Eight days had passed since they'd begun their journey to Namek.
The ship hummed steadily as it hurtled through the vast emptiness of space, its occupants finding various ways to occupy their time during the long voyage.
Toji and Bulma had settled into a comfortable routine. Currently, they were seated in the main living room of the ship - Toji's preferred location because of its proximity to the kitchen.
He liked eating while watching- since he wasn't getting any fatter with how many calories he was burning by holding back his Ki- and he'd grown tired of constantly getting up for snacks.
The lights were dimmed, creating the perfect atmosphere for their ongoing television marathon. On the large screen mounted to the wall, the familiar logo of "Supernatural" flashed as another episode began.
"Season two is so much better than season one," Bulma commented, reaching for a handful of popcorn from the bowl nestled between them. "The mythology really expands."
"Yeah," Toji replied, his eyes fixed on the screen. "Though I still think Sam should just embrace his powers and use them against the demons."
"That's exactly what the Yellow-Eyed Demon wants!" Bulma protested, turning to face him. "You can't fight evil by becoming evil."
Toji shrugged, a small smile playing at his lips. "Sometimes you need to fight fire with fire."
The episode began playing, the words "THEN" appearing on screen before launching into a montage of scenes from previous episodes.
"Storm's comin'," Bobby Singer's gruff voice narrated over clips of the Winchester brothers facing various supernatural threats. "And you boys... you are smack in the middle of it."
As the "NOW" title card appeared, the Boston song "Long Time" began playing. The scene opened with the Impala pulling up to a café called Sunnyside Diner.
"Hey, don't forget the extra onions this time, huh?" Dean said as he handed Sam some money.
Sam sighed in exasperation. "Dude, I'm the one whose gonna have to ride in the car with your extra onions."
Dean just grinned as Sam got out of the car.
"Hey, see if they've got any pie!" Dean called after him. When Sam shut the door with a glare, Dean added to himself, "I love me some pie."
"Dean and his pie," Bulma chuckled. "Some things never change."
Toji nodded, reaching for his third sandwich. "Can't blame him. Pie is delicious."
The scene continued with Dean noticing his car radio becoming staticky. When he looked back up at the café, Sam had vanished, and Dean discovered everyone inside dead, with traces of sulfur - a telltale sign of demonic activity.
Just as Sam woke up in an abandoned town on screen, and he met some of the Special Children, the living room door slid open.
Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan entered, all looking exhausted from their training session in the gravity chamber.
"Hey guys!" Goku greeted cheerfully despite his fatigue, as he went to drink a glass of water. "What are you watching?"
"Supernatural," Bulma replied, pausing the episode. "It's about two brothers who hunt monsters and demons."
Goku's face lit up with interest as he put down his empty glass and flopped down on the couch beside Toji. "That sounds awesome! Chi-Chi has this family hour thing where every day she, me, and Gohan watch something or play some game together. Though she says it has to be kid stuff since Gohan's still young."
Gohan, looking slightly embarrassed, squeezed into the space between his father and Toji. "Mom doesn't let me watch anything with monsters."
"Well, this definitely has monsters," Toji confirmed, ruffling the boy's hair. "But they're the kind you can fight."
"We're on season two, episode twenty-one," Bulma explained. "It's called 'All Hell Breaks Loose.' It's about Sam - he's my favorite - who's I think has just been kidnapped by the demon and placed in this abandoned town with other people who have special powers like him."
"Special powers?" Goku asked, his interest piqued.
"Yeah, psychic abilities, it's with the mind- not like Ki though, Ki's far stronger," Toji elaborated. "Sam apparently has visions of the future. There's another guy who can control minds, a girl who can kill people just by touching them..."
Piccolo scoffed from where he stood, arms crossed, by the wall. "These fictitious stories never portray demons correctly. I've seen some when I observed the cities once."
Toji raised an eyebrow, his tone disbelieving- of course having seen Dragon Ball, and this more mocking. "You've seen demons?"
Piccolo's antennae twitched in irritation. "I am Piccolo Jr., the son of the Demon King Piccolo. Of course I have. I'm a demon."
Toji crossed his arms, a skeptical expression on his face. "But now that we know you're a Namekian, is that still true? Doesn't that mean you're just an alien? Or are all Namekians demons, and Planet Namek is full of them?"
Goku laughed. "Nah, it can't be that, since Kami is also Namekian and he isn't a demon."
"Kami and I were once the same being," Piccolo growled. "When he expelled all evil from himself, I was created."
"Technically it was your dad- who I killed," Goku pointed out, causing Gohan to gasp a bit as he remembered once his mom telling him the story of his dad killing the Demon King- but he never thought it was Mr.Piccolo's dad.
Before their discussion could continue, the door slid open again. Vegeta entered, followed by Nappa and Krillin.
The latter two showed signs of having trained together, though the tension between them remained palpable.
"What are you all blabbering about?" Vegeta demanded, his perpetual scowl firmly in place.
Toji turned slightly toward him. "Piccolo thinks he's a demon, but he's basically a slug alien."
Vegeta scoffed, a smirk forming on his lips. "You could never be something as fearsome as a demon," he taunted Piccolo. "Demons are creatures of legend and power. You're just green."
Piccolo's face flushed from green to an angry red. "I am the embodiment of evil! The son of the Demon King!"
The absurdity of Piccolo's reddened face caused Toji to burst out laughing, quickly joined by Bulma, Goku, Krillin, and even Gohan. Nappa's booming laugh filled the room, while Vegeta maintained his smug smirk.
"What brought on this conversation anyway?" Krillin asked, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.
Bulma quickly explained the premise of Supernatural, giving them a rundown of the two seasons they'd watched so far.
"We've got demons with black eyes who possess people, hunters who track down and kill supernatural creatures, and the Yellow-Eyed Demon who's building an army of psychic children for some mysterious purpose," she summarized.
"Sounds like children's entertainment," Vegeta scoffed. "I've seen better."
"You wouldn't know good entertainment even if it hit you in the face," Bulma retorted, eyes flashing.
Vegeta's face darkened with anger, but Goku quickly intervened. "Hey, why don't we all just watch together? It could be a fun bonding activity, like Chi-Chi always says!"
"I have better things to do, like sleep," Vegeta declared. "Nappa, come."
To everyone's surprise, Nappa shook his head. "Actually, I want to watch too. Sounds interesting."
"What?" Vegeta sputtered, but Nappa had already grabbed a chair and placed it next to the couch where the others sat.
With a growl of frustration, Vegeta stomped over to the kitchenette, snatched a bag of chips, and dragged a chair to position it next to Piccolo's.
He tore open the bag and began angrily munching as Bulma restarted the episode.
As they watched, the group became increasingly engrossed in the story. When the Yellow-Eyed Demon appeared to Sam in a dream, revealing his plans for the psychic children, the room fell silent.
"I need soldiers in a coming war," the demon explained with a twisted smile. "But here's the thing: I don't need soldiers. I need soldier. I just need the one."
"To lead who?" Sam demanded.
"Oh, I've already got my army. Or, I will soon, anyway."
"This is getting good," Nappa whispered, leaning forward in his seat.
When the scene shifted to the demon showing Sam his nursery from the night his mother died, everyone watched with rapt attention.
The Yellow-Eyed Demon from the past stood over baby Sam's crib, slicing his own wrist and dripping blood into the infant's mouth.
"What the hell are you doing to me?" present-day Sam demanded.
"Better than mother's milk," the demon replied with a chuckle.
"Does this mean I have demon blood in me?" Sam asked, horrified.
"Wait, so the demon fed him his blood when he was a baby?" Gohan asked, eyes wide. "That's why he has powers?"
"Seems so," Bulma nodded. "And his mother walked in and recognized the demon, which is why it killed her."
"His father later died making a deal with the same demon," Toji added, "trading his soul for Dean's life when Dean was near death."
Vegeta's expression darkened as he continued watching. Something about Sam's story struck an uncomfortable chord within him.
Taken from his family, manipulated by a powerful entity, forced onto a path not of his choosing... The parallels to his own life under Frieza's control were too obvious to ignore.
As the episode progressed to Sam and the other special children fighting for survival, Vegeta became increasingly invested.
When Sam tried reasoning with Jake instead of killing him, Vegeta couldn't contain his frustration.
"Kill him already!" he snapped at the screen. "Stop trying to reason with him! Learn to use your powers and kill that manipulative demon yourself!"
"See?" Toji said to Bulma triumphantly. "Vegeta agrees with me. Sam shouldn't fear his powers - he should learn to control them and use them against the demons."
"The thing wants him as King, so he's clearly part of some prophecy and destined for something with them- if he controls them and harnesses them, he'll have control of his destiny."
"Like Vegeta is the source of all moral goodness. And It's not that simple," Bulma argued. "That power comes from evil. Using it could corrupt him and make that destiny happen anyway."
"Sometimes you need power, regardless of its source," Vegeta interjected. "Especially when facing a stronger enemy." Especially powers that are from legend- that is what can gain you everything.
Their debate was cut short as scene unfolded.
Sam had defeated Jake but chose to spare his life - only for Jake to stab him in the back while his brother Dean watched helplessly from a distance.
"No, Sam!" Dean cried, sliding to the ground and cradling his dying brother. "It's not even that bad. It's not even that bad, all right? Sammy? Sam!"
Dean touched his brother's face as tears streamed down his own. "That's my job, right? Watch out for my pain-in-the-ass little brother?"
Sam's eyes slid shut as his body went limp in Dean's arms.
"SAM!" Dean's anguished cry echoed as the screen faded to black with the words
"TO BE CONTINUED."
A heavy silence fell over the room as the credits rolled.
"Well," Vegeta finally said, rising from his chair, "I'm going to sleep now. This was a waste of time."
But as Vegeta walked back to his quarters, his mind was churning with thoughts he found increasingly uncomfortable.
Frustrating him.
Making him feel a hint of... Fear?
Would... Would his own revenge against Frieza remain unfulfilled? Would he, too, die and be forgotten, just another victim of the tyrant's machinations- like that boy just did against his own?
Most certainly not out of mercy like that fool, but by being... weaker?
'No,' Vegeta told himself as he entered his room and with a bit more force than necessary closed the door.
'I will kill him. I will become a Super Saiyan- I'm already closer than ever thanks to that abomination- and I will make tear all he has built- I will have my revenge for his sins against me! For using me as his puppet for all these years!'
'I swear this upon my very own pride.' Vegeta promised as he got into his bed, and closed his eyes, going to sleep.
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
I thought a bit of a bonding/slice of life chapter would be fun before we get into the climactic fight.
Do tell me how you found it, plus the parallels Vegeta and Sam in this, found it personally interesting when writing it.
Thought it would be fun.
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)