Let me start out by saying, HOLY CRAP. YOU GUYS ARE SO F-ING AWESOME. OH MY GOD. 69 reviews? (comedic jokes aside) THAT'S ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. AH AH AH.

It's obvious that I did NOT expect to get anywhere NEAR 69 reviews for last chapter, but you guys, once again, prove me wrong (in the best of ways). Let me thank those wonderful reviewers (here we go...): Death101-Fox Version, Ergo2u, Saiyan Queen, Person Who Loves This (multiple reviews :D Thanks!), TheGlassAndEmberRing, artificialmasquerade, Taryn (7? I thinks that's more than me...), Marie Fortune, grumpirah, merlincrazy, Black Diamond07, dyingdreamsv2, foot soldier (yay I love your massively long reviews! I promise a better reply to the next one...I swear), MeAgain, WinryCherry101, TheDeadlyColera, bvprincess23, Onba, ZombieChick422, MK08, Karie, menga88 (...yeah, 12 is when DBZ starts up again. you could imagine her at 25, I guess!), Volleys-chan, ZapZapYotsuba, MrSuperSaiyan, darja from germany hamburg, sandwich-chan, Kreion, Rachel Baldson, rantichan, The0Blind0Writer, YES, Many Voices In My Head, YukiraKing, Adwoax3, itzPonyobitchez, Cara2012, keira-kyuketsuki, Bvprinces23 (again! than you :D), Duncan Luva, Angeles, koii, AngelZ Of Darkness, KashiMeshi (I would have cracked! too busy D:), ScoobyDoobyDee, Crystale no otaku, appelpie33, yeyeyeyeyye, Naughty Cat, Tenaciousmew, Merely-A-Victim, tetisheri, Shirokame (:D I'm honored! Truly!), SenzuuBeanss, Gan Aurora, Linneh, Jaylee-Rebel, PinkPrincess511, secretsmile0, Shivana, Miss Tis (Konbanwa (again!), and no apologies! I'm just glad people do review...), Dazzler303, kickstartmyhart, AkurnaSkulblaka, and Kiwi.

Also thanks to bvprincess23 and Volleys-chan for adding this story to their communities :D

You are all wonderful. Seriously. I am floored.

I understand that many of you are concerned about Gohan and Piccolo. Let me just say that, Piccolo has died before! He's just dying a little sooner in mine. Main concern should really be that Goku didn't die. Also, Gohan was my absolute favorite character when I was little, probably because I watched the Cell Saga in Japanese over and over again and he was so INCREDIBLY AWESOME. That should give you some hope that I will absolutely not ruin his character. I love him too much for that.

Oh! I also wanted to say because of your MASSIVE amount of reviews, I really did want to update this thing sooner. But econ midterms had other plans for me. I just don't want you guys to think you're reviewing for nothing! I read each review and love them all. So thanks again so much for your overwhelming awesomeness.

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/DBZ/DBGT. Which may be for the best. There's be too much love in it if I did.

Truth and Lies

"I still think we should have headed to Earth ourselves, Vegeta."

He ignored his subordinates droning complaints. There would be no need to make such an excessively long trip. Twelve months sitting in a space ship was not his idea of time well spent, time he could be training or purging worlds. Raditz was lucky to have a newer pod than the rest of him, cutting his trip to only a month there and back. Vegeta folded his arms across his chest, his chin slightly rising as the space pod opened at the landing bay.

It had been quite a change, moving from the space station to a more permanent location on one of Frieza's planets. They were only a month away from Namek here, from the useless green planet with those peace loving Namekians and three suns. It was such a small planet that it was deemed worthless to Frieza and the Planet Trade Organization. Now all I need is an excuse to leave.

There was slight escape of gas as the pod opened, and Raditz stepped out, holding a small boy in some strange yellow and green getup. "What the fuck is that, Raditz?" Vegeta's tone immediately became frustrated, "I thought you were going to retrieve Kakarot, not some useless boy!"

Raditz didn't say anything, but he turned the boy around, holding him by the collar. The brown, furry tail unraveled behind him and caused Vegeta's eyes to narrow. "...A Saiyan...but how?"

"My brother procreated with an Earthling." Raditz cradled the boy over his shoulder, eyeing his prince's disgusted appearance in confusion, "Surely you can understand the attraction, Prince Vegeta?"

Vegeta simply growled in response.

"So that bitch is alive, isn't she?" Nappa stepped up and examined the tail before nodding, "Is the kid hers?"

Vegeta's dark eyes immediately flashed to the older Saiyan, "What are you implying?"

"She knew Kakarot, didn't she? And she had experience seducing Saiyans. I wouldn't be surprised."

There was a low growl of possessiveness lingering in his chest. "Stop your bullshit, Nappa. He doesn't look anything like her."

"Actually, that might make sense." Raditz looked at his shoulder to his nephew, "She was willing to make the deal to ensure his protection. And she did run over to my brother as soon as I got back to the pod. I understand that could be behavior of a mate?" The young Saiyan looked to Nappa for confirmation, but the bald man just grunted, not releasing any more information.

What idiots! Vegeta grabbed the boy from off of Raditz's shoulder. The four year old was still in a catatonic state, the hibernation effects obviously strong on his little body. "He smells nothing like her."

"He smells like a Saiyan, Vegeta. The scent is overwhelming. And it's been over ten years since you've even smelled her, how would you know?"

Vegeta tossed the boy back to Raditz's arms, and turned back to the older Saiyan. "Do not doubt me, Nappa. The boy does not smell like her but..." He let the information roll around in his head. She knew Kakarot when they were both young and even defended him to Vegeta on occasion...if he remembered correctly. Who cares about the stupid bitch anyway? The prince looked at the boy with a weird sense of disgust. "Where are you keeping the brat?"

"He's my nephew, Vegeta." Raditz scratched his head, long hair becoming tangled in his rough hands, "I was going to keep him in my room and train him at the same time."

"Fine." He was just glad the third class didn't expect him to take the brat. "How were you able to convince Frieza to let you go to Earth anyway, Raditz?" Vegeta needed to start building his stock pile of excuses to feed to the alien overlord.

"The same way I got reassigned to work with you two." The young Saiyan shrugged, "Killed a whole lot of my partners and left."

It was true that the third class Saiyan had been considered bad luck for a while. The constant beatings he had received from Zarbon for not retrieving his 'precious cargo' had earned Raditz near death experiences for five years, and a well earned spike to his power level. It was close to Nappa's now, something the Saiyan Prince had once thought impossible. No way had he thought any third class would come even close to an elite Saiyan's level. But Raditz had strangely proved him wrong. He was assigned missions with the other weak Frieza lackeys, only to have them accidentally descend into pitfalls. It was a strange way to reach his objective of working with the Saiyan Prince, but Vegeta had to admit that it did work. Perhaps Frieza was thinking that with his bad luck I'd be dead as well.

He was still the beast's favorite pet monkey, maybe even more so than before. 12 years ago he had returned a madman, practically feral. There was no mission dangerous enough, no world challenging enough that he wouldn't slowly destroy. Raditz had said that the girl left him even more hollow, but Nappa disagreed and claimed that he had completed his final rite of passage into Saiyan manhood. It was not traditional for a Saiyan male to have a mate and kill them, oh no, but according to Nappa, in this perverse version of Saiyan culture, it was the only way they could truly grow.

Saiyans don't mate for love. They mate for opportunity, for evolution. The strongest find the strongest, the weak the weak, all for the benefit of an ultimate gene pool. That was how it started. That was how they got their present caste system of the elite and the lower classes of Saiyan hierarchy. The royal bloodline was fueled by a special brand of elite Saiyans, founded under years of natural selection and opportunity. There was a brief period when Saiyans became entirely monogamist, but Nappa claimed those times were dead, lost with the grand cities and palaces of his race. Dead at Frieza's hands.

Bulma had done her job of keeping him occupied through the most hormonal times. And when he had no use for her, he had gotten rid of her, like he was expected to. The opportunity had left, the purpose was gone. Future opportunities arose over the next 12 years, and he took them, at first with reluctance and much needed assurance from Nappa, but now more and more shamelessly. They were never forced or convinced. The female species easily threw themselves at him for whatever twisted reason. Precautions were made to prevent breeding in the version of a simple pill. All of Frieza's soldiers carried them, and all were expected them to be used. It became routine, senseless, emotionless. And Vegeta wouldn't have it any other way.

He tried to convince himself of the false memory, but the news Raditz carried forced the truth back into his skull. He hadn't gotten rid of Bulma, even though he had tried to convince Nappa and Raditz that it was under his convincing that she had left. But the truth was she had just disappeared. Better off.

Vegeta had lost his focus when she was with him, lost his overall purpose of sending Frieza to the shadowy depths of Hell. But who knew that her escape may have been the answer he had been looking for all this time? "Keep him safe, Raditz. He is your son now, got it? You knocked up some worthless woman on some purging mission and this was your reward." Vegeta paused before looking at the sleeping boy more carefully, "What's the brat's name?"

"Kakarot called him Gohan, though it's not Saiyan appropriate."

"Let him keep it." Both Saiyans were surprised by Vegeta's remark. "It shows that we didn't know about him until recently. They'll find it curious if he has a more Saiyan name."

Raditz nodded, "Yes, Vegeta." He started off back into the main headquarters on this particular planet, but then turned around, "Want me to let you know when he wakes up, Vegeta? He may have more information about the dragon balls."

Though he doubted the extensive knowledge some toddler half breed would have of a Namekian device, Vegeta nodded. He needed more clarification, and he doubted Raditz would have been smart enough to collect more from Bulma. The girl... His thoughts twisted back to her. Her hair in her ponytail, her short dresses with her name across, and that sweet, innocent smile. She had left him brutally alone so suddenly. How did Raditz easily find her with his little day trip to Earth? How the fuck did she get back there in the first place?

There was a part of him that would count down the days until he saw her again, he fully admitted that to himself. He would watch her eagerly approach him, those bizarre blue eyes wide, and soft lips grinning in some sort of naïve smile. He knew he wanted to see her face again, her lithe body and smooth hair. He was certain that he wanted to hear her voice say his name in either a gentle, velvety whisper or a rushed, groaning shout. He was only uncertain about how he was going to kill her.

She approached the small house reluctantly, trying to smooth out her blood stained blue tube top. With one slight motion, she turned her head back to face Krillin, who held Goku carefully over his shoulder. Bulma had wanted to take him straight to a hospital in West City, but Krillin said that Chichi might refuse such treatment. He had pointed out that Goku probably had never been to a doctor before, not with his upbringing, and now that they knew he was some sort of alien, who knows what the doctors might find or do to him.

"This is a stupid idea, Krillin. I have private doctors, you know." She turned her sadness and worry towards Goku into sheer anger, still heavily reluctant to knock on the door. "She's going to be mad looking at him like that and seeing that we didn't bring him."

"I don't think she's really going to care about Goku when you tell her about Gohan."

She gulped at that. Bulma promised Krillin she would let Mrs. Son know about Gohan's kidnapping under Bulma's discretion. Bulma raised her hand over the wooden door, softly knocking and praying that Chichi was not the martial artist she used to be.

Krillin grunted at the lack of an answer and readjusted the unconscious Goku on his back, "We should just go to Korin's and get some Senzu beans."

"Well, you can go fly there I guess. I can't get on that stupid cloud!" Bulma gulped and immediately lowered her voice as the wooden door opened, revealing Chichi with her black hair up and wearing a very traditional looking dress.

The younger woman looked at Bulma's bloody appearance, and just her sudden appearance in general, with wide eyed shock before speaking. "Bu-Bulma? What happened?" Her dark eyes seemed furious when she caught Goku's immobile form on Krillin's shoulder. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HUSBAND?"

Her voice was gritty, but Bulma maintained her ground. She grew up around some of the best fighters in the world. There was no way she was going to start cowering in front of Chichi of all people. "Chichi...we have a lot to tell you, if we could just go..."

"Oh no, you don't!" Chichi raised a hand, making both Bulma and Krillin inch backwards. "I knew this reunion thing would be a bad idea. Gohan is supposed to grow up to be a scholar. He's supposed to be studying! Not being introduced and roped into your mishap adventures!"

Bulma had the urge to remind Chichi that the only reason she had met Goku was because of their 'mishap adventures', but she bit back her tongue. If someone was coming back with Yamcha bloodied and bruised on her doorstep, she doubted she would be in the best of moods. Actually, considering what the douchebag had done to her recently, she probably would have given Raditz a medal. "If we could just go inside Chichi, we can explain what happened. Goku really needs to see a doctor."

"Fine bring him! Where's Gohan?" She walked out of her house, passed her unconscious husband and glancing around the outskirts of Mt. Paozu, "Gohan?" Chichi raised a hand to her mouth to funnel her voice, but seeing that her little boy was nowhere in sight, her body became perfectly livid. Her teeth clenched together in tight anxiety and she whipped around to face Bulma, "WHERE'S MY LITTLE BOY?"

She was a little surprised by Chichi's simple dismissal of Goku's injuries. I guess Goku does have a knack of getting into trouble. Bulma let out a sigh, not looking forward from the impending lecture from the younger woman. And, if she had to be honest with herself, she was stalling. Krillin was shivering behind her, "I'll...I'll go to a hospital," and then flew back into the sky, Goku in tow, and leaving the two women alone.

I wonder if my dad would think of sending anyone to look for me here. Bulma had no doubt that Chichi would kill her when she told her, just like any other mother she supposed. The blue haired scientist never really intended on having children of her own, not with her work schedule and lack of responsibility. They were messy and loud and not to mention time consumers. She was still young and needed this time to live, go out and have fun. It startled her to think that Chichi was four years younger than her. The black haired woman acted so much older, standing there in her conservative garb and shouting her head off like a tensed old maid. "He better not be enrolled in that Kame school! My father and husband are already fighters! My little boy is going to grow and be a respectable citizen, you hear me Bulma Briefs?"

Bulma's patience was waning, "Chichi, calm down! He's not enrolled in some stupid martial arts school!" Her exasperated smile faded, realizing the truth was actually much worse.

"He's not?" Chichi's voice lowered and she look suddenly completely lost. "Then...where is he? Is he okay, Bulma? Nothing happened to him, right?"

It was then Bulma realized that for all of Chichi's sudden yelling, she was just really concerned about her only son and child. The image of the little black haired boy, pounding on the inner glass of the space pod made Bulma inwardly cringe, blood frozen. Tears were welling in the little boy's eyes, falling like rain drops on a window pane. He was so tiny, so afraid. And Bulma practically signed his death certificate. "He's..." How was she supposed to tell her that? He was taken by an alien. Your husband is an alien. Don't worry though, because I knew this man, kind of sort of, 12 years ago. Trust me, Chichi, because I know how much you like me already. "He's...alright."

Chichi wasn't really expecting the answer to be any different, but she did want clarification. "Then where is he?"

"At Capsule Corp," Bulma muttered, "With my father. We started a new...um, toddler scholarship program at Capsule Corp. Gohan seemed so bright that I immediately sent him over for an interview with some of the representatives. If all goes well, he'll be directly enrolled in our pre-kindergarten educational program." The lie tasted so incredibly ridiculous on Bulma's lips, "It's about 18 months long. But he's guaranteed admission to any of the top prep schools in the world. Guaranteed."

18 months would be plenty of time to retrieve Gohan and hopefully teach him some algebra to impress his mommy. Please don't let him be as dense as Goku. Bulma swallowed the last bit of her lie, scanning her last sentences for any holes, "It's a really good program, Chichi. Of course, it means lack of contact from the outside world...almost like a think tank setup, you get the idea. I could always call my father if you don't want Gohan to go." She brought out her cell phone for good measure, but her fingers were shaking as her eyes patiently waited for Chichi's reaction. "What do you say?"

She squeaked a little at the sudden embrace, and her cell phone fell out of her shaky grasp, clattering against the floor, battery falling out. Chichi's arms brought her into a tight hug, and Bulma blinked feeling wet tears fall on her shoulder, "Oh thank you, Bulma!" The younger woman sniffled in their embrace, "It's so hard to find a good school out here, and with my lazy husband, I can't afford to hire Gohan a tutor!"

Again, her stupid tongue wanted to remind Chichi that Gohan was only four years old, but Bulma bit down, "Don't worry about it. He's a really smart kid." She patted Chichi's back gently. "How about I call Krillin and see what hospital Goku is in?"

Chichi lifted her head up at the mention of her husband. "What happened to him, Bulma? I thought maybe the guys would spar, but Goku shouldn't have been hurt. Did Piccolo do this?"

Bulma shook her head, "I think it might be better if you wait for your husband to wake up and explain Chichi." She gave a reassuring smile, seeing the worry finally form on Chichi's face, "Hey, but don't worry! Goku's always had a hard head. He'll be fine! I'll call Krillin right now and we can take a Capsule plane over."

She slowly let loose of Chichi, who speedily wiped her tears and went back into her house to grab her purse. At the younger woman's disappearance and acceptance, Bulma sighed with relief and picked up her phone. Bulma quickly left a message for the still aerial Krillin, explaining her lie and telling him which doctor to ask for when he brought the newly recognized Saiyan to the hospital.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow, wholeheartedly annoyed at Raditz's sudden entrance into his room. The metal door clanged with authority as the young, taller Saiyan leaned up against it, panting and looking absolutely mortified. "What do you want, Raditz?" Vegeta paused mid-push up and straightened his back. "Surely you can survive without being in my presence for an hour."

"Ha, ha, Vegeta. It's about the boy."

Vegeta groaned, suddenly incredibly bored instead of curious. "What of him?"

"He won't shut up."

"Then rip out his tongue."

Raditz suddenly became defensive. "He's my family, Vegeta!"

At that, the Saiyan Prince stood up, crossing his arms across his tight, spandex uniform. "You say that like it matters."

"It does. He's one of the last of our kind. I don't want to abandon him so easily. He could be an asset to us in the future."

The future. The future of what? He had resented the fact that Raditz had brought the brat back here. How could he think that being under the torturous hand of Frieza would be beneficial for the kid? He was more idiotic than he thought. Vegeta doubted that Raditz had the foresight to actually think that this would be a bargain chip, the trade they needed to gain the Namekian device.

Raditz claimed that she had called them dragon balls. Ridiculous name. His mind was initially plagued with rather twisted and disgusting images of genitalia, but the thought didn't last long. The girl had claimed it was those things that let her escape. That was the reason to why she had abandoned him twelve years ago, leaving him under the immutable wrath of the asshole Zarbon and back into Frieza's cold, relentless clutches. It was a pain in his heart that he long ago suppressed. Nappa claimed that the experience had done him good. He was training more, purging more, relishing in the sheer, immeasurable moment of an enemy's defeat. That, the older Saiyan would claim, was the only shit that ever mattered. Worthless females were just that. Worthless.

He had a growing curiousity of her existence, however, for mainly two reasons. One, was if she were actually telling the truth, than these Namekian balls could be the key to one thing he actually desired-immortality. They could grant them the secret to defeating Frieza, the freedom he had craved since he was a toddler. He could earn the pride of his race back. He would finally be free to be the prince he was, no slimy mouthed aliens saying anything to stop him. The universe would be kneeling at his feet.

This was kept hidden from Nappa, of course. The bald Saiyan could not be trusted to maintain loyalty, even to his prince. He would easily blab to the demonic white and purple lizard if the reward of blood was promising enough. Vegeta did find Raditz to be more willing with the idea of Frieza's death. With the knowledge of Vegeta-sei's destruction by Frieza's own attack, the third class Saiyan had grown carelessly rebellious. There were no formal breaches of insubordination, but there were multiple occasions were Raditz would purposely go above and beyond on missions he wasn't even supposed to survive on. Just to rub it into the icy demon's face that Saiyans were not so easily subdued. Plus, there was that whole killing his comrades thing. That sort of 'luck' does not go unnoticed.

Raditz's anger was passionate, blazing with young Saiyan fury. But the dumb oaf was just too careless. He would be left in the dark on the plan's intricacies. All he needed to know was that Frieza would die and that he may have a part in it one day. That day seemed to have come. Vegeta had obtained Earth's coordinates so that Raditz could scrounge up his long lost younger brother, with the one promise that he wouldn't blast the world to bits or go on a killing spree. That, however, turned into a complete failure. Instead of coming back with a warrior, Raditz brought his prince a toddler. A whiny, half breed, child. The utter fail of the mission made Vegeta have to constantly suppress the urge to punch Raditz in the gut.

Number two was a little more personal, a much more different flavor of revenge. His empty feeling of abandonment and betrayal during that awkward and incredibly idiotic phase of his life made him yearn for blood. Her blood. He was not one to be manipulated, to be baited around like a child handed candy. Frieza had made him a slave, and that Bulma creature had been no better. She had earned his trust for her own survival, promising the one thing he desired most, only to have her shove it away just when he thought he could fully trust her. But trust was a thing learned by the weak and forgotten by the strong. He wouldn't allow himself to make such a treacherous error again. Fuck my teenage hormones.

"I will speak to the boy," Vegeta coolly decided while placing on his white and gold armor. "It's possible he does know something about the dragon balls. Plus, he should learn how to respect his prince." He said the last part with a sneer before following Raditz back to the third class Saiyan's room.

He saw the little boy bawling in the corner, his tail wrapped around him like a thin, furry security blanket. His dress confused him, yellow tunic and green pants with some sort of ridiculous combination of red streaks on the front. The vibrant colors starkly contrasted with the clean white and silver walls of the sleeping quarters. Vegeta took a small step forward, and the boy immediately shuddered, cowering his head into his arms. The Saiyan Prince held a satisfied smirk. At least he knows who to fear.

But that fear would be a sign of weakness. It needed to be sucked out of him, like fresh venom from a burning wound. "Get up."

The boy just continued to shiver at the deep, resounding voice. Vegeta couldn't take the sniveling. He grabbed the boy by the tail, earning a tear wrenching scream. "SHUT UP!"

The small boy bit down on his lips, but the tears still welled, threatening to fall any second.

Vegeta was satisfied with the refrained silence, for now. He tossed the boy on Raditz's small cot, and the boy immediately fumbled with himself and dragged his knees into his chest. The prince paced across the room, arms crossed, but dark gaze singularly focused on the half breed Saiyan. "You will find that crying and begging for your weakling mother will get you nowhere, boy."

The tiny half-Saiyan actually lifted up his head, tears slightly streaming. "...Where's my daddy?"

Vegeta scoffed, "Your father is a failure Saiyan warrior from what I hear. I don't give a rat's ass about where he is. We are here to teach you the true nature of your heritage, unlock your full potential." He stopped walking directly in front of the boy, "The diluted nature of your blood will be no excuse. You will work hard. You will listen to mine and Raditz's words as if they were law, understand boy? We are not to be disobeyed or double crossed or I will purposely make sure your precious 'daddy' will never see your face again." He flashed his incisors, "Do I make myself clear?"

Gohan, although flustered and petrified, managed to nod his head in slight dignity. His small, pale hands clumsily held himself upright after he tried to wipe a large piece of yellow snot hanging from his nose. "Yes...sir."

Vegeta's grin heightened at the easily obtained respect. "Good. If you have any questions, ask them now."

"...did that bad man hurt my family?"

Vegeta turned back to Raditz, who was scratching his head, almost guiltily. Pathetic. "That 'bad man' over there is your family. So you better fucking get used to it." The boy cringed at the curse word, and Vegeta narrowed his eyes at how incredibly sheltered this child was. "How old are you, brat?"

"This many..." He held up four fingers, and paused, anticipating the coos of satisfaction people normally made at his ability to count. But Vegeta barely blinked.

I was only one year older when my whole planet was destroyed. He flashed a look at Raditz, who had been even younger. This child had the pleasantry of growing up in four years in peace on Earth. He would lose that protective shell here on Frieza's planet. Here he would grow up to be a true fighter. "Anything else?"

The four year old continued to snivel, that piece of yellow snot falling off his nose in a more obvious fashion. It annoyed Vegeta to no end, and he quickly went to Radit'z black smooth dresser, pulling out a pair of boxers and handing it to the half-Saiyan. "Use this."

"...thank you."

"Hmph." Vegeta ignored the slight disgruntled murmuring of the boy's uncle.

Gohan blew his nose profusely and then looked back to Vegeta, wide eyed. "...Who are you, mister?"

"Your prince." Vegeta smirked at the little boy's reaction. Gohan looked at him, gasping in pure wonderment, and Vegeta continued, "And now you will answer my question, boy."

"Sure, mister prince, sir."

Vegeta bent down, resting his elbows on his knees as he became eye level with the boy. "What do you know about the dragon balls?"

A/N:

Well...you couldn't expect Vegeta to think nicely of Bulma after Make A Wish, could you? I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Nap time for me :D