[AN] Sup, it's been a while.

Thanks once again for the reviews; they really mean a lot. I usually like to keep my author's notes short and sweet but I've had couple of reviews referencing power levels and canon events from the show. As such, I think it's fair to reply to these ones publicly and moderate expectations.

So, one last heads up, this is an AU in more than just changes to the canon. Consider all powers and transformations to be in line with the show up until the Frieza saga. After that, it's a clean slate. All of it. I'll be taking that creative license and running with it. Power is still hugely important to this story, as you've already seen, but I'm gonna explore the hell out of it.

We're all big DBZ fans but I'm sure everyone is aware that the series' over-reliance on transformations and power levels has resulted in an "escalation problem". It's fun to watch (e.g. the Super Broly movie) but it can really impact storytelling, character development, and suspension of disbelief. What's more, it renders transformations obsolete extremely quickly, with Super Saiyan being a prime example.

I hope you continue to find the story as fun to read as I do to write.

The Regent

Vegeta's face was a picture of glee as he appraised the rabid dog standing before him. A saiyan… young and with a foul disposition that told ugly tales of defeat and a glare that brimmed with primal savagery.

"If you're done toying with the sheep," he stated, smirking with anticipation, "it's time to play with the wolf."

This shit show of a day was ending on a high note and Vegeta relished the occasion and its implications. Where had he come from? How many more of their kind were out there? How many could he rule?

The newcomer's response was muted; a darkening of the eyes, a knitting of the brows, a clenching of the jaws, and a twitching of the tail. Anticipation. As he met the boy's unyielding gaze, he saw a coiled spring ready to lash out at the new threat just as he'd done to the broken midget.

By now, Krillin had come to a knee behind the saiyan prince, black hair beset with grass and soil and hissing sharply as he cradling the limp arm.

"Thanks…" he'd muttered pathetically, but Vegeta had only scoffed in response.

"Fool." The prince admonished, tone dripping with contempt. "I suggest you go see the fat samurai if you plan on keeping that arm."

"Heh… ngh! No can do." The midget responded, his idiotic chuckle interrupted by a pained grimace as he eyed his young assailant. "Gotta go help my team… they're probably in worse shape than me."

Vegeta said nothing, instead scoffing irritably as Krilln cautiously departed then bracing himself for the coming conflict. The boy had seemingly lost all interest in the midget and his attention had remained affixed to him throughout the exchange, tail swaying stiffly as his eyes bored into the prince's own.

"Vegeta…" He finally spoke, breath evening though posture no less coiled.

"In the flesh." The prince confirmed as the boy measured the threat. His eyes drifted from the Prince's black flame of hair, over the dark saiyan armour, down to the gold-tipped boots, then back again. All the while, suspicion pulled at the prince's core.

How did the boy know who he was? His own armour looked imperial; Planet Trade, albeit a modern variation. Sophisticated. Expensive.But Frieza was long dead, as was his father, Kakarot had seen to that. Its condition was also a clear indication that he'd landed here in retreat, not to invade… yet this backwater planet was a rock in a nothing section of the galaxy. There were literally thousands of habitable worlds in this galaxy, yet he just so happened to land here?

"You're young so I'll forgive this transgression," he began, a grin masking his surprise, "but you should know it's customary to bow when addressing royalty."

"I don't bow to dead men."

"Oh?" Vegeta grinned, tone playful in its provocation. "Then does my supposed killer plan on telling me his name or will I have to beat that information out of him?"

The boy's jaw clenched as the air thickened with tension. His reply was a wordless flare of ki; burning the soil beneath him and framing him in a crimson glow. Conversation was not on the agenda; the boy sneered at him with challenge and Vegeta unfurled his arms, clenched his fist, and popped his joints. Then the grass rustled, the air burst, and the young saiyan tore towards him in a flash.

Vegeta's heart beat evenly as his hands came up, a bang echoed across the plain, and the duo soared up and into the night.

Seasoned forearms rattled with pain, yet his face was mirthful as the duo flickered from view. Their clash rang the air like gunfire on their ascent, shockwaves reverberated with rippling wind and flares of white and red fire. A back fist collided with the prince's guard and he grinned, parrying the follow-up before returning in kind and connecting with the boy's forehead. The retaliatory swing was wild and the saiyan prince neatly dodged before seizing the young tail tightly.

"You should've kept this safe, boy!" He sneered. But his opponent was unaffected, much to his alarm.

A summersault forced the appendage free before a pair of booted heels slammed into his abdominals. The follow-up was rapid; a twirl, a seizure of the arm, a full-bodied toss that flipped the prince over his shoulder, and a roundhouse that sent the prince soaring like a missile.

Vegeta scolded himself for his carelessness. Still, for a saiyan that young to have desensitised his tail was impressive. He had no time to think before the boy appeared above him, a fist cocked and a roar on his lips, but the blow connected with a hastily raised arm and a royal knee sank into an armour-clad stomach.

He was fast. It was easy to see how the young warrior had dismantled the dwarf; he was frighteningly strong for his age and attacked like his very survival depended on it. It was hardly a surprise given condition his armour was in, and his mood would only have been worsened by the entourage that had greeted him.

Survival was like fuel for a saiyan. Each attack was heralded by a roar of desperate anger that rang louder than the singing blows. His teeth were bared, his breath came with growling pants, and each battle cry echoed through the evening and plucked nostalgic strings at the saiyan prince's heart. He dodged, blocked, parried and countered with glee, and all the while he wondered what trials had been inflicted upon this youth to make him this powerful and ferocious.

A shrill cry shook the air as a punch banged against Vegeta's forearm; the shockwave alone sweeping his bristled locks. The follow-up was dodged, the next parried, before Vegeta struck back with two quick jabs to the nose that made the boy grimace then roar with rage. Retaliation came from a predictable haymaker but one delivered with such ferocity, Vegeta barely dodged it.

A stiff breeze swept stiffer Saiyan locks as the fist wisped past his ear but the boy flowed with the momentum and twisted dextrously into a roundhouse. It was a level of forethought that belied his savagery and Vegeta grinned inwardly as the shin connected fiercely with his shoulder and launched him into the night.

Blood rushed through his system and excitement flooded his veins, as if he'd dosed himself on the boy's own desperate anger. It flooded his senses like a drug and stirred his adrenaline. This is what he'd wanted; an outlet for his aggression. A war against an enemy that wanted to kill him. And the boy, a saiyan, not only provided that but filled him with a sensation he hadn't felt since his first arrival on this planet all those years ago.

He braced himself for the inevitable follow-up… the kid, in his tunnel vision, knew little else but seek and destroy. As if on cue, he materialised in front of him and Vegeta shifted; his head tilting away from a savage blow as his right hand snapped out to catch the fist with jarring force. Then his left caught the counter, their fingers interlocked, and the duo soared across the sky in a pink spiral.

Time to see what the kid could really do.

"You're strong, boy, I'll give you that!" He panted with a grin, eyes locked with the snarling adolescent. "But you'll need more than power to beat me!"

The point was punctuated with renewed intent. Vegeta's muscles flexed, his brows creased, and he drew the adolescent into a sharp head-butt which snapped the boy's head back viscously. The young saiyan grimaced before he was jerked again into a harder knee to the stomach. A final blow sent him plummeting to the earth below and he cratered the ground on impact.

Then disappeared beneath the turf.

Vegeta frowned, tracking the subterranean power as it tore silently beneath the soil and rock below. He was trying to ambush him. An admirable strategy if your opponent couldn't sense your energy.

Sure enough, power surged behind the Saiyan Prince, two bright balls of crimson energy burst from the earthly bed then rocketed harmlessly into the night as he dodged them neatly. Then he shifted, avoiding a wild uppercut as the boy blinked before him. The attack swept the air and the miss was punished elegantly as a shin connected with the young saiyan's ribs.

He cried out, face twisting into a grimace, before snarling and shoving aside the pain, much to Vegeta's amusement.

Tough little shit, but toughness wasn't enough.

A savage swing followed, aimed squarely at the saiyan prince's head, but Vegeta parried the arm, ducked, and drove an elbow into his ribs. The kid's breath caught in his throat. A rapid combination to the stomach followed before a hard left cross sent the boy plummeting again. He slapped the earth with a bang, rippling the grass and soil, only this time he didn't re-emerge so quickly.

"Don't tell me you're finished already!" Vegeta bellowed mockingly.

An admirable start had descended into sloppiness and predictability, which could only mean his endurance was beginning to fail. The boy was lean yet slight, which meant generating forceful blows consumed far more energy than his larger, matured opponent. No doubt overwhelming power had been enough to dominate most of his opponents thus far but for a warrior of Vegeta's calibre, a fighting prodigy from the age of four, it was nothing short of mindless violence.

He landed next to the crash site, arms folded, just as the young saiyan escaped from his hole; seething and gasping and struggling to his knees. Vegeta couldn't help but smile.

"So, you decided to bow after all." He mocked. It had the desired effect.

The response was a roar and a lunge, which was easily evaded and countered. A dextrous twist and a snatching hand later and the boy's hair was seized and he jerked to a halt. A roundhouse to the head followed, launching his would-be killer face-first into the dirt him skidding along the grass. To his credit, he recovered, rolling back with the momentum and sliding onto his feet, albeit a panting mess on unsteady legs.

"Well look at you." Vegeta laughed, much to the kid's chagrin. "Here I was worried this would be over too quickly."

His taunts earned a hate-filled glare. There was a large part of the prince, one that nagged with four decades of survival instinct, which told him to eliminate the kid before he became a bigger threat. Another part of him, the heir without a kingdom, admired the young saiyan's grit and wondered how far he could push him.

The kid grimaced as his aura burst defiantly, blazing brightly against the night. A hollow and wasteful show of force, which only served to burn through yet more energy. Vegeta knew he could end this whenever he wanted.

"You talk… too much…!" The boy panted, and the saiyan prince smiled.

Time for a lesson in humility.

"Then shut me up, boy."

With a roar and a laugh, the two clashed once again, exchanging blows like gunfire.

A bang clapped the skies, filling Lazuli with dread as the troop descended toward the forest. She shielded her eyes as the shockwave struck but the next was louder; sweeping her cropped blonde locks and nearly knocking two soldiers from the sky. Still, they pressed on, soaring over the trees and wary of the figures in the distance.

"You guys seeing this?" Harsh chatter drifted through her receiver.

Another bang rumbled through the air as the other soldiers echoed the murmurs of discontent.

"How the hell do we even fight that?"

"Stay focused!" She stated forcefully, more so than was necessary, as if to push back the creeping tide of dread. But he was right.

Eight years of training and they were still ants standing next to giants but she couldn't allow the gravity of their situation to creep into her head. Now wasn't the time to be intimidated; her team needed her, her planet needed her, and her brother needed her.

Thirty minutes and countless contact attempts had yielded nothing but radio silence from the engagement force. The anxiety gripping her was hard enough to contend with, but the thought of Lapis lying dead… it filled her with a cold dread she couldn't begin to describe and an urgency that pushed her forward.

"Approaching the landing zone now."

What greeted them was carnage as forest slowly became field on their descent and the blows from the battle became distant, but her anxiety spiked then she saw the snapped and upturned trees and gouged rock skirting the clearing.

"What the hell happened here?"

A mismatch was the answer but no one wanted to acknowledge it. Then they saw the bodies and Lazuli's heart caught in her throat.

"Lapis…" Her desperate whisper echoed in her ears as she landed and her heart thumped in her throat as her eyes caught every inch of the scenery.

The clearing was littered with defeated soldiers and broken machinery, all laying on a bed of churned earth, and at the heart was an upturned spacecraft. For several long seconds she'd forgotten to breathe as her worst fears came to fruition… then sound returned to the world, the groans caught in her ears, and she remembered that dead bodies were usually silent.

She remembered her duties, as did her unit, and she commanded them to begin the recovery. Her anxiety eased slightly as the soldiers spread out over the clearing, though the dread still lingered as they fumbled through the old machinery and treated and debriefed the survivors. Not a single one of them had her brother's blue eyes or black feathered hair but they all had broken bones, concussions, contusions, and a story to tell of the initial attack.

A saiyan. Like Prince Vegeta. Like Goku. One attack was all it had taken to floor them all.

"We didn't stand a chance." The soldier had told them.

Anxiety tightened its grip further when the search became tragic. Two fatalities; one found slumped on a tree branch, armour decimated having borne the brunt of the attack, another half-buried in the ground.

Her dread increased. Where was Lapis? Piss head. Her mirror. And Krillin… She'd never feared for his safety before; if the rest of the soldiers survived the attack, he would have definitely escaped unscathed. But who's to say he survived the follow-up? He would've been alone with no backup against a homicidal saiyan. Unless her brother decided to follow him… It would be just like him. He was nowhere to be seen after all.

"Lapis!" She heard herself call. "Lapis!"

No answer. But the other soldiers aided her call.

"Laapiiis!"

Her search took her away from the clearing as her heart hammered in her chest and she fought valiantly to combat the wave of dread. So much so that she almost missed the weakened power level drifting towards the clearing. It wasn't her brother but it was familiar.

"Krillin!"

She descended in a flash and, sure enough, she found the diminutive captain slumped against a tree and breathing heavily in the dark.

"Over here…!" He called out weakly.

She caught his eyes and his weak smile and professionalism and protocol left her instantly. She raced to embrace him in a bone-crushing hug but instantly regretted it when he cried out in pain.

"Careful…!"

Releasing him, her brows furrowed in confusion until she caught sight of his arm and gasped.

"What happened?"

He grimaced, reluctantly relinquishing the arm she tenderly inspected it. It was a badly broken mess; she was stunned he hadn't gone into shock.

"The kid." He responded flatly; grimacing again as he moved the appendage.

Her face twisted into a mask of concern and desperate anger, he needed medical attention, but just as the clash echoed in the distance, her brother shot to the forefront of her mind. Krillin seemed to read her thoughts.

"Don't worry about me…" He began tentatively, locking eyes with the taller blonde, his brief pause and awkward glance drawing a crescendo of fear in her chest. "I found him."

It was far too easy.

The boy advanced as they tore across the plain only to meet a vicious cross to the jaw. He advanced again only for his swing to miss and a fist to shift his organs. Vegeta watched him almost appraisingly as he doubled over in agony before a thrusted heel sent him sailing from the sky.

"Is that the best you can do?"

To the kid's credit, he pushed away the pain and prepared to ascend again, only to meet a hot ball of energy to the face. The boy's endurance may have been questionable but his tenacity stood up to scrutiny. The kid had heart. He'd shaken off the smoke, only mildly staggered and singed, before he regained aerial purchase.

Vegeta moved to capitalise, only for the boy to disappear. Instincts nudged the saiyan prince and he ducked, narrowly avoiding a blow to the back of the head, before driving and elbow into the boy's sternum.

"Crafty bastard, aren't you!" He bellowed mirthfully, seizing the boy's head, flipping him over his shoulder, and delivering a sharp blow to spinning youth's sternum.

He soared like an arrow towards the ground but Vegeta beat him there. The adolescent's bounce dented the grassy earth before a foot caught his ribs and sent him sailing, skipping, and sliding across the surface. There he remained, in a mound of dried earth, a trembling mess.

The prince wondered if the fight had finally been beaten from his would-be killer but a hoarse moan and a subtle shift in weight was evidence that wasn't the case. A strange sense of pride followed.

"You…" The boy growled, coughing through gritted teeth as he rose to his hands and knees.

"You have promise, boy, so I'll give you one chance." Vegeta declared, smirking. "Surrender, bow to your king, and I may grant you mercy."

"You… won't… beat me…!"

The words were spat into the ground, more to himself than the saiyan prince, who strode to towards him with a smile on his face.

"What was that?" Vegeta taunted. "I couldn't hear you through the teeth in your throat-"

An adolescent fist struck the ground with gritted teeth… and the earth jolted violently.

Vegeta frowned, uncertainty creeping into his core. That was strength he shouldn't possess. The earth trembled, wind swept the terrain and elevated the boy's hair… then the ground rocked again as a fist beat it once more.

Vegeta's brows furrowed and hesitancy entered his steps. Then the boy turned to him with a monstrous glare, his face twisted with hate, and his eyes alight with a pale green.

Impossible.

"You won't beat me!" He screamed.

A primal roar followed, the ground shook violently then cracked from the strain. Soil cooked and hardened in to solid clumps of rock before bursting wildly into the sky in a spiral of gold. Gale-force winds swept the plain, assaulting Vegeta with violent force, and for a few brief moments, night became day. Through it all, shock rooted the saiyan prince where he stood, just as the boy exploded from his bed in an enormous hail of rubble and golden light. It took a split second for Vegeta's mind to supply the name of the legendary form before a fist struck his jaw with such force, the aftershock rippled the ground in its wake.

He soared across the field before he realised he'd even been hit. Pain had barely registered before the boy was upon him again, hair engulfed in flames, and the second blow seemed to strike before the punch had even been thrown.

The earth seemed to shatter beneath the Saiyan Prince as he bounced hard and breathless… then again as the next blow struck, and the one after that. Vegeta, driven by pure instinct, braced himself for the next with his arms crossed over his chest, but the boy disappeared in a blink. His heart hammered in his ears as a wave of confusion struck before a boot followed suit, colliding with his side and sending him sailing and scarring the hardened turf. All the mirth had disappeared; survival mode had well and truly taken over.

Instincts screamed at him and he cursed loudly before taking to the air, just as a hail of bright orange bullets punctured the earth, burrowed beneath the soil, and engulfed the field in fire. Seconds later, the earth rumbled before the field exploded in a blinding flash, launching blackened chunks of earth into the air and filling the prince's lungs with coarse black smoke.

The close call spiked his rage and singed his pride.

How dare he?!

He barely had time to turn to his right before a deranged scream caught his ears and a monstrous force struck. A loud bang crackled the skies and the impact carried them through the air at liquefying speed. The wind hammered Vegeta's ears and flapped his hair as his arms struggled fiercely to repel the blow. Beneath them, blackened earth quickly became forest but all of it was lost as he matched the boy's glare in both hatred and ferocity.

Camaraderie had rapidly been spent. It was time to kill.

Slowly he allowed his panic and adrenaline to intensify and swell into anger. It strengthen him, boiling into a sickly blend of fury and loathing before flooding his heart with a familiar rage that filled his body with power. His very skin began to glow and the duo began to decelerate, much to the boy's confusion, as his brows creased further and he snarled viciously. Then, as Vegeta glared into the boy's eyes, he saw something… a resemblance offset by deeply tanned and scarred skin. The slant of the jaw, the angle of the eyes, the slope of the nose, the rebellious locks of golden hair falling over the boy's eyes.

It was all that was needed to push him over the edge.

The duo came to an abrupt standstill, the young warrior's knee pressed firmly against the saiyan prince's glowing palms. Shock struck the boy's face, almost tempering his rage as he stared at the saiyan prince's teal eyes. And Vegeta, ever the opportunist, took full advantage; shoving the adolescent leg aside before lashing out with new, vengeful strength.

The fist crashed into the young jaw with blinding speed and sent him plummeting from the skies to the forest below.

Wood splintered, branches exploded, and trunks were severed on the boy's descent as Vegeta's keen senses tracked the young upstart cutting through the greenery. Then the forest floor was cratered, trees were uprooted, and the ground jolted and shifted from the impact as the shockwave flattened the woodland. But Vegeta would give him no time to rest.

His euphoric roar echoed through the night. Stiff black hair sparked and ignited in white gold and his form erupted in bright flames against the dark night sky.

Playtime was over.

The prickly light peeking through the leaves told Goku he was in a forest somewhere, and he slowly eased his eyes open and stared blearily at the leafy canopy.

His head throbbed and a cotton-like fogginess completely smothered his senses; tell-tale signs of sensory shutdown. It always happened when he trained with Modi; learning instant transmission had been tough enough but the second channel was brutal. Fifteen hours connected to the universe had been enough for his senses to just… disappear, along with his sense of direction.

As he lay on his back, he was numb to the world around him but he could still feel the dried leaves and twigs prickling his neck and exposed arms, and hear the morning birds chirping and the flow of a distant stream. Wherever he was, it was early morning and he was far from home.

Groggy and numb, he hoisted himself up and took in his surroundings but his mood immediately soured when he caught sight of the red field of trees. Time had robbed him of his appreciation for nature, and he'd normally avoid anywhere that wasn't baron, but exhaustion and sensory shutdown was a wicked combination. He'd flown off blindly from the lookout and exhaustion must have overwhelmed him mid-flight. It was a familiar pattern whenever he felt like a failure; whenever he couldn't bring himself to go home and look his wife in the eye.

You're a coward, Goku.

It was ironic. He could face down monsters and tyrants but he had no answer to his wife's disapproving glares or her sympathetic gaze. Oddly enough, he hated the sympathy more than the disapproval; at least the latter was more confrontational. Goku would take anything over pity and over this forest too… a baron wasteland, just rocks and dirt and emptiness. No lives to protect, no people to depend on him or pity him for his losses, just him and an opponent. Piccolo for sure, he owed him a beating, or maybe he could finally have that showdown with Vegeta, but both of them were fantasy for now, the reality was King Kai's warning.

He'd have to go home eventually and face his wife but he didn't wanna think about that for now.

His stomach growled.

What's for breakfast? Maybe venison? He hadn't had that in a while and there were bound to be some deer somewhere in the forest. Or maybe fish from the stream nearby? His senses may have been shot but maybe he could detect something if he concentrated hard enough.

He tried for a painful second but his head only throbbed harder.

"Crap…"

That's when he felt it…. like a shot of adrenaline. When his senses came back, it was usually a slow drip-feed. This time, however, two power levels bludgeoned him and he nearly collapsed backward.

The first was unmistakably Vegeta's and it was aggressive, though the fogginess made it hard to tell whether he was training or fighting. Then he felt the second. It was equally as large but, alarmingly, it was growing rapidly. And it felt like…

His eyes widened.

Any lingering exhaustion he felt evaporated in an instant as he leapt to his feet, closed his eyes, and stood frozen. In that moment, a storm of emotions raged in Goku's heart; elation, disbelief, confusion, they all flowed through him, as well as a sudden surge of paternal instinct when he sensed the aggression radiating from Vegeta.

He'd kill him…

Two fingers instinctively found his forehead as he honed in on his target… but nothing happened. Even as his senses returned to him, he had nowhere near enough to teleport to their location but he did have enough to fly.

"I'm coming, Gohan!"

A second later, he burst from the ground in a flurry of leaves.

Energy flared like liquid gold as a fist struck the boy's jaw, but that only enraged him. His roar tore through the mountains as he swung and Vegeta's entire body reverberated violently as the blow struck his guard. He barely dodged the next fist and the follow-up jarred his palm but a blind head butt nearly separated him from consciousness. The boot to the ribcage that followed was no less painful and he plummeted from the air with the frigid cold licking his wounds.

But he was Vegeta.

He shook off the pain, mastered his flight, and narrowly dodged the balls of liquid fire that trailed after him. A steely determination filled him, controlled anger fed his veins with a steady stream of power, and he charged towards his advancing opponent like a comet against the night.

Their clash rang for miles, white gold against a blinding inferno, and the shockwave swept snow from mountains and trees. Then came the flurry; hundreds of blows in rapid succession as the duo unleashed their ill-intent in a smoking cocoon of molten gold. There was no time for words or taunts. Each fist that struck illuminated the night like lightning streaking across the blackened sky, and through it all the Saiyan Prince's eyes bored into the young upstart's soul.

In those eyes, he found a berserker; devoid of fear or even sapience and screaming into the abyss as it drowned in its own strength. Indeed his eardrums reverberated harshly as struggled he to keep pace with the insane adolescent. Every blow flew with venom and struck his guard with near-debilitating force, his sheer speed challenged every sinew of Vegeta's reflexes and the malice was so palpable, he could choke on it. And the boy was growing stronger by the minute… his power was beginning to dwarf his own and the grip on his senses had long gone, but Vegeta remained patient and confident.

"You'll need more than power to beat me!"

It was only a matter of time.

The ice below them evaporated in a flash as the wayward attack struck home, launching fresh waves and steam high into the air. Their war had carried them north from forests, fields and a cool evening breeze to frigid cold of mountains and glaciers. A trail of cooked earth and charred forests were the legacy of their battle and the carnage had been wrought at the child's hands, such was his urgency to make good on his threat. And Vegeta approved. He relished the intimacy and truth of the occasion; two men enter and the strongest leaves.

The destruction would also deter those presumptuous Sky soldiers from interfering. Weaklings to a man, they couldn't hope to understand the significance of what was taking place.

Rage flooded the young warrior's senses; stripping him of thought and holding his body together. He was instinct and savagery personified; endurance renewed, aggression infinite, and impervious to punishment. In fact, he seemed to be fuelled by it. He fought for destruction and that urgency only seemed to increase the longer the fight went on. If the old tale-keepers could give form to the legend, it would be his assailant.

Each assault was unrelenting, each blow was intended to kill, painful even for a super saiyan to endure, but Vegeta endured it none the less. He was enjoying himself after all.

A blow penetrated his guard, hitting hard between the eyes, and he crashed back-first through ice and rock. But he shook off his daze quickly, dodging a lethal pair of heels that annihilated his rocky bed before launching himself at his challenger. The little bastard would get no rest.

The punch struck flush but the boy barely noticed it as he burst free from the ice and resumed his relentless assault. The duo exchanged cannon-like blows on their ascent; eyes locked and radiating malice and murder, and the prince was planted firmly in the crosshairs.

He couldn't help but grin.

He was attired in cuts and bruises but, inside, he was euphoric as he slowly began to catch opening after opening in the usurper's violently reckless assault. In the midst of their fire fight, Vegeta caught another one. A young fist was parried, rattling the larger prince's arm painfully in the process, still his counter hit home and forcefully shifted the boy's chin. The predictable roar of rage was cut off as Vegeta buried an illuminated knee into his sternum. Blood and saliva splattered onto the elder saiyan's armour before another blow sent the young usurper ricocheting off mountain and rock.

Finally.

Vegeta hovered patiently, bathing his surroundings in flowing light and the soft echo of his breath as what remained of the mountain crumbled in a rain of ice and rock. It wouldn't be long.

Sure enough, the plateau was vaporised in a burst of residual heat as a stream of orange light crashed toward him like a wave. The speed was incalculable but Vegeta launched himself at the assault. Daring it to kill him… It was only as the intense heat washed over him that alarm bells rang and he arced his flight to avoid the assault. And there he found his young adversary bearing down on him; a cry on his lips, a clenched fist cocked, and glowing brilliantly against the night sky.

His power had peaked.

The blow echoed over the mountainous plain and the shockwave stripped sheets of ice from mountains as it rocked the prince's cheek. Vegeta sailed, shattering the peak from a mountain top before regaining aerial purchase and halting his momentum. He barely had time to recover before the second blow struck his guard; rattling his joints painfully, flaring ki, and launching both fighters yet again. But the agony only served to fuel the prince's determination as he glared balefully at the bastard who'd dared to challenge him.

This blow had been weaker than the last. His confidence grew. He was the prince of all saiyans and he would bring this little shit to heel.

He laughed and grimaced as the next flurry of blows rocked his arms and chest. The last he dodged, retaliating with a blow to the stomach and a knee to the face that stained the boy's lips and chin with a fresh stream of blood. But the boy snarled with red teeth, lashing out with a wild swing that missed its target by a white hair's width, but the back fist that followed struck home on Vegeta's temple. He was momentarily stunned but recovered in time to seize the boy's wrist before the palm, orange with fight-ending fire, could strike his chest.

His heart thundered in his ears. The prince twisted urgently just as the ball detonated blindingly and the shockwave sent both belligerent sailing wildly into the air. But it was Vegeta who recovered first; steadying his flight before capitalising with a fist that sank into the boy's stomach. For the first time, the pain registered on his face, and Vegeta grinned confidently.

It was downhill from here.

The boy hacked and coughed an agonised cry as yet more pain cracked through his sanity, but a boot to his jaw silenced him and he plummeted to the ground.

Time to go to school.

Vegeta watched as the boy burst from his bed, flaring his ki with a defiant roar. But renewed senses, augmented with power, caught the acute shifts in the boy's muscles and weight. He capitalised swiftly; rushing to intercept any attempted launch, twisting deftly behind his stunned target and delivering a firm roundhouse to the shoulder that sent him boy sailing hard along the ground and crashing into an errant mound of icy rock. He followed-up quickly, dodging a wild, retaliatory bolt of energy before baring down on his panic-stricken foe.

The pain had cut through the insanity.

A feinted fist baited a premature guard, then a grin followed as he shifted his weight and sent a shin hard into the boy's exposed ribs.

The bang was deafening. The icy plateau shattered, the adolescent body soared laterally, gouged ice from the arctic floor, and settled weakly in a mound of snow.

End game.

It had taken Vegeta years of blood, strife, and the conquest of death itself to ascend. When he'd first broken the barrier, the rewards had been beyond his wildest dreams. A dead celestial rock in the lonely depths of space had been the unworthy backdrop to the storm that had raged in his mind and body… Unfathomable power, a god-like euphoria, and an almost uncontrollable rage. He'd nearly destroyed it and his ship in the process.

In those fleeting minutes of ascension, the prince had been deified; ruling all he surveyed with the strength to destroy entire worlds at his fingertips. Only the ancestors knew what this boy had endured to ascend. If such feelings could overwhelm the senses of an otherwise composed and experienced warrior such as himself, a green-horned boy stood no chance. It was a wonder that his power hadn't torn him to pieces.

The way it was now doing to his young challenger.

A murderous roar of defiance shook the horizon as yet more golden light flickered into being; cracking rock, shattering icy sheets, and wafting fresh steam into the night sky. Vegeta floated calmly, watching the boy's fire burn brightly and defiantly, a royal frown on his face as the usurper's thick mane flickered once more from dulled gold to a roaring inferno. But there was a pained hoarseness to his yell as blood fell from his lips.

He was beaten but he didn't even know it. Refused to acknowledge it even. As Vegeta locked eyes with his pained and panting young foe, something akin to admiration crept through him.

The air crackled and burst once as the boy advanced once more, but he'd slowed considerably… Fatigue undermined the ferocity of his punches and he scowled deeply and roared gutturally with every lazy dodge and parry. The once bright aura had dulled considerably.

This was the part Vegeta usually enjoyed; when an opponent slowly awoke to the hopeless reality of their situation, but as he parried the next blow and drove a knee once more into the boy's ribs, he was surprised to find his mirth had faded.

The boy rasped again and screamed, this time in agony, and Vegeta watched the display with cold indifference. Then a swift follow-up sent him tumbling end over end over ice and rock before sliding into a shallow pool of water. The brilliant mane flickered to a listless black.

He was done.

"I don't bow to dead men…"

As Vegeta slowly advanced on his exhausted opponent, his mind conjured the Legend's tale. How the ancestors had answered the saiyan's call for a savour and poured their combined strength into a worthy warrior. How he'd taken this power and laid waste to their enemies, then seized the throne by right of strength… How the power was so great, it could only be contained in his oozaru state yet the power had destroyed him all the same.

Even after Vegeta's own ascension, he'd been wary of the legend, and years of training and experience lent credence to the tale. A fully-powered Super Saiyan was as much a danger to himself as his opponent; uncontrolled power was a double-edged sword and as the boy was now discovering. Vegeta had no doubt that he'd been the first to push him to this limit.

Vegeta had been effectively forewarned by the tale-keepers. Kakarot, the bastard, was as much a prodigy as he and had learned it instinctively. But no-one had been around to teach this boy.

This rabid dog who'd reached far too deep into the well.

The saiyan prince watched the trembling adolescent from afar as he struggle to a knee, blood dripping freely from his mouth and steam wafting from his limbs despite the icy cold. The latter was alarming, an ugly site, and the boy cried out his agony to the world.

Vegeta watched from afar as the boy failed to find purchase on shaking limbs and collapsed face first to the blood-slicked rock. He was surprised to find himself floating high above the young warrior; hair still bathed in white gold and a palm extended and hot with energy.

Admiration be damned, his pride still bristled from those opening blows and instinct pulled at the prince to silence any threat to him. Death was a fitting fate to all who opposed him, especially those who'd rejected his offer of mercy. Yet his mind was filled with the possibilities that this boy represented.

Where had he come from? How many more were out there? How had he attained such strength?

How similar were they?

Vegetal grit his teeth, seething at his indecisiveness… and the intrusive familiarity. The big bang hung from his palm, illuminating the near unconscious brat in a deathly white. Seconds stretched to minutes as the smoking child shivered and convulsed, but his fate was abruptly snatched from the prince's palm when a fist collided with his jaw.

"Nimbus!"

The cry scattered the crows in a flurry of feathers and echoed broadly across Mount Paozu. Moments later, Goku was airborne; cross-legged and laughing as the golden cloud puttered, looped and spiralled through the skies. He grinned as the wind blasted his ears and ruffled his hair, whooped in elation as the nimbus rollercoastered through the clouds, and gazed in awe at the view.

Blue skies shone under the midday sun and stretched endlessly over a carpet of white clouds, and Goku's breath frosted coldly in the altitude… then the Nimbus dipped suddenly below the white mist and the world below became colourful. Orange and brown forests below gave way to fields of white and green, which then gave way to black rock and white sand that stretched on until striking wall of deep blue ocean.

"Look, Gohan!" Goku grinned, pointing at the seagulls squawking just below them, but the toddler in his lap was silent.

"Gohan?" His grin shifted to a look of perplexion as he glanced down at his son.

Gohan didn't share his enthusiasm, in fact he couldn't see the view at all as he gripped his father's gi tightly and buried his face in his chest. He was terrified.

"Gohan." Goku began, coaxing him from his trembling as the Nimbus soared through the sky. Gohan peered up at him, tears brimming, but he warmed to his father's reassuring smile. "It's scary, huh?"

Gohan nodded, peering cautiously at the rushing scenery before nearly jumping out of his skin at the squawking of a passing bird..

It always perplexed Goku. Given his natural fearlessness and thirst for adventure, and Chi-Chi's… Chi-Chi-ness, he'd never really understood why Gohan was so timid or why everything scared him so much. Wildlife, animals, fishing, camping; if it didn't involve four walls and text books, it filled his little boy with terror and Goku with sympathy.

Maybe it was all the studying. He'd have to speak to Chi-Chi.

"Don't worry." He continued, smiling brightly as he pat his son's head. "I'll never let anything happen to you!"

Gohan was silent for a second, considering his father's words, then he eased his face an inch from Goku's chest and peered cautiously at the clouds above and oceans below.

"Promise…?" He mumbled, quietly grasping for reassurance.

"Promise!" Goku confirmed with a grin.

[AN] Merry Christmas.