Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, or have any affiliation or rights to it.

The wasteland I stood in reflected my heart. It was empty and nearly lifeless. Upon his death, Kakarot had taken with him any chances for me to reclaim my honor. The mere thought of that clown living it up in otherworld while I languished down here was infuriating.

"That stupid virus!" I embedded my fist in the ground below. What was worse than Kakarot dying? Knowing that he was killed by the lowest possible life forms. Bulma even said that many scientists didn't even consider them alive. "How? How could a mere virus do what I could not?"

The sun was setting on this pitiful wasteland, the same location where Kakarot had defeated Freeza and King Cold 3 years earlier. He'd done it, not once, but twice. He'd taken my victory away from, only to die before I could reclaim it. As I rose into the air, I began looking down at the sparse habitat below me, my eyes adapting to the decreasing levels of light.

I could blow this planet into oblivion any moment I wanted to. The thought reminded me of one crucial fact. Now I was the strongest being in the universe. Who could stop me? Neither the Namekian nor Kakarot's half-breed son could. They were the only ones whose powers remotely approached my own.

Perhaps I should kill Kakarot's son while I have the chance. I wouldn't want to be surpassed twice. Shaking my head, I began heading back towards West City. It was pointless now. Even if I did become the emperor of the universe, it would only be so because I was lucky that a mere virus saw fit to eliminate my only competition.

Besides, Kakarot's son wouldn't threaten me anyway. He was far too busy studying, a waste of his potential. Then I began thinking about my own son. I should never have allowed that woman to tempt me. She would always insist that I at least hold my son. That boy…he was nothing more than a mistake, and a constant reminder of how I'd polluted the royal bloodline.

Father would be disappointed. A saiyan prince who was surpassed by a mere low level who then sunk lower by polluting the lineage. What would Tarble think? On second thought I couldn't care less for my long lost brother, he was probably dead anyway.

I could see the tops of the skyscrapers peaking above the horizon. West City was just a few miles away. However, I felt a jolt as the Namekian's power suddenly rose. He was on the move after so long. Now this was interesting, or at least a distraction from my damaged pride. So I changed my course, heading southeast.

As I got closer I could sense the Namekian's power rising. Not that I was worried, but now I could tell that there was a battle. He wouldn't push himself so hard if he were sparring. Then it occurred to me that I was only sensing one power level. Why would the Namekian go there and unleash his power?

A smile came to my face, the first one since I had achieved the level of super saiyan mere days before Kakarot fell ill. Did Piccolo really think he was number 1 now that Kakarot was gone? I'd heard Bulma speak of how he used to be evil. No doubt he was just waiting for the right opportunity to pick up where he'd left off. I can't wait to see the look on his face when I transform. Some of my old pride was returning.

I picked up speed, I wanted to get there as soon as possible, though I was careful not to power up too much lest I scared the Namekian away. Then, when I was nearing the island, the Namekian's power began to drop. It had peaked just minutes ago, and now it was falling to near zero. It was just like what happened to Kakarot's brat when we fought Recoome.

I arrived at the island moments later and found the city utterly destroyed. It had to be Piccolo who did this. The others were just bleeding hearts like Kakarot. That didn't explain why his power had dropped, something that vexed me. Was he hiding from me? Then I heard laughing, and traced its source to two teenagers who were rising from the ruins.

They stopped when they noticed me. Both of them smiled, as if they had wanted me to be here. As they floated towards me, I realized that they might have been the ones who killed the Namekian. I still wasn't worried though.

"You must be Vegeta," said the boy. "My sister just finished off your friend Piccolo, so I guess I'll be fighting you." He advanced closer while his sister remained floating a significant distance away.

I raised an eyebrow. "You know of me, if that's the case then you're a fool for trying to challenge me on your own." This boy was a definitely a moron. "I'm not sure why I can't sense your power, but if you thinking beating the Namek is any indication of how well you'd do against me, then you're sorely mistaken," both of them seemed to snicker at this. I would soon shut them up. "I haven't even begun to tap into my power. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"I could say the same to you." That boy looked so arrogant. I couldn't wait to show him my true power, if I even needed to. In a moment he was gone, and I realized that he'd disappeared from my view. The girl was now grinning at me, mockingly so. I would deal with her shortly.

Where is he hiding? I began glancing around, but no matter where I looked I couldn't see him. This was getting annoying. Upon hearing a giggle I looked over at the girl, who was now struggling to contain her laughter. Oh how I wanted to silence her, but this insolent boy would be the first… Something grabbed my leg, and in a moment I was being yanked down.

I couldn't fight the pull, and I must have sounded pathetic, yelling as whatever it was dragged me into the city below. My eyes shut tightly moments before my face would have hit the pavement, when I stopped. Upon opening my eyes I realized that the being pulling me had let go of my leg and I was now floating inches above the ground.

There was laughing, and I reoriented myself and to look up. The boy was hovering a few feet above me. "Wow Vegeta, I never realized you could be such a baby. I doubt that move would've actually hurt you much."

I was now growling at him and clenching my fists tightly. "Stop screwing around! I'm not here to play games with you! Come on," I motioned for him to come at me. "Let's see if you have the courage to take me head on." That boy might have caught me off guard, but it was just a fluke, and if all else failed I could still transform, then nothing in the universe would stop me.

He shrugged casually, as if I weren't a big deal. "Fine, if that's the way you want it." In a moment he'd vanished again, but this time he appeared in front of me, and sent me sailing back into the building behind me with a punch that nearly broke my nose.

When I got up and out of the building he started to attack me without mercy. I had no choice, but to cover my face with my arms. They probably thought I was pathetic, but I'd soon show them. The moment I felt the barrage end, I lashed out with a kick, but to my shock, he 'd caught my leg without much effort at all.

"Come on Vegeta." Now he appeared to be caught between boredom and amusement. "I expected more from both you and Piccolo, but I guess Goku will have to satisfy us after all."

I felt my blood boil. The Namekian's death was of no concern to me, but I couldn't stand this boy's other comment. "Are you insinuating that Kakarot is more powerful than me?" I had to admit that it was a reasonable opinion. Kakarot had proven his super saiyan mettle against Freeza twice; my super saiyan powers would never get such an opportunity.

He let go of my leg and shrugged. "You mean Goku right? Sure, I mean our mission is to destroy him, not you."

Despite the situation, I couldn't help smiling. Looks like I'm not the only one that virus upstaged. "I'm afraid you're too late. Kakarot met his end six months ago to a heart virus." I resumed glaring at him, my power rising. "However if he were alive, you'd have to get in line behind me!" I smiled in response to his surprise as I transformed. "It's time for me to show my true power."

Surprise quickly turned to amusement. "Wow…impressive light show Vegeta." He was mocking me again. Then he turned to his companion. "Hey 18, do you have any files on this?"

I looked up to see her shaking her head. "This isn't the kaioken…nor is it the oozaru. I'm just as stumped as you are."

"Don't take your eyes off me." I could feel my confidence returning. "I have now claimed my place as the most powerful warrior in the universe!" They looked unconvinced. "Kakarot might have slipped ahead initially, but now I'm number 1 once more. You don't stand a chance against me!"

He gave me a creepy grin the unsettled me somewhat. "Vegeta, your bold boasts will cost you. I'll find out if you are really all that strong." He dashed towards me, but he was in for a shock, when I vanished.

Oh how I enjoyed using his trick against him. Now I was behind him and wasted no time in sending him face-first into a nearby building. He wouldn't have any time to recover, because I was on him in moments. There was no way he could stop my punches, he was for all intents and purposes, my new punching bag.

My spirits were starting to lift. I sent the boy up into the air with a kick and flew up to pursue him. He vanished before I could hit him again, but I anticipated what he'd do. I turned around and swatted his pathetic ki blast with ease. He tried to punch me, but I caught his arm before driving my knee into his gut and then sending him crashing to the ground below.

"All right kid, I'm afraid that you're time is up," I looked to his sister, who was smiling. Did she know something I didn't? Why wasn't she helping her brother? Deciding to ignore her, I began bombarding the fallen boy with several ki blasts to soften him up before concluding with my new technique, the Big Bang attack. If I hadn't held back, I might've accidently blown up the planet.

The girl was still smiling; perhaps the fear had driven her insane. "I'll admit that your brother gave me an unexpected challenge," then I flared up my aura. "Unfortunately, there's not a being alive who can touch the legendary super saiyan!"

I had to laugh; my pride was beginning to return. Even if I could never beat Kakarot, I was now the most powerful being in the universe. It was mine for the taking. Freeza's undoubtedly failing empire could finally be brought under my control. I'd find a way to clone a female saiyan in order to give the royal bloodline a true successor, instead of that filthy half-breed mistake. Or better yet, I would just clone myself.

My laughing was cut short by a sharp pain in my back. The boy had survived. He withdrew his fist, and I turned around, annoyed, albeit a little amused. "So you've survived? That's impressive, but you should have escaped when you had the chance. This time I won't fail to kill you."

"This is good," he said, apparently ignoring my threat. "I'm glad that I got to use my full power today." He turned back to his sister. "At least we know that we could've beaten Goku if he'd been alive…assuming he's as strong as Vegeta."

I was starting to get angrier. "Fools! I am far superior to Kakarot! You can tell him that when I send you to join him in hell!" I fired another ki blast, and he leapt above it, as I had anticipated, but when I appeared behind him, he caught my leg as I attempted a kick. Then he swung me around before sending me hurtling through a building below and crashing onto the pavement. My injuries were negligible.

I sprung back up and began firing off volleys of ki, but he deflected them with ease and rushed in towards me. I blocked his oncoming kick and punched him in the gut, causing noticeable pain, but he recovered unnaturally fast and grabbed my arm before chucking me higher into the air. Then he fired a large ball of ki up at me, but I smashed it back down towards him.

He dodged past it and began attacking me relentlessly. I couldn't believe it; he was pushing me to my limits. I could barely block and counter his moves. How could a mere boy compete with the legendary super saiyan? The concept was infuriating.

I could feel my strength beginning to wane as the transformation took its toll, but the boy; he hadn't tired in the slightest. I thought I saw an opening and landed a punch to his cheek, but he sprung back instantly and kneed me in the gut, doubling me over. The pain I felt now was significant, but nothing compared to my pride. First Kakarot, and now this boy! Does this planet wish to mock me?

He backed away, giving me a few moments of respite, as if I needed it. "Feeling tired Vegeta?" His tone was like pouring salt on my wounded pride.

"If you think I'm going to lose to the likes of you, then," I pushed my power as high as it would go, knowing it wasn't near my maximum. "You and this entire planet can go to hell! In fact, I'll send you there myself!" I charged towards him. "Send my regards to Kakarot!"

He vanished again, but this time I wasn't fast enough to counter. I began to feel disoriented as he juggled me around in the air, hitting me, then intercepting me to attack again. A sharp blow to my gut from above sent me crashing to the ground. I'd never felt this badly beaten since I fought Freeza in his final form.

I struggled to my feet; my body was shaking. The boy landed in front of me, giving me that unsettling grin. "It's over," he said and I immediately responded with the strongest, and fastest punch I could muster. When he caught it, I felt the same way I had when Freeza deflected my most powerful blast. He kneed me sharply in the gut, causing me to collapse, face-first onto the ground. I could feel my strength slipping away, and I was no longer a super saiyan.

My body fell limp, and I felt a pain in my head as he lifted me up by the hair. Opening my eyes I saw that we were now eye to eye, and he had a malicious grin that I recognized all too well. I felt my stomach burning up as he placed a ball of ki against it with his free hand. "Tell Goku that his precious earth belongs to us." Those were the last sounds I heard before the blast ripped through my stomach.

I am planning to do Tien and Krillin later on. Please tell me what you think about Piccolo and Vegeta's chapters,