Another Saiyan

The next few weeks passed slowly for Vegeta. He went to school five days a week and spent his entire weekends training to make up for lost time. It wasn't that he didn't train after school during the week, but he wasn't satisfied with the amount of time he was able to do so. He never brought homework home; he either finished it in class or study hall. He really didn't care about grades. They held little significance in the grand scheme of his life, but he did well for the sake of being allowed to train freely at Capsule Corporation without the Briefs ordering him to study instead.

He noticed at school that the blue-haired girl was despised by most of her peers, mainly because of intense jealousy. She was obscenely rich and smart and way too young by normal standards to be in her grade. At first Vegeta was also hated by the majority of the students at West City Middle School, but over time he was at least respected. Unlike Bulma, he never lashed out at his tormentors verbally, instead choosing to put them in their place with little more than cold indifference or disdain. Some boys actually tried to get on his good side after seeing his athletic abilities in gym. Of course, he didn't really have a good side for them to be on. The only people he held in high regard were the Briefs.

At fist Vegeta was irritated every day he went to school, but eventually he came to accept it with a sort of learned helplessness. He could continue fighting it with no success or he could suck it up and get on with life. He chose the latter. He still hated school, but he considered it another torture he had to endure, nothing more. He had survived worse.

Vegeta knew Bulma hated it as much as he did. He could sense her boredom in the classes they shared and he saw her hurt when she was maliciously berated by her peers. He never went to her aid in such situations, but she seemed to take comfort in the simple fact that he didn't agree with their comments. In the few times where someone would get a little too physically aggressive with her, though, Vegeta would defend her in a flash. No one touched his pack mate. She could defend herself verbally, but not physically. So he protected her.

It was a Thursday evening at dinner when Mrs. Brief told him he would be attending yet another pointless function. He was already aggravated from another day of wasted time and pitiful human education and a frustrating training session. Then, out of nowhere, he was informed that he had to attend a banquet. The company's annual banquet. Vegeta hated formal events. Prince or not, he still considered them to be tedious. Mrs. Brief was bubbling over with excitement when she told Vegeta about the banquet. It was in a week and she needed to take him shopping to find him a suit. She was sure he would be adorable all dressed up. "It'll be so nice to have you with us, Vegeta. After all, you're part of the family now."

The young prince sighed. He was wondering how he allowed himself to be reduced to this. He, the Prince of all Saiyans, living by the whims of rather eccentric humans. He was grateful that Frieza and his henchmen couldn't see his current predicament. He would never live this humiliation down.

"I don't want to go."

"Don't be silly," Mrs. Brief said with a dismissive wave. "You're coming and that's that."

Vegeta groaned. In some ways he would rather be serving the lizard. Bulma leaned over to him and whispered, "It's ok, Veggie. I'll be stuck there too. We can keep each other from getting too bored."

He was hardly consoled. He didn't want to go, it was that simple. He still had a week to find a way out of it. His mind was already racing with ideas. How hard could it be? Judging by the way he was forced to go to school, it would be fairly difficult. He would need a very convincing argument to avoid the Capsule Corporation annual banquet.

After dinner Vegeta went out to the back yard to train until bedtime. He didn't realize his obsessive behavior had garnered the concern of the Briefs. Even had he known he wouldn't have eased up on his training. He was more determined than ever to get stronger. It was the only way he had any chance at surviving the brutal beating he would undoubtedly receive when he finally returned to Frieza. Strength was all that mattered in life. It was all that kept him alive.

He had already begun his kata when Bulma came outside. She was wearing shorts and an oversized t-shirt. Upon seeing her he immediately knew what she wanted. He finished his kata and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He watched her, waiting for her to make her request.

"Can I train with you a while? It's been a few days…"

"Whatever." Vegeta turned away from her and resumed his own training. They had established their routine quite a while ago. Training 'with' Vegeta meant training at the same time in the same area. He hardly ever took an active role teaching her until she had mastered something, which usually took a long time. Her mastery was decided in spars against him when she was sure she knew a particular technique perfectly. Bulma never won a spar, but he would 'pass' her with a comment such as how she was "adequate for a weak female brat." Bulma learned to take pride in his somewhat derogatory remarks. They were as close to compliments as he ever got.

Bulma watched Vegeta train for a minute before she took the stance he taught her and started her own kata. By comparison it was exceedingly simple, but considering she had only been practicing martial arts for a few months, she was advancing rapidly. She wasn't naturally gifted at it, but she had an excellent – albeit distant – teacher and a solid determination to improve.

Half an hour passed and Bulma finished her training. She had to admit in a way she was learning to enjoy it, but she lacked the endurance to keep going for extended periods like Vegeta. She sat in the grass and watched with awe as he raced through his kata. The more she watched the more she knew she would never reach his level. Sometimes he even seemed to defy gravity, hanging in the air for what seemed like an unnaturally long time.

When he came to a resting point in his routine, Bulma beckoned him over to her. "So my birthday is in a couple weeks."

"So?"

Bulma shrugged, trying to appear disinterested. "People usually give something to their friends for their birthday."

"Sounds like a pointless tradition."

"Maybe so, but I want you to do something for me instead of giving me a present."

"Who said I was going to give you anything?"

"Oh come on, Veggie!" Bulma pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Even if you weren't, I'm asking you now to teach me how to use ki."

Vegeta stared at her blankly. She hadn't mentioned ki since she asked him what happened the night after his space pod self-destructed. She seemed skeptical about his explanation and seemed to only reluctantly accept it. He hadn't gone into much detail about it, only telling her that he used the life energy he had and that all living things had it.

"I don't know how to teach you that."

"How hard could it be? You had to learn it somehow. Teach me the same way you learned."

Vegeta snorted. He couldn't tell her that saiyans had a natural ability to manipulate their ki. He couldn't tell her that he had hundreds of times more ki than her. And he certainly couldn't tell her how he learned to use his ki because he couldn't remember. He was an infant when he started manipulating it.

"You can't learn that part of martial arts until you have become an expert in the basics," he fibbed.

Bulma frowned. She didn't completely believe him but she had no way to know otherwise. He was definitely a master. Who knew how long he had been one? It was disappointing to know she would have to wait a long time to use her ki. If nothing else she wanted to understand what it was better.

"Can I at least see yours then?"

"What?"

"Your ki. I know you can make it visible sometimes. Can I see it? Please?"

He wasn't sure it was a good idea to let her see his power. It would likely raise more questions he didn't want to answer. Still, what could it hurt? As long as she didn't touch it she would be fine. Maybe she would think it was nothing more than light. She wouldn't understand its power. He hesitated before extending his arm with his palm up. He gathered a small amount of ki in his hand until a small, violet orb formed.

"That is so cool," Bulma breathed as she rose to her feet. Eyes locked on the glowing energy, she reached her hand out to touch it. She could feel the heat from it before it suddenly disappeared. "What happened?"

"It is not safe for you to touch someone else's ki. It could hurt you."

"Oh." Bulma dropped her hand to her side. "How did you do that? I've never seen you do anything like that before."

He shrugged and walked away from her. "I have extensive practice in the control of my ki. I can do many things with it." His answer given, he sank into his fighting stance and started another round of his kata. He was actually surprised at the ease with which he gathered the energy needed to become physically manifest. It wasn't that it was particularly difficult before, but now it was essentially effortless and he hardly even needed to concentrate to do it. Perhaps he was getting stronger despite not having fought any battles lately. Encouraged, he put more energy into his training.

Bulma knew it was going to be a long time before he took another break. More often than not he was still training when she went to bed and he woke up much earlier than her to get in more training before school. She knew it was one of the very few activities he really liked, but his obsession with it was becoming compulsive. It was dangerous business to ever interrupt or delay his daily training. He meditated a lot during school. He claimed it trained his mind as much as kata trained his body. Training was consuming his life in all its forms.

She watched him for a long time before going inside. The late September night was chilly and the breeze made her shiver. She went to her room to read before bed. 'Maybe I should push him to try doing something else for a change. What if he hurts himself?'

Vegeta looked up at the sky as it grew darker. The light from the city drowned out the stars, but he could still see the moon. When he saw it he felt a rush of primal energy course through his veins. It was almost a full moon. With renewed fervor he kept training.

Bulma set her book on her nightstand and turned her light off. She slid under her covers and rolled onto her side to sleep. Her eyes opened when her room was lit with a flash of light. A storm? She waited, but she never heard any thunder. She closed her eyes.

Her eyes cracked open again when her room was flooded with a bright light shining in her balcony doors. 'Strange, there's no lights out there.' Curious, Bulma got out of bed and went to her balcony to look out. She slid open the door and stepped outside. The light grew brighter by the time she reached the railing. She looked down and saw Vegeta fighting an imaginary foe. His body was engulfed in a flame of blue fire. His ki. She gasped when she saw him.

Vegeta back-flipped and shot a small ki ball at the location of his invisible opponent. A tiny explosion followed as he landed and ducked under an unseen blow. He twisted around and swept his opponent's feet out from under him, then leaped to his feet and jumped over a retaliating sweep. He caught a fist in each hand and drove his knee into the other fighter's gut.

Though there was no one fighting with Vegeta, she could picture perfectly what was happening in his mind as his 'fight' progressed. She leaned against the rail with her elbows propped on it with her chin resting in her hands. She wondered if she would ever be able to do what he was doing. It was amazing, even beautiful in a way.

The saiyan jumped over his opponent and twisted around to face him as he landed. He blocked a punch with his left forearm and simultaneously threw his own right hook that presumably hit his opponent's face. He shifted his weight to his right foot and kicked his opponent with his left. Vegeta formed two glowing orbs of ki in his hands and threw them one after the other at his floored enemy. The ground trembled with the explosions.

Bulma shrieked and clung to the railing before she fell over. When the cloud of dust and smoke cleared, there was a small crater in the yard and Vegeta was nowhere to be seen. She leaned over the railing as she scanned the yard for the boy. He was gone, disappeared.

"Where did he go?"

Vegeta walked into his room from his balcony and picked up his scouter from his desk. He went back out on his balcony and jumped over the railing. Bulma saw movement from the corner of her eye. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Vegeta drop to the ground from his balcony. It wasn't a long enough fall to kill him, but it could definitely hurt him pretty bad. He landed in a low crouch before standing and walking to the middle of the yard. He set something on the ground and took a few steps away from it.

She couldn't make out what it was but her thoughts were interrupted when Vegeta started screaming and the aura that had died out after his fighting ended reignited and grew around him. The ground started shaking as his energy soared.

Vegeta clenched his fists and forced his power as high as he could. He felt his ki burning as it flowed through every fiber of his body. Sparks crackled through the air around him and the earth cracked at his feet. He roared as he pushed himself to his maximum power. When his energy topped off he inhaled deeply and slowly released his breath. He unclenched his fists and stepped over to his scouter and picked it up. He turned it to read the display on the screen. His eyebrows shot up.

"Twelve thousand? Is this thing busted?"

Vegeta couldn't believe his own power. His maximum had been around 8,000 before he crash-landed on Earth. It was already a radical level for his age, but somehow he gained half again as much. It made no sense. He hadn't been fighting any challenging adversaries and hadn't recovered from any near-death experiences lately. The gravity of the little mudball was weak, so how had he gotten so much stronger?

Still baffled, he shrugged and a smirk crept across his face. No way was he strong enough to defeat Frieza, but he would, perhaps, be able to survive his punishment. That was his first goal for when he returned to the lizard's service. He turned off his scouter and tossed it from one hand to the other.

'I am eating enough here. I train a lot. Right conditions for gaining strength? I've also grown a lot. That might be part of it. Probably.' He nodded to himself and unwound his tail from his waist. It flicked behind him a few times. For the first time in a long time he felt good about himself. Knowing his incredible power made him hungry for a challenge. It had been far too long since his skills were put to the test. He put his scouter on and pushed the button twice. Numbers started scrolling across the display screen as the device locked on the energy signals of the planet's inhabitants.

One corner of his mouth turned down and his brows furrowed when the scouter found the current highest power levels. The highest was trivial, only about 100. That wasn't surprising, but what perplexed him was the number of significant power levels. Whereas he had only seen two the last time he used his scouter, there were half a dozen now. Had the scouter simply not detected them before, or did they have a way of hiding their true power at will? He decided to worry about that later. For the time being he was going to investigate the person with a power of 100, though fighting that could hardly be considered a challenge. He walked around to the south side of the compound and checked his surroundings for any onlookers. He knew the girl had been watching him when he powered up. He was now out of sight from her, so he shot into the air and headed south.

Vegeta followed his scouter into the mountains hundreds of miles southeast of West City. He came to a stop above a lush valley and dropped out of the sky. Surveying the area, all he saw was a placid lake and a thick forest. The air there smelled fresh and clean, unlike the city. Sounds of crickets chirping and owls hooting filled the still night air. It was peaceful. Inviting, even.

The prince pushed the button on his scouter to get a more accurate read-out on the location of the source of the substantial energy signal. The scouter directed him to the left. Vegeta started walking through the forest, silent as a natural-born predator. He caught the scent of smoke and the lingering aroma of grilled fish. Someone had to be nearby. He cautiously made his way deeper into the forest until he saw a small hut. There was a warm glow shining out the windows and a wisp of smoke rising from the chimney.

His eyebrows drew together as he moved closer to the small home. Before he got too close he climbed into a tree and crept out onto a low branch to see in the window. He nearly fell out of the tree when he saw a young boy, barely older than a toddler, with wild black hair and a furry brown tail waving contentedly through the air behind him. He was carrying a tall stack of plates from a table to a place out of Vegeta's line of sight.

It couldn't be! Another saiyan? But Frieza killed all of them except for Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz. They were the only survivors. Vegeta felt his respiration quickening. Another saiyan. It had to be. No other race had hair and tails like that. No other child could have power like that – at least not on the mudball. He was obviously a third-class, but that was irrelevant. He was a saiyan and he was alive. Vegeta's mind, after recovering from its initial shock, went into overdrive.

How did a saiyan child get to Earth? What was he doing there? Why was he living here? Did he have a space pod? Was he sent on a mission to purge the planet? When? Why hadn't he done it? And why did he have such a stupid, cheerful expression on his face?

"What is going on here?" Vegeta hissed. He sat on the branch and watched the little saiyan running back and forth between the table and what must have been a sink. He checked his scouter again for a reading on the toddler's power. One hundred was impossible for a third-class. He was more baffled when, in his close proximity, he received a read-out of two power levels located inside the hut. The smaller one, a power level barely over 10, was moving to and fro. It had to be the child. The greater power, the one he followed to the hut, belonged to someone else who was as of yet out of view. Vegeta came to the forest looking for a fight, but instead he found a lost member of his race. Any desire he felt to fight faded as he watched the toddler carrying dirty dishes.

Vegeta was fascinated by the younger saiyan. He seemed so carefree it was almost sickening. Yet, at the same time, it was comforting for Vegeta to see that at least one of his subjects got away by some miracle. He was apparently living a life of peace, free from the tyrannical oppression of Frieza. Vegeta, as Prince of all Saiyans, could demand the boy serve him and return with him to space. It wouldn't be a bad thing to have another member in his squadron. But he couldn't do it. He couldn't drag one of his people into slavery with him. Let the child be free. He was probably forgotten, as well as his mission along with their home planet.

'Well kid, it's nice to know one of us got away.' Vegeta dropped out of the tree and ran away from the hut. If there was a saiyan, there had to be a saiyan space pod. The only problem was he had no idea where it might be. He levitated off the ground and flew high above the forest to look for a crater the pod would have created. He spun around and searched the land for a crater, but he didn't see one. He growled in frustration. It had to be around somewhere.

He spent the next hour flying a circuit around the valley, increasing the radius of his search each time he went around. He was about to give up when he saw a large pockmark in the planet's surface. It was several miles away from the valley in a barren land with strange rock formations. He darted down to the crater and his heart leaped with excitement when he saw an intact space pod in the middle.

He jumped down into the crater and looked inside the pod. There was an infant life support system, but that was easy enough to uninstall. The exterior of the pod was in decent condition considering its age. It had been abandoned to the elements for two or three years. Vegeta crawled into the pod and flipped the control panel open. It looked to be in working order. His palms began to sweat as his excitement grew. He found his ticket off the mudball.

But along with his excitement he felt the stirrings of apprehension, sadness, and guilt. He still wasn't strong enough. He didn't want to leave the Briefs. Especially without saying goodbye first. The humans had rubbed off on him as he grew attached to them. He sighed heavily and tried to ignore the tremble in his breath. He knew all along he would have to leave eventually, either by getting his pod running again or being taken away by the retrieval team sent to get him. Why was he having second thoughts now?

Vegeta decided he wouldn't leave yet. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe in a few days. Or weeks. He shook his head. He couldn't afford to delay his departure too much. The sooner he left, the better. He got out of the pod and looked up at the sky. The velvety blackness was speckled with brilliantly shining stars. Many he had been to, many he would go to, spreading destruction across the galaxy in the name of the lizard. What a life he had to look forward to.

With that thought Vegeta took off to the northwest. He would spend another day at Capsule Corporation and then he would leave. About an hour later he landed on the balcony of his guestroom. He went inside and collapsed on the bed. He was exhausted mentally and welcomed sleep. But as much as he wanted it to come, it wouldn't. His mind kept returning to the image of the little saiyan boy living in the forest. He looked happy, content. Was that how all saiyan children were when they didn't have to serve a monster? Vegeta had no idea what other saiyan children were like. He wasn't a typical saiyan child. He was the crown prince of Vegeta-sei. He didn't have a real childhood. From the day he was born until he was taken away by Frieza he was groomed for the throne. He was put through the most rigorous training regimens he could handle. He was given a proper education in all scholarly fields. He never had time for play. He never even knew any other children his age. He was confined mostly to the palace. When he left, he was always accompanied by either his mother or the royal guard. Mingling with the lower-class saiyans was strictly prohibited. Was that boy a picture of what he could have been like had he not been thrown into the life he knew?

Bile rose in his throat as he continued to think about the third-class saiyan child. He envied him for being able to live so freely. Only a child who was naïve, who had a clean conscience could ever look so cheerful even when performing such a mundane task as carrying dirty dinner dishes to the sink to wash. He lived a simple life far removed from civilization. Apparently he was living with one other person, a human of outstanding strength who was also kind enough to take in an orphan from outer space.

Was that the nature of humans? To care about anyone who had no one else in the world? He felt a greater appreciation for the Briefs as he considered that possibility. Maybe humans weren't as bad as he thought. Sure, they still annoyed the hell out of him. He was a solitary kind of person and they seemed only interested in smothering him with attention, questions, and affection. He wanted no part in any of that. Over the past few months he had grudgingly learned to accept that from the Briefs, but if anyone else gave him so much as a friendly pat on the back he was up in arms.

Was that also because of his upbringing? Was it possible for a saiyan to live in harmony with others who weren't also saiyans? His whole life he had it pounded into him that saiyans were the superior race of the universe, a proud warrior race. Then, when his planet and people were destroyed, he was left clinging to that pride as his only security blanket when from every side he was reminded of the frailty of his people. If they weren't weak, then why were they destroyed by a mere asteroid? He snorted, knowing Frieza was behind his planet's demise. He wasn't an idiot. He could put two and two together. He was called off planet without warning and when he was finished with his purge he received a transmission on his scouter reporting the destruction of his planet. How convenient that he was away when it happened.

Another saiyan. If there was one here, on an obscure planet at the edge of the galaxy, then perhaps there were other saiyans elsewhere. If that were so, then maybe his race had more hope than he thought. Perhaps some got away together, and they were multiplying. Maybe, in the distant future, they would rise again as a proud race. His face fell when he thought of the chances of that happening being slim to none. His race was gone. It was a fact he learned to cope with years ago, why get his hopes up now? The saiyans were gone. It just so happened that one, one saiyan managed to get away. He was probably sent away to purge Earth right before their home planet was destroyed. It was doubtful that any others were likewise sent away. Even if they were, they would all be on different planets, either dead by now or stranded in the far reaches of the galaxy with no way of ever being reunited.

Vegeta wasn't looking forward to leaving the compound. Or the planet, for that matter. Despite the warnings he gave himself in the beginning, he had grown accustomed to living with the Briefs. He enjoyed the simple comforts and he grew attached to the old man, the crazy woman, and the blue-haired brat. They were his pack now. How could he leave them without a second glance? They were essentially his family. Aside from Nappa and Raditz, they were the only people in the entire universe he cared about in the least. And the former two, he really only cared about out of duty. The Briefs were different. They didn't know who or what he was when they took him in, but they accepted him and held him in unconditional positive regard. He came with faults and baggage galore, but they accepted him. They wanted him. Would he ever find acceptance like that again in his lifetime? Probably not.

He chuckled humorlessly as he rolled onto his side and stared at the alarm clock on his nightstand. At least he had an excuse for not going to the stupid banquet next week. He would be off planet on an extended business trip. He regretted not being around for the brat's tenth birthday. He knew she was excited about it and she hadn't gone out of her way to hide how glad she was that she would have him with her to celebrate. Turns out she wouldn't. He was leaving her before then. He could stay a while longer, but he had to get going. The longer he waited the harder it would be for him to ever leave. Keep putting it off and eventually he would be out of time and the retrieval crew would be there to take him away. No, it was best to leave as soon as possible no matter how much it hurt her and everyone else. Avoiding the inevitable was not his style. He liked to get things over with instead of procrastinating. Tomorrow he would leave. He would wait until night, giving him as much time with the Briefs as he could afford. He leave and they would never see him again. It was a shame, but it had to be done.

A/N: Not much of an appearance on Goku's part, I know, but that's all you get for now. So there. I really can't wait to post the next chapter. It's my favorite by far, actually my favorite chapter I've ever written for any of my stories. I warn you, I will demand a certain number of reviews on it...Speaking of reviews, thank you all so much for the reviews on the last chapter. You reviewed, and I updated as promised. I've finished writing chapter 34 (finally) and I'm going to work on 35 today. Hopefully I can finish that and maybe even 36. I'm excited to get to the next section of the story.