THE PRINCE OF ASH AND SNOW

by The Not-So-Super Saiyan

based off the web comic by Stupidoomdoodles

and inspired by the works of LadyVegeets

CHAPTER TEN: THE WARNING

Content Warning: extreme violence and language

JANUARY 16th

Vegeta hobbled through the snow, pulling the sweatshirt he had stolen from Roshi's closer to his skin. It was old and worn and did little to protect him from the unforgiving chill. He clung to the duffle bag, wrapping it around his front as he dragged his body through the flurries.

He regretted everything. He regretted leaving without saying goodbye one last time, he regretted taking her Dragon Balls and her research. He regretted that he had no plan.

He wasn't quite sure whether or not he regretted last night.

Best not to think about that now.

Before she came along everything had been so clear... maybe. Maybe he hadn't been looking, but she danced into his life anyway and pulled up the thick layers of mud and muck from the riverbed as she went, clouding everything like mud stirred up in a pond. Vegeta stopped to press his throbbing head against a cold brick wall. The problem was he couldn't see through the muddy waters anymore. Had no idea which way was up.

His life had become infinitely more complicated and oh-so simple at the same time. She would simply wake to find him gone and discover he had taken all of her research and she would simply hate him. She would hate him like he wished that she would. He decided all of this would hurt far less if she did.

But…

Probably best not to think about it now.

Vegeta simply couldn't walk anymore. He wasn't sure how long he had been walking, long enough for the sun to rise. He knew he needed to stop. Ducking inside an old building that had clearly been used the night before as a makeshift refuge from the cold.

Dropping the bag he tucked himself into a corner as far away from the broken windows and shattered glass as he could. Curling up, he let his head slump against the frozen drywall and slowly ran his bandaged hands back and forth over his arms. He felt numb. He couldn't help but stare at the duffle bag, feeling sick to his stomach. It had been a long time since he had felt this way, entirely drenched in shame.

His hands were beginning to freeze, and the stiff ache pulled him out of the tar of his thoughts. He shoved them down between his thighs to warm them as best he could. As he lifted his legs something familiar poked him in the back. His gun. He was so incredibly sore, it was hard to reach behind him and pull it free from his jeans.

Turning it over and over in his hands he found his mind wandering again. This was becoming dangerous. He had proved himself right. He had betrayed her, the one person who had ever treated him like a person and he had stabbed her in the back. The bandages caught his eye as he thumbed the safety. He turned his hands around staring at the bandages. She had done it again, when his pathetic life had ripped him to shreds she had tenderly picked up the pieces and put him back together...and….so much more. His eye fell on the bag in front of him. This was how he repaid her for everything. He wasn't even sure why he had taken it. Frieza seemed to want it. She definitely cared about it, but what the hell was he going to do with it? He had no idea what she had really been working on or how far along in the research she was.

Frieza hadn't killed him yet and he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of breaking him now, after everything he'd been through, everything that had been taken from him.

He pulled the amber sphere from his jacket pocket. Frieza had been overconfident, as always. He had been fiddling with the trinket during their time in The VIP Suite. He had carelessly left it on the small metal tray just out of reach. Vegeta had managed to swipe it in the midst of their "conversations" though and Frieza had enjoyed himself far too much to notice. He would be furious when he found Vegeta had taken it. He would surely send someone after him, if he hadn't already.

Vegeta wasn't ready. He tossed the loose ball into the duffle bag with the rest of them. Seven balls. All of this for seven stupid fucking balls.

He was going to kill Frieza or die trying. Nothing else mattered now. Running his fingers over the chilled metal, he let them fall over the juts and corners of the gun. It felt heavier than he ever remembered it feeling.

The dusty sound of a boot sliding against the crumbled drywall broke his trance.

He whipped around, pushing himself up the wall for support.

God. Everything hurts.

Goku swept the room carefully, trying to be as quiet as possible. Bulma had warned him not to spook Vegeta. If he was anything like Raditz, Goku didn't want to spook him. He wanted to get Bulma's stuff back and go back to Chichi and Gohan and possibly grab something to eat on the way.

He heard a gun click behind him.

Oh, frickle frackle.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." a rough voice echoed through the stale, dusty room. But he didn't sound intimidating, he sounded tired...and sad? But still, Goku stood stiff and silent.

"Turn around slowly." the voice commanded, and he did.

He was surprised. He had gone to bed long before Vegeta had arrived the previous night. He was...smaller than Goku anticipated, and he looked like he had taken a real wallop already. But then again, he vaguely remembered Bulma saying something about that. What was it…

Don't spook him? Be careful with him? Or...something about a freezer? He did look like someone had dropped a freezer on him. Wait. Stop. He's still talking. Focus.

"You're here for the Dragon Balls, aren't you? How did you find me?"

"Um. It's Vegeta, right?"

Nothing.

"We...have a way of tracking them," the small, broken man didn't move, his eyes narrowing.

"Please...can you lower the gun? I don't want a repeat of my brother's death."

Vegeta didn't look like he intended to lower the gun. In fact, he looked more hostile than he had when they first met moments before.

"Your brother?"

"Raditz." Goku spoke the name, but it still felt so foreign to him. "From what I understand, he used to work with you."

Vegeta couldn't help but sneer, as he smiled his bruised eye closed off entirely and pain prickled through his face.

"So you're the infamous Kakarrot, eh?" He stepped forward, cocking the gun. "You have no idea how fucking tired I got of hearing about you."

"Listen Vegeta, I came here to talk. You don't have to do this. We can team up. Give us back the Dragon Balls and we will get rid of Freezer together. Isn't that what you really want?"

Hatred and disgust boiled and bubbled thick inside of Vegeta's veins. What the hell did this clown know? He didn't even know his enemy's name. Vegeta found himself slowly and carefully circling the taller man like a predator. He stopped abruptly, rubbing his forehead with the stock of the gun. His head felt like it had been split in two. He let out a sigh.

"Y'know what?"

No...? I don't?

"I'm tired of being told what to do by assholes like you all the time. So if you or anyone else want these Dragon Balls." Vegeta lifted the gun, aiming for Goku's face. "You'll have to pry them from my cold, dead hands."

Goku widened his stance - he'd trained with a number of legendary martial artists, but his stance never varied from the one he learned from the Turtle Hermit.

Vegeta scoffed. This fool was obviously lacking in judgement, he was literally trying to fight with his fists against a gun. There'd be no way he could close the distance before Vegeta got off a shot.

"I'm giving you one last chance to disappear on your own before I make you disappear" Vegeta threatened, but Kakarrot didn't back down. In fact, Vegeta's words seemed to encourage him.

Goku shot forward. Vegeta was actually impressed at how light he was on his feet and how quickly he moved - most thugs wouldn't be able to train their aim on him the way he moved.

But Vegeta wasn't a common thug. His lips formed that one-sided smirk that anyone who'd ever been around him for more than 5 minutes would be familiar with. He pivoted down to one knee to steady his aim as he turned his sights on his assailant. Quick as Kakarrot was, there was no hope for him. Vegeta squeezed the trigger.

Click.

God Damnit! Of all the times for a jam, did it have to b-

Vegeta flew several feet before landing on his back, blood dripping from his nose. He didn't even wait for the white flare that blinded his vision from the blow to subside before he rolled to the side and began to un-jam his gun.

"Agh-" Vegeta spat, pain exploding from his fingers. Kakarrot, fool though he seemed, knew how to harrow his foe. He had kicked the gun from Vegeta's hands. Vegeta fumbled backward, freeing his hands to defend himself. Every movement of every muscle reminding him of how much he hadn't recovered.

Interestingly, now that they were fighting hand to hand, Vegeta noticed some things right away. Kakarrot was fast and nimble, but his strikes lacked commitment. If the roles had been reversed, Vegeta would have focused entirely on his enemies vital points and wounds, while it almost seemed like Kakarrot was doing the opposite. Vegeta realized almost instantly he didn't need to guard his wounds as much as he thought, and that freed him up to be a little more offensive.

Vegeta almost too casually knocked aside several incoming blows targeting the muscles in his foe's arms. Kakarrot would feel that more and more as the fight went on. Once he had an opening, Vegeta darted in, turning, and neatly aligned himself behind the larger man. As Kakarrot turned for follow him, Vegeta buried his fist his gut. The combined inertia of Kakarrot's body turning into the surprisingly solid blow left him winded, and his entire core seemed to seize up.

What kind of guy is this?! Goku thought. He's gotta be near collapsing and here he's starting to kick my butt! Goku barely managed to fend off the follow-up blow from the small frenzied man.

Vegeta was impressed by Kakarrot's fortitude - even Nappa would've collapsed instantly from a blow like that, and here this man had managed to continue defending himself. Vegeta watched his breathing - it was controlled and almost instantly became relaxed again after Vegeta's strike. His offense wasn't very vicious, but he knew how to defend himself. Vegeta was concentrating on all the subtle cues of his enemy's fighting - his breathing, the angle of his stance, where he kept his elbows when he attacked, how he kept his shoulders loose - that he completely missed Kakarrot's almost giddy grin.

Goku was having fun. When he had fought Raditz, there was an urgency - his son was in danger. While he knew the dragon balls were important to Bulma, it wasn't the same as before, and so he allowed himself to really enjoy this experience. Vegeta's style was…. Odd. If Goku had known the word he would have called it 'idiosyncratic', but it reminded him of Krav Maga and something else…. What was it….

Oh yeah! Goku remembered now, it was called Systema. He had fought a Russian guy in a tournament awhile back that had studied that. It was certainly impressive. Vegeta's body kept completely relaxed - almost like a noodle (mmmm…. nooodles), or a garden hose right up until he either struck back or blocked a hit, then he almost reflexively tightened his body in a wave from the impact point, absorbing the blow.

"You really are somethin', y'know?" Kakarrot blurted out.

What? Was he… engaging in SMALL TALK? While FIGHTING? That only made Vegeta more livid. Here he was, literally fighting for his life and his opponent wasn't even taking things seriously!

Vegeta grunted as he ducked a big over-hand blow from Kakarrot. He seemed to be getting better as time went on. He finally noticed Kakarrot's smile.

Was he… Is he… TOYING WITH ME? Vegeta thought.

"Who are you!?" He spat, letting up for a moment as he took a step back. Hopefully Kakarrot would take the bait and allow Vegeta to catch his breath.

"Me…? I'm Goku!" The fool actually pointed at himself as he said it. Vegeta scoffed again.

"Now listen, Vegeta. I can tell you're having a hard time. So seriously, why don't you just come with us, and we'll figure out this Dragon-Ball-Freezer thing together, okay?"

"You mean… You're serious?" Vegeta said. "That's not just a ploy to get my guard down?"

"Of course not! Do I look like I'd lie to you?" He responded. He literally made puppy dog eyes as he said it.

What an idiot. Vegeta thought. "Al… Alright. They're over there." Vegeta pointed to the duffle bag at the base of a pillar, behind him. He'd done his best to keep himself in between them and Kakarrot.

"Awesome, thanks." Goku said, a smile as wide as his ears. "You won't regret it. Y'know, I'm actually kinda glad you were stubborn at first, it was great to fight y-"

Goku had been talking as he approached the duffle bag. Vegeta was dumbfounded that he had actually completely let his guard down, but he didn't miss the opportunity nonetheless. Without seeing it coming, Goku took the blows to the throat, face, and grown in quick succession and fell to his knees, sputtering. He looked up at Vegeta just in time to catch a glimpse of his boot connecting to the side of his face before blacking out.

Bulma could practically feel her bones clacking against each other as she ran down the frozen, slippery streets. She glanced down at the round device in her hand again and again. They were close. Gohan sprinted to catch up to her and Piccolo strode casually behind, easily keeping pace.

She was following to the location she knew Goku had gone to. But the Dragon Balls weren't there, at least not anymore. The faintest cough broke her stride, her feet nearly sliding out from underneath her. There in the alleyway Goku sat, cradling his arm close to his chest and cupping the underside of his ribs. He was a bloody mess.

"Baba." Gohan practically screamed as he slid on the slush and ice in the alleyway. Skidding to his father's side. "Baba, you're bleeding."

"Even disarmed, he was one...tough cookie...couldn't beat him." He looked up at Bulma, torment written on his face. "Bulma, I'm so sorry I couldn't get them from him. I don't...I don't think he can get very far though."

She looked back down at her radar as she watched the blinking lights move further and further away.

"Where are you tough guy?"" she whispered into the wind.

A hand shot out from the flurries of ice to steady itself on the frozen alley wall. It scuffed and slid, jutting over the rough edges of the bricks, leaving a vibrant trail of red painted in its place. Vegeta stumbled down the alleyway, directionless, blind. He clutched desperately at his gut where his wound had mercilessly reopened, gushing hot blood through his shirt and fingers.

"That...fucking clown. I'm not going to die... like this…" Steadying himself again, he forced his eyes to focus on the path ahead of him.

Vegeta would survive, like he always had. He had to. So caught in his own thoughts, he nearly tripped over a man curled up in the alleyway under a thin sheet of soggy cardboard. The man was huddled around a rusty oil drum full of paper, cardboard, and old discarded pieces of wood, it crackled and sputtered as the snow tried desperately to put it out. The smell of fire filled Vegeta's lungs with smoke that twisted around his mind, pulling him deep into the grave of his memory and sparking an ancient fire buried deep inside of him.

Large hands cupped the small boy's face nearly wrapping around the back of his head, gentle and warm. The man kneeled on the ground pressing his forehead to his son's.

"Vegeta, listen to me. Listen closely." he pulled away to meet the boy's wide, dark eyes. "I need to get your brother and…" the boy's gaze wandered to the flames licking down the hallway, shattering glass and cracking wood. Panic gripped his fluttering heart. "Loo-look at me, son. I need to find your mother and Tarble. Go. Get out and we will find you outside...look...look at me….go. GO." The boy reached up to touch his father's scratchy beard, running his soft palms up and down.

"P-P-Papa." he choked. He didn't want to go, he wanted to be held tight and carried through the flames. He wasn't sure he had it in him.

Heavy footfalls pounded down the blazing hallway behind his father.

"Vegeta, you need to run. RUN." With that he looked at his son one last time, setting his hand on the boy's wet cheek and spun him on his heels pushing him forcefully towards the charred hallway as he turned the other way towards the footsteps.

"You? How did you get in here?" Vegeta heard the ice in his father's voice freeze the flames around him.

The small boy gripped the hot windowsill at the end of the smoky hall, his skin sticking to the red hot metal as he pulled them away. He didn't feel it though, adrenaline pumped through his body as he scrambled through the open window and into the melting snowbank below. But he didn't stop, he couldn't. He ran. He ran and ran until he slid across the melting ice, his face colliding with the unforgiving cobblestones and skidding to a stop. He scurried back to his feet and sprinted as fast as he could, his legs felt like lead, collapsing underneath him as the flames licked the open sky. He slipped and slid, clambering to his feet as he watched the glowing husk burn.

Cries of anguish punctuated the deafening silence as the flames consumed everything. The fire filled his ears and vibrated through his bones. The pained moans and hot snaps of wood filled the air as the house began to collapse on itself.

The rolling waves of heat were suffocating. A voice misplaced through time cried out through the smoke. Her voice drifted through the air, nearly choked out by the thick billows of black smoke that snaked towards the frozen, starless sky. She was screaming for him.

"Vegeta….Vegeta….where are you?"

He wanted to scream. Wanted to run to her, but he was trapped, something inside of him had rooted his body to the cobblestone walkway, and no matter how he tried he could not move. His face hot from the heat rolling off the fire, but he could not look away. Tiny fists twisted handfuls of his shirt into circles as he pulled them tightly across his chest.

No….no….no….Papa…..Mama….

An unfamiliar voice slipped through the smoke and ash and down his spine.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk….what a shame…"

Frozen hands wrapped around his head from behind, sliding through his messy locks of damp hair and gently grasping his skull. He felt a soft lingering kiss on the top of his head.

"Do not dismay my little prince." the hand slid down the side of his throat to rest on his shoulder, cold lips pressed against his ear sending tremors through his body.

"The Cold family will be taking care of you from now on."

He stumbled forward catching himself on the wall once again, hand slipping on the blood that he left behind. His father, was that really his father? The fine, sharp features distorted by fear and anger. As quickly as he had appeared he began to fade. Try as he might he couldn't keep the image in his mind, like catching smoke in your hands.

"You alright, mate?" the man below him was now pressed as far as he could against the opposite wall, fear in his eyes. "You...uh...you don't look so good."

Vegeta heard nothing but the pounding of his own heart ringing in his ears.

"...I-I'm coming for you…Frieza..." Once again warmed and propelled forward by the hatred that burned him, he stumbled out of the alleyway and down the street.

"...and...I'm not going down without a fight."

"Bulma. You need to slow down." Krillin panted, resting his hands on his knees.

Bulma turned to snap at him but saw Piccolo's concerned look.

"Lil' Blue, we goin' in circles. Maybe you need to take a look at that...thing again."

Her legs felt like noodles, she was pretty sure she was lost and she was disheartened. Vegeta was close, he had to be, she just knew it.

"Bulma we need to go back, maybe get the patrol car and…"

"No." she snapped. For a moment no one said anything, then she spoke, her voice barely more than a whisper. "No...he could be dead by then."

They nodded solemnly and continued on through the storm.

"Let's hope we find him soon." Krillin muttered into his frozen hands.

Vegeta slipped into the alley and crouched behind a dumpster. Unsure where he was going or how long it would take him to get there, he only knew he couldn't stay here, not for long. But he had to stop, if only for a brief moment.

Eyes closed, face buried in his sweatshirt he wrapped his arms around the duffle bag and tried to control his breathing. He felt slippery, hot blood pulsing from his side.

Shit.

"Hey Geeters, whatcha doin'?" a coarse, female voice cut through the snow.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Dodoria.

"Fuck off bitch." he said, eyes still closed.

"Mmm, can't do that Geets. See, you got something the boss wants and I've been ordered to retrieve it."

He had plans for Dodoria. Payment for what she had done to him in the VIP Suite, but she was far stronger than him now.

Doesn't much matter now. Fuck it.

With a swift motion he pushed himself up, dropping the duffle bag in the snow.

"You always were an insufferable cunt." Vegeta spat. He reached as inconspicuously as he could behind him but failed to find the cold metal grip of his gun. Shit! He had forgotten to pick it up after knocking that fool Kakarrot out. Hmph. Maybe I'm the fool. He thought to himself.

"What's the matter, Geets. Looking for this?" Dodoria held up his gun. "Wouldn't do you much good. Poor thing's jammed." She smiled. Vegeta wondered if she knew how ugly she was.

"Don't worry." The words oozed out of Dodoria's disgusting mouth. "It'll be more fun this way after all."

She tossed the gun aside, drew her own pistol, and tossed it aside too. "I've wanted this for a long time…"

"Not as much as I have" Vegeta retorted. "Let's see if I can make you any uglier…"

Bulma was practically on top of the beeping lights. Vegeta was close...or at least the Dragon Balls were. She whipped her head around her body following as she spun in circles in the slush-covered street. Searching frantically, she had been running so long she lost all feeling in her legs. Fluttering breaths threatened to give way to tears. Then she heard it.

Thuck.

Thuck.

A voice hissing sharp whispers through the snow.

Thuck.

She broke into a desperate sprint, chasing the sound up the street and to an alleyway. Startled, Krillin and Piccolo ran after her.

Sliding to a stop she nearly toppled over herself, colliding with the edge of the alley wall. A man sat in the alleyway, back to her, straddled across a figure. He pulled back his fist, striking relentlessly again and again.

Vegeta.

Dodoria begged and pleaded bargaining information. But nothing worked, the flurry of blows rained down on her. She knew. She knew he was going to kill her.

It was all old news, things Vegeta had known or suspected. Nothing spectacular, definitely nothing that would quell his rage or change his mind.

"Wait...wait...stop, please. That night. The night of the fire….it…." She blubbered through a swollen bloody mouth.

As if the words themselves had a hold on him, he froze.

"What did you just say?" He spat, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and yanked it upwards before slamming her mercilessly back down on the hard concrete.

"That night….it wasn't an accident...Frieza...he ordered it."

The suspicion that had always been there, suckling and tugging on the darkest corner of his mind; bleeding like spilled ink, covering everything in darkness.

How could he have been so stupid? How could he have believed him? Maybe he hadn't, maybe he had just accepted the answer because it was easier than facing the truth...

His captor had been the one that had mercilessly ripped his family and his life from him.

Rage sent flames through his veins, greedily devouring everything from the center of his chest to the tips of his fingers.

Dodoria saw him pause. She couldn't have known of the blazing hatred boiling within him. His face betrayed none of his feelings.

"Vegeta, listen" she wasn't calling him 'Geets' anymore. "Frieza isn't taking chances with this one...he...he's called in Ginyu. He'll be here as soon as he finishes up in Africa…"

Vegeta's cold gaze returned to Dodoria's pathetic face. He was still expressionless.

Terror filled Dodoria's eyes.. "We...we can team up...maybe together...we can..." but Vegeta did not hear her begging. A deafening, wet crack silenced her as she went limp beneath him.

A small familiar voice whimpering behind him pulled him from his rage long enough to regain control.

No. Fucking. Way.

Bulma bit her lip to force down the scream that began to rip through her chest. She heard the crack and watched the body go limp beneath Vegeta. For a moment he sat motionless. The three of them waited.

Vegeta leaned forward, reaching behind the dumpster and pulling out her duffle bag. With great effort he stood, his body trembling, jerking this way and that as it threatened to give out beneath him. The bag skidded to her feet, scraping along the ground.

"...team up…" he met her gaze, blood splattered his face, dripping down from his face, arms, and torso.

"W-what?" she managed to whisper.

"I...I wanna team...up…" he muttered before dropping to the ground with a heavy thud the bloody amber sphere rolled from his hand into the snow.

AN: I apologize for the delay everyone! Had some person tragedy to deal with. I am also participating as an artist in The Prince and The Heiress Vegebul Mayhem on Tumblr so you should all check it out and vote for your favorite pieces! I am hoping to stick strictly to my publishing schedule but I would rather turn out work that I love instead of publishing something that isn't ready for you all.

Thank you so much for all of your patience and your comments. I appreciate them all very much!

As always, the greatest of thanks to my valiant army of copy editors Hanko, Cindermane and dgschneider for tolerating my flurry of artistic writing and making it presentable! Especially Hanko for the late night write sesh.

And praises ever be to Her Holiness, Stupidoomdoodles and the lovely LadyVegeets for inspiring this fic and really for getting me writing for the first time.

Comments are welcome, say hello! I don't bite! I also want you all to know that I read all the comments left on the story and appreciate every one of them. I am sorry I haven't responded to all of you but I just want to give a huge thanks to everyone who has read and continues to read this for supporting me on this endeavor. It's been such a blast and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!