Credit where Credit is due: Many thanks to MegaKat for giving me kind permission to use her Saiyan language throughout this story.

Words used in this chapter:

Cha'le - Saiyan goddess of the moon and luck

Jik'hi - asshole

Ji'tach - a Saiyan fighting team/family

Tapa - general swear word

Ve'ho - prince


Vegeta awoke with a start, jolted to awareness in a sudden flash. He sat upright, instantly awake and aware. Something had woken him… but what? He lay still and listened, but nothing seemed to stand out. The usual background noises continued unabated.

He had fallen asleep in front of the fire again; it had burned down to ashes. Everything was coated in a layer of dew, so he was chilled to the bone. His limbs were covered in tiny, itchy insect bites from the vampires that had dined on his flesh during the night and early morning.

His head pounded in time with his heartbeat, and every inch of his body ached, including his eyeballs. Chills wracked his frame, and it did not help that It was so cold that he could see his breath. Damn… he had not meant to fall asleep here, away from his nest. How had he allowed this to happen? His head felt fuzzy, confused, as if he had stuffed it full of rags.

Gotta get up, gotta get warm. Vegeta shifted to sit up and get the fire started, but when he put weight on his left leg, it yelled at him. He hissed as he slowly peeled off the shredded boot to take a closer look. What he saw did not make him feel better about his situation. Although he had seared the wounds shut, the skin had started to discolor and rupture around the edges. Yellow pus had started to seep from the bites and had formed a nasty smelling crust that stuck to the inside of his boot and wept copiously. The slightest touch caused waves of pain to course through the entire leg, radiating outward from the calf … except for his toes. They had gone numb and pale, and that was far more worrisome.

Vegeta was familiar with the signs of infection, and he obviously had one. Out here there were no antibiotics to turn the tide. Counting on his Saiyan immune system had not worked out so well this time. Perhaps his body would have recovered better when he had first arrived and was not starved and compromised. But now? He'd be lucky not to lose a leg, or his life. Not to mention that his tail had several new kinks, and his arm was twisted at an odd angle. The rapid healing process after the fight had set the bones wrong, and it would have to be rebroken. And his tail … well, what was another kink in it, right?

He wiped at his face, scratched his scalp. He felt bleary, like he had been drugged. It was like that almost every morning now, and even worse since he had that dream three nights ago. How real it had seemed! But clearly, it was nothing more than his fevered mind turning in on itself. After that initial crackle of static from the com-panel, there had been no further response. And what had he been expecting, after all? A grand rescue party? As if.

Grumbling, he tried to restart the fire, but could not seem to keep his focus. He kept dropping the kindling because he kept dropping things, as if he had giant gloves on his hands that prevented him from doing the most basic tasks. After fumbling about, he gave up and just resorted to using his Ki to warm up for a few minutes. Vegeta sat with his head resting on his knees, hunched into a small ball, and ignored the yammering of his stomach. The fact that he was hungry was reassuring; it meant his body was still trying to heal itself to some degree. When he lost his appetite then he would really worry.

His mind kept spinning in circles. Three days. Three days since that dream, and he'd been so sure it was real. Less than three days for infection to set in. How many days would it take to slowly rot from the inside? What would it be like to die? Would it be slow and cold? Or quick, like fire?

Oh, stop it. Frieza would just love it if I rolled over and died. Do his dirty work for him. I will not give him the satisfaction of just forgetting about me.

Then a crack of thunder split the sky, rumbling in the distance like war drums calling to battle. Vegeta turned his head up, squinted, but he could see no clouds, and the air did not smell like rain. In the forest, creatures screeched in alarm, disturbed, and a cloud of disturbed fliers took off into the air. Something had upset them. Vegeta rose to his feet, ignored the pain, and listened.

Then he heard a sound that made his heart jump in his chest - the crackle of an open comm line. " … come in …planetside … searching for landing coordinates...confirm."

He scrambled for the console, threw off the cover with shaking hands. There was no indication that the thing was active, that it even worked at all, but Vegeta could hear the hum of an open line. Or, at least he thought he could. "I'm here!" His voice sounded high and panicked, the tone of a desperate being, but right then he did not care. "Nappa, can you hear me? Nappa?"

No response came, just that low hum. Tucked into the chest pocket of his ruined armor, he could feel the smooth surface of his talisman pressed against his skin. It still felt warm, in fact, it almost felt hot.

If this thing is an enhancer, by gods, please let it do something! I've got to get out of here! Wait, just stop. Breathe. Focus. If I panic, I'm done. So, just close your eyes and focus.

In his mind's eye, he envisioned a spark of Ki concentrated right there in his chest, growing and spinning like a coalescing star. From that, he imagined feeding a thread of that energy into that red gem, imagined that it too glowed, then pulsed outward in a crimson wave…

Vegeta took in another breath, held it, then hit the communication button. For a few terrifying seconds, his mind blanked and he could not remember the names of his crew, or where he had landed. "Nappa, Raditz ...If you can hear me, there's a clearing in… uh … the North Hemisphere… 44.423°N, and -105.851°W I think...You should be able to see the impact craters." The craters, left over from his near death experience. Don't think about Turles, gotta focus. "I'll meet you there.."

Gathering the last remnants of his Ki, Vegeta took to the air in one great leap, leaving a shimmering slipstream behind him as he streaked towards the touchdown site, the place where his life had changed, and towards hope. Hope. Such an odd word on his tongue. His head buzzed with excitement, and his chest felt like it was going to burst. I'm getting the fuck out of here. See, Frieza? I'm coming back. If you want to kill me, you'll have to get your hands dirty! But I'm not going to make it easy for you, not by a long shot!

On route, he passed over the lake where he nearly lost his life and limbs. There were still rotting pieces on the surface visible, bumping up against the shore, and large pieces of the corpse had washed up. Vegeta could smell it from up here. Yechh.. Good thing rescue was imminent and he didn't have to resort to scavenging that foul beast. He flicked his tail in a rude manner, spun a few times in the air, and allowed himself to feel… hopeful.

As approached the clearing, he saw that two Attack Pods had already touched land and rested in new, steaming craters, two shining globes. The sunlight reflected off of their silver and red domes, and it was a wonderful sight. Thank the gods, I have never been so glad to see those damn ships, even if it means riding inside that horrid cramped space to get the hell out of here..

A rush of adrenaline pulsed through his tired and battered form, energizing him and taking away all pain and fatigue in an instant, and he flew in headlong without thinking about it. Only just before his feet touched ground did he stop to think that perhaps he'd just made a mistake… He had no way of knowing that it was Nappa and Raditz who had intercepted his messages. Perhaps this was not his ji'tach coming for him at all! Perhaps it was Frieza's shock squad, or Turles, or bounty hunters, or Frieza himself coming to punish him for going AWOL Yet, at this point Vegeta did not care anymore. He would have welcomed Frieza to Planet Flann with open arms if only to have a chance to chew the lizard out.

With a hydraulic hiss, the hatches swung down in unison, yawning mouths that spit out Nappa and Raditz. He could have seen that mass of hair from space! Nappa stepped out first, scanned the landscape with his scouter, while Raditz took a second longer to emerge. It wasn't a trap, wasn't a lie! Finally, Chale had decided to listen… or a least roll the dice.

He touched down in front of the two adult Saiyans and actually ran a few steps - forgetting about his leg until he stumbled. He hissed in pain but ignored it. He didn't even realize at first that he was smiling, that his tail had become unfurled and was practically vibrating with excitement. Embarrassed, he ran one hand through his matted hair and smoothed his tail. He was still a prince.

"Vegeta, thanks to the Gods! We got yer message a few days ago, but it was a little garbled." Nappa's scruffy face split into a wide grin. He looked just as terrible as he had in that dream, rough around the edges, the wrinkles in his face etched in deeper.

"I told you he wasn't dead, Nappa." Raditz said. His eyes were sunken in and, upon closer inspection, his usually well-maintained mane was frizzed up and tangled in spots.

"Yeah, yeah … rub that in." The former Commander looked Vegeta over, took in the broken armor, the torn clothes, the mangled leg, and hissed in displeasure. "Blood and Battle, ve'ho, you look like hell!"

"Fah! No thanks to you two!" Vegeta hissed and crossed his arms. His voice was rusty from misuse, and his barbed retort lacked its usual venom. He wanted to yell at them, lash out, but it wouldn't do him any good. Besides, he didn't want them to decide coming after him was a terrible idea after all and take off - leaving him alone again. No, he couldn't take that again. And yes, he was gods-damned glad to see their stupid faces. But he would not admit it. The adrenaline had started to wear off, and the lancing pain in his calf began to pulse again. Right now all he wanted to do was get something to eat and drink, and something to cut the pain. Perhaps they had one of those ampules on board, if he was lucky. And most of all, he wanted to go home

"What happened to you, ve'ho? You've been missing for months now, and no one would tell us dick. We kept getting the runaround," Raditz fretted. His eyebrows knit together and his nose scrunched up. It was his go-to expression when overburdened with concern, which was often.

Vegeta scowled, and a low growl issued from his throat. "Frieza happened to me!" How could they not have figured that out by now? … wait, did you say months?" It felt like his stomach had fallen out, and his face must have turned white.

"Yah, ve'ho. Goin' on three standard since ya vanished. It was pure chance we picked up yer signal. We might not have been through here again for months or years - Oh hey, Vegeta… you okay? Ya look like yer gonna hurl."

Blood and Battle… I didn't know it was that long. Three whole months? That can't be right. Vegeta licked at his lips and swallowed thickly. "I'm fine," he lied. "So… Frieza didn't send you to fetch me, then?" He hated how small and lost he sounded. He took a few steps forward. One, two, and then faltered on his injured leg.

Quickly, Raditz stepped forward and put out a steadying hand so that Vegeta did not faceplant. He was grateful to the older boy for saving his last vestiges of pride, but he would not admit that either. He quickly put on a brave face, straightened his spine, and sucked it up. Oh yeah, he was a prince. He had his pride and pretty much nothing else now. But damn it was hard not to be overjoyed to see his ji'tach again, to see other faces, other Saiyans. "I'm starving! Tell me you two morons have some food."

Raditz and Nappa exchanged glances that spoke volumes, but neither man chose to reply directly. Nappa nodded towards the Pods, and Raditz turned without words to rummage through the onboard storage bins which Nappa crouched down next to Vegeta.

"Ah, ve'ho … you're really messed up. Lemme take a look at that leg." Nappa reached out, only for his hand to be slapped away by the young prince.

"I'm fine. I just need to eat."

Nappa's usual jovial expression transformed into a foreboding stern glare that generations of misbehaving Saiyan brats had known too well and learned to fear. "No, you're not! Stop being a stubborn ass and lemme triage ya. I'll sit on you if I hafta!"

"Oh gods no, anything but that!" The thought of being pinned down by Nappa's hairy and stinky self was a horrible mental picture. So much for Vegeta's pride. He sat down heavily, and hissed through clenched teeth as Nappa stripped off his shredded boot and inspected his left calf. Even though Nappa's touch was oddly gentle for such a large and brutal man, the slightest pressure brought agony, and Vegeta felt his eyes start to water. But he would not yell out.

"Heh…" Nappa sighed, like all the air had been released from him. "That's really infected, ve'ho. This isn't somethin' I can fix on the field, you'll need a Med Tank. It's a good thing we showed up when we did. What the hell made these wounds? Looks like something tried to take a chunk outta ya."

"Really, Nappa? You think it's infected? Vegeta crossed his arms. "Tch! It's no big deal. You should see the other guy."

Nappa chuckled, gave Vegeta a toothy grin, and patted him on the shoulder. "We'll get ya fixed up right and good back at HomeBase, Vegeta. For now…"

Suddenly, a rush of emotion came over Vegeta. It was over, really over. He felt his face start to color, and he started to hyperventilate and shake, shoulders hitching.. He even felt a decidedly un-Saiyan and un-princely urge to cry from the stress and fear… now that it was over. Mortified that his body had finally betrayed him, Vegeta lowered his head so that his bangs hid his face, and waited for the wave to wash over him and pass through.

Nappa could be wise sometimes, and he knew Vegeta needed a distraction. "So, tell me how ya got out here alone, Vegeta. And where's your Pod?" As he spoke in calming tones, he removed the crusted strips of old cloth from the wounds, washed them, and applied a green gel with one gnarled finger. "This'll halt the infection and dull the pain."

"Tsss! Careful! Do you want to know what happened? I'll tell you what happened! That fucking lizard set me up, Nappa! Frieza sent me to hunt down a 'rogue soldier'... turns out he was a Saiyan. Not only that, but he was some ... overpowered freak! He didn't care that I was ve'ho, didn't care that Vegetasai was gone, didn't care that half the PTO is after him." Vegeta shook his head, distraught, and his shoulder slumped. "He was too fast, too strong. I - it was like I was nothing compared to him."

"Aw. I'm sure that's not true, Vegeta. You're the strongest out of all of us."

Vegeta pulled his leg out of Nappa's hands, and bared his fangs out of anger and pain. He was at his limit. "Don't fucking placate me! You weren't there, you didn't see - I couldn't touch him, the ma'tapa jikhiu pirate!" He shouted into Nappa's face, then recovered himself enough to cross his arms, lower his head again so the older Saiyan couldn't see his expression. "And now, I'm going to pay for it."

Nappa side-eyed his young charge, concerned. "Vegeta. Ve'ho, we've all run into an opponent who was stronger or smarter. It happens. I've told ya this before. Ya can't let this get to you, a Saiyan never gives up. An' most of all, you can't let Frieza see you down."

"Fuck Frieza and the ship he rode in on! That cold-blooded coward sent me here to kill him, knowing he was a Saiyan, that it would fuck with my head! And now, Frieza's going punish me because I failed. Failed at an impossible task."

"We'll get through it, Vegeta, we always have. We're Saiyan warriors. We're ji'tach -"

"Don't you lecture me about ji'tach again, Nappa! And speaking of that, why the hell didn't you respond to me? I was trying to contact you the entire way here." Vegeta's head felt like it was on fire, and sweat had started to break out on his forehead. He felt cold and on fire at the same time. He knew he was being loud and unreasonable, but could not seem to rein his tongue in. "Were you just trying to get rid of me too? One less brat to keep track of."

·The prince and the commander stared at each other, one fire and the other stone. Nappa's jaws clenched, and a vein popped out on his forehead. Then he tugged at his mustache a bit and his eyes slid to one side. "Okay, I'm chalkin' that one up to hunger and fever talkin', ve'ho. Lemme make this clear: we never got any communications from you, or anyone else. Like I said, ya just vanished into thin air. If I was a betting man, and I am, I'm thinkin' we were blocked. Now... we're gonna get on our way back to HomeBase. Gotta get you to medical and tank you before that leg goes septic – not to mention your arm and yer tail. Would ya rather ride with Raditz, or me?"

"What about my water and food? Or at least something to dull the pain? Got any booze, Nappa? That should work."

Nappa sighed, scrubbed at his face with dirty nails. "Just … get in the Pod, Vegeta."


A/N: Thank you to all have read and reviewed, favorited and followed. I read each and every comment, and they mean a lot to me. If you are enjoying the story, I'd love to hear from you. If you're not, I'd like to hear how you think I can improve.

PLEASE NOTE: After this chapter, I will not be responding to reviews at the end of my chapters anymore, as I would like to reply to each comment individually.


FireStorm1991: First off, I appreciate you taking the time to review each chapter as you go. That's awesome of you to do since I know this story may not always be your cup of tea. I love stories dealing with Vegeta's early years working under Frieza, and wanted to explore those interactions. Those early chapters are pretty intense for Vegeta, and it only gets worse for the poor thing. One of the reasons I wanted to include an Oozaru chapter is we don't get to see much of it in the shows, and it's underutilized. And yes, Frieza is a giant ass! Don't let Vegeta's bravado fool you - those feelings are still there … lurking in the dark.

Vegebulluv: My faithful reviewer! Thank you for your continuing support and kind words. Yep, Vegeta's losing it. And this last chapter should really give you a sense of how bad it's gotten for him. Too bad that Vegeta couldn't befriend the creature, but neither of them is really into making friends. It's hard to be buddies with something that tries to drown you, right? Yes, I had to toss in Nappa and Raditz, they needed their moments as well. And do you think that Vegeta doesn't miss them? He just hides it, even from himself.

Maxridelover: Vegeta is just beginning to realize that the crystal is more than a bauble. The question is, does he have the discipline to figure it out? Or the patience?

Nancy103: Thank you for saying so! I'm always glad to hear that my readers are enjoying the story. The crystal has always been in the back of my mind, just looking for the right time to bring it into the spotlight. It would be a shame to waste it. I hope that you have enjoyed the latest update