cornbringer

Dragon Ball Z: The Beast Within - CH45

Added 2025-09-30 03:19:06 +0000 UTC

[Escarot POV.]

Arriving back on Planet Vegeta didn’t feel the way I expected it to. Nor did it take nearly as much time as I had expected.

One second, we were floating just outside the Destroyer’s Temple. The next, boom, we were standing on dirt again—Vegeta’s dirt, the reddish-brown cracked kind that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.

We did make a few snack stops, to please the Destroyer, buying fruit and stuff.

“...It’s redder than I remembered,” Okara muttered, her voice flat. “Has it always been this red?”

Yep.

“Home sweet home!” Garlik beamed. “Ahhh, smell that iron in the air! That’s the good stuff!”

I snorted.

We stood there for a second, the three of us overlooking a worn-down section of the capital. The city hadn’t changed much. Still tall, reddish/grey buildings. Still beat-up spaceports. It looked exactly like it had the last time I was here.

All very… Saiyan, all things considered.

“Remember,” I said, turning to the other two, “we’re keeping a low profile. That means keep your power suppressed. No screaming challenges in public. No exploding buildings. No—”

“No fun,” Okara groaned, already annoyed. “Got it.”

“Do I need to remind you that we are still small fish in a big ass pond,” I replied, “If the Cold family gets wind that three high-power Saiyans with powers as high as ours just dropped in from space, we’re all gonna get our spines used as flute parts.”

“Two powerful saiyans, sir,” Garlik corrected. “I am very much safe from that fate.”

“Nah, you are dying with us,” Okara replied, grinning. “Isn’t that right, Escarot?”

“Yep,” I nodded. “Jokes aside, do keep your powers at the discussed limit… understood?”

They nodded.

Right now, we had to keep a low profile above all things.

I was burying my energy down to just above what I used to have before all this started. I figured if Garlik’s was around 2,000, then Okara’s could hang at around 4,500, and I could keep mine at a conservative 9,001. Because of reasons.

“Alright,” I said. “As I was saying, we blend in. No sudden bursts of power. No picking fights. And absolutely no fighting over fruit stands.”

“That was one time,” Okara snapped.

“You threw the vendor into orbit, like a minute ago.”

“He was overcharging us!”

I glared. “He was giving away the fruit, for free! How can that be overcharging!”

Thankfully, I was able to catch the poor alien before he left the planet.

“Well… he looked smug!”

Before I could retort, a lazy voice cut us off.

“Well, this has been fun, but it’s time for the main characters to make their exit,” Beerus said, waving his hand like he was shooing away pigeons.

He looked supremely uninterested, arms crossed, tail flicking with half-annoyance.

“You three can go play warrior or whatever it is you annoying brats do,” he said, looking at me, “but I expect meals when I call. Remember our arrangement. I crave, you cook. Or I destroy you. Sound fair?”

“Crystal clear,” I said with a nod. “Would you like to take some leftovers?”

“Hmph. You think I eat leftovers?” Beerus scoffed… before snatching the food out of my hands faster than I could blink. “This doesn’t count.” he added, mouth full and eyes full of love for each bite he was taking.

Whis smiled, as usual, the kind of smile that made you feel like he knew the exact moment of your death and had it marked on a calendar. Or that he wanted to be annoying, one of the two.

“Well then, best of luck,” Whis said, tapping his staff against the ground. A shimmering ripple in the air formed behind them. “Do try not to die before our next lunch together~”

And just like that, they vanished.

“Man, that guy is fast,” Okara muttered.

Fast is an understatement, I’m pretty sure Whis is faster than light, by a lot.

We stood in silence for a moment, the noise of the city slowly filling in the background. Loud yells, machines humming, occasional explosions. You know. Saiyan ambiance.

“So… what now?” Garlik asked, still smiling like a tourist.

“We get a place to stay,” I replied, wondering if my father was still alive, and if he was, if I could use his house or not, Saiyan customs were weird, and I had no idea if I was already considered an adult and needed to find my own place.

Be that as it may, I really couldn’t tell if he was alive or not, seeing I didn’t know how his life energy felt, due to the fact I learned how to sense energy after I left.

I could feel what I imagined was King Vegeta’s power, which was marginally above all other signatures.

“We can use my house, sir, it’s not much, but I suppose it would serve its intended purpose.” Garlik said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied, looking at him.

“What if they notice how extra awesome we are now?” Okara asked, puffing her chest.

I shrugged. “Then we lie. Genetic mutation. Prolonged exposure to alien shit. Whatever works.”

Okara kicked a pebble and scowled. “I’m hungry.”

Ok, I’m starting to think she has ADHD… these changes of subject are getting too random to be normal.

“We just had breakfast.”

“That was two minutes ago. I burned calories.”

I sighed. “Fine. We’ll find food. But no killing the vendors.”

“They should learn to season things better,” she muttered. “It’s not my fault they can’t cook as good as you.”

As we walked through the streets of the capital, I kept my senses half-open, scanning the area. So far, nothing. Most Saiyans ignored us, too busy with their own business or low-grade brawls.

I had no idea what to do now, other than keep training…

At least the planet was still here, meaning we still had time.

But until then, I had to avoid the eyes of those monsters, their intel network wasn’t to be underestimated. One wrong move, one wrong spike in power, and it wouldn’t be long before a ship showed up “just to check.”

Yeah. We were strong. But not strong enough.

Not yet.

I could kill Frieza before he ever transformed, but the mere idea disgusted me more than death itself. Fucking genes, and their need to prove themselves.

“Hey,” Okara suddenly said, “What happened to that pillow we were sent to deliver?”

“You do remember he kidnapped us, and took the pillow right?” I said, looking at her with concern. “I’m starting to wonder if Whis gave you a concussion during your training.”

“First of all, yes, I got a few…” she snapped. “And second of all, I have a bad memory, which may or may not be related to that, 50/50.”

Garlik snorted. “That’s her factory default, sir. Don’t be fooled.”

As we kept walking, my mind started wandering.

Right now—I was the strongest Saiyan alive.

Sure, I didn’t have Super Saiyan, yet, or anything flashy yet, but raw power-wise? I was pretty confident there wasn’t anyone around who could match me. King Vegeta? Weak. Nappa? Extra weak. Prince Vegeta? Not sure if he was alive yet, and if he was, probably barely out of diapers.

It was a weird feeling. Not a bad one. Just… weird.

I’d grown so much in such a short time that it felt like a joke. I wasn’t just stronger—I was smarter, faster, better. All the training, the image fights, the cooking, the bug murder… it was paying off.

I could practically feel my muscles humming with power, even while suppressed.

“So, what do you guys wanna eat—” I stopped, feeling as my stomach tensed, and a chill came up running up my spine, as a massive surge of energy pulsed through the air—sharp, quick, like a heartbeat.

Okara did too. Her eyes narrowed, and her head turned slightly, scanning. “...D-did you feel that?”

Feel that? How could I not?

This power… I could– no, I don’t think that even with Surge I could match whatever it is I felt.

“Yeah,” I muttered, eyes already locked in the general direction it came from. “Hard to miss.”

The power didn’t last long—only a second or two, like someone had accidentally flipped a switch and then slammed it off again—but it was enough.

Enough to make my instincts scream.

Enough to twist my stomach in a knot.

It was quiet now, buried again, but it was there. Sleeping under the surface like a damn volcano.

“Where’s it coming from?” Okara asked, already on edge, hands balled into fists. Her tail flicked once, tense.

I pointed with my chin, eyes narrowed.

“Somewhere over there… near the nursery sector.”

“The baby pit?” Okara blinked. “That power came from the baby pit?!”

I nodded slowly, brows furrowed. “Either a baby… or someone’s hiding in the walls.”

She looked visibly disturbed. “I refuse to believe a baby can be stronger than us…”

“Honestly, I have no clue,” I said, still staring toward the horizon. “But if that wasn’t a fluke… then we’re not the strongest Saiyans around, by a lot.”

That power… was still holding back a lot, and that was unsettling.

Now that I think about it, it's funny.

I had just started to enjoy the idea of being top dog. Getting a little bit cocky, sure, but hey—I earned it. Now some random just casually sneezes out a pressure spike that made me freeze?

Okara crossed her arms. “Could’ve been a malfunction in one of the power scanners, right? Like, a burst of static or something?”

“You’re grasping… that was ki, not static,” I replied, already irritated that she was doing the same thing I was doing—trying to rationalize it.

Because the alternative?

That somewhere in that building was a baby with a power above mine?

Nope. Don’t like it.

This wasn’t a saiyan problem anymore, even as a human I rejected the notion of a baby overpowering me.

Couldn’t be.

Right?

Garlik, meanwhile, looked like the only person completely unfazed. He was casually chewing on some random stick he’d picked up from a vendor, completely oblivious to the pressure spike that had both me and Okara questioning reality.

“Sir?” he asked, blinking. “Something wrong?”

Okara looked at him. “Did you not feel that?!”

“Feel what?” he asked, mid-bite. “Was it gas?”

I sighed. “Never mind.”

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