A/N: I had discontinued this story yearssss ago because aside from life things, I just genuinely got stuck and eventually lost my motivation to touch this piece again. However, after quite some time away from fanfiction, I have come back to my writing and I'm falling in love again with bringing these characters to life, especially my fave prince. I had some reviews recently asking me to please continue this fic, and so I re-read it with fresh eyes. Writing about this period in Vegeta's life has never been easy but I will do my best to pick this back up and finish it in a satisfying way.

Thanks SO much for your patience if you read this, especially to those who have left me thoughtful reviews – I'm not sure I would've picked this back up without the support. I hope you enjoy, and I PROMISE my next update won't take so long!

The tournament crowd at Nioren wasn't bloodthirsty like others he'd seen in his travels, but they were loud and rowdy nonetheless, itching for the action to begin. The stakes were high for the tournament's winner and there was no shortage of spectators, the massive outdoor arena filled to capacity and then some. Not wanting to draw more attention to himself than necessary, Vegeta subtly limped his way through the crowd as he made his way down the stadium seats towards the other Saiyans, who were holding a spot for him at the front. There were many different alien races there, so no one paid him any attention, which was good. The lower profile he could keep, the easier time he would have at assessing the "talent" that was going to be on display.

Finally, he emerged towards the front at ground level, surveying the battleground in front of him at the center of the arena. A large oval of blue sand stretched before him, some of it stirring with the wind. The teenager scowled when he saw Manzin opposite the sand fighting pit, also on ground level and glaring at him. Vegeta glared at him for a moment, and then limped his way over to where Nappa and Raditz were waiting for him.

"It's just about to start," Nappa informed him.

Vegeta gave a nod, sitting between the two older Saiyans on a sleek black metallic bench that gave them a good sight into the action, while giving them breathing room from behind so no one could get too close to them. Deep down, the prince was also grateful for the chance to sit down and rest. He relaxed about the most he ever allowed himself to relax, which wasn't much. A warrior always had to mind his surroundings, after all.

The prince looked around, but when he couldn't catch sight of Jhainer or Cui, he activated his scouter. He and Jhainer had split up on the way there. When he finally placed both older teens strategically sitting on opposite sides of the arena, he crossed his arms over his chest and turned to the action starting before him. He watched as the young fighters in the tournament came out and started to stretch. Four of them were enjoying the last moments they would ever have of freedom, before they were going to be violently introduced to Frieza's Galactic Army.

Vegeta, I memorized the whole scouting report on Trika, Jhainer's home planet, he heard Raditz' voice say in his head. Vegeta frowned as he looked at him out of the corner of his eye. Do you want it now?

Not yet – later when we're back at base, he mentally sent back. Raditz gave a subtle nod just as the crowd roared as the first contestants were announced.

"Do ya want something to drink, Vegeta?" Nappa offered, glancing around. "I think I saw some weakling walking around here with some drinks."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "We haven't vetted the beverages here, so we can't take the risk of poison, so no."

"Aw, but I'm thirsty," Nappa whined as the teenaged prince chuckled.

"You'll live," he informed him, before smirking as he looked back at Raditz out of the corner of his eye. "But if you really want to, we could just make Raditz be the test subject to make sure the drinks aren't poisoned, since his life is meaningless."

Raditz growled a little, but could say nothing, lest he piss Vegeta off inadvertently. Nappa and Vegeta both laughed out loud at his discomfort though, and once again, he lamented being the weakest of the three.

Still chuckling, Vegeta made a beckoning motion with his fingers towards Nappa. "Alright, hand over the screener. It's time to learn more about these brats."

Nappa did as he was told, retrieving from his armor a small handheld black electronic device with a glass screen and built-in beacon. He dutifully handed it to Vegeta, who took it with a grunt. The prince activated it, putting in his personal password to log into Frieza's galactic scouting network. The device gave them a mobile way to get a read on different alien species; it was not as thorough as the full scouting reports available on base, but it gave enough in the moment, which was all he needed.

Vegeta glanced up as the first fight began, the crowd roaring its approval. It was so loud, he likely was only going to be relying on his telepathy to converse with his comrades, even though they were seated right next to him. The prince watched for only a few seconds, before grunting and looking back down. Both the boys fighting before him weren't half as good as the ones he and Jhainer had stumbled upon, and so he was quickly bored with it.

The teenager absently wiped some sweat from his brow, grateful he was sitting, as he vaguely reconsidered getting something to drink. He was exhausted, dehydrated, and still in considerable pain which was only worsening. The tournament was only just beginning, and then he still had a purge to complete. Then there was still the not-so-small issue of Ajox…but, he had a plan now, devised on his way over to the tournament. He smirked, knowing that little problem would be taken care of soon.

Vegeta glanced up again as some move got the rise of the crowd; unimpressed, he lowered his eyes again to his device as he activated the beacon. Looking back up now, he scanned the fighters of the tournament as they were all lined up on the side, watching the action. It only took him a moment to find the boys he and Jhainer had found, Raum and Adriel, and he tuned the beacon directly to them.

He blinked the sweat out of his eyes as the beacon pulsed on the screen (very similar to a certain dragonball locator in another far off galaxy). Finally, the device beeped and a summarized report appeared. He frowned as he read it over quietly to himself.

Alien species confirmed. Report authorized read-only to: Vegeta, soldier rank preliminary.
SpeciesName: Drokanian.
HomePlanet: Drokania, galaxy #66 in the west sector.
PlanetDetails: Medium sized, plentiful vegetation, many large cities, three moons.
SpeciesDetails: Telepathic, no natural ki manipulation ability, warrior race that specializes in martial arts and explosive warfare.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow curiously at the last part, his dark eyes shifting up to the young Raum and Adriel. Explosive warfare, that was interesting to note for later. He frowned at the lack of ki manipulation ability – anyone could be taught to harness, handle, and manipulate ki. But if you weren't born with a natural ability, it could take years to learn the techniques and discipline needed…unfortunately, he didn't have years to teach one of the little runts how to do it so they could earn him a point in the competition. He rubbed at his chin a little in disappointment, wondering if he should scope out other recruits who had more expertise in ki manipulation, when the crowd roared again. He looked back towards the fight which was ending, pleased that he could scope out new fighters soon.

"Vegeta, can I please have something to drink?" Nappa whined. "The drinks look so good!"

Vegeta scowled in annoyance, already turning the screener to another alien child gearing up to fight and turning the beacon on them. He glanced up briefly, looking off behind the child fighters to where Jhainer was sitting, then going counter-clockwise to Manzin, then to Cui. All of them were doing the same thing he was, using their own screeners to get an idea of what they were dealing with.

"Fine," Vegeta finally growled in annoyance, looking back down as his screener beeped. "But if you get sick, I'm breaking your teeth, and if you get poisoned and die, we are leaving your corpse here," he threatened.

"We couldn't be so lucky," Raditz snickered. Nappa gave him a nasty look before quickly rising before Vegeta changed his mind. The two watched him chase after someone going through the stands trying to sell drinks to a rowdy alien crowd.

"Find anyone you like?" Raditz asked when they were alone. Vegeta grunted and looked back down, frowning at the next report on the screener popped up with a beep, again pointing out no natural ki ability. He frowned thoughtfully, wondering if many none in this galaxy had the ability. If that was the case, he'd stick with either of the Drokanian boys.

"Not yet, but soon enough," he grumbled as the next fight began. He glanced up only briefly, was unimpressed again by the two new fighters, and then cleared the report to try again.

Vegeta was picking which other alien child he could screen, when two alien boys suddenly scrambled past, right in front of them. The teenaged prince snarled when one of the boys knocked the screener clean out of his hand and into the dirt, the boy himself tripping over his own feet and falling into the dirt as well. Vegeta instantly stood up, his anger making Raditz' scouter light up in response.

The older Saiyan immediately grabbed the prince by the arm, his grip hard. "Low profile," he reminded his prince.

Vegeta sneered and yanked his arm free in frustration, opening his mouth to unleash some pent-up rage, when the boy quickly snatched up the screener. He scrambled up to his feet and handed it to Vegeta, who snatched it back with a growl.

"Watch where the hell you're going, little brats," he angrily said. The boy who had knocked the screener out of his hand let his gaze linger on Vegeta for just a moment – he was covered in white fur, with only one red eye on his face. The prince's eyes narrowed in recognition, but he couldn't place the boy's species in time before the child sprinted away with his friend just as the crowd roared again.

"You're gonna miss the fight, Vegeta," Raditz said, not liking the look on Vegeta's face. The prince finally grunted and begrudgingly took his seat again.

"Do you know what kind of species that boy was?" he asked, cursing that he no longer had a visual on the kid. The screener's beacon needed a clear line of sight to work.

"Nope, ain't seen his type before."

"Hn," Vegeta grunted, before shrugging as he shook his head. He looked back down at the screener and frowned when he felt something odd on the back of it. The prince turned it over, and raised an eyebrow when he did. On the back of the screener device was a note that had not been there when Nappa initially handed it to him.

The note read: Abandoned lavatory under the arena. Come alone. No scouter.

Vegeta instantly glanced around, looking for a sign of the boys, but they were long gone. He scowled in confusion as he looked back down at the note. It could be a trap, by Ajox, maybe? No, he quickly deduced. He would have picked up on the older soldier's power level already. He fell into silence as he contemplated to himself for a few moments. When the crowd roared again as the fight ended, he stood again, taking the note and crumpling it into a fist before handing the screener to Raditz. The older Saiyan looked at him in surprise.

Let me know if any of these children have ability already with ki, Vegeta ordered. Keep your eye on the Drokanians, see how far they get.

Okay, but where are you going? Raditz asked, prepared to provide backup.

Just gotta take a piss, Vegeta sent back, already limping off. Raditz snorted and logged himself into the screener just as Nappa came back from the other direction, juggling several wooden jugs of some green alcoholic beverage.

It took a bit of maneuvering before Vegeta finally found his way to the lower level of the arena, easily breaking through a chained wooden door to go down one level. He ran his scouter one last time as a precaution as his eyes adjusted to the dark. Above him, he could hear the thunderous roars from the crowd. No threats registered on his scouter, and so he reached up and deactivated it completely.

He was slowly shuffling along, one arm unconsciously favoring his side, his senses on full alert. From behind, a wooden door slowly cracked open, making the prince spin in that direction, one hand out and ready to summon a ki blast in a heartbeat. He stared at the door expectantly, but when no one entered or left through it, he slowly made his way over. The teenager hesitated a little just outside the door as he swallowed, before reminding himself that he was not afraid. Nodding once to himself, he opened the door and stepped inside the dark room.

"We are pleased you got our message, Prince Vegeta."

Vegeta's eyes instantly adjusted to the pitch black room, but he couldn't make out more than a short silhouette looking back at him. He frowned at the use of his real title, though he couldn't detect any mockery in it for once.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he demanded harshly.

"My name is Felsin, of the planet Pilaz. You may not remember me, boy, but I was in the room yesterday when Frieza brought you into our meeting to threaten us, using you and your story."

Realization dawned on Vegeta then, and now he realized why the boy who knocked his screener out of his hands had looked so familiar. He nodded slowly. "Yes. I remember now. What are you doing here?"

"Pilaz and this planet, Nioren, are old allies. We do business here often, as we both have advanced technology we can trade each other. It is not out of the ordinary that I be here."

"Fine, but what do you want with me? I have my own work that needs attending," Vegeta peevishly informed him, crossing his arms as his tail waved with impatience behind him.

"We are building a resistance movement, and we want you to be part of it," Felsin informed him.

"A resistance movement?" Vegeta asked warily. "Resistance against what?"

"Frieza. We're building a resistance movement to bring him down."

A chill of fear went down the young prince's spine as he took half a step backwards. This had death sentence written all over it, and he wanted no part of it. He glanced around anxiously, as though Frieza would emerge from the shadows and strike him down right where he stood. All of his instincts were telling him to get out of there – if Frieza even got an inkling that he was even engaging in this kind of conversation, he was looking at a painful execution.

For whatever reason though, he just stood frozen. Sure, there were moments when he and his Saiyan comrades liked to talk trash about how one day he would kill Frieza – with their scouters disconnected, of course, or through their telepathy. However, he had never had someone in front of him so blatantly discuss bringing Frieza down. There was a very real part of him that was tempted to hear more…

He shook his head, ridding himself of that stupidity as he finally found his voice.

"This is a fool's mission," the teenager growled. "He's too strong. You can't beat him."

"We have to try."

Vegeta scoffed. "You can try, but you will fail. He will kill you all."

"You don't know how many we're recruiting-"

"Oh I can imagine," Vegeta assured him angrily. "A ton of weaklings across a lot of galaxies, I bet. You're hoping they're going to stand up to Frieza? Well good luck to you all, but I won't bet my life on it. Scheme all you want, but keep me the hell out of it."

"He destroyed your planet, Prince Vegeta," Felsin tried reasoning with him.

Vegeta shook his head; he didn't know the real truth of his planet's destruction. He suspected Frieza had indeed done it, but if he had, why hadn't it been thrown in his face? Frieza would have surely taunted him with it, day in and day out, to make his days even more miserable than they already were. It was enough to make him doubt.

"It doesn't matter," he finally ground out angrily. "The planet is gone, and my only interest now is earning my rank and staying alive."

"We can help you do both."

Vegeta scoffed, disgust in his dark eyes. "I don't need anyone's-"

The prince suddenly reached up when something was thrown towards his face. He caught a small vial before it hit him, and frowned as he looked it over, turning it over in his hand.

"This won't make you 100 percent, but it will mend your broken bones. Consider it a show of respect, a small hint of what we can offer you if you work with us to take Frieza down."

Vegeta's lip twitched. He hesitated for a moment, frowning as he stared at the vial. The rational side of him won again though when his eyes shifted upwards towards the man in front of him.

"Don't contact me again. If you do, I'll tell Frieza about your schemes so that he can destroy your fucking planet. I intend on living, and you won't stop that."

"You call this living, boy?"

Vegeta had Felsin shoved back hard against the wall in a heartbeat, his grip merciless on the old man's throat. The prince leaned in close as he sneered, "I ought to kill you right now."

"I knew your father," came the choking reply.

Vegeta pulled back a little, a mix of confusion, rage, and shock on his face.

"He was always an ally of Pilaz. He would have joined us, without question, especially to get you away from Frieza. Gods, you look just like him-"

He was cut off when Vegeta slammed his fist brutally hard into his stomach. The prince released him, and Felsin dropped immediately, curling up and coughing up blood.

"The old man would have joined you, eh? Well, that stupidity is probably why he's dead," Vegeta growled. With his foot, he shoved Felsin over on his back who was choking on his blood. "I spare you in honor of the old alliance you had with Planet Vegeta, just once, and only once. If you ever contact me again about this, I will kill you."

He kicked Felsin hard in the ribs for good measure, before turning and leaving. Using his ki, he disintegrated the note that had summoned him there, but he held onto the vial, tucking it into his armor just in case. He would have it inspected before he used it, lest he get poisoned. The prince reactivated his scouter as he headed back to the ground level of the arena, his heart pounding hard in his chest the whole way.

He was so angry and worked up, that he never noticed the eyes that were watching him the whole time.

Instead of going back to where his Saiyan comrades were, the prince went over to the opposite side of the arena where Manzin was. It took him a while to find him, crowded as it was. When he did, he saw Manzin tense upon seeing him. Vegeta glared at him; as though he would be stupid enough to risk his life after the fiasco with the coin challenge. He watched as the older boy put aside his own screener back into his armor, his fists clenched for a fight.

It didn't come though. Instead, Vegeta came up close enough to speak only to him so no one else could hear. He deactivated his scouter, and Manzin did the same.

"Drokania, this galaxy, tonight, 010Z," Vegeta growled. "Tell him to be there, and to not let himself get tracked there."

"Ajox will be there, don't you worry about it, Saiyan."

"Make sure you say your farewells to your brother, because he dies tonight."

The prince smirked a little at the look of hatred on Manzin's face, and then he took his leave. He circled around the front row of the arena, going around the sand oval and passing by where Cui was, sneering at him in contempt as Cui gave him an obscene alien hand gesture in return. While he trekked along, Vegeta was watching the fighting going on in the sand that had everyone captivated. One of the Drokanian boys was fighting, and was making quick work of his competition. Blue sand was dusting up between them as Adriel did an aerobatic move to dodge an attack, before quickly phasing in behind his opponent and finishing the fight with one vicious kick to the neck. Vegeta raised an eyebrow. The Drokanian brothers were in their own league, and it remained to be seen if they had any real competition.

Finally, he rejoined his Saiyan comrades who were laughing at some obscene joke Raditz had made. The prince looked at Raditz, frowning as he did.

Did you find anyone who is good with their ki?

None of them. They're all just skilled in martial arts.

Vegeta nodded, pleased with the news. He motioned for Nappa and Raditz to come with him, and then turned and headed out of the arena altogether. They moved silently through the crowd that was cheering themselves hoarse, and could hear the fighting growing more and more distant.

Finally, they were out of the arena, mostly in the clear. Vegeta stopped and turned back to his men who were looking at him expectantly.

"You two stay here and take whichever of the two Drokanian boys advances furthest into the tournament, assuming they make the semifinals, back to base on my behalf," Vegeta ordered. "If they don't make it that far, then just take whoever comes in second place in the final. I have my eye on those two kids though. Their fighting style is different from anyone in Frieza's army, and the difference alone will likely help me win a point."

Nappa and Raditz both nodded. "What about you?" Nappa asked.

"I'm going to Drokania to purge the planet. Part of the orders, remember, purge the planet of the new recruit," Vegeta reminded them, purposely keeping to himself that he was going to confront Ajox there in a fight to the death. It gave him plausible deniability to have a real reason to be on that planet, just in case. The less his fellow Saiyans knew about all of that business, the better – then Zarbon wouldn't be able to beat it out of them.

"What do we do with the other Drokanian brother then, the one we don't pick? Want us to kill him?" Nappa pressed.

Vegeta shook his head. "Jhainer will take the other brother," he knowingly said, before pausing at the thought.

Actually…

"You know what, on second thought…yes, kill the brother that isn't chosen," Vegeta ordered, his tone cold as he thought it through. "My recruit needs to be prepared for life and death battle, and if Jhainer gets the other brother, neither will have the stomach for it. We'll neutralize the situation by killing the boy that doesn't go as far in the tournament."

"And if they both go far?"

"Flip a coin, I don't care. They're about evenly matched. Now go back and take care of it. I'll meet you two and the boy back at base."

Without another word, Vegeta blasted off into the air, taking off in the direction of their space pods. Nappa and Raditz watched him leave, then exchanged a knowing look between them. They weren't stupid – they had seen Vegeta stroll up to Manzin, and had seen the almost visceral hatred that Manzin was wearing afterwards. The fight with Ajox was about to go down, but they also knew it was better that they didn't know the details.

"Alright then big man, let's go back and see about these Drokanian boys then," Raditz finally said, before he started to head back towards the child fighters who had no idea the hell their lives were about to become. Nappa frowned and stared off after Vegeta for a moment longer, before mentally sending the prince a message for good luck.

If he was going to fight Ajox, he was going to need it.

The only time he ever got to experience real peace and quiet was right after a purge.

Vegeta sat alone later that night, his silver armor covered in blood. He was the only one alive on Planet Drokania. The teenager's eyes were closed as he breathed in deeply, while he sat crosslegged with his arms folded across his chest in the middle of a city that was burned to the ground. The smell after a purge was as intimate to the young prince as his own scent – the blood, fire, smoke from the explosions, and burning flesh on the corpses. It calmed him and soothed his nerves, clearing his head, easing his eternal rage. He was particularly fond of completing a purge by himself for the calm that followed once the blood-curling screaming stopped. With the complete and utter silence aside from the remnant fires on the planet from his purge that were still burning, he didn't have to pretend to be anything. He didn't have to bow to anyone, kneel before anyone, or be humiliated in front of anyone. He didn't have to swallow his rage because he could just unleash it, like he had just done on the unsuspecting planet of Drokania, punished because they had the audacity to produce two extremely talented fighters. Alas, such was life.

As he meditated in the aftermath, his thoughts unwillingly started turning towards Felsin and his offer. It wasn't that he objected over the idea of a resistance movement. He just knew it wouldn't be enough. Others had tried over the years and failed. Frieza always caught wind, always, and anyone involved was mercilessly executed. Vegeta also knew that in time, he could become strong enough to defeat Frieza, but for now, he had to remain on the winning side. It was the only way he could survive long enough to avenge his people. And unfortunately, the winning side right now was Frieza's side.

Vegeta slowly opened his eyes, looking up to see a space pod flying into the atmosphere. He watched and waited. His scouter was disengaged and abandoned in his own space pod to avoid any eavesdropping. Win or lose, live or die, whatever happened next would never be part of any record.

Finally, he saw Ajox flying in the distance, heading straight towards him. The prince smirked, before he slowly and painfully made his way up to his feet, right as Ajox dropped down in front of him.

"So you showed up after all," Vegeta mockingly said, his smirk growing. He confidently crossed his arms over his chest. "And here I thought you were having second thoughts."

"I could say the same about you," Ajox sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. He had the same type of tough orange skin that covered Manzin, only his was a lighter shade. He also had a nasty scar that ran down the side of his face. He was a hardened warrior, one of Frieza's best, and they both knew it. Ajox shook his head in disbelief. "You are truly stupid, Saiyan, to think you can beat me one on one."

"I don't think I can, I know I can," Vegeta smugly replied.

"Well then, since you're so eager to die, I don't want to deny your death any longer," Ajox growled, shifting into his fight stance.

The young prince chuckled, shifting into his own. He clenched his rear fist tight, white fire surrounding it immediately.

"Your move," he taunted.

Vegeta was immediately on his heels as Ajox launched a ferocious frontal attack, forcing the Saiyan back as he scrambled to put up a defense. The prince blasted up into the air to gain leverage, and then he fired a white ball of energy up into the night sky. Ajox caught up with him a heartbeat later, buying his knee into Vegeta's stomach. The prince doubled over in pain, but Ajox instantly grabbed him roughly by the hair, pulling him back up with one hand, his hand curling into a fist with the other hand ready to smash into the Saiyan's face.

Ajox hesitated though when Vegeta just laughed, despite his mouth being filled with blood, "I already won."

Ajox looked at the teenager in his grasp warily, wondering if he really was mad, when Vegeta reached up with one hand towards the white ball of energy still soaring into the sky.

The prince clenched his fist, and the light exploded.