Vegeta appeared behind Kakarot, his eyes narrowing the moment they landed on Axiom.
"Great. Just great," he muttered through clenched teeth.
Axiom looked like Frieza. Felt like Frieza. Yet Vegeta had never heard of another member of Frieza's family.
Vegeta stepped closer, his voice sharp as he barked out a question.
"Who are you?"
"He's Axiom! He doesn't know Frieza!" Goku jumped in, sensing Vegeta's rising anger.
Vegeta huffed, still visibly irritated by Axiom's presence.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Vegeta," Axiom said calmly, making no effort to provoke him further.
"It isn't," Vegeta replied coldly. "What do you want with this planet?"
"I can assure you that I have not come to harm this planet…" Axiom paused, then clarified, "…or its inhabitants."
Vegeta sneered, clearly unconvinced.
"Yeah, right."
Complaining was all he could do. He knew—frustratingly—that he didn't currently have the power to even challenge Axiom.
"Deal with him yourself, Kakarot. I need to train."
With that, Vegeta leapt into the air and vanished, leaving Axiom alone with Goku.
"…Wanna fight?"
The question came out of nowhere, snapping Axiom's attention back from the direction Vegeta had flown.
He studied Goku for a moment, hesitating just slightly before answering.
"…Yeah. Fine. I don't mind."
His tone was indifferent, but beneath it, curiosity stirred. He wanted to test his strength.
"Great! I know just the place."
Before Axiom could ask anything, Goku placed a hand on his shoulder and two fingers to his forehead. In an instant, they vanished.
__
Axiom stumbled as gravity shifted violently, hitting the ground before quickly pushing himself back up, glaring at Goku.
"Where are we?"
Goku chuckled. "This is King Kai's planet. He taught me a few things back in the day—and his planet's pretty durable."
"…Noted. Though I've never heard of this King Kai," Axiom replied, glancing around in confusion.
"You've never heard of me?! Hoo… whatever! Goku, why'd you bring someone so evil here?!"
King Kai appeared suddenly behind Goku, shouting.
"Evil?! He's not evil—he's just… uh…" Goku faltered. "He just doesn't seem like it, okay?"
Goku had sensed the malice in Axiom's ki the moment they met. Still, after talking with him, it hadn't felt… right. He just didn't have the words to explain why.
"Uh-huh. Maybe you should've thought that through before bringing him here!" King Kai snapped.
Meanwhile, Axiom had begun to drift, his thoughts elsewhere—questioning Goku's optimism, questioning where he was, and why this place felt so strange.
"Hey! Listen to me!"
Axiom snapped back to attention.
"Hm? Yes, sorry. What is it?"
"Finally! I was saying that I need to read your memories if you're going to stay here," King Kai said, his irritation fading into scrutiny.
Axiom went quiet, considering everything he didn't want known. After a moment, he exhaled.
"I'm sorry. I don't feel comfortable with my mind being read," he said evenly. "If you wish, I can leave this planet."
King Kai narrowed his eyes, stroking his chin thoughtfully. That hadn't been the response he expected.
"…Fine," he said at last. "You can stay. But I'll be keeping my eye on you."
Axiom gave a slight nod.
"Understood."