Disclaimer: I don't own Dargoball Z or any of its characters! They belong to Akira Toriyama! I also don't own the cover image!

Thank you foxyrules for being my Beta! Enjoy :)

The Beginning

Frieza looked outside the viewing window of his ship, but there was nothing but the darkness of space. His arms were crossed above his lower back, his fists clenched so tightly he was drawing blood. The purple liquid ran down his knuckles and dripped to the floor, as his tail whipped the ground irately and with such force that it crumbled, "How dare those worthless fools, attacking my planet?!"

Zarbon swallowed heavily and drew back a few steps. Being around Frieza in this mood was dangerous; "The squad will be arriving any minute now. The people of Sehtd will soon regret that they revolted against you, Lord Frieza!"

The rage about the ambush and an open resistance against his authority burned in Frieza's guts, "They sure will!" Frieza turned around, his cold stare on Zarbon, "Where has that damned monkey got to?"

"I have sent for him, Master. He should...", but the toad got interrupted as the gates to the Lizard's chambers opened and one of his lower soldiers, followed by the Saiyan, entered. The Soldier looked at the ground, the laser gun shaking in his hold, as beads of sweat ran down his face, "Vegeta, as you ordered, Lord Frie..."

A bright beam of red light flashed through the room and the soldier fell down to the ground, blood sputtering out of a hole in his chest. He was on the floor, his eyes wide in shock as he coughed blood. His muscles twitched erratically until the body limped. He was dead.

Lowering his hand, Frieza exhaled deeply. Killing of his menial subjects was soo...calming. He looked at the monkey who waited at the door, "Step forward!"

The Saiyan walked past the dead body without giving it a glance. Frieza knew it took more than that to intimidate Vegeta. He bowed before Frieza ever so slightly, not lowering his gaze, "You have summoned me, Master Frieza."

Frieza's tail lashed trough the air, the monkeys recalcitrance angered and amused him at the same time, "As you know, the situation on Planet 419 has come to a head. I have a mission for you. So far you have proven yourself to be useful in matters of planet takeover. But in order to advance in this game you will have to prove yourself in other skills as well."

"Who would you like me to kill, Lord Frieza?"

"I'm not sending you to 419 to kill, Vegeta. This mission that I am sending you on is of the utmost importance. There is an asset that I would like you to collect. More valuable than the planet, this asset is irreplaceable."

"What am I to retrieve?"

"A scientist."

Vegeta's face showed a moment of confusion. Frieza had his share of brilliant minds forced to work for him and he never showed any more interest for their safety than anyone else. All were expendable to Frieza.

"This one is special. You are not to engage in fighting the rebels except on the basis of retrieving this asset. You are not there to have fun. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my lord"

"Your scouter has been given the ID for the scientist's tracer microchip."

Vegeta checked his scouter and saw the signal. Without waiting for permission, he turned around to leave. "Consider it done, Lord Frieza."

Frieza's eyes narrowed. A familiar anger soared in his guts that only the monkey managed to evoke. Frieza closed in, winding his tail around Vegeta's throat, "You should watch your manners around me, Monkey."

Vegeta returned Frieza's glare showing no emotion, only the Saiyan's tail twitched around his waist, "Yes, Master."

Frieza's tail tightened around Vegeta's throat. Over the years it had become increasingly difficult to tease out reactions from his favourite pet. Much to the lizards regret, "There are only few soldiers I trust with such an assignment, Vegeta. Needless to say what will happen, if you fail me."

Now, Vegeta was struggling to breath and his hands clawed around the lizard's tail as he lifted him off the ground. Frieza savoured this superiority. The less he was able to break the Saiyan's will, the more he relished forcing his servant into submission. He let go and Vegeta fell to his knees in front of his master, coughing for air. Smiling, Frieza looked down at the monkey to his feet, "You may leave."

oOo

Vegeta examined the sore skin on his neck, where Frieza had strangled him, as he made his way to the launch station. He got off lightly, this time. He knew Frieza allowed him to get away with certain things. Others would have long been killed. But Frieza favoured him, the very reason, why he'd been obliged into Frieza's service all these years ago. His fists clenched. He hated being ordered around like a dog, forced into obedience to that bastard. The rage and anger that he had been suppressing began to seethe inside him, mixed with that overwhelming feeling of helplessness.

He yelled out and plunged his fist inside the metal wall. The material was some of the strongest in the universe and left his knuckles bleeding. Being so completely powerless and giving in to these emotions sent self-loathing through him. It was disgraceful. If he'd learned one thing in this place, then it was to never show weakness.

The soldiers guarding the door stepped aside as they saw Vegeta approaching, not daring to look at him. Vegeta entered the station. Space pods were launching and landing, soldiers yelling orders and repair squads were running maintenance. Vegeta walked to his allocated ship, it was a space pod designed for two people. He jumped in, the cover shut, and he set the coordinates. Estimated arrival was in 5 hours.

The ship launched and catapulted itself into space. Vegeta leaned back; he closed his eyes as he folded his arms over his chest, exhaling deeply. He always felt relieved whenever he started a new mission and got away from Frieza. It was almost as if he was free.

Only a short chapter, but there is more to come! Hope you didn't mind the little tfs-refrence :D Thank you for reading!