How was that, my son? Did becoming a great ape give you thrills?

Of course, father! It did!

Well, only use it when the enemy is close to your power level or there's no option left. Okay?

Yes, Father.

RING-RING

Crap, it's him.

PING

Hello, Lord Frieza.

King Vegeta, have you eliminated the inhabitants as ordered?

Affirmative, sir. Nearly half of the planet's inhabitants have been destroyed.

Excellent, your race is capable, despite their low intelligence and savage behavior.

'How dare he treat us like that!? I should give him a piece of my mind, but Father said not to interfere with Frieza.'

Within three days, the planet will be yours, Lord Frieza.

Keep up the good work.

PING

Father, why aren't you upset?

Like I said, my son. Frieza is the strongest being in the universe. No one, besides his family, can stop him. We have to follow his words, no complaints. Get that, my son?

I guess I… understand.

Don't frown, Vegeta. After our mission, it's your first day attending school.

But Father! Do I have to go to school?

What did I say about—

Keep our thoughts to ourselves! I know, Father.

Besides, school is for the elites and mid-class only. You'll have a wonderful time there.

Alright, Father.

Sir!

Yes?

We've picked up the next village's location. Should we invade it?

Of course. Break is over, men! Let's get going!

Please, no more of these memories. They mean nothing. Nothing but slaughter and hierarchy. I don't deserve to be a prince. My heritage means nothing. I'm not a killer!

Six months after Vegeta landed on Earth and became a guest at Capsule Corporation, he and Bulma visited Mt. Paozu. Bulma, upon analyzing Vegeta's tail, wished to ask Goku to befriend him. She theorized Vegeta's tail acts the same as Goku's tail. Even though the latter doesn't have his anymore, Goku knew the pros and cons of using a tail. She parked her hover car, a few feet away from the dome-shaped house.

"Is this where your friend lives?" Vegeta leaves the vehicle, curious eyes scanning the vast fields. Behind tall, lean bamboo stalks, clusters of mountains stood. Nature was a beautiful sight to him. He thought the city looked fabulous, but Mt. Paozu was gorgeous to watch. Bulma marched to the house's front door and knocked. "Chi-Chi, it's me!"

The door opened. A woman with black hair tied in a neat bun smiled at Bulma. "Oh, hey!" She hugged Bulma. "I'm so glad to have answer your call. Huh? Is this your new employee?"

Vegeta fluttered in place. He only had a strange spandex suit when he escaped the damaged space pod. Bulma's father and mother were grateful to lend him casual clothes. A blue polo t-shirt and beige jeans were casual in his eyes.

"No, Chi-Chi. He's a new friend visiting my house. His name is Vegeta."

"Why, hello, sir. I'm Chi-Chi, Bulma's friend."

She extended her hand to Vegeta.

'What should I do? Uh, shaking her hand is the obvious choice. Damn, I shouldn't be this nervous!'

He shook his head and smiled. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Wow, he's politely nervous. Where did he come from?"

"That's why I'm here, Chi-Chi. Vegeta came from a space pod, it crashed into the backyard and he escaped with minor scratches. Me and Dad healed him, and when awoken, he couldn't remember anything. His name, he remembered, but anything else? Nothing. We concluded Vegeta suffered from memory loss, so we let him stay at our place. I employed him in the delivery service, while thinking of how to revive his memories."

"So, he's an alien?" Chi-Chi raised her eyebrows, glancing at Vegeta. "He looks normal to me."

The word, 'normal,' rubbed him awkwardly. He had a tail, came from a pod in outer space, and couldn't remember who he was. There was no normal about him.

"The good news is I don't have to invent a machine that revives lost memories. Vegeta slowly recounted certain memories the longer he stayed in our company. Still, there's his tail."

Bulma stared at Vegeta's tail, which wagged frantically. "I fear he'll flip out when a full moon rises."

"Oh, I get what you mean. You want Goku?"

"Yes, where is he?"

A holler blared above them. They turned around, seeing a man riding a small yellow cloud. Beside him was a four-year-old boy, hugging his leg with a smile. They jumped off the cloud, landed perfectly, and the boy ran to Chi-Chi, hugging her legs. "Mommy!"

"Hi there, Gohan. Did your adventure with Daddy go well?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Sure, it was, Chi-Chi. Oh, hey Bulma!" Goku waved his hand to Bulma. "How's everything going?"

"Hi, Goku. Glad you made it. Ahem, allow me to introduce Vegeta."

Goku, furrowed brows and curious lopsided frown, faced Vegeta. "Hm?"

"I'm here to explain. Can we talk in the living room?"

"Sure, we'll talk. Hey there, my name is Goku!"

Same with Chi-Chi, Goku extended his hand to Vegeta. Nerves shook underneath his skin and muscles. He shouldn't feel anxiety shaking his very fiber. Swallowing it down, he grasped Goku's hand. "N-Nice to meet you."

They went inside, sat on the couch, and Chi-Chi fixed cups of tea. Gohan rushed to his bedroom, starting homework. Chi-Chi returned with a wooden platter holding four cups of green tea. She set them on the coffee table and sat next to Goku, hands on her lap.

"The short story is Vegeta's an alien who crash-landed near Capsule Corporation. He has no memory of who he is, excluding his name. Though he's recovering them slowly, I'm more concerned about his tail. Goku?"

"Yeah, Bulma?"

The cheery smile Goku had vanished. He switched to a serious expression, impressing Vegeta. "Since you had a tail, maybe you can teach Vegeta the dos and don'ts surrounding it. Can you?"

"Of course, anything for a new friend."

He returned to that cheery smile. Goku glared at Vegeta, beams of sunshine passing through the window, highlighting his face. "How about it, Vegeta?"

"Uh, I guess."

"Great."

While Bulma and Chi-Chi talked in the house, Goku guided Vegeta to the cloud he rode on earlier. It puzzled him in why Goku rode a cloud. Impossible to ride, yet he watched him ride it like a skateboard. "This is Nimbus. Those who have pure hearts can ride it."

"Pure hearts?"

That part bothered him. Recently, he dreamed memories of disturbing scenes. One was about him shooting strange light orbs out of his hands, targeting civilians. He ignored them, yet felt like there was nothing pure about him. Goku walked up to Nimbus and hopped aboard. His feet weren't sinking through its fluffy yellow base.

"What are you doing?"

"Before I explain the rules around your tail, I'll test you. Jump on Nimbus."

"What?"

"If you're at least pure-hearted, you won't fall through."

Anxiety escalated higher. He felt his back and neck moistening in sweat. "No, I can't."

"Don't panic, Vegeta. Trust me."

Since he landed on Earth, with no purpose whatsoever, he wasn't sure who to trust. Goku and his family seemed friendly enough to invite him and Bulma. He gulped a lump in his throat and took Goku's hand. One hop and his feet sunk into Nimbus.

'Crap, crap, I was right!'

However, it didn't sink completely through. Vegeta, eyes shut, hoped they touched the ground. But they didn't. He opened his eyes. His arms wrapped around Goku's chest, cheek pressing against his back. "Did I pass?"

"Hm, memory loss is confusing for Nimbus to identify your morality. At least your feet aren't piercing it, so you have some purity in your heart, hehe!"

That laugh only scared Vegeta. He had some purity? It confused him more, considering the memories and trust issues.

"So, what should we—AGH!"

Goku commanded his cloud to shoot them into the sky. In a swirling motion, it carried them higher. It soon traveled far away from the house, flying over the bamboo forest. Breeze brushed against Vegeta's petrified face. He clenched around Goku's chest tighter. "What are you doing!?"

"We're just having fun. Just stay on Nimbus for me!"

Surges of complex emotions churned in his chest. Excitement for flying. Confusion in trusting his life to a stranger. Anger for… whatever reason he can't answer right now. A flash of a new memory surfaced. Below him were burning huts and people. Those people screamed for the agonizing pain to go away. Only for a giant orb of light to vanish them. Turned to ash, it blew along the rushing wind.

There were two soldiers with him, gleaming smiles on their dirtied faces. No smudges on their armor, just stained blood. Those stains were on his armor, too. It was messier. He shook it away.

'Not again.'

He closed his eyes momentarily, attempting to erase the memories. From that scene to another, he was in space. Three space pods, the same one he rode in six months ago, levitating above a planet. Most spots had flames spreading quicker. Dark cloud obscuring some and darkening most. His gloved hand pointed an index finger at the planet. The tip glowed a tiny dot of light. It grew bigger and bigger until it was the size of his palm.

'This planet is useless.'

A stray beam shot from his finger. It headed straight for the planet. Coming from that beam, the planet manifested giant cracks. Magma shot through those crevices, the flames increasing in heat and vastness. It doesn't take a minute for the planet to survive. Explosions expanded in clusters of sparkles and meteorites which were once villages.

'NO!'

"Vegeta!"

The breeze punched harder. As if he was floating downward, he opened his eyes. It was a terrible idea to open them. He must have fell through Nimbus while recounting those negative memories. "AHHHHHHH! HELP!"

Goku and Nimbus rushed to Vegeta. The gap between them was immense. Vegeta flailed his arms and legs, twirling out of fear. His tail was limp, too shocked to move. "Almost there! Grab my hand, Vegeta!"

Should he trust him? It was his fault for recalling those memories. Again, he closed his eyes. 'Dammit, why are these memories haunting me!? They mean nothing! Nothing, you hear me?! I'm NOT a killer!'

Bursts of warmth filled inside him. Motion halted. He opened one eye, noticing the blurriness had disappeared. Goku and Nimbus slowed down. "Wow, Vegeta. You can fly?"

That question puzzled him until he turned around. Slowly, he became stunned in how close he was to the ground. "What the—"

"I was this close to saving you, but you saved yourself."

"Uh, how do I—UGH!"

An off-switch flipped and Vegeta slammed his back against the ground. He stood up, his hand rubbing the lower part of his back. "I don't know how I flew."

"Man, this memory loss situation is baffling."

"Uh, thanks for trying to save me."

"No problem. I think it's time for me to teach you how to control that tail of yours."

Vegeta, since he arrived at Mt. Paozu—filled with worry—smiled at Goku. "Take it away, Goku."

That's right; I have friends. Goku, Chi-Chi, their son, Claire, Nikita, her sister, Carmen, and Bulma. They're the reason I'm pushing to a better life. What those memories show are just my past. Killed so many people, all with a smirk. I'd even did it at a young age. But I'm not that guy anymore.

I'm Vegeta, a saiyan adopted on Earth.

Orange light poured onto Vegeta's bare chest as he leaned against a slant boulder. He moaned from how bright it was. A little tossing and turning and he fluttered his eyelids. "Ugh, what happened? Oh, I stared at the moon and… transformed into a monster. I ran off to the desert, and those memories haunted me again. Ah, I'm not sure what to do."

"Terrific, you're awake!"

Vegeta jolted. He stared at Zarbon and Willow walking to him. All night, they'd found him sleeping in his great ape form. The moon got replaced by the sun in hours, then Vegeta shrunk back to normal. Unfortunately, he was naked, so Zarbon used a blanket from Vegeta's damaged bedroom to cover him.

"How long have you been here?"

"Since we found you. I'm shocked that you didn't destroy this desert."

"How come?"

"Usually, when saiyans—like you—stare at a full moon, they morph into giant apes. When the moon disappears, they shrink to their default forms."

"The strange part is you'd kept your sanity in that form."

Vegeta raised a brow, as he stood up, his knees wobbly from last night's incident. "Strange as in…"

"Because of your heritage, you can keep your sanity in that transformation."

Zarbon crossed his arms and looked the other way, frowning. Willow rolled her eyes, then marched to Vegeta and patted his shoulder. "That's good news. The city is fine, but you plowed through a chunk of a wall."

"Oh, crap."

"I'm sure everything will be explained."

"I remember why I stared at the moon. That bastard, Tomba! When I get my hands on him," Vegeta scrunched his hands, fingers gesturing to how he'll strangle Tomba.

"He's taken care of." Zarbon returned his gaze to Willow and Vegeta. "Bulma and her father stormed in when I scared the arrogance out of him."

He chuckled, mesmerizing the sight of Tomba's pale face and soulless eyes before he caught up to Willow.

"Yeah, he shared the details to me. This Tomba guy won't bother you now. Are you okay?"

"I am." Vegeta wrapped the blanket around his waist, covering his shivering legs. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. So… Have you decided?"

"Huh? Oh, your offer."

He'd been pondering for hours. Last night's incident opened his eyes, finally realizing the potential he had. Although his memories were bothersome, Vegeta believed he was a good person. A sharp intake of breath and he exhaled. "I'll do it."

"Really?" Zarbon's eyes widened.

"Yes, I'll go with you two."

"Excellent, I'll contact Ici when we return to Capsule Corp."

Zarbon grunted, mumbled about how idiotic Vegeta was, then followed him and Willow. She rode on his back, because unlike him and Vegeta, flight wasn't one of her traits. Her pair of boots hung from a chain attached to her utility belt. As they flew back to Metro West City, Vegeta smirked. Maybe it was time to leave Earth and discover his new purpose.