A/N: Well, I'll say it again, sometimes I HATE the Muses! I just got serious about the Dragon Ball fandom in June, and once again the plot bunnies attacked and just WOULDN'T let go, so I decided to at least get this started.

The Prince and the Warrior

Chapter I

Age 737

The young prince Vegeta was quickly closing on his home planet, eager to return home after annihilating all the life on yet another planet. As fun as destroying planets was, being home was always … better somehow. The planet was just appearing in his viewport when he spotted something unexpected: Frieza's ship over the planet. He was just about to use his scouter and ask what was going on when an enormous orange ball of energy was thrown from just above the ship towards the planet, crashing into the surface. And in less time than it takes to tell, the ball had sunk into the planet and destroyed it!

Instantly, Vegeta knew what had happened. "FRIEZA!" In that instant, Vegeta decided he would dedicate his life to destroy the tyrant, but to do that, he would need to escape and train. "Computer, how many Saiyans are out on assignment?" There was a quick response of five, including himself: Nappa, Raditz, Tarble and Kakarot. "So, that's why he called us back, so he could annihilate us! But who is Kakarot? I don't recognize that name," Vegeta said in shock. Kakarot is the son of Bardock and Gine, younger brother to Raditz. Assigned to destroy the population of Earth for Frieza. "Well then, plot a course for Earth. Maybe together we can become strong enough to destroy Frieza and avenge our race!"

Age 739

After two years of travel, Vegeta finally arrived on Earth, fortunately landing close to where Kakarot had landed a short time earlier. Using his scouter, he quickly tracked down the other Saiyan and watched in shock as he was cared for by an elderly human. What shocked him the most though was that, despite how much trouble Kakarot gave the old man, he never even really got angry, nor did he ever show fear of the boy that he had to know was an alien. The old man simply treated Kakarot as if he were a normal child. The more Vegeta watched the old man, the more he came to realize that perhaps Earth would be the one place that he and Kakarot could call home now that their home planet was destroyed.

One day, as he was watching them, he saw Kakarot going towards a point near a ravine, and Vegeta knew that if he fell, he would hurt his head, and Kakarot would be lost. So before that happened, he raced over to the young Saiyan and caught him. "Careful, little one, we wouldn't want you to get hurt now, would we?" Kakarot just gave him a smile and went along.

"Thank you for watching over him, young man. But I must ask, why did you help him?" the old man asked.

"Because he is one of the last of our race. However, I must ask my own question. Why are you being so kind to the boy? You must know that he is not from this planet. And on top of that, he is dangerous and destructive, yet you treat him with such kindness. Why?" Vegeta demanded.

"And why should I not? So, he's more destructive than most boys, so what? We are taught that we should do unto others as we would have them do to us. As such, I am kind to all whom I meet, unless they give me reason to be otherwise. That is why I trained to become a martial artist: to defend myself and those who can't defend themselves."

Vegeta looked at the man in shock. Fight to defend the weak? It was so … different from how Saiyans lived … and how Frieza ruled. Perhaps this radically different method could work to keep the Saiyans alive, as even weak beings can overwhelm a strong one if there are enough of them, assuming they were properly motivated. Well, at the least it couldn't hurt to try it out. "I am Vegeta, prince of the Saiyans, and the boy is Kakarot."

"My name is Son Gohan, and I should warn you that names like that will draw attention to you, attention that I doubt you want to attract right now. Perhaps you should create an Earth name for yourself, as I did for Goku, the boy you name Kakarot." Vegeta considered it, but his pride as a Saiyan prevented him from doing so, even in the interest of self-preservation.

Age 740

When Goku turned five, Vegeta and Gohan started training him, and to Gohan's shock, Vegeta kept pushing Goku until he nearly killed the younger Saiyan. Once Goku was in bed and had started recovering, Gohan confronted the young prince. "What in Kami's name did you think you were doing?! You could have killed him!" Gohan yelled.

Vegeta just took the attack calmly and explained. "I know Kakarot's limits, and I know how much he can take." Then he walked into the room where Goku was recovering. "Do you know why I pushed you so hard, Kakarot?"

Goku shook his head, but smiled at his fellow Saiyan. "No, but I know you were just trying to help."

"You're right, I was. Our people have the ability to grow stronger after every defeat, and the more damage we take, the stronger we get from each battle. And to make us even more dangerous, we learn from every battle. And six months from now, I want the two of you to do the same to me." Gohan gasped in shock at Vegeta's explanation before turning away, muttering about 'insane aliens and their strange traditions.'

Age 745

One morning after a full moon, Goku woke up naked in the midst of a destroyed forest. "Ugh, what happened?"

"I made a mistake," Vegeta said. "For years, Gohan and I have warned you not to look at the full moon, but we have never explained why, nor have I trained you in such a way to make sure that if you ever saw that the moon, it would be no danger. And now we have paid the price for my failure."

It was then that Goku noticed the new grave by their home. "Grandpa Gohan? Is he dead?" Vegeta nodded his head. "Did I kill him?" Goku asked with tears in his eyes.

"In a way," Vegeta said. "You know that the moon reflects the sun's light, which is what allows us to see it in the night sky. What you don't know is that with that reflected light comes a special kind of radiation called Blutz Waves. When a Saiyan with their tail intact absorbs enough of the Blutz Waves, an amount that can only be reached when the moon is full, we go through a transformation. This transformation is the source of our greatest power: the ability to become an Oozaru, or Great Ape. Our Oozaru form is a giant ape that can destroy nearly anything, and few beings can stand against it. The only problem with it is the lack of control that we have over it, which is why your Oozaru form killed Gohan. But from now on, we are going to work on your control over the Oozaru until you can completely control it." Goku hugged him and burst out in tears of thanks. "And one last thing, I doubt that the Earth governments missed your transformation last night. So, we are going to keep what we know a secret, and to do that, whenever we are in front of Earthlings, call me Haruto."

A/N: Vegeta's Earth name of Haruto is Japanese, and I'm going with the meaning of "distant flight" in reference to him being a Saiyan. And for those who might think Vegeta is OOC, remember, he is only 5 when Planet Vegeta is destroyed and he immediately goes to Earth. He is hardly the hardened killer we meet in DBZ and is in fact in the midst of his most formative years.