It's that time again folks, sorry for how slow it's been, I have studying to do for college n' stuff.
Please, please leave reviews and feedback, I need to know what I'm doing wrong, if anything. Thankyou, one and all for reading.
Please enjoy.

Chapter 6 – Recuperation

Frieza planet 38
"Attack pod approaching. Attack pod approaching. Designated owner: Prince Vegeta. Life signs low. Prepare for landing."

"What's going on here? Vegeta on 38? This is a medical facility, not one for training."
"Seems that the monkey prince got hurt, serves the bastard right."
"Careful, he's still stronger than most of us, even weakened. You know how these Saiyans get when they're angry."
"For space Kami's sake, I wish Frieza would just let Zarbon and Dodoria pound him into space dust."

Vegeta's pod landed on a trampoline like object, somehow cancelling out the pod's entire momentum. Instantly, a mob of medics swamped the pod, having seen how low Vegeta's power had sunk. Many of them despised the Saiyan prince but they knew that if Frieza's favourite pet monkey died on their watch, well he wouldn't be too happy, to put it lightly. With that in mind, they carried the broken form of the prince and took him to one of their state of the art healing pods. Using that, the prince should be better in no time at all. A few relative days should be enough.

Vegeta sat among the healing liquid, stewing in his incomparable rage. He had been forced to surrender, forced to all but beg for his life. That wouldn't do. He would go to Namek, gain immortality then destroy Frieza. After that he would return onto the Earth and torture each and every one of them to death. After that, Frieza's family would be next. He would become a legend, he would claim his birthright and surpass every Saiyan, no, being in existence.
He would become the destroyer of worlds.

Earth – West city hospital

Vegeta was not the only one whom had needed healing after the long and arduous battle of Earth, nearly all of the Z fighters had been heavily injured and were in need of some kind of medical attention. The hospital Bulma had brought them to was all but empty as the human population of the world was rather low, only in the millions, so there were less people getting sick and hurt. As well as this, these were still times of peace for the ignorant humans as no threat had specifically attacked the populace. Thus, when they were finally admitted, the Earth's warriors had a room entirely to themselves. The reason that they were given such a hard time getting admittance was simply because of Tien. The three eyed warrior had carried his comrades into the reception and demanded that they be given sanction. This had not gone down well and they had continually refused the man and his friends what they obviously needed. This continued fruitlessly until Bulma stepped in and played the one card she always hated using; money and fame. Recognising her instantly, the receptionists had apologised profusely and had taken them to be healed.

Now, Krillen, Goku and Gohan lay in hospital beds, a doctor fussing over each of them.
"Patient Son Goku has obviously had it the worst, every bone in his body is shattered, there's massive damage all over his body. It's like he was hit by a train from all sides. Kami knows how the man survived." One doctor said, reading the information off of his clipboard.

"The midget's fairing a little better, just some blood loss, symptoms of shock and minor head trauma. He'll be fine with a little medical help." Another said.
"Then there's three eyes here…"

"Tien."

"Whatever. On request of Miss Briefs, we checked him too. Whatever hit you guys he came out best of it, there's only symptoms of exhaustion. From carrying these three up here at my guess." The first Doctor said.

"Then there's the kid. He's a miracle. When we first checked him, he had several broken bones, a literal dent in his chest that could have killed him and was having a hard time breathing. However simply by resting, he seems to have recovered enormously, it's honestly a surprise that he's still unconscious to be honest." The last doctor said.
"Thank you, anything else we should know?" Bulma said, frowning.

"No, we will leave you now. Please make sure these patients rest up so we can do our utmost for them." They said, bowing to the blue haired scientist before leaving the room.

"So Tien, where are Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Yajirobe and the pickle demon?" Bulma asked the three eyed warrior.

"Yajirobe never came, the rest are dead. All of them." Tien said sourly and sharply.
"Now please excuse me, I have to make sure that the rest of my family is well. I've been dead a long time." He said, his expression darkening even further as he walked towards the window.
"Wait, Tien, you know we'll find a way to bring them back, we always do!" Bulma said, standing up.
"Yeah, there are apparently other sets of Dragon Balls on a planet called Namek but I don't think that will help. Even if we somehow had a way to get there, Chiaotzu's already been brought back once, it won't work again." He said bitterly, flying out of the window before Bulma had a chance to question him.

The scientist sighed and sat down, rubbing her temples.

"I'm sorry Yamcha. You were a good man, even if you were annoying. You didn't deserve to die." She said, wiping away her tears. It was then that she realised she wasn't the only one crying in the room. Goku's five year old boy was sobbing, but not for what had been lost.

"Why did I lose daddy? You promised me that I'd be strong enough to protect everyone if I just made myself stronger so why did they die? Why did I let you get hurt? I just want to make you safe." He sobbed to himself. Bulma began to approach the boy when the gentle voice of Goku answered back.

"Son, you fought so bravely. I am so proud of you, you're so much stronger than me. Sometimes, we can't save everyone or make everything okay. We just have to try and keep on trying until we're strong enough. If you do that, then you'll be able to protect everyone you love. I know how it hurts, son but if you give everything you have and more, things turn out okay in the end." Goku said, comforting his son.

"Daddy, I…" Gohan spoke.

"That's enough Gohan, listen to your Father." Bulma spoke sternly.

"Bulma, is that you? I can't move for some reason." Goku asked, a little cheerfully for a man whom was broken inside.

"Yes it's me Goku, and you can't move because you're bandaged up. Your bones are broken for Kami's sake! Anyway you're in hospital." Bulma said nonchalantly.

"H-hospital… you mean…" Goku said, his eyes widening drastically.

"Oh Kami here it comes." Gohan said, bracing himself for something.

"Here what comes, what's going on?" Bulma asked, before Goku began screaming out of the blue.

"Noooooooo! Get me out of here! I hate hospitals! They're full of doctors and needles and doctors trying to put needles in me!" Goku yelled, struggling against the bandages that covered his entire body. Gohan rolled his eyes and managed to step out of his bed, wincing as he landed on his feet. He wiped the water from his eyes and trotted to his father's side.

"Dad, come on, they won't do that if you don't want them to. You're too hurt to go anywhere anyway just relax and then we can go and find a way to bring everyone back." Gohan said, having to stand on tip-toes to look his father in the eyes.

Goku's breathing calmed down and he smiled nervously.

"Okay Gohan, if you say so." Goku said just as nervously. Bulma pinched the bridge of her nose. How had this man managed to bring a child up on his own? He was more childish than all of the kids on Earth. Speaking of Goku's parenting skills, it looked to Bulma as if Gohan hadn't had a hair cut since the day he was born as his wild spiky hair ran way down his back. It made him look a little like his uncle though the resemblance ended with that.

"Alright kid, we're getting you sorted out." She said decisively, putting her hands on her hips sharply.

"Sorted out? What do you mean, Miss Bulma?" Gohan asked, tipping his head in a way that made Bulma's heart melt like butter.

"If your hair grows out any longer, we'll all be drowning in it. I'm going to get you a haircut, and some smart clothes. Kami knows you've probably been wearing training clothes all your life." Bulma said sternly.

"You sound like mummy, I like my training clothes, they're comfy." Gohan frowned, crossing his arms.

"You… You met Chi-chi?" Goku asked his son, frowning.

"Yeah, King Kai let me go to heaven to see her a couple of times. She kept trying to make me wear really not comfy clothes and hit me with a frying pan every time I said no." He said frowning.

"Other than that, she's really nice." He smiled brightly. Goku laughed out loud.

"So she introduced you to the frying pan of doom too? He smiled, as if daydreaming about something.

"Okay, so where will we go, miss Bulma?" Gohan asked the blue haired scientist, his tail wagging like an excited dog's.

"Well, first we should head to Capsule corp. so I can pick some stuff up." Bulma said, pointing at the door.

"We don't have to walk, which way is it?" He smiled brightly.

"Ummmm it's over that way." She frowned pointing. "But I don't want you to fly us." Gohan ignored this and looked in that direction, putting two fingers against his forehead.

"Hum, I can feel two old life forces with a load of animals, is that Capsule corp.?" Gohan asked, keeping in that position.
"Well, yes, how did you know?" Bulma frowned.

"Grab my shoulder and you will find out." He laughed.

"Like this?" she said, kneeling down and gripping his shoulder tightly. Without another word, Gohan used his instant transmission, making them disappear,

"Bulma? Gohan? Oh Kami, I'm alone… In a hospital… Help." Goku mumbled, his face turning blue.

Capsule corp. – Doctor Brief's lab
"I swear…" An old man in a scientist's clothes said as he pieced together nuts and bolts and sheets of metal like they were pieces of a puzzle.

"This gets harder every time, I do wish my age didn't hinder me so, ey scratch?" The old man said, stroking the pure black cat that perched itself upon his shoulder.

"Still, this isn't going to build itself, the piece of sh-" suddenly, there was a zip sound and the sound of a woman screaming.

"Gohan never do that again without warning me!" Bulma yelled, giving the boy a whack around the ear.

"S-sorry Miss Bulma." The boy mumbled, giving her a nervous son grin. Doctor Briefs turned on them, looking at them curiously.

"My, dear, how did you get in here? I lock the door when I'm working on my projects. Who is this little boy? Did you adopt him?" The doctor asked, his face and voice remaining the same tone, as if he were mildly interested about everything that he saw.
"No dad, he's my best friend's son. You do remember Goku, right? Probably not, knowing you. Anyway, I just need to pick some things up." She said while Gohan looked around the room, speechlessly amazed by all of the incredible (though half finished) inventions that littered the old doctor's laboratory. While the boy was distracted, Bulma opened a drawer and pulled out the pretty green scouter that she'd spent so long fixing up and creating blueprints for. For some reason, she felt that she would need it. Kami knew why.

"Dad, when you have the time, I think it's about time we started work on the space capsule." She said, throwing the device from one hand to another.

"That shouldn't be too much work, I already have the design down. It will just take some elbow grease on my part." The old man said.

"Thanks dad, see you later." Bulma smiled. She walked straight up to Gohan and picked him up like a briefcase, holding him under her arm.

"Let's go Gohan." She said, walking out into the corridor towards the greenhouse. Gohan blinked but didn't say anything as he was carried along.

Soon they were in the most beautiful place inside the building. The greenhouse was like a whole forest in the middle of a compound with wild animals running amok through the trees.

Ignoring the dinosaurs that sent shockwaves over the ground with every step, Bulma placed Gohan on his feet and walked over to the other end of the greenhouse. There stood several strange looking plants, a light grey in colour along their stalks, no colour along their leaves. One would be hard pressed to imagine these plants being magical. According to Korin, a bright yellow flower would appear suddenly at the top of the plants when they were finally ready to be picked but none of these showed such signs. She gave a huff and stormed back over to Gohan.

"A year to grow my ass, they've been grey for more than that." She huffed, crossing her arms scowling.

"Miss Bulma, what does 'ass' mean?" Gohan asked innocently.

"I… You!? Oh Kami, just don't repeat that word, it's not one you should use. Let's just get you something other than hospital robes to wear." She said, pinching the bridge of her nose at her own stupidity.

Land of Korin – Kami's lookout

Mr. Popo had watched and listened closely as Kami had spoken his dying words.

The old Namekian had instructed the old servant to help the warriors of Earth locate the Dragon Balls that were supposed to be on the old Guardian's home planet; Namek. According to the old man, in the heights of Yunzabit, there laid an old structure, made from an alien material. This structure was supposed to be some form of space ship that had brought the pre-separation Kami to Earth.
The space ship would yield to anyone whom spoke the word 'Piccolo' beneath it.

In fact, all parts of the ship were voice activated and thankfully Mr. Popo had learned just enough Namekian by listening to Kami's rambling that he might be able to operate the ship to some degree.
Unfortunately, the genie would not be able to do so personally, for leaving the planet would cause many of the magical bindings that he had put in place to be undone, causing much harm.

Well, he was sure that the Earth men would figure something out, they usually did.

West city shopping district

"Miss Bulma, are you sure I have to wear this?" Gohan frowned as he walked beside the scientist, dressed in very tight fitting suit that would only ever be seen on a boy being forced to go to church.

In truth, this had been all she had been able to find for the boy but she wasn't going to admit that.

"Of course Gohan, now behave; I've booked you in to get your hair cut short." Bulma said, trying to keep the overactive child at bay.

"Can I have hair like daddy's?" Gohan asked brightly, smiling.

"I don't think they can do that, kid." Bulma laughed, shepherding him into the barber's parlour.

"Hello ma'am and young Master. Are you here for your two o'clock?" A young woman with long blonde hair said, bowing.

While Bulma was chatting with the hairdresser, Gohan looked around the parlour. The place was all but empty besides a big man with a large curly afro and a little girl whom looked about his age getting her hair done. While he was staring around, Bulma picked him up and placed him on a chair that had about twenty pillows placed on it so that he would be high up enough for the hairdresser to reach his hair. A cover was thrown around his neck and he sat with a slight blush, not quite sure what on earth had just happened to him.

The girl beside him laughed a little before wincing as her hair was pulled slightly.

"What's funny?" Gohan asked, frowning.

"It's just, you have long hair like a girl, but you're a boy." The girl said, smiling.

"So long hair means you're a girl? Wait... Miss Bulma, does that mean Mister Yamcha was a girl?" Gohan asked, thinking about the long haired warrior.

Bulma burst out laughing, remembering her former boyfriend's hair. Boy did Gohan remind her of Goku. She had to remind herself to teach him a few things before he started patting people to check if they were a boy or a girl.

"No, Yamcha is not a girl." Bulma laughed as she sat in a chair beside him.

"Oh, okay." Gohan said as a woman began working on his hair. As she worked, he heard the man sat beside the young girl talking to his hairdresser.
"So, I heard that you were planning to join in the World Martial Arts tournament when they bring it back this summer, is that true Mark?" The hairdresser said.

"Yes, and with the line up, I doubt I'll come up short. I'm thinking of having my name changed to something more media friendly though." The man said.

"Oh, is that so? Well, I wish you the best of luck."

"Is he really that strong?" Gohan asked the girl beside him.

"My daddy? Sure! He's the strongest man in the world! No one's better than him." The young girl said.

"Oh, really? My dad's really strong too. It would be cool to see them fight." Gohan smiled happily.

"That would be fun." The girl said happily.

Their conversation went back and forward as thus until Gohan's hair had well and truly been cut. It now had a much smarter and cleaner appearance however the hairdresser had decided to leave a few spikes here and there just to keep the slight rugged appearance that the boy had formerly had.
(Imagine the Future Gohan haircut.)
Gohan managed to say his goodbyes to the friendly young girl he'd met before Bulma whisked him away like a tornado so she could have him hold all of her shopping bags for the next several hours.
Safe to say, Gohan had an interesting day

The middle of nowhere

Everything was foggy. His body was filled with aches and pains as he struggled slowly to his feet. A long tail flicked out from around his waist and light glinted off of his bald head.
Nappa, the Saiyan general had been left behind, like a worthless piece of trash.

"Why Vegeta? I served you, I protected you. I treat you like my own brother." Nappa said scathingly.

"Am I worth nothing to you?! NOTHING?!" The brutish Saiyan screamed to no-one, letting a small amount of his power out as he yelled. When all of his rage had finally been let out, the bald brute sat down. He understood thoroughly. Weakness could not be abided. He should have been killed, executed for being unable to destroy his opponents. On that thought, he began to meditate, a practice he had not done since being assigned to look after the prince.

The bald man might have been a brute but he wasn't entirely brainless. Sure, he wasn't very logical and he relied on his brute force but the man had been the General of the Saiyan armies, and when he put his mind to it properly, he had been a force to be reckoned with.

Vegeta would not want him to return to his side. He was a disgrace now, less than dirt. Not fit to hold the name of Saiyan. Committing seppuku would not be beyond reason to him right now.
Oh what the king would say if he saw how far his old friend had fallen.

Three days later – The hospital

"When did Tien say he was turning up for this little get together?" Krillen said, stroking the top of his bald scalp.

"Right about-" Bulma began

"A Mister Tien and Miss Launch to see you all." The nurse spoke happily as the bald triclops and a beautiful woman with dark hair cradling a large bundle of clothe in her arms approached the group.

"I came." Tien said, closing his eyes and sitting down in a chair. Bulma smiled at her old friend.

"Hey Launch! I haven't seen you in years!" The other blue haired woman smiled.

"Hello Bulma, it's been a while hasn't it?" The gentle woman said, smiling brightly.

"I'd like you to meet my daughter." She said happily, holding the bundle out for Bulma to see.

"D-daughter?" Bulma asked, looking at the bundle of cloth. A quick look told her everything she needed to know. The girl was only a few months old but was already growing blonde hair, like the other personality of Launch had.
"Uh, Launch, has she ever, you know? Sneezed?" Bulma asked, wondering if the child would have the same problem as the schizophrenic woman.

"Oh lots, bless her. She must have had a cold. Why?" Launch asked, tipping her head slightly.

"N-no reason, it's fine." Bulma smiled nervously, accidently mimicking the son grin.

"If that's out of the way, we need to discus something important." Tien said sharply.

"Before I let the Saiyan go as Goku requested, I made him give me information. According to him, Piccolo and Kami come from a different planet. One called Namek. There is a high chance that they have Dragon Balls there too." Tien said, all three of his eyes shut as he spoke.

"That's amazing! So, we just have to find out where Namek is and go there." Bulma said, jumping up and down.

"But we don't know where Namek is." Goku frowned heavily, still bandaged up more than the mummy he had once fought.

"Oh... Yeah." Bulma said, sitting down. "That's a bummer."

"Is it now?" A voice came from the window. Every bar Goku who physical couldn't looked towards the window where a certain black skinned Genie.

"Mister Popo?" Krillen said, looking at his temporary one time teacher.

"It is possible that I may have a solution for your problem. Kami told me of the presence of the ship that brought him to this planet as a child. It is entirely possible that this ship still has the co-ordinates of Namek programmed into it." The genie spoke.

"Wow, really?!" Bulma said. "Could I come with you and see it?" She asked, eager to look at the alien technology.

"That was my plan, yes." Popo said, inviting the blue haired woman to sit upon his magic carpet.

The other members of the Z gang watched as the two disappeared, while several doctors and normal human patients cried out in shock.

"Is Miss Bulma gone?" Gohan's voice came from a cupboard.

"Hmm? Yes, she's gone, Gohan." Krillen said nonchalantly.

"Yay, no more shopping." The boy said, jumping out onto the side of his father's bed.

Nine hundred miles away – Yunzabit heights

With a sudden and loud pop, a magic carpet holding a rotund Genie and a young blue haired woman appeared in the air above a strange marble white structure.

"Here we are, Yunzabit heights." Mr. Popo said, stepping onto the ground, followed by the inaptly dressed woman who shivered in his wake.

"Oh, so this must be the ship." Bulma said, looking over the contraption.

Mister Popo led her inside and showed her how everything worked with voice control. She even managed to take the ship on a quick round trip to and from Jupiter.

After doing this and saying goodbye to Mr. Popo, Bulma took the ship home and began to work on it, meanwhile at the hospital, the Z gang decided that Tien and Krillen would go ahead with Bulma, and that Goku and Gohan would follow after them in the spaceship Bulma had told them her father was creating as soon as Goku was better as back up, in case Vegeta himself tried to get his hands on the Dragon Balls there or it turned out to be a trap.

All the talks had been rushed and over the phone as Bulma had spent her time at the lab, fixing the space-ships translators and making sure that the ship would be space-worthy.

Goku spent all of his time in hospital with Gohan as he healed slowly. Gohan on his part was fascinated by everything now that he had time to look around properly. Krillen, once he had healed, returned to Kame house to catch up with the old man, the pig and Puar.
Tien, for some reason spent most of his spare time with Launch and her baby, and the rest of it training.
It wasn't much but for a little while, the Z fighters knew peace once more.

Kame Island – One week later

The island which was usually only alive with the sound of yoga on television, was now buzzing with life. Several people stood on the beach with the strange white spaceship which had once belonged to the old guardian of Earth. One such person was a blue haired woman wearing a strange suit with the Capsule Corp. Logo on.

"Alright guys, we're all ready to go to Namek." The woman said to the two other people whom stood beside her. Master Roshi and the two freeloaders had come to wave them off but Launch, Goku and Gohan were nowhere to be seen.

"Alright, it's time to go then, I guess." Krillen said, scratching the back of his head.

"Then let's not waste any time. Let's go. Now." Tien said sharply.

"Alright then. To a new world. Piccolo!" Bulma called out to make the ship open. An unearthly light bathed the Earth's first interplanetary explorers as they began their first steps to a new world.

Frieza planet 38

Vegeta's eyes sprang open as his heart rate climbed faster than the machine could measure. This new power, the Zenkai he'd gained from being brought so close to death by such a powerful attack was amazing. He kept his face void of emotions as he'd long trained himself to but beneath the mask, he was smiling with all his heart and soul. Soon, very soon, he would become the legend.

"Sir? Vegeta?" Doctor Malaka said as Vegeta climbed out from the healing tank.

"I'm fine." He growled, snatching the new set of armour up.

"I'm leaving." He said sharply, wrapping his tail around his waist as he walked straight down the corridor. He had to get to Namek before the Earthlings. If he could become immortal then he wouldn't even need the legendary power to curb stomp the reptilian overlord. As he was speed-walking his way to the docking bay, he felt a clammy alien hand upon his shoulder.
"Going to Namek are we, Vegeta?" The disgusting creature known as cui asked with a laugh. Vegeta bit his tongue, how did this creep know?

"Why do you care?" He asked the insignificant being.

"Just so you know, Lord Frieza heard everything that went on down at that mudball and has just recently set of for Planet Namek. You should know well by now that the scouters are also transmitters, Vegeta."

Vegeta bit down the scream that burned his throat and pulled away from the other warrior, running properly now. He had to get to Namek, he had to get his wish and he had to destroy Frieza.
Within ten minutes, the Saiyan was in his pod, speeding on his way to Namek. That goddamn planet just had to be on the other side of the Galaxy, didn't it?
Well no matter, he had sworn it to the Saiyan god of war Nori that Frieza would be destroyed and killed by a Saiyan.
He would strangle the effeminate bastard with his own two hands.

Author's notes.
This one took longer than it should have, sorry about that, readers and friends, but the Namek and Frieza saga is up next.
Will Nappa play a part in any future events?
Will Bulma scar even more children for life?
Will Vegeta ever get his wish?
Find out in the next Chapter of A Son's Tale.

And now, a sneak preview of the 'final' battle against Frieza.

"You... He was right, I should have killed you while I had the chance, you're a Super Saiyan!"
"Saiyan this, Monkey that. I think you need reminding just what I am. I. AM. HUMAN!"

Power levels coming out of the Saiyan saga

Goku (Broken) – 15.238
Goku (Zenkai) – 15,832

Gohan (Zenkai) – 15,092

Tien – 9,899

Full power spirit bomb – 320,000

Vegeta (Zenkai) – 25,923

Nappa (Zenkai) – 7,896

Krillen – 2,592

Bulma - 28

Mark Satan – 86

Videl Satan - 5

See you all soon. Keep reading, have fun.
~Hadessonjames