A/N:

Back on time! and at a fairly reasonable hour. Some quick notes about this chapter: it's super long. I had no intentions of making this part over 6,000 words, but it is...so I guess enjoy? Also, thanks to everyone who helped me break to over 400 reviews! Ah! So. Happy. I'm glad that people seem to be enjoying this sequel and keep the reviews coming! I love to hear what everyone thinks and how I'm doing. Special thanks to my reviewers from last chapter!:

jhoom, elleelle, Beauty Eclipsed, Marie Fortune, The0Blind0Writer (yeah, Nappa's not as strong as he thinks...), ZombieChick422, Trixie-chan, dyingdreamsv2, Greendragonsheart, Cloud Envy Shikamaru, menga88, DA (wow thanks :D I like Goku better this way too. He's really not as stupid as some people portray him to be), FishTVCo, miikodesu, YukiraKing, Many Voices In My Head, taity, Greenis my fav color, Gindorf091, jdboss1, bvprincess23 (the yamcha count would be way too high T_T), reodavle (haha, fight scenes soon! promise!), BloodyXan-Xan (he's half guessing because Bulma hasn't really said anything, but he's bound to find out...), Ladylaide, bimbosarasurfchick (ginyu force or frieza? why not both? i mean, what?), Jaylee-Rebel, Shirokame, Jena08, ZapZapYostuba, ScoobyDoobyDee (I love writing Vegeta!), KayuraK, gege, Cara2012, Linneh, Bvluver4ever (AW TRUNKS. maybe. you'll see :D but that'll be a while), boona, Eure, apple pie 33, Death101-Fox Version, Dallas, and MK08.

You know what's fun? Re-reading all my reviews while writing the author's notes, giggling and smiling at everyone's comments, and making my roommate look at me like I belong in a mental asylum.

I'm glad you guys didn't find last chapter boring! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/DBZ/DBGT. Just manga and random video games.

Transformations

She just looked at him, mouth red, parched, and wide open. He was still horribly close to her. So close that she could practically feel the tension and relaxation of his muscles beside her. Vegeta wasn't out of breath at all, but she most certainly was. There was no air left in her lungs; the Saiyan seemed to just suck it right out of her, and all she found herself doing was staring at him, his lips curving into a trademark smirk.

The mental thought of what she just did finally clicked, and Bulma became stark. "What did you just do!"

"You need me to explain?" Vegeta's smirk only intensified.

"No! I need you to back away from me! Just don't come near me, okay?"

He grunted harshly. "What?"

"Bad! That was bad! Awful actually. I'm such a lousy hypocrite! UGH!" She fuddled through her pockets, dragging out the packet of cigarettes from her side. "Don't say anything to Yamcha. You can't say anything to him."

"Woman, what are you babbling about?" Vegeta crossed his arms, eyeing her cigarette in confusion. "And what the Hell is that?"

"Mind giving me a light, Vegeta?" She pointed a finger to the edge of the cigarette, and Vegeta followed with a miniscule ki blast on his finger tip. Bulma sighed in satisfaction, drawing the tube to her mouth.

Vegeta immediately coughed, grabbed the object from her mouth, and tossed it on the ground.

Bulma retaliated, "Hey! What are you doing?"

"That was absolutely vile. What the fuck are you doing to yourself? Poisoning your body?"

"It's not a poiso-...well, it is, but I'm trying to quit, I swear!" She grumbled and crushed the already broken cigarette for good measure. "It was just a de-stresser, really. That wasn't supposed to happen, Vegeta."

The prince scoffed, "Trust me. It won't be happening again."

She wasn't supposed to feel a pang of displeasure in her chest, but it was unmistakably there. Bulma huffed and crossed her arms, "Oh yeah? Then why'd you do it in the first place?"

He looked a little shocked at her question, but that surprise quickly dulled down to pure annoyance. Vegeta grabbed her arm, ignoring the obvious spark that went through their hands, and dragged her back towards the makeshift camp. Both Nappa and Raditz were on the ground, sleeping easily, and Bulma wondered if Vegeta still planned to relay Nappa's punishment. Her answer came quickly when Vegeta kicked the older Saiyan in the gut. "Wake up."

"Sir?" Nappa rolled up, gripping his belly. "Well I'm grateful. Not as hard as you usually kick me. Want me to wake up Raditz?"

"No," Vegeta said gruffly. "This might upset him if he finds out. You're to do a very important, secret mission for me. I'm sure even you aren't dimwitted enough to spill an important secret." There was something telling in his eyes that made Bulma half smile. "Am I right, Nappa?"

Nappa didn't seem frazzled by Vegeta's request. "Sure, Vegeta. What is it? Want me to kill the girl?"

"Don't sound so eager..." Bulma grumbled.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow, "And steal me the pleasure? No, you have something much more important to handle. I need you to kill the Earthlings and Kakarot."

Nappa smiled immediately, making a fist before cracking his knuckles. "Excellent. Finally, some action. What do you want me to do about the half breed?"

"Please don't hurt Gohan!" Bulma whispered, making sure not to wake Raditz up. She'd feed Vegeta's plan, only because she knew that Goku would come through in the end. It might cause him some pain, but she knew that Goku, when it came down to it, would be able to defeat Nappa, no problem. She was just worried about everyone else. Especially Krillin. He had already been wished back once by the dragon balls, and who knows if the Namekian dragon balls would work for him or if they'd be restricted because of the Earth wish at all. I wonder if it's even the same dragon? Maybe it's not Shenron at all.

Vegeta gave her a weird look, probably unsure if she was acting or not. "Bring the brat back here. He has proved useful in the past. He'll retain our loyalty as long as you can feed him some poor excuse for killing his father."

"Anything else, Vegeta?" Nappa was ready to jut out the door. What a bastard.

"Yes." The Saiyan Prince gave Bulma a devilish grin and then turned back to Nappa. "It appears that the Woman's lover is one of the Earthlings. The scarred one. I want you to bring him back to me alive and preferably conscious."

Bulma gritted her teeth. What? What does he want with Yamcha?

Nappa seemed to have the same question. "Don't tell me you want me to spare him for her, Vegeta."

"Absolutely not. I want to torture him myself."

She froze at his words, cursing inwardly that she had let things get this far, that she would actually put her boyfriend in that much danger. That she kissed the man that would be his torturer. She wouldn't let that happen. "Vegeta! You can't do that! Leave him alone! Leave Yamcha alone!"

Vegeta snarled, whipping around and grabbing her wrist, "Woman, do not even try to dictate orders to me. Shut up and fix your ridiculous radar. Leave the big decisions to people with a brain."

"No!" She stomped her foot, ripping her hands away from Vegeta's rather weak hold. "I won't let you-"

"Stop." He was millimeters from her again, mouth against her ear as he whispered lightly. "Do not wake up, Raditz. Do not ruin this."

Bulma found herself freezing again. She backed away from Vegeta, looking into his dark eyes, and dimly nodded. She had to keep reminding herself that Vegeta was manipulating Nappa, feeding the older Saiyan with tidbits of delusions he would want to hear. But she retained her act, "I hope you burn in Hell."

He won't with immortality. Bulma shrugged off that thought.

"Nappa, you heard me. Let me punish the wench first by killing her lover."

The older Saiyan grinned, "That's almost poetic, considering."

"Just shut up and go. I have other business to attend to."

Nappa nodded, "Yes, sir." And exited.

Vegeta waited about thirty seconds before grabbing Bulma's arm. "You need to keep that mouth of yours shut."

"I tend to forget sometimes that we're on the same side." Her blue eyes glanced to how roughly he was holding her. "I wonder why."

"You're too concerned about your precious boyfriend to think rationally."

"You're too concerned about your precious wish to think rationally."

Vegeta let her go, but didn't back away. His body was still incredibly tensed in front of her, eyes narrowing at her smug form. She could see his tail tightening around his waist in defense. "This is more than just a wish, Woman. Frieza will be dead. Immortality will grant me that."

"There has to be another way, Vegeta."

"I agree with her."

Vegeta turned to the new voice in their conversation and immediately frowned at a now awake Raditz. "What do you want, Raditz?"

The long haired Saiyan shrugged and eyed Bulma and Vegeta's positions thoughtfully, "Am I interrupting something?"

Vegeta grunted and stepped away from the woman. "You actually agree with her? Are you mad, Raditz?"

"No sir. I just..."Raditz sighed before standing up fully. "Your immortality will surely mean Frieza's death, but it also means seeing the death of everything. Even the universe. Millions of years from now you'll be stuck here, alone."

Bulma grabbed his hand, surprised that he didn't immediately rip his own back from her. "You don't want that, Vegeta! You want Frieza gone, not everything gone!"

The Saiyan Prince snorted. "What's the difference? And it's not like any of you have any better suggestions."

"Actually..." Raditz scratched his head, making Bulma slightly grin. Maybe the two long last Saiyan brothers were more alike than they realized. "I was thinking of the possibility of the Super Saiyan."

That sounded kind of familiar to Bulma, and obviously Vegeta knew the phrase as well. He raised an eyebrow at Raditz's suggestion. "That's only a legend, something that hasn't happened for thousands of years."

Bulma shrugged, "Maybe you're due then. It's worth a shot. I kind of like you Raditz". She gave Goku's brother a congratulatory pat, earning a low growl from the prince beside her. "What's this Super Saiyan legend anyway?"

"It's the peak of our power. Stronger than the Oozaru, stronger than anything in the universe. The ultimate fighter." Vegeta crossed his arms. His head faced downwards, the shadows casting dangerously across his face. "It's even stronger than Frieza."

"Well, then...just do that then!"

Vegeta snarled at her ignorance. "Saiyans cannot simply become Super Saiyans."

"...Well then how do you do it?" Bulma blinked at the lack of a response. "We could ask the eternal dragon. He'll know. He can grant you the secret to your Super Saiyan myth—er, story."

She couldn't tell if Vegeta was happy about the idea. He must have seen the holes with immortality. He would never be killed, sure, but that also came with never dying. Seeing worlds being born and destroyed. Lasting centuries and centuries until the entire universe itself is nothing more than dust.

Guru had told them about the few Namekian villages scattered around Namek. There weren't too many left after the drought, but six of the villages held the dragon balls in possession.

"Nail should be waiting for us...he doesn't seem too far away." Goku got up and stretched from his recumbent position. "He got one dragon ball from a village close to Guru's place, and he's meeting us at the second. That makes three already!"

Gohan smiled, "Boy, this dragon ball hunting thing sure seems easy."

"I swear it was harder..." Krillin grumbled, "But hey, it helps when someone who knows exactly where they are is helping you find them all."

"He's making sure we wish back Piccolo...though I don't get why." Yamcha kicked the ground, trying to cover the left over embers. "They do understand that he was a bad guy, right? I still don't get why he wanted to team up with you, Goku."

Goku shrugged, "Easy. He didn't want Raditz messing up the planet he wanted for himself."

"...Well that's reassuring." Yamcha cracked his knuckles. "But I guess comparatively he's less evil than those Saiyans."

Gohan suddenly looked red. The small half-Saiyan walked over to Yamcha, a small amount of energy flaring from his body. "They aren't, Mr. Yamcha! I know you keep thinking that they're bad people because they stole that Bulma lady, but they aren't! It's Frieza! They just want a way out. That life is the only thing they know. They don't have a mom who forces them to study or a dad that actually cares about them. All they have is this really mean, evil alien telling them what to do. That doesn't make them evil, Mr. Yamcha, and frankly, I don't like it when you talk about my friends that way!"

"Whoa...whoa, Gohan!" Goku placed a hand on his son's shoulder, not entirely sure of where that outburst came from. "Easy buddy. You have to admit, they haven't really been exactly the best ...er, allies to us. Yamcha has a right to his opinion." The Saiyan's eyes fell to his friend, "But he should be open-minded. We need to worry about Frieza, not the Saiyans. They aren't the real problem." Do I really have to keep stressing this?

The slight ki readings he had gotten from Vegeta were incredible. The Saiyan Prince was strong, perhaps stronger than him, and the fact that he was no more than a slave to this Frieza guy was a little more than troubling. Especially when Frieza was coming here. Goku needed to refocus his team of fighters. He could see the tension growing within Gohan. His son was torn between the home he had grown up in and his teachers. "Look, we're all stressed and we obviously all have different opinions about who we're fighting and what our goal is." Goku took a deep breath, "Krillin, we will get back to Earth safe and sound. I'm not sure if Piccolo's resurrection will also mean Kami will come back...but it's worth a shot. We need Piccolo as a fighter here. The dragon balls will be a bonus.

"Yamcha, we will get Bulma back. She's safe...I think we both figured that out by now." He scratched his head awkwardly, but continued, "I don't know much about what she went through when she first made that wish...that's something you'll need to talk about with her. But you can't let that distract you now. If we want to get out of this alive, we need you, Yamcha. All of you.

"And Gohan, We're not looking for a fight with Raditz and the others. We want answers. We want to make sure the Earth will be safe, that Bulma will be safe. If Frieza is as bad as everyone's saying he is, we'll help them."

Gohan's eyes widened, "You really mean that, Dad?"

" 'Course I do." He rubbed his son's head affectionately. "Now, let's get out of here and find Nail to get the..." Goku's attention suddenly trailed off. Something was coming, something definitely not Namekian. His dark eyes trailed over the green sky, but they saw nothing. Nothing but clouds.

A flash of ki was suddenly picked up, and Goku turned, followed by Gohan, Krillin, and Yamcha. Gohan relaxed a bit, recognizing the signature. "...It's Nappa. I wonder what he's doing here."

"Nappa? Isn't that one of the Saiyans?" Krillin's face suddenly turned serious.

The bald, tall Saiyan came crashing through the sky, landing with a thud and the sickest smile painted on his face. His black moustache twitched when he realized all of them had sense he was coming. "...Gohan." He nodded towards the young boy and then faced Yamcha, "...Those scars on your face...pretty nasty stuff."

"I rather not talk about it. What are you doing here?" Yamcha immediately relaxed, seeing the others abandon their fighting stance.

Nappa smirked, "You'll see."

In one quick movement, Nappa was behind him, grabbing Yamcha by the neck and hurling him to the ground, yards away. The old bandit, long time fighter, got up immediately, fury in his eyes, "Hey! What's wrong with you?"

"Nappa!" Gohan came scurrying up. "Why'd you do that? What's going on?"

"I think we got our answer about the Saiyans' alliance." Yamcha wiped a small trail of blood from his mouth. "Fine. We're better off. Let me take him."

Nappa grunted, "Please. Don't even bother. I'm not here to fight someone as weak as you." Nappa pressed a button on his scouter. "Kakarot, you're obviously the strongest out of everyone here. What do you say?"

Goku gritted his teeth. Things weren't supposed to be happening like this. He was supposed to be helping the Saiyans, fighting Frieza, not them. Gohan seemed to be in agreement. "What are you saying, Nappa! Uncle Raditz and Vegeta don't want you to fight us! You guys just want the dragon balls!"

"Hmph. Shows how much you know. Vegeta's the one that ordered me here to kill you all...well except you, Gohan, and the weak one over there." He pointed to Yamcha, which was completely unexpected. Goku thought, if anything, they would have picked him because he was at least Saiyan.

Gohan's tail wrapped protectively around his waist, and Goku marveled in how easily and swiftly his son fell into a defensive position. "You leave my daddy alone!"

"What do you want with me?" Yamcha seemed to be wondering the same thing. "Do you think...Bulma..."

"He's not saving you for her, if that's what you're getting at." Nappa cracked his wrist. "Trust me. After you find out what Vegeta has in store for you, you'll be begging for death."

"Stop it." Goku stepped out of his silent role and stared the other Saiyan down. He put a hand in front of his son. "Gohan, Yamcha, get out of here. I don't want to be responsible for any other captives."

Gohan shook his head, "No, Dad. I can help you. I know how he fights."

"Gohan, listen to me. Go meet Nail. That's very important right now. I'll deal with him."

Nappa laughed and crossed his arms, obviously sizing Goku up. "You couldn't even handle Raditz, and he's much weaker than I am. How do you expect to deal with a Saiyan elite?"

He didn't answer right away, focusing on Nappa's ki and power level. Goku wasn't very impressed. Sure, it was smaller than whatever power level Goku was currently emitting, but he could tell Nappa did not have the same ki control. This was him at full power, and it was pretty unspectacular. "I'll manage. And Krillin will help me."

"Err...right, Goku." Krillin nodded, gesturing the other two to leave. "We've ...got this."

"Fine, I'll take both you and baldy on." Nappa hovered a bit in the air.

Krillin raised an eyebrow, "It's shaved, and you serious? I wouldn't be calling the kettle black if I were you..."

The idiom went beyond both Saiyans' heads but Nappa was the first to respond again, making a harsh guttural nose as Gohan and Yamcha both flew off. "Fine. I'll just find them again after I make some dead bodies."

Light wind made dust airborne, dragging the blue sea of grass across the landscape as well. Goku ignored the bits of black hair that past over his face. His eyes never left Nappa, sizing him up, trying to understand why Vegeta had sent him here. "He wants you to kill us...is that it?"

"Is that so hard to understand?" Nappa grinned.

"Kind of agree with the psychopath there, Goku. What are you getting at?"

His power level...it can't be right. Goku was sure Vegeta would know his own comrade's power level; there was no way he couldn't, not with the scouter and his ability to sense ki. "...Read his ki, Krillin." Goku let it out as a soft whisper, and his best friend's eyes grew in happiness.

"...It's...so weak."

Vegeta must know about our ki control. Gohan had said that he was the one who had taught them the technique, after all. Where else did the Saiyan Prince expect Gohan to learn it from if not from his father?

Nappa grumbled loudly and clenched his fists. "How dare you! I'll show you, you little squirt! Behold! The true power of the Saiyans!" There was a silver light emitting from Nappa's right hand casting a ghoulish glow over his face.

"Hey!" Goku smiled slightly with recognition, "Doesn't that look like moonlight?"

Krillin gulped and looked at Nappa's tail, "Don't tell me..."

"Haha, so you guys know, don't you? Unlike you, Kakarot, real Saiyans have the power to reach their ultimate form, the mighty Oozaru!" Nappa jostled the ball of energy in his hand.

"...The mighty Ooo-what now?" Goku scratched his head, smile fading.

Krillin tried to reason with him. "And you may not want to do that...Gohan has a tail too, you know."

"Don't worry. I'll keep the range nice and close. You can thank that Earthling female for teaching us this little trick by the way."

Krillin panicked, "No! Wait!"

But the ball of energy was already midair, spiking the sky and causing the silver rays of light to blind the already bright atmosphere. Nappa laughed heartily and then stretched out his arms. The waves of moonlight reached down to his skin, causing the brown hairs of his tail to stand completely on end. They multiplied and spread across his otherwise white skin. Goku took a step back, a little worried. He had never seen this...giant ape in real life, he being the only one who actually transformed on Earth. He watched as Nappa's incisors jutted out of his mouth, expanding and growing with his head until the monster became nearly fifty feet tall. His eyes, bright and red, stood out of a now completely monkey like face.

"Go-Goku, we have to be careful. You were so much stronger in this form...even as a kid." Krillin raised a hand in a defensive block.

What is this? Goku let his mind wander in slight amazement. Nappa's power level had increased exponentially, his ki seeming burning hot as compared to the warm mildness it once was. He twitched slightly, feeling the hard scar on his back burn in acknowledgment of the fake moon above. Was I really like that?

Nappa's giant ape form was roaring, waving his hands in the air, still, remarkably, in his Saiyan armor. One of his fur covered fingers cracked through the air, colliding and therefore demolishing a Namekian plateau.

It was wild. A monster under the soft moonlight glow, tail sweeping-

That was it.

Goku swerved his attention away from Nappa, facing Krillin instead. There was anger flooding his face at the realization, but Krillin had said it himself a few minutes ago. He, Son Goku, was able to become this monster as well. He had known to a degree, that there was something related to his blackouts and his tail and the moon. It was why they had implemented the early bedtimes at home in the first place once Gohan was born. "Krillin...this is the monster that killed my grandfather." The scab where his tail used to be was itching, and suddenly, it all made sense. "I was the monster that killed my grandpa."

He had just returned from another training session, squared off against these greenish monsters in a small, dark room. They had called his battles impressive, something noteworthy to tell Emperor Frieza...whoever that was. He didn't think much of it. Even at the normally tender age of three, Vegeta knew that he was born to be powerful, that he was powerful. There was no way some cultivated green fleas would ever leave a mark on him.

Vegeta walked casually down the halls of his home on Vegeta-sei, red cape flitting at his heels, a marker of who he was, his heritage and birthright. Lower class Saiyans bowed at his approach. He was a prince after all; it was the least they could do. But Vegeta never really paid them much attention. He was used to other Saiyans' subservience in his short life. He was royalty, and it was only natural that he be treated as such.

"Who are you?" He lowered his eyes at the third class Saiyan in front of him, an unnecessary addition to the Saiyan guard. "You're new. Why are you in front of the throne room like that?" He had meant to head straight to the throne room to report to his father, but the red bandana'd Saiyan had caught him off guard. That was a state Vegeta hated to be in.

The third class speedily bowed, "Prince Vegeta, my name is Bardock. I've been reassigned to help watch over your father because of the..." His dark eyes looked torn at the moment as if he was resistant to relaying the truth to the young Saiyan prince.

Vegeta could care less. He was hungry and needed to speak to his father before granted permission to eat. He wasn't sure why there were these new regulations, only that it happened that day they sent his brother away, not that long ago. "Fine, whatever. Just let me in."

The throne room was small, undecorated with poor lighting. There was only a single blood red carpet leading the way to the helm of dark wood christened the throne of Vegeta-sei. The curtains were let loose, blocking the soft glow of Vegeta-sei's red atmosphere from permeating throughout the room. All that was left were the dim lights and Vegeta's instinctual vision.

It had been like this for a while now, Vegeta had noticed. His father sat there, looking smaller, defeated in a way without blood or bruises- a way that Vegeta didn't fully understand yet. The smaller throne next to him lay vacant. His mother was gone on a journey she wouldn't return from.

"Father."

"Vegeta?" King Vegeta picked up his head, standing as his son entered and rubbing his beard. "Come here son. Come here."

"No, father. I'm hungry. I want to be granted permission to eat."

"Vegeta, please."

The young prince frowned but stomped up to his father, ready to get whatever lecture he had in store for him over with. It wasn't like he disliked the tales his father would tell him about universal Saiyan dominance, but right now his stomach ached and groaned in agony. He wanted food, but his father apparently had something important to tell him. He brought Vegeta passed the throne room over to a large, oval shaped door, leading the way to the outside balcony. His father's low voice caught his attention away from the rather desolate, red landscape. "I wanted all this to be yours."

The past tense went beyond him. "I'm prince. It will be."

"You've heard of your brother, Tarble?" King Vegeta watched his son patiently, but only saw a slight nod of affirmation. "I sent him away. He was too weak for this world, for this throne. You are not."

"And mother?" Vegeta returned his attention forward. His dark eyes settled on the bloody landscape, the mountains and cliffs and valleys of his home. "Did she go with him?"

King Vegeta side stepped the question. "Let me tell you a story."

"Please Father, I tire of these stories. I am fully aware that we are the most powerful warrior race in the universe."

"This one's important, Vegeta. It's about your destiny."

"Vegeta?" Bulma's questioning voice drew the Saiyan Prince out of thoughts and back under Namek's green sky. He and Raditz sat cross-legged on the ground, cooking some sort of meat as Bulma hovered over her little toy. There were a series of annoying beeping noises before, but they had all seemed to stop at Bulma's question.

Vegeta looked up from the half cooked meal. "...What?"

"What do you want to wish for?"

My destiny. He didn't want to listen to what his father had anticipated for him. He had lost everything, his home, his throne, his people. Everything that was once promised to him was gone under the red gleam of Frieza's attacks. A part of him wish he had seen the blast. It would make his abdication all the more real, fueling his rage into something more powerful. Would that be how he'd ascend? Through rage? Through passionate fury of needing Frieza's blood on his hands?

It'd be sweeter than immortality in a way. Knowing you could potentially fail makes success only sweeter. He'd destroy Frieza with the thing the overlord had feared the most. Destroy him with the reason the alien had used to destroy the Saiyans themselves, his people. There was something about ironic vengeance that made him feel completely satiated. He hid any sort of inflection in his voice, not wanting to feed the Woman's ego even more. "We'll follow your plan."

Bulma simply smiled. "I fixed the radar."

"There's an old legend of a transformation even stronger than the Oozaru, something only the most elite of all Saiyans can achieve. It's rare, but possible, let me assure you, that the Super Saiyan will be awakened again."

Vegeta didn't like the idea at first. The possibility of someone stronger than him waking up was disturbing. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, my son..." King Vegeta raised his hand, as if to touch the small boy's shoulder but quickly dismissed the idea. "That some Saiyans are born with this innate ability. It hasn't happened for thousands of years, but I see this strength in you."

The small boy couldn't hold back a small scowl. His father never used such sentimentality unless something was... "Why are you assigned a new guard?"

King Vegeta sighed slightly and crossed his arms behind his back. His angled eyes stared closely at the red in front of him, over his kingdom and people. "Your brother's birth has caused some...unsettlement."

"Why?" He knew nothing of his brother, only that he had been sent away for reasons unexplained to him.

"His power level was low for a Saiyan elite, for any Saiyan really. He had to be taken care of."

There was something brash, cold about how his father spoke, but Vegeta ignored it, knowing better than to judge his father's swift mood shifts. He half snorted as the new thought occurred to him. "They think you're weak."

"I've been in contact with someone that may subdue the situation. He wishes to use our fighting skills."

"I don't blame him." Vegeta crossed his small arms in front of him. "Though surely my strength makes up for Tarble's."

"Prove it to them then." His father let his hand fall to Vegeta's shoulder, but his grip was not one of love or comfort. It was hard, desperate, and fierce, a physical reflection of what flashed through his dark eyes. "Become a Super Saiyan."

She was practically laughing when she picked up the first ball from the Namekian village, running back towards the group of Saiyans. "See? I told you it'd be much easier without you guys. No scary Saiyans mean no scary fights. I just asked them for the ball, no problem."

He growled, "You were lucky. Your abilities to lie have obviously not been lost these past years."

Raditz shrugged, "I'm just sort of happy we don't have to waste our energy killing these people."

Bulma nudged the Saiyan Prince in the shoulder, "Can you believe it, Vegeta? We'll actually get something without killing people! Who'd have ever thought! You're such a bonehead sometimes, you know?" She laughed at his low grunt reply and poked him in the chest. "What? Unhappy that my plan might actually work? It's all for you anyway, so why should you care?"

Why is she helping me like this?

Bulma didn't seem the least bit reluctant to just march into an alien village, only her loud mouth as a weapon and a beeping device. She had claimed that negotiations would only be quicker, knowing, of course, that logic was the way to convince him not to hurt the Namekians, not sympathy. She had just walked on in, and he and Raditz just stood away, lowering their kis and remaining silent.

"I had to lie and tell them I was still with the Earthlings and that I wanted to resurrect an old Namekian guy we had back on Earth. Which isn't that farfetched. Goku does want to do that." Bulma held the ball up. "They're bigger than what I'm used to."

The dragon ball. He could hardly believe it. There it was, right in her small, delicate hands, glowing with magical energy. A bright orange orb in the middle of a blue green planet. There were three red stars in its center, marking it as the third of its kind. The third out of seven. Vegeta grabbed the ball slowly and smirked. He was one seventh away from killing Frieza forever.

"Raditz..." He eyed Bulma thoughtfully before continuing. "Put this ball into our pods, you know where."

Raditz furrowed his eyebrows, "I do?"

"Don't be an idiot!" Vegeta yelled, but immediately calmed. He was surprisingly...happy. "In mine. You'll find something inside."

"Oh! Yes, Vegeta." Raditz took the dragon ball immediately and nodded. "No problem."

"And do not get caught by your insolent brother!" Vegeta had to shout to the already rocketing Raditz. He turned to his attention back to Bulma. She had this smug smile on her face. Her confidence was a little overwhelming, incredibly uncalled for a woman at her power level. Vegeta bit his lip, knowing he'd regret enticing her, but at the same time, he couldn't stop himself. "Why do you have that ridiculous expression on your face?"

"No reason." Bulma shrugged, her blue hair flying back in the new wind. His eyes traced her figure then, fully taking her in, for perhaps, the first real time since they're twelve year interval. She was curvier than before but in all the places he didn't mind. Her skin was still soft looking; it was soft. He had proved that himself with their last encounter. Vegeta bit back the urge to repeat the offence, but that grin on her face was hard to not stare at. She was a woman that wouldn't back down, one that fought her battles, no matter how puny and insignificant to him, with unadulterated fire. And because of that, he knew that this conversation was just beginning.

She continued, "Just that you'll probably realize now that I'm not such a stupid, useless human after all."

Vegeta copied her expression, "Hmph, well I wouldn't go that far." He crossed his arms and widened his stance, preparing for the verbal tirade.

"Ugh! You're such a jerk, Vegeta! You know that? Even after all we've been through, even after I've helped you, you're still going to be like this? Just admit it. You need me." Her blue eyes glowed in curious bravery. "You want me here."

"Get these thoughts out of your head." He was closer to her now, his anger getting the best of him. He approached his enemy, arms now at his side, but his footing still wide. Vegeta was tired of hearing about how he was feeling. This woman knew nothing about his wants, his needs. All he wanted was his wish. But there was still that though plaguing his mind. "Why don't you admit that you're the one that wants to be here?" He pointed his finger at her chest, like she had done to him so many times before.

But that was a mistake.

The proximity of his hand on her made the air grow startlingly hot, pure electricity and fire through the normally cool environment. He could feel the redness on his cheeks, the small bits of sweat dripping down the nape of his neck. What the fuck is wrong with me?

She made him nervous. It was excruciatingly difficult to admit, but the Earth woman made him anxious. Bulma sent his adrenaline pumping rapidly. It was an endorphin, a rush. It only propelled him to ask the question even more. "Why are you helping me?"

Bulma lowered her head, blue eyes looking at where his finger was still planted. She pushed his hand off gently, hands wrapping around that one joint until she brought them back up, squarely placing them on his chest. "Isn't it obvious? I've told you before." He didn't expect that they'd get any closer to each other, but they did, attracted together. "I never meant to leave you."

"But you did." His voice was low then, too distracted with her cheek pressed against his shoulder. He spoke before her counterattack, curiosity getting the best of his anger. "The dragon balls wished you back. Kakarot and the weak scarred one collected them."

She nodded, simultaneously rubbing her nose against his neck. He could feel his whole body tighten. "Mhm." The reverberation of her mouth hit off his skin. "They didn't know about you."

"But you did." He repeated the same sentiment, knowing that he should feel angry, but instead feeling nothing but confusion. He let his gloved hand sweep through her hair, the fine strands falling and colliding at his gentle caress. "What the fuck have you done to me?"

She was startled at the curse. Bulma raised her head up, imploring him to continue, "What do you mean?"

"I lied for you. I wanted to kill for you. I risked my life in a desperate attempt to save you." Vegeta let go of her hair and created a fist at his side. "And now...now the only thing I thought I wanted was to kill you."

Damn those blue eyes. She was still staring at him. "But what?"

"But I fucking can't! What did you do to me?" He could feel his chest grow heavier with each intake of breath, and was shocked to see that the Woman had replaced her head back on his body, giggling to herself. Giggling. After he had told her he wanted to kill her! She's absolutely insane.

Bulma's laughter soon stopped, and she grabbed Vegeta's hand. The light in her eyes had faded, and it was obvious what had replaced it: confliction. She was torn, and it made Vegeta's stomach clench. Bulma let go of his head and rubbed her fingers against his cheekbones before retreating a few steps away. "I think you know why."

Vegeta scowled.

He had no fucking idea.

A/N:

Quick notes.

I realize Goku hid Gohan from the moon when he was talking to Bulma about being semi-upset about realizing his Saiyan heritage in my story, but the truth is, he didn't actually realize he killed his grandfather until Vegeta transformed in the Saiyan Saga, but I'm assuming that he connected the fact that he experienced blackouts during full moons, ending up naked and confused, all up until he didn't have a tail anymore. Hence the: "let's designate early bedtimes so my son doesn't experience that" idea. The fact that his son, or he, turned into a gigantic ape was not on his mind. Because, he does connect the dots rather quickly when Vegeta initially transforms...

Also about Tarble and movie canonicity. Though I love the ideas of a lot of the movies (Broly, Cooler, Tapion, etc.), THERE'S SO MANY PLOT HOLES that it's hard for me to accept them as canon because, well, they're not. I really only trust History of Trunks, but anyway, I digress. I decided to add Tarble in this fic because I think it lends a different reason to why the Saiyan Empire collapsed besides the notion of Frieza just coming and recruiting everyone.

I hope this doesn't bother too many people. If you have questions/concerns/comments of any kind PM or review :D