I'm back. This fic gives me life. I promise I'll finish it, even if I write it at a snail's pace.
Edit: November 4, 2015 Planet name change. Because I found a better name for that planet.
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Chapter 26: This is Not High School
The memories from Vegeta's peaceful year on Earth quickly faded. After ten purges, he realized he'd forgotten the star patterns of Earth's night sky, and after two months he could no longer picture the layout of the tiny house. The only proof that he had lived there at all was the presence of Bulma and Goku on Frieza's ship, but he'd been doing his best to avoid them. The overwhelming remorse he felt whenever they were near weakened him, and he was already so tired. Missions began to blur together. One unending killing spree after another. The energy consumed from completing two purges a week with little to no turnaround sapped Vegeta's strength. No energy remained for social interaction.
At first, in an attempt to keep his spirits up, Bulma had visited after each mission, chatting with him in the cafeteria or seeking him out in the hallways. But Vegeta needed what little sleep he could get, and he didn't want the other soldiers to see them together anyway. So, after his fifth purge, he changed the code to his barracks and did his best to ignore both her and Goku from then on. She'd knocked on his door for a few nights afterwards, but he never answered.
He'd occasionally see one of them in the hallway or across the cafeteria, but he'd leave before they could they could engage him.
At least Bulma was still alive. He'd seen her cavorting with a few of the other technicians, spouting science-speak like it was a secret tongue. She seemed happy enough without him. She'd made friends.
Sightings of Goku were more of a rarity. He'd been stationed on night duty at the armory, but Vegeta had overheard from a few sources that the new recruit was more powerful than originally thought, and he was moving up the ranks quite quickly. Vegeta only hoped Goku would keep a low enough profile not to attract attention from some of the senior officers.
When the group had first hastily come up with their survival plan, Vegeta had doubted they'd survive the day, much less two months. Collectively, they were doing pretty well.
Upon returning from his latest bloodbath, Mulburry, the diplomacy director, stopped Vegeta in the launch bay.
"An excellent purge, Prince Vegeta," said the elderly alien. His typical greeting.
"What's tomorrow look like?" Vegeta removed his scouter and attempted to clean the blood-splattered lens on the leg of his equally bloody pants while he waited for Mulburry to pull up the mission log.
"Actually," the older man faltered. "I'm not at liberty to discuss tomorrow with you. Lord Frieza requests an audience with you in his throne room."
Not good.
Mulburry continued, "Though I might clean up a bit, if I were you."
Vegeta grimaced and look down at his blood-soaked armor. What was the point? He'd probably leave the meeting in worse condition than he was now. "Tell Lord Frieza I'm on my way."
When Vegeta reached the throne room, he opened the doors and was surprised to find Goku standing next to Frieza.
"Prince Vegeta, please join us." Frieza greeted him pleasantly. "And don't drip on the tile. I just had it cleaned."
Vegeta entered the room with a clear What are you doing here glare at Goku, who shrugged back.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you both here," said Frieza.
Vegeta stayed silent, unsure of where the conversation was going. Goku took Vegeta's example and stayed quiet as well.
"Vegeta, when you first returned with your two peace offerings, I assumed they would be quite useless, but they've both surprised me. I've been told the girl is remarkably intelligent, but this one…" he gestured to Goku. "He's the real surprise."
Goku spoke tentatively. "I'm not-"
Frieza cut him off. "Your power level qualified you for the reserve troops, but you have much more potential, don't you? Power that you're hiding?"
Goku opened his mouth to speak, but Vegeta interjected. "It must be the training. The reserve troops' basic training often brings out latent potential." He shot a fierce look to Goku. What had the boy been doing? He was supposed to be blending in.
Frieza smiled. "Whatever the case may be, Goku here is quite the prodigy. Which brings me to why I called you to this meeting. Look at the planet below us." He gestured to the throne room's panoramic window.
Below the ship, a small, purple planet caught the last rays of its setting sun. Frieza's space ship acted as a command post for whichever region of space the emperor was acquiring at the time. The fact that he had stationed the craft right above its target meant he wanted the people of the planet to see the ship and fear him. The ship had orbited around his Planet Vegeta for nearly a year before Frieza destroyed it.
"That's planet Pangol, and its inhabitants have been on my naughty list for quite some time. The Pangolins are a warrior race, and they may just be too much for you, Vegeta, in your current state." Frieza gestured to Vegeta's sodden clothing. "You should really take better care of yourself."
"You want an untrained soldier to accompany me on a purge?" Vegeta baulked.
Frieza put a hand on Goku's shoulder. "You said yourself that the Frieza Force's training has brought out his true potential."
"As a soldier on the ship. Not on the battlefield."
"Are you questioning my orders?"
"No, Lord Frieza." Saying anything else would be a death sentence.
"Then it's settled." Frieza clasped his hands together. "Goku, you will accompany Prince Vegeta on his purge of Pangol tomorrow. You are dismissed."
After both bowing, Vegeta led Goku down two hallways and safetly out of earshot before whirling around. "What the hell, Kakarot?" He shoved a finger into the taller boy's chest. "What part of not attracting attention do you not understand?"
"I didn't do anything," said Goku. "I mean, I won a couple sparring matches, but those were during breaks."
"There are no breaks here!" snapped Vegeta in a harsh whisper. "This is not high school. This is fascist dictatorship run by a bloodthirsty emperor who has the ability to destroy planets."
"Sorry," whined Goku. "I just needed to blow off a little steam."
"Well, I'm sorry your guard duty job is so boring that you have to resort to blowing our cover to get some excitement. Meanwhile, I'm using up all my energy purging planet after planet so you two can stay alive on this stupid ship." The tirade left Vegeta out of breath. He put one hand on the wall to steady himself.
"Are you okay?" asked Goku.
Vegeta pressed his fingers against his eyes. "No," he answered simply.
Goku didn't respond for a moment. "What's all over your clothes? Is that blood?"
"Yes, Kakarot. It's blood." Vegeta pushed himself off the wall. "Just stay out of my way tomorrow. You're not going to like what you see."
Goku frowned and took a breath like he was going to say something else, but Vegeta was already halfway down the hallway. Tomorrow, Goku would learn the truth. What point was there of shielding him?
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I'm going to cut it off here for now. This chapter was originally going to be slightly longer, I decided on a different cutoff point, so I can tie two things together later. Thanks for reading. Review, please.