Galactic Patrol HQ
"Oh? You want these two Saiyans with sins stacked a mile high to serve in the Galactic Patrol?" The Galactic King sounded genuinely surprised.
"Your Majesty," Gohan said evenly, "you know most of the Saiyans' sins were done under Frieza's orders. Frieza's dead slain by Saiyans. Call it atonement. Both of these two have broken through to Super Saiyan and are incredibly strong. In a vast universe, evil doesn't sit still. If Saiyans turn over a new leaf, that's good for everyone."
He kept his tone patient rather than pushy. He knew better than to swagger in here; the elderly Supreme Kai had once told him that, in his day, the Galactic King Shilas had been an undefeated monster in his own right. When Gohan described the current King's… octopoid appearance, the old timer was sure this one was Shilas's descendant ordinary form an octopus, battle form bipedal, for convenience.
"I can accept your reasoning," the King said at last. "But will they obey Patrol regulations?"
"Vegeta, Nappa say it," Gohan prompted, helpless.
"I am Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans. I bow to no one," Vegeta said, chin high. "But for the duration of my training under the Galactic Patrol, I agree to abide by Patrol regulations."
Gohan had warned him beforehand: the Patrol wasn't simple, and there was even an apprentice angel among them. He'd explained what "angel" meant. Vegeta was proud, not stupid; this was the same man who, in another world, would swallow his pride and cook for Beerus to keep Earth intact.
"I follow Prince Vegeta," Nappa said, blunt as ever.
"No problem," the Galactic King chuckled. "The Patrol's a big family. We're… quite democratic. As long as you don't break the rules or do anything evil, we're good. I know you're strong so we'll throw the strong enemies at you first. Captain Merus, you'll take them, yes?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Merus stepped forward, resigned.
Out in the hall, Merus sighed. "Gohan, you really know how to make my life harder."
"Heh, big bro Merus, please? They won't stay long. Soon I'll be taking Vegeta to Whis to fulfill our agreement with Beerus."
"What? Whis agreed to take you as a disciple?" Merus blinked.
"He didn't say yes, but he didn't say no. I'm calling that a yes." Gohan grinned.
"Lucky brat. All right then I'll help them."
"Thanks, big bro Merus!"
"You call my teacher 'Master,' then me 'big bro' that puts me a rank below him, you know," Merus groused.
"Heh. Different ladders, right? Besides do angels really care about seniority?" Gohan teased.
"Watch it…" Merus said, but there was no heat.
Vegeta listened, eyes narrowing. So this is the apprentice angel he mentioned. He fixed Merus as an imagined opponent only for Merus to glance sideways at him.
Cold sweat broke down Vegeta's back. From one angle Merus looked full of openings; the moment Vegeta truly focused, all openings vanished. It was terrifying worse than the fear he'd felt as a child before Frieza.
"Your friend has guts," Merus said mildly.
"He's prickly, but his talent's real. He's the one I'm recommending… for Beerus," Gohan murmured.
"Got it."
Gohan left the two in Merus's care and popped back to Earth.
By then Raditz had followed Gohan's instructions and reached Kami's Lookout.
"Gohan's uncle? What brings you here?" Dende asked. Raditz had once helped Namekians; Dende remembered.
"Been a while, Dende. Gohan said Mr. Popo can seal my strength down to human level. I'm here to ask his help." Raditz ruffled Dende's hair.
"Mr. Popo?" Dende turned to the black-faced attendant.
"Mm." Popo nodded, noncommittal.
"Wait!" Gohan appeared.
"Huh? You're done already?" Raditz blinked. Gohan had only been gone a few minutes.
"Found someone to guide them. I came back I still have school," Gohan said, casual.
"Right… so why 'wait'?"
"Uncle, you're really all brawn and no brain sometimes. Even seals need details." Gohan sighed.
"Details?" Raditz looked utterly lost. Dende did, too.
"My mistake," Gohan said. "I shouldn't have said 'seal him to human level.' Mr. Popo, can you seal him to Dad's level right after he first left Mount Paozu?"
"A bit more troublesome, but doable," Popo said.
"Good. The aim is to re-walk Dad's path and improve his martial arts foundation. If you really slam him down to average human, a random bullet might kill him," Gohan said.
"No way. Even if my strength is sealed, my body won't be pierced by such primitive "
"I seal everything spirit, body, and ki," Popo said calmly.
Raditz went white, picturing himself capped by a power-level-of-five farmer. He shook his head furiously.
"All right, Mr. Popo, don't scare him too much," Gohan said. "What do you need?"
Popo stepped up, tapped Raditz's tailbone, then his brow, then his abdomen.
"Done." Hands behind his back, he returned to Dende's side.
The three of them stared.
"That's your 'more troublesome'?" Gohan blurted.
"Is it not?" Popo arched a brow. "Three different seals spirit, flesh, and ki."
"Right, right your fist is bigger. You win," Gohan muttered.
"That's it?" Raditz said, incredulous.
"Try it," Gohan suggested.
"HYAA !"
Pffft.
No ki aura. Just… an embarrassingly crisp fart.
Silence fell like a curtain.
"Ahem. Can you still use Flight?" Gohan asked.
"I I can sort of float," Raditz said, face red.
"Then go find Master Roshi. If you can't fly, run. Swim. Dad did." Gohan booted him clean off the Lookout.
"Don't ! I can only barely !" Raditz's scream dwindled as he plummeted.
"Think, think ah!" As the ground rushed up, he blasted a feeble air cannon downward. The recoil slowed him just enough that, when he hit, he merely crumpled into a crater instead of splattering. Sealed to kid-Goku's level, you could still survive a hole like that.
(Author's note: Some folks keep flaming me for "breaking Popo's character," citing an official 1,034 power level. C'mon. You've seen Popo spar with Super Saiyan Goten and Trunks in the Buu era, right? Even if those kids were "holding back," do you really think a power level of a thousand cuts it? If anything's broken, it was already broken in the original. I'm just doing a fanfic remix both for plot needs and because otherwise you're just rereading canon. If I mess up something concrete, tell me and I'll fix it. But you don't get to write my outline. Also, yeah some of you will say I "changed the Galactic King." I'll explain next time so I don't pad this chapter.))
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