New chappy! First time that I'm late a day :(

warnings: talking about bad stuff, bad stuff that really happens, and some more bad stuff.

last time: Vegeta was being a bitch, and he ran off.

Vegeta really pushes himself during training that day. So much so, that him and Goku are too tired that evening to fly back to Bulma.

Not that Vegeta cares that much about it, he'd rather not see her for a while. Preferably not until he can actually remember the woman. The house in the clearing is good enough for his basic needs any way, so why bother to go and have an awkward moment when you don't really have to?

Vegeta gets his wish of not having to see Bulma soon, since his nightmares retain the remembering-quality. When he remembers something from the time he was already on earth, it doesn't bother him all that much, and Goku only has to badger him a short while before the man talks about it.

But when Vegeta dreams about his time with Frieza, he's the most unresponsive evil bastard you can imagine. After those nights, Goku is better off training on his own than coming near Vegeta.

After a few weeks, Vegeta seems to have opened up to Goku, since he goes straight to Goku after he wakes up.

"Goku! You didn't tell me how it actually felt to be a super saiyan! It's exhilarating! That feeling of power pulsing beneath my skin, it's addicting!" With a huge grin, Goku slaps Vegeta on the back.

"Would you rather have had me ruin the surprise?" Vegeta actually grins back up at him.

"No! It's intoxicating to remember the feeling, I can't wait until I can change back! Let's see if I can remember how I do it!"

Goku never really had a joyous Vegeta to train with, and it's an experience he won't soon forget. Usually Vegeta is dissing him during their training, and even though it's still a very useful training, it's not as fun as this.

A happy Vegeta acts as if training is just a game, clearly having fun. He's not as uptight as he usually is, getting mad at every hit Goku scores. It's as if Vegeta has accepted the fact that Goku is a better fighter than he is, and instead of being a grouch about it, he tries to learn as much as he can from Goku.

In a languid pace Goku drives up his power level, until somewhere around noon, Vegeta can transform on his own. Vegeta is overjoyed by finally getting it right, breaking out in genuine laughter when he gets a good look at himself.

Vegeta's good mood stays until he remembers his fight with majin Buu a few days later. He comes upon Goku in a daze, questioning him about things Goku didn't tell him. Goku never told anything past the moment Vegeta let Babidi take over, so Vegeta didn't know about his own sacrifice until he actually remembered it.

"Goku? Why didn't you tell me about my suicidal tendencies?" Goku doesn't know where he gets the idea, because he never really tried to harm himself.

"Oh, come on. I blew myself up to save the world. Almost every time I train, I go way over the line and get hurt. I always go into battle all by myself. How is that not self-destructive?"

When he puts it that way, Vegeta does have a point. It's just that Goku never thought of it that way, since every friend he has dies on a pretty frequent basis. It's like that's the norm for the Z-fighters. When he tells Vegeta that, Vegeta calls him a moron.

"And remember when I asked you if I was a bad father, and you said no? I'm not really a good example when I knock my son out, and then go into battle to die without saying anything to him. That was the only time I really hugged him too. How does that boy not have any trauma's?"

Vegeta's not really talking to Goku any more, he's mostly ranting to himself now. It makes Goku feel a bit uneasy, because he kind of does the same thing to his own sons. He didn't always have the time to say goodbye, so what if the boys have trauma's about him too?

There couldn't have been a more opportune moment for Trunks to show up. It's the first time he came to visit since the drugged-Vegeta-situation, and it's on the first day that Vegeta remembers some of his feelings for him. Trunks greets the duo with a soft voice, unsure of how Vegeta will react. He shouldn't have been worried, because Vegeta pulls him into a hug before he can even finish his first word.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you, boy, I really am. I'm going to try to be a better father now, so don't give up on me quite yet."

Trunks would have been overjoyed, if he wasn't so freaked out by Vegeta saying sorry. Without being told to, too. Trunks pats Vegeta on the back for a bit, before letting go of him and asking just what he remembers. Vegeta tells him about it, and when he's done, he grins wickedly at his son.

"Wanna spar?"

Trunks always loves training with his father, so he instantly agrees. He expects Vegeta wont be able to keep up when he transforms into super saiyan, so he gets the shock of his lifetime when Vegeta changes too.

"You did it! I'm so happy for you! Can you do all the transformations yet, or is it one step at a time?"

Vegeta tries it out, and frowns when it doesn't work. He mumbles something about stupid dragons and their whimsical wish-granting, before actually answering Trunks.

"I can't. How did I get their the first time around?"

Goku and Trunks try to tell him to the best of their abilities, but that evening isn't enough for Vegeta to reach the next level. Vegeta grumpily says goodbye to Trunks before retiring to his room. Before Trunks leaves though, he has a word with Goku.

"Is it hard for you to stay here with Vegeta? I know you guys aren't good friends at the best of times, let alone when my dad is grumpy."

"Nah, It's okay. Vegeta does have his bitch-days, but they've been coming in less and less. This is actually the most fun I've had in years."

Trunks doesn't know if that is supposed to be a joke or not, but when you think about Chichi, it's probably the plain truth. Chichi isn't a good thing to think about, so Trunks changes the subject.

"Goten wants to see you, is it okay if we come by tomorrow?" Goku nervously scratches the back of his head.

"Come by in the afternoon, okay? Should Vegeta be in a bad mood, you won't have spent an entire day here for nothing."

Trunks want to say something like 'I thought you said he didn't have a lot of bitch-days any more, so why are you asking me that like you're expecting him to be grumpy?' but he decides to drop it and go home. Bulma will probably be getting worried anyway. Why she would be worried is a mystery for Trunks, but he still doesn't want her to be.

That night Vegeta has another remembered nightmare. This time, it's about Radditz' hero-complex concerning him. Though Vegeta could remember what he said to Radditz after Goten did his little speech, he couldn't remember why or even when. Now he does, and it makes him that much angrier at Goten.

The dream starts with Vegeta getting out of a recovery-room, after one of Frieza's 'bonding' sessions. Vegeta doesn't know what happened exactly, but the bonding probably had nothing to do with him. At least not in a beneficial way, or he wouldn't have been in a recovery-room at all.

Radditz is outside the room, waiting for him to come out. How Radditz knew where he was, Vegeta can only guess. He doesn't like to tell people about his late-night missions for Frieza, or where he can be found after them, but Radditz must've noticed something.

He is, after all, Vegeta's main guard for a reason. As if Vegeta needs to be guarded by brute force any way. Not that Radditz doesn't have any brute force, it's just not his main asset. As soon as Vegeta is out of the room, Radditz pulls him along by his arm.

"What are you doing! Is this a way to treat your prince!" Radditz looks at him with a cold glare, and he doesn't react to him until they are in their private quarters.

"I'm not the one that doesn't treat you like a prince. This is perfectly acceptable behaviour if my prince decides to act like a low class brat." Vegeta can pull his arm loose, and he yells at the man.

"What are you talking about, moron! I didn't do anything." Radditz crosses his arms, still glaring at his prince.

"That's the point. You didn't do anything to stop them. I heard Dodoria and Zarbon talking about you this morning. From what I heard, you haven't been acting like a prince for at least 3 years. So I'm going to make you act like one."

All the blood drains out of Vegeta's skin. Nobody was supposed to find out. Especially not Radditz.

"Grab your things, I hijacked a space-shuttle to bring you to a safe planet." Vegeta's eyes widen at that.

"What? You're making me run away? How is that royal!" Radditz starts collecting Vegeta's belongings and throwing them in a bag.

"It's more royal than acting like Frieza's pet, that's for sure." Vegeta pulls Radditz away from what he's doing, pushing him against the door in the process.

"Why are you interfering! It has always been like this, and it worked just fine! None of the other saiyans will get hurt as long as I do what I do, so why do you want to stop me!" Radditz pulls Vegeta's hands off of him, and keeps them locked in his hands.

"It didn't work just fine, Vegeta. You're no longer the carefree person you used to be." With a growl, Vegeta pulls his hands free.

"That's called growing up!" Radditz growls right back at him, and tackles him to the ground. Vegeta was trying to open the door to kick him out, so Radditz had to stop him.

"That's called getting screwed in the head! Look Vegeta, lets leave this place, just the two of us. Nappa doesn't deserve your protection, and the rest of the saiyans aren't under Frieza's reign. There's no need for you to stay here and lose your mind."

It's clear that Vegeta would like to leave it all behind, but something is holding him back. In a sign of trust, Vegeta tells Radditz what it is.

"But I can't! He knows where my little brother went, and I can't let him be the victim of my selfishness. It's useless any way, Frieza can track that freaking chip anywhere."

Apparently, Radditz didn't know any of those things. If Vegeta is chipped, then the entire ordeal he overheard makes a whole lot more sense. Radditz doesn't know if this makes it worse or not, because if the prince chose his behaviour, at least he would probably have had a valid reason.

Now his only reason is that he can't take the pain. That's got to be detrimental for his self-confidence. Radditz does have his doubts about Frieza knowing where Tarble is though. As Radditz sees it, all of Vegeta's problems will be solved by Frieza's death, but how to get him to die?

"You should leave, Radditz."

"Like hell I'll leave you here on your own." With a glare, Vegeta goes into royalty mode.

"You will leave this spaceship and you wont come back to save me." Radditz doesn't look like he's going to listen, so Vegeta adds a bit more to his command.

"You're going on a mission to earth, to find out why the saiyan there refuses to conquer that planet. Make sure you don't return." With that, Vegeta can finally push past Radditz to the hallway, and at the same time, wake up.

It takes Vegeta only a second to come to the decision to question Goku after he's fully awake. Goten's naivety isn't all that important compared to Radditz' fate. Vegeta believes that Goten has seen the biggest flaws in his beliefs already, what with his ordeal with Chichi.

The small things Goten doesn't understand yet, aren't that big a deal for as long as Vegeta doesn't know what happened to Radditz. To find out what happened to him, Vegeta needs to talk to Goku. He finds Goku outside, tickling for fish. Without bothering with any niceties, Vegeta comes straight to the point.

"Goku, did you ever meet Radditz?" Goku almost falls into the river out of surprise, but he can save himself just in time. Goku laughs off his stumble, and turns to Vegeta.

"Not even a good-morning?" Vegeta glares at him.

"No. Did Radditz come to earth?"

Goku had hoped he wouldn't have to tell Vegeta this, and that he would remember it on his own. Now he's in for a really big shouting match, if he's lucky enough for Vegeta not to physically attack him.

From the stories Vegeta has been telling, it's obvious that Radditz was like a big brother to him, even his best friend. Goku fears that as soon as Vegeta knows he's the cause of the man's death, their friendship will be over. He has to tell him now though, there's no way out of it.

"Yeah, he came to Earth for some reason I didn't really understand." Goku was planning to continue, but Vegeta interrupts him.

"Did he tell you?"

"Yes"

"Did he find the answer?" Goku looks at the ground.

"I don't think so..." Vegeta frowns at him, starting to realise there's something that Goku's not saying.

"What is it, Goku?" Goku cringes, but he finally tells Vegeta.

"I... uh... Radditz died..." Vegeta has always been competent in hiding his true feelings behind anger, so even though the knowledge hurts him, he gets angry at Goku.

"How?" Goku looks up at Vegeta, and that look makes it superfluous for Goku to say anything.

Vegeta remembers the whole ordeal with that one look. How Goku and Piccolo worked together to kill Radditz, and how he came to earth to take his revenge. Vegeta always said it was to gain immortality, but why live forever under Frieza's reign?

It's a silly idea, but everybody seems to buy it well enough, so Vegeta kept using that excuse. It's not like he ever told anyone about his real plans anyway, so why would anyone believe his reasons to be untrue?

Vegeta's life starts flashing before his eyes; all the times Radditz took care of him, when he stood up for him, their fight that ultimately resulted in Radditz' coming to earth and dying. By the hand of Kakarot, the man Vegeta thought to be his friend.

Kakarot was trying to be good to him, these past months, and Vegeta thought it was nice. Vegeta doesn't think that any more, he sees it as betrayal now. Kakarot knew this would hurt him, yet he hid it away. Friends don't do that about important things.

All the while Vegeta is remembering his past, he's powering up. This time he does notice how he changes to level 2, but he can't be bothered to feel happy about it.

Because of Vegeta's plainly visible rage, Goku has the sense of self to power up too, resulting in the forest starting to slowly disintegrate by the pure force of the two saiyans.

All that power grabs the attention of the rest of the Z-fighters, and they hurry to check it out. Goku and Vegeta are in a remote place though, so it will take the fighters a while to get there.

Goku knows this, and he also knows that if Vegeta goes to level 3, he probably wont be able to stop him from destroying pretty much everything. In an attempt to calm Vegeta down, Goku tries to talk to him.

"Vegeta, please try to understand! I was protecting my home!"

Goku thought that that would get Vegeta to talk and not fight, but he was terribly wrong. With a low grumble, Vegeta flies at Goku, momentarily stopping his rising in power. Goku turns with Vegeta as he flies at him, grabbing his arm to try and use his own strength against him.

Vegeta expected that, so he flows with Goku's movement too, resulting in a kick to the face for Goku. The force of the kick drops Goku, and Vegeta uses this opportunity to grapple him.

"You could've protected the earth by giving him the dragonballs. Why did you kill him!" Goku struggles against the grip Vegeta has on him, but he fails to get out of the hold.

"I didn't have a choice! He kidnapped Gohan!" Goku has really mastered the art of saying the wrong thing to Vegeta, because he seems to anger him more with everything he says. With a yell, Vegeta punches Goku with all his power.

"You did have a choice, Kakarot! You decided killing your own brother was better than simply giving him what he wanted!"

Goku doesn't take well to feeling helpless, so he goes to level 3. The power that releases catapults Vegeta away from him, making him crash into their house. The simple structure crumbles around him, and for a minute, Goku thinks he knocked Vegeta out.

That is until Vegeta goes level 3 with a roar, and the rubble explodes away from him. Goku flies at him this time, and they start fighting in earnest.

When the first Z-fighters finally arrive, the saiyans have destroyed everything in the vicinity, and they are looking pretty beaten up. Piccolo pushes Trunks behind one of the few remaining rocks, sensing the danger in the air. Trunks grumbles about it, saying his father wouldn't hurt him.

Piccolo takes some time to react to him, preoccupied by listening to the saiyans' shouted conversation. Although they are too far away for Trunks to understand them, Piccolo can easily make out their words in between the sound of explosions.

"Trunks, They aren't sparring. They're trying to kill each other. Your father doesn't have the time to think about protecting you." Trunks understands what he's talking about when he takes a good look at his father.

"Dad got to level 3... We should stop them, or they'll destroy..." Piccolo interrupts Trunks with a sneer.

"I know that! But do you want to jump between a super saiyan 3 and his prey?" Trunks swallows heavily, shaking his head.

"Didn't think so. We're going to wait for the opportune moment before interfering, lets just hope they don't finish before there is such a moment."

Trunks hides behind the rock, and he's soon joined by an overwrought Goten. He explains what Piccolo said to him, and the boys cautiously look over the rock. They are still going at it, and the more the battle progresses, the more violent Vegeta becomes.

Goku doesn't seem to want to hurt Vegeta, but you can't fight a battle with him when you're on the defensive. He fires a powerful kamehameha at Vegeta, but it's blocked by an equally as powerful final flash.

Goku is getting tired afetr that, and he's too slow to evade Vegeta's ki-rings. They strap him to the ground as Vegeta starts to call up another final flash. Piccolo can't let Goku die like this, so he makes Vegeta notice him.

"Vegeta! Stop this!" Vegeta doesn't stop calling up his energy, but he does change targets.

"You're to blame too, green man!"

If Piccolo wasn't scared of the final flash now heading straight for his head, he'd have laughed at Vegeta's choice of nickname for him. Vegeta is smirking at Piccolo, thinking he's going to finish him off. His smirk disappears when he notices Trunks jumping from behind a rock next to Piccolo.

Vegeta tries with all his might to divert the beam from his designated path, but he can't stop the beam from hitting his own son along with Piccolo. As soon as the beam is gone, Vegeta flies towards them, letting go of his super saiyan-form.

Piccolo charges a ki-blast in his remaining hand, ready to throw it at Vegeta should he do something, but he lets it dissolve when Vegeta falls to his knees next to Trunks.

Piccolo's left arm got blasted off, but he can regenerate it. Trunks is not so fortunate; his entire right side is burned to a crisp. The boy is having trouble with breathing, and he's gasping for air. Vegeta doesn't dare to touch him, too scared of hurting him to even try.

Goten didn't get hurt in the blast, since Trunks pushed him to safety when he saw it coming. Goten's too shell shocked about the entire ordeal to even think properly though.

Since Vegeta is so focused on Trunks, his ki-rings dissolve, letting Goku out of their trap. As soon as he's out, Goku joins the group near Trunks. Seeing tears welling up in Vegeta's eyes make him feel sorry for the man, and he softly puts a hand on Vegeta's shoulder. Vegeta shrugs it off with a low growl.

"Don't touch me, Kakarot."

Vegeta frowns in thought. He wants to save Trunks, but he's too hurt for a hospital to fix him properly. The dragonballs are out of commission, and Vegeta will not let Trunks be dead for 6 months. Then he has an idea that might save Trunks before it is too late. As gently as he possibly can, Vegeta picks up Trunks.

"Kakarot! Take us to Namek!"

Trunks starts coughing really badly, but Goku doesn't move. Vegeta is getting scared that he actually killed his son, and he wont be able to live with that. The fear is stopping him from controlling his emotions like he usually does, and it's making Vegeta yell at Goku a bit hysterical.

"Kakarot! NOW!"

That jolts Goku into action, and the trio disappears.