Across the vast and lonely space, several space pods moved to their designated destination. The five pods raced swiftly across the void, passing by countless planets and stars. After spending more than a month traveling, the fast-paced objects finally reached their goal. Scorching flames surrounded the pods as they broke through the world's atmosphere. Once they broke through, the space pods smashed into the ground. There was no damage to the floor thanks to the shock absorbers installed to prevent any damage to the infrastructure.

Countless men ran around, shouting and whatnot, while the pods' engines shut down. The men in battle armor halted in front of the pods and strengthened their posture as the gates slowly reached the ground. Drops of sweat slid down the soldier's temples as they awaited for the men to get out. Once the metal doors connected with the crimson floor, each emerged from their space pods.

"Humph! Here we are. I hate this place!"

The one to speak first was the tallest male in the group. He towered the others with his height and build. "Okra! Korn! Be on the lookout! I don't trust anyone on this mudball! Be ready for anything." His fierce gaze and voice startled the soldiers standing there as a greeting company.

"Affirmative, sir!"

The addressed men seemed the same age as the giant but less intimidating than he was. "Brat! You stay close to Prince Vegeta, and don't let anyone get in his way! Got it!?" His dark orbs shifted to a skinny, long-haired boy covered in bruises.

"Sure thing!"

While the boy eagerly moved forward, the shorter child scoffed and crossed his arms. "I don't need a low-level weakling like Raditz to guard me, Nappa! I can defeat anyone on this stupid rock on my own..." The flame-haired prince glared at the giant, who nodded as they moved forward.

"I'm sure you can, Vegeta... But since the destruction of our planet and race, we must guard you until you're the strongest being in the galaxy! And take over the reins of the empire, as it's supposed to happen!"

Nappa's beaming voice scared the people away. Nobody dared to stand in front of the marching group. They walked through the brightly illuminated corridor until they reached quite a large door. Once in front, the metal gate slid open and revealed three figures inside. As they walked inside, they glared at the figures on the left and right sides with hateful glares. The only response they received was arrogant smirks from each side. Meanwhile, the figure in the middle took its time as it lifted a crystal glass filled with red wine. After the creature took a sip, he uttered the first words.

"You have no idea how much this pains me, little Vegeta... Unfortunately, your home, your father, and the entire race are gone."

Hearing it again, and from that creature's mouth, caused them all to look away; it was hard to accept it. "If I had arrived earlier, I could've done something, and such tragedy would've gotten avoided. Will you ever be able to forgive me, little one?" The pinkish creature turned around and slowly approached the short child.

Much to everyone's surprise, the flame-haired boy dropped to his knee and lowered his head. "A being of your status should not apologize to anyone, let alone me. If there's anyone's fault, it's the fault of the Saiyans that were on the planet at the time and the King... to be unable to intercept and destroy a simple meteor, it's a disgrace!" Upon hearing such words, the creature halted.

"If anything, those weaklings deserved to die!"

While the other Saiyans could barely believe what they had just heard from their supposed prince and leader, the creature's crimson orbs shined brightly as a large smirk surfaced. The terrifying-looking being lifted a hand to hide his expression as he stared at the amusing prince.

"Those are pretty strong words you just said, little Vegeta. It seems it rattled and upset your followers."

The Saiyans looked at the floor, not daring to meet the cold and ruthless eyes of the creature in front of them. "If they have a problem with me, I will deal with it. I don't have any use for weaklings who are under control by useless emotions... Only the strong survive while the weak perish! That's a fact!" His boyish yell would make people laugh, but those who knew him got immediately put in their place.

His crimson eyes remained locked on the little boy. The creature couldn't help but wonder what kind of warrior would emerge from this little guy. "Hm, you're truly one of a kind, Prince Vegeta... Go, you and your group are dismissed! Take a rest for a few days; Zarbon will brief you about your next mission." He turned around and slowly approached the window.

The Saiyans were out of the room, all but Vegeta, who suddenly halted and turned toward the creature. "Lord Freeza! Don't go easy on me! I want the toughest and deadliest missions available! I'll conquer every world in your name and show the galaxy my strength!" That said, the little prince finally walked out of the throne room.

There was a moment of silence. The men beside the emperor wondered what was going through the man's mind. Naturally, one of them couldn't help himself but address the issue. The handsome, green-haired warrior took it upon himself to ask the question he and his companion thought about.

"Lord Freeza, forgive me but are you sure you don't want us to kill Vegeta and the rest of them? You already dispatched Ginyu to wipe out any remnants... So why would you keep those five?"

Freeza casually took his time to answer. He grinned as he stared at the pods leaving the planet. "Because it's going to be fun and interesting to see that little monkey grow... I couldn't care less about those other buffoons, but Vegeta, he's another story. Leave them be for now; let's see how they handle themselves." Freeza couldn't help but chuckle as his other minion poured more wine.

-X-

After meeting the dreadful tyrant, the remaining Saiyans in the galaxy sat in the cafeteria and devoured their food. They had been without a proper meal for such a long time that their table could barely hold any more plates. After almost an hour of eating, the warriors were finally complete and had replenished their energy. The atmosphere between them was rather well; however, what Vegeta said to Freeza didn't sit well with Okra and Korn. Despite that, the two warriors remained quiet and kept that for themselves. The other boy, named Raditz, didn't know what to think. He only wanted Vegeta's recognition and acted rigid and uninterested toward others.

The one to break the silence was the giant warrior. "Vegeta, do you think we should go and fetch your younger brother? We could train him and increase our group. He is your father's son and royalty, after all." Nappa adjusted his mohawk as he spoke to the burping prince.

"Not a chance! Tarble's a weakling, a disgrace to my bloodline! Father was so embarrassed by him that he had no choice but ship the bastard off the planet to avoid mockery!"

Nappa stared at the boy, wondering if it was just bravado, but no. The prince, indeed, was of that mindset. Such strong will and demeanor were unheard of for a child. Even the toughest of oldest warriors would feel down or broken, but this child was something else.

"What about your brother, Raditz? Should we go and pick him up?"

Raditz snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at Korn, who removed the armor and tossed it on the floor. "N-No... I told you guys! Kakarot was so weak he was shipped to some frontier planet. He's surely already dead, so that it would be a useless trip." The long-haired boy crossed his skinny arms and smirked. He gazed at Vegeta, but the prince paid him no mind.

"C'mon, Korn! As if we need another low-class in our group! Be serious!"

Okra chuckled at Raditz's childish growl and closed his fist tightly in front of the boy's face. "If you're bothered by my words, furball, then do something about it... But I doubt a mere third-class insect could do anything to me even twenty years from now!" Okra laughed at the boy's furious expression and playfully smacked Raditz's nose with an index finger.

"Y-You ugly bastard! That hurt! I'll show you!"

Raditz jumped on his seat and propelled himself toward Okra, ready to deliver a blow, but Korn got his tail, and it was over. "Ahh! N-No fair..." The boy instantly lost strength and hung upside down while the Saiyans laughed.

The group shortly after went to their private quarters. Nappa accompanied Vegeta and stayed with the prince as per usual. Okra and Korn, who carried Raditz by the tail, went to their room, and once inside, he tossed the boy on the bed. The two warriors chuckled at the unconscious child and left him to get some drinks. While his rude companions were having fun, the long-haired boy had a nightmare. His brows twitched, and moans escaped from his mouth. Cold sweat slid down his cheeks as he tossed around.

"N-No... D-Don't leave... I-I don't wanna... be alone... mother... father!"

-X-

A new day arrived, and the Saiyans were already out of bed and working out. While the prince was training under Nappa, Raditz was left alone. Korn and Okra didn't want to teach the child, so Raditz was left to his own devices. The boy did push-ups and sit-ups as a warm-up. Shortly after, he did some shadowboxing and tried to mimic the little prince without being noticed. However, he could hear the chuckles coming from the other Saiyans. He ignored them and continued to do his training.

"You're doing it wrong, furball! How about you come here, so we can show you how's done?"

Reluctantly, Raditz took the bait. He approached the half-naked warriors and glared at them. "Now what?" Raditz leaned back and crossed his arms while Okra smirked in a very sinister way.

"Now we do this!"

The older warrior took a step forward and swung his fist at Raditz. "What a... Hey! You bastard, what are you doing!?" Raditz managed to duck down just in time; however, Korn was right behind him.

"What do you think, brat!? We're sparing, of course! Saiyan style!"

Raditz's eyes widened at the realization. Somehow, he managed to dodge the blows, but once Korn and Okra got warmed up, the poor boy was in a lot of trouble. "Cmon! Where is that bravery from yesterday!? Was it all talk, low-class!?" Okra laughed as he kicked the long-haired child in the gut.

"Not good enough, furball!"

Korn's fist crashed into Raditz's temple, knocking the young boy to the ground. "B-Bastards... I'll make you... pay... one... day..." He tried to get up, but it was in vain. He got utterly beaten.

"Yeah, maybe when we're hundred and with gray hair... Please give it up, kid; you might as well roll over and die on the next mission. Just stop dragging us down."

Their harsh words and mockery came to an end when Nappa approached. "What the hell are you idiots doing!? We're departing in just a couple of hours, and you beat the brat to a pulp! I told you to do a light workout!" While everyone knew the prince was the true leader, Nappa was the one who kept others in check for the time being. The old warrior was a veteran who fought alongside the late King, earning him a lot of respect from the rest.

"Apologize, Nappa... But the boy wanted us to go out so he could test himself. You know how foolish kids are."

The giant didn't buy it, but he decided to let it slide since they had other stuff to do. "Don't repeat this, or you'll see why it's bad to make me angry... Take the runt and patch him up! We're leaving in two hours!" Nappa turned away and returned to mentor the flame-haired prince while Korn and Okra grabbed Raditz by the legs and dragged him to the medic.