Freeza Planet 79
Dec 13, A762
Vegeta grunted inside the pod. The attendant scowled, and muttered to himself at the readings.
"Wait, this isn't right…"
He double checked the reading, and let out a gasp.
"This isn't…" he looked up, "This is ordinary Medical Fluid!"
He scrambled over to the wall, ready to hit the 'Alert,' but a yellow blast struck him in the back, and green fluid spilled all over the ground. Vegeta, entirely naked, stepped out of the medical pod, ignoring the glass on the ground. He looked around, and realized here he was; he was in the prison wing of a Freeza base. Medical machines like his were often used to keep prisoners unconscious if they were deemed too dangerous. This only meant one thing: Vegeta was officially a criminal in the eyes of the Empire.
He looked around, and found his effects in the room. Nothing more than broken armor and torn underclothes. He left the armor, but put the underclothes on; he had nothing else. He'd find the armory later.
Among his clothes was a note: Pod 6493. 9045XY. The Legend is real. Together, always.
Vegeta scowled; and looked down at the green liquid on the ground. Either he had gotten powerful enough to shrug off the anesthetic, or someone had swapped his fluid for the ordinary stuff. The message had been typed.
"Together, always…And 9045XY...Those are coordinates...Planet...Namek!" Vegeta hissed, "What is the rest of this? The Legend is real? Nonsense."
He stuffed the note into his pocket, and went to the door. It was locked. With a scoff, Vegeta grabbed the handle, and pulled. With a jerk, he broke the lock. He looked up, and saw his reflection in the metal of the door.
His lower left saw was discolored, the artificial skin being pure white. He had a gash across his forehead beneath his hairline that stopped just above his eyebrow. He had another cut along the edge of his nose that went across his eye. Scars given to him by that brat, Brussa, with that fool's knife. He should have cut her throat with it. Disgusted with what he saw, Vegeta opened the door, and stepped into the hall. Along the wall of his cell were more such rooms with individual pods. Across the hall were cells for live prisoners, who were too weak to worry about any security measures beyond bars.
Still, a thought occurred to him; if he were an enemy of the Empire, then the enemy of his enemy was his friend.
"What? PRISONER! You-" a guard shouted, stepping toward him. Vegeta killed him with a blast, and ran to him. Vegeta took the scouter, ignoring the damaged armor and stun baton. Tapping into it, he found the map, and followed it to the command center, killing guards along the way. The alarm blared, but it did nothing more than annoy Vegeta with the shrill noise.
"We are under attack! This is not a drill! We are under attack, and a prisoner has escaped! This is a code red!" the base commander barked over the loudspeaker. Was someone else attacking the base at the same time? What a coincidence. Vegeta turned to the prison command room, and pulled the door off with a single heave.
"It's Vegeta! Vegeta is in-" someone started to shout. With a few well-placed shots, Vegeta cleared the room except for one soldier.
"You. Unlock all the cells."
"No way! Lord Freeza will peel my skin off!" the soldier said.
"Do it, or I'll not just peel your skin off, I'll feed it to you," Vegeta said. For effect, he picked up one of the corpses and took a bite out of its neck. With a yelp, the soldier started mashing buttons. Within a moment, all the cells opened, and the doors to the pods did, as well. Satisfied, Vegeta killed the soldier with a blast, and returned to the main prison block.
"This way to the exit!" Vegeta shouted to them, flying above them. The confused mob followed, not questioning the instruction. Vegeta killed guards effortlessly, giving the now rioting prisoners Scouters, weapons, and armor, which they quickly used against the guards. Vegeta blasted through a guard blockade, and turned towards the armory.
There were far more soldiers here as they scrambled to get their armor and weapons. Vegeta started blasting. To his surprise, the wall of the armory exploded from the outside in, giving him a peak of what was going on outside.
There was a spaceship of some kind, white and black, with strange writing that seemed weirdly familiar. Someone was standing on the entrance ramp to the ship while it flew, and was firing at the base. The orbital defense turrets opened fire in turn, but the warrior made quick work of them. Vegeta finished off the soldiers in the armory, and used his Scouter to zoom in on the ship.
"Nappa?" Vegeta laughed. Of course Nappa was here! He'd survived the attack on Earth, and was here to rescue him! With a laugh, Vegeta found a new set of armor, and slipped it off. The rioters arrived in the armory as Vegeta flew out of the gap in the wall.
Between Nappa, the rioters, and Vegeta, the base was quickly overrun.
"VEGETA!" a voice rang out, "I should have known you were behind this."
"Oh, hello, Cui," Vegeta turned around to regard him, "Nice day you're having, isn't it? Well. Nice enough, anyway. Light chance of power blasts, I'd say."
"You're dead. Freeza was going to kill you before, but now...Now you're mine. I still have turrets and men, and you couldn't beat me on a good day!" Cui hissed. Sure enough, base turrets locked on Vegeta's chest.
"Is that a fact? Oh, no. What ever shall I do. Hey, Cui, do you remember what happens to a Saiyan when they come back from the brink of death?"
"What? They get-"
Vegeta jabbed his hand into Cui's chest with a lightning flash and a jab.
"They get back better than ever," Vegeta hissed, and fired a Ki blast, exploding him. The turrets exploded from Nappa's covering fire, and the rioters quickly overtook the soldiers. Freeza Planet 79 was now completely in the throes of rebellion.
"Vegeta?" Nappa called out as the ship landed, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Nappa!" Vegeta cheered, "You made it!"
Nappa, who was dressed in Earthling clothes, stepped out of the ship, "I guess it makes sense you'd be here..."
"You're here to rescue me, aren't you?" Vegeta asked. Nappa shook his head.
"I didn't know you were here, exactly," Nappa admitted.
"This is Vegeta?" a human called out. Mercenary Tao stepped off the ship and looked around.
"Yes. Vegeta, this is-"
"I don't care. Let's just get off this rock and go to Namek. I think someone is waiting for me there," Vegeta said.
"Who says we're taking you with us?" Nappa asked, "We're hunting Shive. We don't have any orders about you."
"Pragmatically speaking, I believe our employer would be interested if we were to bring Vegeta to them. However, I do not advise we bother fighting Vegeta."
"Shive? What does he have to do with anything?" Vegeta asked.
"We believe Shive was the one who took you from Earth," Tao said, "He had been in the system for weeks by the time you arrived. He was waiting for you."
"That WRETCH!" Vegeta hissed, "I'll BREAK him!"
"You won't touch him. We have our orders," Nappa said.
"I am your PRINCE! Who else would you take orders FROM?" Vegeta said. Nappa grinned.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Nappa chuckled.
"Nappa, leave him. We have too much work to do," Tao said. Vegeta trembled with rage.
"Sorry, Tao, but I've been waiting for this for a long time," Nappa said, sliding into a combat pose, "And it's about time I did something about his attitude."
"Fine. I'm going to raid this base for technology, and see if there are any clues about Shive's whereabouts. Do not break the ship, or I will cut your legs off," Tao warned, and he walked to the base, which was still fighting itself.
"You've never disobeyed me before, Nappa. Not even when your treacherous woman contradicted me. I'll give you the chance to change your mind now," Vegeta offered.
"You have no idea what I'm capable of now, Vegeta," Nappa said, "Pick a planet, and leave. We won't bother you again. You can be Prince of whatever dirtball you choose."
With a yell, Vegeta charged at Nappa, but to his surprise, Nappa caught the punch, and replied by kneeing Vegeta in the stomach. As Vegeta lurched and grasped at his chest, she stared at Nappa with surprise and rage.
"You know, all these years, I treated you like a Prince. Like my superior," Nappa said, grabbing Vegeta by the hair. He punched Vegeta across the pavement.
"But the truth is, you were a boy. A Prince of nothing, with just more power than you knew what to deal with," Nappa said. He kicked Vegeta on the ground.
"I treated you like a Prince, and acted like a lackey. But you were a boy, and you were in my care."
Vegeta fired a series of blasts at Nappa, which he blocked left and right.
"What you needed was a parent. What I should have done is been your father. That is what Gine wanted me to do. But I was too scared, too stupid to realize it," Nappa said, charging Ki as Vegeta prepared a blast. A Beam Struggle ensued, which Nappa handily won.
"But now I'm too late, Vegeta," Nappa held out his arms, "You're an adult, and I'm no father. Not to you, not to Raditz, not even Brussa."
"You...You're a treacherous WRETCH!" Vegeta screamed. He fired a blast at Nappa's chest, but it did nothing. He fired a barrage at Nappa, who reached out, grabbed Vegeta by the hair, and hoisted him up.
"I'm sorry I failed you, Vegeta," Nappa said, and he punched Vegeta in the stomach.
Mercenary Tao returned, holding a bag marked "Swag" over one shoulder, and a pair of armored chest pieces in the other. Tao threw a black one to Nappa.
"I believe you are familiar with these?" Tao said. Nappa slid his on.
"How did it go?" Nappa asked. With a swing of his arm, Tao tossed the bag full of electronic junk into the ship.
"I believe you and I just became extremely wealthy men, indeed, Nappa," Tao said. He pulled a marker out of his pocket, and drew this Satsu Kanji on the front of the other suit of armor. Tao grabbed the left pauldron, and snapped it off with his hands, and then did the same to the other. Tao stretched his suit open, and slid it on over his clothes. The pink armor with the Kanji was a little unrefined, but it was consistent with Tao's outfit.
"Glad to hear it, but what about our target?" Nappa asked.
"I believe I have found where his next destination is. Have you concluded your business with Vegeta?" Tao asked.
"I worked it out of my system. He won't be a bother," Nappa said, glancing down to the still-writhing Vegeta.
"Good. Shive went to these coordinates," Tao said, offering a datastick to Nappa as they stepped back onto their ship.
"What? This can't be right! This is where the Ginyu Force is stationed!" Nappa said as the door closed behind them. Vegeta quivered as the ship took off. Tears dropped off his face.
He was alone.
He was outclassed.
He was unimportant.
He was beneath everyone else, even Nappa.
"Prince Vegeta?" someone called. Vegeta wiped his face, smearing his blood all over, and he turned to the voice. Some alien was walking up to him, holding a red cape. The alien had a blaster on one hip and a Ki baton on the other. On his armor, the symbol of the Saiyans had been drawn on the left breast.
"What...What is this?" Vegeta asked, standing up.
"You freed us. We all owe you that, even if it is just until Freeza counter-attacks. This victory, you've given it to us. It's not much, but I found this. I believe it belonged to your family. It's yours, Prince Vegeta," the alien said, offering it to him. Vegeta studied the cape; it was just like his father's. There was a bloodstain on the shoulder, and Vegeta winced.
It was his father's.
"I'm not worthy of it. Find someone who is," Vegeta said, turning away. He dug into his pockets, looking for the note.
"But, it's yours!"
"Not anymore," Vegeta said, and he walked to pod 6493. It opened as he approached, seemingly recognizing him, and he stepped inside. The alien watched as the pod took off into the sky. He looked down at the cape, carefully refolded it, and turned back to the base.