We Were Angels - Part Three


Kakarot continued to hesitate as Vegeta looked up to see the car trying to brake too late. Remembering the look on Vegeta's face as he mercilessly beat the other man senseless, Kakarot sat back down on Nimbus.

"Let's just see what happens, maybe he'll save himself," Kakarot said to himself.

Meanwhile, Vegeta's feet finally connected with his brain and he tried to leap out of the way. The screeching tires and sickening thump gave away that he didn't entirely make it.

Back in Heaven, Kakarot winced as Vegeta bounced off the hood of the car and rolled onto the road. Rushing to his human's side, Kakarot knelt beside Vegeta and checked him for serious injuries.

Kakarot ran his hands over the slight form, confirming that he was only badly bruised with no serious injuries. Opening his eyes at a soothing presence, Vegeta looked up at the man beside him. He stared in wonder at the unearthly glow surrounding the fuzzy figure and tried to clear his vision.

"Are you...an ...angel?" he rasped softly.

Kakarot drew back in shock and quickly glanced around at the other people quickly surrounding the fell man. Nobody else seemed to notice his presence, so why had Vegeta?

"How...?" he asked. He received no answer, however, as Vegeta had slipped into unconsciousness.

Kakarot stepped away as the medics lifted Vegeta carefully onto a stretcher. Just as he was about to go back and ask Bardock about the strange phenomenon, he realized what he had done. He had purposefully let Vegeta get hit.

He had plenty of time to save him, but he had let that car plow into him. He wasn't sorry about what he had done, Vegeta was basically all right and maybe it would help him see his life in a new perspective.

But, he was deeply worried about what Kami would have in store for him. Taking a deep breath and wrapping his wings around him for comfort, Kakarot rode Nimbus back to the heavens.

Upon reaching his other worldly abode, Kakarot was immediately met by his friends and mentor.

"What were you thinking?!" screamed Turles.

"Did you actually think you would get away with that?" hissed Raditz.

"Kakarot, why did you do it?" asked Bardock crossly.

"I-I thought it would teach him a lesson..." he stammered.

"That it hurts to be hit by cars!?" yelled Turles sarcastically.

"That what goes around comes around?" he tried weakly.

"Listen, that wasn't your decision to make. Just because you're his guardian angel, doesn't give you the right to play with his fate. Kami will have your halo for this!" Bardock growled.

Grabbing Kakarot by the front of his orange tunic, Bardock accented his point by shaking the young angel. "Why didn't you just do your job like I taught you!?"

"I'm, I-"

"Kakarot, Kami would like to speak to you," said Dende as he approached the group.

With a sigh, Kakarot disentangled himself from Bardock's grasp and waved half-heartedly to his friends. Following the green guardian to Kami's Palace, he took each step with trepidation. Rubbing his sweaty palms on his robes, Kakarot stepped inside the door Dende was holding open for him. Inside, Kami was sitting in a large chair with his two top advisors, Piccolo and Nail, standing beside him. They all stared hard at the angel as he made his way to Kami's desk.

The old god gave a tight smile before beginning.

"Kakarot, I'm sorry we have to do this, but your actions lately have been quite unacceptable," Kami spoke loudly.

Kakarot opened his mouth to explain, but Kami raised a hand to silence him. "You thought you could teach Vegeta how precious life is if he learned he wasn't invincible, isn't that right?" The delinquent angel nodded numbly. "Well, as much as I would like to allow you to stay, I'm afraid you must be punished for what you have done."

"I understand, Kami-sama," Kakarot whispered.

"Now, Piccolo has suggested that you be stripped of rank and banished to Hell."

Kakarot stared wide-eyed as Piccolo smirked at him.

"And Nail has suggested sending you to Hell for a year and then letting you re-enlist in guardianship training. However, I have come up with my own form of punishment. One that reconciles the strict demands of Piccolo and the lax idea of Nail. You will be sent to Chikyuu, to live among the humans as one of them, and while you are there you must learn that there is more to Vegeta than you think, and learn to accept him for who he is. When you learn to love Vegeta, you can come back and take your place as his angel again."

Kakarot stood with his mouth hanging open in shock. Send him to Chikyuu to live as a human? Surely he was joking! He'd rather spend the year in Hell! And love Vegeta? Sure, long ago, he had felt love towards the human, but now that he knew what terrible things Vegeta had done, could he love him again? Trembling with disbelief, he opened and shut his mouth repeatedly like a fish out of water.

"Kami-sama, surely, surely there is another way?"

"Iie, I've given this much thought and I believe this is the best form of punishment. It would set a poor precedent if I let you off. Soon, all angels would think they had the right to pass judgment on the humans. And I can't let that happen. You must understand." Hanging his head in humility, Kakarot tried to control his anger at being the 'example'.

"I understand, Kami-sama. When will I go?"

"As soon as possible. I'll allow you to say goodbye to your friends, but then you must leave."

"So soon?" Kami nodded solemnly. "Then I'll be going now. Goodbye, Kami-sama." He gave a curt bow, turned on his heel, and left. Haltingly, Dende followed him out of the palace.
*
"To Chikyuu?"

"As a human?" Nodding his head, Kakarot hopped onto Nimbus to leave.

"When do you think you'll be back?" asked Turles.

"I don't know. Probably never" he mumbled. With a dispirited wave, Kakarot bid farewell to his friends and Heaven, and hello to his new life as a human.

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