A/N: dunseeme741 and I had a casual talk and she asked me what I thought would happen if Vegeta and Bulma met on Earth in a universe where Frieza was killed by Vegeta. Well here's my take on it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball nor do I generate any profit from this. This is for entertainment only.

Note: For this chapter

Italic = the past before destruction of Planet Vegeta aka Vegeta-sei (Vegeta aged 5)

Normal fonts = Present time (Vegeta aged 28, same age during the Freeza Saga)

2nd Note:

Due to the inconsistency of the DBZ timelines in the OVAs and the animation, I'm using 'Bardock – the father of Goku' as a time guideline. So Vegeta is 5 years old when Planet Vegeta was destroyed.

Survivor

~Vegeta-Sei~

Vegeta laid on his bed, his tail swaying in frustration. A part of him was glad his father had decided to exclude him from the usual meeting, involving a certain ice-jin; the other part of him was disquiet... he cursed the ice-jin behind the safety of his room walls.

"Be patient, your highness. One day when you're bigger, stronger, you will break these chains that bind you and take your rightful place as ruler. You will lead your people to glory and all shall know your name" his current temporary babysitter spoke.

"I've heard that many times already, why are you here anyway? Where's Nappa?" Vegeta looked away from her.

Vegeta paid little attention to the third-class female left in his company. He didn't know this female other than she was the mate of another third class warrior who had earned some recognition for his bravery, but still, a low class nonetheless.

"His majesty requested that the commander accompany him, young prince. I will be your guardian tonight" she explained.

Vegeta saw little reason for her to be here, but with every elite at his father's side for the sake of keeping up appearance in front of that ice-jin and the other warriors out, purging planets for that bastard. There were no other candidates for the task.

Hn! It wasn't that he needed babysitting, much less from a low class who, from the looks of her, was likely unable to fight to save her own life, let alone safeguard his. He was more than capable of handling anything that came his way, but it was a custom he couldn't shake off no matter how much he wanted to. Some traditions were rooted deep and dated back many years, deeming the practice more necessary than common sense and this happened to be one of them.

"Ch! I don't need a babysitter and you don't look like you can survive a beating"

"I'm not a fighter, your highness. I'm afraid you will not find me a challenge in a spar" she smiled, not disagreeing with his statement.

"And they let someone like you watch me, are we so short of warriors that they had to make do with weaklings?" he snorted, giving her his back as he turned to his side.

"Your highness is more than capable of defending yourself if trouble finds its way here"

"Damn right. Well? If you're going to stay in here for kami knows how long, then make yourself useful"

"Then perhaps I could tell you a little story?" she suggested.

"I usually spar before I sleep and since you're not here for that, then you might as well bore me to sleep, that'll at least give me some hours of rest"

"Then I'll tell you a story I've heard when I was a young girl.

It happened many years ago. On a planet somewhere very far away, there was once a warlord, a prince in his own right. He was powerful and deadly, leaving countless numbers of bodies wherever he went. He sought to unite as many states as he could conquer; both in and out of his territory, killing their leaders, taking whatever he wanted by force"

"Hn. The weak don't survive, that's the law of survival" Vegeta rolled his eyes, already seeing the end of this story. It was practically the same kind of stories Saiyan mothers liked telling their cubs. "Continue"

"As powerful and unstoppable he may be; he had many enemies. Your highness knows the saying 'know your enemies'. The warlord had many allies but he also had many enemies. One day, the warlord decided to take an overview tour of his conquered lands. He was accompanied by his general; the man in charge of his army.

When they sat down on a field to rest, his general offered him a drink from his waterskin. The warlord accepted; but he was betrayed. His general had laced it with a poison that attacked his nerves, making it difficult for him to fight. The general attacked, intending to kill his former leader, believing he now had the upper hand"

Vegeta raised an eyebrow; deciding there was more to the tale than he initially thought. He opened his eyes, readily pushing sleep aside as he listened to the rest of the tale.

"Despite his handicap and injuries the general inflicted on him, the warlord was a survivor; he fought fiercely for his life, until finally his enemy drew his last breath. The warlord wasn't out of danger yet, he was alone, in the middle of nowhere, bleeding from his wounds; he got up on his feet…?" she stopped and looked towards the door.

Vegeta turned his head towards the door, having heard the light knocks on his door, followed by a voice he recognised; it was the voice of one of his usual guards. He gave the man his permission to enter.

"Your highness" he entered and bowed respectfully, before turning to the female. "You can go now"

She nodded.

"Then I will take my leave. I bid you goodnight, your highness" she bowed.

"What!? Hey! Finish it first!" Vegeta sat up, his reaction betraying his initial front of non-interest.

"Another time, I promise. Rest well your highness" with another bow, she took her leave.

~Present time~

He frowned. He knew he should have left Nappa and Raditz in charge or maybe let his soldiers to do the work, instead of insisting he take charge in the frontline as well; some habits die hard. He was a warrior before he became a ruler and some things are hard to change or adjust to, especially when he was used to leading on the battlefield instead of giving orders from a throne. The task of governing was going to be a challenge for Vegeta, while his father had taught him the basics of royal duties in his younger days; his upbringing focused a lot more on fighting, and then there were his days of servitude in Freeza's army, which only strengthened him in that field.

Vegeta glared at the ground, this wouldn't do… the soil was poor; no crops could grow from it and the humility… it would kill the seeds before anything could sprout.

"Ch! This planet's worthless, not even worth a glance" Raditz kicked a random rock.

"Nothing's even alive here but bugs and there aren't any proper minerals or resources here" Nappa frowned.

"Bloody waste of time" Vegeta narrowed his eyes as he started walking towards the pods. "Nappa! You and Raditz scout. You know how to reach me" he tapped on his scouter.

"Yeah got it. Raditz and I will head out separately and see what we can find, save us some time. Get a move on, Raditz"

3 pods left the inhabitable planet, leaving in 3 different directions.

Something was wrong.

Vegeta's sleep was disturbed by a loud siren, a warning… his screen immediately showed the problem, his pod was heading in the direction of a very large meteor at an alarming speed; giving him no time to change direction or brace for the enormous impact.

…

Vegeta cursed, spitting out blood as he dragged himself from the wreckage of his damaged pod, lying on the grass for a brief moment of rest after his ordeal. He was somewhat lucky… it could have been worse, much worse; his pod had managed to hold itself somewhat together long enough for an ungraceful emergency crash landing, breaking apart after entering the unknown planet's atmosphere.

It wasn't a planet he was familiar with. The galaxy was vast with unknown territory, many of which had yet to be discovered. This planet was one of them and the only hospitable one in the territory he had travelled into.

The downside of his 'lucky' escape was the condition of his body; his pod not being the only thing that had taken a beating from the meteor. The blow of the impact had damage the pod's air tank and disrupted the pressure control unit. The rapid loss of oxygen, the agonising pressure against his chest and the building up burn sensation inside him brought on by the merciless vacuum of space, forced him to take his chances and land on the closest planet.

He wasn't out of danger yet.

The duration of his flight had taken a bit of time. The prolong exposure to the space vacuum had ruptured his insides, likely his lungs, judging by how difficult breathing was; his superior Saiyan genes had helped him survive this long, but if left untreated…

He forced himself to stand, barely able to keep himself upright with his head spinning and the pain pounding hard in his chest with each breath he took. He staggered, distancing himself from the crash site one unsteady step at a time. It was the best he could manage in his current condition.

With sheer willpower, he dragged himself away from the grass field and made his way to what looked like flat solid ground. He barely took a step on the flat ground when a loud shriek and the sound of a roaring vehicle, shocked him.

He jumped out of the way, his survival instincts kicking in despite his battered condition. He landed on his feet, then on his knees as his injuries dragged him down. He hissed in pain; that suddenly jump did nothing good for his already broken body.

"Baka! What are you doing coming out of nowhere! I almost ran you over!"

Instantly, he made himself stand again; refusing to show weakness to anyone. He could barely make out the outline of a person, let alone what she said. His vision was going… and the voice was starting to sound distance… like a fading echo. Shit… consciousness was slipping from him and fast.

"Are you alright?" she came forward, realising the man was bleeding, now that she had a better look at him.

"Stay back…" Vegeta positioned his hand in front of him, channelling enough energy for a ki-blast; making a final stand. It worked. She stayed where she was, but she wouldn't leave.

"Look. I don't know what's your problem but you're hurt and you need help ok? Now put your hand down before you hurt someone"

Vegeta was surprised.

"I don't… need help" Vegeta stubbornly refused to extinguish the ki-blast, supporting his outstretched hand with his other hand.

"Right… honestly, if you're going to play tough guy then try to be more convincing" once again, she didn't back off; instead, she took a step forward and sighed. "You're in bad shape, stop being a stubborn ass"

Vegeta growled. He swore if she took another step he would fire; no more warnings. A gut crashing pain forced him into a crouching position, his ki-blast extinguished in the process. He brought his hand to his chest, the pain coming on in waves.

Blood ran down his lips, and more blood when he coughed; a thick mass of blood, both liquid and partial solidified… that meant he was bleeding internal… it was a bad sign.

Confusion and shock took over when Vegeta felt her support him with her shoulder, bringing his arm over hers; she helped him to his feet. She had managed to invade his personal space and he hadn't noticed…

"No more arguments. You're coming with me"

That was the last thing he heard. He could not have protested even if he wanted to. His world came to a complete stop, his vision blackened as he slipped unwillingly into an unpleasant abyss.

To be continued ~

This story is a short collaboration between dunseeme741 and me. Ideas came from both of us, but... how very smart of her… she got me to do most of the writing. And then she didn't want to sign up for an account here and asked me to use mine. So… here you have it. The first Vegeta and Bulma fic from me.

As always I hope everyone enjoyed this.

Don't forget to tell me what you think, have a great day everyone~ XD