Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Dragonball, Dragonball Z or any of the characters associated with it.

Authors Note: Hello there! Fujiko here- with a brand new Bra/Goten fanfic! This prologue is the only chapter that will not center around Bra and Goten specifically. In order to be thorough, I wanted to start it off with explaining my version of how the Planet Vegeta came to still exist, therefor putting our favorite characters on that planet instead of Earth. I hope you enjoy!

Red String of Fate

Prologue

Many years ago...

King Vegeta sat in the throne room on Planet Vegeta having a private discussion with his top Elites. There were rumors spreading around that a low class Saiyan was going around ranting that Frieza planned to wipe out the entire Saiyan race and erase the planet from existence along with them. He had been told that the masses did not believe this to be true, and he was thankful because a panic was the last thing he needed at this time. King Vegeta was a smart man. He had worked with Frieza for many years and understood that this rumor could very well be the truth.

Frieza was known for his cruelty. Frieza was known for his power. Most of all, though, Frieza was cunning. That is why he had yet to be defeated. King Vegeta knew this well and he also knew that Frieza may be to the point where he was beginning to see the Saiyans as a threat instead of an ally. King Vegeta cleared his throat, "Bring me Bardock. Quickly." His voice was powerful and demanding. When he spoke, all of the men in the room gave him their full attention.

"Yes, your Highness." One of his men quickly chirped, bowing before his King and exiting the room to do just what he was ordered.

Several hours later the man returned with someone following close behind him. They stopped in front of the King and both fell to their knees in a deep bow. Vegeta cleared his throat and asked them to stand. It was customary that if you were in the presence of the King, you did not speak until spoken to, so the two men stood silently and waited to be addressed. "Bardock, is it?" King Vegeta asked, his dark gaze settled on the second man before him.

"Yes, your Highness." Bardock answered. "I have been trying to get a meeting with you for several days now, but no one would let me in to see you."

King Vegeta brought a hand to his chin to stroke his goatee. "I've heard you have some troubling news. Proceed with utmost haste and explain it to me."

Bardock nodded and proceeding to explain the story of how Frieza had sent him and his team to purge a planet of people who had the ability to see the future. Just as he was killing the last of them, the alien he had been fighting gave him a troubling warning and then passed the powers to him. Soon after that, Frieza's own men came and ambushed his team, killing all of his closest companions. "The mission was too easy. We should have been suspicious. I narrowly escaped." The King noticed that Bardock was clenching his fists so hard that he had pierced the skin of his palms with his nails causing them to bleed. He was also shaking and sweating profusely. These were not the actions of a liar, Vegeta decided.

Bardock continued, "I was unconscious in my space pod on my way back here to heal when the visions first came. They have plagued me ever since and I know them to be the truth. Why else would Frieza be sending his own men to ambush Saiyans that he has sent on false missions? I've heard of it happening to more than just my comrades, and most others haven't been lucky enough to have even one survive." Bardock watched the King intently for his reaction.

King Vegeta grimaced. "And your visions are of Frieza destroying this planet and all of the Saiyans along with it?"

Bardock looked King Vegeta straight in the eyes. "Yes."

"Then we must act quickly."

Thirteen years later...

Prince Vegeta sat in his space pod en-route to a mudball of a planet called Earth. His father sent him to retrieve his new Commander, Bardock's, youngest son. The boy was sent on a purging mission as a baby and hadn't returned. With Bardock's help, King Vegeta staged a rebellion against Frieza and together, with the help of all of the Saiyans on the Planet, they were able to defeat Frieza. The rebellion it's self lasted almost 10 years. King Vegeta's reward for Bardock for telling him of Frieza's plot and then having a major hand in the defeat of Frieza, was first to be re-ranked as elite first class and named Commander of King Vegeta's army. Secondly, his entire family were also given the rank of elite. Thirdly, he sent Prince Vegeta to retrieve Kakarot.

Prince Vegeta was not happy to be sent on a retrieval mission, to say the least. 'What a waste of time.' He thought, grumbling to himself as he watched millions of stars fly past through the small window in his space pod. He was eighteen years old, a man grown by Saiyan standards. He had helped in the defeat of Frieza himself. He believed his own power to have surpassed even his fathers, and yet here he was, on a stupid, pathetic, retrieval mission.

"Two hours until landing." A robotic voice came over the speakers in the pod.

"Wonderful." Vegeta sarcastically grumbled out loud to himself.

He closed his eyes and decided to take a short nap until he arrived at his destination. He was ready to get this over with as quickly as possible. This Kakarot better not give him too much trouble or he may just decide to blast the damn boy to hell for causing him to have to go out of his way in the first place. His last thoughts were of murder as he drifted off to sleep and a dangerous smirk sprang lazily across his mouth.

Meanwhile on Planet Earth...

Bulma smiled and shook her head as she watched the scene in front of her. Goku was stuffing his face, as usual, and Chichi was sitting at the table sighing dreamily as she watched him. The Ox King had been nice enough to let the young adventurers stay in his castle for a while. Chichi's crush on Goku only grew the more time went on and Bulma could not see what the girl saw in the goofy, spiky haired boy, but she supposed that she was happy for them- even if Goku was too clueless to know what was going on.

Bulma felt a small pang of jealousy. She wanted someone to share her life with too. That was the whole reason for this adventure in the first place. She was going to wish for the perfect boyfriend with the dragonballs. Goku possessed the four star ball and would not give it to her so she was forced to bring him along. Now she was glad that she did. They had faced many dangers and without Goku's unusual strength she would have been doomed. Mind you, she wasn't just a normal seventeen year old girl, she was a genius- 'And the most beautiful girl in the entire universe', she amended in her head, but that would have only taken her so far on her own.

Somewhere else on Planet Earth, a Saiyan space pod slammed into the ground, creating a large round crater around it. Vegeta awoke to a beeping sound that signaled he had reached his destination. He climbed out of his pod and looked around. His eyes were greeted with an abundance of the color green. He had landed in a lush forest. He heard creatures all around him chirping and shuffling in the tops of the trees. He frowned. "I'm already annoyed with this planet." Vegeta grumbled.

He clicked a button on the side of his scanner that allowed him to search for the highest power level on the planet. It beeped for a few moments and then an arrow popped up to tell him the direction he needed to go. Vegeta took to the air and flew at his top speed in the direction of the power level.

About fifteen minutes later he could sense that he was very close. He saw a large castle looming ahead and it appeared that this was where the power level was located. 'Has he made himself a King on this planet?' Vegeta wondered, disgusted. He decreased his speed, just a bit, and when he got within a few yards of the castle he stopped and dropped to the ground.

Bulma jumped and Chichi let out a loud shriek when the doors to the room were roughly shoved open causing a bang to resonate through the air and an intruder strode into the room. "Where is Kakarot?" Vegeta demanded.

Bulma turned towards the voice and was stopped in her tracks as she took in the man standing before her. He was small in stature but he held a mighty air of authority about him. From what she could see, he was extremely well built, his chiseled muscles stood out in the tight spandex bodysuit he was wearing. His face was handsome, too. Bulma swooned and felt her cheeks heat up with a blush.

Goku looked up from the meal he was still shuffling into his face and with a mouth full of food asked, "Wha's a kakrot?".

Vegeta scanned his surroundings and grimaced when Goku spoke and some food he was in the process of eating spilled from his mouth. The only three people in the room were the three he saw in front of him- two kids, and an attractive lavender haired woman- but the scouter was saying the power level was here. He looked more closely and noticed the boy had a tail. A Saiyan. Vegeta snorted.

"You." He pointed at Goku and stomped up to him. "You, Kakarot- You are coming with me."

Chichi bristled and stood from her seat. "His name is Goku and he is not going anywhere!", she screamed. "Who do you think you are busting into MY home like you own the place? I'm going to call my father in here and then you will be sorry! Goku is so strong, he can beat you with just his pinky! Just you wai-" Her screaming was cut off when Vegeta threw his hand up to silence her and the force from the motion created a gust of wind that sent the girl flying back a few feet where she landed on her butt with an "Oomph".

"Hey!" Goku cut in, "That was not very nice." Goku stood from his seat and he and Vegeta stood face to face, each sizing the other up. "Why are you calling me that weird name and why do you want me to come with you?"

Vegeta smirked. "Are you brain dead?"

At this, Bulma, who had been standing silently watching the whole scene, snorted with laughter. "He's not brain dead." She shifted her weight and fluffed her hair. "Although, the old turtle hermit did say something about him falling off a cliff and hitting his head when he was a baby." She added as an afterthought and let out a small giggle. "You just aren't making any sense, silly."

Vegeta's eye twitched at being called "silly". These people had no respect. "Let me fill you all in, then." Vegeta puffed out his chest and straightened his back to make himself appear taller before he began. "I am Vegeta, the Prince of a race of people who are called Saiyans. This boy, the one you are calling Goku, is also a Saiyan. His father has asked that I retrieve him and bring him back. His birth name is Kakarot. And yes, he is brain dead if he hit his head hard enough to forget all this. He was sent here to purge this planet, not enjoy the company of females and stuff his face."

"A p-prince?" Bulma stammered. Her heart beat sped up. A real prince. She felt her cheeks flush again.

Goku shot her a confused look. Girls were so weird. Chichi had gotten back up at this point and was standing next to him. "Goku, you can't go." She said quietly in his ear.

Goku looked at her and then back to Vegeta. He wasn't sure what to do. He didn't think he was the person this man thought he was. "I don't want to go. Earth is my home. And I don't think you have the right person." Goku scratched the hair at the base of his skull and frowned.

Vegeta scowled and walked up to Goku, grabbing his tail. "You are a Saiyan. You have a tail." Vegeta let go of Goku's tail and unwrapped his own from his waist to show the boy. "See?"

Goku examined Vegeta's tail for a second and then shot him a defiant look. "I don't care. I'm not going. If you don't leave us alone, I'm going to have to fight you."

"Ah, a defiant one." Vegeta smirked. "Fight me then." He motioned for Goku to follow him outside. Goku complied and the girls followed silently behind.

Once outside, both Goku and Vegeta got into their own fighting stances and the battle began. At first it seemed neither had the upper hand but after a while it was clear Goku was beginning to get worn down and Vegeta hadn't even broken a sweat.

Bulma watched in awe as the strongest boy she knew was beginning to tire and take a beating. She was also in awe at the power this other man possessed. Her eyes roamed his body again and she felt light headed. This was NOT happening. Just as Vegeta landed a blow that sent Goku to his knees, Bulma shouted, "Stop!"

Vegeta turned to look at her. His piercing black eyes were staring daggers through her. Bulma shivered. "You can't take him. I need him. I am a genius scientist and he is helping me with my search for something." She didn't want to tell this man the details out of fear he would want the dragonballs for himself, but she had to do something to stop him from taking Goku.

"Oh? And what is it that you are searching for woman?" Vegeta liked her spirit and the way her eyes had been roaming over his body.

Bulma had to think fast. "Stones. These stones are special and I can get a lot of money for them", she lied.

Vegeta arched an eyebrow. "And how is it that you are finding these stones?"

Bulma looked down at the dragon radar she was wearing around her neck. She didn't want him to know about it. She was trying to think up another lie. Vegeta saw her glance at it and before she could even register what had happened he snatched the radar off her neck. "Hey!" she screamed, indignantly.

Vegeta pressed the button on the top and saw blinking dots appear on the screen. 'Those must be the stones', he thought. He looked up at the woman standing before him.

"You made this?" He asked.

Bulma nodded and made a face at him. "Yes. I told you, I'm a genius. I invent all kinds of things." She bragged. "Now give that back!"

Just then, a thought crossed Vegeta's mind. This woman would be useful as a scientist on Planet Vegeta. Most of their knowledge had come from the tuffles, and they were now extinct. The Saiyans didn't have anyone to advance on the current technology or create anything new. He gave her a predatory glare and smirked.

"Alright woman. I care not about your silly Earth rocks. You may have this back." He mocked, tossing the radar back to Bulma. She sighed in relief. Vegeta walked over and grabbed a beaten and weary Goku by the tail, hauling him up into the air. Goku went limp.

"But, I am still taking the boy." He spoke as he walked towards Bulma, still carrying Goku by the tail. When he reached her, he grabbed her with his other hand and smiled the most evil smile Bulma had ever seen in her entire life. He leaned in close to her face and whispered, "You have earned yourself a trip to my planet as well, woman. You should feel honored. You will be our top scientist." Bulma shivered as his breath tickled the side of her neck and then she promptly passed out. This was just too much for her.

Vegeta took to the air and started to head in the direction of his pod carrying Goku by the tail in one hand and Bulma by her wrist in his other. He was almost there when he noticed a fluffy cloud following behind him. When he landed, the girl that had been with the other two jumped down from the cloud and rushed up to him. "If you are taking Goku, I'm coming too!" Vegeta snorted with laughter.

"Whatever brat. I don't care." Vegeta set the unconscious Bulma down and reached into a compartment in his pod, pulling out two small balls. He pressed a button on each of them and they suddenly blew up into full sized space pods. He threw Goku into one and gave Chichi an expectant look. "Climb in if you are going with him. If you are made a slave when we arrive, it's on you, not me."

Chichi let out a little whimper and looked at Goku. She didn't want to leave Earth but she was in love with him. She made up her mind- If he had to go, she was going too. She climbed in the pod with him. As she did, Vegeta slammed the door of the pod from the outside and she heard it lock. She looked over at Goku and saw that he was unconscious. 'He must really be hurt.' She thought, while snuggling up next to him and patting his hair. As long as they were together, everything would be alright.

Vegeta picked Bulma up and put her in the other pod. He was glad he decided to bring her. She was attractive and she would make a good concubine for him as well as a good scientist, if all she said had been the truth. He climbed back into his own pod after shutting the door to the one he had put Bulma in and set the course for Planet Vegeta.

The three pods took off into space.

...

Authors Note: Well, there it is! The beginning of a new journey! I hope to update with a new chapter once a week so please review and let me know what you think! The rest of the story will focus mainly on Bra and Goten.