23

Chapter Twenty Three
" Honor is simply the morality of superior men."
H.L Mencken

He had given them three hours for their savior to show, their precious Kakarot. And that time was nearly up. Soon he would have the Dragon Balls, whether it be the Earth's set, or Namek's, he didn't care. He only need his wish for immortality granted, then he could overthrow that smug bastard and claim what was rightfully his.

"Your time is nearly up." he said darkly.

"He'll be here! I know he will!" the young half Saiyan, Gohan, shouted vehemently.

Krillin was almost beginning to doubt that they would make it through the ordeal alive. But he couldn't afford to think like that. Goku would show, he always did.

Adalina watched the exchange through Vegeta's discarded scouter he had left on the ground. She was livid. She had taught him better, she was sure of it. And yet here he was, terrorizing innocent Earthlings all for the sake of some mythical spheres that grant anyone's wish. Stupid.

"Nappa has already killed quite a few people." she reported to Frieza.

"And the Dragon Balls?" he asked in a bored tone, he really didn't care about the lives of some Earthling cretins.

"Apparently they were used to bring Kakarot back to life and are null and void for an Earth year." she replied, "You know you could be a little more empathetic, a lot of people were killed."

"It's not my problem. Earth isn't under the jurisdiction of anyone, so it's not like I'm going to get in trouble for letting a few of the little cretins die." his voice held a sadistic undertone, showing that he truly did not care what happened to the residents of planet Earth, "As long as they don't blow the damn mud ball up, I don't care."

"You're insufferable." she blandly replied, "Why not let them blow up the planet then? Hmm?" she prodded.

"Because that would cause a mess for me. I'm not in that business any longer."

She sighed and didn't bother with a response, merely turning back to the fight,

"This strong energy, it couldn't be Goku, could it?" the Namekian, Piccolo, exclaimed as he stared into the distance.

"You can't possibly feel his power level, you're bluffing me." Vegeta commented as he waltzed over to his scouter and plucked it up. Adalina realized a moment too late and wasn't quick enough to turn her own scouter off. He would know.

He wasted no time in reading the power level of the warrior in the distance, the scouter reading off an impressive 5000. He relayed the information to Nappa, who gasped, not believing what he had heard,

"And by my estimation, he should be here in four minutes-huh, what's this?" he noticed the small icon in the corner of his scouter that meant he was linked with another, "Someone has been listening in on us."

"Oh, not just that, I've been watching too, Vegeta." Adalina smirked, she would be landing soon so it didn't matter if he knew or not, "I'll be landing in about twenty minutes. I'll consider going easy on you if you don't kill anyone else."

"Who is it? Is it Frieza?" Nappa questioned in a panic.

"No, it's Adalina." he smirked, "Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about? She's way stronger than us!"

"She won't kill us though, and I'm sure we can finish our business in under twenty minutes, right?" the prince chuckled as he looked towards the remaining warriors, "Kill them, I want the first thing Kakarot sees to be the corpses of his comrades. Oh, and stop listening in on me." he finished darkly as he shut the communication line on his scouter completely off.

Adalina grimaced, she had no idea of knowing what was going on now.

"So Goku will be here in four minutes, and someone way stronger than those two will be here in twenty." Krillin whispered to Gohan and Piccolo, "We just have to hold out a little longer you two."

Gohan nodded in determination, Piccolo formulating a plan.

"You ruined the surprise." Frieza chided.

"I know, but that Goku character, I suppose that's what they call Kakarot, he'll be there in four minutes. His power level was quite high, they seemed a bit panicked."

"I honestly don't care what happens any longer, without the Dragon Balls, Vegeta's little plan is useless."

"I don't want him terrorizing Earth any more. I'm sure we wouldn't hear the end of it from Arctica." she gave him a knowing look over the HUD. The kind woman constantly berated her nephew for, well, being a tyrant. Word always seemed to travel back to her.

"Do as you please then. Be their savior." he sarcastically replied, "I want Vegeta brought to me alive though."

"I don't think they'll be able to kill him, he's a tough cookie." she had conflicted feelings on that subject. She was worried for the Saiyan, but she was also worried for the poor Earthlings he was beating on. And that just made her angry at him.

"I've got work to do, report back to me when you land." he shut the HUD off reluctantly, he had wanted to continue talking with her, but he truly did have other things he needed to do. Try as he might, he just couldn't stay away from her. On most days that wasn't a problem, but she was light years away and he found himself missing her, even if she had only been gone a day. He was pathetic, letting some woman dictate his actions.

But it's what his mother would have wanted, he supposed.

She never wanted her sons to grow up to be just like their father. While Cooler had managed to retain some of his soft demeanor, Frieza was the spitting image of Kold, and he hated that. Maybe that was why he was willing to change for Adalina? Not just because he cared for her, but because he didn't want to be his father's design? It made sense, he supposed.

Though, some things would never change. He was still a sadistic bastard on occasion, but that was merely his personality. He craved power and didn't care who he had to knock down to achieve it. He quite enjoyed the effect he had on others, seeing them cower in fear at his very presence. He was a dominating person, and that would never change.

Adalina was beginning to get anxious, she only had five minutes until she landed, and she was almost dreading the sight she may come upon. Hopefully she didn't hate Vegeta. He constantly went on and on about how ruthless Frieza was, how stupid she was for trying to change him. But the prince was no worse for wear himself. He may never admit it, but he and Frieza had a lot more in common than he'd like to think. And this little adventure of his only proved it.

She pulled on the new armor she had received from Frieza, apparently it was tiring to see her in white constantly. It was sturdy and made of the same material as his, with its color scheme being magenta and gold.* It fit her quite well over the skin tight black undersuit she had on, showing her curves.

"Approximately three minutes until landing, please secure yourself before entering the atmosphere." a sweet robotic voice called out, and she obeyed, sitting in the captain's chair and buckling her harness.

Here goes nothing

The boy, he was transforming into a great ape! He wouldn't last long in his condition, he knew it. He tried to stop the grotesque mutation, but it was futile. His only hope would be escape. But then again, there was no where he could go that Adalina wouldn't follow. His plan had been foiled and he wouldn't get a second chance.

"Damn it all!" Vegeta shouted as he backed away from the ape towering over him.

The proud prince wasn't one for retreat, but the situation called for it. No. He could still win, the boy was untrained in such a form. And by the looks of it, he had no control either as he charged towards the bald one.

"Gohan!" Goku called out, "We're your family, the enemy, is over there." he managed to grind out, his consciousness barely holding on. His words seemed to have an effect as the boy turned towards Vegeta...

Adalina hastily exited the spacecraft, she had landed a mile or so out, nothing she couldn't cover in mere seconds. She clicked her scouter on and instantly located the exat location of the battle. There were three low power levels, and one large one, in the shape of a great ape.

"Don't tell me.." she shook her head, it wasn't Vegeta, it would have been stronger.

She zoomed over to the battle field and instantly saw the carnage. Who she assumed to be Kakarot, what with the insane hair, lay in a crater barely breathing. A small bald man also looked near dead, not far from him. But she was looking for Vegeta as she scanned the mesas.

She watched as he tussled with a great ape that she didn't recognize, another Saiyan? How? No matter, he would die if she didn't intervene. She charged up a sharp beam of ki, aimed for the tail, and in one swift move, cut it off.

Vegeta was falling with the massive body, and would no doubt be crushed if it landed on him. She wasted no time in grabbing him, setting him down on the ground beside the fallen ape, who had reverted to a child. Perhaps it was a hafling?

"How dare you intervene, woman?!" he shouted as he stumbled to his feet, his breathing ragged.

"How dare I?! I saved you, even after all the horrible things you've done today. You know, I could have let Frieza come instead, wouldn't that have been fun?" she crossed her arms, her scolding demeanor vanishing with a sigh, "We're going home. But first I'm gonna go apologize."

She waltzed over to Goku, hovering over him,

"You must be Kakarot." she waited for recognition before continuing, "I'm really sorry about his behavior. I promise I raised him better, I hope you can forgive him."

Goku smiled at her, a goofy smile that would become his trademark,

"Everyone deserves a chance at redemption."

She smiled, she quite liked that idea,

"My name is Adalina, by the way, if you're ever traveling the cosmos and find yourself in a bind, let me know and I'll try to help. Until then, take care." she turned away before realizing something, "Oh, and do you need me to contact someone? You most certainly need medical attention."

"I think someone's on their way, but thanks."

Vegeta, meanwhile, had managed to call his space pod. He'd be damned if he went anywhere with her. He would no doubt get a thrashing from Frieza. Adalina turned from Goku and noticed this, furrowing her brows as she ran back over to him. She fired a well aimed blast at the craft, demolishing it.

"You're coming home with me, and Nappa too. Where is he?" she was irritated.

"Dead. I killed him. He was useless to me." her eyes widened at his cruel words, but honestly, she had been expecting it for some time.

"We're leaving." she hoisted him over her shoulder, of course he protested, but she ignored him. She was trying her best not to jostle any wounds, but he was in pretty bad shape, so it was hard trying not to hurt him.

"You're not going anywhere." a small voice countered, causing her to turn around. The bald one, Krillin, she had heard him called over the scouter, was holding a sword with a deadly gleam in his eye.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Adalina replied solemnly, knowing all too well how the man felt, "If it makes you feel better, the thrashing he's most likely to get will be worse that death." she was exaggerating, but she'd have said anything to get the human to back down.

"Krillin, let them go, it's okay." Goku called as he watched the exchange,"He deserves another chance, plus, something tells me he might be useful down the line."

Krillin dropped the sword and fell on his bottom in defeat,

"Thank you. And I'm really sorry for what they did." she motioned to Vegeta, "He's not all that bad, I promise." she smiled, "Take care."

She zoomed back to the ship, quickly situating Vegeta on one of the beds within. He would need immediate medical attention, and it's likely that he wouldn't make it to the mother ship. He was critical.

She set a course for the nearest Frieza planet, one of the older ones he had conquered back in the day. Thankfully, it wasn't far away at all, maybe twenty minutes or so if she booked it. Frieza would be mad that she hadn't delivered the Saiyan to him, but hopefully he'd understand.

The Zandonian pulled up her HUD and was instantly met with his smirking visage, once again in his first form, must have gotten bored of his final form or something silly. She sighed and began what she was going to say as calmly as possible,

I'm taking him to planet 211. He's in really bad shape, he wouldn't have made it to the mother ship. I'm not doing this to spite you, I promise."

His eyes narrowed, but he believed her, for the most part anyway,

"Adalina you know if you're lying to me..."

"I'm not."

He sighed, relenting,

"Very well, I'll just come to you then."

"He could be healing for a while, he's in critical condition." she know she sounded as if she were making excuses, but truly, she wasn't.

"Now you're just making excuses. Why are you still trying to protect him even after what he's done?" he spat, knowing how to manipulate the woman expertly.

"For the same reason I try and justify your actions. I'm seriously not making excuses, that Kakarot is one tough warrior." she sighed, "But come if you will, see that I do not jest."

He clicked the HUD off, irritated at the turn of events. He wasn't mad at her, no he just simply liked to push her buttons. He trusted her judgment, and it sounded as if Vegeta received quite the beating, and from a low class warrior none the less! Perhaps the embarrassment could be punishment enough?

Yes, he rather liked that idea. Proud Saiyan prince, defeated by third class trash.

A/N: *The armor described here is the one in Adalina's original character sheet.

Anyway, I think I finally figured out how to prevent Fanfiction from messing up my format! This is how every chapter is suppose to look, but alas, fanfiction(note, I won't be for sure if it worked til it's uploaded, so you may be reading this and seeing no difference at all). I've also noticed, that if you're reading on a large screen that my paragraphs may seem short to you. That's because I write on an old HP mini, so the screen is really small. In short, everything looks normal to me, but maybe not you? I don't know.

And we're that much closer to the Namek saga, woo. I think next chapter might have some darker themes in it, so be prepared. When I started out on this journey, I never intended for it to be a normal romance. Frieza is still sadistic and, well, when mixed with romance, he can get a bit possesive I guess?

I also drew a new cover for the story, and there's a full sized version with word art up on my Deviantart right now, my username is kurokagamiimeji.

Thanks for reading guys!