Goten looked up at the ceiling of the strange room. The clock next to him was beeping loudly. When had he fallen asleep? He knew that he had been very excited the night before, so it had been hard to pass out, but somehow, someway, he did.

As he pulled himself up, he saw his clothing sitting on a table. They were cleaned and pressed. Goten couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. When had someone come in here? He had to be losing his touch.

As he dressed, he wondered why they even bothered with cleaning up his human clothes anyway. He wasn't sure about the armor that they wore, but there had to be a lot of that lying around. It didn't seem practical for him to be wearing his own clothes.

But this had to be a sign that he was not fully accepted by them. He wasn't one of them, nor would he ever be one of them. He was just Son Goten. Even if Vegeta thought he was special right now, it didn't mean that he would think that when he woke up from whatever spell he was under. When the prince regained his memories, Goten would be back at the bottom of the pack, forgotten once more.

The young man shook his head. He didn't have time to think about such things. He needed to go meet Vegeta down in the training room. He finished dressing and walked out of his room. He didn't even bother with his hair. There was no gel here, so it went back to its natural look, going off in one direction rather than lying flat.

He walked down a flight of stairs, heading towards the dining hall. He could see that only two others were up. Vegeta was sipping on some coffee, while the woman named Cilica looked through some kind of portable computer.

Vegeta looked up in surprise, then smirked. "So that's what your hair really looks like." The boy did look more saiyan this way.

Goten looked away in embarrassment. He never really liked his hair as he got older. "Just get your laughter out now."

Cilica frowned. "Why would we laugh?" She grabbed her cup off of the table. "You look a lot better then you did."

Goten stared at them in shock. Pan and Trunks had always said his hair needed to look more stylish. "But it's defying gravity."

Vegeta chuckled. "And what saiyan's hair doesn't?"

It took Goten a couple of seconds to think that over. Vegeta was right, but he still shook his head. "I'm a human." Those words hurt, but thinking back it was the truth. He was raised as a human, so therefore he was human.

Vegeta growled. "Human?" The prince stood up. "There is still something inside that makes you saiyan, even if you don't know that it's there."

Goten stared down at the prince. "What do you mean?"

"It's time for us to train," Vegeta said, changing the subject. Cilica giggled as Goten followed Vegeta out of the room, but he still had no idea on how to answer the prince. What was Vegeta trying to say?

However, there was no time for questions. It was time to train. He gave a nod to Cilica before going after the prince. Vegeta didn't say anything to him as they walked. Goten knew that he was going to have to give the prince hints about the past along the way, but how did he even bring that up? Vegeta didn't trust him.

"Get in there, Boy," the prince growled, looking back at the half saiyan. He could see the lack of confidence all over Goten's face. With each passing second, the prince felt angrier with Kakarot. No saiyan child should give anyone that look, especially with the power that Goten had.

The half saiyan walked forward, going into the training room. He could already feel the shift in gravity around him. His body felt heavier. Goten looked back at Vegeta, finding the prince walking as if there was no difference.

Vegeta smirked. "I see that you are not used to shifts in gravity."

Goten shook his head. He knew that the gravity room back on Earth had been Vegeta's place of choice. All of the times that he trained with Trunks the gravity room had been shut off.

"I've started you on the lowest setting, by the end of this week, you should be used to it." Vegeta moved past him, grabbing what looked like weights out of a compartment.

"What are those for?" Goten said, his eyes going wide as the prince walked back.

"Your clothes are going to be weighed down." The prince smirked as soon as he saw the younger man's expression. "Did you think that it would be easy?" The prince passed the weights to the half-blood.

Goten shook his head. "I just… I thought we wouldn't start with that."

Vegeta grinned. "You already know the basics, we just have to build up your strength."

"Are…are you actually complimenting me?" Goten said with surprise.

Vegeta frowned. "Do you want me to treat you like a dog?"

Goten shook his head quickly. "No, sir."

Vegeta moved. "You'll learn your place soon enough. Now come, attack me with all you have."


Trunks wiped his head as they came out of the ship's gravity room. He had forgotten how much fun sparring could be. He began to feel guilty. His father had wanted him to keep training and the moment that Trunks had stopped, their relationship soured. The more time went on, the less the two of them had in common with each other. Bra was talking to Pan. It looked like they had enjoyed it as well.

When they reacted the hub room, they found Nappa still sitting there, but Bulma was gone. "She went to grab some coffee…I think."

Bra sat down. "I just wish she would tell us everything." She already had an idea of what they were in for. Her father was a criminal, that wasn't that surprising. They had brought up planet destruction, she couldn't help but wonder if her father had seen one of those. Had he been the criminal to help set up such a thing before the big guns came in or was he the cleanup crew?

Nappa sighed. "It is not my place to tell you." The tallest man stood up, only to look back at the two teenage girls and Trunks. "The story of Planet Vegeta isn't a happy one…nothing about your father's past could be described as easy or happy." The old man's eyes seemed to go blank. "We were all naïve back then, but in the end, we were burned."

"Burned?" Pan asked. Bra and Trunks leaned forward. They all wished Nappa would stop talking in riddles.

"The saiyan race put their trust in Frieza…and he used that trust to destroy us." Nappa turned his back on the group. "My daughter was among the first to be taken."

"Taken?" Bra asked. What was Nappa even talking about?

"Frieza made an order and we followed it. He took our children away from us…taught them the ways of war…so when they returned, they weren't our children anymore. My children were turned into killing machines. Frieza's very own attack dogs that would follow any order he gave, even if it meant killing my mate and I." Nappa's words sent a chill down Trunks's spine.

"Why didn't my grandfather do anything? You said he was a king?" Trunks asked.

Nappa laughed. "There was nothing he could do…he trusted Frieza like the rest of us…so when his boys returned from Frieza's training, it was like they didn't even know who he was."

Trunks and Bra tensed up. "Our father was taken…" Bra said under her breath.

"They all were." A sad smile came to Nappa's face. "They were so full of life before they were taken too. My daughter used to smile innocently…my son used to laugh at my corny jokes…they acted like children. What was returned to me, those weren't my children. Those were soldiers… who were perfectly crafted for war." Nappa sat back down. "It was like they had no emotions. I often wonder what Frieza did to them to make them that way, but all that does is bring pain… and hatred."

Trunks couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had always thought that his father was just some spoiled child. "What about our father?"

Nappa looked up at the ceiling. "He was such a happy child, his brother, Tarble, was an innocent one. Both of them had such a strong bond with their father, but when they returned, they regarded him as trash. Their adoration had become disgust." The old man sighed. "Until the day the planet was destroyed. I left to go after my children. The others made sure that Kakarot was sent away before the blast. They wanted him to be protected from that mess…and King Vegeta met his end."

"Didn't they all die if the planet was destroyed?" Pan asked.

Nappa didn't answer. He kept his lips shut.

Trunks sighed. "What about the rest? We need to know more."

But the old man was done. It looked like he would say no more. Bra looked over at her brother. Just as it looked like they were getting answers, the story stopped, leaving them at a dead end once more.

Trunks grumbled to himself, hopefully they would learn more once they reached the patrol. They were getting some of the pieces, soon the puzzle would be complete. The mystery of their father's past would be revealed, then they could move forward with finding him.


Goten collapsed against the floor of the training room. He was a little light headed as he panted, but even with how exhausted he felt, he didn't feel angry at all about it. He smiled to himself. That had been a lot of fun.

Vegeta smirked down at the boy. "I think that's enough for today, don't you agree?" The boy had clearly enjoyed himself. Each punch and kick had to feel like a release for him.

Goten sat up. "How about 5 more minutes?"

The prince moved over. "For someone that doesn't have skills, you sure do like to train." He needed to get the boy to spill his secrets.

"I always wanted to train," Goten said, not thinking. "My father just…" The half saiyan looked away.

"Your father just what?" Vegeta pressed.

Goten looked up at the prince. "I just wasn't good enough… at least I think that's the reason." The boy looked back down. "He even picked a stranger over me." He didn't need to be saying this. Uub was clearly a better student then he was. Why else would his father choose him?

"He chose a student without saiyan origin?" Vegeta felt offended. "What kind of saiyan is that?"

"He had his reasons," Goten said, not able to keep the anger out of his voice.

Vegeta heard that twinge of anger, then grinned. "What reasons are those? Tell me, Boy, what do you think of that apprentice?"

Goten felt himself shake. "I…"

"Yes?" Vegeta asked.

"Why couldn't it have been me?!" Goten growled. "It should have been me! But no, I was never good enough." With each passing second, Goten felt angrier.

"You're right," Vegeta said calmly. "It should have been you." The prince offered the half saiyan his hand. "But that's why you're here now, Goten."

Goten's eyes went wide as he stared up at Vegeta's hand. "What?"

"Think of this as destiny, Boy." The prince said. "Why has fate brought you here?"

Goten stared at Vegeta's hand. A small voice inside of him was telling him to take that hand. But he couldn't do that. To take Vegeta's hand would be to betray his family. 'Haven't they already betrayed you?' the voice said.

Listening to that voice, he took Vegeta's hand. "I have no idea why it's brought me here. But just like you, I do think it is fate."

Vegeta smirked. "Let us get something to eat." He knew that it was around noon. "If you want to keep training, then we can return here after we fill our stomachs."

Goten nodded, following the prince out of the room. He didn't know what it was, but his previous thoughts about Vegeta seemed to be false. Trunks's father was nothing like the man he thought he was.

When they reached the mess hall, Cilica was gone, but in her place was Negi with Onuin. Both men glared at him as he moved to grab something to eat. Vegeta only smirked. "I didn't think that the two of you would have time to sit down."

Negi jumped. "We…we were just…"

"Taking a break," Onuin finished his sentence.

Goten looked over at them. "It looks like you haven't even broken a sweat."

Negi growled. "Listen here, Runt! You don't know what real training is like!"

Vegeta frowned. "So, training with me isn't real training then, lightweights?"

"Never, your majesty…he was just referencing the runt's lack of experience," Onuin said quickly.

"Even with a lack of experience, he was able to take the two of you down. It would be wise to work harder in the future," Vegeta said.

"He just got lucky though, his heart is too weak!" Negi said with a smirk.

"What does that mean?!" Goten growled, getting angry.

"Just get onto a battlefield, then you can call me weak!" Negi snapped.

Goten snarled, getting in the other warrior's face. "Maybe I'll do that!"

Vegeta grinned at that. It seemed that Negi's words of jealousy were working in his favor. "I'll believe it when I see it, Runt," Negi sneered before walking over to Onuin and pulling the larger saiyan behind him. "If you need us, we'll be training with the gravity on 150." The two disappeared.

Goten was still growling after they left. His eyes were glaring at the door. He felt the need to strike them down, but stilled as he felt a hand on his shoulder. His eyes looked around, finding the one called Mata standing there. "It takes a while for him to warm up to anyone new," the female said with a smile. "You've hurt his pride. It will take a while for it to heal."

Goten turned his eyes to Vegeta, only for the prince to nod. "But what about my own pride?"

Vegeta smirked. "I thought you didn't have that?" This was going better than he hoped. The boy was an open book for him. It was just as Frieza had taught him. Manipulation was easy on the emotional.

Goten sighed. "How do I get them to acknowledge me?"

The prince moved forward. "Give it time. Besides, they are about to have their pride hurt once more." Goten gave him a puzzled look. "We trained at 250 in the gravity room."

Goten's jaw dropped. "But you said it was on low!"

Vegeta smirked. "That is low…for me."

Goten couldn't believe what he heard. Did this really mean that he was stronger than he thought he was? "That… that can't be right."

The prince only grinned. "I would not lie about training." He looked over at Mata and the woman nodded. "We will relax for the rest of the day. Learn what you can from the others."

Goten was going to argue, but it looked like Vegeta's mind was made up. "Where do I even start?"

"How about with me?" Goten looked over to find his Uncle Raditz standing there. "I could use another pair of hands."

"Then it is settled," Vegeta said. "Learn from Raditz for the rest of the day. We will meet again tomorrow."

Goten nodded. "Yes, Prince Vegeta."

As Goten left, Vegeta watched the boy leave. His chest ached slightly, making the prince shake his head. It wasn't like he cared for the boy. Goten was only a pawn that the prince would use in his game. The image of the boy's dejected face came to him…it was odd. Goten looked a lot younger for some reason.

Vegeta shook his head once more. This was probably nothing. He probably shouldn't over think it.

To Be Continued…