As soon as Vegeta woke up from the healing chamber, he blasted the glass away. The startled attendant yelped as the liquid solution splashed onto him while Vegeta marched out of the room. He had left the healing tank from far worse incidents in his lifetime, but very few had wounded his pride so deeply .

Knocked out by the half-breed son of a low-class soldier. The nephew of Raditz, for God's sake. As the Prince of the Saiyan race, Vegeta couldn't allow it to stand. Yet - he knew this day would come sooner than later, ever since he surpassed Nappa. But what he didn't count on was Frieza bringing it about.

When he arrived in the Saiyan chambers, Raditz and Nappa immediately noticed his intense glare.

"What the hell happened?" Raditz asked.

Vegeta stared a thousand yards ahead. After a twitch of his eye, he walked up to Raditz and punched him in the stomach with no provocation. He was related to Gohan and vaguely resembled him; an adequate enough venting target, Vegeta concluded. After Raditz hacked up spit and stumbled back up to his feet, Vegeta kicked his cot.

"Frieza happened," Vegeta spat. "If my suspicions are correct, Gohan will no longer be part of us."

"What?!" Raditz shouted. "What do you mean...did Frieza…?"

"No," Vegeta replied, figuring Raditz assumed the worst. "He's playing him against us; offering him to conquer strong planets as his own man while we're stuck here."

"Ridiculous. I know he's just a kid but he's smart enough to see through that nonsense," Raditz said.

Vegeta closed his eyes to regulate the foreign emotions overcoming him. "Perhaps; but the boy made it abundantly clear he still harbors resentment for us. No doubt Frieza planted some bullshit into his head."

"Well that would explain him freaking out on me earlier…" Raditz said.

"But if Frieza isn't bullshitting him, then where does that leave us?" Nappa asked. "It's pretty damn obvious Frieza is gonna leave us as janitors as long as he sees fit."

Vegeta tried to remain still, but found his fists clenching in and out of an iron grip. His mind grappled with Nappa's observation and his own restless thoughts, wondering what he was even doing with his life anymore. With a ferocious growl, he slammed one of his fists against his cot, cracking it and caving it into the ground.

"Dammit!" he shouted. "How much longer, huh?! This isn't working anymore!"

And worst of all, Gohan knew it. Long ago, Vegeta wondered if trying to weed out Gohan's humanity was a mistake; instead Frieza exploited it. But if Gohan found his traitorous path to growth, then Vegeta would figure out his own.

Or die trying.

Gohan leaned against a wall in a bright room with his arms folded, scowling. Though he'd only done what he felt was the best option for defeating Frieza, he couldn't fight the jeers of "sellout" in his head. Not only did he go right along with Frieza's desires, but he lashed out against Vegeta and Raditz.

He felt like the man standing a few feet away who was talking with Dodoria; Zarbon.

"Alright, kid, as a captain you're allowed to pick one person to start out with," Dodoria called. "No Saiyans."

Gohan rolled his eyes. That much was obvious.

"Make it good, brat."

Gohan spoke up without a second thought.

"Arepa."

Zarbon and Dodoria exchanged confused glances before looking back at Gohan. "The crass girl from Cui's crew?" Zarbon asked. "They were your rivals, correct?"

Gohan simply nodded. He didn't owe them an explanation.

Dodoria shrugged. "Well, even if she has no objections to it, I'm pretty sure she's Cui's second in command. If Cui's got a problem with it, then you'll have to fight him for her."

That earned a smirk from the half-Saiyan. "That's it? Easy."

The two officers just looked at each other and laughed, their money on Cui getting the better of that scuffle. Gohan's quiet calm remained unfettered, however. Cui had allowed himself to stagnate over the years while Gohan, even before Frieza's restrictive provisions, had grown considerably.

"Well, if you really think so, then let's send them on over," Zarbon snickered, clicking his scouter on. "Cui, Arepa! Report to assembly room four at once."

Moments later, the two arrived with inquisitive expressions when they found Gohan sitting against the wall. After a brief glance at Arepa, Gohan stood up, cracked his neck, and shook his wrists a few times. Cui awkwardly buckled.

"Gohan has ascended to Captain's rank and will be splitting from the Saiyans," Zarbon informed, eliciting gasps from Arepa and Cui. "And he's picked you, Arepa, to be the first member of his crew."

While Cui scowled indignantly, Arepa blinked in surprise, bringing her puzzled eyes to Gohan's. She swung her head back and forth between her current boss and her teenage peer.

"As if!" Cui yelled. "You're not seriously gonna let that little chimp poach my crew, are you?!"

With an imposing threat in his gait, Gohan marched forward to give Cui a receipt for his insult but was halted by Zarbon's hand. "I realize this is a problem for you, Cui," Zarbon said. "And so I will allow you to make your argument through combat."

"A fight over lil' ol' me?" Arepa asked with a theatrical smile, to the eyerolls of the grown men in the room. Gohan, on the other hand, snickered.

"Don't flatter yourself," Cui scoffed, to Arepa's annoyance. "But I'll be damned if I let this brat get one over on me. You're on!"

"We'll settle this in one of the training quarters. Follow me."

Among the party of five leaving the room to head down the hall, Cui stared daggers at Gohan while Arepa giggled behind them. Gohan didn't even acknowledge him, looking straight ahead. When everyone arrived in the dark training room, Zarbon and Dodoria perched against a wall. Arepa did the same in the wall opposite to them. In the center of the room, the two combatants stood across from each other.

"First guy to go unconscious loses," Dodoria said. "Now let's get this shit over and done with."

For his own amusement, Cui clicked his scouter to run Gohan's power level. "15,000?" He laughed out of that cacophonic voice. "15,000 and you think you can take me! This'll be over in 15 seconds."

Ah, Gohan's favorite part of suppressing his Ki. Merely smirking at Cui's taunts, he crouched into a fighting stance. He looked over Cui's shoulders at Arepa, who eyed him with a spellbinding smile that he couldn't quite place.

He lunged at Cui, figuring he would patronize him with the opportunity for first strike. Though he swung a lethal punch, Cui blocked it with his forearm...and screamed in pain while it flared into a bright blue shade.

"Wh-what the hell?!"

It was all he could spit out before Gohan launched him into the wall with a knee to the gut. Arepa moved out of the way, letting her boss smack into the fortified stone and crumble to the marble floor.

"I don't get it!" Cui spat out a wad of blue blood. "That was way stronger than 15,000!"

In a move that would have made his former boss proud, Gohan folded his arms and tilted his head back as he leered boastfully at Cui, inciting his fury. He even uncurled his tail to show just how unfettered he was.

"Whatever! You can't take me!"

With a primal scream, Cui charged at Gohan and wildly swung his fists at his face. Despite his speed and ferocity, not one punch landed; Gohan effortlessly read and evaded his movements. He tried jumping in the air and bringing the hammer down with his fists, but Gohan blocked the ensuing blow with both arms - and unlike Cui, he felt no pain. After his jaw dejectedly sank, Cui leaped away from Gohan.

"It's been longer than 15 seconds, by the way," Gohan pointed out.

"SHUT UP!" Cui yelled while Arepa laughed. He flew at Gohan, but the boy jumped back and sprung off the wall with one leg. Cui was ready, however, and lunged backwards. He even knocked Gohan down with an elbow to his back. When Gohan got up on one knee, Cui's prominent eyes widened in sweet realization.

"Gotcha!"

In a split-second, Cui reached out and grabbed Gohan's uncurled tail, the Saiyans' achilles heel. It was his trump card on Vegeta during their childhood quarrels, and it would work just as well on Gohan. The half-Saiyan shrieked and collapsed, Cui cackling while Arepa scowled contemptfully at him.

"Ha! Y'see, it's just in you monkeys' biology to lose to me! All I gotta do is gra-"

Flabbergasting all in the room, Gohan swung back up and with his tail, pulled Cui's grotesque face into the sharpest point of his elbow. As soon as Cui hit the wall behind them, he was knocked out.

"You were saying?"

While Zarbon took a few moments to contain his shock, Dodoria chuckled. "Well it doesn't take a genius to figure out ol' tadpole is out of it. The monkey wins."

Gohan restrained his scorn for the quip while he dusted his armor off, only regarding Dodoria and his smug grin with a snarl. He was too satisfied from finally knocking Cui on his ass to spoil it with a thrashing from the ogre whose temper was as hot as the pink of his prickly skin.

Zarbon awkwardly cleared his throat. "Alright, the matter is settled. Arepa, you are with Gohan now. Lord Frieza will brief you two on your first mission tomorrow." His voice carried just enough unease for Gohan to take notice. Good.

When the two officers left, Arepa strolled towards Gohan with a goofy smile on her face. "A true gentleman, fighting for my honor!"

"Oh, shut up," Gohan said, woe to her sarcasm. As soon as he took a step, Arepa grabbed him and locked her arm in his, snarkily clinging to him like a smitten maiden. Gohan couldn't bat her away fast enough, blushing as he did so while she laughed him off.

While Gohan walked away, Arepa snuck a pat on his shoulder. "Good shit, though. I was gettin' sick of that guy." As Cui awoke from his daze mumbling incoherently, she flashed him a peace sign and strutted away with her new leader.

"You must've worked on your tail after that shit I pulled back then, huh?" Arepa asked.

Gohan winced, recalling his violent outburst against her. It was a miracle things got back on track with her, but he could sense the slightest twinge of fear in her voice as she recalled it.

"Why me, though? Like, for real?"

Goan had a million reasons why, but voiced none of them. "Doesn't matter why. I felt like it."

"Sure…"

After shrugging off her disbelieving tone, Gohan kept his aimless stroll until he realized a problem. "Wait. Where are we gonna sleep?"

Arepa shrugged. "We'll just find a room and if whoever was there has a problem with it, tough shit."

Gohan smiled in agreement. They took up the first vacant room they could find. It was no different from any of the other sleeping quarters around, a drab room with a few stone cots and shelves.

Just before they sat down, Arepa froze. "Ah wait, I gotta get somethin'. Gimme a sec."

While Arepa left, Gohan took a deep breath and sat down on a cot. It was just like old times again, only now without the Saiyans. He couldn't believe he'd ever be thinking about them with a nostalgic lens, but there he was. Despite everything, their pride and resolve rubbed off on him; Vegeta wasn't just being arrogant when he said Gohan owed something to them.

Arepa returned wielding a black, circular device. She placed it at cot's front edge. "Check this out." She pressed a button on the device, releasing a field of light that enshrouded the entire cot.

"What's that?" Gohan asked.

"Give it a touch," Arepa replied with a mischievous smile that Gohan regarded distrustfully. Concluding that he didn't fear whatever nonsense she had planned, he obliged. He reached out his finger to touch the light-and was rewarded with an electric shock that launched him across the room.

While Arepa laughed, Gohan peevishly growled after recovering from the jolt. "What the hell was that for?!"

"It's a forcefield. The lady-Zarbon made it for me. It's so none of these weirdos can break in and try anything while I sleep."

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked as he stood back up. "We Saiyans are public enemy number one around here and we never had to deal with break-in attacks."

"Not attacks, dummy." Arepa folded her arms uncomfortably with a resentful sneer. When Gohan gave her a perplexed eyebrow-raise, she irritably placed her hands on her waist and glared sideways with narrowed eyes. With her refusal to elaborate, Gohan was in the dark on what she was alluding to.

Well, until she stuck out her more, erm, prominent chest.

"Oh…"

When Arepa frowned and stared at the floor, Gohan felt a twinge of guilt. With how lewdly Raditz and Nappa often spoke of women, he should have figured females would have a rougher time around a bunch of vile space pirates.

Quickly leaving the ugliness behind, however, Arepa smirked at Gohan. "Don't tell me I gotta use it for you too, Gohan."

Grimacing, Gohan turned away from her. "Gross!"

Not letting up, she leaned in close to Gohan with a presumptuous smile. "I mean that is the real reason you picked me, right? Eh? Eh?"

"Shut up."

She backed away and switched the force-field off before sitting down on the cot. "No but seriously, if I can think of anybody I'd actually like to work for around here, it'd be you."

Gohan didn't reply, instead looking down and scratching the back of his head like his father often did. Frankly, she'd answered the question of why he chose her on her own, whether she figured it out or not.

Arepa kicked her boots off and leaned back against the wall. "Now let's kick ass out there."

"Of course."

When Vegeta happened to walk down the hallway with Raditz and Nappa the next day and saw whom Gohan had left the room with, he couldn't hide his disgust.

"Unbelievable," he said. Gohan and Arepa stopped dead in their tracks; in particular, Gohan's posture stiffened with a deep breath. The half-breed looked like he would have rather done anything but look Vegeta in his face.

"Don't tell me this was what it was really about, half-breed," he scolded. "A hormonal brat trying to get his dick wet?"

While Arepa unsettlingly gasped, Gohan growled and whipped around with a resentful snarl. "Save it, Vegeta."

"Or what?"

Despite Gohan's tough demeanor, Vegeta could see the droplets of sweat coating his forehead. Clearly, the boy still knew where he really stood. "We don't need to do this. We're not enemies here."

"Hmph. Well we're certainly not on the same side. I still owe you a beating." Despite having gotten the better of their scuffle, Gohan hung his head in shame. "Now clear the way, half-breed, before I hand you your receipt."

Like he was still under his authority, Gohan moved aside for his Prince. Vegeta walked away with his two subordinates, leering at Arepa disdainfully as he did. Nappa groaned in disgust when Gohan was away from earshot.

"What use does that mouthy little bitch even have for Gohan?" he asked. "He'll be lucky if she doesn't slow him down."

"He's still soft, that's all there is to it," Vegeta replied, disappointment weighing down his voice. "He needs to have a 'friend' around."

"Absurd," Raditz replied.

Then again, as Vegeta had always noticed, that "softness" might have been the source of Gohan's power. Hell, he'd just experienced it for himself.

Outwardly, though, he disapproved. "But the boy's no longer our concern." For now. "Now let's shift our fortunes our own way." He led Nappa and Raditz down the hall into the repair room, currently occupied by a slew of overworked technicians. He scanned the room until he found Lemo and Kiyomi working on a space pod and joined them.

"You," Vegeta said to Kiyomi, getting her and Lemo's attention. He made a cutting motion with his finger. Kiyomi nodded, clicked her scouter, and scrolled the glass until she found a command and tapped it. The Saiyan scouter signals were jammed.

"The same chip you made for the boy, you will make for us," Vegeta stated.

"Why?" Kiyomi asked. "Gohan's already got you covered. Hell, he can make one himself."

"Well he's no longer on our crew."

"What?!" Kiyomi couldn't contain her shock.

Of course, Vegeta was still processing the surprise himself. "But that's not important. Make one for us. And I assume you know how to tamper with the planet directory?"

While Lemo gawked in shock, Kiyomi scoffed. "Are you asking what I think you are?"

Vegeta raised his eyebrow.

"Look, I can hand out a few signal jammers; but I don't think you realize what I'd be doing if I started manipulating interplanetary activity."

"Humor me." Vegeta remained stone-faced.

"It's treason, Vegeta. Hell, you guys uncovered the last case of that and saw what happened to Boysen."

"You say that as if I care what happens to you," Vegeta dismissed. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you take a planet off the books as a favor to the half-breed?"

Though Kiyomi sputtered at its mention, she remained firm. "One planet to protect somebody with no known connection to this organization. Zarbon already knows of our association, so if you guys go into hiding-"

His forehead pulsing, Vegeta made an imposing advance. "Who said anything about hiding? We want you to find strong worlds for us to conquer."

Gawking at Vegeta like he'd spoken a foreign language, Kiyomi chuckled incredulously. "Wow, okay. I hadn't realized I was underestimating the insanity you're asking of me. Not a chance in hell."

Vegeta shoved her directly into his face by the collar of her armor. Every scientist in the room dropped what they were doing to gawk perilously at the confrontation. He could see the fear in her eyes as she tried to turn away from his intense gaze. Over the years, he'd built a violent reputation for himself; she'd seen some of the incidents in person. She knew precisely what type of danger awaited her.

"I could kill you and everyone here and they'd find some worthless drones to replace you," Vegeta said through his teeth, his nose almost touching hers. "Now, you're one of the few people here I actually respect a little, so I'll grant you the courtesy of a few extra moments to find compliance. Use them wisely."

He released her from his grip by tossing her to the floor, letting her check smack into the marble. While she sat up and wiped blood from her cheek, Vegeta folded his arms. "Any time now, woman."

With how grimly she glared at Vegeta, Kiyomi looked more like her male counterpart. "Fine." Satisfied by her answer, Vegeta stepped away and gave her room to stand back up; who said he wasn't a gentleman? "But listen to me, because it is every bit as much for your sake as it is for mine - you can not be sloppy in any of this. Whatever you do, Frieza's assignments had better be accounted for first, because I know he's not giving you guys traditional work. I can finagle your deadlines but that is as far as I'll go."

Kiyomi didn't realize that the urgency with which she spoke only excited the thrillseeking Saiyan even more. "All you need to do is make sure those planets we strike go unnoticed. You can do it for that brat's soft-hearted desires, can't you?" Vegeta asked.

"Fine. No loose ends, got it?" Kiyomi exhaled through her nose after Vegeta confidently nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, what's going on with the kid? Why'd he leave?"

"I do mind, actually," Vegeta replied before he and the other two Saiyans turned and walked away.

Lemo laughed sardonically and muttered a few foreign expressions. "Those Saiyans keep getting our legs deeper and deeper into shit, huh?"

Kiyomi absent-mindedly shrugged, focusing on Gohan. Whatever brought about his change in scenery, she hoped it had nothing to do with their conversation about Zarbon.

When Gohan kneeled with Arepa in Frieza's throne room, he was still shaken from his standoff with Vegeta. He'd long grown numb to Vegeta's usual harsh rebukes. Disappointment, on the other hand? Nearly every waking second for the last eight years, meeting the Prince of all Saiyan's expectations was among his greatest priorities; he'd thrown it away with interest.

"Ah, so I see our new crew is a reservoir of youth," Frieza observed. "I do hope this is the beginning of you pair's grandiose ascenst. I think it will take some time before I get used to seeing you without your Saiyan elders by your side, Gohan."

Just keep kneeling respectfully, Gohan said to himself. Without Vegeta, he would need to stand on his own two feet.

"Now, onto your first assignment together. Recently one of our supply planets was ransacked by an unscrupulous gang of ruffians. Our intelligence finally intercepted their communications and discovered their location, and they've retreated to a planet by the name of Peroni. It's a formidable world that no nearby soldier can hope to compete with. That's where you two come in."

That's what Gohan wanted to hear - soldiers too much for the regular folks to handle.

"You are to kill them all - every last species that lives on the planet. Find as much equipment as you can and preserve their conditions. Let us know of anything useful that you find as well." Frieza sounded a touch irritated over the thievery - but of course, couldn't be bothered to handle it himself. "The average recorded power level of the planet is around 1,000, meaning the race is filled up and down with formidable soldiers. Be prepared for combat."

A competitive smirk painted Gohan's features. If even the average was at 1,000, that boded well for the upper level soldiers. At the end of the day, that was the reason for his decision.

"Given the fortitude of the mission and the scale of the planet, I'm giving you a three week deadline. Don't let my expectation for you be in error, now!"

"Yes, Lord Frieza."

Gohan and Arepa left Frieza's throne room and went outside, where two space pods were ready for them. As she got closer to the pod, Arepa excitedly pounded her hands together.

"Our first mission as a squad! This is actually kinda cool!"

"I guess…"

Arepa rolled her eyes. "Good ol' Gohan, always staying on the bright side."

As he stepped inside his pod, Gohan snickered at Arepa's unrelenting pep. He wondered if a few weeks around her would drive him mad.

The fighting had started from the moment Gohan and Arepa arrived on the purple-skied world. The thieves - gangs of furry, dog-like men - had been prepared for a Frieza Force retaliation; just not from anybody as strong as Gohan. Having learned from his experience on planet Zuna, he and Arepa cleared away everyone within the immediate vicinity of their space pods with well-aimed Ki blasts.

From there, it was war. Gohan and Arepa decided to split up, expeditiously taking on the droves of soldiers that came their way. Gohan drifted towards the stronger clusters, taking them out as efficiently as he could. With the sheer numbers, however, the fights had been as lengthy as they were exhausting. He found Vegeta chastising him for his reliance on Ki during their fateful spar odd, considering he'd learned it from him - it was the easiest way to handle numerous foes. It saw heavy use in his assault.

By the end of week two, Gohan found himself sitting atop a scrapyard in battered armor, chewing on a roasted arm from one of his victims. Since they were effectively a bunch of overgrown canines, Gohan found it far easier to partake in the barbaric consumption of corpses that his former Saiyan comrades enjoyed.

He clicked his scouter. "Dead yet, Arepa?"

"YEOW! Shit, Gohan, you threw me off!" Gohan laughed. "I'm handlin' myself…" A blast and a scream went off in the background. "...fine!"

"Good," Gohan said before clicking his scouter off. The strongest Ki Gohan could sense on the planet kept moving all over the place; clearly, the mystery fighter's plan was to bombard Gohan and Arepa with as many reinforcements as possible to save himself the effort. Since Gohan had plenty of time, he decided to wait. Picking off his tenacious redshirts was more than sufficient training.

After finishing off the last of that arm, Gohan tapped his scouter to record the scrapyard's location. Standard procedure saw one of Frieza's survey crews collect all of the tech and resources following the purge's completion; records made their job easier and more importantly spared the soldiers a petty thrashing. His hunt for the strongest Ki signature continued in the skies.

Mid-flight, Gohan leaped when he saw a torpedo heading his way. Catching it with both hands took nothing, however, and then he swung around and tossed it at the other fighter he sensed flying at him. The missile impaled the pink wolf and left him a distant memory high in the sky. Turning his attention to the three Ki signatures heading directly for him, Gohan squared his shoulders and powered up.

Two armored coyotes, one red and the other blue, and an orange fox stopped in front of him. "The Frieza Force monkey ain't took off yet?" asked the orange fox.

"I don't need to, seeing as how I keep killing you guys off."

"When we're done with ya, you'se gonna wish ya ran off before ya go nighty-night!" the red coyote yelled. Gohan sighed. Between this planet and all of Frieza's "clients," he'd heard way too much of that accent across the universe.

"LET'S GO!" The orange fox yelled before they all took off.

Gohan flew away from their pursuit, building a distance before he rattled several Ki blasts off. While they evaded and deflected the blasts, Gohan zeroed in on the fox and drove his knee into his stomach. As soon as their ally fell, though, the red and blue coyotes struck him from behind. All of the nonstop fighting had exhausted Gohan's reflexes, leaving him more vulnerable to numbers.

Stopping his descent to the ground with a Ki wave, Gohan propelled to the complementary dogs and drilled elbows into both their faces. When the orange fox chased after him, he kicked him, too. The dogs regained their bearings and surrounded Gohan on all sides. After darting his eyes back and forth between all three of their growling faces, Gohan flew back to the dirt. After they took the bait and lunged down, Gohan unleashed a fierce Kiai shout that dispersed them with shockwaves.

Gohan fired a blast with killing intent, but the nimble blue coyote phased behind him. He drove his knee into Gohan's lower back, unknowingly getting his vulnerable tailbone and devastating him. Though he trained his tail to withstand someone's grip, the bone itself was still a major weak spot for Gohan. The impact flung him ahead, right into two blasts from the coyote and the fox.

"What did I tell ya, kid?!" The orange fox said. "We're gonna make mincemeat outta ya and take ya ships, too!"

Gohan stumbled back up, batting away the clouds of dust in the wake of his crash landing. On their own, these guys weren't much - but combined, they frustrated him. He powered up again, but the quick fox had already snuck behind and locked his arms - with Gohan's size disadvantage, it was all too easy.

"Get 'im boys!"

The two coyotes took off like spears and collided headfirst into Gohan's chest. He screamed at the top of his lungs as they drove him and the fox into an enormous cliff; the fox let go with a few seconds to spare so he could crash into it.

His body caved into the rock, Gohan coughed hoarsely. Arepa's voice yelled for his attention on the scouter.

"Uh, Gohan, I got a lil' problem here," she said, sounding distressed. "A guy with a 20,000 power level's heading right for me!"

"Shit," Gohan wheezed. "Gimme a sec. Hold him off for as long as you can."

"Don't try nothin' funny with my corpse." Even through all the pain and frustration, he still laughed at her off-color wit.

The three dogs cackled and launched Ki from their palms to try finishing Gohan off. His urgency at its heights, Gohan reduced the cliff to a pile of rocks with a burst of Ki that he channeled to his quivering hands. He fired a Ki wave of his own that put the three blasts heading his way to shame, vaporizing them. The three furry men only had a few moments to breathe petrified gasps before the blast collided with them and put an end to their lives.

Panting heavily, Gohan rubbed his sore back and fled the scene. He flew as fast as his Ki allowed, as he could feel Arepa struggling against the mighty force that had eluded him for the entirety of his mission. Perhaps splitting up wasn't a great idea—he shouldn't have ruled out the stronger people pursuing the weaker opponent first. Few in the universe were wired like the Saiyans.

Nightfall hit by the time he made it to the city where the fight ensued. A grey wolf the size of Nappa had Arepa seized against his red suit in a formidable grip. His protective nature flaring, Gohan dove with ferocity and ended the assault with a dropkick to the skull. He caught Arepa before she hit the ground.

"The hell are you doing?!" Arepa yelled. "Fight that g-"

Arepa couldn't get the whole sentence out before the musclebound wolfman slammed his entire arm into Gohan's collarbone, flipping the boy over a few times like a crash-test dummy.

"You dare hit Narimara?!" the incensed wolf yelled, baring his sword-like, saliva-coated fangs.

Arepa jumped over to Gohan as he shuddered on the ground. "Yeah, he's got a third-person thing goin' on." Rubbing her inflamed hip, she chided Gohan with a glare as he got up to a knee. "And I appreciate the help 'n all, but you gotta keep your eyes on the prize!"

As if to illustrate her Vegeta-like argument, the wolf - Narimara, apparently - rushed at Gohan like his more feral counterparts. The deadly chop intended for Gohan's head only hit his forearm. And to Narimara's shock, Gohan didn't budge.

"Ah, I see, so ya must be the boss, then. NO MATTER!"

With his fist equaled the boy's skull in size, he went for another punch only to see it caught in the young Saiyan's palm. Gohan swung Narimara over his shoulder like he were a mere pup and flung him into a building that collapsed on collision.

"Now that's more like it!" Arepa cheered. Since she was behind him, she couldn't see the twinge of satisfaction her praise brought Gohan.

Narimara emerged from the ruins with a snarl spread across his muzzle. "You Frieza rats just can't let a guy live, eh? Narimara tries to make bank and you pricks gotta ruin everything like ya run the goddamn universe."

Gohan offered no comment, mostly because he agreed. But he had a job to do, and Narimara's aspirations stood in the way.

"Narimara's gonna be shittin' you two out by the time he's done with ya!"

While Arepa squirmed at his grotesque imagery, Narimara jumped into the sky and fired a blast at Gohan. It was evaded, as Gohan jumped into the sky - but another blast came his way. With no other choice, Gohan had to lift his arms up to absorb the force. He fell into a nearby light pole but wrapped his tail around it and spun rapidly into a clean, steady landing.

Narimara took a bewildered step back. "Shit, Narimara knew you was the big guns, but it looks he'll hafta get serious."

Before he could actually get serious, though, Gohan warped in front of him and drilled him with a punch right onto his muzzle. Narimara flew back, but shook himself off and hopped off from the ground, using his hands as forelimbs to leap forward and swing them down at Gohan's head with lethal force. Once again, he only hit air; but he knew Gohan had tumbled behind him. He stuck his leg out, leveling him with a kick from the sole of his boot.

Though Gohan's chest still burned from all of the punishment, he landed on his feet and came right back with a kick just as hard from his exponentially smaller leg. To keep him down, he unleashed a succession of strikes and finished it off with another kick. Narimara hit the ground in a heap, while Gohan stared at him emotionlessly.

"Get up!" Gohan commanded. "I know that's not all."

Narimara obliged, standing back up with a toothy smirk. "Alrighty, then. If ya hungry for a beatin', then I'll serve ya right up."

With speed beyond his mass, Narimara jumped behind Gohan and smacked his entire body with just his forearm. He didn't let up, either, grabbing him by his hair to smash his face into his knee and fling him into a building with a machine's precision.

Assuming Gohan defeated, Narimara set his sights back on the cowering Arepa. "Now, where was we?"

In a matter of seconds, Arepa's worry gave way to triumph. With his back turned, Narimara didn't see the huge, blue Ki wave coming for him - the one that hit him and detonated on impact. Arepa planted her feet and lifted her arms to shield herself from the shockwaves as light and dust crowded her vision.

Gohan flew away from the building he'd been launched into, landing next to Arepa. As the dust faded away, he could see Narimara rolling around on the ground, coughing with frustration. He banged his fist against the pavement and jumped back up.

"You two ain't nothin' but Frieza's bitches." Narimara boastfully pointed to his chest. "But Narimara's his own man, and he's gonna wipe you two out and get an even bigger haul from ya boss!"

Despite his crude accent and childish third-person speech, Narimara's statement rattled Gohan just enough to leave himself open. Neither he nor Arepa were spared when Narimara slammed into them with both arms swinging. While Arepa fell with a thud, Gohan just barely managed to spring off the ground with his hands and answered Narimara with a kick.

Like heavyweight boxers, the two powerful warriors exchanged mighty attacks while Arepa marveled, sitting up from the ground and staying out of a fight beyond her level. While Narimara was tough, Gohan's blows had a little more power to them; it left him slower to strike back. The war-mongering Saiyan blood within Gohan boiled with thrills, reveling in the war that had long eluded him. Even the pain was exciting.

Sensing where the tide was turning, Narimara leaped into the sky and fired a massive blast at Gohan. It came down fast enough to warrant Gohan jumping out of the way, triggering another explosion when it hit the ground.

However, it was exactly what Narimara wanted, because during the commotion he grabbed Arepa by her hair and lifted her up. It was the first thing Gohan saw when the smoke cleared.

"Yeah, now Narimara's gotcha!" Arepa feebly tried to escape his hand. "You attack, and ya gonna hafta fight without ya girlfriend."

"Coward!" Gohan seethed. The shameful tactic disgusted Gohan enough, but he downright fumed over seeing Arepa in that position. He contemplated using his speed, but doubted it would work.

But then, Arepa took matters into her own hands - literally. While Narimara laughed at Gohan's predicament, Arepa reached up and squeezed one of his prominent fangs. With all of her reserve strength, she pulled until she yanked the entire bloody tooth out. Screaming a good two octaves higher than his regular voice, Narimara let go of her to rub his flaring mouth. For good measure, she stabbed the tooth into his foot to pin him to the ground, giving Gohan his opening. Thrusting ahead with all his might, Gohan drove his fist right through Narimara's stomach, freeing him of the misery from his severed fang.

When Narimara spat out a gallon of blood and fell onto his stomach, Gohan discarded his guts-soaked glove, rolled up his sleeves, and wiped his forehead off. He felt like he'd been in a shipwreck, but that was perfectly fine.

"I owe you one, Arepa," Gohan said as he crouched down to ease his sore muscles.

"No sweat," Arepa said, looking down at the giant, furry corpse. "That just about covers most of 'em, right?"

"Yeah," Gohan said. "Now I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

"Already way ahead of ya," Arepa said. She blasted down a light pole, then jumped up and chopped it in half. After planting the two pieces into the ground, she tore Narimara's clothes off (thankful he was already on his stomach) and with a few well-aimed cuts and Ki-assistance, she cleanly skinned him and lifted his legs. She glared at Gohan.

"A lil' help here?"

Gohan rolled his eyes, but grabbed Narimara's arms to help lift his immense weight off the ground and set him atop the poles, crudely impaling his face and stomach into them to fasten the body. Gohan found the few trees around the city, chopped them up, and dumped them into a pile below Narimara's body, lighting them on fire with his Ki.

While Narimara roasted, Gohan and Arepa sat down beside each other, gazing at the starry night sky.

"'Bout time we finished these guys off," Arepa said with a sigh. "I was gettin' sick o' their accents."

"Now that's rich coming from you," Gohan snorted.

"Shut up." Gohan shook his head and laughed at her. "Y'know you love it."

Though he rolled his eyes, he supposed she wasn't entirely wrong. He kept his eyes on the sky while the flames warmed him up. It had been an exhausting couple of weeks, so he was going to enjoy a moment of rest.

"This is why I like missions," Arepa said. "When it's all over, I can just chill out without needin' to look over my shoulder." She undid her ponytail and waved her lengthy mane of hair around before leaning back on her hands. Gohan quickly looked away, his entire face flushing red as his chest tightened in ways he couldn't explain. The sight of Arepa with her hair down overwhelmed him.

To his chagrin, Arepa noticed his nervous change in demeanor and laughed. "You're friggin' weird, Gohan."

"What are you talking about?" Gohan asked, glaring.

"It's okay," she said, laughing. "We're a coupla teenagers, here. I get it."

Embarrassed, Gohan exhaled through his nose and stared at the flames. He couldn't help his attraction to Arepa, but sought to stifle it as much as he could. In the life he lived, he couldn't allow any distractions from his goal.

"Can't say I ain't the same way around you sometimes."

Gohan whipped his head to Arepa with wide eyes. She laughed at his befuddlement. "I mean, cripes, Gohan, have you seen your hair?! That shit is straight out of a majestic painting, man."

Like he found himself doing frequently around her, Gohan scratched his "majestic" hair, unable to process the feelings she brought him. Deciding it was best to just speak instead of bottling things up, he looked up and tried not to shrink from her smile. "Um, I guess, we both have that in common…"

When she snorted out a laugh, Gohan cringed and cursed to himself; that was why he kept quiet in the first damn place.

"I'll take the compliment," she said.

They sat in silence for a few moments, watching Narimara's remains darken above the fire. Deeming him sufficiently cooked, Gohan blew away the flame, yanked off a piece of his leg and opened his mouth to chew, only to be interrupted.

"Sheesh, Gohan, ya just gonna eat it like that?" Arepa asked. "Throw some seasonin' on there!"

Arepa jumped away and gathered a branch of orange leaves from the trees Gohan had chopped down. When she returned, she shredded the leaves up, burned them and sprinkled them atop the roasted leg.

"Try it now."

When Gohan took a bite, the spicy kick immediately enticed his tastebuds. He devoured the leg that was larger than his own body in only a few seconds.

"See what I mean? It ain't nothin' without some spice."

"You sound like my mother." Gohan groaned, realizing he couldn't hide the sadness in his voice when he said it. Some days, he was surprised he even remembered what she looked like.

"She musta cooked a helluva meal then," she said, remorse evident in her as well. She looked up at the sky and sighed. "Don't get me wrong, this job is thrillin' and all...but I'd kill to just be normal again. How 'bout you?"

"Doesn't matter," Gohan replied, robotically. "You don't have to like it" was his mantra, after all.

"Bullshit, it doesn't," Arepa said, startling Gohan. "Vegeta 'n those guys are nasty, but you're different."

Gohan closed his eyes. It seemed like everybody had made that observation lately.

"You're...sweeter," she said with affection sparkling her eyes. "A total mama's boy."

The mood took a harsh turn when Gohan whipped his eyes open and glared at her. Whatever sweetness she saw in him disappeared, leaving only the darkness that was capable of laying waste to civilizations.

"S-Sorry," she said, grabbing a chunk of Narimara to distract herself.

A few painful moments of silence later, Gohan sighed.

"My mom wanted me to be a scholar."

Arepa blinked, putting the leg down; it had almost come out involuntarily.

"She kept me away from fighting, said that wouldn't get me anywhere in life. I kept my nose in the books to keep her happy. My dad didn't like it, 'cause he was all about fighting. Not like we are, though." Gohan smiled weakly, remembering all of those rides on the flying nimbus. "I heard he was a hero back then. Didn't even know he was a Saiyan...until that day…"

He hung his head in his right hand, realizing he was dwelling too much on the past.

"Well no wonder you're so good with gadgets," Arepa said, trying to ease his mood. "We need more nerd fighters."

"I'd probably be in school right about now," he said with a bitter snort. "Mashing at a calculator..."

"...Tryin' to keep the girls off of you."

With a perplexed eyebrow raised, Gohan looked back at Arepa. She stared at him with a flirtatious smile, and he stared back. They stayed that way, awkward tension filling the cold air as Gohan tried decoding her increasingly puzzling behavior towards him.

Arepa broke the staring contest by biting at the leg again. "I noticed you got a lil' weird when this guy was callin' you out before." When she saw Gohan tense up, she waved her arms at him. "You don't gotta answer if ya don't wanna."

Gohan looked back at her, mystified more at himself for being so guarded around her. He'd picked her for a reason - it wasn't his increasing attraction to her, but his trust. The Saiyans may have been reliable, but she was the only person that accepted every part of him.

"It's...fine…" he said. "It's just...you know what's the endgame in all of this, right?"

"You guys wanna kill Frieza?" Gohan blinked in shock. "Well I mean, duh. I don't know if you noticed, but Vegeta is an angry bastard. When our crew was still workin' with y'all, I could practically see Vegeta tryin' to murder that guy with his eyes. All of four of ya, really. Cui and everybody else around here are just scared of him, but y'all don't give a shit."

Gohan snickered, realizing how poorly they disguised their hatred. "I just wonder...what am I doing, really? Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz don't have any problem with this job, they just hate doing it for Frieza since he's an asshole who looks down on them for being Saiyans."

He looked down at his hands. They were clear, but he could see eight years worth of blood from countless races splattered across them. "I just deal with it until I can finally knock Frieza off. But I'm no better than anybody. To the universe, I'm just another one of Frieza's scum. I could never show my face back home again."

Arepa opened her mouth to speak, but Gohan kept going. "And I know, as long as my father's a Saiyan, Frieza would be inevitable and I'm way more prepared thanks to them. But I...I hate this. All of it. I'm just some fucking attack dog!" He punched the ground as fuming tears welled up in his eyes. Though he didn't notice, Arepa slid closer to him. "It's the only thing Frieza's ever been right about."

Gohan reached out and ripped Narimara's roasted arm out of its socket. "But he's wrong about everything else - he thinks he's played me against the Saiyans and made me his attack dog instead." He squeezed the arm until it snapped in half, bone marrow spilling onto his fingers. "But I will defeat him, and I'll do it for myself!"

Noticing how intensely he was shuddering, Arepa placed her hand on Gohan's shoulder. Genuine surprise filled him at the gesture, though the warmth of her palm calmed him down.

"I shouldn't have told you all this," Gohan grumbled. "I shouldn't have had you join me. You're in the middle of it all now, too."

Arepa lifted her hand and brushed it against one of the many bangs covering his face. "What if I want to be?"

Gohan's heart skipped a beat. Nervously, he backed away as his eyes fluttered. Arepa kept her hand on his hair, brushing the spikes.

"When you're ready to fight him - say the word, and I'll be there."

The intense conviction in her gaze made Gohan buckle. Her eyes told no lies; for once, she was dead serious. Only then had it dawned on him how much she actually cared, going all the way back to the day she saw him suspended from a ceiling on Kabnet's base.

Arepa's fingers gently trailed to the scar across Gohan's left eye. Her thumb bristled against the tissue; it didn't feel too bad, actually.

"Then we can be normal again…" Her voice was nearly a whisper as she ran her fingers along the scar, Gohan even blinking to make it easier. "And do normal stuff…"

Her thumb ran circles against Gohan's cheeks. Given all the physical punishment he'd endured, Gohan hated when anything touched his face - but this felt different; pleasant, even. Before he could process what was happening, Arepa's face leaned closer to his, her lips hanging open. The half-Saiyan didn't know what to do, focusing on her fluttering eyes and letting her pull his head closer to her's. They mesmerized him, those ice-cold blue orbs…

...That began to chip and crack.

Panicked, he backed away with the speed of a hare. Arepa nearly fell on her face with her lips puckered. She picked herself back up with a pout, huffing and puffing as she folded her arms.

"God dammit, Gohan, seriously?!"

"I'm sorry…"

"Everything you care about crumbles…"

That dream that still haunted Gohan even eight years later, one he'd done a poor job of heeding. A kiss would have signified an even stronger bond for Frieza to twist.

"Well okay then, you're still Mr. Shy Guy, I guess," Arepa said with childish disappointment. Nonetheless, she reached her hand up to Gohan's head. "But the hair's still mine." Against his better judgement, Gohan allowed Arepa run her hands through his hair; after two weeks of punches, he welcomed a gentler touch. Soon, he closed his eyes.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, staring at the sky. Arepa watched the stars with her own home world filling her thoughts. What felt like a rock hit her right shoulder; the bump belonged to Gohan's snoring head. She smiled; when he slept, all of the burdens he carried were nowhere to be found.

Taking her chances, she planted a kiss on his forehead.