Nightmare Mode (DBZ Gamer!SI)

Game

Thoughts

"Speech"

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"What?" Gray couldn't help the word slip out of his mouth at King Vegeta's words. 

Did he just ask me if I wanted to kill Frieza? Am I hallucinating right now? Am I dreaming? 

Gray hastily controlled his emotion, trying to keep his face as blank as possible.

Ok, Gray, think. I definitely plan to kill Frieza eventually and take his empire, but why the hell would King Vegeta of all people ask me this? Why is he even speaking to me in the first place? 

"Did you not hear me, kid? You're young, but you should know better than to ignore me." King Vegeta growled at Gray's momentary silence. Gray felt a pressure press down on his shoulders, and he suddenly found himself struggling to hold his head high. 

If I tell the truth and this is some kind of test, I'm done for. Saying I want to kill our galactic overlord is a surefire way to die young. I'll just lie to be safe.

"Ah, sorry, of course I would never even think of going against Lord Frie-" Gray started, but was cut off by the girl standing next to him. 

"He intends to go against Frieza in the future, father." Celia interrupted. Gray's head snapped in her direction, his whole body tensing, but he didn't have the chance to say anything.

"His emotions toward Frieza?" King Vegeta asked. His focus was solely on Celia.

"He hates him," Celia responded.

"Towards me?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

"Begrudging respect."

What the hell is going on? Did they forget I'm standing right here or something?

"Good enough. If those feelings change, you'll be responsible for dealing with him." King Vegeta said, turning his focus toward Raditz. 

"Of course, My King," Raditz responded with an arrogant grin. 

Gray's eyes bored into the side of Celia's head, hoping for some explanation of what was going on. She glanced at him with her eyes, her head still turned toward the King, and nodded slightly, "Father, before we speak any further, I think it would be wise if I explained some things to Gray."

King Vegeta waved his hand dismissively, "Unimportant. You can tell him however much you deem fit to share later. You won't waste my time."

"Of course, Father. However, I also think it would be wise if I gave you the report about my mission before we discuss this any further. Raditz and Gray should step out while I do since some of the information might be… significant." Celia said, leaving Gray even more confused. King Vegeta narrowed his eyes once again at Celila, looking like he wanted to refuse, but responded after a moment of silence.

"Fine. I expect this to be good. Leave us." King Vegeta said, gesturing to Raditz.

Raditz's eye twitched, glaring slightly at Celia. He turned around, placing a hand on Gray's shoulder, and pushing him slightly towards the door they entered through. As they walked toward the door, Celia's voice rang out throughout the chamber one more time, "No offense, of course, Raditz, Gray. I trust both of you, but this is something that needs to stay between our family. Maybe you can start briefing Gray about what's going on so no more of Father's time will be spent on it, Raditz?" 

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Raditz responded gruffly as he stepped through the massive door, Gray walking out behind him a moment later. The massive set of doors slammed behind them, and Raditz started walking away from them, going towards an open area of the palace. Gray followed him, and a moment later they were standing on a large terrace, giving Gray a view of the towering mountains and buildings far below them.

"That damn bastard, leaving this to me. You're lucky. His Highness would rather just give you your orders, but the bastard girl wants you in the know beforehand. She should've just talked to you on the trip back to Planet Vegeta, that lazy girl." Raditz growled, leaning his back against a nearby wall. 

"So, you gonna tell me what's going on?" Gray asked the long-haired man.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll give you the quick version for now. That girl, Celia, is one of the King's bastards. He's had more than a few, but most are useless or dead. Most people don't know that, only some royalty and the King's elites, like me, so keep your mouth shut. Her mission was to scout out some of the new F-Class recruits to find some standouts. The stupid girl took it a bit far, enrolling herself as a recruit, and even then only found one. You better be really special, or neither of you be alive a few weeks from now." Raditz said, staring out at the towering mountains around them.

That explains her strength at least, and how she made an artificial moon, but I already knew she had some tie to the royal family.

"Don't worry, I won't say a word. What about what happened in there?" Gray said, nodding his head toward the path heading to the King's throne room. 

"About how the King practically ignored you? Get used to it. There's a reason that girl is one of the few bastards still around. She's useful, if only for her… ability. Even I don't really get how it works, and I don't really care," Raditz growled, "Ask her about it if you do. Pretty much, you can't hide anything from her. She's especially good at finding traitors. If she said you felt any attachment for Frieza, or negative thoughts toward the King, then your head would've been blown off on the spot." Raditz explained, dropping what felt like mindnumbing information for Gray as if he was just talking about the weather. 

An ability that makes it impossible to hide anything from her? 

Gray's mind started whirling, thinking through all the possibilities.

Can she see the future, like Bardock could? Mind reading? Memory reading? Fuck, I knew she was suspicious, but I didn't expect this. 

"Don't look so scared, boy. It's unbecoming of a Saiyan." Raditz chuckled, and Gray realized his stress was showing on his face, "What're you scared that she'll find out? Got a small cock or somethin?" 

Gray couldn't resist glancing down at his crotch.

Nah, I'm packing.

"Yeah, something like that…" Gray said and was glad when Raditz merely grunted and didn't push him any further. 

It's not like I have any THAT bad planned, just overthrowing Frieza and probably killing her father in the process… though if he's on board with the whole killing Frieza idea, then I guess I he can stick around.

"Still kinda scary that she might be able to read my thoughts or something…" Gray mumbled, staring over the railing. 

Does she know about my past life?

"Enough of that. I need to start filling you in on the mission. You ever heard of the planet named Earth?" Raditz asked casually, and Gray struggled to keep his face emotionless. He failed, letting his surprise slip through, but was luckily facing away from Raditz as he stared over the railing. 

"Ah…" Gray trailed off, not sure how to answer the question.

Should I know Earth? Is it part of the Saiyan education I missed out on?

"Whatever, it doesn't matter. I don't blame you for not knowing, our contact with it is kept pretty under wraps, and it was thought to be pretty useless until a couple of years ago." Raditz said, and Gray turned his head to lock eyes with him. 

"So, what about it?" He asked.

"That's where the mission'll be. I'm leading a squadron there, and you'll be a part of it." Raditz said, looking like he was going to explain more, but stopping as footsteps echoed down the path they come from. Gray stood up straight as he saw Celia walk around the corner.

"Father is ready to continue the briefing." She said simply, eliciting a nod from Raditz as he pushed himself off the wall, walking past her toward the throne room again. Gray followed suit but paused as Celia placed a hand on his shoulder as he walked past, whispering to him, "Remember what I told you. Don't reveal anything to him. Be vague. Let me do most of the talking."

Gray nodded, and they walked toward the throne room.

I'll have to trust her for now, but whatever ability she has is scary. I might have to kill her at some point. 

Gray flicked his eyes toward Celia, looking for any reaction on her face. She maintained an emotionless expression as they walked side by side.

So, not mind reading. 

They walked back into the throne room and stood in a line once again as the King leaned back on his towering throne. 

"I'll start the briefing now. Be grateful, it's not every day you get to speak with your King. I usually wouldn't waste my time on this, but this mission needs to stay under tight confidentiality. Nothing I say here should leave this room unless it's completely necessary, got it?" King Vegeta asked, glowering down at them as if begging for one of them to refuse. 

"Of course, Your Highness."

"Of course, Father."

…

"Um, Yeah, sure, Your Highness," Gray spoke up, slightly panicked as the King's sole attention focused on him after his moment of silence.

"Good." King Vegeta intoned, then hopped off of his massive throne. He walked confidently towards a small door on the side of the room, hidden behind a towering pillar, and gestured for them to follow. Gray let Celia and Raditz move first, following behind them. Once inside the room, Gray saw what looked to be a board meeting room. There was a long stone table in the center, and various marble chairs placed around it.

King Vegeta walked over to a small white rock sitting in the corner, stomping on the side of it so it flipped over, revealing a paper underneath it. He picked up the rolled-up paper, and walked to the long table, placing it down. He rolled out the paper, and Gray eyes widened slightly as a map was spread out on the table. 

"This is Earth. Your mission will be here. The amount of maps made of Earth can be counted on your fingers, so you won't be getting one. Memorize this one before you leave, which will be in 2 days." King Vegeta said, gesturing to the large map lying on the table. Gray narrowed his eyes as he scanned the map.

I've only seen the Dragon Ball map a few times, but this looks roughly how I remember it, minus how the cities are laid out. 

The map showed a large land mass on the left, with an ocean separating it from a much larger land mass on the right. There was a small tract of land at the top that connected the two. Towards the bottom of the map, and in the middle ocean separating the two land masses, was a flurry of spread-out islands. There were multiple lines, each a different color, that cut across the land masses to showcase different territories.

Why the hell does the literal King of the Saiyans have a map of Earth? Judging from Raditz's age, I thought I was around the start of Z, but maybe not if they've already been to Earth.

"Father, I think it would be best if we explained what we know about Earth to Gray before we continue - to ensure he is not confused," Celia said. Gray narrowed his eyes slightly at her words.

Maybe she can read thoughts?

"Pointless. He's promising, but this is Earth he's heading to. I doubt he'll make it back alive. Anything we tell him is just wasted time. He'll follow Raditz's orders." King Vegeta growled, looking up from the map to stare at Celia. Celia's eyes bore into him, and Gray saw her face change, going from its normal emotionless state to looking slightly pleading.

"Fine," King Vegeta grunted, relenting at her look, "This is Earth. Up until three years ago, we thought it was full of weaklings. It had some decent materials, but nothing special. It was ranked D on Intergalactic Zillow."

Gray struggled to keep his face blank.

Intergalactic Zillow? Is that really how Frieza sells planets?

"The war with his family has been costly for Frieza, so he increased the number of Saiyans in the planet-selling unit. The squadron that went to Earth never came back, so he sent another. They never returned either," King Vegeta said, sitting down in one of the large marble chairs, "Frieza sent his left-hand man, Dodoria, but he returned empty-handed. The lifeforms on Earth are much stronger than we had anticipated, and it would require a full-on invasion force to take over the planet. King Cold noticed Dodoria's excursion and sent his own forces. Frieza had deemed the planet more trouble than it was worth, but that was until one of King Cold's generals was captured. He was interrogated, and let us know about this: An item called a Dragon Ball."

Gray's eyes followed King Vegeta's finger as he placed it on a small orange dot drawn on the map, "When all of them are gathered together, they can grant a wish. Any wish. Power, immortality, even… killing someone." 

Gray's eyes widened as King Vegeta looked pointedly at him.

I was wondering why he asked me if I wanted to kill Frieza but then started talking about Earth. He wants to use the dragon balls to kill Frieza!

King Vegeta grinned at Gray's look, his eyes glowing menacingly, "You understand, right? Frieza's power is beyond even my comprehension, there'd be no chance to kill him in a battle. Instead, we utilize the dragon ball's power, and wish for his death!"

That's… actually a good plan. At least, a good plan from what he knows. The dragon balls can't kill anyone stronger than Kami in the show, but this world is so fucked up already, so who knows?

But, why does King Vegeta want to kill Frieza? To free the Saiyans?

"King Cold and Cooler want the power of the balls as well, so it's not as simple as just invading Earth anymore. Earth has become a battleground between Frieza, Cooler, King Cold, and the inhabitants of the planet." The King explained, his grin dropping, "Each of Frieza and his family have claimed portions of the planet for their own, but most of the planet is still controlled by Earthlings. They are… surprisingly powerful."

I knew everything in this world was fucked up already, but the Earthlings are actually able to fight back? Did the Z fighters get a huge power boost or something?

"Now, this information will be essential for your mission. Pay attention, all three of you." The King said, looking pointedly at Raditz, who had been openly not paying attention as King Vegeta relayed information that he already knew. King Vegeta placed his finger on the bottom of the left land mass.

"This is the territory of the 'Red Ribbon Army.' It's an army of weaklings, but their technology in weaponry exceeds even ours, so they are a formidable force. They're likely the weakest of the forces on the planet. The most recent report from Earth indicated that they have one dragon ball." The King explained.

The Red Ribbon Army is not only still alive, but can hurt Frieza's army. So, canon is just fucked, huh? Thanks, dumbass nightmare mode. Now a lot of the knowledge from my past life is useless.

The King dragged his finger up above a red line that separated the Red Ribbon Army's territories from the one above it, "This is the 'Land of Kami.' It's an uninhabited forest, but there's a floating island in the sky where at least four powerful fighters live, one who calls himself the guardian of Earth. Our forces are unsure about where one of the dragon balls is, so it might be there, but don't mess with this area unless you've gathered the other six already." 

Four? Kami, Popo, Korin… and who? 

"Hmmph, only four fighters? I bet I could take those weaklings on my own." Raditz said with a confident grin.

"Keep speaking like that and you'll be replaced as Squadron leader for this mission. I chose you because you're trustworthy and smarter than most. Don't bother these four unless you have six dragon balls." King Vegeta said, glaring at Raditz, who wilted under his gaze.

"R-right!" 

Considering this guy is Vegeta's father, I thought he'd be a lot more arrogant and stupid. He seems pretty level-headed.

"Next is Frieza's base. This is where you'll be landing and living for the duration of the mission." King Vegeta said, pointing to a large island right above the land connecting both the land masses. He then pointed to the actual land connected to the land masses, "This is Cooler's base."

"Neither of which have any dragon balls." Celia chimed in helpfully, resulting in King Vegeta's hands clenching.

"Yes… unfortunately, our forces have been largely preoccupied with Coolers, so we have no balls."

Hah, no balls.

The King dragged his finger farther to the right, pointing to a large territory on the left land mass, "This is where most of the humans are gathered, in a place called 'West City.' It's protected by a group of martial artists who call themselves 'The Protectors of Earth.' They have two dragon balls." 

That's definitely Goku and the other Z fighters.

"This is King Cold's base. They're holding one dragon ball." The King said, pointing to the large island under the left land mass, then moving his finger to a series of smaller islands nearby, "These islands, and part of the bottom tip of the continent, are guarded by ancient martial artists. They also have one dragon ball." 

Ancient martial artists? Is Roshi really holding his own against actual Saiyans, or is it some new bullshit I'll have to deal with?

"Finally, our biggest concern. This area is entirely desert, and is owned by the 'Triangle of Evil.' It's ruled by three monsters. One is a green monstrosity, said to be so ugly that just looking at it can kill you. The other is a mastermind emperor from thousands of years ago, and the third is the biggest problem. A sentient Rabbit that can turn anything he touches into a carrot! Even worse, their name is totally badass! The Triangle of Evil sounds so cool!" King Vegeta shouted, slamming his fists into the table, looking far more worked up than before, his eyes glowing red as spit flew from his mouth.

I can believe he's Vegeta's father now. This guy's a total moron.

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Gray Tanaki:

[Saiyan D-Class Recruit]

Age: 15

Wallet: 45,150 Coins

Lvl: 10 (31,000/75,000 XP)

PL: 31,972,700

Available Points: 540

HP: 91,450/91,450

TKI: 164,025/164,025

STR: 315

AGI: 350

END: 290

INT: 415

CHA: 145

LUK: 155

KI: 395

HREG: 176

EREG: 176

Token's Available: 1 [Skill Token], 1 [Perk Token]

Skills: [Observe LVL 4], [Running LVL 6], [Determination LVL 4], [Ki Control LVL 9], [Ki Gun LVL 5]. [Ki Enhancement LVL 4], [KI Suppression LVL 5], [Ki Sense LVL 2], [Pushup LVL 4], [Punch LVL 4], [Kick LVL 4], [Jump LVL 4], [Flight LVL 4], [Prediction LVL 2], [Zenkai Boost LVL 1]

Perks: [Gamer's Mind], [Gamer's Body], [Double-edged Sword], [Legendary Super Sayian], [Perfect Ozaru], [A Cute Pawn], [A Humble Master], [Ladies Man]

Fighting Styles: [Boxing Style: Kolra LVL 1]

Party: [Empty]

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AN: Sorry for not uploading yesterday, had some internet issues, so I'm just posting the whole chapter at once today. Three more chapters until we're caught up here, then it'll be two chapters a week for all of September. As always, you can read up to chapter 12 right now at Patreon.com/Koyon. This will be changing to 5 chapters ahead of public release in the future. 

Also - I'll be posting a SAO fic soon (Today, actually) so check it out if you like that stuff. It'll be somewhat similar to this story, and the first chapter is a banger 20k words.