That fucking third class clown. He punched the ground, gritting his teeth. So far this was the fifth solar system he's visited and he's no closer to finding him. The dragon had not specified his location because the idiot didn't wish to be found.

This was proving to be a fruitless quest. Perhaps he should assume defeat in this particular mission and return to Earth. Though he didn't know what was worse—wasting away in the woman's home reliving his greatest failures or wandering aimlessly through space.

What will he do now? Wait for the imbecile to show his face? And what then? He wasn't a super saiyan. He couldn't even find respite in Frieza's death, nor did the idea of conquering planets appeal to him any longer. What glory was there in fighting weaklings for the rest of his life?

Perhaps he should leave it all behind and forget Earth. It could all just be some distant memory. Like an unpleasant fever dream.

Only, his pride would never permit such cowardice.

Panting, he wiped his face with the back of his hand. He's been training under the glare of the sun of Planet Cold 1024 for hours now. Three days ago, he cleared the standing PTO army. The local civilians seemed appeased that he had made no effort to rule over them and were content to leave him to his own devices. Some had even left provisions as a peace offering.

Other than training and eating, that left him with nothing else to do on this planet until he took off tomorrow for the next. He could sleep, but he wasn't tired yet. He looked over the horizon and noticed a nearby stream. Perhaps he should clean up before retiring for the day.

Freshly bathed, he entered the password for the ship's access pad and walked in once the ramp lowered. A sound informed him for the umpteenth time that there were messages from earth. He rolled his eyes. The humans were displeased with him. Not that it mattered.

He hadn't yet listened to any of the messages, but he supposed now may be a good time. They were probably relieved that he was gone for good. He tapped the screen and scrolled to the top of the inbox. It was the first saved video message that was sent to him. Curious, he pressed the play icon.

"You, asshole!"

Vegeta almost recoiled from the screen. He scowled. Of course it was that blue-haired shrew. Bulma. His finger hovered over the waste bin icon.

"Do you know how long it took my dad and I to make that ship?! It's not just something you can toy around with!" She crossed her arms, eyes narrowed. "Ughh!"

He laughed and his hand strayed from the screen. She never seemed to remember just who he was or didn't seem to care.

Her hair was different again. This time, it was longer and sleeker. She wore a revealing red shirt that bared her midriff and jean shorts; impractical, though aesthetically pleasing.

"Look, I don't know exactly what your plans are. Just don't fucking destroy my property." She exhaled, sitting back in her chair and looking into the camera with her doe blue eyes. "I know I'm rich, but that capsule you took happens to cost millions of zeni. So it'd be nice if you returned it intact."

Vegeta grabbed a cloth from a nearby table and dried his hair.

"Don't exactly know why I bother. You're probably not even going to watch this. I just kind of got used to you menacing Capsule Corp with your whole tough guy act." She stared off into the distance, absentmindedly playing with her ends. "You kept things interesting around here."

Interesting? He was their enemy. He supposed that defeating them was his new source of entertainment—more specifically, Kakarot. Though he couldn't say he particularly hated her or her family.

"Maybe I'm into hopeless causes, but I hope you come around. It's a shame I still haven't gotten to know you. I get the sense you're not all bad."

"Tch." He ended the video.

Idiots, the lot of them. Him, not all bad?

He plopped down on the bed and closed his eyes. At least the humans ensured that all their amenities were comfortable, he thought, taking a nearby blanket and covering himself.

He was checking the database a cycle later when another video was uploaded. He quirked a brow. Did the woman never tire of pestering him? This one was the most recent. He clicked to see what she had to say after so long.

"Heyyyy there, homeboy. Prince of all saaaiiiyaaNs. Grumpy guy." She giggled, very visibly inebriated. Her hair was tied up in a bun and she was wearing a silk burgundy robe. "Boy, do I have something to tell you."

He sat back the chair next to the console, somewhat amused.

"Let me tell you something, mister. I just turned thirty years old today. Today's the twentieth of July and I turrrneed thirty. I'm so fucking old now. God."

Why was a birth day so relevant? Did earthlings become drunk solely to celebrate existing?

"Hm, I wonder when your birthday is? You can't be much older than I am." She cupped her face in her hands. "Oh wait, that's right. You run on a different calendar than earth. How about I just assign you an earthling birthday? Maybe you can have mine." Giggling, she set down an emptied bottle of wine. "I updated the gravity room, by the way, in case you return."

Was there a point to this video?

"Mmm, yes. You're a birthday boy now. And you're all alone in space. Well, I have you covered. I'm keeping you company."

He was almost tempted to delete this pitiful sight, but he honestly had nothing of importance to do at the moment. Truth was, while ridiculous at times, her nonsensical antics and banter were a welcome reprieve in the eerie silence of the ship following his habituation to the noise on Earth.

"Yamcha ruined everything again and left me aaaall alone. Can you believe that? I saved the asshole and brought him back from the afterlife. And guess what? He didn't remember my birthday. Honestly, I don't even know what I was expecting." She sighed dramatically. "He asked me to marry him. I mean, what? I said no. Marrying me isn't going to fix who he is and the fact that almost nothing's changed. That's the thing with Yamcha, he never quits. Until now, I guess. We're off again."

She looked directly at the camera. "So now maybe you can keep me company." She grinned at the camera and fluttered her lashes coyly. "I must be a respite for sore eyes. I mean, I know you're a bit of a prude, but even you have to admit I'm a lot to look at."

This video was quickly derailing into something else.

"You haven't really seen everything, though, have you?"

He felt himself growing anxious at her antics. Leave it to her to unnerve him billions of lightyears away.

She laughed again and winked. "You want a peek?"

Vegeta froze, his face aflame. Frantically, he searched for a way to back out of the footage. The screen was not cooperating.

Transfixed, he watched as she untied her hair and combed it with her fingers. Now it hung in curls that were complimentary to her heart-shaped face.

Teasingly, she dragged her hands over her neck and down the front of her silk robe. "I'll let you in on a little secret, tough guy."

His death grip on the armrests of the chair was starting to leave an indent of his hands.

She glanced sultrily at the camera. "I'm not wearing anything under this," she whispered.

He swallowed, his throat dry.

She untied her robe and parted it enough for him to note with chagrin that she wasn't lying. She stopped until she revealed a hint of her ample cleavage and her pale, flat stomach. "You want to see more?"

He tensed in his chair, wanting to be gobbled up by the void of space. What a vulgar creature she was. Was she really intent on exposing herself to him? Wasn't that a taboo on Earth?

She chuckled to herself. "Oh no, not today." She closed her robe with a smirk. "Naughty, naughty prince."

He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"You'll have to come back to Earth to see the rest, I'm afraid. Don't keep me waiting too long and bring back my ship, saiyan."

The screen went black and an option to replay the message popped up.

Now he had a problem, he thought with horror, glancing down at the noticeable bulge in his lap. How could she be so lewd? And what did it say about him that it elicited this type of response?

For the smallest moment, he considered relieving himself and forgetting all about hunting down Kakarot for the time being. But then he just imagined her satisfied grin at him caving to her latest provocation. He wasn't convinced this ship wasn't wiretapped or surveillanced. Somehow she would know of his shame.

Who knew her motives for testing him in such ways? Did she think she could win him over with the promise of her body?

He rose from his seat uncomfortably and opted to ignore her.

Her good looks and technical prowess notwithstanding, she was a vapid creature that would likely not even remember what she did come tomorrow.

Departing from Planet Cold 1024, he found himself pondering if he should simply do away with it altogether as he had Arlia. The inhabitants would experience a momentary peace before reinforcements from either Cooler's or King Cold's armies made landfall to occupy the territory once more, likely to enslave or exterminate them for good. Frieza's demise had not brought the freedom or closure often dreamed of by the various rebel factions across the galaxy, just as it had not done so for him.

He held his arm up, staring down at the planet's orange surface, considering offering the inhabitants a swift, merciful death. It was best to die with one's honor and freedom, something that had never been afforded to him. It would be best.

And yet…

Stranger things were possible. Just maybe, there was a marginal chance that this speck of mud would not face obliteration like all the others.

In his mind's eye, he saw the gold of ascension. A sky blackened by mythical dragons. A woman's warm smile and laughter.

'I get the sense you're not all bad.'

He lowered his arm and powered down, retreating back into the ship. He took a deep breath and eyed the monitor. After setting coordinates for Earth, he absentmindedly checked the inbox again for new messages.

There weren't any.

Not that it mattered whether that vulgar woman contacted again, teasing him and yammering about things that held no significance. He never knew what to make of her friendliness and overfamiliarity while he was on Earth, much less why she insisted on continuing a one-sided line of communication with him long after he technically stole her ship. It was unwarranted.

It's not like he pretended to be virtuous. She had to know he wasn't a "good" person. He kept waiting for the day her hospitality would be revoked, when they could all move on from this fraudulent domesticity. If she truly knew what he was, the full extent of the things he's done, that smile of hers would recede forever.

Out of sheer boredom, NOT interest, he pressed on one of the older unwatched messages. The second to be precise.

"Alright, I admit. I was really pissed when I sent that first message. Let me just fill you in on what happened after you left-"

In the void of space, Bulma's animated chatter filled the ship, serving as a companion to the isolated warrior and tuning out the relentless artificial hum of the ship as it sped closer to her location by thousands of lightyears per minute.

His arrival on Earth months later was just as he expected, with the exception of the appearance of an annoying human called 'Yamcha.' Apparently, he had faced him on the battlefield - though for the life of him he honestly didn't even recall him - and was responsible for his death at the hands of a saibaman. His venomous greeting would be rather amusing to him on any given day, but he was in a foul mood from his failed excursion to retrieve Kakarot.

The scar-faced man had questioned his return, having the gall to actually confront him. Idiot. Bulma had chastised him, of all things, about his smell. She led him away from the weakling and her mother with a huff. Her hair was even curlier now than in the ridiculous video she had sent. Her red dress, although modest by her standards, was tight over her curvaceous form.

He grit his teeth, resisting the urge to board the ship once more. It would all be worth it, if the damned idiot would just make an appearance and tell him how he was able to transform already.

"Alright, tough guy. Here's some body wash. I'll leave you a change of clothes by the sink." She smiled. "Do us all a favor and shower to your heart's content."

"You can leave now. Unless you intend to watch me disrobe."

She laughed. "You'd probably like that, huh?"

His glare was scathing.

She held up her hands and giggled. "Just kidding."

After the whole pink shirt fiasco, he sat sulking at the picnic table on the rooftop overlooking the compound. How long until that insipid clown would show himself?

"All down on yourself because Goku hasn't shown up?" She placed a can of beer in front of him and popped one open for herself. "Don't worry, he always comes back. But in the meantime, don't be such a downer."

"I didn't ask for your input," he said gruffly, reluctantly helping himself to the beverage she offered.

"That's no way to speak to a lady who just updated the gravity simulator while you were gone." She sipped her beer, winking at him. "Did it around my birthday too."

His eyes widened fractionally, but he attempted to keep his cool. Was this some sick joke? Was she in on it? Were the earthlings all about to congregate around him, laughing boisterously over the video?

Or maybe, she thought he'd ignored all her messages and that those videos would never see the light of day, giving her a blank check on her drunken lapse in judgment. He would wager the latter.

He made a decision that very moment to test if she knew the depths of her miscalculation. It would serve her for humiliating him with a pink shirt.

"I'm aware," he drawled, leaning back into his chair with an unreadable expression.

She looked at him inquisitively. "Oh?"

"You were born July twentieth, were you not? It's a shame I wasn't here for your thirtieth birthday."

It took all his effort not to cackle as he witnessed a series of embarrassing micro-expressions that flashed across her face.

She cleared her throat. "Didn't know you bothered to learn about birthdays."

"You'd be surprised."

"Y-yeah, I'll bet. You're full of surprises." She took a large swig of her beer.

"It's like someone once told me, you don't know about something until you've exposed yourself to the world around you. Take Earth, for instance. I know there's much more to see here." He preened himself for the final devastating blow, allowing himself to smirk faintly. "What was it this person said? 'You'll have to come back to Earth to see the rest, I'm afraid.'"

She whipped around and met his gaze, face a deep red. The wind picked up, fluttering her hair around her face. "I-"

"Yes?"

"You know what? I think I heard someone call me. Gonna go check." She didn't wait for his response to spin on her heel and walk out.

"Of course." He drank more of his beer to conceal his grin.

The scar-faced idiot called after her and asked where she was going. When she left without a word, he felt the earthling's judgmental glare slide over to him.

He smirked at the weakling.

She was a pretty sight to behold when she was flustered. Now he understood the appeal of her provoking him. It was a fun little game. He wondered how she would recover from her embarrassment and retaliate.

For now, he's content battling this unpredictable woman. And who knew? Maybe he would get to see the rest.

He felt at ease for once, setting down the beer he was nursing this entire time. That is, until he sensed an energy he knew all too well. A cold sweat broke out over his skin.

"Hey guys," Bulma called from the door, appearing to have composed herself. "Anyone want any more burgers?"

He'd be impressed with her bounce back to her usual carefree persona, were it not for the dread filling his gut.

"Frieza," he ground out.

Of course nothing was ever so easy. He was a fool. The one second he thinks he can stop looking over his shoulder, his tormenter makes himself known.

"Vegeta?" She asks with concern.

He has no time for this. No time for their nonsense. "He's here. Kakarot never killed him."

Krillin blanched. "Well, shit."

That fucking imbecile. He punches the table, making everyone around him flinch.

"Leave it to Kakarot to show Frieza mercy. I should have known that wretch wouldn't finish the job." His fists clenched at his side before he turned to the group. "Listen up, earthlings. If you give even a tiny shit for this mudball you call home, we need to face Frieza head on. He plans to vaporize it in retaliation for his humiliation by a saiyan's hand. This has to end here."

"Well, you heard the man," Bulma said calmly, a strange confidence in her. "Let's go meet the asshole. Never even saw him in Namek myself."

Ridiculous woman. She's fortunate to have never done so.

She turned to face him with an infuriating smile. "Your call, tough guy."

The rest of the group stared at her as if she was nuts. She shrugged and winked at him. "We have to see the rest, no?"