His body still enveloped in light, the Saiyan youth called out to Gohan, Vegeta, and the others. "I'm going off to a place near here to meet Goku. Would you guys like to come?"
Vegeta watched him power down, and it surprised him to learn that the young man's natural hair color did not reflect his Saiyan heritage. He had heard of the odd Saiyan with deep brown or russet hair, but certainly not near-white with a purplish sheen. From what he remembered about Saiyan child development, it was not uncommon for Saiyan children to have dull blond hair that darkened dramatically as they matured. This youth, however, seemed no younger than sixteen, and if he had lighter coloring in his infancy, it should have darkened by now. Vegeta now questioned whether he was truly Saiyan at all.
"How does he know about my dad?" Gohan remarked.
"Come on—it's this way!" the young man called out again. "Goku should be arriving in a couple of hours."
"I don't know if we can trust this kid," Piccolo said, his eyes narrowed in skepticism.
"Well, he saved everyone from Frieza, if that counts for anything," Tien rebutted.
Krillin paused before speaking. "If he knows Goku from somewhere, he can't be that bad a guy, right?"
"Well, I'm going!" said Gohan, and he shot off towards the young man.
"I must find out who he is," Vegeta agreed. He sped on past Gohan, and the young man, seeing that everyone had decided to follow him, jumped into the air and lead them across the plateau. Vegeta noticed that Bulma still accompanied them, letting Yamcha carry her.
After about ten minutes of flight, everyone lighted down upon the dry, dusty earth. The young man reached into the pocket of his jacket, and pulled out what resembled a cigarette case. Instead of cigarettes, however, the case held Capsule Corp. capsules. He activated one of them, and a small icebox appeared once the small cloud of carbon dioxide had dissipated. Opening the icebox, he offered everyone a cold drink.
"You have the logo of my family's company on your jacket," Bulma pointed out. "Do you work for us or something? I haven't seen you around."
"I'm just a fan of your work," he answered.
"How do you know my dad?" Gohan asked.
"I haven't actually met him. I've just heard about him, and I really want to meet him."
"You were a Super Saiyan, weren't you?" Gohan continued.
"Yes."
"What's your name?" Bulma inquired. "We have a few positions open if you're interested."
The young man shifted his eyes to the ground. "I'm afraid I can't tell you right now. I know it's strange, but you'll have to trust me."
Vegeta interjected brusquely. "You will tell us who you are, boy. There's no way you could have Saiyan blood. No Saiyan I have ever met looks like you, and Kakarot and I are the only ones left. The brat there is a half-breed, if you wish to count him. You're lying."
"I'm sorry, Vegeta, but I just can't tell you right now." As if embarrassed, the youth kept staring at his feet, and he turned his face away from Vegeta as he spoke to him.
"How do you know my name? You're up to something. You will tell me what it is." Normally, the Saiyan would have threatened the young man, but he knew, to his chagrin, that his threats would mean nothing to someone so much more powerful.
"I've heard about you too. I heard that you are one of the best fighters alive and that you are a prince. I was looking forward to meeting you too, and I'm glad that I have." Confused, Vegeta sensed no irony in his voice. It was not mere flattery, and the admiration disarmed him momentarily. Only rarely had anyone spoken positively about him.
"I will find out who you are."
"You will sooner or later, I promise."
Vegeta vaguely sensed an enormous amount of energy approaching them. It was Kakarot's—he could recognize it anywhere. At least the boy had spoken truly about this, and the Saiyan prince stalked away to perch on a rock and gather his thoughts. Finally, Kakarot would return. Rightly, had he remained on Earth to await him. And to hear of his arrival from a Saiyan freak of nature such as that purple-haired boy—how could he have known? Where had he come from? Perhaps, like Gohan, the young man could be a Saiyan hybrid. It would make sense. Perhaps Nappa or Raditz had unknown love-children; it would not surprise him. Kakarot, on the other hand, had not left earth until he had headed for Namek. Unless he had fathered a child as a baby, the young man could not have descended from him. Clearly, that had not happened.
To see if he could detect any resemblance between the boy and either Nappa or Raditz, Vegeta surveyed his appearance quickly from a distance. While he did not see any immediate similarities apart from the characteristic Saiyan brown skin and deep-set eyes, he did however notice that the boy had glanced over at him when he thought he had his gaze turned elsewhere. "What are you looking at?" Vegeta growled.
"Sorry. I was just staring off into space—thinking about things."
"I consider you an enemy until you have proven otherwise." He waved his hand in dismissal.
"I'll keep that in mind."
A sonic boom shook the atmosphere, and a spark of light appeared overhead. Kakarot's energy signature drew ever closer until the pod that carried him crashed into the rock, creating a small crater. After recovering from the mild explosion, everyone rushed to the crater's edge. Vegeta remained crouched atop his perch, but he focused his sight and hearing on the site as sharply as he could. When he heard the others cheer upon seeing Kakarot emerge from his ship, he exhaled condescendingly. The softened Saiyan hadn't even defeated Frieza; he had done no more for Earth than he, Vegeta, had. What special worship did he deserve now that he did not also deserve?
And then that boy—that hybrid brat who could apparently transform into a Super Saiyan—he, of all the impossible people in the universe, had slaughtered Frieza and his father alone and effortlessly. From the legends he had heard as a child, Vegeta knew that a Super Saiyan would emerge only centuries after the previous one's death. In these last days of the Saiyan race, two Super Saiyans had emerged, and Vegeta felt a dagger of shame pierce his heart, realizing that he could not do this one last thing to bring his father—all of his fathers—glory. The third-class moron and the purple-haired bastard could honor their fathers, but not him. Super Saiyan or not, Vegeta hadn't even succeeded in executing Frieza in King Vegeta's name. No—some random boy with tainted blood had done it. The brat didn't know what he had done, didn't know how he had disgraced the last Prince of All Saiyans. At least he had Saiyan blood; only that could console Vegeta. Frieza had died at a Saiyan's hand.
Vegeta remembered how, one night, his father, the King, had entered his chambers in the old palace. His hard, impassive face bore the slightest trace of foreboding. "Come here, my son," he had said. Silently, the young child obeyed, and his father scooped him into his arms. Vegeta balanced himself by resting one hand between the King's broad shoulders and by encircling his tail tightly around the arm that held him. Sternly, the King's eyes met those of his son.
"You will need to pack your things. Bring only what you need."
"Why, father?"
"You are going to Frieza's ship, and you might have to stay there for a while. He wants to train you personally."
"No! I will not train with him. His ship is nasty. He is weak. You are stronger than him, father—I want to stay with you! You are the strongest in the universe!"
King Vegeta smiled. "I know. Don't worry. I will come back for you. But this is something we have to do."
"Why? I don't want to!"
"Think of it this way, Vegeta—you'll get the chance to catch Frieza off-guard! You may even get to defeat him yourself!" The King poked a few fingers into the child's belly, eliciting a squeal of surprise followed by a short fit of laughter. "Promise me that you will make Frieza bow to you one day."
"I promise. I swear to you, father, that I will not fail!"
"You never have, my son. You have made me proud." He let a quiet moment pass. "Nappa will be here to escort you to Frieza's ship in fifteen minutes. You must be ready when he comes." The King began to extricate his arm from his son's tail.
"No!" Vegeta screamed, throwing his arms around his father's neck. "Please don't!"
"Do as I say!" He threw the boy to the floor. "And cease your sniveling. Saiyan princes never show weakness to others. They must be strong for their people."
Vegeta wiped a few lone tears away, angry with himself for shedding them at all. "Father!"
"I must leave you." He rested his heavy hand on the door.
"I will not stand for this! I hate you!" the boy shrieked, but the King had disappeared before he had even opened his mouth.
Not until a few years had passed did Vegeta understand why his father had handed him over to Frieza. The tyrant had threatened to destroy Planet Vegeta and all of its people if the King did not relinquish his son. Knowing he could not defeat Frieza, King Vegeta surrendered. Not two weeks later, though, the Prince spied his father's pod from the depths of Frieza's station. His father had come to take him back. Yet Vegeta never saw his father after that, concluding that Frieza had done away with him. Just a few short hours later, Vegeta received the news of his homeworld's destruction. He remembered this—seeing his father's ship, then learning of Planet Vegeta's devastation. As this memory rotted in his head over the years, Vegeta slowly realized that Frieza—not an asteroid collision—had exterminated the Saiyan race, and he had likely done it in response to his father's rescue attempt. Thus, when Nappa once mused aloud his suspicion of Frieza's guilt, Vegeta shocked him by revealing that he had known all along.
Now, Frieza was dead and definitively so; the strange young man had flung his ashes into the dust of the desert. He hovered above Kakarot and his friends in a strange vehicle. After speaking with Kakarot alone, he had retrieved the vehicle from a capsule, and with a gesture of farewell, he vanished in a flash of light. Vegeta had never seen such a vehicle before.
"Vegeta!" Piccolo called.
"What, Namekian?"
"This matter concerns you. You may want to hear about it."
Out of curiosity, the Saiyan joined the others.
Loud enough for all to hear, Piccolo declared, "The young man was from the future. He told Goku that, in three years' time, two androids will arrive to threaten and all but destroy the earth. In a battle, all of us die but he and Gohan. He suggests we prepare ourselves."