[General POV]
A few weeks later, during the flight back to Planet Vegeta, stories had started to emerge on what had happened during the raid. More specifically, about what happened during the raid on the castle.
What happened before and after was not as talked about.
Sure, Team Bardock getting beaten as easily as they did was surprising to a lot of Saiyans, but the actual raiding of the castle itself that happened after was uneventful, as they did what they always did when they had successfully crushed a planet's opposition.
Killed the rest and looted everything that wasn't nailed down.
So no, the beginning and the results of the raid are not what they have been talking about. But what they had been talking about was the rise of the Saiyan of Legend.
The Legendary Super Saiyan.
Or at least that's what everyone was calling him now.
The Elites had talked about the events that had happened and, somehow, one of the Low Class Saiyans had managed to overhear. After that, word spread like wildfire amongst the Saiyans.
A story about the Elites encountering and fighting a being whose power level was so monstrous that it had blown up a Scouter. They were beaten, nearly killed! And just as they had all but accepted their fate, another Saiyan descended from the atmosphere and confronted that same monstrous enemy in a one-on-one battle.
Zyleth, the firstborn son of Bardock, had arrived, fought, and killed the monster that no one else could even hope to defeat. And all while their "King" stood on the sidelines, watching him do all the heavy lifting.
Hearing this story, some Saiyans didn't believe it.
Who would?
A child who hasn't even turned five yet had fought and killed a being that multiple Saiyan Elite teams couldn't handle? Not to mention their King? It didn't matter if the child came from someone as noteworthy as Bardock, it was too far fetched for them to believe.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of Saiyans believed the story, remembering that this was the same child that had absolutely demolished Nappa, a Saiyan Elite, in just three blows.
But while they had disagreements over their authenticity of the story, what these two groups had in common was their shared skepticism on the "red glow" that Zyleth supposedly showcased during the battle.
Very little Saiyans believed that part of the tale, thinking it nothing more than the Elites being to injured to think and see straight.
After all, it couldn't be anything else, could it?
As all this buzz was going around, King Vegeta grew increasingly concerned about Zyleth's growing strength. He could take the casual responses and the few sideways looks the child would shoot at him here or there. After all, it was to be expected from a person with considerable power, especially from a Saiyan. Those things he could let go.
But the strike that Zyleth had given him before he took off towards the planet? That was something he could not ignore.
The King had executed other Saiyans for showing mild disrespect, but for someone to actually lay a hand on him?
He could not abide this utter lack of respect.
But as much as he wanted to, he also couldn't kill, exile, or even punish Zyleth. His level of power had grown too much for even him to handle. Especially since he was one of the few Saiyans who actually know for certain about the red glow that Zyleth had showcased in the battle against Antauri.
He briefly considered reporting Zyleth's existence to Frieza, but that would be a death sentence on multiple counts.
If Frieza had won, he would most definitely ask why Zyleth hadn't been reported sooner, and then the Tyrant would kill him.
If Zyleth had won, the child wouldn't even waste his breath on asking why King Vegeta had done what he did and just kill him on the spot.
If, by some cruel means subjected on him by the universe, Frieza actually took a liking to Zyleth and had him join his Elite group of warriors, or just didn't care at all about his existence, it was only a matter of time before one of the two monsters eventually killed him anyway.
No, he had to stick to his original plan. He had to raise Zyletg up and eventually have him kill Frieza, but he also needed to know where his loyalties lies.
---
Meanwhile, the child in question had been training quietly in the training area, the rest of his team having left for dinner in the canteen. His movements stopped for a moment when the door to the training area opened before he continued on like nothing happened.
"Queen Sela." He acknowledged her presence without even looking at her.
"Zyleth." The Queen returned his greeting, looking up towards the child, "How did you know it was me?"
"My team and my father's team are the only ones allowed to come in here, and they're having dinner in the canteen right now." He replied through tired breaths as he continued to strike the air, "So either it was you or the King, and I don't think he's privy to conversation with me at the moment."
While his deduction was true, the actual answer to her question was much more simpler than that. He's gotten so accustomed to her presence that he had unconsciously familiarized himself with the feeling of her energy.
Although he did notice something a bit peculiar with it since the last time he's sensed her. He didn't know what, but it somehow seemed different than before. He quickly shrugged it off though, assuming that it was nothing.
"I see." The Queen muttered before she looked around the training area, noticing a bed and a few data pads in the corner, "I see that you've decided to make your own bunk here."
"Should've done that months ago. I can actually sleep here." He replied.
The Queen walked over to the corner and grabbed the data pads that were on the floor. Reading them, she saw that they all had information on the species that inhabited the raided planet.
"What's this? Why do you have these?" Sela asked.
Zyleth glanced over to see what she was referring to before turning back.
"I wanted to know more about Antauri's race." He replied.
"Antauri?" She asked with a confused tone.
"The alien that I faced down on the planet." He clarified.
Sela's eyes widened at that bit of information before she scanned over the pads. They had almost everything on the species.
Their culture, their history, their way of life...
Zyleth had been reading up on Antauri's race ever since the information was made available to him. It was quite interesting to learn about them more in detail.
They were almost comparable to the Saiyans, as they had a warrior-focused lifestyle, but they were actually more like the Sangheili from Halo.
That poison that Zyleth had speculated they had? They did have it, and he actually saw it in action. It was a neurotoxin that targeted the bodies pain receptors. In others it was quite deadly, but to members of their own race, it actually shut down their ability to feel pain.
They had a monarchy, similar to that of Planet Vegeta's, but they were primarily ruled by their Queen.
The Queen ruled over the different many tribes on the planet, which were separated into many different groups. Antauri was from a tribe of warriors that eventually became their Queen's personal Royal Guard, with Antauri being their captain.
Before their raid, the Royal Guard had been crippled when most of them tried to stage a coup, which was later stopped by Antauri after considerable losses to the Guard. After reading this, Zyleth finally understood why Antauri was so much more powerful compared to the rest of his people.
He was literally the last remnant of his tribe of Elite warriors. If the raid had taken place just a few months prior, Zyleth had no doubt that he and every other Saiyan participating in the raid would be squashed like ants.
Why did Zyleth bother with all of this? Because of the promise me made to a dying warrior.
'Rest well, Antauri... I will remember you for the rest of my days...'
The room fell into silence as the Queen read the data pads and Zyleth's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.
"Out with it." He said, stopping his strained movements and looking down at her from above.
"Excuse me?" She asked, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You didn't come here to learn about a now extinct species and you also didn't come here for idle conversation." He said simply, his tone neither soft nor annoyed, "So would you kindly skip the pleasantries, Your Highness, and tell me what brings you here."
"You are speaking to a member of the Royal Family. Have your tone reflect the proper respect." She told him with her signature cold gaze.
Zyleth met her cold gaze with his signature indifference, "Do you honestly care?"
The two stared at each other, neither seemingly wanting to back down before Sela let out a tired sigh.
"Honestly, no. But please do remember your tone around my husband. While I don't mind, I'm almost certain that he will." She said with a serious expression.
Zyleth scoffed, shaking his head before turning to continue his training, "He doesn't care. As long as I continue to do his dirty work, he'll be happy."
Sela couldn't help but notice the overwhelming amount of annoyance in Zyleth's tone as he said that.
"Does that bother you?" She asked.
"Does what bother me?" Zyleth asked back.
"That you're still taking orders from my husband?"
The question caused Zyleth to pause and look at her with narrowed eyes.
"Why would it?" He replied.
"It's no secret that you're stronger than him. Everyone on the ship knows it, and soon enough everyone on Planet Vegeta will know it as well. It wouldn't be surprising if you were angry about taking orders from someone weaker than yourself." She replied, walking closer towards him as her gaze held something that Zyleth couldn't quite grasp.
"It doesn't matter if he's weaker than me. Sure, I struck him during the raid, but that was less about me being angered by his ordering me around and more about his dismissal of my father's survival." He tells her..
"But wouldn't you rather not have to deal with him? I'm sure no one would bat an eye if you were to overthrow him." Sela told him.
That caused Zyleth to scoff once more as he descended to the ground, landing right in front of the beautiful Saiyan Queen.
"And why would I want to do that? I'm not fit to be a king."
Zyleth's answer caused Sela to tilt her head in confusion.
Not fit to be king?
"Why not?" She asked, wondering what he could possibly mean by that.
"I'm a brash and self-centered. I care little about others not close to me and I tend to my problems by either killing them or blowing them to pieces." He answered without hesitation.
"I don't understand. Isn't that the qualities true to our proud Saiyan race?" Sela asked, feeling even more confused.
"Yes, they are. In all aspects, I am the perfect Saiyan." Zyleth nodded before he turned and flew back into the air, "But those aren't the aspects you should want in a king."
Sela pondered on his words for a moment before turning and walking out of the training area, leaving him to his own devices. As soon as the door closed behind her, she let out a sigh and looked over to her left.
"Is that enough for you?" She asked her husband.
King Vegeta stood there with a blank gaze as he looked at the door to the training area.
"For now." He says before walking away.
Sela also gave the door one last fleeting glance before walking away herself.
[Word Count: 2,009.]