Based on MasakoX's What If series "What if Gine went with Goku to Earth?", but a retcon with some changes of my own on how I think the story would have went down had Goku's mother escaped planet Vegeta with him.

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CHAPTER 49: HOSTILE TERRITORY

Gine kept starring up at the point in the pale blue sky where the Capsule ship disappeared, unable to take her mind off of her departed friends and family. Especially her grandson. She felt like she had just let them go off to their deaths...

"They'll be fine, mom." Kakarot said, breaking her dark thoughts. He put a reassuring arm across her shoulders. "I believe in them, and there should hopefully be no trouble along the way."

"Yeah." Gine said softly. "...Hopefully."

Suddenly, the ship exploded in a bright burst of light. Gine didn't hear herself scream, but heard the cries of Little Gohan, Chi-Chi, Bulma, Yamcha, and Krillin far above as if they were in her head. All of them the screams of their last, agonizing moments while their remains rained down on her with the fiery debris, taking the shape of Prince Vegeta's scowling glare of hatred, then the horned shape of Frieza, then morphing into something else she couldn't see before it and her failure to save her loved ones consumed her entire world.

"NOOO!"

Gine cried out as she jolted up from bed hyperventilating.

She was terrified of what she saw around her, not recognizing it as her bedroom back on Mount Paozu. A few moments passed before Gine remembered that she was in one of the guess bedrooms of Capsule Corp. She had been staying there since Bulma and the gang took off three days ago.

"Dammit." Gine sighed haggardly and fell back onto her bed. Another nightmare. The same one she had been having every night since the ship left.

Despite assurances from everyone, Gine couldn't shake off the worry she felt for their compatriots that took off for Namek. She had thus insisted on staying at Capsule Corp for the daily news update Bulma radioed back to Earth to make sure they were safe the whole way to Namek and back.

The whole trip would take twelve days if all went to plan. It wasn't too much time away from home and told Gohan and her sons that she could wait that long here to be sure. Although Kakarot said there was nothing to worry about, Gohan's gracious understanding convinced him to let his mother do what she felt she needed to do. So, the boys went home, but they still called in to check on her as much as she wanted to check on the mission. Still, if she's worried enough to have these nightly terrors, it was going to be a LONG twelve days.

Throwing off the sheets, Gine got up and took a shower to wash away the cold sweat and the lingering images from her dream. The rooms of Capsule Corp were nowhere near as homey as the rustic wooden cabin of Mount Paozu. They were spacious but Gine found them claustrophobic. The sterile white walls and hallways felt cold and impersonal, reminding her uncomfortably of the Frieza Force ships she used to traverse space in from another lifetime. But she had to admit, the amenities made her feel like living as royalty. No wonder Bulma was so spoiled if she lived like this.

Before long Gine was dressed and downstairs with the Briefs, finishing breakfast and eagerly waiting next to the communications array the doctor had set up to maintain contact with the ship. Usually at noon, ship-time, Bulma would radio back progress on their journey and according to Dr. Brief's calculations and telemetry readings, they should be almost halfway to Namek. But the time came and went with no contact. Already, Gine's anxiety shot up again.

"What could it mean?" She asked.

Dr. Briefs fiddled with the device for the umpteenth time. "I'm not sure. I ran diagnostics twice already and the array should be working perfectly. They probably either are having equipment problems or are experiencing interference."

"Interference?"

"Possibly. There are a lot of things out there between Earth and Namek to hamper communications. Electromagnetic storms, solar flares, interstellar asteroids, you name it. All we can do is wait."

She worried they may have run into trouble, but Dr. Briefs was right, there was nothing they could do until they answered. She hated this feeling. And wondered, not for the first time, if she should have gone after all despite her crippling fear...

The device suddenly crackled to life and Bulma's face filled the video screen. "Capsule One to Capsule Corp, do you read? Earth to Dad! Bulma calling!"

"Bulma!" They both leapt in joy. "Good to hear from you my dear. How are you?"

"All good here! Ship's systems still functional and all crew in good spirits." Bulma gave the thumbs up as she panned the camera over to show Krillin and Yamcha sparring in the rec area of the ship, then panned over to Little Gohan and Chi-Chi doing homework together in the dining area. They looked up to see the camera at them, and Little Gohan's face lit up as he waved. "Hi grandma! How are you?!"

"Hi sweetie!" Gine waved back. "So happy to hear from you today."

"Indeed, we were!" Dr. Briefs pitched in. "Got worried when you didn't report in at the usual time. What happened?"

Little Gohan let out a long sigh. "Oh boy, it was an interesting day for once. We were attacked by a swarm of-"

"You were attacked?!" Gine's heart stopped momentarily. "By whom? By what?!"

"Well, by refugees actually." Little Gohan finished.

"Huh?"

Bulma stepped back into view to explain. "It's a bit of a long story but we ran into a ship full of kids. The vessel they were on had some sort of cloaking device, so we didn't pick it up on our scanners until we got too close. It had an automated defense system that attacked us then pulled us in to be boarded. No one was seriously hurt, but long story short, they thought we were one of Frieza's scout ships. It was all just a misunderstanding, since they were the last survivors of their home planet."

"Really?" Both Gine and Dr. Briefs were enthralled.

"Yeah. It's quite sad really. One kid, their leader, said that Frieza's army had come to conquer their planet, and their parents had sent their children out on these ships to escape. But they were all hunted down and destroyed except for theirs because of the cloak. So, they let us go when we explained the situation to them."

"A ship full of children, huh?" Gine repeated, feeling sick.

"Yeah. It's quite sad." Chi-Chi chimed in. "All those poor kids, they have nowhere to go!"

That sick feeling was an all-too-familiar painful ache of guilt in her chest.

This was just another wave of victims that Frieza's empire had created, probably one of countless since her own world was destroyed. And before that she aided and abetted in creating many other victims too, more than she wanted to remember. Hearing now that Frieza was still terrorizing the galaxy made her feel so powerless that she could do nothing to stop all that suffering.

She mentally snorted at the ridiculousness of that idea, for was it even possible? She remembered that vision from the Room of Spirit and Time long ago, of how he had destroyed her whole planet with only a finger. Such power was unfathomable. Compared to the struggle she had against Vegeta, Frieza seemed like a god. She couldn't even dream of deposing such a tyrant.

But if these refugee ships were out there, then what about other ships that belonged to Frieza? Space was vast, but so was his reach with the fleets of pods scouring every star system they could for worlds to conquer. Odds were even of going unnoticed or not.

Stop it. Gine admonished herself. She was worrying about things she couldn't control and thus letting her thoughts spiral again.

Bulma's voice brought Gine back into the present. "They have that one kid who seemed ready to take charge. He kept his troopers from firing on us and heard us out. He was very brave and will be leading them to their new home. It's amazing a kid could be so grown up like that."

Gine smiled once again. "That's true. I was the same age when I got sent out into space. Children can be quite resilient."

"But aside from that, all is well. And we're halfway there! So hopefully there's no other surprises along the way."

Gine involuntarily flinched, a superstitious part of her hoped that Bulma hadn't just jinxed fate by saying that last sentence aloud.

"Thanks for checking in, Bulma. We appreciate it. Same time tomorrow?"

"Roger! We'll try. Capsule One, out!" The screen shut off and Gine was left to her thoughts again.

Only nine more days to go. But now it felt like an eternity away...

Meanwhile, on Frieza Planet 79...

Dr. Malaka's reptilian fingers pressed commands into the control console of the healing tank he was supervising. The machine pinged and a series of readouts on the patient's vitals caught his attention.

"He's stabilizing. Standby to initiate resuscitation." Said the doctor without emotion or worry to his assistant. He had done this critical procedure thousands of times.

In the healing tank, Vegeta floated naked and unconscious in the glowing green fluid that accelerated his immune response to his numerous injuries. His face grimaced, the machine's brain scans showed that he was having a fever dream in his cryonic-induced sleep as the tank worked its technological magic repairing his broken body.

He had been unconscious since he had arrived almost a whole day ago. He was found on his pod's emergency life support system, barely clinging on to life when the base's landing dock personnel pulled him out and took him to the medical center. A few more minutes and he wouldn't have made it.

As the last of his injuries faded, the readouts became more erratic, picking up the rage of him replaying the memory of his last battle, peaking with his eyes shooting open and almost screaming in the tank. He was momentarily disoriented, but his eyes settled upon the doctor at his station.

Seeing this, Malaka pushed a few more buttons. "Beginning the draining process now."

A motor came on and the tank's fluid level went down gradually until it was fully empty, then the glass bubble opened with the doctor there greet him.

"Welcome back, Vegeta. You really cut it close this time."

The Saiyan just grunted in disinterest and stepped out as Dr. Malaka continued. "But unfortunately, I was unable to reconstruct your tail."

"That's fine. I don't need it." Vegeta said dismissively, but inside he was burying the anger that threatened to bubble up over that fact.

He stopped for a moment to flex and felt new strength coursing through his veins and smiled. He was now stronger than he was before, and by a much larger margin than any other zenkai boast he's ever had. It still did not erase the sting to his pride though from those damned Earthlings, that wench, and Kakarot...

"Care to tell me what happened, Vegeta? Or is the wound to your ego still too raw to be examined?" The doctor asked unapologetically. Normally anyone who spoke to the Prince of Saiyans in such a manner would've had their craniums caved in by said Prince, but the doctor was an exception. He had brought Vegeta and his comrades... or, (former) comrades, back from certain death after countless battles more times than he could remember; and he was one never to mince words when it came to advice on how to cover his hide. He owed the doctor, but damn him for prodding him now after his defeat.

"Judging by the stress fractures I saw on your armor; I'd say you've taken quite a beating. And that's putting it lightly."

Vegeta didn't pay him any mind and just went to the locker to get himself a new set of armor. The doctor eyed his lack of answers with concern. "I hope you are not entertaining any ideas of revenge against those who did this to you. I may not be here to put you back together again."

Of course, I would want to take revenge, you oaf! Vegeta wanted to say. But he won't act on it now. He had other things to worry about.

"Is Frieza here? I need to speak to him." Vegeta asked as he finishes putting on his new suit.

The normally unemotional doctor gulped in trepidation. Very few things in the cosmos would strike terror in his heart than the mention of the lizard tyrant's name.

"He... he isn't here. I don't know where he went. You know how he has many things that keep him busy."

The hesitation in his voice was enough for Vegeta to know that something was up. "I hope you aren't lying to me." He threatened.

Dr. Malaka shook his head vigorously. "I assure you, I am not, Vegeta. But perhaps Qui can help you find him. He should be in the training center; last I saw him. He was sent here to help along with your recovery."

The taste of bile filled the back of Vegeta's throat. "That coward is the last person I want to see right now." And he meant it with all his being.

"Well, if you see Frieza, tell him I need to speak to him." Vegeta said as he made his way out the medical lab.

"Wait, Vegeta! you forgot your scouter!" Dr. Malaka chased after him with the device in hand.

"Keep it!" The Prince called over his shoulder. Just as the doctor was about to protest, another machine in the room went off. His assistant turned to him saying that it was a private communique for him...

...

Vegeta walked the corridors of the base without aim, lost in his dark thoughts. His body was healed, and he was far stronger than he would've ever gotten from a few more years of missions, but he was livid.

He had been beaten. Not by worthy opponents, oh no. Of all things to humble the heir to the throne of the most powerful race of warriors in the universe, a low-class outcast and her gaggle of pathetic weaklings no stronger than Saibamen had killed his righthand man and took away his tail (while he was transformed)! And he had no one to blame but himself for all of it, for letting his guard down, allowing that traitor Raditz to defy him, and failing to kill them all when he had the chance before Kakarot came along. But the worst offense of all, when Kakarot had the chance to finish him, that low-class scum spared him instead. He had shone him pity by being merciful, then sent him away. Vegeta would've rather died than have to bare the shame of being bested by the son of a wench.

This unforgivable spat to his honor must not, and will not, stand.

There's nothing he wanted more than to return to Earth to pay them all another visit. With his new strength he could take them on again, but he would be on his own next time. No Nappa to back him up. Then again, if Nappa was dumb and weak enough to be killed by the likes of those Earthlings, then he wouldn't have been much help anyway. Good riddance. But Vegeta had second thoughts of his own. For he caught a glimpse of Kakarot's power. He hated to admit it to himself (and told himself that because he was weakened when he finally faced him after battling everyone else), but the power of the fiery red aura that Kakarot wielded dwarfed whatever energy Vegeta had, for he could actually feel that power radiating from Kakarot. He did not know how, but it shook Vegeta to his core unlike anything except the terror Frieza could strike in him.

And, speaking of which, now that Vegeta knew the truth about Frieza being the one who destroyed his home planet, he could not stand to serve under him anymore. But... he couldn't do anything about it right now. His hopes of overthrowing the tyrant had been dashed brutally when Gine turned down his offer and sent him back without his tail. Now, he had never felt so trapped in a place he did not want to be.

He punched a wall in anger, putting a dent in the metal corridor. He didn't care, he wished the outpost was on a moon instead, where the decompression would've killed everyone here. Him included. But since it isn't, he just keeps walking.

No, we won't do something reckless now. All he could do now is bide his time once again. He'll find another mission to get stronger, until-

"Well, well, well. Look who it is, hey Vegeta!"

The prince flinched at that annoying voice, looking up to see the insulant purple toad of Qui blocking his path. He was too lost in his head to notice he had walked to the training center.

"I heard you took quite a beating, if your battle report is correct. By a low-class Saiyan AND a rag-tag gang of weaklings? Now that's gotta be quite embarrassing!" Qui chuckled.

Vegeta clenched his fists in barely controlled rage. "Out of my way, Qui. I have no desire to speak to you."

Qui keeps poking fun at him as if he hadn't heard. "Where's your buddy, Nappa? Or Raditz for that matter?"

Vegeta says nothing, but Qui already knew, for he just wanted to humiliate the Saiyan.

"Oh my!" He feigned shock. "Nappa's been killed, Raditz bailed, AND you've lost your tail?! Oh, now that's HILARIOUS!" He all but balled over laughing.

Vegeta was as red as a tomato; his anger threatening to consume him and make him try to drive his fist through this idiot's skull on the spot. He should be able to with his new power if he wanted to, but he did not want to chance a court martial.

"If you wish to keep your second spleen, I suggest you leave me alone." Vegeta growled.

Perking up at the challenge, Qui scoffed. "Ha! If you could overcome my power level first!"

"That wouldn't be much of a challenge." Vegeta spat back. "Now get out of my way." He manages to shove past Qui, but the purple alien turned and grabbed his shoulder.

"Just a minute Vegeta." Qui's mocking tone turned serious. "There's something you should know: Frieza is most displeased with you right now, going off-mission for a whole year without his authorization. Even if it was to execute that traitor Raditz, but since you've failed in that, there will be hell to pay."

Vegeta chuckled darkly. "Just let Frieza try and do something about it, can't really do that if he isn't here, right?"

Qui shivered at that backtalk of their lord and master. He hopped Frieza was not listening in on his scouter.

"Now get your hand off of me before I rip it out of its socket." Vegeta finished. Qui did so, but he was not done.

"You've got quite a mouth, Vegeta. I think you're biting off more than you could chew, as no one has ever survived against Frieza. But I think he's going to forgive you."

"What?" Vegeta turned to him in surprise.

Qui smirked at having caught him unawares. "Oh? You didn't know? I forgot to tell that Frieza is on his way here. You tell him whatever gripes you have against him when he arrives."

Before Vegeta could say more, Qui's scouter beeped.

"Speaking of which..." He reaches a hand to cup his scouter and hear better, then the alien stiffened upon hearing the speaker on the other side. "Yes, my lord!"

Vegeta felt his blood run cold.

Qui saw the flicker of fear in Vegeta's eyes and smirked something evil. "Why yes, Lord Frieza. Vegeta is right here if you wish to speak to him... as you command, my lord."

He removed his scouter and handed it to Vegeta, looking satisfied with himself. "He wishes to speak to you."

Vegeta chastised himself for showing fear and collected himself, snatching the scouter from Qui and putting it to his ear.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. Oh, and feel free to keep that scouter, I'm sure you forgotten yours." Qui poked at him before walking away. Vegeta imagined burning holes into the back of Qui's head as he walked away, then turned his attention back to the call.

"Yes, Lord Frieza? This is Vegeta speaking." He answered cordially.

"Ah, Vegeta. I was worried about you when you didn't answer your scouter." The lizard tyrant's innocuous-seeming concern irked Vegeta, for he never showed concern for anything but himself, and seemed as if he was taunting the Prince for knowing he was up to no good.

"I assume you've made a full recovery?" Frieza asked, further rankling Vegeta.

"You ought to know already, Frieza. Is there something you wanted to say to me?" Vegeta said impatiently, making Qui flinch.

But Frieza does not balk. "I'll take that as a yes, since you are so eager for me to get to the point. Yes, for I wish to see you personally."

"What for?" Vegeta asked, feeling confused.

"There is some... matters I must speak to you about." The tyrant's hesitation unsettled Vegeta somehow.

"Matters you cannot tell me now?"

"Let's just say that it is a rather delicate subject regarding your handling of that errant companion of yours, Raditz."

"He was a coward, always was. I intent to return to Earth immediately to finish the job, my lord." He added quickly as if to sound reassuring, but deep down he knew it was the response of subordinates who will say or do anything to avoid Frieza's wrath upon them when they royally screwed up. And he felt that coming upon him too.

"I'm quite certain you are eager to, Vegeta. But I insist that you remain on Planet 79 until my arrival."

Now Vegeta was confused, for no one crosses Frieza's rule and lives. His entire army is disciplined with terror to keep them all in line, to go against it would be unheard of. So why was Frieza telling him to go against his own command structure?

"Why? What's so important for me to remain here for when I should be doing my job?" Whatever the answer, it was making Vegeta nervous.

"Tsh tsh. You know better than to question my orders, Vegeta. You will remain there regardless."

""Ha. You really expect me to just let a traitor live?" He noticed the doctor was coming his way from down the corridor, slowly, but then Frieza spoke again.

"Oh no, I have no intention of that, Vegeta. With you already where I want you."

All the blood drained from Vegeta's face, stunned into silence.

Frieza noticed that silence, and one could almost hear the sneering smile on the other side of the line.

"Do you take me for a fool, Vegeta? I already know everything that you and your compadre, Nappa, conspired about during your little detour. How you were to establish your little hideaway on that backwater you went to, and your ultimate plan to depose me."

Vegeta couldn't speak. How did he know? Those words replayed over and over in his mind. He was so careful. His and Nappa's scouters were off, he made sure of that, and those pods had secure ship-to-ship lines!

But, deep down, he should have known better. Frieza had his ways. Any competent tyrant always did.

But now there was doubt about it. Frieza knew that Vegeta knew the truth.

"I will let you sit on that for a while Vegeta. Rest assured you will not be harmed... Yet. We'll have a chance to talk it out when I get there."

The line went dead. Vegeta did not know how long he had been standing there but was shocked back into reality when he felt the presence of Dr. Malaka coming up behind him.

"Vegeta?" The doctor said cautiously, acting in a way the Prince had never seen him before. "May I suggest you return to the lab with me? It appears that I need to... perform a few more tests before you could be discharged."

In that instant, Vegeta's mind and heart raced. He was being setup. Despite the rising alarm in him, Vegeta could somehow sense the sedation device behind the doctor's back, ready to electroshock him into unconsciousness and keep him under until Frieza arrived... To do away with him however he wished.

Panic and rage boiled up at the same time. He was a dead man. This couldn't be happening! It mustn't! The Prince will not go quietly!

"NOOOOO!"

Without hesitating, he let out a scream of energy that blasted ki in all directions around him, vaporizing the doctor before he knew what happened. The corridor exploded around him, triggering alarms that deafened him. Before the smoke cleared, Vegeta dropped the scouter and ran as fast as he could towards the base exit.

Every corner he rounded he fired ki blasts into whoever was unlucky enough to be in his way to clear a path. He didn't care anymore; he will fight his way out and get as far away from Frieza and his goons as possible.

Around one more corner which should lead to the launch platform, none other than Qui was standing between him and freedom.

"Where do you think you're going, Vegeta?!" He snarled at him, raising an arm to launch an energy attack.

"OUT OF MY WAY, YOU FREAK!" Summoning all the energy he had, Vegeta fired a ki blast at him. Qui was quick enough to cross his arms and shield himself, using his energy to absorb the blast, but was caught off-guard when Vegeta hurled himself forward and plowed his fist into Qui's face. The purple alien was nowhere near prepared for the unexpected force of Vegeta's attack of increased strength. He had gotten too cocky over the years about being stronger than the Saiyan Prince. The purple alien howled in agony, feeling his facial bones crunch under the blow and toppling over end over end until slamming into the wall, incapacitated.

Vegeta had no time to stop and finish him off, as much as he wanted to. He blasted open the door open, charging through the debris, and is elated to see an open pod ready for liftoff.

Jumping in and pressing the launch command's without strapping in, the pod door closed, and the smoking base of Frieza Planet 79 fell away beneath him before anyone could stop him...

Soon, he was out of the system, but he put in no destination, just having the pod going straight out of what is now hostile territory.

Minutes that felt like hours pass, his heartrate refusing to slow down. But after a while Vegeta calmed himself. But could not feel relief. He won't ever now.

He knew too much and Frieza had tried to kill him. Now that he had stolen a pod, Frieza will no doubt go looking for him. He will scour the galaxy if he has to, and even if he couldn't find him himself, he will put a bounty on him to be brought to Frieza, or worse, may even send the Ginyus after him. Either way, Vegeta was now a fugitive. And for the first time in recent memory, he felt scared, and didn't know what to do.

Vegeta closed his eyes, trying to think of what to do next. He could go into hiding somewhere but will only stave off the inevitable. But he is no coward like Raditz, he'll take the fight to Frieza if he has to-

His eyes shot open. Somewhere, out there. He closes his eyes again. Sure enough, there it was again. No, there they were.

He could not explain it, but somehow, he can sense very familiar presences. Was it something he picked up from Earth? He wasn't sure, but he knew those energies. They were the Earthlings. What were they doing way out in space? And where were they going?

Whatever this new ability, it was not as precise as a scouter, but was glad in hindsight for not bringing one, for surely, he would've been tracked easily. From what he could tell, the signatures weren't very powerful. There was no indication of it being Kakarot, Raditz, or the wench, Gine. Therefore, he surmised it must be their weakling human companions. The same ones from the battlefield...

An evil smirk crosses Vegeta's face. Fate could be so cruel and sweet sometimes...

He doesn't care why their human friends were out here anymore. A golden opportunity for revenge had just been handed to him.

He will keep his distance to avoid whatever detection methods they have, not to mention keep a low profile from any of Frieza's lackeys out there. He will worry about disappearing later. Now, he will stalk his prey to the cluster they seem to be heading.

Too bad Kakarot is not here to protect them. Vegeta thought sadistically. He will be careful of the humans' trickery this time, and he will make the wench pay by killing her friends instead. Wherever they were going...

A/N: There is no Fake Namek. Moving on.