There was a hot yellow flame flickering in the dark before him. It
sparked and spit embers when he realized it was going out. It was so dark
he couldn't see his own hand. He was just inches from touching the light
when it snuffed itself out before him. He heard his father's shamed voice
chastise him, he heard Frieza's voice mock him as he shivered in fear, and
he heard the laughter of a certain Saiyan named Kakorrat speak the harsh
truth of things. He would never be as powerful as Goku was. Never. A
scream of despair filled the void and he realized he was the one screaming.
And then, he woke up.
Vegeta threw back the sheets and sat up straight on his bed, bathed with sweat and his body shivering in fear. His ragged pants of breath slowly softened as he rubbed his hands nervously across his face. It scared him that he could show his own fears so readily when he, the Prince of the Saiyans, made a point of showing how he was anything but afraid. It was cowardice and weakness to allow fear to enter one's mind.
Vegeta clenched the mattress of his bed so hard while trying to brace himself from his own depths of self-loathing and anger that he tore it to shreds with his bare fingers. His father never had reached this level of power, Frieza had been killed by his own son, and the only reason Kakorrat was so damn powerful was because he was there to keep challenging him.
"So why am I still afraid," he whispered to himself in his harshest tone of voice. He bared his teeth and moved his focus into the palm of his left hand. He could never forgive himself for his own weaknesses. He moved his fingers up and down as if pondering the mysteries of man.
It was then he felt it. He felt the Namek's power level, even though it was far away, respond inside of him. Vegeta concentrated on the location of the ki signature and looked out of the window as if he could see the fight occurring from his position in the room. He felt another power, a foreign power, rise and his eyes widened as he saw the truth of the depths of the power Piccolo was up against. Vegeta sat stunned and for a full second it seemed like he wouldn't move again. What he had felt…
Vegeta blinked and got off the bed, never-minding the chill of the air on his naked skin. He went over to the one chair in the room and lifted his folded Saiyan uniform from the seat, quickly changing. Tugging on his white boots, Vegeta opened the sliding glass window and hesitated as he caught the glimpse of a light in Bulma's room next door. He looked at it for a breath with a blank expression on his face and turned back towards where he had felt the power levels come through before. Calling on his power, he blasted into the air and never looked back.
Trunks, just a baby still, opened his eyes from a drowsy sleep and felt the presence of his father leave him. His lips quivered for a moment and tears fell down his cheeks as he started to wail inside his crib. Bulma mumbled something incoherent as she walked over, eye-lids half- opened, to see to Trunk's needs.
Vegeta threw back the sheets and sat up straight on his bed, bathed with sweat and his body shivering in fear. His ragged pants of breath slowly softened as he rubbed his hands nervously across his face. It scared him that he could show his own fears so readily when he, the Prince of the Saiyans, made a point of showing how he was anything but afraid. It was cowardice and weakness to allow fear to enter one's mind.
Vegeta clenched the mattress of his bed so hard while trying to brace himself from his own depths of self-loathing and anger that he tore it to shreds with his bare fingers. His father never had reached this level of power, Frieza had been killed by his own son, and the only reason Kakorrat was so damn powerful was because he was there to keep challenging him.
"So why am I still afraid," he whispered to himself in his harshest tone of voice. He bared his teeth and moved his focus into the palm of his left hand. He could never forgive himself for his own weaknesses. He moved his fingers up and down as if pondering the mysteries of man.
It was then he felt it. He felt the Namek's power level, even though it was far away, respond inside of him. Vegeta concentrated on the location of the ki signature and looked out of the window as if he could see the fight occurring from his position in the room. He felt another power, a foreign power, rise and his eyes widened as he saw the truth of the depths of the power Piccolo was up against. Vegeta sat stunned and for a full second it seemed like he wouldn't move again. What he had felt…
Vegeta blinked and got off the bed, never-minding the chill of the air on his naked skin. He went over to the one chair in the room and lifted his folded Saiyan uniform from the seat, quickly changing. Tugging on his white boots, Vegeta opened the sliding glass window and hesitated as he caught the glimpse of a light in Bulma's room next door. He looked at it for a breath with a blank expression on his face and turned back towards where he had felt the power levels come through before. Calling on his power, he blasted into the air and never looked back.
Trunks, just a baby still, opened his eyes from a drowsy sleep and felt the presence of his father leave him. His lips quivered for a moment and tears fell down his cheeks as he started to wail inside his crib. Bulma mumbled something incoherent as she walked over, eye-lids half- opened, to see to Trunk's needs.