Chapter 14

"And he just walked away! Before Lord Freeza said anything else!" Raditz was filling Nappa in on what happened.

"Where is he now?" Nappa looked around the cafeteria. He wasn't the only one... interest in the young prince's return—and unknown future—had caught fire. More than a few dinners, already unappetizing enough, were getting cold.

"Hell if I know!" Raditz dug into his reconstituted chicken. Excitement, nerves, worry... it all made him hungry. "I ran in the opposite direction. At this point, the less we associate with Vegeta the better. Don't want to get caught up in whatever plans Lord Freeza has for him."

"Never mind, there he is." Vegeta, wearing clean and undamaged clothes for the first time in almost a year, came to their table. "Come to say your last words before the gallows?" Nappa asked.

Vegeta shrugged. "I haven't heard anything about that... I was just sorting out my paperwork so I can switch to this planet. I'm working under Zarbon, I guess he's the Qaarst of this place. You too?"

"We're with this guy called Dodoria," Raditz spoke for Nappa too. "He doesn't like us very much. It's just 'cause when we first met him..." Raditz trailed off when no one was looking at him. "U—uh, Vegeta, there's another Minko brother on this planet, Mull Minko I think his name was, so if you wanna go to a storygroup again... It's so weird how they all look the same, isn't it? I bet you have a lot of stories to tell, heh heh..."

"Maybe I'll drop by, let me know when their next meeting is," Vegeta murmured, not looking away from Nappa. Raditz stopped trying, the silence too unencouraging for even him to keep talking. Vegeta and Nappa hadn't spoken in four years. There was an elephant in the room; the only thing that gave it away was how Nappa didn't look Vegeta in the eye.

"So you didn't stick around to hear what Lord Freeza was going to say?"

"If he's planning on killing me, nothing I say can change his mind. I didn't feel like hanging around to find out."

Raditz laughed in amazement. He'd forgotten what an attitude Vegeta had.

Vegeta didn't say that if he was going to die, this way he'd have a few extra minutes left while Freeza tracked him down. Instead, he ate.

Eating a meal together finally made the reality sink in for Nappa: Vegeta was back and probably staying that way. He needed to go train... alone. Nappa got up and rushed off, almost knocking over Ronji on his way out. The scientist stumbled forward, trying not to spill his mint-chocolate milkshake, and rammed his side into the Saiyans' table. The milkshake slipped out of his hands and started to tip over onto Raditz's food.

A hand shot out and grabbed the glass, neatly scooping the escaping ice cream back inside. Vegeta handed Ronji his milkshake. Ronji looked at him with starry eyes, clutching the milkshake tightly to his chest. He didn't have to do that for me!

"Oh yeah! Ronji! Vegeta, this is Ronji. He's one of the leading scientists here." Raditz smiled proudly. "Me and Nappa recruited him on our first mission."

Ronji pushed Raditz back into his place. "Don't try to take credit for my accomplishments. You were just my carpool. And you, Prince Vegeta." Ronji clasped his hands and turned to Vegeta. "Congratulations on your return. I'd like to repay you for catching my drink; would you allow me to properly introduce myself back at my lab?"

To this day Vegeta isn't sure what compelled him, a twelve year old Saiyan fresh off the biggest fighting spree of his life, to humor that strange scientist. Maybe it was Ronji's friendly smile—it had been a long time since anyone was happy to see Vegeta and he was still young. Ronji's room was cleared of all the chunky healing tank debris and was now filled with boxes and boxes of smaller, more delicate pieces. Ronji went to a counter at the back and started pulling things out of cupboards.

Vegeta picked up a half-built device that fit neatly in his hand. "What's this?" Ronji, blending something loudly, ignored him. Vegeta scowled and put it back. He was just about to walk out without saying anything when something caught his eye. For every few pages of notes and blueprints on the floor, there was one covered with small doodles. Just silly stuff—googly eyes and sunglasses and stick figures, things like that.

"What do you think brings most people to the Force?" Ronji asked suddenly, still at the counter.

"Hmm?" Vegeta wasn't expecting the question. "Lots of things. Money, power, a planet held hostage..."

"And why are you here?" That was a trick question. Ronji knew about Planet Vegeta, knew that none of the Saiyans had anywhere else to go. But this one had left for some reason... risking Freeza's anger... and had come back.

"I'm here to fight. No one took me seriously back then... and I guess I can't blame them, with my power level. So I left. But out there I didn't have access to new information or military gear. Plus, strong people were scattered across the galaxy instead of in one place. So I came back."

"You're someone who follows the fight."

"That's right."

"I thought Nappa and Raditz were too, but not compared to you. Maybe because you're a prince? But I'd think the prince would be more cautious and self-protective... either way, I'm glad to find a kindred spirit."

"So are you someone who 'follows the science?'" Vegeta asked, smirking.

"Boring. Inventing things is just my meal-ticket... or snack-ticket, to be more precise." Ronji finished mixing and turned around. "I follow the mint and chocolate. Though I'm only interested if they're together." He gave Vegeta a fresh milkshake.

"Thanks." It was delicious, especially since Vegeta hadn't bought any real food of his own yet, but he was more curious in Ronji's work. He was the only scientist Vegeta had met who seemed more or less disinterested in their own genius. And when Ronji told him about the healing tanks, Vegeta's jaw dropped to the ground. "D—do you know what this means for a Saiyan? We get stronger every time we recover from the brink of death. And with a machine that can heal injuries that quickly..." Vegeta couldn't speak, he was so excited. "Let's be friends! Please. I have to pay you back somehow, this invention of yours will change everything."

Ronji liked to treat his inventions casually, but he was fairly passionate (he secretly called himself an artist) and definitely not immune to flattery. "Well then..." He made sure the door was locked, then picked up the small machine Vegeta had been wondering about earlier. "It isn't finished and I haven't told anyone I started making it yet, but I think you'll like this as well."

"Is it a weapon? I hate weapons."

"It's the next step up from a scouter... a scouter 2.0. You wear it like this." Ronji fastened it over his left ear so it looked like he was wearing half a pair of earmuffs. "There's going to be a small screen that goes over the eye, but I'm starting with the computer because that's the hardest part."

"'Scouter 2.0'...? You mean that tiny thing's supposed to read where other people are? I didn't think it was possible to sense chi with something so small."

"I'm not just talking about that baggage you soldiers drag around on missions," Ronji said, his enthusiasm beginning to show. "I'm building this to be able to read power levels as well. It's only capable of reading anything under 500 right now—any more and it explodes—but with more work I should be able to increase that number greatly."

Vegeta fell to the ground. It was possible to read power levels without feeding a machine chi first? The possibilities were endless. You could know, going into a fight, exactly how you and your opponent compared. You could know which specific missions were responsible for an increase in power. You could see who was slacking off without even having to ask...

Ronji's comm went off. He gave Vegeta the scouter prototype to admire while he answered it. Vegeta, as he turned the miraculous invention around in his hands, realized how lucky he was to be back. This spaceship of progress had almost launched without him. And Raditz and Nappa had recruited this guy? If they played their cards right, there was something to be gained from having an ally in Ronji.

As Vegeta was looking at the advanced circuitry, trying to find one piece he recognized, Ronji sat down next to him and began to scribble angrily on a piece of paper.

"What's wrong?"

"Apparently I'm going to be put down if I don't announce my progress by tomorrow. Grrrr... I wanted to wait until it was finished before going public... they don't have any concern for timing at all..." Vegeta leaned over and saw Ronji put the finishing touches on a small pink and purple creature with two straight horns, black lips, and a long tail getting crushed by a meteor.

"You know that would never be enough to kill him," Vegeta said.

"But this little drawing would be enough to kill me, so don't tell anyone." Ronji ripped the paper up and sighed. "I have to make a lot more progress tonight, so it's time to get to work." He looked in Vegeta's glass and grunted with disappointment when he saw that the milkshake was gone.

Vegeta was halfway out the door when Ronji called him back. "Freeza also said that the two of you have a meeting in ten minutes. He said to meet him at launch pad 22 and don't waste time saying any goodbyes."

Lord Freeza said to meet him there but Vegeta was only met with a single-person pod. He got inside and took off for places unknown, the ship's preprogrammed co-ordinates giving nothing away.

*⁂*⁂*

Vegeta's expectations were so low that he was pleasantly surprised when he arrived at a planet, and not a black hole or a sun. In fact, it was a planet he recognized: Kazoo, with hills of blue, metropolises too. It had been on his list before but he kept putting it off because of its subzero, planet-wide winters. He had bad memories of the cold.

But it was summertime, and when Vegeta stepped out onto the roof of a superstructure the air was cool and smelled fresh. Probably because the pollution was disappearing... decimated cities didn't give off a lot of greenhouse gases.

He saw Lord Freeza, accompanied by Zarbon and ten soldiers, looking at the wreckage from the other end of the roof. Everyone except Lord Freeza turned to look at Vegeta as he walked over. "Zarbon," Vegeta said, nodding to him diplomatically.

"I'm sure you're wondering if this is the place you'll die," Zarbon replied.

"Not really."

Lord Freeza turned around slowly, a certain look in his eyes, and Zarbon asked "Why do you say that?"

"Uh... wouldn't you just save the effort and kill me on 65?" Under Lord Freeza's gaze, despite himself, Vegeta suddenly felt unsure.

"This planet is dead," said Zarbon. "No locals, and no resources we want. Lord Freeza has graciously invited you out here, and don't forget it."

Lord Freeza cast his arm out to the ruined city. "Follow." The two of them rose, up and up until the vast city was stretched out below them. Vegeta stared down thoughtfully, wondering what would happen next.

"Do it."

"Hm?"

"Take a shot."

"At what?"

"At the city, Vegeta. You're asking too many questions."

This was Vegeta's chance. He would show Lord Freeza. He was useful. He was strong.

He deserved to live.

The life force that had been unleashed and developed during Vegeta's time away spiked and, in a desperate attempt to show its worth, demolished the entire city. Deserted, run-down buildings to rubble. Trees and gardens to ash.

Destroying that city took a lot out of him, but Vegeta was sure he could do it again if he needed to. So when Lord Freeza took him to a new city he naturally assumed he was being called on to prove his stamina.

"Out of the way." Lord Freeza pushed Vegeta, already building his chi a second time, aside and faced the planet himself.

Vegeta had used both hands and a second to wipe that city off the map. Lord Freeza just stuck out his little finger and shot a single beam down to the surface, looking away carelessly as it streaked towards the new city.

The explosion was twice as big as Vegeta's. When he looked back in awe at Lord Freeza, the monster was charging up a ball of chi in the exact same way Vegeta had. Both hands. Was he using his full power? Vegeta and Lord Freeza's eyes met, and the next moment Vegeta was desperately flying away as quickly as he could.

Freeza watched the Saiyan child go, displeased. Such a weak thing to do, running away. But then again, Vegeta was a child. Irrelevant. The real issue: did Freeza want him as a subordinate? Was the fleeing Saiyan a coward, or someone who knew his own strength?

And just then, Freeza made his decision.

Vegeta's eyes widened with dread as he got past his instinctual response to see the truth: Lord Freeza was building a planet-destroyer. It didn't matter how far he ran. Then he wasn't spending his last moments running and hiding. He'd grown out of hiding, hadn't he?

As Vegeta turned to face Lord Freeza, the world around him burst into flames. The sky was gone, the cities were gone, he didn't know which way was up, his armor might be melting... but he didn't let himself fall. He didn't close his eyes.

Something hit his stomach, dragging him backwards... and suddenly four walls closed around him. He was in Lord Freeza's ship, leaving this dying planet and going back to safety. Lord Freeza and Zarbon were sitting across from him. None of the other soldiers were on board. He had been spared. Vegeta put his hands on his knees and bowed his head. "Thank you very much, Lord Freeza."

"I thought you might have changed your loyalties all those years away, Mr. Vegeta."

"No, sir. I was always planning on coming back."

"I know. And you know your behavior was toeing the line. Don't do it again."

"I won't..." Vegeta, still with his head bowed, held his tongue. He couldn't say it. He really shouldn't say what he wanted to: I won't... If I get to fight.

"When we get back I'll make sure you'll get a mission you're happy with. I have something in mind. Don't fret." Vegeta smiled, sitting up. "Oh, and Mr. Vegeta? Where are those planet files you so rudely stole?"

"Drifting somewhere in outer space, probably. I lost them."

Lord Freeza nodded to Zarbon, who got up and dislocated Vegeta's shoulder. He cried in pain and fell back. "I... I can't move my arm...!"

Lord Freeza turned to look out the window. "We have healing tanks now. You'll be fine. Don't steal."