Bloody Memories

Vegeta landed hard on his feet. He looked around the gravity room, wiping the sweat off his brow. He had been training harder than ever, just trying to forget. He looked at the indicator. 400x Earth's normal gravity. Vegeta turned the machine off and walked outside.

The night air was frigid and his sweat cooled and gelled instantly. He looked up at the stars. There's so many of them. You could never see the stars from Planet Vegeta… He looked up and saw that Bulma's lights were on. He scowled. The woman had given him food and shelter, and annoyance and more reasons to be pissed at the world right now.

The light flipped off. He floated a few feet off the ground, intent on getting a good fly in before he went to bed. He powered up and disappeared into the night.

Bulma snuggled under her blankets. She clapped her hands and the light went out. She listened as the gravity chamber slowly whirred to a shutdown. Vegeta must be finished for the night… She rolled over and looked out of the window. She watched as Vegeta shot by, nothing more than a blue streak.

She was used to this now. Every night, when Vegeta was finished with his training he would fly around for Kami knew how long. He nearly left at the same time every night. I wonder where he goes.

Bulma waited for the sound of the servant droids to power down for the night. As silence settled at Capsule Corps, Bulma shut her eyes and fell asleep, grateful for the night's rest.

Vegeta landed at his island. Actually, he wasn't sure who it belong to, but it was inhabitable by human standards, and the rocks and the crashing of the waves against the cliffs calmed him down after a long days training session.

He landed on his favorite rock. It was located in the very center of the small island, and he could hear the waves from all directions. He closed his eyes and lay back on the rock, intent to meditate before going back and having to listen to that woman scream all day.

Vegeta soon got lost in his memories….

"Prince Vegeta! Flying is a part of all Saiyajins training. You're father will be very disappointed if you don't learn. He might even send you away." Tybalt, Vegeta's servant said.

"But Tybalt, I'm only 5! How can anyone expect me to fly?" The young Vegeta looked up at the brown hazy sky. "Tybalt?"

"Yes, my Prince?"

"What's beyond the sky?"

"Space. Stars. Other planets, waiting to be conquered by you and your father. Now, young prince, try to fly."

Vegeta crossed his arms and glared at Tybalt. "But I want to see the stars…."

"One day, young Prince, you will. But not if you never fly!"

Vegeta scowled heavily looking older than his young five. "But I can't stand to fly!"

"Now, now, don't be so naïve. How can you know if you can't stand to fly if you've never flown before, huh? All I am asking is that you try. Nothing more than that."

The young Prince considered. "If I fly, do you promise to take me into space?"

Tybalt smiled. "Yes, I will"

"Good. What do I do?"

"Imagine yourself flying through the sky. Concentrate all your energy into lifting yourself off the ground. Like this." Tybalt concentrated and a red aura surrounded him. He envisioned himself floating above Prince Vegeta. Slowly, his feet lifted off the ground and he hovered six feet above the prince.

"Now prince. Fly up, and touch my hand." A look of concentration passed over Vegeta's face; a light blue aura flared up around him. As he concentrated more of his energy into flying up to Tybalt, the brighter his aura became.

Tybalt stared in surprise. The young prince's eyes were closed. He kept his hand steady, not really expecting Vegeta to fly. He looked down; the prince's aura was becoming a brighter blue by the second.

Vegeta reached his hand up. He still held the image of Tybalt with his hand out in front of him. Tybalt's voice ran through his head with instructions from an earlier lesson. 'Pretend my hand is the thing you want most. You will do anything to get that; you will nearly die for that thing. Now, FLY!!!'

(The thing I want most in the world is to go to space….). Tybalt's hand became a floating orb that held space in his mind. He felt his hand wrap around Tybalt's.

"Tybalt! You said you weren't going to fly down to me!"

Tybalt smiled. "Vegeta, open your eyes."

Vegeta slowly open his eyes. He was grasping Tybalt's hand six feet above the ground. He looked around. He whispered. "I did it Tybalt!"

"So, you did. Now, I want you to land then fly back up to me again, alright?" Vegeta nodded. He released Tybalt's hand and just hovered.

"Tybalt? How do I land?"

Tybalt landed lightly. He knelled down and held his hand out a few inches from the ground. "Young Prince, as you come down, place your toe in my hand. This will teach you how to land gracefully, as a prince should."

Vegeta stared at Tybalt's outstretched hand. He imagined himself landing gracefully in the palm of his hand. Vegeta slowly started to descend. He pointed one toe and was greatly surprised when his feet contacted the ground.

"That is how you land."

"Why'd you move your hand?"

"You already had it down. You didn't need my hand to be there. So I let you land."

"I see you finally got his feet off the ground!" Tybalt and Vegeta spun. King Vegeta was striding quickly towards them. Tybalt gracefully bowed while Vegeta just stared at his father.

"Yes, my king. He finally found it within himself to reach for the stars." Tybalt muttered quietly, his head bowed. King Vegeta looked from Tybalt to his son.

"Good. Get him flying and soon, we will start his training." King Vegeta turned on his heel and walked away briskly, leaving Vegeta and Tybalt to stare after him…

Vegeta's eyes snapped open. The sun was rising over the horizon. He looked around. Memories I would rather forget are resurfacing. He stood up and stretched. He must've fallen asleep while meditating. He powered up and headed back to Capsule Corps.

Bulma looked up from her book. Vegeta walked in. "Breakfast is in the fridge. Go ahead and heat it up." She said to him, going back to her book.

"Thanks." Bulma's head snapped up. Vegeta must really be losing it, she thought. He said thanks! She put the book down and followed him into the kitchen. He was sitting at the table, staring at his food with his head in his hands. Bulma sat down across from him.

"Vegeta?" She whispered softly. "What's wrong?"

Vegeta looked at her. "Nothing. I wish to be left alone."

"Vegeta, something's wrong. You're gone all night, you show up looking like shit and you won't eat breakfast. It's not like you." She looked closely at him. He looked stressed.

"I said nothing was wrong. I fell asleep on the island and I just don't feel like eating, all right! Can't you understand!? I just want to be left alone!!!!"

Bulma sighed and stood up. "Vegeta, don't push yourself to hard today. You don't look like you could handle it." She turned and left the room. Vegeta pushed his plate away and stood up.

"I think I'll actually take that human's advice." He flew out the window and onto a shady part of the roof. He lay back. Memories overtook him, once again…

King Vegeta's words rang in the young prince's ears. 'Good, get him flying soon and we will start his training.' Tybalt had looked displeased at the king's choice. Vegeta had later asked what his father had met.

'Well, it means now that you're flying, other trainers and I will start you fight training.'

Vegeta had paled at this thought. He screamed that he never wanted to be like his father, powered up, and flew to his room, not noticing that he just flew that entire way.

He rested his elbows on the rail of his balcony and put his chin in his hands. He had ripped off the cloak and it lay on the floor near his bed. He watched the trade traffic silently for a minute when he heard children laughing.

He looked down. A group of servant children were playing in the garden. He watched them sadly. (I want nothing more than to be a normal child, playing with others like those children are playing with each other.) The thought of what his father would say if he ever found out Vegeta's wishes made him shudder. He watched as Tybalt walked into the garden.

"Tybalt!" The little girl yelled, running at her older brother. "We watched you teach Prince Vegeta how to fly!"

Tybalt's face became sober. He pulled a strand of long dark green hair out of his face.

"Unfortunately, the young prince and I will be leaving soon."

"Why?!" The little girl yelled, clutching to her brother.

"The king has ordered that his training start…" Tybalt looked up and saw Vegeta standing there watching them. He smiled weakly and looked back at the children.

"I must go. The king requires that I am present at the declaration of war on planet Kold* tonight."

"So, we are declaring war on them then." Prince Vegeta landed next to Tybalt. The children quickly went into a bow. Tybalt spun. The Prince's voice was cold and harsh. Anger coursed through the boy.

"My Prince, King Cold's latest attempt destroyed the 18th moon in the Yathrib system. As you know, it was the only moon in that system that life was on. He murdered many Sayijins."

"Am I to be there?"

"Yes, your father is going to have you stand next to him while he makes the declaration of war."

"Oh that's great," Vegeta said sarcastically, "Just what I need." The prince spun and flew back to his room. He slammed the glass doors shut, leaving Tybalt and the children in the garden.

Tybalt looked up at the Prince's room. He turned back to the children. "I must go get ready. Practice your sparring skills." The green haired warrior-slave flew up to the Prince's door. He knocked lightly.

"Prince Vegeta? Vegeta?

Vegeta?

"Vegeta!!! Wake up!!" Bulma's voice cut through his memory. His eyes snapped open and he looked around wildly. He was lying on the grass with Bulma kneeling next to him.

"Woman, what in the hell just happened?"

"Vegeta, you fell off the roof." Vegeta looked at her in shock.

"What?" He sat up and looked around. Night had fallen. Bulma was in her nightgown and she was shivering.

"What time is it?"

"After midnight. I had just lain down to go to bed and I heard you fall. I ran out to see what was going on and you were just laying there, muttering something about a Tybalt?" She ended in a question, not sure if she had gotten the name right.

Vegeta's face paled. "Forget whatever you heard." He stumbled to his feet and ran to the gravity machine. Bulma stared after him for a few minutes, before she stood up and went back to bed.

Vegeta leaned against the wall of the chamber. The memories are too intense. Maybe I should get something from Dr. Briefs for it. He shook his head, clearing that thought. No, the stronger I become, the memories will leave me alone… He powered up the machine and continued his training.

Bulma listened to the sound of the machine. Will he ever give up? He's going to hurt himself… he already seems hurt mentally. She rolled over and closed her eyes; the gentle hum of the machine sent her into a deep slumber.

Vegeta hit the ground. He rolled over and stared at the ceiling. His eyes started to close. NO! I must not fall prey to my past… I must not… His eyes closed heavily, and once again, he fell victim to his past.

Prince Vegeta growled softly. Tybalt was standing beside him, trying to get him ready for the declaration of war that night. Vegeta was wearing the normal navy blue pants; his shirt was black with silver ribbon running down the sleeves and the legs of his pants. He was wearing black boots that were tight and left no room for his toes to move around. He had a large navy blue collar on which he kept tugging at.

"Prince Vegeta, I know that collar is uncomfortable, but you must wear it. It is required." Tybalt said. He was wearing an all white suit with a billowing silver cloak. The green accent ribbon running down his arms and leg identified him as a royal servant. His long, dark green hair was tied back away from his face. "Please, Vegeta, just put on the cloak, it is the last part of the uniform."

Vegeta snarled and ripped the royal red cloak out of Tybalt's hands. He fastened it hastily around the tall collar. "Better?"

"Much, thank you."

Only the Royal family was permitted to wear the red cloak and the silver accent ribbon. "I feel like I'm going to a ball," the young prince muttered.

Tybalt laughed. "We will be late if we do not hurry."

"Then let's be off." The Prince and his Servant set off down the hall to the Great War room, the largest room in the castle.

Prince Vegeta stood next to his father. They were standing in front of a large viewing screen, on which King Cold and his son, Lord Freiza, would soon contact them.

Tybalt stood behind the prince. His watchful eyes scanned the crowd, looking for any signs of trouble

The screen became static for a moment before the image of the creatures from Planet Kold appeared. Prince Vegeta hid his disgust. King Vegeta nodded to the ugly creatures.

"King Cold, Lord Freiza, welcome."

Everyone looked at each other. A general murmur of confusion swept through the crowd.

"King Vegeta, I see the little Prince is all dressed up?" Lord Freiza smiled wickedly. Something told Vegeta this wasn't right.

"Well, you know that he thought I was bringing him here to declare war on you!" King Vegeta, King Cold, and Lord Freiza started to laugh coldly.

"Father?" Vegeta muttered. "What do you mean?"

"My son, you are to soft to be a King, Lord Freiza will knock some coldness into you!" Tybalt's face was a sudden rush of anger. So that's the king had meant by training him.

"Yes, I believe that Tybalt, Vegeta's servant. Has made him soft."

"So kill him." Freiza said softly.

"Good idea." King Vegeta turned towards the green-haired warrior; he raised a hand and stopped when he saw the look that crossed Tybalt's face.

"Did we anger the little servant?" He laughed coldly. Tybalt's eyes went from their normal pretty brown to a thundercloud gray.

"You said when the Prince was born that you would never send him to Planet Kold," Tybalt's voice was like ice. He clutched his sword. "Do not forget who trained me, you did."

Prince Vegeta watched this in shock. He was being sent to Planet Kold, his faithful servant Tybalt had a ki reading of that higher than the kings, and Freiza just laughed at the scene.

"I am your KING!"

"And I am nothing more than a servant to the Prince, a Prince who never wants to be like you. A Prince who has dreams, a Prince who does not want to be a mindless drone like the rest of you damn Saiyajins!" Tybalt screamed.

The King lost it. He fired a blast straight at Tybalt.

"NO!" Prince Vegeta screamed. When the smoke cleared, Tybalt was still standing. His eyes had turned a deep ocean blue.

"You forget, my species has very powerful magick, we have control over the elements."

"Then why did you stay a servant?"

"Because I wanted to see a different future for the universe, and Prince Vegeta could have brought that future that so many dream of! Do you know how many planets would join the empire if you didn't destroy every other planet you laid you obsidian eyes on!"

"DO NOT INSULT ME!"

Tybalt smirked, the smirk that Vegeta would later pick up as his own, and laughed harshly. "Too late," he hissed, "I just did."

Freiza's voice cut through the crowd. "Get me the strongest Saiyajins you can find, bring me the Prince, and Kill the rest!" The screen went dead. Prince Vegeta snarled.

Tybalt and the King were still at each other's throats. Vegeta saw thousands of beam arrows start to fly. Even was attacking everyone else. Vegeta looked around wildly. He saw a crazy looking lizard man jump down from the ceiling. He grabbed the young prince.

"Get the others, now!" the thing called out. Other lizard things jumped down and were grabbing random Saiyajin children.

"Tybalt!" Vegeta screamed. Tybalt spun. Their eyes locked. Vegeta would never forget that blue. So deep, so pure, so beautiful, like the oceans that once was on this planet.

"DIE!" King Vegeta yelled. A beam of light shot through Tybalt's chest. He looked shocked as he fell backwards. His sword clattered to the ground after his body hit with a dull thud.

"No…" Vegeta whispered softly. "NO! TYBALT!" The lizard man hit him over the head, knocking him out.

"Let's get outta here so Lord Freiza can blow this place," he said to his comrades. They nodded and ran out into the large garden where a ship was waiting. They threw the struggling Saiyajins on board and blasted off into the night sky.

Vegeta sat in his cell; his chin rested on his knees. "It's not fair." He turned and looked at what once was his planet. Rocks littered space.

"Damn you father," he snarled. He closed his eyes and remembered the blue, the beautiful blue…

The beautiful blue… His eyes snapped open. He looked around. "Why am I here?" He started to panic. "Calm down Vegeta, its just the gravity chamber, not Freiza's training cell."

He shuddered and went outside. It was midday. How long have I been in there? He thought. He walked up to the door and opened it. Immediately, the sound of Kakkorot's voice assaulted his ears. He walked slowly into the kitchen and was surprised to see Chi Chi as well as Gohan.

"What is going on?" he muttered slowly. Everyone looked at him in surprise. Bulma walked in.

"Vegeta! Are you okay? You don't look so good." Vegeta didn't answer. His gaze was drawn to her eyes. He started and took a step towards her.

"Vegeta?" She whispered again. He sat down right on the floor and leaned against the wall.

"What's going on?" He asked again.

"We're having a picnic," Gohan said, "do you want to come? All the Z Senshi are invited."

Vegeta simply nodded. "Vegeta? Are you alright?"

Vegeta nodded again. "When does this thing start?"

"It's at the beach and it starts in 45 minutes," Goku said. Vegeta stumbled to his feet and floated up the stairs.

"That was strange," Chi-Chi said. Everyone nodded and finished getting the stuff ready to go.

"Vegeta! Are you coming?" Bulma cried up the stairs. Vegeta floated down in navy blue jeans, and a black tank top. Bulma found herself staring, and then she wrenched her gaze from his chest.

"C'mon." They went into Bulma's hover car. "Where did everyone else go?" He asked.

"They're already there." Vegeta nodded and looked out the window. They drove into a private beach. Bulma stepped out and opened the trunk. Vegeta opened the door and climbed out. His brain was running on slow motion. His thoughts her revolving slowly through his head.

Why are these memories coming back? What did I do to deserve this? Vegeta grabbed one of the baskets and set it on the table. Then he walked away from everyone else and just sat and watched the ocean.

"What's wrong with him?" Krillen asked Bulma.

"He's been out of it for a few days now. He even said thank you to me!" Bulma muttered to him.

"Really? Jeez, something must really be eating him."

"Yea, and just last night, he fell off the roof."

"What was he doing on the roof?"

"Relaxing as far as I can tell. Around midnight, I heard a loud thunk and Vegeta was lying on the ground."

"What'd he do after that?" Krillen put the desserts on their own table.

"Told me to forget about it and ran to the Gravity Chamber."

"Strange," Krillen muttered, staring at the forlorn Prince.

"Listen, don't go telling everyone about this okay? I want to find out what's wrong with him."

"No prob Bulma."

Bulma threw a lot of food onto the plate. She headed over to Vegeta. He looked up at her. She was surprised to see that he looked sad.

"I brought some food over for you."

"I'm not hungry."

"Okay, I'll just set this here in case you want it." Bulma set the food down next to him and walked back to the group. Vegeta stared at the food for a moment then lay back and stared at the clouds.

He closed his eyes, hoping that the voice of the others would keep his memories at bay. Unfortunately, it didn't.

"Ahh… young Prince. How nice it is to see you and the rest of the Saiyajins here," Freiza said.

Vegeta growled.

"The young Prince will learn some respect for his new master. Remove their clothing and give them the proper servant attire." Lord Freiza watched happily as Vegeta and the others were stripped of their clothing. The lizard man who had taken Vegeta tossed him a pair of thin white pants and a tattered bloody shirt.

"This will be what you wear until you advance in ranks. Deal with it." The Saiyajins were tossed into a small cell.

"This is your new home. Get used to it." The door was slammed shut and the children were left in darkness.

"What are we going to do?" Zinni, the only female whispered. The others started to whimper.

"First you will be quiet," Vegeta snapped. Everyone went silent. "Since we have not had battle training, we will take the training as Freiza's minions. Once we are strong enough, we will crush the Kold Empire."

"But-"

"Remember that we are the last of the Saiyajins and I am the Prince. We will be free… one day…"

10 STANDARD YEARS LATER

Vegeta adjusted his armor. Zinni lay at his feet. "Ungrateful Bitch!" He snarled. Zinni curled up into a tighter ball, expecting the next blow. 'Where was the kind prince that Tybalt trained so well?' She thought desperately as her kicked her. 'This Prince is more like his father everyday. Tybalt's wish will never be true!' The lizard men lifted her up.

"Take her to the Regen. Tank. She may be ungrateful, but she is a valuable fighter."

"Yes my Prince," The lizard men muttered, dragging her away. In ten short years Vegeta was 15 and already had more power than the Lizard men. He had reclaimed the title of Prince and ruled over the 10 Saiyajin warriors cruelly

"Prince Vegeta, come to the Throne Room." Vegeta made a face of disgust and flew quickly to the room.

"Yes Lord Freiza?" The whipped cracked through the air before Vegeta could even think. It slashed through the armor onto his back. Vegeta hit his knees but other than that, showed no other signs of weakening.

"YOU KNOW THAT ZINNI IS MINE!! I DO NOT WANT YOU TO TOUCH HER EVER AGAIN AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR?!". Vegeta saw Zinni standing behind Freiza. He gritted his teeth and looked up.

"I am the Prince of Saiyajins and she is a Saiyajin, thus I have rule over her!"

Freiza lost it. The whip cracked through the air over and over again. Vegeta slammed into the ground. 'What the?'

"You see, Zinni can adjust the gravity to unbearable levels for you." The whipped cracked down again and again. Vegeta did not cry out as he had done all those years ago. This angered Freiza.

"Cry out you slimy Prince, cry out! Cry out in pain!"

"Never…" Vegeta stood up painfully. "I am the Prince of all Saiyajins. And one day Freiza, I will destroy you." He spun and walked as fast as he could in the gravity. As soon as he left the throne room, the gravity in the halls resumed.

He dashed to his quarters and sat down. "I will not go to Regen. Tank for this. I will bear the scars." He lay down, and fell into a troubled sleep.

4 STANDARD YEARS LATER

Vegeta, now 19, stood next to Freiza on his ship. "Do you see that planet Vegeta? That is the planet the remainder of your pathetic race is. Do you know what happens when I push this button? No? Well, I'll show you."

Freiza pressed the button. A large beam of power shot from the ship. It rammed into the planet and destroyed it. Vegeta stood shock still. He was the only one left…the only one…

He growled.

"FREIZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!"