Vegeta Magic

by Tridentwatch

Vegeta is weaker than Goku. He travels to an alternate universe where he can be the best but things don't go as planned and he loses his powers. Plus he is stuck in the body of an eleven year old... Harry Potter.

VEGETA POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

VEGETA IS WEAKER THAN GOKU. HE CANT TAKE THE SHAME SO HE TRAVELS TO ANOTHER DIMENSION WHERE HE LOSES ALL HIS POWERS BUT POSESSES A BABY BOY NAMED HARRY POTTER.

CHAPTER ONE

Yesterday was the day he realized how useless and futile his quest was. Just looking at the man brought bile to his throat and made him feel sick. His hated rival, Goku. He could never surpass Kakarot, Vegeta realized. Never. Impossible.

No matter how hard he worked, how much he sweated, how much he bled and toiled and cried and fought and punched and took punches... He could never surpass Son Goku. A life long struggle to be the best had left Vegeta weary and tired of the world. So what if he was a super Saiyan? So what if he had a loving family, or a good home? It was all worth nothing because his dream was gone. Crashed. Over. Gone in a flash.

How could he surpass a man who practically smelt of pure power, simple and untainted with ambition or menacing intent? The fact was, he couldn't. Vegeta had reached his limits, the end of the tree, the end of the tunnel, the top of the mountain. He could not go further, and right now he didn't feel like he wanted to.

Vegeta reclined back in the armchair and took another sip of bitter beer. The radio static made a nice background noise in the little room - once an attic, now Vegeta's private thinking room. Nobody disturbed him here, not Trunks, his son, not Bulma, his wife, and not Goku, his arch-rival.

Vegeta took another sip and reached out with one arm to the radio. He changed the music to something soft and sad and classical. It fitted his mood perfectly. Vegeta sighed, the sigh of a man who had nothing to live for anymore, like a C.E.O who had lost a multi-billion dollar company and was on the edge of bankruptcy, like a lover who had lost his partner to death, like Vegeta who just gave up his dream.

His mind drifted back to Yesterday...

The Buu scenario had given him a hint, how even with the power of Babbadi and his Maajin Magic, Vegeta could not surpass Goku. How even when they were morphed together, Goku was always the better half. Vegeta could feel it inside himself, no matter how much he wanted to deny it.

Yesterday, Bulma decided to host a picnic in the evening shade and invited Z-team and all their families. They had a fun dinner, filled with jokes and laughs, music and partying and everyone had a good time. Except Vegeta who brooded in the corner.

Everyone noticed, but nobody had the balls to mention it. Nobody except Goku, however who walked right up to Vegeta and leant on the tree beside him. "What's got you so annoyed, Vegeta?" Goku asked good naturedly. "You should loosen up a little, yuh know?"

"I know." Vegeta snapped. "Leave me alone."

"You sound like Gohan when he was a teenager." Goku said, a smile on his face. "Come on, I know what will cheer you up."

Vegeta cast an evil eye at Goku, "What?"

"A fight!" Goku exclaimed. "You and me at Kami's look out."

Vegeta got interested, he couldn't help it. "I would love to test my strength against you, Goku."

"Great. But first, let's have a bit of fun, eh?"

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. He looked around at the others, Bulma was watching him out of the corner of her eye, looking concerned, while the rest were eating from the huge picnic baskets Bulma had packed: Chicken Drumsticks, packs of beer and coca-cola for the kids, Chips, Cake, Cookies, Greek Salad, Samasos...

"What do you mean?" Vegeta asked.

"We can't fight on a hungry stomach. Let's have an eating contest." Goku shouted out the last two words. "First one to win gets first punch?"

Vegeta nodded sourly, and followed Goku to the food. They had a fun eating contest, with the rest of the Z-team joining in. Goku won, he ate like a pig, and everyone, including Vegeta, expected it. Vegeta came in at a good second as he shoved everything within his hand's reach into his mouth.

When everyone was full and the food was gone, Vegeta stood up. "Come on, Kakarot." Vegeta looked to the darkening sky, "Hurry up if you want to get home by tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, yeah." Goku said, sighing a bit. "Let's have the fight I promised you." Goku looked at the others, "Hey guys, Vegeta and I are going to take the night off. You all have fun by yourselves, okay?"

"A fight? You and Vegeta are fighting? You'll blow up the whole planet!" Yajirobe said. He was the big fat Samurai that came in at third at the eating contest.

"Don't go, Vegeta. The party is just starting." Bulma wailed. "Chi-chi, help me out."

"I agree with Bulma," Chi-chi said. She was Goku's wife, always the calm, sensible one with a fiery temper. "It's extremely bad manners to leave the picnic when the host wants you to stay, Goku."

"Sorry, guys. But I promised Vegeta."

"Hey Goku! Can I watch?" Tenshinhan asked. He had three eyes and constantly tried to improve himself. He and Piccolo had the same kind of rivalry Goku and Vegeta had but on a much lesser level.

"I would like to watch also," Piccolo said calmly. "I am sure we all want to watch you fight. Perhaps if Bulma and Chi-chi would be so kind to clean up after us, then we can all leave."

Bulma glared at the green Namek. "This isn't fair! We still need to get to the deserts."

"Enough babbling, woman!" Vegeta finally snapped, glaring at them all. Bulma flinched as if she had been slapped. "Any of you who want to come can come. Kakarot and I are going to be having a fight at Kami's Lookout." He whirled around at Goku. "Come on," He growled and grabbed Goku's shoulder and lifted him up in the air.

"Hey, wait up!" Goku whined.

"No, enough waiting. I am tired of waiting. Let's go, now!" Vegeta exclaimed. He sped along to Kami's lookout faster and faster. Goku shoved out of Vegeta's grasp, glared at him, but flew alongside him. Behind them, all of the Z fighters could be heard saying, "Wait up!" They were following as well.

Vegeta looked back in the distance and saw Bulma's teary face. His heart gave a pang, but he ruthlessly pushed it aside. 'Where is your inner fire, Saiyan prince? Where is that hard iron resolve? Have I lost it?'

He went even faster, and activated to the next level: Super Saiyan. All the training he had been doing the last year when the world was at peace from the last evil reign (Maajin Buu) and most of the Z-fighters started to become lazy, made Vegeta's transformation instant. He glowed in yellow Ki, his hair turned blonde, and his eyes changed color to turquoise. Behind him he heard Goku's transformation. Goku and Vegeta easily kept pace, but the rest of Z team was left behind.

"You seem awfully eager, Vegeta." Goku remarked from behind him. "Have you been training a lot?"

"Yes," Vegeta replied. "I have been training. You?"

"Nope, not really. Just easing through. Once in a while I spar with Gohan and Goten, but… What about Trunks? Do you train with him?"

Vegeta didn't reply. Instead he put on another burst of speed and went even faster. Of course Goku put on his own burst of speed as well so they evened out. Finally after a good fifteen minutes of flying in super saiyan form, Vegeta caught sight of Kami's tower. It was like a huge platform on half a top. The pointy end was at the bottom, where it connected to a tall white tower structure.

They landed on the platform with a thud, making cement cracks and dust fly up in the air. Vegeta glanced at the gloomy sky, and it started to rain. Slowly at first but harder and harder as time went on.

"Shall we wait for them?" Goku asked, unusually serious.

"Yes. There must be witnesses." Vegeta said, his voice hard and cold and biting, like the wind that cut through him. He shivered in his blue spandex suit, and powered up even harder. He started doing some stretches and saw Goku doing the same. He was dressed in an orange spandex suit, or maybe red. Red vs. Blue. Goku vs. Vegeta, he thought ironically.

Ten minutes later the Z-fighters landed on the white platform at Kami's lookout. They were panting hard, and sweating as well. "Why did you go so fast?" Tenshinhan asked, looking really strained. Piccolo had sweat beads lining his green face, but his eyes were hard and he was staring at Vegeta. "How big is the fight?"

"Where are the rest of your circus troops?" Vegeta asked, raising an eyebrow at Tenshinhan and Piccolo, the only ones who were there.

"They quit," Tenshinhan said. "Couldn't keep up with you two super saiyans."

Vegeta smirked and turned to Goku. "Shall we?"

"I get first punch right?"

"Yes. I always keep my word. You get first punch." Vegeta powered up to super saiyan two, and he radiated Ki energy like a star. Piccolo and Tenshinhan covered their eyes from the strong wind that was brewing from the prince of Saiyans and braced themselves.

"I will show you my training, Kakarot." He licked his lips and pushed his arm up to the sky. Then he gathered Ki in the palms of his hands and just kept gathering… "Your punch, Kakarot."

Goku looked alarmed at Vegeta, and chuckled. Perhaps trying to diffuse the intense situation. "Come on, Vegeta. We don't want to destroy the planet. Power down."

"No!" Vegeta snapped. "We are at Kami's lookout. Nothing will happen to your precious planet. Now punch already!"

"Okay, you asked for it." Goku crouched a bit and started to power up. "Ah." He groaned and went to super saiyan two as well, just like Vegeta. They both were brewing up a storm, as the clouds up in the sky were travelling in circles like a whirlpool, or a tornado. "Are you ready?"

Vegeta sneered. "I was born ready. Go!"

Goku ran at him full speed, his footsteps breaking into the concrete, and aimed a punch at Vegeta's jaw. Vegeta blocked it with his knee but was still flung back a bit. However his arms and hands stayed in the same position, gathering up Ki energy. His hands took on an eeiree color: Blue and purple and Green at the same time like a rainbow. It moved as well.

"What are you doing?" Goku asked, eyes narrowed. "You are gathering up too much energy. You will blow this place up."

"You had your punch. My turn." Vegeta said. Then he aimed his hands from the sky straight to Goku. Goku tensed in anticipation and prepared for a Kamehamaha. But Vegeta didn't fire a blast at all. He simply kept gathering up Ki.

Goku stopped and frowned. "I need to stop you from whatever you are doing. This is getting too dangerous, Vegeta. When I said fight, I meant a friendly spar."

"No. We will fight." Vegeta said, "Come on at me, Kakarot!"

"You asked for it," Goku said, and powered up to Super Saiyan three. Vegeta didn't even bat an eye and simply kept gathering up Ki. Now he was bathed in a kaleidoscope of different colours all over his body. He heard Tenshinhan say to Picollo, "What do you think Vegeta is doing?"

Picollo replied, "He is making a shield of some sort around his body. I have never seen anything like it before."

"Close, but not quite." Vegeta smirked. "This is my version of super saiyan three."

Goku had finished powering up. He grinned and gave Vegeta a thumbs up. "Good luck," He cried and rushed at Vegeta with a playful fury.

Goku was surrounded in Ki energy and radiated it. He was like a light bulb, never kept the light inside but gave it off outward. Vegeta however stored his energy inside himself, and didn't let the super yellow stuff show out. Thus his skin was all sorts of different colours – the energy inside trying to get out.

Goku kicked Vegeta right in the stomach. Vegeta didn't even bother to block it, and stood still like a rock. When Goku landed back, Vegeta flew right at Goku and smashed into him skull to skull. Goku flew backward a few feet, landed on his hands and back flipped. Once his left foot hit the ground, he pivoted in the direction of Vegeta and flew at him with his fists outstretched and giving off Ki like a thousand suns.

Vegeta was a black hole. His skin stopped showing off light anymore and his hair and eyes went back to their normal color. Goku stopped mid air in confusion, "You are stopping?" He asked, frowning.

"No." Vegeta replied and slammed his clenched fist into Goku's gut. Goku, who was still in super saiyan three, gasped in pain as a bit of blood shot out from his nose. "I do not give up."

"How-" Goku leapt back. "How are you so strong? You aren't even in super saiyan mode."

"Wrong." Vegeta replied. "I am in super saiyan mode. Just a type you don't know about. I invented it myself. You like?"

Goku spit a ball of green phlegm on the platform and tensed. "Inventive," He said, and leapt back into the fight.

Punch.

Kick.

Shove.

Skull crack.

Slap.

They moved as if they were in a dance, hypnotized. Vegeta took a few punches on his jaw and a kick to the thighs, while Goku took a few more punches to the gut and Vegeta threw in a slap as well. They both parted, panting heavily, scratched all over the place.

"You have grown stronger." Goku remarked. "This is really good improvement, Vegeta."

Vegeta sneered. "You have grown weaker. Come on, show me your true power!"

Goku shook his head, "It's not necessary. Why can't we ever just have a friendly fight?"

Vegeta snarled. "Because you are my arch rival, Kakarot. A lowly saiyan like you… surpassing the prince of Saiyans. I won't stand for it!" Vegeta raised to fingers in the air, straight at Goku and shot a pink beam of light. Goku dodged, moving with blinding speed and landed a punch to Vegeta's shoulder. Vegeta braced himself and once again cracked Goku's skull with his own. Goku was shoved back a few feet. He rubbed his head and muttered, "Ow, why do you have to keep doing that?"

"You shouldn't worry. It's not like there is anything in there." Vegeta said and shot another beam of light at Goku. Goku dodged, but the beam hit the ground and sent rubble in the air covering the whole place with dust.

Once the dust cleared, Vegeta's heart froze. Goku was standing in the middle with a little smirk on his face. Vegeta shot a few more blasts at Goku, ten of them in quick succession. Goku flung them back with his fists and sent blasts along with it. Vegeta jumped high into the air, so high that Piccolo looked nothing more than a green maggot. He extended his hands outward to the Kami lookout, palms facing it. Then he shot off a beam of energy like the Kamehameha. It was crimson red, like anger or blood.

"Kamehameha!" Goku shouted from the Kami's lookout, and red beam met blue beam. They both seemed evenly matched.

Vegeta groaned and put everything into it. All his energy at once. The red beam started engulfing the blue beam, and he heard a shout from below, "Stop! You'll destroy the planet!" Vegeta smirked. Now he knew Goku would put his all in as well, matching strength for strength. The blue beam evened out and became stronger as well. Vegeta pushed harder and harder, but he couldn't make the red beam push more. In fact it slowly but surely started to retreat.

Vegeta's eyes widened. He pushed even harder, using up all his energy at once. It was met by a stone wall – the Kamehameha from Goku.

Still they pushed. The struggle went on for a few minutes, and Vegeta did not relent. Instead he pushed harder and harder and harder but did not seem to make any progress. The beams evened out once again trapped in a standstill.

Vegeta smirked, "I know how to do this," He said to himself and sucked in a deep breath. His lungs turned the air into concentrated amounts of Ki, and as the balls of energy shot up from Vegeta's throat he could feel it burn. Not much but he could feel it.

Then he let the balls loose – they curved around the two beams (the blue light was overtaking the red one now) and exploded at the Kami's lookout. This proved enough distraction, it turned out as a scream of pain was heard from below, and the Kamehameha was dissapitated. The red beam completely engulfed the look out and vaporized it. Piccolo, Tenshinhan and Goku leapt off just in time as it blew up.

Kami's lookout was no more.

"Look what you did Vegeta!" Goku said angrily. "Enough is enough. I wanted a friendly fight, but you have just turned this into a war. I don't want to fight you anymore." Goku turned and started heading back.

Vegeta's face turned red in anger and a bit of embarrassment at being so easily refuted. "Come back here, Kakarot!" Vegeta cried. "Come back!"

He shot off a few more balls of black energy, highly explosive, at Goku's back. Goku, still in super saiyan three, activated more of his power and the balls dissapitated before it even reached Goku.

Vegeta growled angrily, and his skin started showing more of the energy threatening to get loose.

He let loose with everything he had, narrowed down into one huge beam of energy ten times bigger than the red one. Vegeta had his hands extended to his sides, palms facing Goku's retreating back. "Die!" He yelled and let loose.

"Goku! Look out!" Tenshinhan shouted, "He's going to destroy the planet!"

Goku whirled around angrily, "I said enough was enough, Vegeta!" He cried and started his own Kamehameha.

The red beam met the blue beam once again, but instead of a standstill, the blue beam was slowly gaining. Goku cried out and powered up to Super Saiyan four. Vegeta clenched his eyes shut, blinded by the intense white light Goku was giving off. 'Goku reached Super Saiyan four!" Vegeta cried out in his mind. He pushed harder, but his own homemade super saiyan form was no match for super saiyan four.

The blue beam rushed at Vegeta and sliced through his Ki like butter. It hit Vegeta in the chest and exploded. The dust settled, leaving Piccolo looking curious, Tenshinhan horrified, Goku panting hard and… Vegeta, unconscious, falling to the ground of the Earth.

When Vegeta woke up he was in the hospital – a white room. He was strapped to a bed, with needles and wires sticking out of his arms, and fluid going through them. He snapped them off and got up, groaning in pain as he did so. His back felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand swords, but he got up, slowly but surely.

Then he started walking. Every step was hell, but he walked. He knew where this was, a personal room reserved just for him. He walked to the bathroom and gazed into the mirror at his reflection: He had a black eye, what looked like a broken nose, a bump on his forehead, and was covered with bandages. His left arm was in a cast and there were scratch marks and scars all over his body.

He remembered last night. He lowered his head in shame… ALL MY TRAINING! I HAD LOST! GOKU HAS ASCENDED AND I AM LEFT BEHIND!

He remembered the picnic – Bulma, he had hurt her terribly he knew. But he had not cared last night. Trunks was at a party last night but… Vegeta vaguely remembered a promise he had made to his son a year ago about how he would never fight Goku. It had made sense after all back then, but his inner ambition had clouded his mind.

Vegeta sighed, and felt like he was useless. He was not the strongest fighter – Goku could take care of the Earth just fine. He was not a good husband, and definitely not a good father.

He was… Useless.

And that's when a plan started forming in his mind. A plan that would take him to the edge of the universe and beyond. Another universe where he was all alone, where he could be in peace, be the best without contenders.

The plan started taking shape, pieces started falling in place.

Vegeta took a long gulp of beer, crushed the can in his fists and got off the armchair. He went outside into the cool night, and did IT.
HISTORY LESSON FROM WIKIPEDIA: The Dragon Radar was built by Bulma, and is used to find Dragon balls very quickly when compared to conventional methods. This is due to the fact that Dragon balls emit a faint electromagnetic pulse, which the Radar can detect. It then points arrows in the directions of nearby Dragon balls. Pressing the button on the top can cause the view to zoom out and show more and more of the planet.

---

I Stand Alone

Summary: DBZ/HP Crossover. Vegeta sacrifices most of his power to go to a universe where he can be the best.

CHAPTER TWO

Vegeta was wearing faded jeans and a white t-shirt. He shivered in the cold. He powered up a bit and the cold disappeared instantly. He gulped, looked back at the conservative house his family lived in, looked away and started walking. His boots echoed loudly in the empty street. Thump, thump, thump.

He fished around in his back pocket, The dragonball radar hummed as he pressed the button and turned it on. The screen lit up – it showed a map, and a glowing red symbol upward. North.

Vegeta powered up to super saiyan with a groan. He was still stiff from his fight last night. Then he leapt up in the air and started flying.

"Once I find the dragon balls, I will wish myself away into another universe." Vegeta said to himself and flew forward even faster. He was like a blur of light, and the farmers and civilians below thought they saw a flying comet. Vegeta glanced at the radar, the red dot was beeping softly. He was getting closer. He put on another huge burst of speed, and soon the radar started really beeping angrily.

Vegeta stopped in mid air and looked down below. This was an old Red Ribbon Army military base, now abandoned. He had heard about it before from Bulma, and didn't think them much. There were still overturned tanks around on the muddy field – the size of two football fields at most – and they were blasted apart as well. There was a sign on a long fence that surrounded the base. It said, "CAUTION – MINE FIELD – NO ENTRY" Vegeta however paid no attention to it. He landed on the field, mud splattered his white boots, but he paid no attention. He was focused on finding the dragon balls as soon as possible.

Goku and the others were going to start searching for the dragon balls soon because Shenlong the great dragon of Earth had a year and the dragon balls were recharged now. They could make one wish with the dragon balls, and the dragon would grant it. However, to make the wish Vegeta needed all seven dragon balls and he needed to summon it alone in a secluded location. He could not have anyone interfering with it.

Vegeta walked forward warily, the dragon radar in one hand. He knew that once Shenlong spread the dragon balls they usually spread to dangerous places. He looked around, the sky was dark and cloudy and a little shower of rain hit Vegeta's wild black hair. He scowled. He did not like anyone messing with his hair.

The abandoned base had a few steel buildings that were covered in graffiti and mud. They were no doubt barracks and military buildings. Vegeta briefly complented just blasting this place to Kingdom Come, since the dragon balls were pretty much indestructible. No, that would attract too much attention. Vegeta decided. He would be noticed missing by next morning at the latest and he had to work fast now.

"Dragon balls… Where are you?" He asked himself as he kept walking around. The radar showed the red dot, exactly where it was but it wouldn't go into details. Stupid radar, Vegeta grumbled in his head. When I get home, I'm gonna have Bulma build me a better one.

I won't go home.

I am not going back.

The decision he had made really hit him then, and a sharp wave of nostalgia erupted in his stomach. He could go back now, he could give this up… What a stupid plan, to go and run into another universe just so he could be number one. To abandon his family and-

NO! I AM THE SAIYAN PRINCE. I MUST BE THE BEST!

He remembered his father, back on Planet Vegeta. They were in the residency area on a space shuttle going at high speeds to the planetary overlord, Freeza. King Vegeta was smoking a cigar, and he looked really worried. His eyes were bloodshot red, like he hadn't got any sleep. Vegeta also noticed that he looked like he had lost weight. He also had a strange limp, supposedly from a big battle but Vegeta had his suspicions… Freeza. He had met Freeza only once and that experience had sent him nightmares.

"A time is going to come, my son, when you will have to make a choice." His father said to him that day while looking out the window at the stars outside. It was a particularly beautiful sight, spoiled by a bitter taste in what was to come.

"What kind of choice, father?" Vegeta said, ever so formal. His tail was tied around his waist and he stood straight and tall, like a general. His hands were behind his back and he had a power recorder on his left eye strapped to his ear. He still wore the blue suit, even as a kid.

"A choice between doing what is right, and doing what you need for power." His father said. "Do you know what that means, son?"

"Yes. Doing what is right is when I have to help my peers in battle…?"

"Kind of." His father sighed and rubbed his eyes. "The other part, my son?"

"Power as in to increase in strength and be a better fighter? The motto of the saiyan race?"

"Yes. When you have to make a choice like that – and I know you will – you will have to decide what is best. This is something only you can decide, my son." He turned away, a tear running down his face. Vegeta couldn't see it, and if he had his decision today might have been different.

"What would you do, father?" The child Vegeta asked, curious.

"I have already made the decision. I chose power." His father said stonily and left the room.

-00

"I am only following your footsteps, father." Vegeta said to himself as he looked around the base. He raised a fist in the air, gathered Ki and let loose a blast on the ground. There was no way he was going to dig for a dragon ball using a mere shovel. The ground blew apart like a bomb and ironically that blast set off the mines all over the field.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Vegeta jumped in the air in surprise and partly reflex as a huge chain reaction set off and evaporated the ex army base. Vegeta growled to himself, "There goes my plan for not attracting attention."

The blast was enormous and probably caught the attention of the nation's military forces.
There was a huge crater in the ground – two hundred feet wide and twenty feet deep. In the middle of the crater was a shiny orange object that made Vegeta's heart race. "This is it? Is that the dragon ball?" He zoomed in closer and grabbed the dragon ball from the ground. "A one star dragon ball. The very first one. This was too easy." He smirked, if all the other dragon balls were this easy to get, he would be in his new universe in no time.

The year was almost over, a week was left or so and the Z fighters had talked about having a race, to see who would get to the dragon balls first. Vegeta smirked to himself, "The early bird gets the worm, Kakarot." He carried the dragon ball in his other hand, the one without the dragon radar and flew off.

"I need a knapsack to carry all the dragon balls I am going to find," Vegeta said to himself. "Holding them like this is too inconvenient."

His stomach rumbled in hunger, and he added, "And provisions to last for at least two or three days." There was a town nearby, a small one. Towns usually have stores, a place to buy goods. Vegeta didn't have any money on him but that didn't stop him.

He made his way to the general goods store in ten seconds flat thanks to his super saiyan powers and quickly rushed inside. The place was well lit, and open till midnight. He checked the clock on the wall, "Twelve PM" It said.

"Can I help you, sir?" A chubby man with a small moustache and a huge gut said in an oily voice. "This place will be closing down soon, so you better hurry up."

"I need a bag of some sort, and food. Where are they?" Vegeta snapped, a bit annoyed at the thought of such a weak human trying to bully him to hurry up.

"Right," The chubby man went away for a bit in one of the back shelves and came back with a bag. "Here's the best one." The man said and thrust it into Vegeta's arms. "It will cost two thousand ryu."

Vegeta's eye twitched at the extremely large price. Does this stupid oaf think I am dumb? Vegeta thought to himself.

"Food?"

"How about some candy bars?" The chubby man said. "We are closing, so you need to hurry up."

Vegeta nodded. "Okay, bring whatever you have."

The man took the knapsack from Vegeta's hand, ran off and came back with the knapsack filled to the brim with candy bars. "This will be two thousand and three hundred ryu, sir. Will that be cash, or credit card?"

Vegeta sneered. "Neither." He said and blasted a hole into the wall. He grabbed the brown knapsack from the man's arms, replaced the dragon ball with a candy bar and flew off into the night.

"Hey come back here!" The store owner shouted at him.

"This just made my day," He said, ripping into the chocolate snack and taking large bites. He looked to the radar, the next closest dragon ball was two hundred miles away. He sighed to himself. "At least it's not half way around the globe."

Ten minutes later, Vegeta wished it was half way around the globe. The dragon radar told him that while the dragon ball was not halfway around the globe it was somewhere much worse: Goku's House. He paced the sidewalk a few feet from Goku's little shanty. It was a red house with four bedrooms and a huge kitchen. Vegeta had been in there once, at Gohan's birthday.

"How the hell am I gonna get the dragon ball right from under Kakarot's nose?" Vegeta asked himself tensely as he kept pacing. He thought up a few ideas, the worst being sneaking around which he would surely be caught thanks to Goku's sharp senses and the other…

Deception. Kakarot was not particularly bright, and Vegeta knew for sure he could pull it off. Well not for sure, but he hoped so. Or else his plan was down the drain and he would have to face the rest of his life with the humiliation of being bested by the clown of all saiyan warriors. He walked up to the house and knocked the little bell thingy.

Ding Dong.

Ding Dong.

Ding Dong.

There was a grumbling shout from the house, "I'm coming!" and a noise of a pot being broken on the floor. An expensive vase more like it, Vegeta winced in sympathy. He knew what it was like to break one of the wife's household items.

Vegeta scowled angrily at himself at the thought of being so weak hearted. "I need to toughen up," He said in his mind. Then he schooled his features into a blank expression as the door opened.

Goku squinted out, sleepy and looking extremely annoyed. "Who is it?" He moved a bit forward. "Vegeta?" He asked, a bit nervously. "What are you doing here."

Vegeta sighed, and stepped back a bit. He would have to swallow his pride for now and be a bit more convincing. "Kakarot-" He stopped mid sentence. "Goku," He said grudgingly.

Goku's eyes widened. "That's the first time you have called me by my real name."

Vegeta gave a theatrical sigh, sad and apologetic at the same time. "I came to tell you that I am sorry." Vegeta said.

Goku blinked.

Then he blinked again.

And again.

And a bit more for good measure.

"What?"

Vegeta scowled, "I said I was sorry, alright!"

"Okay, okay, don't get mad now." Goku said, a bit embarrassed. "Wow, I have never heard you apologize before."

"For last night. It was not befitting a saiyan prince to leave a dinner and start a fight with his ally." Vegeta lied. "I endangered Earth and blew up Kami's tower."

Goku could only say… "Wow."

"To make up for it I will get the dragon balls."

Goku blinked.

And blinked again.

"I thought we were having a contest?"

"No need for that. I will find the dragon balls myself and then we will wish everyone who was killed by Maajin Buu back to life."

"Well, I never knew you had a nice side to you." Goku joked. It fell flat on Vegeta.

"Right… Next year, we can wish the Kami tower back. How about that?" Vegeta held out his arm in a handshake.

Goku instantly took it, a big grin on his face. "Does that mean you will be my friend now?"

"Yes. I am your arch rival no longer."

The grin got bigger. "Well this is something, wait till I tell Chi-Chi and the others."

Vegeta's eye twitched. "Whatever."

He pulled out the dragon radar from his back pocket, "This little machine says you have the dragon ball." He took his own dragon ball from his pocket, "Here is the one I found."

Goku narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Is that why you are apologizing, to get my dragon ball?"

"Yes."

Goku's eyes widened, and he laughed. "Vegeta, I always thought you were a bit more subtle."

Vegeta scowled, "I apologized because I felt you deserved an apology. Words mean nothing if they are not backed up by action. That is why I am offering to find the dragon balls. Now, can I please have your dragon ball?"

Goku laughed again, a small embarrassed flush on his face. "Yeah, sure. Gimme a sec." He went back inside and brought a four-star dragon ball. "I always try to keep this with me," He said and handed it to Vegeta. "Don't keep us waiting," He called out as Vegeta grabbed the ball, and put it in his knapsack as he flew away.

"I won't," Vegeta said, smirking. "Have a candy bar," He threw a few bars to a grateful Goku.
'I wish I had the foresight to poison them…' Vegeta muttered to himself as he went off to find the next dragon ball.

The next closest ball was about a few thousand miles away… At the bottom of a lake. Vegeta came to it in the dead of night, a storm brewing and high freezing winds that cut to the bone. He sneezed, and wondered if he was catching a cold.

No way. A saiyan never fell prey to disease and illness. But still, it was really cold. Vegeta raised his palms outward. "What the hell, I need the heat!" He exclaimed, and blasted the lake with all his energy.

The lake started steaming up. Vegeta conjured a ball of yellow light, and levitated it on top of the lake. He could see the whole thing now, it was about two miles wide or so he thought, but he was pretty sure his measurements were accurate from up top. Vegeta pondered what to do… should he waste energy and blast the lake to kingdom come and hope for the best? Or should he take the dragon radar and actually swim to the dragon ball.

He sighed, hoped the lake was warm, put his knapsack filled with the two dragon balls - one a one star dragon ball and the other a four star dragon ball - near the shore of the lake. Then he stripped of his jeans and white shirt, and jumped right in with a big splash.

Vegeta sighed in contentment. This lake was really steaming hot, much better than the freezing cold and rain that was starting up. He washed away the sweat and grime that had stuck on his body from the little military base explosion thing and even did a few laps for fun. Then he went back to the shore where his knapsack was, grabbed the radar and started swimming underwater with a chakra ball for light in his other hand.

The lake looked quite frightening because of the shadows the little fish made from the light from his yellow ball of light. But he swam further and turned the radar on. Immediately it started to beep. He pressed the button on the bottom and the screen showed the map of the lake. He was close. He swam some more and now the radar showed he was right on top of the dragon ball.

He landed on the bed of the lake, tapped down with his feet, and started to feel his lungs burn. He needed more air! Quickly he swam up, and started gasping and panting. He shouldn't have stayed down for so long. He already felt a bit light headed, but he knew that would past.

Now he was fuelled by an urgency, a kind of inner warning in his stomach. It wasn't the guilty pangs on his conscience but the pangs of danger. He licked his wet and salty lips and dived down again.

The dragon ball must be below the bed of the lake, so now he had to blast through. Vegeta mentally sighed, put his palm on the bed of the lake and pushed the energy outward in one single blast.

BOOM!

The blast echoed and the water became hotter than ever. He felt his skin burning up and he screamed a silent scream of pain in the water. Bubbles sprouted out of his mouth but he ignored them as his eyes moved back and forth of their own accord, searching for the dragon ball.

His sensitive eyes were not used to the fearsome heat his energy had generated. They burned! He blinked, and swam up again. This time he kept going up and flew right up near the clouds so he could see the lake from a birds eye view.

What to do, what to do. He glanced down at his radar again and froze at what he saw: The radar had shut off. Cursing, he slammed the button and tried to turn it on again, but it wouldn't turn on.

His radar was broken.

"Damn! It's probably Kakarot's fault." He said, and decided ta hell with it.

"I am gonna blow this place to god knows where!" He exclaimed, brandished his fists like he was punching and let loose.

He punched the air above the lake, and a wave of energy released itself. It was purple colored and ran right down the lake. The body of water started shimmering and foaming and steaming and all the water started to evaporate.

Unfortunately the steam was hot, and Vegeta was right on top of the lake…

He screamed in pain when the steam hit his half naked body and quickly shoved himself out of the way. "Damn this place to hell!" He screamed, and took out all of the whole week's frustrations on the body of water.

He slammed energy wave after energy wave, ball after ball of blasts and simply blew the whole lake up. All his frustrations – Him being beaten so easily by Kakarot, him being mean to his family, him breaking the promise he made to his son, Trunks about how he would never fight Kakarot again, him betraying everyone and searching for the dragon balls for his own gain, him lying to Kakarot…

"I am a saiyan! I shouldn't feel this!" He screamed, tears brimming at his eyes. Why did he have to feel this pain inside his heart? These emotions? What was it called, love? No. He did not love, he would not love, he didn't believe in love!

Vegeta panted hard after his tantrum, and soon a thought formed in his mind. There is only hate, nothing else. This was like his own personal mantra and he repeated it in his head constantly.

There is only hate, nothing else. He thought of Kakarot, Freeza, his father, Maajin Buu, Cell, and he even thought of his old friend Naapa whom he had killed himself by his own hand.
They deserve to be dead. I hate them! Vegeta cried out in his mind.

The lake was no more. What was left was one steaming giant crater, and in the corner was the orange shine of the dragon ball. Vegeta flew over it dejectedly and picked it up. He let it go at once, it was so hot it scorched his hand.

Hot with the flames of hate, the flames of vengeance, the flames of power! Vegeta told himself, and picked it up once again. This time he ignored the pain just like he ignored his conscience telling him what he was doing was wrong.

He ignored it and examined the dragon ball. The seven star dragon ball was found. Vegeta calmly walked over to his knapsack – now burnt and smelling of melted chocolate – and picked up the other two dragon balls.

He needed a new knapsack.
I Stand Alone

Summary: DBZ/HP Crossover. Vegeta sacrifices most of his power to go to a universe where he can be the best.

CHAPTER THREE

Vegeta broke into a grocery store in the first town he saw, grabbed a cheap looking knapsack, some more food because he was getting hungry from using so much energy, and flew out again, fleeing the alarm bells. The cops would have a hard time trying to catch someone who was in another universe, Vegeta thought with a smirk. Then he flew around slowly, a bit unsure what to do.

He needed a new dragon ball radar, and the only one who had those were Bulma. This was the only radar she had in working condition right now that he knew of and it would take her a while to fix it. What had gone wrong? Why wasn't the dragon ball radar working anymore?

It must have been the water. Machines don't interact with water that good. Vegeta sighed, such a silly mistake had set him back to who knew how long? He could have probably finished this in one night if he still had the radar.

Vegeta sighed, and went back to his home. He was dead tired, really sleepy, so he got into bed, and amazingly Bulma didn't wake up. He crept an arm around her sleeping form, and snuggled closer to her.

She smelt… good. Vegeta decided, and for now he forgot about the vow he had made earlier… Hate has it's place, but smelling the sweet lavender scent of Bulma, now wasn't it. He moved in closer, and soon drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Vegeta woke to the ringing of the alarm clock. It was six AM, the usual time Bulma woke up to take care of Capsule Corps. He felt himself being shaken by her, "Wake up, Vegeta!" She said.

He usually woke much earlier, but she would probably decide he felt like sleeping in. Vegeta felt a bit of regret at how he was going to abandon her but his dream was worth more than silly things like love.

I love. Vegeta thought. I love power. And I'll do anything to get it.

A thought presented itself to Vegeta – "Why don't you just wish yourself the most powerful being in the universe?"

And he had a ready answer to that. "It would be cheating, like taking a short cut. No, I have to go to a new universe where I can really prove my strength."

He had a plan for this new universe as well, and if this new universe did not exist, well he would just have to ask Shenlong to make one! The dragon balls were pretty powerful after all, Vegeta was sure he could do it.

Vegeta got up with a snarl, but that quickly changed to an affable smile as he saw Bulma's concerned face. He leant up to her and kissed her on the nose, "Good morning, Bulma." He said and felt a bit sick inside. But he had to play it up, just like he had deceived Goku.

"V-Vegeta?" Bulma stammered, her face a bit surprised.
Vegeta smirked and leant in closer again, and this time took her lips. He kissed them and felt Bulma responding really strongly.

Feisty woman, Vegeta thought to himself, approving. After a bit of tongue action, and a few more kisses later, Vegeta got to his feet.

"Vegeta, you've never-" Bulma paused, not sure how to frame her question. "Thank you." She said at last.

Vegeta nodded, gave her a peck on the cheek and went to the washroom. After he washed his face with scalding hot water (Saiyans can live in much higher temperatures) and brushed his teeth, he went downstairs to the kitchen where Bulma was making eggs and frying slices of bacon. There was a kettle of coffee running as well.

"Bulma," Vegeta said coming behind her. He kissed her neck, playing up the affection a bit. He never did this and he didn't feel right doing it either but he had to do this. He had to get the radar fixed and the only way to do that was through deception. "I am sorry."

Bulma looked a bit confused, "What do you mean?"

"On that picnic party. I ran off, and left you disappointed. I am sorry." Vegeta said and leant in closer.

"V-V-Vegeta, stop. I am cooking." Bulma stammered while Vegeta lightly groped her right breast.

"Keep it up." Vegeta said and leant in some more so his crotch was pressing right against her. "It smells good," Vegeta said and took a deep sniff and slowly moved around a bit, but still pressing against her. His hands had not strayed from her breasts as they gently massaged the mounds of flesh.

Bulma tried to flip the bacon but gave up, and shut off the gas. Then she turned around and leapt into Vegeta's awaiting mouth, furiously kissing him. Vegeta let her and responded back a bit before putting her arms around her and lifting her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist. Vegeta walked back the bedroom as they continued to kiss.

The bedroom door slammed shut, and for the next five hours, one could hear the groans, shouts, and screams of pleasure coming from the bedroom.

-----

Vegeta and Bulma showered and got dressed (alone) and had lunch downstairs. They made ham and cheese sandwiches and gobbled them down with some wine from the pantry. There Vegeta made his move.

"I went and got three of the seven dragon balls," Vegeta remarked calmly.

Bulma looked up, curious. "What? Already? I thought there was going to be a contest…"

"No. I am going after the dragon balls myself – a favour for Kakarot."

Bulma frowned, "So when did you get the three dragon balls?"

"Last night, while you were asleep." Vegeta said. "Unfortunately-"

"Vegeta! I told you that you need to get enough sleep! All this training is not good for you!" She said scowling with her arms folded.

"Yeah," Vegeta nonchalantly replied. "But I broke your dragon radar." Vegeta tried to look as bored as possible. "Do you think you can fix it?" He removed it out of his pocket and handed it to her.

She took it and examined it carefully from all sides. "I think the only way it could break is if it was exposed to water… I mean the batteries are perfectly functional."

Vegeta gave a hum, "I seem to have missed that part. When can you fix this by?"

Bulma huffed in annoyance. It was time for Vegeta to lay it on really thick… He smiled and he could easily see it melted her womanish heart. "For you? Any time."

Vegeta got up and swaggered arrogantly toward her. He lifted her chin, planted a kiss, and said, "Hurry up will you," Before going outside for a bit of a fly.

Vegeta flew into the nearest town, broke into their supermarkets and stores, and started packing provisions: Knapsacks, food, more food, and sunglasses. He did not want the sun in his eyes as he flew to what would undoubtedly be the ends of the Earth. "These dragon balls are truly troublesome… But they are worth it." Vegeta said to himself and returned back.

Bulma was in the garage, a screwdriver in one hand and the dragon radar in another. The case of the dragon radar was opened and she was tinkering around with the machine.

"Any luck?" Vegeta asked.

"Yes, it's working. Hang on, I'll just put the case back on." Bulma said.

Vegeta huffed in impatience but held his tongue. When Bulma was done, he snatched the radar out of her hand and flew off.

Bulma smirked. Too bad Vegeta didn't know she planted a tracking device in the radar. She got up and went back to the house where she picked up the phone and dialled Goku's number.

Goku picked up the phone and said, "Hello? Who is this?"

"This is Bulma."

"Oh, hi Bulma. By the way, did Vegeta come home last night?"

"Yes, and I wanted to talk to you about that. What happened about the contest?"

"Hmm? Oh, Vegeta is going to get the dragon balls for us. It's his way of apologizing I suppose."

"But I thought you wanted to have a contest?"

"Yes, but friendships are more important, and if this is what Vegeta wants to do…" Goku gave a noncommittal noise. "I think he should be able to do it."

"Still…" Bulma sounded suspicious. "Vegeta acted a bit too nice today. I think he is up to something."

"Like what? Vegeta has his own honour. He won't wish himself to become stronger or immortal or anything like that. I know it. I think you are worrying about this too much, Bulma."

"Doesn't matter. Can you come to Capsule Corps? I have an extra dragon radar."

"Yes, but Vegeta is getting the dragon balls."

"He can. But you can also get at least one dragon ball as," Bulma hesitated. "Insurance."

"Ah," Goku said. "I see what you mean. Okay, be right there." He hanged up the phone.

Meanwhile Vegeta had the dragon radar on, and was already in super saiyan mode. He was hurrying past the Atlantic Ocean at six hundred miles an hour, a relatively slow speed, but he wanted to enjoy the sights. This was probably the last time he would ever do a fly by of the planet Earth and he made sure to burn each and every scene (mountains, trees, lakes, forests, birds, fish) in his mind.

The Dragon radar gave a beep when Vegeta flew past a small island. He stopped at once in mid air, and landed on the tropical island. Most of the island was covered in vegetation and what looked like giant green beasts. Dinosaurs, Vegeta thought. Weren't they supposed to be extinct?

His stomach grumbled. He seemed to be getting hungrier and hungrier lately. Was it a result of his emotional roller coaster – how he was going to abandon his world. Maybe it was stress, who knew. But Vegeta did know that he was famished right now, so he landed in the middle of the forest and ran off in search of those greenish giant beasts.

He snapped a huge T-Rex's neck, roasted it a Ki blast and had a nice dinner as the sun set down. He watched it fondly, knowing he would probably never see it again if he could finish his quest by dawn.

When the night had finally crept up, Vegeta started his search. Now he was all business, even going to his own new version of super saiyan three where all his power was contained inside his body. He moved with blinding speed – almost as fast as the speed of light as he used his hands to dig underneath the rocks and dirt of the island, look inside caves and damp places, on top of mountains where eagles nested, climbing trees to search in little nooks on the trunks.

He found the dragon ball in a few minutes of blinding speed searching – it was hidden under a little lagoon in the middle of the island. This time Vegeta remembered not to take the dragon radar with him.

He grinned. Four dragon balls so far. He got his knapsack from where he had left it, put the dragon balls in, zipped it up and started walking.

Running more like.

Running faster than ever on water as he looked at the dragon radar. His footsteps were making great waves, and he was leaving a trail of rising water behind him. The next dragon ball was somewhere in the north. The Arctic, perhaps. Already Vegeta started to feel colder and colder as he approached a huge land mass completely covered in ice. The winds were even more chilling than the general temperature. Vegeta felt himself shivering in his super saiyan three form, so he powered down to super saiyan two. He was releasing more energy but at least he was warmer.

His dragon radar in one hand, he moved at record speeds occasionally stopping to see if he was going in the right direction. He reached a cave that was in a row of little ice covered hilltops.

Vegeta looked inside the cave and found a white polar bear. It was covered in thick fur and was extremely fat. It had beady black eyes that stared at Vegeta flatly. Just a dumb beast.
He pondered killing the bear, but then decided not to. "I am feeling nice, I'll let you live." Vegeta said. He could see that the dragon ball was right behind the bear, now he just had to get it.

He started walking up to it, but the bear growled. Vegeta stared at it, and ran up and hit it on the head. The bear fell unconscious with a thwack and did not get up again. Vegeta smirked, grabbed the dragon ball and flew off into the night sky.

Five dragon balls acquired. Two more left to go, Vegeta thought as if this was another mission from his old days. He had his radar out in front of him again, and the red dot on the globe figure made it seem like the dragon ball was somewhere in South America.

Brazil, or Peru… It made little difference to Vegeta, who powered up to super saiyan three and zoomed away into the night.
HISTORY LESSON FROM WIKIPEDIA: Seven magical stones scattered across the Earth that when gathered, can summon the dragon god, Shenlong who will grant the summoner a single wish within his power, even reviving a person who had died of unnatural causes, and within a year of that person's death. Later on, this single wish changed to two wishes.

I Stand Alone

CHAPTER FOUR

Vegeta flew at very high speeds over the ocean. The cold winds cut through the bone but he ignored them. His resolve and determination kept him warm enough. As he flew, he thought about what kind of universe he would want to be in.

Some place that is actually warm, Vegeta thought. And I want to be above average of course, with lots of power. And fame, and fortune. Something like that.

In record time he came to a huge landmass. He checked the dragon radar and saw he was getting closer. "This must be South America," Vegeta said to himself and decided to take a bit of a walk. It was warm here, since this was a tropical continent.

He passed a market filled with hundreds of people haggling with merchants, shopping and just going on with their lives in general. Vegeta saw on the dragon radar that he was getting closer, just a hundred or so miles to go. He took to the air again and made the rest of the journey very fast.

The ball was just laying on the ground in the middle of the forest. Vegeta grabbed it, "Too easy," He thought and checked the radar for the next dragon ball.

Let's see. He pressed the buttons and saw that the last dragon ball was somewhere in Japan. How did it get over there? He should have seen it when he was at home because the radar only found the dragon balls that were close to it.

Vegeta frowned, shrugged and flew off into the dawn light.

-----

Goku stared at the dragon ball in front of him, "So why did we get this again?" He asked Bulma.

"Don't you think it just a bit suspicious that Vegeta is going after the dragon balls?" Bulma asked with a sigh. "I think it's weird. Get the Z team ready, something is off." She said.

Then she went to the living room and pressed the VCR button. On the VCR there was a little wire that connected to the tracking device. "Hey Goku! Come over here for a second."

"Coming!" Goku said. "What is it?"

"Ok, I think Vegeta has all the dragon balls. He sure moves fast!" Bulma said with admiration. "He's coming back over here."

"Uh oh! What do I tell him?"

"Don't worry about it. Just get the Z team together. Send one of your… signals?"

"My ki blast signal?"

"Yes. Do that."

Goku nodded and went outside. He fired a huge scarlet blast in the air that filled the sky like a rainbow. "This should do it," He said to himself.

Piccolo was meditating on top of a mountain when he heard the Ki Blast Signal. He cracked open his green eye, and got up and put on his battle outfit – the white cape and the hat. Then he flew off into the direction of the Blast.

Tien was repeatedly doing punching exercises against a tree, sometimes breaking it. When he did that he moved on to a new tree. As he was punching his ninth tree, he felt the Ki blast. He looked around, saw the scarlet signal that the Z team had decided would be the signal if they needed an emergency meeting or something. His eyebrows rose as he left his training and flew with all the speed he could muster.

Yajirobe saw the Ki blast. He ignored it and went back to eating his second breakfast. The rest of the Z team were too lazy, thinking Goku or Vegeta would handle it.

------

Vegeta stopped in mid air as he saw the Ki blast, right where he was heading. Was the Z team assembling? He checked the radar and saw that was where the dragon ball was, right under that big Ki blast. Uh oh. He had a thought that Goku was up to something. "This might mean trouble," Vegeta said.

Vegeta started to hurry to the Ki blast, getting his energy together as he upgraded to Super Saiyan I, then II, and then finally his own variation of Super Saiyan III. He had a feeling that the Z team was suspicious, and being a bright saiyan, he decided to make a banging entrance.

"I am going to kill the first Z member I see." He said angrily to himself as he hovered near a capsule Corps warehouse. The warehouse was the size of a really big modern factory – twenty feet tall and a hundred feet wide. It was painted bright pink in the traditional Capsule Corps color and had a big banner that said in bold letters, "CAPSULE CORPS WAREHOUSE." Near the front garage door of the warehouse, where the storage trucks would go in, stood Goku, his arms folded. Behind him, to the right, stood Piccolo, staring unnervingly at Vegeta's approaching form. Tien, the three eyed freak was doing the same as Piccolo and Goku. In Goku's hands was the last dragon ball. They both looked like they were scowling.

Vegeta landed in front of them, smirked, and tried to look arrogant even though he was a bit shaken on the inside. He had a feeling they could see right through him, but he thought as he gulped, he had no choice. It's either win or die, now. Vegeta said to himself as he swaggered forward arrogantly, dragon radar in left hand and knapsack with the six dragon balls in another.

"Hello, Kakarot, Namek, freak…" He said contemptuously, sneering at them.

"Vegeta," Goku nodded at him and held his hands out. "Let's summon Shenlong and revive the people who died."

Vegeta licked his dry lips. Now or never, he thought and tossed the radar to the grass field near him. It hit the ground with a thud. Then he tossed the knapsack to the side. "Okay, let's summon Shenlong. Give me the dragon ball."

Goku shook his head. "I don't trust you, Vegeta. Piccolo and Tien don't either."

"Is that so?" Vegeta said softly, not letting the slightest hints of anger show. "Okay then," He gave a theatrical shrug, and faster than the naked eye could see he reached Goku's form and punched him in the gut.

Goku, who was not quite ready for this, gasped in surprise and pain and hunched over. The dragon ball fell from his hand to the floor below. Vegeta quickly grabbed it and started to back off. Piccolo however came up behind him and tried to punch him in the back of the head.

Vegeta moved to the side, and kicked at Piccolo's feet, tripping him. Then he did a round house kick and Piccolo flew into the wall of the warehouse, making a big dent. "Don't try to stop me, fools." Vegeta said, sneering. He picked up the dragon ball, which had fallen on the ground again, and started walking to his knapsack.

Instantly, Goku appeared in front of him, tensed and in his super saiyan four form – which was not too different from the other super saiyan forms but he had red hair instead of yellow hair. "I am serious Vegeta. I won't let you use this wish for your own gains."

Vegeta glared, "My own gains?!" He scoffed and spat at Goku's shoes. "Yes, it is. I am a selfish bastard, and I won't let you interfere." He jumped high in the air and tried to go past him but Goku also levitated himself even faster and stood right in front of him.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes, and leapt back. Then he let off a few blasts at Goku who dodged. Behind him, he sensed Tien and Piccolo trying to make an attack behind his back. He dodged their kicks and punches and let off a few kicks of his own which made them back off. He didn't notice Goku launching himself at him until he felt a hard punch to his jaw.

"Oof," Vegeta groaned as he was launched into the ground. The ground made a crater. He stayed down for a few seconds before leaping back up. The first thing he saw was Goku, his arms folded, staring down at him menacingly. "Get down to the ground." Vegeta growled. Goku obliged.

"You can't win, Vegeta." Goku said. "Remember the day before yesterday? You lost and only humiliated yourself."

Vegeta glared. "Exactly. I, the prince of saiyans is being surpassed by a low commoner. I cannot, no I will not let it stand. Stand aside!" He started to walk forward. Goku lifted his arm up, palms out, and said, "No means no, now back off."

Vegeta launched himself at him, "I will not give up. Not this time, Kakarot." He tried a head kick to Goku's face only to be easily blocked. Goku high licked him in the chin and Vegeta flew back into Piccolo who punched him on the head toward the ground before leaping back. Once again, he made a big crater.

Vegeta calmly picked himself back up again, "Don't you understand Kakarot?"

"No, I don't understand why you want to be selfish and use the dragon balls for your own personal gains."

"Of course you won't," Vegeta snapped. "You haven't trained for your every waking life, sacrificing each and every pleasure and just dedicated your life to training. And useless training, because it was all for nought. You always surpassed me without even trying."

"That's not true," Goku said, frowning but he seemed uncertain.

"Not this time, Kakarot. This wish is mine. This wish or my life, either way I win." Vegeta said, before kicking off the ground and flying toward Goku.

Goku tensed, waiting for the incoming attack. It never came, as Vegeta pivoted mid air and flew right at Piccolo and unleashed a series of kicks and punches at his gut and face. Piccolo did not have the same speed and strength as Vegeta and after taking a giant Ki blast to the face, was pretty much out for the count. Vegeta leapt back, and spat on him. "Don't intefere, Namek scum."

Tien growled angrily and tried to kick Vegeta in the stomach. Vegeta grabbed the kick mid air and flung him into the ground. He jumped in the air, and launched a blast at Tien's prone form.

It missed as Goku came to the rescue, punching Vegeta in the gut and sufficiently distracting him. Vegeta growled as he flew into the ground, but instead of making a huge crater with a crash landing, he landed on his right foot and flew right back at Goku with greater speed. He punched Goku on the skull. Goku's head snapped backward, but he did a back flip and kicked Vegeta in the jaw. Vegeta flew up in the air, turned around and launched a yellow wave of energy right at Goku.

Goku dodged, but realized his mistake too late as the beam rushed toward Tien who was just getting up.

Tien looked up in the sky in horror as the beam engulfed him and vaporized him. Vegeta smirked, and saw Goku's fists clench in anger. Out of the corner of his eye, he also saw Piccolo starting to get up.

Vegeta shot a Ki blast at Goku, who dodged again. While Goku was distracted, Vegeta flew at Piccolo and punched him on the chest. His fist flew straight threw and came out from Piccolo's back.

Piccolo hunched over, gasping and spitting out green blood. Then he was knocked down from the count.

"You bastard!" Goku shouted, "Why did you do that for?"

"Stop complaining, idiot. You can revive these two again, next year." He had a half smile on the corner of his lips as he flew into the sky to face Goku. The seven dragon balls lay forgotten on the ground. "Well, shall we?"

Goku gave a grim nod, and then the real fight started. Vegeta started to power up some more, to the full extent he possibly could.

Goku powered up a bit more as well. "I am stronger than you, Vegeta. Why don't you just give up?" He asked.

Vegeta paused. "Have you ever hard of the myth that with hard work you can beat anyone?"

"What's that got to do with it?" Goku asked.

"I used to believe that. I worked my ass off for power, while I saw you just receive power in your lap without even breaking a sweat. Do you think this is fair?"

Goku shrugged. "Everyone wants things in life, but there's no need to whine about it."

"Whine? Whine?!" Vegeta's eyes popped out. He frothed at his mouth. "You don't know… You just don't realize… All my life I wanted to be the best and I never have been. First Freeza, then you, then Cell, and your son, then Maajin Buu-" He gulped as if trying to rid him of the rage. It didn't work. "And then you again. Never! I have never been the best! No matter how much I worked, no matter how much I sweated and bled, I have never-!"

Goku sighed, "Is that what you really want? Are you just going to wish yourself to be the best?"

"No." Vegeta shook his head, "That's not worth it, to be associated with a stigma like that. Like I didn't work for the power." He glanced at the sun rising in the east, and sighed. "I am going to abandon you all, this entire fucking universe and wish myself in another one. A better one where I don't have to see another fucking saiyan ever again!"

Bulma ran out of the warehouse. She was watching from a window the whole time and had tears running down her face. "Is that what you were going to do? Leave me? Leave Trunks? You-"

"SHUT UP, WOMAN!" Vegeta shouted. "You were the one who betrayed me weren't you?" His face was a mask of pure hatred that made Bulma freeze in terror. "You bitch." He hissed and raised two fingers as if he were going to blast her away. Goku tensed and was about to intervene when Vegeta, instead of blasting her seemed to hesitate. Vegeta stopped and turned his attention at Goku.

"Kakarot, I will make my wish or I will die trying. Can you handle that?" He asked Goku quietly.

Goku's eyes hardened, "Are you trying to play on my guilt and good will, Vegeta? Because you are treading dangerously close to not being my friend any more."

Vegeta sneered. "I never was your friend in the first place. We are enemies! Always were, and always will be! And if I have my way I will never see your ugly face again!"

"You won't do it. You cannot do it. I will stop you, Vegeta, mark my words." Goku said firmly. "You won't die, but I will put you into the hospital if I must."

Vegeta shook his head, looking amused. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you have become so arrogant. I have trained under one thousand times Earth's gravity this past year. I will get the dragon balls and my wish."

"All the good it did to you when we were fighting earlier," Goku said and immediately knew it was a mistake as he put his hand over his mouth. "Sorry-"

"Enough!" Vegeta exclaimed. "I will show you true power." He started to power up even more, groaning as he did so.

"You haven't seen power until you have seen a saiyan ready to die, Kakarot." Vegeta said. "Your enemies have, but you haven't. I will show you how it feels to lose, Kakarot."

Vegeta powered up some more until he was glowing in all sorts of different colours. Bulma watched fascinated until Goku's voice snapped her out of it. "Bulma! Run!" Goku shouted.

Vegeta moved with blinding speed right at Goku, punching, kicking, smashing with his head and biting and scratching and launching ki blasts. He put all he had into his attacks, even pushing the more powerful Goku to the defensive. Goku recouvered and soon Vegeta had to defend.

He leapt back on the roof of the warehouse and Goku followed. Vegeta was panting hard but he didn't let that stop him as he said, "Big Bang Wave!" and unleashed an enormously bright beam of Ki at Goku's incoming form.

Goku paused mid air, and put his hands to his chest and tried to shield himself. Vegeta pushed with everything he had. When the dust settled, Goku was still standing but his fighting outfit was torn up and he had bruises and flayed and cut skin all over his body. He looked like a mess.

"Goodbye, Kakarot." Vegeta said, smirking and jumped off the roof of the warehouse toward the ground. He ran and grabbed the knapsack and the one dragon ball on the floor and took to the air, leaving a beam of rainbow colored light where he flew like a tail of a comet.

Goku was following furiously trying to catch him and he was making good time too. Vegeta looked back and gulped in horror at seeing how close Goku was. They were over the pacific ocean. Vegeta suddenly had an idea as he plunged into the ocean, straight to the bottom where he laid an ambush. When Goku came to give chase he fired off another Big Bang Wave, directly at Goku.

The wave not only launched Vegeta backwards away from Goku, but also bought him precious time as Goku had to wait the wave out with his arms over his chest and his eyes clenched shut in a standard defensive posture. Vegeta smirked as he saw this and put on a greater burst of speed, eventually reaching the arctic. The little head start was enough since he kept changing directions and even flew underwater a bit. He made sure to keep his Ki low enough so Goku couldn't sense it.

He reached the same cave he saw the polar bear in. He smirked, he had won! Vegeta let out a sigh of relief and pulled out all seven dragon balls from his knapsack and laid them to the floor. Now how did that summoning thing go again…? Bulma had told him once. He would truly miss that wench and his son too, but now was not the time for an aching heart.

"Shenlong, Dragon of the Earth, I summon you!" Vegeta cried. The orange balls started to glow as a green cloud swept over the sky. There was a boom, like a loud clap of thunder, as Shenlong came into view. Vegeta's breath hitched as he caught sight of the enormous dragon floating around with crimson red eyes that glowed with menace.

"YOU HAVE SUMMONED SHENLONG! YOU WILL BE GRANTED TWO WISHES, NAME THEM AT ONCE." Shenlong's voice was a low growl so deep and scary, it made Vegeta shiver. This was truly an immortal beast.

"I have a wish," Vegeta said. "I wish for you to place me in a different universe where I can be the strongest. Where no saiyans exist, nobody more powerful than what I am right now. I want you to place me on a planet just like this one, however. "

"THAT IS INDEED A LARGE WISH, MORTAL. YOUR SECOND WISH?"

"A second wish?" Vegeta asked incredulously. "Unbelievable."

"DON'T KEEP ME WAITING, MORTAL."

"Yes, my second wish is that I don't want to be summoned back to this universe through the dragon balls – EVER!"

"VERY WELL. YOUR WISHES WILL BE GRANED. HOWEVER I CANNOT TRANSPORT YOUR POWER ALONG WITH YOU, SO WHILE YOU WILL HAVE ABOVE AVERAGE POWER THAN MOST PEOPLE, YOU WILL NEVER IN YOUR WILDEST DREAMS REACH THIS LEVEL AGAIN."

"What?!" Vegeta roared in shock. "No! No! Stop! I don't want to give up my power! Stop!"

"TOO LATE, MORTAL. ENJOY."

"No! Noooo!" Vegeta screamed as Shenlong the great dragon granted his wishes. "NO! STOP!"

Goku arrived just in time to hear Vegeta's screams as he was whisked away, never to be heard from again.
Or will it?

Here's the next chapter.

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I Stand Alone

CHAPTER FIVE

Vegeta felt himself in a sort of dream world where the colours were black and white. He felt himself move but he knew he wasn't moving because when he looked down at himself he could see nothing. How can nothing move? Yet he felt a sensation of vertigo and looking around him all he saw was black and white figures… of what?

His father, his fellow warriors back on Freeza's planetary domain, Freeza, his old boss, and of course the latest ones… Kakarot, Gohan, his wife Bulma, Trunks, his family and the entire Z fighters standing in a circle around each other as if they were having their pictures taken. Vegeta shuddered in distaste as the figures passed by him and as soon as they reached him they yelled, "See what you have done now? You ruined it!" They all said the same thing and each of their words were delivered in an icy tone like his own voice but they hit him like slaps on the face.

"What have I done? I have done for power!" Vegeta yelled at them, but it made no difference. The scene started blurring, and a fountain of color – blue, red, yellow, green burst forth from a hole like thing, and Vegeta felt himself gravitating toward it like a planet gravitates toward a black hole. Zoom!

He felt himself burning, melting, his body changing and splitting apart. He screamed in pain – pain like no other where all his pain nerves were firing away. They came in waves all at once and the pain felt like it went on for eternity but the breaks stayed for barely a second. Vegeta prided himself on digging deep and taking the pain, so he stayed conscious even though he was sorely tempted to just die. Just go to sleep and end it.

No!

Defiance gave him energy – anger and hate at the unfairness of the world. He never had a childhood and he never had a good life either. Sure he had power but was it enough to be treated like trash? His childhood in Freeza's domain had obviously left scars on him, and they would probably never be healed.

He sank, deep into a blissful sleep in spite of the pain, after what seemed like an eternity. And then he woke up and felt himself falling. His eyes cracked open taking in the pale light of the crescent moon and the smell of fire. Fire and smoke! His eyes widened, the last vestige of sleep shuddered away as he looked down. He was falling, his stomach and organs were dropping.

He tried to power up and fly but it wasn't working. Where was his power? Where was his flight power? He tried to dig deep and reach super saiyan one. He did it all the time and it was so easy, the first time had been the hardest but it got easier as time passed. Just like killing. Your first kill is always the hardest. But now he couldn't do it. He couldn't reach super saiyan one. He felt as if a part of him had been lost, gone forever, as he remembered the dragon's words.

Shenlong. That bastard!

Vegeta gulped, he was still falling and he felt the wind hitting his bare face. He fell some more, he couldn't stop. There was a house, a roof, and he was falling into it and THWACK! He fell through the roof – it wasn't very solid in the first place – and hit the floor of the room.

Stumbling, he got up and looked around, and saw a pale white figure clad in what looked like a black dress. His eyes were intensely red and he was holding a stick in one hand. He was saying something, "…Kedavra!" Although it sounded more as if a question than an exclamation.

Vegeta's eyes widened as he saw a green beam heading toward him filled with evil energy. The hairs on his arms and back stood on end as the beam came closer. It was as if seeing the whole thing in slow motion. Vegeta raised his right arm over his head, but the beam cut right through his arm – went through like it was a ghost – and hit him straight in the face.

He expected a scratch at most, the beam wasn't that powerful after all, but nothing happened. Then he felt it, as if all his life was being sucked out. "What the-?" He was dying!

NO! DEFIANCE! I WILL NOT DIE! NOT NOW! He remembered his father, saying in his customary cold voice, "Never give up. If you give up you die…"

And so Vegeta fought against it and tried to pull his life back toward him like a tug of war game. Pull! Pull! Pull! The beam wouldn't let up and he could practically see his life (It was a blue color; his favourite color) being sucked right out of him.

NO! A burst of anger formed in the pit of his stomach and gave him a source of inspiration and energy. I WON'T DIE! He pulled with all his will and might and suddenly the blue life force of his jerked back toward him. He was flown back twenty feet and felt himself dissolve and absorb into something like an ice cube left in the hot sun on the front of the Capsule Corps building. The last thing he saw was the white figure clad in a black dress scurrying away and the green light vanishing into the night from a huge hole in the wall.

Then his vision darkened and with a groan he succumbed to his tired mind's wishes. The baby closed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. Then with a cry he succumbed to the other person's wishes.

It was midnight, and a slight shower of rain started pouring, taking the fires around the neighbourhood away.

------------

Lord Voldemort ran down the stairs as if a competent assassin was on his heels, and he had been having a lot of those recently. He jumped over the mudblood – Lily Potter – and kicked James Potter's body away to the side. The body made a huge dent in the wall thanks to Voldemort's mastery of kinetics and physical enhancers.

He raced away from the house and closed the door behind him with a slam. Peter was sitting on the sidewalk, looking miserable at the rain coming down. Voldemort growled in annoyance, "Peter! Peter!"

Peter's head whipped around, "My lord?" Voldemort ran over to him, he wasn't even out of breath, and grabbed him on the shoulder lifting him up to his feet.

"We have to run." Voldemort said. His voice had a sophisticated British aristocrat accent to it, his black eyes glowed with fiery intelligence and stood out against the bloodshot eyes that made Voldemort have a madman's look to him, and hair was cut in long shaggy layers like some kind of muggle pop singer.

While he had a hippy look to his visage, he was far from careless and lazy – the main characteristics of a hippy.

"My lord, something wrong?" Peter asked, wiping the falling rain from his brow.

Voldemort said nothing, lifted his wand at the house and casted a one word spell that made it go boom. The house exploded, flying shivers of wood were flung out in opposite directions. "Let's go, now." He did a side to side apparration back to the base, and flung Peter to the floor.

The base was located in the heart of London in what used to be a rundown warehouse for storing household items. The owners had recently run on tough times and had been only too glad to sell it to Lucius Malfoy, who made all of Voldemort's purchases.

Voldemort himself liked the base. He had enlarged it so it was twenty times the size of the original warehouse, which was pretty big in itself. Voldemort also added about fifty different rooms that were used for various purposes like libraries, werewolf quarters, holding cells (torturing cells, more like), potions breweries, weapons and training rooms, and the biggest room of all was the living room.

There was a red armchair to the side, and a fireplace on the opposite wall that had a green ledge on it. The fireplace was the only source of light and gave off eerie shadows, making the room a source of fright and heart attacks for the followers. The furniture was quite simple: Along the red chair, in a circle were stools where the death eaters would sit and take orders. There was a bar in the corner, reserved for the elite only. The whole room had a putrid and stale smell to it, like the smell of dead corpses stored in high heat.

Voldemort landed on his feet, and Peter landed on his hands and knees with no grace whatsoever. Voldemort shot him an annoyed glare but did not say anything. Instead he paced the room, deep in though.

Peter timidly took a seat on the stool, and kept his eyes at his feet like a good boy, awaiting orders. Finally, after about ten minutes of deep thought, Voldemort started speaking. "Grab me my pensieve." Peter nodded, and practically ran out the room to the storage cupboard right opposite to it where the Lord's pensieve was kept. He returned shortly after and set the pensieve down on the middle of the floor.

Voldemort lifted his wand to his temple, and took out a memory. When he pulled it out a cloudy blob of who knows what was seen. He put that cloudy blob into the silvery liquid of the bowl. "Peter, your turn."

"What?" Peter asked, his eyes widening and frantic.

"Put the memory of whatever you saw in the bowl. Surely you know how to do it?"

"Yes, sir." He did the same thing as Voldemort, albeit a bit jerky and hastier.

"Excellent. Peter, I want you to disappear for a while. Take this as a reward," Voldemort said and pulled a brown Gringotts pouch from his robes. He threw it at Peter, who caught it in his lap. The pouch jingled when Peter lifted it up. "Go to France and find out the political situation there. Do not approach anyone, just go on an information hunt. Come back in a month or so, understood?"

Peter nodded, a grin on his face. "Yes sir!"

"Go."

When Peter was gone, Voldemort went and examined the memories, over and over to find a clue as to what the hell was going on.

That night was the night Voldemort realized he really didn't know everything about magic, spawning a decade of research and staying at the fringe of society, in the shadows. As for the papers, they made a logical connection, considering they didn't have death eater spies like the Order of the Phoenix. Baby Potter was alive, Voldemort was gone. The logic was sound.

Voldemort had been defeated by Harry Potter as a baby.

As for Sirius, he went to Peter's house, saw it was abandoned and sat down crying and drinking himself into a stupor. He phoned Remus and asked if he wanted to join and together they got drunk and probably did some stupid things… Later on the morning they woke up to a blinding headache, and it just wasn't worth it, because in the end they still remembered.

Lily and James were buried together at the Potter Cemetery. Harry Potter was taken to the Dursleys for blood protection by Dumbledore, who convinced Sirius to part with his godfather duties. Sirius was reluctant, but Harry's safety was more important.

Voldemort never showed his face, nor did Peter, his new left hand man. They studied and learnt all sorts of obscure magic around the world, but they never did find out what happened that night.

Eleven years later, Voldemort would make his appearance. Until then he stayed quiet.

-----

"Are you sure this is right?" Sirius asked, sighing. "I don't know. His relatives seem a bit off to me. They are so strange…"

Dumbledore grimly nodded. "It's either that or Harry getting attacked by death eaters."

"But I am an auror now. I think I could protect-"

"No, Sirius. I know what James and Lily wanted but they wanted Harry's safety more than a good wizard childhood. Besides, don't you think the fame would go to his head?"

Sirius shrugged. and took another lemon drop from the bowl on Dumbledore's desk. He sucked on it, enjoying the lemon tinge flavour, not knowing it was laced with calming and cheery potions.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he took a lemon drop as well. "I noticed you acquired a taste for these?"

"Yeah, they are really something." Sirius said. He was twenty four years old and had only recently completed his auror program. He was a full fledged auror now.

"Why don't you have some?" Dumbledore conjured a brown paper bag, and levitated half the lemon drops in the bowl in the paper bag.

Sirius grinned, "Awesome!"

"There is another thing I have to discuss with you," Dumbledore said.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"It's Harry. He has a magical essence that defies logic but-" Dumbledore sucked on another lemon drop.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, frowning.

"He has the power of two wizards… I am guessing that some of Voldemort's powers leeched off onto Harry…"

"So you mean Harry will turn out like Voldemort?"

"Certainly not," Dumbledore said, chuckling. "It's just that he has an above average level of power. That can cause accidents."

"Oh," Sirius said as comprehension dawned on him. "You mean like accidental magic?"

"Yes, like that. There can be some serious problems, why he could burn the house down!" Dumbledore scratched his beard. "So I was thinking, I found a book recently about seals and I have been practicing them on my own."

"On wizards?"

"No, on paper. Just drawing the seals and powering them up." Dumbledore took another lemon drop. He went through those candies like tissue. "So if you will let me, I could seal up Harry's powers a bit."

Sirius looked wary. "Why don't we get a proper seals master or something?"

"There hasn't been one for ages. This is really a simple seal, and I am quite sure nothing will go wrong."

"Well… okay then. I trust you Albus."

"And I you. Have you found Peter yet?"

Sirius scowled. "No, but I was thinking of giving some information to the newspapers. Maybe that will help?"

"It's your call, Sirius, not mine. You are the auror after all." Dumbledore said. "Where is Harry?"

"Professor McGonnagal is taking care of him in her office. Are you going to do the seal now?"

"It would be best to get it over with as soon as possible."

Sirius nodded, "I'll bring him in." He left the office, leaving Dumbledore deep in thought. The calming and cheering candy had little effect on him right now. He was nervous and tense and felt as if he was missing something. But Voldemort was dead so it all worked out.

And then it hit him, 'The horocruxes' but now was not the time to go into that because Sirius entered the office again with the baby in his arms.

"Where are you going to place the seal?" Sirius asked, nervous.

"On his left ankle, I suppose." Dumbledore said. "It really will be alright, and won't take that long, Sirius. Try to relax."

Sirius took a deep breath and let it out. "As I said, I trust you Albus."

Dumbledore raised his wand in the air and concentrated. A light blue scalpel blade shot out of the wand. Sirius gulped.

Dumbledore took Harry in his arms, and on his left ankle started tracing the seals with a precision and mastery that would make a professional tattoo specialist jealous. The seal Dumbledore drew was that of a cage: A box with metal bars. Then he tapped the scalpel on the wood of the desk, and at once it disappeared leaving only the wand. Dumbledore tapped the cage on Harry's left ankle three times.

The cage glowed with blue light and then it stopped and all that was left was a tattoo. "He will have that forever," Dumbledore remarked.

Sirius gaped, "So that's it?" The baby was sleeping peacefully as if nothing happened.

"Yes." Dumbledore said. "You trust me, and I said I trusted you. I meant it. Can I trust you to take Harry to his muggle relatives?"

Reluctantly, Sirius nodded. "Okay, fine."