Nappa and Tao's Ship
December 21, A762

"Gine, what happened out there?" Nappa asked. Gine wrapped her arms around his torso as best as she could, and squeezed.

"My boy. My Kakarot. He fought Freeza."

"What? Maybe he's still alive, maybe we can-"

She squeezed him tighter, "No, Nappa. He won. He became the Super Saiyan. I don't know if he survived the crash of that ship...But he beat Freeza. We're free."

Nappa wrapped his arm around her, and hugged her back, "I'm sure Kakarot is fine. If he beat Freeza, he can survive anything. We'll see him again."

Gine pressed her face against his chest.

"I want you to stay, Nappa. With us. On Earth. We'll be a family," Gine said.

"I'd like that, more than anything. I'm sorry I was such a fool, Gine."

Gine pulled herself up to his eye level, and kissed him on the cheek, "You're not the only one who's been a fool. Raditz and Kakarot got themselves killed fighting each other. Just, from now on, none of you are allowed to be idiots, okay?"

"I'll try," Nappa said, resting his forehead against hers.

"I didn't know Saiyans were capable of making so much sap," Krillin teased.

"Like pine trees instead of primates," Tien added.

"Heartwarming," Tao said flatly, turning back to the controls of his vessel. Tien scowled at Tao, and couldn't help but clench his fist. He was displeased at the very thought of spending a week with Tao on the trip home. The man had to be bribed to do the right thing and defend the Earth, and then had the gall to talk down to them like that.

Then it hit Tien.

This was the darkness Guru had seen within him. He thought he'd left Shen and Tao behind, but that anger, that contempt was still there, deep inside. All the years of torture and torment, the abuse and belittling. Tien was still clinging to it, even after surpassing them and their teachings. Tien opened his mouth to say something, but turned away.

Accepting that he still had that darkness was one thing. Being ready to confront it was another. Tien went downstairs into the quarters to get some distance.

"Mother, do you have any Senzu Beans left?" Raditz asked, "Kakarot mentioned they could regrow limbs, and I'd like my hand back."

"Hmm? Yes, I do, actually. Kakarot gave me three, but I only gave away two, so I've got one left," Gine slid down off of Nappa and handed him the last bean. Raditz ate it, and grunted as he felt his stub begin to tingle. The tingle became a burn and a blunt feeling as the bones began to twitch and regrow. Raditz let out a yelp as the pain grew more intense.

"Raditz!" Gine held him, "What's wrong?"

His eyes began to twitch round, and he lost vision of the ship around them. He saw Dabura, heard his laughter in his ears. It became a high pitched cackle, and Raditz saw a small, yellow, hairy alien standing before a crystal ball.

Raditz clutched his forehead, which was starting to burn in an 'M' shape. Then, his vision just became the color pink, before returning to normal. Raditz looked down at his hands; his stub had indeed regrown his hand, but he felt more exhausted than ever. He wasn't in the main chamber of the ship, he realized, and he was covered in a blanket. He sat up, looking around; his mother was sleeping in the corner, her back against the wall. Raditz felt at his forehead; though there was phantom pain, he didn't feel anything on his skin. Raditz stood, going to the bathroom, and he began to poke at his skin in the mirror; there was nothing. He gave a sigh of relief.

"Oh good, you're awake, Raditz," he heard in his head. It was King Kai.

"Hello, King Kai," Raditz said, "Always a pleasure to hear your melodious chords in my mind."

"I'm a maestro of the vocals, I'll have you know," King Kai insisted.

"I bet you are," Raditz said, sitting down by his mother. She roused, and smiled at him.

"Raditz, you're awake!" she said tiredly.

"Uh huh. But I'm talking to King Kai right now, and he's very loud," Raditz said. She smiled and nodded, resting her head against his chest, and quickly falling back asleep.

"And melodious," King Kai said.

"And melodious," Raditz agreed with a chuckle, "What can I help you with, King Kai?"

"Are you willing to talk about that move you used on Vegeta yet? It's extremely important that you tell me the truth, Raditz," King Kai said.

"I wish I could, King Kai, I really do. It's not that I wouldn't. It's that I-" Raditz began to say, but something stopped him from saying.

"Oh, Raditz what did you do?" King Kai groaned.

"What I had to get back. To protect my family. I won't apologize for doing whatever it took. But I am sorry for deceiving you. Training you was honestly some of the best months of my, uh, life. So to speak," Raditz said. King Kai grunted.

"Well, I'm going to look into this, Raditz. I fear you may have gotten involved with something much worse than Freeza. I'll do whatever I can to help you," King Kai said.

"I appreciate that, King Kai."

"I do have good news, though. Your brother is alive, and he's headed to Earth, though he had to take a detour. He won't be back on Earth for a year and a half, unfortunately."

"That's great news," Raditz said. Gine roused.

"Hmm? What's good news?" she asked. Raditz pulled her close.

"King Kai says Kakarot survived. He'll be on Earth in under two years," Raditz said. Gine stretched and smiled.

"That is great news! I'll miss him until he gets back. Tell King Kai I said thank you," Gine said, standing up.

"You hear that, King Kai?" Raditz asked.

"I did. Tell her she's quite welcome. Stay safe, Raditz," King Kai said.

"You, too, King Kai," Raditz stood, following his mother, "King Kai says 'You're Welcome.'"

"I should send him a cake or something. How would I send him a cake if he's in the Other World?" Gine asked.

"Snake Way is the longest driveway," Raditz said.

XXX

Liberty's Center, formerly Freeza Planet 79
December 24, A762

The base, which had taken a massive amount of damage in the riot and the subsequent battle with the Dreadnought, was nonetheless in the midst of a massive party as the rebels cheered, drank, and ate. The feeling was almost infectious; for the first time, Vegeta almost felt like joining them.

Freeza was dead. The Super Saiyan was real.

For the first time in his life, he was free.

Leaving the shuttle he'd hijacked behind, Vegeta couldn't help but fly towards the base, doing a couple of loops just for the fun of it, a smile on his face.

Sure, he was going to do everything he could to surpass Kakarot. But, today, he was free.

He landed in the command center, where Turles and Shive were singing an old Saiyan battle song and drinking straight from their bottles.

"Vegetaaaa!" Turles threw open his arms to him, "Come here, and give us a hug!"

"I'm good," Vegeta held up a hand.

"Oh, all right," Turles said, disappointed but taking another drink, "Still, kick back, enjoy yourself, for tomorrow we fight! Freeza may be dead, but his empire is right for the picking!"

"He's right," Shive said, gesturing to the Galaxy map in the center of the room. Shive was clearly much more sober than Turles, "The Rebellion is capable of striking at any number of worlds within the next few days, and nobody will be able to match our power. Between the three of us, the Galaxy will once again belong to the Saiyans!"

"Huzzah!" Turles pumped his fist, still holding a bottle, into the air.

"And with you, Vegeta, as our King, nobody will question our authority!" Shive toasted to him.

Vegeta smiled, and said, "No."

"No?" Turles and Shive said together.

"I know you were trying to break me to make me go Super Saiyan, but you were right, Shive. I failed our people. I should have followed every lead to see if there were survivors, but instead I didn't even look. I'm not worthy. I didn't destroy Freeza, Kakarot did. I'm not Prince of Saiyans," Vegeta said, "I'm going back to Earth, and I'll find a way to surpass Kakarot on my own. You're the one who planned this revolution, Shive. The Empire is yours."

Shive shook his head, "I'm no Monarch, either, Vegeta. If I'd gone with Meys and Brussa, I could have made a difference, instead of just making everything complicated."

"You're here, making plans. That's more than I'm interested in," Vegeta said.

"Very well. I will lead the New Saiyan Empire as its stewart, until the House of Vegeta is ready to return, and once again be kings," Shive poured two glasses, handing one to Vegeta. Vegeta hesitated, but took the offered glass.

"Until we return, then," Vegeta said. They struck the glasses together, and drank.

"So, Earth, then? We'll get you a shuttle, you should be back within a couple days," Shive said.

"Yes, but only to get one of those Earth vessels with a gravity chamber, so I can get stronger while pursuing a different mission. There's one Saiyan I've failed for far too long. You said that my brother, Prince was still alive?" Vegeta gestured to the Galaxy map. Shive smiled, and nodded.

"There's a prison world, Cold Planet 255," Shive pulled up the coordinates, "It holds some of the Galaxy's most powerful criminals and enemies of Cold's empire. Herans, rival Frost Demons, world hostages, members of the Galactic Patrol, even mystical artifacts. Each, for one reason or another, King Cold didn't want dead or couldn't kill, but still wanted out of the way. It's more than enough to hold your brother. We were going to strike it one day, but I was going to wait until we had more resources before trying, given the extent of the security. Some of the guards make the Ginyu Force look like chumps, I won't lie."

"By the time I get there, this prison will be nothing more than exercise," Vegeta said, crushing the cup in his hand.

"Was that necessary," Turles lamented the cup.

"I have no doubt, Vegeta. I assume you're going to insist on doing this alone?" Shive said.

"I know doing things alone hasn't worked out for us. If I feel I need help, I won't hesitate to call Raditz and his family for help. But if I can do it alone, I will. Tarble is my brother. His suffering is my failure," Vegeta said. Shive nodded.

"Whatever you need, Vegeta. The New Saiyan Empire is behind you. But, for today, let us party. We've damn well earned it," Shive said. Vegeta nodded.

"Very well."

"If you're going to party with us," Turles shoved a bottle of alcohol into Vegeta's hands, "You need to be properly equipped. Now, let us see you drink like a Saiyan!"

"Yes, Vegeta! Show us how the Upper Class drinks!"

Shive and Turles began to chant 'Drink!' at him. Vegeta rolled his eyes, opened the bottle, and obliged them.