A.N: I had to watch this part of the Namek Saga a ton of times before I could get everything balanced out and flowing somewhat smoothly. This part of the anime hops around a ton between different perspectives and locations, and I tried to keep that rapid-fire of events feel in the writing. I hope you like it :)

Chapter Eight - Desperation

Assessing the situation in front of her as she returned to the battle alongside Goku, Rosemary dashed over to Vegeta first, who had looked to have retreated to some long grass to recover. He was quite banged up - she spotted a huge gash across his right shoulder, multiple lacerations across his chest that had managed to make it through his armour, she didn't bother to count the bruises...

She marveled at how quickly he'd gone from near perfectly intact to severely maimed. And yet, despite all of the damage, he was still alive, conscious, and seemingly unphased. What a man Vegeta was shaping out to be - he was going to be a handful to deal with after everything was said and done.

Rosemary examined his scratches and wounds with care, unable to find a part of him that wasn't beaten or cut. She wiped some debris away from his chest with gentle swipes of her hand and carefully traced her fingers over him to get a more in-depth tally of his injuries.

"Gods, Vegeta," She said in a sad whisper. "You're hurt everywhere…"

Vegeta harshly coughed up a small amount of blood and turned his head to spit it away from her.

"Rose," He uncomfortably forced out of him with a wince. "I'm fine."

Rosemary blinked hard. Did he think she was an idiot?

"No, you're not!" She sharply scolded him. "You've proved enough, I wish that you'd quit pretending to be tougher than you are!"

"This is so sweet it's making me sick." Frieza taunted from afar. "Oh, but she cares about you so much, Vegeta, let her tend to your every whim!"

His laughter slowed to a sinister chuckle.

"Maybe you should let her stay right by your side so you can die together, too, how fitting!"

Mockery was not something she liked at all, yes, she could say it quite surely now. What was their business to Frieza, anyways?

Rosemary got up from where she crouched as Frieza continued to laugh at them.

"Don't you mock me!" She furiously cursed at him and darted towards him again.

Before she knew it, she was snagged by the shoulder with a single, clean swoop.

Rosemary growled and irately looked to Goku in his hold. What in the world was he doing?

Goku was hoping that Vegeta would be in decent shape for when they returned, but given the condition that he and Piccolo were in, the situation was looking grim.

"Hey!" Rosemary screamed as she squirmed to get free of his clutch. "What's the deal, Goku?! I thought you wanted to stop this monster?!"

He tightened his grip on her collarbone and she let out a short yelp. He couldn't let her throw herself away like this.

"You're right." Goku told her in a deadly tone, lifting her off the ground and turned her around to give her a good, hard look in the eye.

He brought her eyes to his level and let her feet dangle just inches off the ground.

"I do, but I don't want anyone else to get hurt." He frowned. "I know you're mad, but you're starting to think like Vegeta and act impulsively. Dealing with one of him is hard enough, and this isn't like you at all."

Rosemary's hands curled into tight fists as she hung by his clutch.

"Would you put me down, I'm no play thing!" She spat. "I'm trying to help you!"

She writhed around in an attempt to loosen his grip. "I came here to take care of unfinished business, just like you! Please, let me help!"

Goku didn't budge.

"Stay with everyone else." He softly urged. "If you're gonna be like this, go back to my ship with the others. You're a skilled healer, and because of that, I need you alive."

He couldn't stand to look at her enraged demeanor any longer and shifted his gaze away.

"Please trust me, Rosemary, seriously. Gohan will lead the way."

Finally letting go of her, Rosemary plopped back on the ground after a small drop and a stubborn jerk of her shoulder.

"Fine." She sneered in defeat and went back over to Vegeta with her head bowed in shame. Did Goku really plan on fighting Frieza alone? Such talk was enough for her to scold Vegeta, of all people, and now this Saiyan appears from out of nowhere and suddenly demands he take on the weight of the universe on his own.

Talk about reckless. She wasn't sure if Goku was insane or extremely confident in his abilities, but it frightened her all the same.

"Come," She miserably talked down to the prince. "It's your turn to rest up."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes on her, tired and doubtful.

"You can't carry me, Rosemary." Vegeta told her dryly. "Leave me be."

Rosemary's face ragingly crinkled once again.

"No!" She shouted at him out of defiance. "I'll drag you with what little power I have if I have to! I am not leaving you here to die!"

Vegeta knew that she wasn't even capable of that.

"You'll do as I say, Rosemary!" He finally raised his voice to match hers with another harsh cough, making Rosemary wince through tears.

Vegeta growled out of frustration. Great, now he'd made her cry again.

"That's an order." He'd said more gently.

Rosemary held a hard but silent stare on him for a moment, questioning why he'd chosen such a bad time to be so damn stubborn. She could only assume that he was counting on the Dragon Balls to reunite them afterwards at this point, but it didn't change that she was leaving her best friend - the person that she'd sworn on her life to look after - to die alone. It directly went against her duty, but in the end, an order from the prince was an order from the prince.

A tear escaped her stone-hard expression before she got up, and turned away.

"Y-yes, my prince." She whimpered obediently with her back to him. "I suppose this could very well be the last order you give me, so I'll respect it."

She made her way over to a mildly beaten Gohan and the newly acquainted Piccolo, who was far more severely injured, and unconscious.

"We must go back to the ship, wherever that is."

"It's with Bulma." Gohan responded sadly. He could see the sadness in her eyes, and sympathized. "It's far, but we'll manage."

"Please, take me there."

Gohan gave her a silent, affirmative nod and threw Piccolo over his shoulder.

He managed a small smile for her sake. She must have been heartbroken over Vegeta's decision, and continued to look back at his heavily damaged body as they took off.

She was finally able to look away from the prince and prayed that their separation was as temporary and he'd thought as they finally flew away.

Several minutes of silence and gloom passed before Rosemary bothered to process anything new from her brain. The group felt strangely small compared to before and she tried to dismiss the thought - she assumed that it was just her emotions getting the best of her.

She followed the boy for another minute or so before she gave it more thought. No, something was definitely missing.

"Hey, just a moment," she called ahead to Gohan, noticing there was an absence from the group. "There was another man with you, where is he?"

Gohan swallowed hard. Did he want to give her more bad news after she cut ties with her best friend?

He regretfully squeezed his eyes shut. It was the right thing to do.

"I-I'm sorry, Rosemary..." Gohan told her softly. "While you were gone with my dad, we... lost him in the fight."

Rosemary bared her teeth and bowed her head to shed more tears.

"Damn it, Frieza!" She cried out to the air and sobbed. "I hope you die a horrible death!"

. . .

Frieza held a firm glare on Goku as the two of them stared each other down intensely.

"And just who are you, exactly?" Frieza asked him, intrigued. "You think you're all high and mighty, stopping Lady Rosemary in the middle of such a pivotal moment for her."

He crossed his arms in thought. "You two seem awfully related given your features, should I know you from somewhere?"

Goku managed a slight grin across his focussed, serious expression.

"Could be because we're both Saiyans." Goku answered lowly. "But I've been in a different neck of the woods."

"Hmm, I suppose that's my fault." Frieza continued. "Between you and that Namekian, I seem to be losing my touch with regards to wiping out races entirely."

He grinned cockily. "No matter, I will handle you just the same. But first,"

He aimed a single pointed finger down to Vegeta and shot a dense energy beam right through the middle of his chest.

Goku morbidly looked over his shoulder to find him fiercely bleeding and gasping for air.

"Hey, Frieza, what's your deal?!" He snarled. "He wasn't even a threat to you anymore!"

"Vegeta!" Goku cried out angrily. "Man, Rosemary's going to be out for blood!"

"I'm still alive, you idiot!" Vegeta shouted in agony through gritted teeth. If he did so much as cough once more, it'd likely be his end.

"Listen well, K-Kakarot." He made a stifled but desperate gasp for air. "Don't be s-soft, this is just a- agh, game to him - do what you have to to win. You need to let go of your f-feelings, he just doesn't care."

Goku lowered his head. He just couldn't do it.

"You know that's not my style." He sternly rebutted.

Vegeta took another gasp for air.

"You fool…"

He coughed again, and a heap of blood followed.

Goku scowled. "Don't bother trying to talk me out of this."

"S-Shut it." Vegeta went on through strained breaths. "Our families, our entire planet, our p-people, Kakarot. They were all killed by him. Understand the weight that this holds for our kind."

Goku let out a reluctant growl. "Stop talking! You're using up the rest of your strength!"

Vegeta heaved. "You moron, I'm going to die anyways. Hear my last words."

Frieza rolled his eyes. He wished he didn't have to hear his life story again.

There was a long pause. For a moment, Goku wasn't entirely sure if there was more to follow.

"We did e-everything… for him." Vegeta finally spoke again. "He took me from my father, and R-Rosemary… from me. He forced us to do whatever he wanted, and threatened to destroy everything if we didn't. He was scared of us, Kakarot."

Vegeta dug his fingers into the ground with anger. He couldn't die without his life's goal being known - he'd worked too hard to let it go to waste.

"Rosemary is living p-proof of it. His men tortured her and ripped her apart trying to find the secrets to our power. Frieza feared that we would overthrow him. We are all that's left."

His lungs screamed to jump out of his body - Gods, maybe he should have let Rosemary take care of him after all. Knowing that he was about to die left him empty and unsatisfied with how he'd treated her since she'd found him again.

"Please, destroy Frieza. He made me what I am today… Stop him, before he does it to anyone else…"

His body began to tremble, and he finally closed his eyes. He was content with leaving it at that.

Goku respectfully watched as Vegeta's head turned to hit the ground.

He was gone.

He knew Vegeta wasn't much for positive thought or endearment, but he could tell that what he said came from the heart - it might have been the first time he's ever encountered this side of the Saiyan Prince.

"Alright, Vegeta." Goku responded. "I promise that Rosemary's in good hands, she's gonna do a great job of taking care of Piccolo, I know she is. I can already tell that you won't be gone for long."

He looked back to Frieza in a newfound rage - this planet carried a massive excess of unnecessary deaths, corrupted dreams and lost brethren. He'd never encountered something so disastrously repulsive in his life, and he once thought that Vegeta was the worst it could get.

"You won't hurt anyone else!" Goku called over to Frieza in an angry shout. 'It's just you and me now."

"Oh?" Frieza retorted. "And just what is a monkey like yourself going to do to stop me?"

Goku paused. How awful - this really did seem like a casual stroll for him.

"You killed my friends, and I don't take that kindly!" He continued.

The ground around him began to aggressively quiver.

The air around them bended into heavy torrents of wind, and the the bodies of water were kicked into a restless fury. Goku's black Saiyan hair wildly rustled as his eyes remained fixed to Frieza, flickering to a new, bright yellow hue.

"What's going on?!" Frieza shouted back. This was new. "Yellow hair? You're no Saiyan! Who are you?!"

Goku ferociously roared, and his hair took flame with a near blinding yellow aura that fiercely swirled around every inch and crevice of his body.

Frieza ogled in wonder. He was worried for his life for quite possibly the first time. Something wasn't right about this Saiyan - as if the yellow hair wasn't already enough to throw him off, no Saiyan should have rivaled his own power, and he had a feeling that this man might have just closed the gap on him.

"I'm going to be the one that puts an end to your torment!"

. . .

Rosemary had a bad feeling about what was going on back at the scene of the fight and frequently looked over her shoulder to make sure that they weren't being followed.

Despite being left with nothing of note previously, a purple laser-like beam blipped out of nowhere and quickly gained on her group to her sudden surprise.

"Damn it!" She shrieked as she leaped out of the way, pulling Gohan aside with her. The two of them narrowly escaped the blast with a heartbeat to spare.

Gohan acknowledged the blast as it flew by them in a flash.

"That was close…" Gohan exhaled. "Geez, Rosemary, thank goodness you have fast reflexes."

"Y-Yes..." She modestly trailed off. She paused to see if she could sense Goku and Vegeta's life energy sources from where they hovered.

After a brief moment of struggle, there was nothing to be found, leaving her disappointed and worried.

"Gohan, may I ask you something?"

Thrown off-guard, he was left blinking cluelessly. "Uh, yeah... Sure."

"W-Well," Rosemary shyly went on. "If Goku and Vegeta do, um, die… What do we do?"

Gohan rushed over to her and put a hand on her shoulder while making sure that Piccolo was still positioned securely over his small frame.

"Rosemary, I know you're probably worried sick about Vegeta…" He told her half-heartedly, surprisingly calm despite having the same feeling of worry for his father. "We can bring him back with the Dragon Balls, everything's going to be okay."

"But-" She managed to say through a gentle sob. "The Dragon Balls… They were turned to stone, were they not? T-This is why I'm skeptical..."

"Oh, uh, we have Earth's Dragon Balls, too!" Gohan encouraged her with a chuckle. "Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned that sooner, I'm not really used to having someone around that's completely new to all of this… As long as Piccolo doesn't die on the way home, we can use them when we get back, and that's where you come in! I think that's why my dad wanted you to get away from the fight. You can stabilize him, can't you?"

Rosemary eyed Piccolo in uncertainty. She hadn't given him a proper look over yet - from what she could tell, the Namekian looked to be in similar shape as Vegeta had been when they left him behind. Considering that Piccolo was unconscious, however, such damage could have already had a greater impact on him.

"He's in seriously critical condition," She vaguely answered. She didn't know if she could, and didn't want to make any promises. "I can try, but we need to act fast if you expect me to be able to do anything!"

Gohan nodded with a motivated grin.

"Right!"

After a few more minutes of hasty flight, Gohan, Rosemary, and Piccolo finally arrived back at a different spacecraft, unharmed.

The planet started to show noticeable instability. The sky was dark with thick clouds and crackling thunder that occasionally struck the bodies of water as the group of them soared over them.

Gohan looked around to find Bulma, who was nowhere to be seen.

Knowing that they were supposed to meet someone else here, the fact that no one was around to meet them was making Rosemary grow more tense by the second.

Rosemary looked over to Gohan, hoping he had some kind of explanation.

"Alright, so the ship is here," She commented. "But Bulma's not?!"

She growled and tried the best she could to remember what Bulma looked like and kept looking around. "That blue haired woman from before, right? You said she was here!"

"She was!" Gohan frightfully defended. Rosemary's temper had been growing short - they didn't have time to be wasting to look for someone, she was right to be impatient.

He took a deep exhale and shrugged, annoyed. "She gets bored and just does her own thing... She's kinda just along for the ride, you know?"

Rosemary blinked. She did know what that was like, surprisingly.

"Alright," She continued after a deep breath. Her anger was being used irresponsibly and she was already guilty for towing the line. "If I stay here and tend to Piccolo to ensure he doesn't bleed out, can you go find her? I don't think we can afford to let Piccolo wait for treatment for much longer!"

"I guess so..." Gohan trailed off nervously. The pressure of time growing thin started to hit him as well. "Will you be fine here on your own?"

Rosemary bitterly clenched her hands into fists. She knew she was weaker than everyone else, but she wasn't incompetent.

"Must you guys doubt me so much?" She snapped and lowered her head. "I'm really not all that useless, am I?"

"Sorry!" Gohan slid in quickly. "I-I still don't know you all that well, I just want to make sure you're okay! Just be careful, then, alright?"

"I'll be fine!" She fussed. "Please, just hurry!"

She took a moment to reflect on the exchange. She hoped that she wasn't too mean to him.

'You know, he's a good kid…'

"Right!" Gohan confirmed finally and carefully placed Piccolo on the ground, then left the two of them outside of the ship.

Rosemary stiffly crouched down to his side, and the new chest plate she had been wearing shifted as she bent over to leave her feeling like she was being sat on. Annoyed, she squirmed quickly to readjust her armour and took a few breaths - she was about to deal with a wound larger than she'd ever tended to previously.

Almost identical to Ginyu's tactic of impaling his own chest, Frieza took the liberty to fire something bluntly through Piccolo's right side, only narrowly missing where she assumed the Namekians heart lie, and the joint that connected his arm to the rest of his body.

She was heavily opposed to the idea of getting close and personal with a massive hole blasted through someone's chest - the first time she saw such a thing, she nearly fainted on the spot. But, she had to do it for the sake of staying alive, her freedom was too close to give up now.

'If I can move small objects with a good amount of control...' She hastily thought before she went to work. 'Perhaps there's a way I can reroute his blood flow away from the wound like I did to manipulate thread...'

She noted every detail of Piccolo's injuries carefully. She grew squeamish as she spent a great deal of attention glaring at the huge gap in his body - the edges were rough with scabbing, loose green skin, and fabric from his clothing.

She brought a slow, shaky hand closer to the wound but could hardly bring herself to look as she reached out towards it. Finally touching a finger to an edge, she ripped her hand away with an unsettling yelp and tensed up in disgust. She needed to do this, she knew she did, but she had never seen anything quite like this up close before.

This was definitely worse than even Goku's prior situation.

"Seriously!" She shouted belligerently and slammed a fist to the ground in shame. This was just too much for her to handle. "What is it with blowing holes in people?"

She looked up to the open air, then reconsidered. "I suppose it's the most effective way to kill someone..."

She shook her head. She needed to pay attention.

"How did I get myself into this, anyways... Would it have been better to just stay a captive for the rest of my life? Will I even live after all of this?!"

After some insistent reassuring, she pressed on by forcing herself to place a hand gently underneath Piccolo's body. Focusing in on him carefully, she pressed her other hand on the top of his chest a generous distance away from the gaping wound. She imagined all of the tiny, individual veins transporting his blood - the very essence of his life at that moment - to the rest of his body. She then envisioned his blood flowing through those veins, slowly and steadily moving throughout his internal systems, and the beat of his heart that exerted pressure to ensure it moved along.

It was strangely meditative for her, and suddenly, the process became more than just thought.

She could feel something. It was as if her hands were wet - a faint trickling feeling stimulated the tips of her fingers.

Piccolo's heartbeat became amplified, allowing her to feel how deceptively strong and healthy his heart had been.

'This is so fascinating…' She thought in an exciting wonder, then quickly relaxed to stay focussed. 'This is ludicrous, I can feel everything… Maybe I can circulate his blood flow without having any of it approach the wound like a tourniquet...'

She ended the thought, stayed quiet to concentrate, and went to work.

. . .

Upon instruction from King Kai, the guardian of Earth instructed his caretaker to gather the Dragon Balls. Direly aware that Piccolo's condition was on the line, Kami prayed willingly as he waited in hope that Mr. Popo could find the Dragon Balls soon enough to bring everyone home.

Mr. Popo finally returned with all seven Dragon Balls after a great amount of effort and landed his magic red carpet on the floor of The Lookout.

"My lord, please forgive me for taking so long, I just don't have it in me to do this sort of thing anymore…" Mr. Popo remarked as he caught his breath and hopped off the carpet in a hurry.

Kami rushed over to meet him and set the plan in motion.

"You've done well, Mr. Popo." The elder kindly reassured him. "Come, we must hurry!"

"Of course, sir!" Mr. Popo puffed, gesturing the magic carpet over to drop the Dragon Balls in front of him as he tiredly hunched over.

He dramatically flared his hands out towards them.

"Shenron," He chanted between heavy breaths. "Rise to grant a wish for the sake of the universe!"

Earth's Dragon Balls began to glow brightly in response with a gentle humming noise as they began to emit more energy. After a bright flash of light, a long but slim green dragon emerged from the pile before them.

"I am the Eternal Dragon…" It thundered down to Mr. Popo in its typical greeting. "Master, what is it you request of me at this time?"

"Shenron!" He responded politely with a respectful bow. "I ask that you resurrect all of the lives that were taken at the hands of Frieza and his army!"

Shenron's eyes burned a red hue in response.

"Your wish shall be granted, Master."

. . .

Back on Namek, the sky had returned to it's dark black colour once again, and the Dragon Porunga now sat idly atop an island that had parted itself from the mainland.

Lord Guru had been revived safely and went about quietly sitting on his throne at the watchtower. The Namekian elder knew precisely what had happened, and he could sense that there was still an evil force at play nearby and sat in prayer, pleading to let it pass peacefully.

Dende, killed where the Dragon Balls had fallen dead, snapped awake as if he had just been in a horrible dream. He couldn't remember his death, but he still had the Pickup Station to Heaven fresh in his mind and could put together that for even a brief moment, he had died.

He grabbed at himself in confusion.

"I-I'm alive?" He asked himself blankly and looked around at his home planet once again.

Namek looked to be in shambles.

"Yes, I'm alive!" He happily cheered.

He saw the angry black sky up above and turned to notice that from not too far away, Porunga had returned to finish his duty on an isolated piece of land.

'Dende,' Guru's deep voice boomed in his thoughts. 'My son, are you alright?'

Dende stood tall and looked around in confusion.

"G-Guru?" Dende whimpered in surprise. "I-Is that you? You're alive too?"

'Yes, my son.' Guru replied firmly. There was a soft echo present among the young child's imaginative space. 'But, we have work to do… You are with the Dragon, yes?'

"Yes, I can see him from here!" Dende assured him obediently.

'Very good.' Guru went on with praise. 'Listen carefully, our people are in your hands now. I have a wish I would like you to make.'

"Yes, of course, sir! What would you like me to say?"

'Alright, listen carefully, my son.' Guru instructed further. 'Please wish for everyone except Goku and Frieza to be moved to the Planet Earth.'

"Yes, sir!" Dende shouted with determination. "I'll see to it at once!"

Without further hesitation, Dende flew towards the dragon as fast he could.

. . .

Gohan raced back to the ship in a frenzy with Bulma fussing uncomfortably in his clutch. The ground was beginning to rumble uncontrollably, and every body of water that Gohan flew over was livid and spat angrily at him as he flew overhead. Only one thing was on his mind - flying as fast as he could, knowing he was extremely short for time as he passed by countless geysers of water that tried to knock him out of the air.

He could see the ship up ahead finally and made a final last push of his energy to rocket over to the island where the ship was parked.

Rosemary waved to him from the ship's entrance, noticeably crying. He couldn't tell if she had been happy or sad at that moment.

He landed as smoothly as he could, placed Bulma down and ran over to Rosemary.

Bulma gave the group a firm nod, and headed into the ship without a second thought.

"Oh, thank goodness... You really made it back!" Rosemary sniffled shakily. She was beginning to think that he wasn't going to return, but thanked whatever Gods up above that she could for his sake. "Please, help me get Piccolo inside! I've stabilized him for now, in fact, he's recovering startlingly fast!"

"That's great, I knew you could do it!" Gohan approved, scooped Piccolo up and led the way inside the ship. "Let's get outta here!"

. . .

Vegeta coughed up a mound of dirt as he crossly emerged from the hole he had been put in.

He climbed out from the ditch with cranky curses and grumbles.

"Now whose clever idea was it, burying me like this-"

He paused in realization. This wasn't where he was just a moment ago - he was at some kind of giant reception desk just before. It briefly reminded him of Rosemary's bland old office back at the Palace, which she never used.

"Wait, is this Namek?! Am I alive?!"

He vaguely remembered a fierce pain shooting through the center of his chest that ripped open his heart and surrounding organs. He remembered taking his last breaths and everything, as well as pitifully pleading his last wish to Goku as if it meant something.

"Or, wait," He remarked.

He decided to explore the area before he jumped to conclusions and slowly made his way around the island. "Perhaps this is what Hell looks like…"

He put a hand over his upper chest, observing that there was no hole there for him to bleed out from. His armour was still significantly damaged and accurately reflected where he had been hit previously with a jaggedly edged hole right between his pecs.

"This can't be right." He told himself, estranged, and inspected his hands for scratches and bruises. His older scars still remained, but there were significantly less signs of injury than before.

"My wounds have been healed, but how?"

He curiously jabbed himself in the abdomen and forced up another heap of mud that was lodged in his throat with a grateful groan. He curled over in discomfort - perhaps he could have hit himself a bit less harshly than he did to prove the point.

He chuckled wickedly to himself with his face planted on the ground as he recuperated from his punch.

"So it's true then, I am alive!" He briefly rejoiced. "That means that everyone else probably is, too... Somewhere."

He heard a clap of thunder, causing him to whip anxiously around.

"If that's the case, then I've been returned to Namek."

He glared out towards the open sea as it furiously whipped and flailed around. Out in the distance, he could distinguish two distinct flashes of something rapidly flickering through the sky.

"And, they're still here."

He carefully observed them in awe, amazed at the speed and the energy levels that he was sensing.

"This is so bizarre!" He watched, perplexed. "There's still a chance to kill him!"

He charged towards the fight immediately, ready and raring to give Frieza a piece of his mind. He wondered about Rosemary's situation and assumed that she had been able to escape with the others as he'd commanded.

'Perhaps this is my second chance at a proper life.' Vegeta thought to himself dully.

As he rounded the corner of a cliff, he saw a huge glowing mass in the very far distance.

"Is- Is that the Dragon?!" He blurted out and changed his course to chase it down instead. "Looks like the Gods have chosen to be kind to me."

. . .

With Porunga within his reach, Dende sloppily touched down on the island, tripping over himself as he rushed over to the pile of Dragon Balls that regained their glow in the exact position on the ground as before.

He approached the dragon in awe and greeted it with a polite bow. He hoped the abrupt halt in the Dragon's summoning wouldn't affect the circumstances.

"Dragon!" Dende called out loudly. "I've returned and I'd like to make a wish! I'm sorry to keep you waiting, sir!"

"Very well," Porunga boomed back. "You have one wish remaining."

Dende heard a whizzing sound grow closer and turned around to decipher what it was.

There, approaching him at an incredible speed, was Frieza, desperately racing over to make a wish of his own.

"Oh, no!" Dende cried out, returning to face the Dragon hastily. "Alright, Porunga, I'm ready!"

Goku joined the group of them and attempted to fight Frieza off with a barrage of heavy kicks and punches to keep him busy.

"Hurry up, kid!" Goku shouted over.

"R-Right!" Dende responded and cleared his throat.

He began to chant in Namekian and successfully plead his final wish to the Dragon.

He exhaled in relief.

'I did it, everyone's safe now…'

"I will grant your wish." Porunga replied in English. "Everyone from Namek will be moved to the planet Earth, except for these two."

Dende gasped in delight.

"Alright!" He cheered. "See you there, Goku!"

Just a moment later, Dende was transported away from the planet by a quick blink of light.

Goku gave Dende a wink as he disappeared.

"Frieza!" A familiar voice roared in the distance.

Goku turned around to see Vegeta, all flustered that he had missed the opportunity to steal the Dragon's wish from them.

"Oh, hey!" Goku called over to him casually. "Nice to see you back! I told ya you wouldn't be gone very long!"
"WHAT?!" Frieza bellowed with rage. "I killed you! With my own hands! How are you standing there?!"

"Hey, Vegeta!" Goku hollered over again with a wink. "Say hi to Rosemary for me when you get to Earth, would ya? And thank her for making all of this possible!"

Confused, Vegeta stiffened up on the spot, then disappeared with his own blink of light.

. . .

Rosemary fell out of a tree in the middle of nowhere and firmly hit the ground with a short cry of pain. Namekians were spawning around her left and right, and she looked around in severe confusion as they all looked over to her with concern after witnessing her fall.

She had no idea where she was, nor where all these people were coming from. She swore she was just taking off in a spacecraft somewhere.

She looked down at the ground, noticing that the grass here was green instead of Namek's unusual blue. She brushed her fingers over it to see if it was really grass that she was touching and her index finger gently sliced open across a blade of, to her relief, grass.

"Miss, are you alright?" A tall and slender Namekian asked her politely, offering a hand to help her up. "That was quite the fall you just had!"

Rosemary accepted his help graciously and took his hand as he pulled her up off the ground with ease.

"I-I think I'm alright, thank you, sir." She courteously replied with a bow of thanks and peculiarly scanned the area around them as she made a few quick stretches. "If you don't mind me asking, where are we, exactly?"

Not too far away from her, Bulma was pacing the area in a similar confusion, looking around to see if she could recognize anything to pinpoint her location. She saw Rosemary standing with a Namekian man and ran over to her in excitement.

"Oh, hey, Rosemary, you're here, too!" Bulma acknowledged and put a hand on her shoulder in a friendly manner. "I'm glad to see you're alright! What a relief!"

Peeking his head out from a tree above them, Gohan happily peered down at the two of them.

"Hey, you guys are here!" He cheered and hopped out of the tree to meet up with them below.

Rosemary remained stiff and tense, unsure what to make of everything.

"Yes, I'm happy to be alive and all," Rosemary spoke out again, estranged. "But what happened to the ship we were in?! What happened to Namek?"

She looked up to the sky. It was… blue.

"How did we get here? I… I don't understand! This is all so strange..."

Just then, Dende had approached the group of them with a huge smile.

"Don't worry, ma'am!" He explained joyfully, with Piccolo following not far behind. "I brought us all here with Namek's Dragon Balls!"

Piccolo looked down his chin to Rosemary, realizing that he hadn't formally met her before now. This is the woman that saved his life, and without her, none of this would have been possible.

She was peculiarly short, much like Vegeta's surprisingly small build.

Rosemary shyly looked up to Piccolo as he took her in, bashfully hesitant to say anything.

"I guess you're the one to thank for a majority of this." He went on with his deep voice, causing Rosemary to cower away a little. He relaxed his composure and bowed, hoping to make her a bit more comfortable.

"Rosemary, was it? You saved my life, I owe you my thanks."

Rosemary gawked up at him awkwardly. She had saved his life, sure, but what else had she accomplished?

Nodding in confirmation, she followed with a respectful bow of her own.

"Er, yes," She modestly managed to say, honoured. "It was a true test of my skills, sir."

She looked around further, hoping to see others that she recognized. "...Is Goku here?"

"Hey, yeah… Good question." Piccolo agreed, surveying the crowd as well. "Goku!" He bellowed loudly. "You here?!"

The group of them heard a crowd of others in the distance and caught their attention easily.

Everyone looked over to them and found Lord Guru surrounded by some other Namekians in a huddle of sorts. They all rushed over quickly to make sure everyone was alright.

"Lord Guru!" Rosemary was the first to call out. "Goodness, you're here too. What exactly is happening, sir?"

Guru gave her a warm, elderly smile.

"Ah, yes, you ask valid questions." He told her whimsically. "We are on a planet called Earth now, we have been relocated here thanks to a wish upon our planet's Dragon Balls."

Bulma and Gohan perked up immediately.

"Earth?!" Gohan repeated in shock. "We're home?"

"Did Goku defeat Frieza, sir?" Piccolo chimed in quickly. "Or was he unsuccessful?"

Guru grumbled.

"They are still fighting as we speak." He answered in a deeper tone. "The one called Goku decided to stay on Namek to finish the fight that will leave it's mark in our history forever."

"So they're still on Namek?" Gohan clarified and shook his head in disbelief. "But, how will he make it back?"

"Oh man, that's not good!" Bulma joined in with a few beads of sweat dripping from her head. "The planet was about to explode as we were leaving! H-He's going to get caught in the blow!"

"This doesn't make any sense!" Rosemary followed up frantically. "Why would he choose to stay there?!"

She hysterically shook her head. "The planet was in extremely rough shape! Surely, he knew that he didn't have much time!"

As Rosemary tried to understand everything, Gohan quietly teared up. He couldn't tell himself that his father would be able to come home safely, not after everything he had seen back on Namek.

"D-Dad…"

Rosemary looked down at him, and grew more miserable at the sight of seeing someone else cry. She truly hadn't seen another person cry in years, it had always been her that was crying.

She felt terrible.

She bent over to try and comfort him and took Gohan into her arms.

"I want to believe that he'll be okay." She awkwardly assured him as he sobbed into her shoulder. "I truly think he can do it. Gohan, please, don't be discouraged...You've been so strong for me in my dark moments, please stay strong."

Vegeta kept a close eye on Rosemary from the distance and watched everyone despair and question the situation, admiring her continued desire to help and comfort wherever possible. The very sight of her holding someone close, with arms that he knew were no strangers to compassion, gave him a stroke of tenderness among an uncomfortable wave of envy. He remembered when it was him that she cared to so gently and silently wished that it was him that she had been embracing at that moment.

He decided it was time for him to reveal his presence. He could already anticipate a massive surge of happiness from Rosemary when she would discover he was there.

"I, for one, understand his choice." He spoke out in a loud, powerful tone that caught everyone's eye immediately as he approached the crowd. "If he's any kind of Saiyan, he wouldn't give up a good fight. Given that you're one yourself, I'm surprised you even question it."

Rosemary's eyes widened in disbelief and stung with even more tears.

She whipped around at the sound of his voice. It really was Vegeta, in the flesh and in front of her, despite him being killed back on Namek.

She couldn't wrap her head around any of this. Mythical dragons? Magical wishes? The dead coming back to life? How had she never heard of any of this growing up from individuals that boasted to know more than anyone in the universe?

"...Vegeta?!" Rosemary let out a gasp and breathlessly stepped away from the group towards him. "Is this really you I'm seeing, or am I in another cursed dream that I've yet to wake from?"

Vegeta proudly stood before her with a confident smirk.

"You see just fine. Fancy, seeing you here as well."

Gohan and Bulma cowered away slightly as Vegeta came closer. Rosemary looked over her shoulder to find herself alone in his company, confused.

Bulma scowled.

"Yeah, well, I for one could have lived if you hadn't showed up." Bulma retorted immaturely.

Rosemary shot her a look, unable to figure out this woman's reasoning for such a comment.

Bulma pouting childishly. "You don't exactly have a clean record here, yourself."

Rosemary looked back and forth between Bulma and Vegeta awkwardly, and opted to remain silent.

'Just what exactly has Vegeta been up to all this time?' She thought to herself questionably. 'The people here don't seem all that welcoming of him, why don't they get along?'

"That's not very nice of you, considering I had a hand in your safety, woman." Vegeta shot back. A cocky grin formed across his face with ease as he recalled the series of events from Namek before he got there, making him chuckle and snicker devilishly. "Yes, nothing will stop Kakarot from fighting with Frieza now that he's become a Super Saiyan, except perhaps the planet blowing up from beneath him!"

Rosemary's mouth hung open.

"S-Super Saiyan?!" Rosemary stuttered in a craze. "T-The one in the old legends?!"

Rosemary observed Vegeta with confusion as he carelessly laughed.

Vegeta gave her a firm but uninformative nod.

Gohan got into a fighting stance, ready to take him on at any given moment, causing Rosemary to tense up even further. He wasn't too pleased with the direction the conversation was going.

Rosemary nervously took a few steps aside from Bulma and Gohan.

"Stop laughing!" Gohan fired back angrily.

"Oh, and why should I do that, kid?" Vegeta boasted and arrogantly crossed his arms. "Once Kakarot and Frieza are through with their fighting and the planet blows up, I'll be the most powerful fighter in the universe! How convenient."

Vegeta's sudden show of ego sent Rosemary's brain into a tangent. Vegeta always had a lust for being strong and powerful just like his father, and she was even more surprised that this lust remained as strong as it was throughout the years - she questioned if being enslaved to Frieza's had anything to do with it.

'But... Why does he have something against Goku?' She asked herself curiously.

"Alright, kid," Vegeta rambled on brashly, taking a few more steps towards Gohan. "Since you and I are the only Saiyans left after the fact aside from Lady Rosemary, how about we have some fun with a little test of strength?"

Rosemary stood there quivering now, immobilized by fear and uncertainty.

'Is he serious right now?' Rosemary asked herself with worry and cowered away from the conversation even further. 'We just got back here, and Vegeta already wants to pick fights with people?!'

"I'm not interested, you jerk." Gohan retaliated sharply. "I don't need to listen to you bark at everyone like this!"

'Perhaps I should step in…' Rosemary pondered further. 'It seems I'm the only one here known to be able to tame this man... Maybe this should be my responsibility.'

"How can you even think about fighting when Goku's out there risking his life for us?!" Bulma bantered. "How can you be so selfish?!"

Vegeta shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's not like it was my choice for him to stay there." Vegeta countered with a snicker. "And now that I'm the strongest one here, you can lead by Lady Rosemary's example and do as I say from now on."

'Lady Rosemary.'

Agitated by Vegeta's sudden reckless behaviour, Rosemary leapt out in front of Gohan to give Vegeta her own stare of disapproval. She doubted that Vegeta would try and fight her - it was about time she took a stand for the people that have helped her up until now, and it was about time that she returned to her official role.

"If I may, my Prince," Rosemary spoke out challengingly with an eyebrow cocked. "As the Lady that I am, I think you're being rather reckless with your decisions."

She held her head high with authority. "Speaking of recklessness, what were you thinking, telling me to leave you for death like that?! Please, consider what you're saying!"

Vegeta looked away from her, somewhat defeated.

"I don't wish to air our dirty laundry here." He responded to her in a calm tone. "Allow me to claim what is rightfully mine first, and we can chat later."

Rosemary's stare on him hardened.

"I wish for no harm on anyone here!" Rosemary defended. "Please, I… I've just become free again after all this time… Can we please just relax? All of this fighting and bickering, it's just so unnecessary..."

Her head emitting a gentle throb of discomfort and she tiredly sighed. The day had been packed full of tense and demanding tasks so far that she hadn't bothered to consider the possibility of growing exhausted again.

"I never said you couldn't." Vegeta told her, annoyed that she was spending her energy trying to argue with him instead of taking it easy. "In fact, if you were wise, you'd back off and take some time for yourself."

'At least throughout all of this, he still considers my well-being.' Rosemary thought to herself sarcastically.

Gohan rejoined Lord Guru of Namek and requested that he tell everyone what was happening back on Namek. He didn't want to hear another word of Vegeta's arrogance and took advantage of Rosemary's efforts to calm him down.

"I'm sorry, child." Guru replied monotonously. "I can no longer sense what is happening on Namek."

Gohan and Bulma looked up at Guru, discouraged once again.

Piccolo put a hand on Gohan's shoulder kindly.

"Don't worry, kid." Piccolo insisted. "Goku will make it back."

"How can you be sure?" Gohan asked Piccolo doubtfully. He wanted to believe Piccolo, he really did, but the odds just weren't in his father's favour at the moment.

"...I just know."

Despite the constant efforts to keep the mood in good spirit, Rosemary couldn't help but feel a strong feeling of despair among them. She could relate to Gohan - he needed the facts to be sure of anything, but something from within her was also pleading that something was wrong. She was reminded of herself at a young age, and recalled a day that her father told her that he needed to go.

Little did she know at the time that it would be his final off-planet mission and that she'd be alone for the rest of her life shortly after.

She bowed her head in gloom.

She was unsure of how to assist everyone at that moment and took her place off to the side of the crowd. As per Vegeta's suggestion, she found herself a tree nearby to sit under and relax. She closed her eyes to rest, but continued to pay close attention to her surroundings so she could jump in if things got out of hand again.

Vegeta noticed that Rosemary had finally decided to ease up and take advantage of her first real moments of peace, and decided to shut up for a while to see if anyone was able to obtain more information. He debated with himself as to if he should join her, or if she even wanted his company after the brief display of dominance he had shown.

He meandered over it for a moment further, decided to give the commentary a rest and joined her by gracelessly taking a seat at her side.

'This is the closest I've been to her this entire time.' He thought harmlessly and took in the sight of her with more attention. He still couldn't believe it - it really was her beside him.

'I've waited so damn long, it doesn't even feel real.' He told himself. He shifted his attention downwards towards the base of her neck - the very same pendant that he had given her all those years ago still elegantly sat on her collarbone.

Rosemary gently opened her eyes to see him looking over at her, then turned her head towards him so she could restlessly look back.

"You know," Rosemary spoke out sluggishly. "There's still so much for me to figure out about all of this…" She let out a heavy, dramatic sigh. "I would appreciate it if you could make it simpler for me."

Vegeta placed his arms in his lap, leaning his head back against the tree to follow suit with her.

"Where do I even start?" He groaned.

Rosemary tiredly closed her eyes, unsure of the answer herself.

"I suppose I should ask if I should be happy that we're here." She went on. "The others don't seem to take to you very well, what have you been up to all these years?"

Vegeta huffed.

"I've had my own agenda. I'll leave it at that for now." He replied firmly while his eyes still fixated on the jewel around her neck. "You're safe, process that first. Rest."

Rosemary moaned.

"There's still so much hanging in the balance…" She continued. "I can't bring myself to just ignore everything right now."

"Rose, you're free. Stop worrying."

Rosemary's eyes managed to shoot open in surprise as Vegeta took to her old nickname, but her eyes burned as she strained to keep them open. Something about it was effectively soothing.

She allowed her eyelids to droop and closed her eyes once again.

"Yes, just like that." Vegeta softly told her with praise, instantly noticing the calm that fell over her face.

He continued to watch over her in admiration as she rested. She looked strikingly familiar to the girl he always remembered, but with a new, more matured and sophisticated presence. He had no idea how the two of them were going to interact from now on, but the thought got him going like no other.

Rosemary's breath grew heavy as she finally dozed off. Vegeta leaned in to confirm that she was sleeping and received a very faint moan. He recognized the sound - she occasionally used to make when she fell in and out of consciousness, and a warm smile crept its way to his face.

Rosemary's head slid slightly against the tree, her body now fully relaxed and asleep.

Vegeta managed a chuckle.

'So determined to fight me, yet she turns out like a light.' He commented cunningly. 'Oh yes, I have real trouble on my hands now.'

He got up from where he sat and took to a nearby rock to observe the crowds of Namekians nearby in silence and decided to let her snooze peacefully, patiently awaiting more news on the fight from Namek.

Instead, he found himself in the middle of groups of small children playing and older men amicably chatting away. Everyone seemed happy despite the potential for an all-powerful overlord to come and wipe them all out in due time.

Perhaps it was the decade or so of slavery affecting him but he wasn't all that cheerful, and took a moment to reflect. A part of him wanted Goku to win and return, while the other half of him wanted Goku to die so he could resume his reign as the strongest being in the universe. He was tired of his life hanging in limbo, that, he knew for certain.

'Go figure, two of my greatest desires can't be achieved at the same time.' He told himself dismally. 'Damn it, I need him to come back alive.'