Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

When Nappa was granted passage onto Frieza's vessel, he was escorted to the tyrant immediately. Frieza did not looked pleased that the Saiyan general was there, his second- and third-in-command stood right beside him. The general remained on-guard, though he felt a small twinge of panic when he saw a dried pool of blood in the middle of Frieza's throne room. It smelled distinctly of the prince, and Nappa's heart hammered in his chest. He was thankful that not all races were blessed with excellent hearing.

"General Nappa," Frieza sneered, "to what do we owe the pleasure of this impromptu boarding?"

Nappa knelt down before the lizard for show and sucked in all of his pride for the sake of the prince. "Lord Frieza, I request to join your barracks and watch over the prince, to train him and prepare him for higher level missions."

Frieza glared at the general skeptically, his lip curled back slightly into a frown. "That was not a part of King Vegeta's and my agreement," he growled. "Did he send you?"

"No, my lord," Nappa replied. "I came on my own volition, and the king has no idea that I am here."

"Hm. Dodoria, go and contact the king. See if what the general says is true. I highly doubt those monkeys would send their combat leader to join us alone. I need to know if the king plans to go back on the agreement."

"I assure you, he is not," Nappa said quickly as panic set in. "I only wish to continue Vegeta's training. No matter how many semi-sentient lifeforms he has killed, he is still just a child and so I need to be there for his mental training as well as physical."

Frieza seemed to give it more thought, but still waved Dodoria off to get information from the Saiyan king. "Now, Nappa, am I to believe that you would give up you position on Planet Vegeta just to train the prince? Isn't abandoning your post seen as dishonorable?"

"What is more honorable than training the heir of my king?" Nappa countered.

"Hm, fair enough. You would do well to teach the child manners, though. He is very defiant at such a young age."

That made Nappa's blood run cold. "Forgive me, my lord, but where exactly is Prince Vegeta?"

Frieza chuckled slightly. "I'm sure you already realized that he was punished for his insolence," he jeered. "He refused to bow to me and accept that he is now my pet, so I gave him a proper thrashing. He still refused to accept that he was a soldier and no longer a prince, so Zarbon brought him to the dungeon. He's been in isolation for the past day."

"What?" Nappa nearly squeaked out. Vegeta was just a boy, and isolation was probably the worst form of Saiyan torture second to electrocution. The former general's expression darkened as he said, "Lord Frieza, forgive me, but Vegeta is only a child. He can't stay in isolation that long or—"

"Or he will lose his mind. Yes, I know," Frieza finished casually, shocking Nappa. "To be honest, if he can't survive with all of his faculties, then I wouldn't want him to serve me and would simply do away with him. If he can't finish out the day, then he was worthless to me anyway."

Angered by Frieza's callousness regarding Vegeta's isolation, Nappa spiraled and, before Frieza could accept his presence or object to what he was about to do, Nappa ran out of the throne room. Frieza demanded Zarbon stop him. The former general didn't care. Vegeta was alive, and he was at risk of losing his mind. Nappa refused to let that happen. He promised Kalina that he would protect Vegeta the best he could. He would die trying if he had to.

He sensed Vegeta's ki, weak as it was from being restrained, and quickly flew to the lower deck. Zarbon caught up with him and knocked him down. The alien rolled his eyes. "You will not remove the boy."

"The hell I won't, toad!" Nappa shouted before he ignited his ki, ready to fight.

Zarbon simply blinked and snickered. "Ah, so you've heard of my reputation. That is good. I must inform you that in both my forms, I am much stronger than any Saiyan elite or super elite. If you fight me now, you will die, and then coming here would have been a fool's errand."

"Vegeta will not survive in there," Nappa explained. "He will be of no use to Frieza if he's dead or crazy. Regardless of what Frieza said up there, he would not want to lose his protégé and he would have declared war with Planet Vegeta."

"Hm," Zarbon pondered; his finger tapped his chin. "That is a problem. I will discuss the matter with Frieza, but your little monkey prince will remain in his cell. If you go in there, I will be sure to handle your punishment myself later."

"I will gladly take that punishment."

Nappa raced past Zarbon and punched the cell open. The Saiyan found Vegeta lying on the cot shaking. The prince had his eyes clenched tightly shut and struggled to breath. It was like he was crying, but without the tears. His anxiety poured off of him so much that Nappa didn't even need a bond with the boy to feel it.

"Prince Vegeta," he called out, his voice raw with emotion at seeing Kalina's son in such a state.

Vegeta did not answer him. He continued to shake and sob, repeatedly asked 'why' in their native language. "Vegeta," Nappa tried again, but to no avail. He needed to do something, anything, so he picked Vegeta up which caused the prince to freak out. The kid attempted to escape his hold, but Nappa refused to let him go. The former general's eyes saw Zarbon's glare back at them. Nappa knew that later he would be in for it, but for now he needed to get Vegeta to safety. It was bad enough that Vegeta had been isolated for a day and a half, which to the boy probably felt more like a lifetime.

Nappa couldn't believe the damage caused in one day. In one day, Frieza nearly broke the prince, tortured him and isolated him, caused the two most important bonds the prince had to be completely shattered. He held Vegeta close to him and heatedly glared at Zarbon as he left the isolation cell. He didn't know where he was going, but eventually he felt Vegeta stir in his arms. "W-where—?"

"Sh," Nappa hushed. "It's all right, Prince Vegeta. I'm taking you back to your room."

"T-turn here," the prince instructed, then finally opened his eyes. "N-Nappa?"

The general nodded. "Yes. I was sent to protect you." Vegeta's eyes narrow, and Nappa noticed. "What?"

"My father sent you," he growled. "He didn't think I could handle it."

"That's not true," Nappa attempted to pacify the boy. "I was sent by—"

"I don't wish to hear it," Vegeta snapped. "I knew it. He lied to me. He lied to me, Nappa. He doesn't believe in me at all."

"Vegeta, he does believe in you," Nappa assured him. "Sometimes we all need a little backup. We need to look out for each other here. We're not on safe ground."

"Whatever," the prince scoffed, though his hand moved to Nappa's arm to make sure he was actually in the arms of a Saiyan and not still back in the horrible cell.

Nappa was relieved that the prince shook off most of his nerves to hold a conversation and direct him to his room. At least he got to him before the boy truly succumbed to insanity.

Trunks was shaking, his face full of anger. "How?" he asked. "How could anyone do that?"

The guardian sighed. He knew telling Trunks was going to be difficult, but the boy needed to be prepared. If he were to sit through his father's story, he needed to understand just how much of a monster the Arcosian was. "You are very blessed, Trunks, that you do not live in the world we did," Nappa explained cautiously. "Most of it was because of the alliance, but a great deal is because of your parents. Your father knew how the Arcosians worked. Frieza was not a good being. He was worse than us, and we were bad, Trunks. He would kill his own men just to make an example, and as you heard he had no problem harming those weaker than him, not even a defiant six-year-old.

"Your father never believed that we were safe after Frieza's defeat, and he trained long and hard to prepare in case King Cold or Cooler ever came after us. Likewise, your mother has made a lot of strides in our planet's defensive technology. Neither of them wants you to have to experience a childhood similar to your father's."

Trunks looked down. "I know. Mom told me about King Cold and what would have happened. It's still not fair. Mom was kidnapped, but Dad got handed over. I kind of get why he's so distant, now."

Nappa nodded. "Feeling betrayed by a person you share a bond with is a horrible feeling. Celen felt that way with me, and I could never do right by him afterwards. That is one of my major regrets."

Trunks honestly felt relieved that he did not have a relationship like that with his father. His dad was always there for him, trained him and supported him with anything he wanted. He never went easy on him during training, but Trunks now understood why. Vegeta never wanted him or Tarble to ever be put in the position he had been in as a child. Still, Trunks was young and born into a peaceful world with only slight tensions with the former ally, Earth. He still couldn't understand why his father was struggling to tell him of his past. Trunks's eyes widened at the thought.

His dad had been Frieza's soldier, meaning he became a purger.

Nappa could see the gears in the prince's head turn and realized that the boy figured out the truth about what his father had become. "How? How did he survive that?"

"Truthfully, I cannot tell you the answer," Nappa explained. "That will all be a part of what Vegeta tells you, but your mother and you played a big role in that."

"We did?" Trunks asked, seeming very surprised. His father and mother hadn't met until his father was an adult, but the child didn't think his father served Frieza that long. According to his mother, they met on Earth at school, long after an alliance was formed with Planet Earth, meaning his father had been free for years.

Nappa nodded. "As I said, your father will be the one to tell you all of that. For now, I can only attest to what happened after I found him on the ship."

Trunks moved to the edge of his seat.

Dodoria returned to Frieza after he spoke with the Saiyan king who appeared genuinely shocked that his general fled Planet Vegeta to board Frieza's vessel, though he did request another Saiyan, a third-class Saiyan, board the ship as well. It was the son of Bardock, a powerful third-class whose power was rising at an alarming rate. Frieza thought about it with a grimace. He did not want too many monkeys aboard his ship.

Frieza realized a long time ago that the monkeys increased their strength every time they nearly lost their lives. It was why he made sure to give Vegeta a good beating, for he knew the child would not want a repeat. That would work to the Arcosian's advantage, for now he wouldn't have to allow Vegeta to grow stronger. He would control what the prince did from now on through fear.

In a small group of three, the Saiyans could be no threat to him, but as a whole they posed a problem. Maybe it would be a good idea for him to collect the offered Saiyan, for in a year's time their race would no longer be a threat to him. "Tell the monkey king to send his soldier to Planet Frieza #34. We will pick him up there."

"Yes, sir, Lord Frieza," Dodoria replied. "Now, about the third-class, Bardock…"

"Not yet, Dodoria," Frieza ordered. Piercing, red eyes cut through the pink alien's soul. "You will continue to watch his team's progress and report back to me. I will decide when we strike, understood."

"Yes, lord."

Nappa got Vegeta back to his room and laid the injured, sleeping child on his bed. The prince looked so innocent, but his expression was pained, and his body shook once again. The former general covered the boy with a thin blanket provided to him and wrapped him tightly to protect him from the cold of space. Nappa leaned against the opposing wall, arms crossed, and watched over the prince as he slept. He knew it was only a matter of time before Zarbon retrieved him for punishment.

He was right.

His attention shifted to the opening door, and Zarbon stood in the frame. The blue-skinned freak did not look pleased, and Nappa smirked. "Well, what took you? Had to run to Frieza crying?"

"Silence," Zarbon ordered, his voice booming. "Lord Frieza is not pleased with this development. You will be lucky if you survive punishment."

"Whatever," Nappa retorted. "Do your worst, toad."

Hours later, Nappa felt the ship land, much to his relief. Zarbon let him have it and nearly destroyed his body while ki restraints forced his energy inside of him. Streams of blood poured down the former general's skin, but he survived. He knew it would take a while for him to heal, but as long as he did right by Vegeta he could care less.

The toad returned to drag the Saiyan back to the prince's room, two more separate cots set up inside. Nappa seemed shocked as Zarbon tossed him across the room to his bed. As he crashed into the now bloodied wall, Nappa glowered at Frieza's second who then left him and the prince alone.

The sound of crashing into the metal wall woke the prince; the child rubbed his eyes before he was alerted to his pain. His small hand moved to put pressure on the gash across his stomach. He sat up, and Nappa watched as the boy forced himself to breathe through the pain. The child was amazing, and Nappa stared at him in awe.

Vegeta's attention shifted to Nappa, and his eyes betrayed his fear and guilt. "W-w-what happened to you?" he questioned, alarmed.

"Nothing, prince," Nappa reassured. "You don't have to worry about it."

"You…you were punished," Vegeta stated. "B-because of me?"

Nappa didn't answer, but the look on his face said it all, and the prince was horrified. "Vegeta, it was not because of you. I chose to go against Frieza's orders regarding your isolation. He is to blame, not you."

"Y-you didn't have to," the prince said. His hands latched onto his face and his voice wavered. "Y-you didn't have to!"

The prince curled up and clenched his eyes shut as he continued to hold his head and shake. Nappa said nothing but let Vegeta process what he was feeling. "Y-you… Why would you…?"

"Because I care about what happens to you, my prince," Nappa offered, earning Vegeta's startled gaze. The child hesitantly looked at him in disbelief. It shook Nappa to the core to see his closest friend's son so vulnerable. "You mother has always been a comrade of mine, and I will not allow anything to happen to her son."

Vegeta's eyes hardened as the shaking stopped, and then he tried to form a protective mask to his emotions. He looked away from Nappa, but the general could feel a bond form between them. Vegeta held a lot of distrust towards him, and he could feel it, but at least the prince knew he could depend on him while on Frieza's ship. "Rest now, Prince Vegeta," Nappa instructed. "Tomorrow, these flesh wounds shall be healed. If we are able, we will start the next level of your training. Is that understood?"

"I understand," Vegeta replied curtly. He lied down and closed his eyes.

Nappa could hear the child sigh a sound of relief, and eventually Vegeta fell back into a deep sleep. A smile formed on the former general's lips, for he was relieved Vegeta listened to him. The kid could be arrogant and disrespectful at times, but Nappa now realized it was a way for the prince to hide. Now that the boy accepted the bond of comradery, Nappa could tell just how fearful Vegeta was of the world around him. He would need to help the kid build up true confidence.

Hours later, Nappa managed to finally get cleaned up and comfortable, though his healing wounds itched like crazy. He knew he had a few hours to rest before he'd need to get Vegeta up to nurse what remained of his wound. His eyes cast over the form of the child. The general sighed as his attention turned back to the ceiling. Thankfully, Vegeta was doing okay, for the most part. When the child woke up, he would probably be in a panic. Nappa would have to be ready for that.

Surprisingly, the door opened, and Nappa tensed thinking that Zarbon had come back for another round of torture. "Good lord," a familiar voice whispered. "General Nappa, what did they do to you?"

Nappa forced himself to sit up and saw one of his teenage trainees, Raditz, standing before him with fearful eyes and his mouth agape. "Heh," Nappa snickered before he smirked, "I'm fine, operative. Nothing to worry about." His expression darkened. "The prince, on the other hand…"

"I couldn't believe it when I heard," Raditz stated. "I was heading to the castle for training and ran into Celen." That caught Nappa's attention. "He'd been by your house, looking for you. When he didn't find you, he flew to the palace in a panic. I don't think I've ever seen him so worried."

"Did he talk to you?"

Raditz nodded. "He went to the king and queen asking if you had shown up to the training grounds. The king was stunned you weren't at your post, so Queen Kalina informed us all that you chose to intercept Frieza and guard the prince. The queen pulled Celen aside, and King Vegeta got the call from Dodoria. I was with him and he asked if I could board the ship, too. I didn't hesitate."

Nappa relaxed. Kalina kept her promise; he was sure of it. He hoped that when he faced his son again, if they ever got out of this mess, he would be a father Celen was proud to have. He looked over to the prince again. He needed to make sure Vegeta made it home safely, as well. His attention shifted to Raditz. Now he had two charges to train and look after.

Frieza was going to have a field day with this.

Vegeta was on the other side of the palace. His fists clenched the white, stone balcony. He could feel Trunks's disgust and felt an ache in his chest. The prince could only imagine what part Nappa got to in the story. Vegeta shook his head. Maybe he should have waited until Trunks was older to have this discussion. When he was older, he'd understand more. The history lesson needed to stop.

"Papa?"

The prince tensed when he heard Trunks call him the rare, affectionate name he used. His heart nearly stopped. Instantly, he turned to face the boy and saw the kid's surprisingly hardened eyes that reflected so much of himself. At first, Trunks said nothing, only stared intensely at his father before his eyes softened.

A two fingered salute was his boy's next form of communication, accompanied by a smile. Vegeta could picture the day his son's future counterpart left, and the sign meant the same. Relief washed over Vegeta, and he responded in kind with the knowledge that his son accepted whatever Nappa told him.

Once Vegeta responded, Trunks took charge for his father, jumped into his arms, and embraced him. Vegeta couldn't believe when he felt the body of his son shaking and heard the distinct sniffles of his crying. Eventually, he felt the warm tears, but only a couple before Trunks's voice wavered. "Thank you. Thank you for everything."

Vegeta chuckled lightly and patted his son's head. "It comes with the territory, Trunks. As long as I have breath in me, I will always protect you, you and your mother."

"I know, Papa," the child replied with a grin. "I'll protect you, too."

The days began to blur together, and Vegeta couldn't even tell what was morning or night. He basically lived on the ship and only went to bed when he was exhausted enough. Other times, he trained with Nappa and Raditz for purges. Vegeta had been trained to purge by killing Saibamen, but purging entire planets was something completely different. Nappa had to shout out orders to him through the scouter on how to attack to take out the most lives. After all, most of the time they only had a couple of weeks to wipe out a couple hundred thousand.

It was not an easy life to get used to, especially with how little the Saiyans were able to eat. There were days where they didn't get a chance to eat because they missed the cafeteria hours when they returned late in the day from missions. Vegeta didn't even want to think of the food sources when they purged worlds. The thought would churn his stomach and he couldn't live with himself.

The prince hated this life on Frieza's ship. At first, he used the missions to train himself to take the lizard down but, despite his rising power level, Vegeta always came up short. He still had difficulties besting Cui, and the fish-faced alien was far weaker than even Dodoria and Zarbon. That fact served to make the prince very angry.

He was enraged every time one of Frieza's ass-kissers called him, Raditz, and Nappa monkeys. It was degrading the way they spoke and mocked them and their race and strength. Vegeta was a strong child. No one denied that. Unfortunately, he was still just a boy and didn't have the years of experience in battle or how to utilize his power.

Nappa did his best to train the prince, but it wasn't always feasible. They were sent on a lot of missions. Vegeta was learning and getting better and more precise when it came to determining when to use his energy and when to conserve power. The child knew to eliminate the outer villages first so that they could get the ones least likely to fight first. Depending on the race's strength, though, sometimes it was better to attack the central city and directly assault the defensive warriors.

Of course, most of the races they attacked were neither fully sentient nor humanoid. They started to delve into missions with more sentient life only recently and Vegeta didn't like it. He knew that Frieza was going to assign him a planet with a fully sentient population. Nappa and Raditz knew how to handle that but, as loathe as the child was to admit it, he could not. It was not something he felt comfortable with at all.

Vegeta still didn't know how he felt about the third-class warrior. He knew Raditz was strong and rivaled elite power despite being born into a third-class family. The two hardly spoke save on missions and occasionally in the room. Usually, Vegeta listened to Nappa and Raditz as they spoke. The rest of his time, he trained in the facilities until he used up his time. Apparently Frieza didn't want the Saiyans to train past a certain amount of time each day. It was so pathetic that the Arcosian limited their activity and food intake. That bastard hid his fear of them behind his insults, or so Vegeta believed.

His father's faith in him had been a lie, though. Vegeta knew that much. He never let Nappa explain why he was there. He didn't want to hear what the former general had to say. When Raditz appeared that day, Vegeta was even more irate. Feeling insulted and a major stab at his pride, Vegeta locked himself in the washroom of their quarters, and the other two Saiyans let him be. He honestly wanted to be alone.

But he didn't always like isolating himself. He knew his race and how they were with connections. He had not yet bonded with Raditz who was still a stranger to him. Vegeta, during that time, only had Nappa, and yet he still attempted to avoid the older Saiyan like the plague.

One day, when Vegeta was training alone, Zarbon came to him, a sick grin on his face. Vegeta shivered, but not enough for the alien to notice. When Frieza beat Vegeta, he ordered Zarbon to bring him to the isolation chamber. His second did so, but he lingered longer and made Vegeta feel more pain than he ever thought possible. The creep actually decided to go for his tail. Vegeta would never forgive Zarbon for disgracing him and causing him such immense, blinding pain.

"Vegeta, Lord Frieza wishes to see you. Now."

Vegeta glared at Zarbon and stuck his nose in the air. Despite his height, Zarbon understood that the Saiyan looked down upon him, thought himself to be better. Vegeta was no more than a fly to him. "That's Prince Vegeta to you, and if Frieza wants me, he can come to me himself."

The blue-skinned alien rolled his eyes. "You forgot the 'lord' when addressing him, and if he were to be forced to come here you would die, so I would rethink your insolence. This meeting is in regards to your next mission."

That piqued Vegeta's interest. Frieza never summoned him privately for a meeting before. Every time, he went with Nappa and Raditz, or Zarbon or Dodoria gave the group their orders. This was a new development, and Vegeta was ready to face the challenge. He crossed his arms and smirked. "Whatever. Just lead the way."

Frieza was waiting in his throne room, floating in his hover chair. Truthfully, the young prince didn't think he had ever seen the Arcosian out of that chair ever since the beating he received the first day. As the thought hit him, he steeled himself, though his tail bristled before it wrapped firmly around his waist. The little prince looked to the grinning tyrant and felt his stomach drop. Still, he stood proud and tall, refusing to bow to his captor.

"Ah, Vegeta, how good of you to join us," Frieza stated in a sickeningly sweet tone before he instantly grew serious. "Zarbon, close the door."

"Yes, Lord Frieza," the green-haired man responded dutifully.

Vegeta glanced over his shoulder, watched as the room's one exit was blocked, and grimaced. He never liked feeling cornered or trapped and being stuck in a room with the lizard was not something he felt comfortable with. "Now, Vegeta, I would like to speak of your progress," the tyrant posed, earning the prince's undivided attention. "So far, you have done well in all of your assignments and have completed every mission assigned to you. Your power level has also increased. Because of this, you and the other two monkey soldiers will no longer be assigned entry level missions."

"Entry level?" Vegeta questioned, slightly shocked. Each race they fought had not been very strong, but Vegeta never believed he was doing lesser missions. What exactly would Frieza assign to them, then?

"Tomorrow, you, Nappa, and Raditz will leave for Planet Derula and eliminate the full Derelik population."

Vegeta's eyes widened. He knew of the Dereliks. Like the Saiyans, the Dereliks were a warrior race with secret abilities, but even worse, they were a humanoid species. There was no way Vegeta could accept that type of mission. His eyes narrowed at the tyrant. He had always been trained to fight semi-sentient, plant-like creatures like the Saibamen, or natural fauna in hunting. He knew that, as he got older, he would be trained to fight and kill soldiers of other warrior races, but his father held off on that training. Vegeta hardly interacted with his mother, but from what he remembered of her, she wouldn't want his training to be rushed.

"I refuse."

Frieza looked very taken aback, disbelieving that the young prince denied him. "Excuse me?"

Vegeta's glare remained firm. "I refuse to accept this mission."

The energy in the room darkened, and Vegeta actually felt scared for a moment. Frieza's aura was terrifying, especially when he actually stood up and floated down from his chair. There was only one other time Frieza ever left his chair, the first day Vegeta came aboard the ship. He knew what was about to happen to him, and he was determined to take it like a Saiyan. "Zarbon," Frieza hissed. "Leave us."

The door slammed shut behind them. Vegeta internally cringed but narrowed his eyes at his tormentor. He refused to let Frieza see any fear. "I suggest you reconsider, Vegeta. You're way out of your league with me."

Despite his racing heart, the young prince was able to stand up to the tyrant. "Do your worst, Frieza."

Both Trunks and Tarble stared at Vegeta with wide eyes. They didn't know how the older prince managed to stay calm when dealing with the monster Arcosian. "W-what did he do to you?" Tarble asked in horror.

Vegeta simply stared at his brother. The boy joined in on the history lesson recently. Apparently, both he and Trunks had been trying to learn the history of the planet for a while, but no one ever told them. Trunks had gotten fed up first and gone to his mother to learn at least about her history. When she was so forthcoming, he decided to ask about Planet Vegeta's, hoping she wouldn't be like the other adults who saw him and Tarble as children. "Basically, what he did when I showed defiance in the very beginning. He beat me within an inch of my life, and I still remember his sickening voice telling me it would be the last time since he knew I'd only grow stronger. He just wanted to remind me that he owned me. I blacked out from the pain after that, and when I awoke, I was tailless and Nappa and Raditz were gone."

"Where did they go?" Trunks asked, alarmed.

His father gave him a cold look, his fists clenched. "Even though I rejected the mission, Frieza sent Nappa and Raditz alone. When they returned a month later, after I awoke, they were nearly dead. They had nearly been killed by the Dereliks, which wouldn't have happened if I had accompanied them. The warriors were too strong for them, and because of my insolence I nearly lost the only two people on my side on that blasted ship."

"But it wasn't your fault!" Tarble fought. "Frieza hurt you. You had to fight for what you believed in, or you would have gotten hurt with them."

"It doesn't matter," Vegeta countered. "For all intents and purposes, I was their leader. I should have handled it differently. I felt like I had betrayed Nappa and Raditz. My actions led to their injuries. Even if they never blamed me, I did."

Both boys remained silent knowing that Vegeta might stop confiding in them if they continued to fight him, and Vegeta appreciated that they were both so accepting and willing to listen. He had been skeptical about bringing Tarble in on Frieza and his tyranny. He never wanted either his brother or son to know what it was like back then, but it was nice to know they could respect their heritage and him despite all of the evil that was wrought. "So, whatever happened to the Dereliks?" Trunks chanced to ask.

Vegeta couldn't believe the shape that Nappa and Raditz were in. He awoke after the healing chamber finished his cycle—after a month. Apparently, he had needed surgery, for Frieza did a number on his body and tail. The sensitive appendage had to be removed as well, but Vegeta knew it would grow back. He was young enough, but having it removed in the first place, targeted the way it was, was such a blow to his pride. He couldn't believe Frieza had the audacity to humiliate him this way.

He couldn't believe their oppressor sent the other two Saiyans to the Dereliks alone. There was no way they could take on the whole population. They were strong, but Vegeta knew he was stronger and could have assisted them. However, he disobeyed Frieza and in turn got all three of them put on their deathbeds.

The young prince remained in the medical wing, stared at his unconscious teammates, and frowned. It was worse when Zarbon entered the medical wing with a sickening smirk. He looked like a cat that ate the canary, as if he knew something Vegeta did not. "Well, look who finally woke up. I almost didn't recognize you without your silly, monkey tail."

Vegeta stood up, his fists clenched in rage, and normally his tail would have bristled, but he could feel its absence and silenced his growls. He accepted the taunt for he did not want to deal with retaliation. "Hm, nothing to say? Good, that's an improvement. Lord Frieza will be pleased. He demands an audience with you."

"About what?" Vegeta asked, confused. What would Frieza have to speak with him about? It was bad enough the tyrant beat him and left him unconscious, hanging by a thread to keep his life. He even went so far as to risk the only allies he had. What more did the monster want?

"He didn't say. However, if I were you, I would just go and listen," Zarbon remarked, his voice full of mocking. "Follow orders for once, Prince Vegeta. If you do, you won't have to worry about being in here…much."

Zarbon laughed as he left the medical wing and left the prince seething. Still, the toad's words were accurate. Vegeta didn't think he could take another beating from Frieza. Despite how long he was in the tank, he still felt many pangs of pain. Perhaps Zarbon was right, to an extent. Vegeta needed to hear what Frieza had to say whether it be pompous gloating or at least an explanation of what happened on the Derelik planet.

Frieza was, surprisingly, not in his throne room, so Vegeta went to the guards waiting outside. They informed him that Frieza was in his private quarters, and Vegeta was to go. This was highly unusually for Frieza, and fear crept into Vegeta's heart. If his tail was still there, it would have tightened around his waist so hard he'd bruise.

He gathered his courage and readied himself to face Frieza. He was about to knock on the metal door, but it instantly opened and allowed Vegeta access to the room. The door closed once he was inside. The room reminded Vegeta of his own back home, and he could definitely see that Frieza took care of himself well yet treated his soldiers like dirt. He glared and made sure to keep his energy at bay, and then he paused in front of a giant star chart.

He could see all of the planets, just like the chart back home. If he tapped on the planet holograms, he could see the status of a mission. He couldn't fight his curiosity. He needed to know what happened on Planet Derula. The mission entailed taking out the planet's militia and royal family and leaving the civilians unharmed until Frieza could meet on planet to form a deal—taking the people as soldiers. Had negotiations failed, the rest of the population would then be exterminated.

The prince looked at the mission objective for the Saiyan team, and two bright, highlighted words caused overwhelming dread to flood the child's system.

Failed. Incomplete.

Those were two words a team never wanted to have on their record, not when it came to Frieza. Vegeta backed away from the computer slowly; his normally stoic face betrayed his distress. He didn't even realize that Frieza was directly behind him. Vegeta backed into the Arcosian and nearly leapt in the air as he spun around to face him. Frieza grinned at the child's horror.

Vegeta tried to regain his composure; he stood tall despite his shaking body. "So good to see you didn't die, my pet," Frieza jeered making Vegeta grimace. "I hope you learned something from our last meeting." When Vegeta didn't grace him with a response, he added. "You know, little prince, you are highly out of your league, and you belong to me."

A fire went off inside Vegeta. His heart beat in an angry rage. "I belong to no one," he growled.

"That is where you are wrong, pet," Frieza spat, despite the humorous glint in his eyes. "Your father gave you to me to save his own hide, and I have no intention of letting you go. You belong to me, and there is nothing you can do about it. I am much stronger than you, infinitely stronger, so you can either accept that you are my pet monkey and bow to me, or you can have another trip to the infirmary until you get the point. I would of course wait for your precious, little tail to grow back. The way you screamed when it broke was music to my ears."

"You're sick," Vegeta snarled angrily. "How dare you? I refuse to bow to you, Frieza."

Frieza didn't seem bothered by the child's declaration. In fact, he seemed even more confident and smoothly asked, "Vegeta, tell me, have you ever heard of Planet Marki?"

Vegeta was taken aback by the abrupt change in topic. He had no idea what the lizard was getting at, but he simply shook his head instead of asking Frieza directly. "Hm, I figured as much. It was a very old world with excellent resources. There was a king that ruled his people fairly, never overtaxed his people or struck fear into their hearts. One day, a powerful prince from a neighboring system came to the planet looking to make a deal and start a trade with the Marki people. The king, however, was a senseless fool, very pompous, and he refused to make a simple trade agreement with the prince."

"So?"

Frieza smirked at the boy. "So, my pet, the king's rejection disappointed the prince so much that the prince threw such a large tantrum and accidentally blew his planet away." Vegeta looked stunned by the story. "Billions of lives gone in an instant, and the king only had himself to blame. Look here." The Arcosian tapped a planet close to where the king's home planet was. The planet was indeed called Marki. It looked beautiful and not much bigger than Planet Vegeta. Frieza tapped on the planet file and opened up its data. The planet was indeed destroyed, and it had been destroyed by an Arcosian, by a prince according to Frieza's story. Vegeta's eyes widened as his mind connected the dots. His attention shifted to Frieza.

The Arcosian wore a sickening grin as he looked at the diagram; his eyes shone in the light. He looked down upon the Saiyan prince and snickered. "I'm sure you understand now, pet, don't you?"

Vegeta didn't want to accept it. He couldn't. If what Frieza was telling him was true, Frieza planned to destroy Planet Vegeta unless he complied with his every demand. The Arcosian stood tall, proud of his treachery and cruelty. This tyrant was not a prince to Vegeta. He was as Nappa had called him, a frost demon. The word 'monster' was on the tip of Vegeta's tongue, but he swallowed it down.

"You…you wouldn't," Vegeta replied weakly. "We have always served you loyally."

"Tsk, tsk, Vegeta," Frieza replied. "Where that may be true, I know when to cut my losses. As long as you follow my command, your people and planet will be safe, but of course that depends on your compliance, pet."

The prince couldn't handle it. The weight of the world was literally on his shoulders. If it had been his father, Vegeta was sure he wouldn't break in front of Frieza, but Vegeta didn't have that same mentality. He swore to his father that he would never show fear, that he would never let Frieza know he cared for anything.

He got down on his hands and knees; his body shook, and his breathing was uneven. The Saiyan knew the tyrant was stronger, much stronger than he was. He had no choice but to abandon his pride, for his people would suffer if he didn't. "Please," Vegeta choked out, "please don't harm them. I'll do whatever you say, Lord Frieza…please."

The sight of the Saiyan prince on his knees, bowing to him, was delicious, and Frieza couldn't help but lick his lips in anticipation. "Really, Vegeta? Anything I say?"

"Yes," the child responded, "anything. On my honor as a Saiyan, I will do your bidding."

"Then, my pet, there's something I want you to do, here and now."

"What?"

"You mean 'what master'?" Frieza corrected.

"Yes," Vegeta brokenly responded, "what master?"

"Deny your heritage and status." Vegeta's body jolted. He looked up to Frieza in alarm. The Arcosian's attention remained on the boy. "You belong to me. You are no longer a prince, but a slave, Vegeta. You are no longer a Saiyan, but my pet. As soon as I hear the words leave your lips, I will agree to leave your planet be. If not, well, I can't promise what my actions will be."

Vegeta felt like he was suffocating. He couldn't do what Frieza was asked, but he didn't have a choice. His people were more important than his pride, and he couldn't let them down. But, if he did what Frieza wanted, wasn't he forsaking his people? No, no that wasn't right. He was denying that he was one of them to protect them. He was walking away to be a sacrificial lamb. "I-I," he hesitated, "I b-belong to you, Lord Frieza. I am your slave and faithful…p-pet."

"And what are you not?" Frieza taunted, pushing Vegeta to the point of tears.

The prince closed his eyes, willing them away. "I'm not…I not a prince anymore. I'm not a Saiyan."

Of course, as Frieza left the broken prince alone in his quarters, a part of Vegeta still hoped that he would be saved. Maybe his father would still come for him, one day.

Silence. It had been about fifteen minutes since Vegeta stopped speaking, and he would not meet the eyes of his son and brother. He couldn't bring himself to look them in the eye. "Th-that bastard!" Trunks exclaimed as he stood up and stomped his foot down. "H-he knew you couldn't betray your people. I wish he was still alive so I could—"

"No, Trunks, no you don't," Vegeta responded sternly. "Frieza was not someone to be taken lightly, and it is good that he's gone. I'm thankful you never had the opportunity to meet him, or his father for that matter."

Trunks clamped up at Vegeta's emphasis of Frieza's father. Trunks already knew what would have happened to him had King Cold succeeded in his plans, had his future self not come to change the world. He crossed his arms and pouted as he sat back down. "I still hate him."

Vegeta smirked, but he still felt bothered by reliving his past. "Believe me, so do I."

"Why did Dad not come for you sooner?" Tarble asked.

The older prince's attention shifted to his brother, and their eyes met. It was the first time Vegeta ever saw tears in his brother's eyes aside from when he was a baby wanting to be held. He could sense his emotions. Tarble actually could feel Vegeta's pain and had his own, internal pain. His brother was an interesting Saiyan, and he could always feed off the emotions of others as if they were his own. What Vegeta had felt then affected his brother in ways Vegeta didn't like. He merely sighed and motioned for his brother to sit beside him. Tarble did so, and Trunks sat on Vegeta's other side. Both children placed their small hands on his clenched fists. "If at any time any of this becomes too much for you, either of you, you have to let me know."

"It's not that," Tarble responded, "I just wish you didn't have to go through all of that alone. It's not fair."

"Life isn't always fair, kid," Vegeta remarked, a rueful smile formed, "but it is over and done with and the past can't be erased. If anything, it shaped me."

Trunks leaned his head on his dad's shoulder, still pouting. "True, but I still don't like him. I'm glad he's gone, too."

"But…he was so strong," Tarble stated. "How did we beat him?"

"Well, that's the point of the story. You see, behind the scenes, Frieza was planning to attack three planets, our planet and two others, all considered a threat to him."

"The Kanassans and the Nameks, right?" Trunks asked. He received a nod. "Why were you all considered a threat?"

"Well, as you've heard, Frieza knew that the Saiyans could get stronger," Vegeta explained. "He was afraid of us and what we could become. One Saiyan was weak, but if the whole people rose up against him, it would give him trouble, but that still wouldn't be enough.

"The Kanassans had their mystical powers, namely their visions, and they could foresee anything. Frieza was worried about that power, and he kept that mission on the boards for months. Only one man was brave enough to handle the unknown—Kakarot's and Raditz's father. Bardock and his crew signed up for the mission, but members of his team kept falling ill, and the mission was put off.

"As for the Nameks, they had both mystics and warriors, and they were a force to be reckoned with as well. If left unchecked, these forces were a threat to Frieza's power. Of course, no one had any idea then, for what Frieza was truly worried about was what the Galactic Patrol preached."

Trunks nodded. He remembered what Nappa had told him. Of course, Trunks filled Tarble in slightly, just that there was a girl alien among the people who helped bring down Frieza. He kept Nappa's trust and didn't reveal her name or the fact that Celen mated with her.

"That woman was a Galactic Patrolman, right?" Tarble questioned. "Did the people finally listen to her?"

"No, Tarble, they didn't. No one really knew much about her except that she was Celen's medical assistant," Vegeta explained. "Our father was not one to listen to outsiders then, thinking they wouldn't agree with our methods. To be honest, Bulma was the first outsider he trusted enough to join us on political voyages. Before our mating, that was not a usual occurrence."

"Why didn't Dad want to listen, though?" Tarble asked a bit more adamant for an answer.

Vegeta was careful in how he worded his next statement. To be honest, after what he had experienced, Vegeta lost all his respect for his father. He didn't gain it back until that talk on the ship on the way to Arlia years before. "Tarble, our father inherited a horrible legacy, as I'm sure Trunks has told you. If you weren't a Saiyan, you weren't worthy. Any outsiders weren't welcome."

"But we were the outsiders," Tarble argued.

His brother nodded. "We were," he agreed, "but I will admit that father has come a long way from those times. He realized that his grandfather was right. Making treaties and solidifying friendships was more important than taking our land."

"Dad, you were raised by Grandpa, so how come you didn't think like he did?"

"That, Trunks, is a story for another day."