew two of his tentacles up, like hands, and pointed one of them to Tapion, “This is going to be a rather short history lesson but I need you to pay attention because I want you to draw your own conclusion, okay?”

“Understood.” Tapion shifted his full focus on Krang.

“So our history lesson begins;” 

“Forgetting my backstory for a bit, I was simply a student who studied under a Konatsian scholar, let's call him Father Konu. Being his student for a number of years, I'm quite familiar with the customs of the Konatsians.”

“So Father Konu wanted to have a child. Him and his wife, let's call her Mother Cassa, were an elderly couple and had tried for several years. To no avail, their dreams of trying to have a child failed. I suppose it was their elderly age, but I'm not all that familiar with Konatsian biology.”

“Anyway, a Saiyan girl crash landed one day in Mother Cassa's vegetable garden. Despite the damages, and the fact that this child was a Saiyan, Father Konu and Mother Cassa chose to adopt her.”

“I'm not one to speak about this Krang but…” Tapion widened his eyes for a moment, “I've never heard of a Saiyan willingly wanting to co-exist with another race.”

“I agree.” Krang replied, “Yamoshi destroyed Planet Sadala, and even after Yamoshi's death, the Saiyans continued to ravage other planets. The Tuffles were one of such races who made the mistake to co-exist with the Saiyans, and paid the consequences with their blood.” Krang shook his head, “But from my personal experience from living with the Konatsians for a time has proven to me that your race is not to be trifled with. Continuing with our lesson,”

“This Saiyan girl was different compared to what the Konatsians heard about the Saiyans. Rather than being overly violent and callous, she was a quiet soul who minded her own business. She was… Like a clam. But what was weird to me was that she got exhausted easily-”

“Oh and I forgot to mention, this Saiyan child was found in a busted small space pod, so there was no chance she could survive by herself. So there's that, and the Konatsian's creed… You can figure out why Father Konu and Mother Cassa took the Saiyan child in.”

“I shall use my sword to protect the young,” Tapion uttered, “And another was; thou shall not harm a child.” He shifted his gaze to Broly, who slept turned away from the campfire. He sighed and met Krang's gaze again, “I never would have thought this was a difficult creed to follow until now.”

“Considering how vastly different Saiyan and Konatsian customs are, I'm surprised you didn't give up.” Krang mentioned.

“Well…” Tapion raised his shoulders for a moment, “Judging another race solely on rumours creates barriers to understanding. I was never there to witness the destruction of Planet Sadala, or meet any Saiyans whilst I was training under my Master. I was raised by my Master to be proactive rather than passive, but also take precautions if those rumours do end up being true.” Tapion sighed, “But now I'm beginning to think that perhaps Broly seems to lean to the extremes of what I've heard about the Saiyans.”

“Hmm… Let me continue our little lesson then,”

“So despite the child being a Saiyan, this child got along well with Father Konu and Mother Cassa. I don't know what happened but they had an unbreakable bond. Because of their powerful bond, this Saiyan child became loved by the Konatsian people. It was like… This child found her home . I remembered her exact words;”

“I won't allow ANYONE to rip them away from me.”

Krang fell silent, as if something had scared him. 

Then he laughed to himself. However, Tapion remained quiet.

“That Saiyan child had something to be scared of alright.” Krang continued, “There was something… Dark brewing within her. But,” Krang smiled with squinted eyes, “Who would've wanted to bring out whatever the devil was hiding in her when she was a well behaved child?”

“Did anyone provoke her enough to find out?” Tapion asked.

“Luckily, no.” Krang glanced at Broly, then he looked at Tapion, “And because of that,”

“The Saiyan girl respected the Konatsians for simply treating her as a human. She went on to become one of the most powerful warriors of Konats- And a beautiful young woman too.”

Tapion tilted his head to one side at Krang, wondering what relevance the last part had to do with anything. Krang sighed and continued.

“Okay, I'll hop to it,” Krang said, “You're wondering why this random Saiyan woman is relevant. I'll tell you now why she's relevant.”

“It was only after I befriended this Saiyan lady that she had more than she meets the eye. She concealed this dark secret about herself quite well, and surprisingly from those who were so hell bent on hunting her down.”

“This Saiyan woman, who I’ll refer to her as a dear friend of mine, had an incredibly rare gene that only a Saiyan after a thousand years would be born with. This gene allowed a mere baby to outrank all the Elite Saiyan warriors, and this same exact power is what sonny over there has.”

Tapion raised his brows, surprised at what Krang had told him. He cupped his hands over his mouth, pondering over Krang's age.

“Sorry for making assumptions, but you must have been around for a long time.” Tapion asked, raising a hand out to him.

Krang shook his head.

“I'm old, but definitely not a thousand years old,” Krang tutted. He then leaned towards Tapion and raised his tentacle to his head, “What if I told you that Legendary power can be passed on without the original host dying?”

“... I'm not entirely sure but… Was magic involved somehow to pass on that power to Broly?”

“I can assure you no magic was used.” Krang shook his head. “Don't overthink it.”

Tapion pondered quietly to himself. He thought if the Saiyan girl had cloned herself- No that wasn't possible. No Saiyan could physically clone themselves. Maybe there were machines who could extract the gene of the Saiyan woman and implant them into a child-

Hold on a minute… He was overthinking it.

“Was she… Related to…” Tapion raised his hand to the sleeping Broly in the corner, though he wasn't sure how she was related to him.

Krang nodded.

“Mother.” Tapion clicked his fingers.

“Bingo!” Krang clapped his tentacles together, like a pair of hands, “Now I know what you're going to say next; two Legendary Super Saiyans in one era? That has to be double the trouble, right?” Krang leaned closer to the campfire, “Nope, the rule of having one in each era still stands.”

“You see, when a Saiyan with that power bears a child, they must exchange their power-”

“Hold on a minute!” Tapion widened his eyes, “Let me understand this; you're telling me the power that Broly's mother had was all transferred onto him? A baby?”

“Or so I've heard from Paragus.” Krang nodded slowly.

“So… What happened to Broly's mother?”

Krang parted his lips, then he fell silent. Yet the silent sadness and pain in his eyes spoke louder than the words he would have uttered.

“Oh…” Tapion's face dropped.

After several moments of silence, Krang sighed.

“I was hoping to see her one last time, smiling and saying that; Hey, I'm finally free from that stupid fate!” He mimicked a strong voice, raising his tentacle up like a balled fist. Then he lowered his tentacle slowly to the ground, “But it was only then I learned how truly alone she was against her fate.”

Tapion remained silent. He listened to the old soul's pained words on his lips.

“If only Paragus wasn't so stubborn…” Krang hissed through his teeth. He clenched his tentacles into a ball, “Had he listened to my warnings instead of pursuing some magic, my friend would have still been alive!” 

“Magic isn't something that can solve everything.” Tapion spoke with a calm voice despite Krang's anger. He shifted his gaze to the red, single, floating eye within his shadow. 

With a blink, it was as if Hirudegarn agreed with Tapion's words.

“So you're telling me…” Krang slowly widened his eyes, “All that Paragus did was all in vain?”

Tapion nodded with a steely look in his eyes.

“Whatever Paragus sought won't be found here.” Tapion spoke with a firm tone, “If he thought using the magic of my people would cure, no,” Tapion furrowed his brows, “To use magic as a form of control… He would be repeating the same mistakes as my ancestors, and of our enemies.”

“Wait…” Krang noticed the pointy ears of the Konatsian, “Oh how stupid of me! The ancestors you're referring to are from the Demon Realm, correct?”

Tapion nodded.

“You see that altar over there?” Tapion pointed at the altar, to which the golden flames danced above it. Krang nodded. “That's a sacred altar only to be lit to announce the return of a Guardian. When the flames burn white, it means that all of the Guardians were present.” 

Tapion gazed up at the shattered, glass-painted windows, each telling a glimpse in history.

A story of an ancient tribe splitting into two from a conflict of beliefs, then a story of seven children serving a lone mage facing what seemed like a massive monster devouring a burning city, then a story of two swordmasters holding an ocarina…

“As someone who was tasked with the role of a Guardian,” Tapion continued, though his words wavered on his lips, “We swore an oath to defend the people of Konats, and never repeat the same mistakes as our ancestors…”

Tapion's voice cracked at the end. He fell silent. Then he cupped his hands over each other and his shoulders slumped.

The laughter of his childhood friends… The smile of his little brother Minotia… And of his dearest… Of her words of ambitions…

To think they were all snatched away from him in a moment.

Tapion closed his eyes, as if to blink away those memories of a bygone era.

“But… I don't think these flames will ever shine white now.” Tapion spoke with a softer voice, “The era I'm from has long passed.”

“Tapion sonny,” Krang spoke with a tender voice, “Their time has passed, but maybe there's still survivors out there?” His voice lightened, “We haven't covered much ground and maybe we can rebuild this world with a new generation of Guardians?”

“We must pass on our teachings to the youth as they will be the ones to light the torch when the time for our fire fades.”

Tapion widened his eyes for a moment. How could he have forgotten that teaching of his master?

“If that's the case, then my goal is to search for any survivors for now.” Tapion continued, rising up onto his feet, “Even though I wasn't there to save my people back then,” He clenched one hand into a fist, “I can still do what I can now to prevent another tragedy at the hands of my enemies and…” He looked to Broly, who slept soundly, “Perhaps help him somehow.”

“Well, you know where I stand with this,” Krang got up onto his feet, yet his back clicked, causing him to groan in pain, “Oh… Forgetting these old bones, I have a promise to fulfil to a dear friend too.”

“I appreciate that of you Krang.” Tapion said with a slight smile, “When dawn breaks, we'll start our search.”

“Agreed my jolly fellow!” Krang nodded his head.

As Krang and Tapion spoke, Broly, who had faced away from them, had opened his eyes. Yet he did not speak. Instead, he slowly closed his glistening eyes.

Their pleasant chatter… That companionship… That safety.

What was wrong with having a friend?

As the trio stayed together at camp, a pair of black, beady eyes observed them from a skeletal, black tree within the barren, ashen forest.

“Tapion… That cursed Konatsian from that era...” A voice crackled from the darkness, “His master truly is a thorn in my side. No matter,” His pale, violet scarf wavered in the air, “I shall dispose of him just like those before him,” A smile twisted on his wrinkled lips, “And free our Demon God once again.”

Then his smile vanished.

“A Saiyan?” He bristled to himself, “No worries. Perhaps a particular dark magic can fix that.”

And just as he appeared like a shadow, he vanished like the shadows of the night.

Yet a chill washed over the Saiyan child. 

Broly woke up again, as if he was startled by a sudden whisper. At the same time, the red eye residing within Tapion's shadow glanced up, as if it saw something in the night.

Aware of the sudden edge both Broly and Hirudegarn showed, an anxious Krang looked at Tapion for reassurance. Tapion drew the ocarina to his lips.

A soothing yet powerful melody passed over the Sanctuary. The flames above the altar blazed a calming blue, as if the ocean had swept through the Sanctuary, then calmed back into a golden light.

Yet the ocarina's melody seemed to have beckoned at Broly. The Saiyan child froze.

“Broly…”

A deep and powerful voice of a woman thundered towards the Saiyan child. Broly searched the darkness around himself, yet his skin had become cold and damp with sweat.

Then he saw a green light glowing amongst the garden of white roses, a resting place for the souls that had passed on. The longer Broly stared, the more he made out the features of a pair of blinded, glowing eyes glaring at the Saiyan child. Then they squinted, jeering at the child as if he was a shackled slave.

“Don't disappoint me… Chosen Ravager of this era…”

Ravager…

Broly gasped. He clutched his head, his eyes wide and shaking.

“Sonny?” Krang asked, concerned about Broly’s behaviour.

“No!”

Tapion heard how the Saiyan child growled lowly to himself. It was that same, animalistic voice, a voice that casted a shiver over the swordsman.

The flames flickering above the altar roared green for a moment.

Tapion shifted his attention to the altar;

Tapion met the blinded eye of a voracious storm of dust and debris. Glimpses of green lightning sparked from within the storm, yet Tapion could not make out the monster veiled within the destruction.

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”

Upon hearing the Saiyan child’s screams, Tapion turned his attention to Broly.

The eyes of the Saiyan child told a different story;

Eyes that pleaded to end this madness.

Tapion raised his hand out to Krang, signalling Krang to take shelter behind him. Krang nodded.

“I refuse!” Broly screamed towards the altar, “No one controls me!”

The Saiyan child continued to scream. He shook his head and covered his ears as a means to block out the raucous laughter echoing throughout the darkness. He slammed his back against the wall, then shook his head again, as if fighting an enemy from the shadows.

“GET OUT!” Broly roared up at the night sky, the whites of his eyes had become cracked red with veins. His aura flared around him, shattering the ground around him, “I'M NO SLAVE TO NO ONE!” His voice became raw.

As Krang lurched closer to Tapion, Tapion slowly unsheathed his sword. However, Tapion gritted his teeth. Darn it! If only he could see what Broly was facing, he could have helped him. 

“Stay strong Broly!” Tapion called out to him, “Don't let that phantom provoke you-”

An orb of ki crackled violently at Krang and Tapion from Broly's hand. Krang widened his eyes, though Tapion raised the sharp end of his blade towards a huffing Broly.

“GRAH!” The Saiyan let out a fierce yell.

Broly swiped his hand up, hurling the chaotic orb of energy towards the full moon in the night sky.

With a blinding light, a boom followed after the utter annihilation of the moon.

The Saiyan child fell silent. He panted for several moments. Then he collapsed onto his knees as if whatever he fought had exhausted all his energy. 

Then the child sobbed uncontrollably into his hands.

Krang and Tapion exchanged a silent look. What just happened?

“I can't.” The Saiyan child's voice wobbled. He shook his head, repeating the same words again and again.

“Stop taking everything away from me.”

Upon hearing those whispers of fear and sorrow, Tapion sheathed his sword again. He glanced at Krang, signalling the old soul to stay close to his side.

Tapion knelt in front of the child. He reached his hand out to the child's shoulder slowly, testing whether it was safe to talk to the child.

The moment his hand made contact, Broly swiped his hand at Tapion.

However, Tapion caught his wrist and lowered them to the child's lap. Then Tapion met a pair of wide and teary eyes.

“Take it slow,” Tapion spoke with a gentle voice, “I am here to help.”

No words left the child's lips. Instead, he lowered his head from Tapion, as though he tried to conceal his pathetic self.

That disgusting… Weak… Vulnerable… That Un-Saiyan side of him that should have died a long time ago.

“Broly?” Tapion asked as he lowered his gaze to eye-level with the child.

“...Why are you helping me?” Broly hissed under his breath, “I hurted you, I murdered your people and destroyed your home,” His voice cracked, “How can you still look at me in the eyes after all I've done?”

“I am not angry at you,” Tapion spoke with a calm voice, “I am angry at… Those who may have misguided you.” 

“But… I'm a Saiyan. You know what I am.”

“And I'm a Konatsian and you know what I am.” 

Broly parted his lips to speak, then he fell silent. 

“I'll repeat myself again,” Tapion continued, “I don't know about your past, but I do know that you shouldn't be bound to your past.” He paused for several moments, “Do you remember the question I asked you during our first encounter?”

Broly remained silent for several moments. Then he took in a deep, yet raspy breath.

“...Do I truly deserve to exist?” Broly asked. He clutched his chest with one hand, “I don't know… I don't know if I can help anyone.”

Krang raised his brows, saddened at those words that a mere child said. He knew deep down that Broly was capable of such an act, even if it was saving just one life. 

The old soul took a deep breath, preparing for the worst.

“Sonny,” Krang interjected, walking in between Tapion and Broly, “I want you to forget the words that your father has told you.”

Broly slowly turned his head at Krang. Yet the dark gaze that the child held was a silent storm.

“Forget?” Broly repeated with a whisper, though the light in his eyes vanished, “How do I undo the damage my wretched Pops forced on me?” His voice dropped into a low growl, “How do I take back those words of being a monster- Grgh…”

Broly clutched his face with one hand, his eyes flickered a luminous white for a moment. He panted, his skin paled with sweat.

“Not again…” The Saiyan child winced to himself. He shook his head, his eyes squeezed shut,

“Please… Stay away from me… I'm sick…”

Krang sighed silently, assuming his attempt to calm Broly had failed. However, Tapion patted Krang on his shoulder, telling the old soul that he had done enough to help.

“Broly,” Tapion spoke, as Krang stood by Tapion's side, “It takes strength and courage to fight for what you believe in. I don't know what battle you're fighting, but,” He placed his hand on his chest and spoke from his heart, “You will win.”

“You will win.” 

Tapion recalled those very same words he spoke to little brother Minotia. If only… If only he was still here…

After hearing those words of encouragement, Broly met Tapion’s gaze and noticed a soft smile.

Did this stranger truly believe in him?

After a moment, the Saiyan child’s face scrunched up, his eyes squinted as a means to stop his tears.

This warmth… This bond… This companionship.

The child wept harshly into Tapion, his hands gripping the swordsman's arms.

“Son-”

Tapion looked to Krang, reassuring the old soul that he was fine. Then he looked to the night sky, as though he searched across the stars scattered with silver specs of moondust.

Minotia… Just where was his little brother?

Tapion closed his eyes slowly, hoping that somewhere out there in the vast sea of stars, he hoped something out there had the answers to what he seeked.

After several moments, the Saiyan child regained his composure. Though his throat had become sore.

“... Tapion?” Broly spoke with a rasp. He sat besides the Konatsian as they gazed upon the altar.

“Yes?” 

The child paused for a moment, though he tilted his head.

“... Back then, when I went a little mad…” The Saiyan child looked away from Tapion, “I just want to say thanks.” He itched the back of his head.

Tapion paused. Just as he looked at Broly, he noticed that the child's face became slightly red.

“Are you alright?” Tapion asked, “You're not catching a fever are you?”

“Ack!” Broly blinked, his eyes widened for a moment, “I feel stuffy but I'm fine! It's just…” He lowered his shoulders, and fell silent for a moment.

Then the child sighed, as though he was struggling to convey what he wanted to say.

“I've never had anyone who took the time to listen to me,” Broly continued, “You're one of the first people to let me cry and didn't tell me to tough it out.” He mimicked a gruff voice at the end.

“Hmm?” Tapion hummed. He looked at Krang, who sighed.

“Tough love,” Krang sighed, “His father was not the patient type,” He rubbed the skin of a red apple. He paused upon noticing Broly approaching him, his eyes set on the apple, “Sonny was an exceptional fighter, but…” With a twist of both of his tentacles, he halved the apple and raised one half out to Broly, “I suppose because his father was of a certain rank, sonny had to uphold the expectations his father had.”

“I see.”

“Remember my sons, you are to uphold the honour of our brethren. When it's our time to pass on, you and Minotia are our legacy and those who meet you may see us in you.”

Tapion recalled a brief yet fond memory from a bygone era.

“Broly?” Tapion looked at the Saiyan child.

“Yes?” Broly paused, though his mouth was full with an apple. He chowed down the apple before giving his attention to Tapion.

“How are you feeling now?”

Broly paused for a moment. He rested his hand on his chest and took a deep breath.

“I feel sore,” Broly replied as he focused on the sensations in his body, “But I don't have a pain that feels like I'm going to explode.” He paused again and raised his brow, “Or I don't feel like my head is going to explode, wait,” He sighed. He munched on the apple then spoke again, “I don't know how to explain it but this pain right now is nothing compared to some voice.”

“A voice?” Tapion and Krang tilted their heads to one side.

“Huh?” Broly blinked with wide eyes, “You didn't hear some woman saying “Lord Ravager” and some nonsense like that?”

Tapion and Krang both shook their heads.

“Hmm…” Tapion cupped one hand over his mouth. Then he extended his hand out to Broly, “Can you describe how this person looks?”

“Well…” Broly shifted his gaze away from Tapion for a moment, trying to recall what he saw, “It's like looking through a massive, violent storm; there's two glowing, white eyes in the middle of it… And that's all I remember.”

Tapion fell silent. He recalled that particular transformation that Broly underwent; those blinded, white eyes and spiky green hair, besides his sudden growth in his body structure. Could it be that whoever this woman was, was she the one who could be behind his fate?

“Don't worry,” Tapion said. He placed his hand firmly on the Saiyan child's shoulder as a gesture of assurance, “We'll get to the bottom of this. What we can do now is rest.”

The child looked from Tapion's hand and met his gaze. Then he looked away from Tapion and finished eating his apple.

Though the Saiyan child felt a gentle warmth. He couldn't help but smile at how pleasant this feeling felt.

Then he yawned.

“I sure hope so.” Broly stretched his arms up, “I feel so tired.” He thumped onto the ground next to Tapion and laid there.

“Get all the rest you need,” Tapion said, “Tomorrow is going to be a fresh start for all of us.” He looked over to Krang, who nodded.

“You also get some rest too Tapion,” Krang chimed in after finishing his apple piece.

“I would but,” Tapion looked to the hovering red eye within his shadow, “As long as Hirudegarn is here, I can not sleep.”

The eye blinked in agreement.

“Saying that, Hirudegarn,” Tapion turned his focus to the red, glowing eye.

The red eye simply blinked at Tapion. Yet it did not speak.

“It's worth a try.” Tapion muttered to himself, “Blink once if you understand what I'm saying, blink twice if you don't.” He raised one hand up towards the floating eye.

The red eye blinked once.

Tapion drew his hand to his chin, “So it wasn't a coincidence back then. Krang, Broly, I'll be outside the Sanctuary for a moment. I won't be gone for long.”

“Before you go,” Broly said, turning his head to look up at Tapion, “Promise to me that you'll return.”

Tapion paused, finding what the child had asked was odd. He looked at Krang, though Krang softened his gaze on Broly. Through Krang's gaze, Tapion understood why Broly asked for such a promise.

“You have my word.” Tapion replied as he placed his hand on his chest as an oath. 

As Tapion drew his hand to the Saiyan child's head to reassure him, he paused. 

No. This child was not him. Minotia.

However, the Saiyan child blinked at him.

“Hmm?” Broly tilted his head to one side, confused what Tapion was doing.

“Never mind,” Tapion cleared his throat, though he averted his sombre gaze from Broly, “I'll be back soon.”

Once Tapion had left, Broly looked to Krang. He shifted his gaze away from the old soul, then he looked back to him, unsure how to approach him.

“... Krang?” Broly asked, though he averted his gaze from Krang again.

“Yes sonny?”

“Sorry about earlier.”

Krang looked at the Saiyan child, though his eyes softened on him.

“It's okay sonny,” Krang spoke with a warm voice, “I know you have it tough, and I understand that it can be overbearing for you. I…” He paused for a moment, “I should be the one apologising to you.”

“But you did what you could,” Broly leaned his head on his arms, “I just… I wished my Pops wasn't so stubborn. Maybe...” He slowly closed his eyes, as though he tried to shun out the cold fingers of guilt creeping up on him, “He would still be alive…”

“I regret what I did Krang… I wanted him to understand that what he did hurt me… But… When I confronted him, I ended up killing him and everyone around him… I don't know how to live with this guilt…”

Silence fell over both of them.

Krang sighed.

“Sonny,” Krang said as he ambled towards the Saiyan child, “You will heal, and you will overcome whatever disease that's hurting you.” He sat beside him and gazed upon the altar, “Don't lose hope.”

“I really hope so,” Broly spoke as he dozed off to sleep, “I want to live… and enjoy… A life… Without… This… Fate…”

Krang drew his tentacle over the child's head, “Myself and Tapion will find that cure for you.”

As Krang watched over the sleeping child, Tapion stood at the rusted front gates of the Sanctuary. Before him was his wavering shadow. However, if one inspected the form closer, one would see a pair of red and glowing eyes, though the bottom half of the form were wisps of smoke.

“I need answers, Hirudegarn,” Tapion spoke with a firm voice, “If that person who you sensed is after me, then tell me, what happened to my people in my absence, and,”

“Where is my brother?”