"So what's the point of this again?" Raditz asked as he held up the cards with red apples on them. He scratched at the strange material on his back. His brother's wife had demanded that he wear something else besides "That rotten smelling garbage you call armor," and so he was forced to wear these ugly blue pineapple print button up shirt, sandals, and khaki shorts.
"It's for fun!" Gohan explained.
"This isn't my idea of fun," Raditz grumbled, tail twitching in annoyance.
"How do you know? You've never played before," Connie said.
"Cause I don't get this game," he stated.
"You match the words on the red apples with the green apples. The closest match wins a round!" she responded.
"Yes but I don't understand half of these words!" he said, "What the heck is a 'Michael Jackson'?"
"He was a famous human," Connie explained.
"What, was he some kind of fighter or scientist?" he asked.
"No he's a singer," Gohan explained.
"Then I don't get why people care about him," Raditz responded, resting his head in his hand.
The children sighed and set down their cards. They had been trying to help Raditz get used to life on Earth all morning, but so far that wasn't going well. He didn't like cartoons and had more fun antagonizing the local farmer's cows than playing board games or doing puzzles with them. At least he wasn't hurting anyone though.
Piccolo watched the children interact with the new Saiyan carefully as he meditated. Raditz's intentions may be genuine, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to cause trouble. He was already struggling to adapt, though that could change with time.
Suddenly, Vegeta approached him. "'Piccolo, have you seen Steven? I can't sense him anywhere," he asked, "He's already missed a half hour of his morning training session with me. Just because we have Kakarot's brother to deal with now doesn't mean he gets time off."
"Haven't seen him," Piccolo grunted, "He might have gone back to the temple to grab something for our guest, though."
"Very well, I'll go check," the Saiyan sighed before taking off.
Piccolo watched as he disappeared into the distance. "He's gone. You can come out now," he announced. Steven stepped out from his hiding place behind the Namekian.
"Thanks Piccolo," he said.
"Why are you avoiding him again?" the Namekian responded.
"No reason…" Steven said looking away.
"Steven, don't lie to me," Piccolo warned looking at the boy, "or I'll bring you to Vegeta myself."
"Ok…" Steven relented, "I'm just a little uncomfortable being around him right now."
"Because...?" Piccolo prompted.
He hesitated and looked down. "I may have…" he started, "Found out Vegeta used to work for Frieza…"
Piccolo faltered. He turned and looked at Steven in surprise. "Who told you?" he asked, "Was it Raditz?"
"Sorta…" Steven said, rubbing the back of his head, "I was listening in when he arrived last night."
The green alien sighed. "He didn't want you to find out like this," Piccolo stated.
"That doesn't change that it happened!" Steven argued, "How else was he going to tell me that would have made things better? 'Oh Steven, Vegeta used to destroy worlds for a living, but that's ok now because he doesn't anymore!'? What am I supposed to think of that?"
"It's not that simple Steven," Piccolo stated, "You don't know anything about Vegeta's history. What he has done was more than wrong, but it wasn't simply his job. He didn't exactly have a choice in the matter."
"What do you mean?" Steven asked.
"Well the issue starts a long time ago," Piccolo began, "You know about Vegeta-Sai, the Saiyan Homeworld, correct?" Steven nodded. "Well that wasn't their original homeworld. A long, long time ago the Saiyans used to live on the planet Salad, but then tragedy struck it was destroyed," Piccolo continued, "The Saiyans escaped its destruction but were left without a home. They drifted aimlessly through space for years. Then they found Colds. They were willing to sell them a new home, but they had nothing to give in return. They needed a new home so a deal was struck: the Saiyans would work under the Colds until their debt was paid." "Though there was an uproar at first, the Saiyans eventually got used to it, but the Colds still did not trust them," Piccolo elaborated, "Frieza was told that one day, a Saiyan would rise up against him to stop him. Fearing this meant rebellion, he kidnapped Vegeta as a child and forced him to work in his army to keep his father from organizing an uprising. Still, even with that, two years later he blew up the planet and the rest of the Saiyan race. From that day forward, Vegeta swore vengeance against him."
"What happened next? Did he escape?" Steven asked.
"No," Piccolo said, "He stayed under Frieza's thumb for a few more years, hoping that if he stayed close to him, he'd eventually have the opportunity to kill Frieza. Then he got caught in an asteroid belt and crash landed on Earth. Your mother found him and looked after him from then on."
"So he really was good all along," Steven said with a smile.
"No he wasn't," Piccolo said, "The Vegeta you know now and the Vegeta from back then were two different people. If it weren't for Rose, Vegeta would have no care for the Earth or anyone on it. He probably would have used it as a punching bag until he figured out a way off. Had you met him back then, he would not have hesitated to kill you if you stood in his way."
"How's that supposed to make me feel better?!" Steven questioned.
"Because he's not like that anymore," Piccolo said, "Your mother had a profound effect on him. Her kindness and discipline changed him. He may not share your mother's fondness for humanity, but he would rather die than let anyone hurt you or this planet."
Steven blinked before smiling. "Thanks Piccolo," he said. He looked over to where Connie and Gohan were trying to show Raditz how to play checkers. The man had a very irritated expression on his face as they set up the board. "Do you think Raditz will ever become like Vegeta?" Steven asked, "I mean...what is he going to do if we face Frieza and beat him?"
Piccolo shrugged. "It's possible, but I wouldn't bet on it," he thought aloud. "Raditz is different. He's been alone for a long time. He might never get used to people or life on Earth, but I don't think that should stop you from trying to help. If your mother was able to, so might you," he said, "But not now." Steven looked at him in confusion at his last sentence. "Why not?" he asked.
"Because you're already late for your morning training with Vegeta, and he's going to be fuming if you keep him waiting any longer," Piccolo noted.
"Oh crap! You're right!" Steven exclaimed, starting to run off, "Thanks for the talk Piccolo!" The Namekian nodded. As he watched the boy run back towards the temple a slight grin formed on his face. He then turned back to watch Raditz lose to Gohan in checkers.