Return of the Queen, Part 1

"Eighteen thousand… four hundred thirty-two."

At first, I thought I'd misheard her. I couldn't have been that powerful, could I? My father only maxed out at twelve thousand… Or could it have been that I had achieved a goal that would take the average Saiya-jin a lifetime? Again, I was faced with the question: Am I ready to be king?

"Vegeta…? Son, what are you doing all the way out here?"

I had been playing in the courtyard, a trivial activity for those brief minutes of free time I received. (Being a prince wasn't all fun and games, you know.) Oftentimes, when I was alone, I would pretend—imagine myself as king. With my Royal Stick of Might, I would slay the invading bushes with their deadly tentacle-leaves. At least, until Father interrupted…

I lowered my stick and turned to face him. "I was only playing. Was there something you wanted?"

He shook his head. "No, I was just… watching. Who, might I ask, were you pretending to be?"

"Um…" That was a much tougher question to answer. How could I explain that I was imitating him? Fearing he might take offense, I answered, "I was just… acting like I was a king. I was mighty and fearless! I destroyed the alien attackers!"

His usual expression of indifference broke into a smile. "And one day, you will be a king."

That was what I'd always dreamed about: ruling over my people and fighting against the evils that threatened them. In turn, they would adore me and see me as the greatest fighter alive. It sounded simple enough.

"When will that be, Father?"

And, then, the smile was gone. "Being King takes responsibility, maturity, and experience—more than just physical strength. But you still have years ahead to prepare yourself for the throne."

"Years? That'll take forever!"

"No, not forever. You'll know when you're ready. When I'm unable to fulfill my duties, and you've come of age, you'll feel it. The selfless desire to serve and protect will push you forward and make a great leader out of you."

"To serve? I thought people were supposed to serve me."

"When you understand… that will be your time."

And that indeed was one thing I didn't understand. How could ruling my subjects be serving them? Why would knowing what he meant make me a better king? If this tragedy hadn't happened, he might still have been alive to explain it to me.

"Vegeta! Look out!"

However, I hadn't the time to ponder it.

Just as the words escaped My Lady's lips, a lightly cloaked figure somersaulted over my head and landed three-point on the floor behind me. A small ki blast followed him from the dark corridor ahead, nearly singeing the end of my hair. One of Freeza's henchmen emerged from the shadows, bearing one of the strange glowing spears that I'd seen the other guards use, and began to charge up another attack. By the time I'd looked behind me again, the cloaked warrior had already powered-up, the ends of his fingers blazing blue like the center of a flame.

Panicked, I quickly scanned the room. Bulma had disappeared within the past three seconds, but I couldn't see any place where she could have hidden. I hoped to Kami that she was all right.

"Your fighters are pathetic!" the Ice-jin sneered, his fist shining brighter as he prepared to fire.

I jumped out of the way as the guard released his attack, though some ancestor of Bulma's could probably out-blast him. The mystery warrior deflected it, sending the ki ball into the wall beside him, and retaliated with his own attack. The guard merely rolled out of the way and sprang into the air, descending upon his opponent fist-first. Again, the cloaked warrior parried, snatching the guard's spear away in an unanticipated response, and beat him to the floor with it. The guard, however, refused to stay down, and kicked his attacker literally into the wall.

At this point, I decided to join in. Regardless of whether the strange warrior was on my side or not, I would rather have seen one of Freeza's lackeys die first. I could deal with Mystery Man later.

"You might fight now, but just wait until Freeza--!"

The guard stopped short, making a series of painful gagging noises, as I grabbed the back of his neck and began squeezing it tightly. Had he been a lower-classed underling, his neck might've snapped sooner, but I could only smirk as he collapsed at my feet.

"Idiot. You should never let your guard down while I'm around!"

The warrior climbed out of the crevice his body had made in the wall and brushed himself off. For the first time, I could catch more than a passing glimpse of him. Well, "her" I should say, after realizing that she possessed a developed set of mammaries.

"Well done, Vegeta. I can see you've grown stronger as well."

Without any sign of hesitation, she cupped my face in her hands and kissed the end of my nose, garnering a somewhat violent response from me.

"Who the hell are you?" I yelled, slapping her hands away, and then pushed her back.

I have a very long list of things I do not tolerate, and loving affection from strangers just happens to be one of them. I was happily engaged and not too keen on receiving advances from anyone else at the time, regardless of her intentions. Of course, had I known who she really was, I might not have minded it so.

"Vegeta, for shame," she murmured darkly.

After a tense moment of silence, the warrior removed her hood. I opened my mouth to speak, only to shut it again.

"How could you not recognize your own mother?"

My lips were dry, my tongue thick, and all parts of my body needed for verbal communication had immediately ceased function. I knew that look in her eyes: disappointment. I couldn't apologize, and I most certainly couldn't explain what had passed through my mind at the time. Were she anyone else, I might have sneered and walked away.

"Mother… I…"

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, dishonoring me like that!"

I clenched my fists, feeling every muscle in my body tense with frustration. Were it not for my pride, I might've burst into tears, knowing that nothing I could say would change her mind. Never had I seen her so angry.

"I didn't… but…"

Then, I caught a familiar twinkle in her eyes, and her stern frown softened into a playful smile. "I was kidding, dear. I'm just glad to my have my baby back," she half-whispered and seized me in a full embrace.

I've also never felt such an overwhelming desire to slap my own mother.

Author's Notes: It's alive, it's alive! I'm back from the dead again! (Oops! I meant "the next dimension.") Anyway, what do you think of Meillon? Is she too "out there" or unbelievable? Does it seem as though she's taking away from the story? I actually listen to your opinions!

To whoever made the chapter switch-a-roo suggestion (Shadowed Rains?): I'll keep that in mind while I'm writing the next chapter or five. I did say that I would take suggestions to make my readers happy, and I have full intentions of keeping my word. It'll just be rather challenging trying to find a place to squeeze that large of a flashback into.