Gone Native: Resolution (ch. 31) (Patreon)

Very sorry about the mix-up, but you guys got chapter 32 by mistake. I've been posting chapters on my phone because of work and a copy-paste didn't take. 

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There was rejoicing when Komand'r made the announcement that Koriand'r would be her co-ruler. The Tamaranian people felt like they got what they wanted -- a populist leader that would give them what they were demanding. The fact that Koriand'r was just a figurehead was known only to us and the Teen Titans. It was about as perfect a solution as there could be, given the circumstances. The distaste for Komand'r ran deep and Koriand'r's influence would soothe over her more controversial decisions because they would be advocated by Koriand'r herself. Simply because she was backing them, their people would accept it easier than if it had from Komand'r.

"I wonder…" I muttered to myself, perched on the ledge of the Palace. There was a celebration to mark Koriand'r's ascension to the throne. I could tell that Komand'r didn't like how happy their people were about it, but the bad blood and animosity between the two sisters had been put to bed. For now at least. Komand'r was reassured that Koriand'r didn't want the throne, and that dealt with her greatest insecurity. But, both sisters were very different people. It wasn't likely that there would be no issues in the future, but for now…

A small sigh escaped me as I leaned against the roof, looking up at the moon. I could feel my body trying to trigger the Oozaru transformation as I absorbed the blutz waves, but I kept the transformation at bay. Memories came back to me of planet Vegeta, way back when the largest generation of Saiyans had been ready to join the war. It was one of the three times me and Vegeta had both been on Planet Vegeta.

The first was back when I was in the tank with him tapping at the glass or seeing me off on my first mission. The second time, we had been home as equals. It was then that the few good memories I had of Vegeta were made. It had been then that I felt like I had truly joined the Royal Family -- I had King Vegeta's acceptance, Mom had already accepted me, Elery and Vegeta got along, and Vegeta… he treated me as his brother.

Years ago, back on Palace Vegeta, we had looked up at the night sky and talked. I barely remembered about what. I'm pretty sure it had been about the war, though. And the future. I don't think that Vegeta hated me back then. I hadn't eclipsed him yet. Back then, I was just his brother that he could finally acknowledge with pride.

"Hm," I hummed to myself, thinking about the events. A what-if tugging at my mind that I considered carefully. However, I felt someone materialize nearby, interupting my contemplations. I tilted my head, finding Raven rising from a dark shadow. She glanced at me, not at all surprised to see me as she pushed back her hood. "Not enjoying the party?" I asked.

"I don't do crowds," Raven admitted, taking a seat about a dozen feet from me. "People don't notice me. You, on the other hand, have been noticed."

"I've always hated celebrations," I admitted. For a lot of reasons. Partly because they felt like a waste of time when I was forced to attend -- time spent there was time I could have spent advancing the front lines. And partly because I never knew what to do with myself. However, the biggest reason of all was… "It always felt pointless. Our soldiers would celebrate taking a planet, and then half of them would die taking another."

Raven was silent at the admission, turning her gaze upwards as a broken chunk of a battleship floated before the moon. The area around Tamaran had only barely been cleared out. From where we sat, it was impossible to see that the system was full of debris from the last true battle of the war. The only real evidence of it was the lack of stars. There were some, but the debris was so dense that there were only a handful of stars out. If it wasn't for the special atmosphere that had been constructed around the planet, Tamaran and the rest of the planets wouldn't receive enough sunlight and would become winter worlds.

"Did you ever consider that it's because half of them would die?" she questioned, earning a nod from me. Of course, I had. "I guess it was harder on you than them," Raven remarked. "You would keep living. Going from planet to planet, watching the losses grow higher…" she trailed off, glancing at me.

Yeah, that sounded about right. It's why I never joined in the celebrations despite so many offers over the years. Death was much harder to deal with when you knew those that died. When you were close to them. Like the 501st -- so many lives and stories that were just cut short because of the whims of a tyrant. Like my team. Like my family. I did all that I could to mitigate losses, but the fact of the matter was that there would always be losses.

I learned very early on, when I was a child, that a casualty report was a lot easier to swallow when you couldn't put a face to every name. I still tried to for years, but as my responsibilities grew… in a way, being a general was a lot easier than being the leader of the 501st. The casualties were higher, exponentially so, but easier to bare.

"Why are you here, Raven?" I asked her, finally asking her why she decided to show up. Her empath abilities worked like my ki sensing, so she would have known I was up here.

Raven didn't answer for a moment, as if searching for the words. "I wanted to check on you. I was sensing a lot of hatred and rage coming from you," she approached the topic as gently as she could, eyeing me carefully. As if I were a volcano that was on the verge of erupting.

Ah. That made sense. "You're sensing the instincts of the Oozaru transformation. It happens every time we look up at the moon," I offered to reassure her. Her lips thinned ever so slightly, and I could visibly see her swallowing a question as she looked away. "I've mastered the transformation, so I can stop myself from transforming." I elaborated, but I don't think that was what she was going to ask.

"I thought it might have been resentment," Raven said after a moment. "That things… didn't go this way with your brother," she said, and I still didn't think that's what she was going to originally say.

Still, it was a fair concern. "This solution wouldn't have worked with Vegeta," I could admit that to myself. "Vegeta was too proud, and his pride made him insecure. He never would have accepted anything other than one of us dying at each other's hands." I don't think there was a way that we could have gotten a happy ending like this. Even if I did everything perfectly, I don't think that things would have been happy ever after. "And he was likely right. Vegeta was a warmonger. He wouldn't have accepted the War of Light ending with anything less than the entire galaxy being under his control. And as soon as he could, he would have started invading other galaxies."

I could admit that now. My brother wasn't without fault.

"And you would have stopped him," Raven voiced the source of my grief over the subject.

"I told him that I would have exiled myself. That he would never see me again. But, that was a lie. Even if I left, eventually, I would have come back to stop his warmongering, because Vegeta didn't hate war like I do. No matter what, no matter how hard we tried, I don't think that our story could have ended without one of us killing the other," I admitted to Raven, a small sigh escaping me. Raven listened in silence, processing what I said.

It was easier, I thought, because she hadn't known Vegeta. She hadn't known about the war. I couldn't talk about this to Elery, who had loved Vegeta like I had. Or Mom, who probably would have taken Vegeta's side in the ideological conflict. Broly… I didn't think he would understand. And I didn't think I wanted him to.

Raven offered a small nod, "Maybe. Despite what the others might say -- sometimes you can't reason with people. No matter what you do or what you say, they won't change their minds and stop doing whatever it is that they do. I've felt it. People look down on drug addicts, thinking that they're weak because they can destroy anything for the sake of a high. And while it is true they can be cruel and thoughtless and destructive, I can feel them wrestling with themselves." Her lips thinned as she looked at me, her violet eyes sad.

"A lot of them can't help it. I know you disagree," Raven added, feeling that I did. "But I've felt their self-hatred and loathing. Their despair. It's not an excuse for the things that they do, but it is a reason why they do it. Because the world feels so terrible to them and they feel so terrible about themselves that the only time they feel any measure of peace is through their drug abuse." she sounded sad about it. And I saw her point.

People didn't change because you wanted them to. Sometimes it wasn't about finding the right compromise or the right string of words. They had to want to change.

And Vegeta hadn't wanted to.

"The others haven't said it yet, but they see how hard you're trying to be different," Raven told me, a faint smile curling at the edges of her lips. "How you helped Kori really showed them that there's more to you than what the war turned you into." I shifted ever so slightly, finding myself distinctly uncomfortable with the information. "They want to approach you but they just don't know how. Robin and the others, they'll help you if you let them. If you let us," she amended.

Help. That wasn't something I was used to getting.

"Is that why you're really here? To make me come to the party?" I asked her, her faint smile growing a fraction.

"It was an idea," Raven admitted.

I looked back up at the moon to see the chunk of the ship had finished sailing past the moon. "Fine," I agreed, floating to my feet. "But what were you going to ask me? Before you reconsidered?" I questioned her bluntly, making her eyes widen ever so slightly because she hadn't realized that I had caught that.

She rose to her feet, her cloak falling over her shoulders, hiding her body from view. "It's a personal question," Raven admitted.

"Ask," I offered, but it sounded more like a demand to me. I wouldn't normally mind, but… Raven hadn't said it outright, but she was here because she had been worried. That I was feeling anger and hate over the outcome, and she wanted to check on me.

Raven still hesitated, but after a second, she slowly spoke, "I've learned to control my emotions, to try to achieve a state of balance between them. It's not something that I've managed often," she admitted. "I wanted to ask you about how you seem to… crush your emotions. Or take control over them so completely. Is it worth learning?" she asked me, a faint trace of hope in her voice.

"No," I answered shortly, killing that hope in the cradle. "It's not," I didn't elaborate because I didn't know how to. My control over my emotions had been the result of the war. I had to be in control of myself at all times. That control was so iron tight that not even power rings could influence me when I was trying to let them. The one time I lost control I killed the people that I loved. "Your way is more difficult to learn, but it's better. When… something terrible happens, you won't lose control."

Raven searched my face for a moment then offered a shallow nod, "Thank you." she said, but I wasn't sure what she was thanking me for. "I can teleport you down?" she offered, her shadow becoming a pitch-black void tinged with an aura of white.

She looked vaguely disappointed when I shook my head. Raven hadn't done anything to earn my distrust, but she didn't need to. While I was willing to confide in her, my trust wasn't unconditional. Because, even if she did tell someone what we spoke of, the damage would be minimal -- most of my empire wouldn't care, and those that would couldn't use the information against me. "I'll fly," I decided, taking a step off of the Palace, and immediately began plummeting down.

The wind whistled in my ears for a moment as I adjusted my course to land on a balcony, the same one I had left from. Landing lightly, I was assaulted by Tamaranian music. I almost didn't know how to describe it other than an enthusiastic blend of noises that was mostly pleasant, sometimes catchy, and always chaotic. I experienced a little of Earth's music, and it was opinion, but Tamaranian music sounded like every instrument was getting their own solos at the same time.

The party itself was in full swing, far more festive than the last one I had seen, which was thrown in my honor upon my arrival on the planet. Tamaranians were wrestling on the floor, and feasting with complete abandonment of their already Saiyan-like table manners. I stepped inside the throne room, my gaze effortlessly finding Komand'r, who sat upon the throne giving everyone cold looks. Her gaze found me, and her gaze softened ever so slightly. She offered me a small nod.

I made my way into the room, and despite my wishes, my arrival didn't go unnoticed. "Tarble!" Koriand'r greeted me loudly, bringing more attention to me. She flew up, because unlike her sister, Koriand'r was completely surrounded by her people. She wore a dress similar to Komand'r, leaving very little to the imagination. She flew towards me, throwing her arms around me in another tight hug before quickly realizing her mistake and letting go. "I was worried that you would not stay!"

"Raven talked me into attending," I admitted, earning a beaming smile in response. The crowd that had been around Koriand'r followed her towards us. My gaze caught a large man that was closer to twelve feet tall than not, with bulging muscles, and missing an eye. His orange beard was elaborately braided, while his head was shaved bare. "You seem to be enjoying yourself, Koriand'r."

"Please, my friends call me Kori. I would like it if you did as well -- none of this would be possible without you! I can finally be with my sister and people now," Koria- Kori exclaimed, unashamed of her joy. And her complete disregard for her status as a queen.

Despite my thoughts, and knowing that Komand'r was a far better ruler whose ambitions fell in line with my own for her people, I could see why her people preferred Kori to her. The power meant absolutely nothing to her. Being queen meant less. What she wanted was her people and sister to be loved and protected.

I could feel Komand'r's eyes on us. And I knew that we weren't in the clear. There would be issues down the line, but I thought that the two could handle them. So long as Komand'r felt like she was still queen, she wouldn't take action against her sister. That being said, I couldn't imagine it would be easy to watch her sister be so popular despite all that she had done for her race.

I offered a small nod, agreeing. The large man wandered over and went to clap me on the shoulder and managed to hit my entire right arm with his large hands. Despite the force he put behind the blow, I didn't so much as budge a millimeter. He smiled down at me, clearly happy. "King Tarble, what a great day that it is! You brought our little sun home!" He cheered, and a loud toast went up, the people seizing the chance to drink more. Not that they really needed it.

"This is my k'norfka Galfore -- he raised me and my sister before we went to Okkar to study under their warlords," Kori introduced Galfore, who bowed his head to me, and still towered over me by a solid five feet. I had absolutely no clue what a k'norfka was, but it sounded similar to a guardian of some type. As far as I knew, Komand'r and Kori's parents were dead.

I returned the nod, "King Tarble."

"Come, drink! Celebrate! What a joyous day that it is!" Galfore said, handing me his mug, which seemed specifically designed for him. I took hold of it, seeing a foamy lime green substance inside. Kori looked a bit apprehensive, but I brought the drink to my lips and started to drink. It tasted faintly sweet, but it was mostly spicy with a faint burning sensation. The crowd seemed to get quieter and quieter as I drank deeply from the massive tankard that was about the size of a small human. Tilting back my head, I drained the last of it, leaving behind only a little foam.

The crowd lost their collective minds when I handed back the tankard after a brief moment of silence. Galfore seemed impressed while Kori smiled brightly.

"You have just challenged him to a drinking competition," Kori informed me and I had no idea how that worked. Was it because I finished his drink? I felt like I'd stumbled on a custom that I hadn't meant to. Or they were making it up. Even if they were, it wasn't like I would be any the wiser.

"I see. Very well then," I said, deciding to uphold the challenge. The Tamaranian people began clearing the way, excited for the competition. I was given my own mug that was the equal of the one I just drank from while barrels upon barrels were brought up. Each one was roughly a full drink and they seemed to expect this competition to last at least a dozen.

I found myself sitting at a low table, sitting across from Galfore and next a dozen others. This wasn't the only competition, it would seem, though they all had much smaller tankards. When the signal was given, everyone began to chug their drinks down as fast as they could. Despite being the ones with the largest mugs, Galfore and I finished first. As soon as the bottom of our tankards touched the table, two servants began refilling them.

The cheering got louder and I quickly found myself becoming the center of attention. I did feel a bit bad for the others and their matches, because they went unnoticed as everyone chanted either my or Galfore's name as we knocked back mug after mug. Things began to speed up as we kept going, to the point that the servers went to find more mugs to fill before we had finished our current ones, so there wouldn't be a need to pause.

The Teen Titans watched on -- Kori and Komand'r were cheering like unruly sports fans, while the rest of the Titans watched with a dull sense of awe and disgust. But, eventually, they all started cheering too. I was surprised when they occasionally threw in some encouragement for me as well.

"You're so tiny, where are you putting it all?" Galfore questioned me, a flush on his face that darkened his orange skin.

"Saiyan biology is efficient," was my composed answer. I felt slightly lightheaded, but I was pushing it back, urging my body to process and breakdown the fermented juice that seemed to be the Tamaranian drink of choice. I had never been drunk before and I held little interest in starting to now.

Galfore threw back his head and laughed as if I had just said the funniest thing that he had ever heard in his entire life. His laughter proved infectious, because everyone else seemed to join in. That was why I didn't get drunk. It made people make fools of themselves. But…

This wasn't bad, I decided, finishing off my fourteenth mug the size of a barrel. I think this had been what the Titans had been trying to show me at that pizzeria, but failed because I wasn't in the right headspace and the underlying tension of my presence on Earth and what it meant for the fate of the planet never diminished. Here, though, there was no tension. It was just people enjoying themselves. Having fun.

I felt a faint smile curling at the edges of my lips, so I hid it by draining my fifteenth mug. When I set it down, I saw Galfore waving his hand in a gesture of surrender, "Oh, no -- I know I have been bested! If I drink anymore, I won't remember this wonderful night! King Tarble is the victor!" Galfore said, sounding happy enough for the two of us.

The crowd cheered, celebrating just for the sake of celebrating, and they found another reason to party harder. I nodded, rising from my seat, feeling full from all the juice. My skin did feel a bit flushed, and the lightheaded feeling intensified. I don't think I was drunk, but I was certain that I was tipsy. I used the distraction to skip out towards the balcony, needing some air to help clear my head.

As I leaned against the stone arch, I heard the balcony doors shut behind me. I didn't need to look to know who it was. "My people shall speak of that for as long as they have tongues," Komand'r remarked to me as she leaned on the balcony next to me. "I did not take you for the drinking type."

"I'm not," I admitted. "I'm just competitive."

Komand'r made a noise of surprise, "Then that bottle of wine we shared?" She questioned me, making me glance at her. The one after we destroyed the fleet stationed above the planet that had been acting as the Citidel's boot on their necks.

"Until tonight, that was the first and only time I've ever drank," I told her, breathing deeply. Would I work through the alcohol faster if I went Super Saiyan? I glanced at her, finding Komand'r looking down at her city. I debated for a moment if I should ask or not, not sure if I wanted the answer, but the alcohol loosened my tongue despite my best efforts. "Are you happy with this outcome?"

Komand'r was tellingly silent for a long moment. However, right when I started to think that I had made a terrible mistake, she spoke. "I would have preferred to remain the lone queen of my people, and I… really hate how they just… love her. But, I know that if I asked, Kori would vanish from our lives. She loves us- me that much. I will admit that there will be resentment on my part, but I won't ever direct it at her." She sounded like she was making that promise as much to herself as she was to me.

"This is a good place," I decided, leaning heavily on the railing. Despite it being such a large city, I could hardly feel people dying or the weakening of their presence from starvation and disease.

Komand'r sent me a sideways glance, "Are you looking to stay, King Tarble?"

It was tempting. But Earth was so volatile that it needed a hands-on approach simply because no one else could handle it. Outside of Broly.

But an idea slowly started to take shape. "Earth was meant to be the new Saiyan homeworld," I told her, making her cock an eyebrow.

"Planet Vegeta 2? Planet Tarble?" she questioned me, and I just sighed. That was fair.

"I wanted my people to learn from humanity's example. So many of us are defined by the war -- we all grew up during the War of Light. I thought that by bringing them to Earth, they would learn to be more, but I made mistakes on Earth. Too many." I spoke, pinching the bridge of my nose. "But now I think our people are too incompatible. Humans are too weak and mine are too callous. It would only end in disaster."

It was the first time one of my plans had imploded so spectacularly. The war taught me to adapt, so I was adapting.

Komand'r nodded her head slowly, "I have been making… inquiries about what was done to my sister and I. In the hopes that what was done to us could be shared with the rest of my people, in a much safer manner. Then we would no longer be treated as cattle, slaves for the rest of the galaxy." That was surprising. I didn't think Komand'r would risk it because it would be a threat to her own power.

There was a silent request in her voice. An offer.

I leaned away from the railing to look at Komand'r fully. I don't think I should be making decisions when I had just finished drinking so much alcohol, but I could only see benefits. My biggest concern with Earth was that humans were just too weak and for all the ways we were similar, humans and Saiyans had very different cultures. With Tamaranians, the concern was still there, but mitigated greatly if they could fly and protect themselves from unruly Saiyans. Even better, Tamaranians were culturally similar and highly empathetic. Something my people sorely needed.

"I can put some of my top scientists on it. Your genetics will likely prove to be the best bet," I spoke, earning a smile from Komand'r as she stood straight, looking at me.

She placed a hand on my chest, taking a half step closer, "And I shall welcome your people to Tamaran. I believe… it would be a strong image of how… close our people are." Komand'r said, rising up ever so slightly and gently pressing her lips against mine. It was the second time she had done so, and this time, I understood that it wasn't to learn any of the languages I knew.

The kiss ended as quickly as it began, with Komand'r pulling back, giving me a sly and confident smile. "I should rejoin the party. I wouldn't want people to talk," she remarked, sounding like she wouldn't mind if they did. I watched her in stunned silence as she slipped through the door and vanished from sight, rejoining the party.

"I think things just got a lot more complicated," I muttered to myself, turning away from the door.

But what else was new?