"They're in your hands now."
Kakarot had left six months ago with Shenron, signing off with those five words. Every morning since that day, without fail, Vegeta heard them echo through his mind the moment he woke up.
Vegeta wasn't surprised in the least by Kakarot's departure, of course. The prince knew his rival better than anyone; the Earth-raised Saiyan was always one to look for the next big journey he could undertake to grow stronger, even at the cost of abandoning the friends and family he fought so hard to protect.
It had first been following the Cell Games, where he believed the Earth would be better off in the hands of his son. An honorable, yet foolish thought. Gohan, for all his potential, simply did not have the drive to be a constant warrior.
The next time had been when the enigma, Uub, appeared at the World Martial Arts Tournament. Amongst Earth's defenders, only Kakarot and himself would ever know the true ferocity of Kid Buu's wrath. It was no surprise to Vegeta that his rival believed with the right tutelage, Uub could one day use that power to become the best of the best.
This time, however, was different.
"They're in your hands now."
It sounded far more… permanent. Definitive.
Even when Kakarot had lost his life during the Cell Games, Vegeta held onto the belief that he would see his rival again someday. Blind hope, perhaps, but hope that was realized seven years later with the events of Majin Buu.
When his rival had left to train Uub, Vegeta took it as a sign to train even harder for their eventual rematch.
And yet… that day never came.
The events of that Tuffle parasite unlocked an ascendant power in Kakarot - the pinnacle of Saiyan transformation, even.
Super Saiyan 4.
Try as he might, Vegeta was unable to achieve the form despite the most rigorous of training routines. And embarrassingly enough, he was not even able to reach the power that Baby had unlocked within him in time for Super 17's invasion.
Vegeta still remembered the words he spoke that day...
"Saiyan blood courses through my veins… and I call the Earth my home!"
It was no more than a second after that when Kakarot had pushed him out of the way from the android's blast; he had only a few fleeting moments of consciousness to recognize his rival's ever-so-characteristic smile before darkness had taken him.
Par for the course, yet an unacceptable outcome.
Vegeta could accept the gap being widened between the two of them. It had happened before, and every time, without fail, the prince found a renewed vigor and purpose in attempting to close it.
Yet being saved like a helpless child reminded him far too much of their struggles with the Ginyu Force and Frieza on Namek.
It was yet another debt Vegeta had to repay.
One he planned on doing right after the events of the Shadow Dragons. Armed with his own ascension to Super Saiyan 4, Vegeta was confident in his ability to once and for all settle the score.
And yet, even that was fleeting.
He had discovered, a week after fully recovering from his injuries, that Super Saiyan 4 was as he suspected: unattainable for him without exposure to Blutz Waves. As much as Vegeta was loathe to admit it, Bulma was an essential to his transformation - and likely would be so long as he didn't have his tail.
"They're in your hands now."
Vegeta may have called Kakarot a fool more times than he could count, but that fool was brilliant in his own moronic ways. He must've known something that the prince did not to be so comfortable with leaving the Earth without a Super Saiyan 4.
He broke into a slight chuckle at that. It was also just as likely that the fool simply expected things to work out, as they always did. For as much as he knew his rival, there was even more he didn't understand about him.
"Damn you, Kakarot… I'll never fully figure you out, will I?"
Taking a breath, he fully let himself go and drew in the familiar sight around him. The rocky mountains in which he had clashed with his rival for the first time.
Coming here was therapeutic. Once a week, he would find himself here and do nothing other than power up to his limits. Gohan had appeared the first time this happened, worried about a potential foe without a traceable energy, but upon his arrival he seemed to immediately understood.
It had been a long two minute silence between them as Gohan looked around, remembering the memories of that fateful battle.
Vegeta said nothing, his eyes fervently locked on the hybrid.
Gohan looked back at the prince, nodded in understanding, and then left.
The boy - no, the man, for that was what he had grown into - could empathize with how he felt, especially after dealing with the loss of the Namekian.
Vegeta's mind then thought about Goten and Trunks. Vegeta could remember just how much potential he saw in the two boys - really, who could have thought they would become Super Saiyans before even starting puberty? - before the luxuries of peaceful life got to them the same way they had Gohan himself. Trunks had found himself the president of Capsule Corp, and Goten found himself far more concerned with women than being a warrior.
He truly was the last of them now.
The last pure-blooded Saiyan.
"They're in your hands now."
Vegeta had originally thought that Kakarot had meant it was on him to train the next line of warriors. And so he had done just that.
Gohan had given up on trying to contend with Vegeta - a decision he could begrudgingly respect considering all he had been through. Still, the prince would challenge him once a month to make sure he didn't completely slack off as he had before. Gohan had accepted, as long as Pan was not to be involved. He wanted her to have the childhood that he never did, and to train only when she desired. Vegeta could understand, seeing as how he wanted Bra to follow her own chosen path as well.
Speaking of childhood… Vegeta sometimes wondered if Goten had never let go of it. It was no surprise that Goten had become such a womanizer, as he managed to smooth talk his way out of Vegeta's attempts to find him every single time he was summoned to spar. Though Vegeta had lessened his grudge toward Kakarot considerably over the years, he still felt that same irritation toward his son every time he realized the young playboy had escaped his grasp.
And as for Trunks… though it was difficult for him to manage both his presidential responsibilities as well as his own training, he was seeing considerable strides, ascending to Super Saiyan 2 at last. In the back of his mind, Vegeta had wondered if Kakarot had rubbed off on him during their time in space together.
It wouldn't have surprised him. Kakarot had an influence, an infectious presence, that simply changed others around him.
Vegeta saw that influence to an astounding degree in Uub. This had been the first time Uub had been without Goku's presence in his life, and although it had never been officially proclaimed, Uub's religious three times a week training routine with Vegeta had all but made him the prince's new student.
Though Uub was not quite powerful enough to defeat him yet, Vegeta had noticed the bouts growing closer and closer with each fight. If he didn't find a way to regrow his tail and find a consistent method to achieve Super Saiyan 4, Uub would surpass him - and soon.
After battering each other to absolute exhaustion three times a week, the young Majin would ask Vegeta to tell him stories about his former mentor. The prince, usually never one for small talk, would often do so - but why, he didn't know.
Perhaps it was because of their shared loss.
Perhaps it was his way of processing Kakarot's leave.
Or perhaps it was because he knew, as the Earth's new protector, he had to take on the role that Kakarot had passed on. The one that had connected them all.
Whether it was intentional or not, Vegeta had found himself becoming more sociable despite his previous ways. His daughter had become close friends with Marron, which brought him around the baldy - though he had retired the nickname, considering the monk's full head of bushy gray hair - and the android he had lost to so long ago.
He was surprised at how well he found himself getting along with the android, considering their history together. Whereas their interactions would often have been tense, the sudden loss of her brother seemed to have allowed her to drop her inner walls. And whether or not he was willing to admit it, having a woman in his life other than his woman allowed him to learn how to be a more attentive husband to Bulma.
His face soured at the thought. He would not have been willing to show such a vulnerability to Eighteen in any other instance, but Bulma's sorrow over Goku's leave was far too powerful for him to understand and handle alone.
The prince knew he held her heart in the romantic sense, but she loved Kakarot in a way that perhaps nobody would ever understand.
They were the ones who started this journey together, Bulma and Kakarot. Having it end as the result of the Dragon Balls turning on them had led the scientist to believe it was all her fault. At first, she would curse Goku out every morning before breaking down into hysterics during her work in the afternoon. She was healing, slowly but surely, but he could still hear the soft whimpers and shakes in her body when the two retired to bed together.
"They're in your hands now."
Every time Vegeta took this time to himself, he found new meaning in his rival's words.
To be a protector.
To be a connector.
To be a father.
To be a teacher.
Vegeta worked at each of these ruthlessly, with the same fervor he dedicated to his physical training, if not even more so.
Though the prince had changed dramatically over the last six months, his stubbornness remained strong in one regard.
If ever Kakarot were to return, Vegeta had decided he would not ask what those words meant. Knowing the bastard, he would smile and call it a secret, anyway - or even worse, adorn that sheepish grin of his and claim he didn't remember saying it at all.
That brought an ever-characteristic smirk to his face.
He had decided he didn't need to know, really.
It didn't matter what Kakarot meant by them being in his hands now.
Because the words alone gave Vegeta far more meaning than any one answer could ever give.