A/N: And I'm back!

Vegeta sat precariously upon the top of the stadium with one knee pulled up to his chest. An announcement jarred Vegeta from his thoughts; soon the fighter's entrance to the arena would be flooded with children, which was why he quickly made his exit, but not toward the seats that Bulma had reserved for everybody. He didn't care for the company, nor did he care for the junior tournament but he wasn't going to miss any of his son's fights; he'd simply watch from the shadows.

He looked over to the section of reserved seats and saw Bulma's blue bob and chuckled at the fact that she fashioned her hair after his son's. Even though he hated to admit it, he had grown fond of them. He never declared his promises to anyone, however he promised himself that he'd never let harm befall her or his son.

But that declaration didn't come easy.

At that instant, the memory of the future version of his son being impaled by Cell's beam invaded his mind. He had attacked in a blind rage but he and his pride was beaten in once again. It was that event that made him realize that he cared about his family. And he was uncomfortable with that prospect; in his mind he had become soft. Kakkarot's smiling face immediately came to his mind.

Vegeta cocked one of his eyebrows up. He had become softer than Kakkarot, and the idiot wasn't even there for his family. That irked him. Having something or someone to care for made him weak. He dug his hands in his hair and let go a ragged breath. How had this happened? When had it happened? Why did it happen?

His eyes found Bulma once more. He didn't deserve her, and the more she watched the contents of the scouter, she would come to that conclusion as well.

~/~/~

Bulma knew that her husband's behaviour wasn't out of context, he hated crowds, noise and children, not in that order. She sighed and began to look around for him. She wasn't surprised that he was nowhere in sight.

She looked over at the electronic board displaying the schedule; Trunks was going to be the fifth battle. She looked down at her brochure and began to fill the names into the brackets for each fighter.

"Trunks versus Idasa," she said to herself. "I'm sure he'll make quick work of him."

Just as she finished her sentence, a burly blonde women pushed past her knocking the brochure out of her hand as she took a seat right beside her.

"Hey watch where you're going, or else," she threatened.

The lady simply stared at her before turning her attention to her friend who had saved her a seat.

"My Idasa is going to wipe the floor with this 9 year-old kid," she said excitedly. "I'm just dreaming of what we're going to do once we win that prize money!"

Bulma began to silently seethe to herself. 'Oh please, My Trunks can beat that boy blindfolded with both hands tied behind his back.'

The woman continued. "And as a matter-of-fact, I don't even think they should allow the kids under ten to compete in a tournament like this, they should be up in the stands with their parents admiring my Idasa," she gushed.

Bulma thought that she was going to be sick to her stomach. And just who does this woman think that she is. She couldn't wait for Trunks' match to begin so that she could watch him wipe the floor with the boy.

~/~/~

Vegeta watched his wife from the stadium tower; she had taken on his mannerisms and he had taken on hers. He smirked as he watched her stew in her seat; it was only a matter of time before she blew. Even though she lacked the physical strength to defend herself, she feared nobody. He couldn't figure it out at first, but it was what drew him to her; she was the only one able to tame him and she knew it.

"Attention all spectators and participants, I once again ask you to please turn your attention to the ring and meet our youth division fighters for this afternoon!"

The cheers of the crowd bellowed as the junior division fighters began to file out of the tunnel. Vegeta immediately caught a glimpse of purple as his son walked to the ring looking focused and determined.

All but 2 junior division fighters filed out of the ring in preparation for this first match. Vegeta held his head back and sighed as he patiently waited for his son's turn.

Play

Planet Gelbo

He didn't know where he was, only that he was returning from the darkness of the abyss that had tried to claim his life. With eyes shut, his natural survival instinct was the only thing that he was sure of. He used it like a rope, pulling himself self hand over mental hand back from his torment. He had been at death's door once too many times, and he knew it. He had had this feeling before, from the pain he wore like a badge to the sharp familiarities of his situation; cold, dark, alone.

The sixteen year-old knew that he was taking a huge risk coming the planet. It was against Frieza's orders, and that was reason enough to never deviate from the plan. He enticed Azra to accompany him to another planet. Back on Imecka, the pair snuck away while Nappa slept. They were ambushed before their pods had the chance to land. Most planets began to implement increased defensive measures as a way to stand against Frieza and his regime, and as such they had almost been killed before the battle even began.

Vegeta shuffled toward the opening of the cave in which he spent the night and forced his crusted eyes open. Pain ambushed him with the return of his sight as he fell to his knees and spread out in the dirt. He sniffed out the nearby stream and dragged his body toward it for water. His head thundered. Every inch of his body cried out in pain as he continued his seemingly long journey toward the water. He gave one final push and dipped his left hand into the stream.

The boy watched the water around his hand turn to rust. He cupped some in his palm and brought it toward his mouth gingerly. He patted his palm on his cracked lips. The boy's mouth was gummed shut. He reacted in panic forcing them apart resulting in pain. Vegeta turned his head and spat into the grass; he made a second attempt at scooping some water into his dry mouth. His unsteady hands proved to be no use as he dipped his head into the stream and began to suck the water into his mouth. Vegeta persisted until his thirst was quenched. He lifted his head to look at his reflection. His hair had been matted with dirt, his face had a clear ring around his mouth from the water.

He had been separated from Azra before he even landed on Gelbo. It appeared as if the planet's defenses were not as primitive as initially thought. Either he had been given the wrong report, or the database just wasn't up to date. Everything had been underestimated; that was an understatement. Now either Azra was alive, or she was dead. There was no straddling the fence as he himself had done so many times before.

Vegeta lifted his head to see a young woman casting a shadow over him.

"Y-you'd bet-ter not, don't lay..your-can't." His feeble attempt at forming a sentence failed as he fainted head-first into the stream.

~/~/~

Vegeta's eyes shot open and he looked under the quilt to see he was bare wearing only his scouter. He was notably taller and much more lean than the solid frame of his childhood. He hadn't groomed himself in months and as such he had been growing in a goatee to match that of his father's. He surveyed his surroundings before spotting his armour on a nearby wooden chair in corner of the room. His jumpsuit however, was still missing. He grimaced as he sat up holding his ribcage. His wounds had been cleaned and bandaged. He threw the quilt to the ground and covered his manhood as he shuffled toward his armour.

"What are you doing out of bed. Don't you want to get better?" The woman called out from the doorway with his clean jumpsuit in hand

"I was fine without you," he spat.

"I thought that you were someone else. And if it weren't for me, you would have drowned," she said.

"I'm not thankful. Now give me back my jumpsuit and I'll be on my way!"

"You are not one hundred percent yet, you shouldn't risk reopening your wounds," she warned.

Vegeta clenched his teeth and grabbed his uniform before reluctantly backing over to the cot never once taking his eyes off the woman.

"What's your mission here?".

Vegeta shifted his eyes toward the candle-lit lamp and remained silent. He secretly wondered whether or not this was some sort of trap.

"Tell me, what are you here to do to my people, my home?"

"I'm looking for somebody," Vegeta said shrugging her off as he pushed his feet into his clothing.

"That's not what my people believe. You came here in a Cooler-issued space pod that's apart of the Cold family regime, and you expected us to receive you with open arms?"

Vegeta raised his gaze to find the woman leaning against the wall across from him. He observed her with crossed arms and a hostile expression.

"You resemble the orphan boy who was adopted by one of our fishermen. That was the reason I rushed over to you."

As soon as she finished her sentence one of his eyebrows shot up. So he was right about the planet.

"It's a shame that the two of you don't share the same mannerisms," she said stabbing the air between them using her hand as the blade.

"Where is he?" he demanded. "Tell me or I'll take your life."

"There's a small house just past the mountains toward the west. You'll find him there."

He had been searching for Tarble for a few years; unfortunately he had only gotten leads on the whereabouts of his brother but nothing concrete. He'd be damned if he'd let Frieza have him.

Vegeta walked through the front door he was greeted with the stares and whispers of the other villagers. He passed through the tiny village finding nourishment paying with his credit chip.

As the young man gnawed on a leg of meat he looked toward the mountains. Vegeta cleaned the bone and discarded it over his shoulder. He took a few steps forward before blasting off into the sky. As the prince passed over the mountains, he began tapping his scouter trying to pinpoint the exact location of his brother. The readings on the scouter began to scroll down quickly as if detecting a larger power level in the area.

"Well, I guess you got stronger," Vegeta said to himself.

Vegeta landed and began running toward the small house on the other end of the small lake.

"Vegeta," Azra screamed falling out of the sky ripping off her bandages. "We need to get out of here, right now. Frieza thinks that we've deserted the mission on Imecka. He's traced our pods to Gelbo and has sent the Ginyu Force after us. We have to get out of here now!" She landed on her feet and ran to his side.

"Not without my brother," he said still deep in thought.

"Frieza is definitely going to kill us this time," she cried. "Wait, you're what?!"

"Shut up and let me think." Vegeta paused and dug his hands into his hair.

"Since when have you had a brother and why are you only looking for him now?"

"I said shut up," he exclaimed with a balled fist.

As he silently walked over toward the small house five pods streaking through the sky grabbed his attention.

"And that would be them, the forerunners of our doom," Azra said solemnly.

Vegeta reached up to his face and began tapping a few buttons on his scouter. "They haven't landed yet. And by the time they finish that idiotic dance and introduction, we will have been long gone."

Vegeta began to inch toward the door. "I don't need you to protect me, call your pod and get out of here. Nappa and the others should be in the Ninth Quadrant by now."

Azra did as she was told and took to the sky to meet her pod halfway. Vegeta took a deep breath and pushed the door open. His scouter began to beep with life as he entered the one room house. The power level reading was off the chart.

"What is this stupid thing broken?" He asked himself as he took it off of his face to examine it. Vegeta smacked it against an open palm a few times before placing it back on his face.

Vegeta's senses began to pick up a tainted smell in the room. He lit an energy ball for illumination Blood. His instincts set in as he readied to defend himself.

"My, my monkey, how we've strayed so far from home."

The realization that his actions had been deemed predictable by his enemy made his heart sink but he refused to let it be evident in his voice.

"What are you doing here Zarbon?"

"I've been sent by Lord Frieza, it seems that you've been quite the distraction on purge missions. Disappearing before you arrive at every other planet, making detours in between purges. We had your pod outfitted with a tracking device."

Vegeta didn't display his nervousness on his face. He smirked arrogantly at him and folded his arms.

"So I see that you've been demoted from warrior to babysitter," Vegeta mused as he stroked his thin goatee.

Zarbon flung the body to the side and lunged at him. Vegeta expertly dodged his knee and blasted a hole through the roof in attempt to make a quick escape.

"Going somewhere prince Vegeta?" Zarbon asked while gathering himself to attack him again.

Vegeta quickly powered up and emitted light from his hand which blinded Zarbon; he shot up through the hole in the roof and flew into a deeply forested area without Zarbon in tow. He glanced behind him to ensure that he wasn't being followed before summoning his pod to fly low into the wooded area. It was heavily damaged after the ambush, but it was still in working order.

"Tracking technology," he whispered to himself. How could he have been so careless to think that they weren't following his every move. In order to escape his master for small periods of time, he would have to remain one step ahead of him and it was going to begin with the pod.

Vegeta looked over his head once more as the pod drew closer to him. He opened it up and began to take the inside apart. He removed the keyboard which revealed the blinking chip which read the coordinates of his destinations and crushed it between his index finger and his thumb. He installed the keyboard back to its original position and ordered it shut.

Vegeta heard the crunching of branches and leaves before whipping around to see Zarbon stop suddenly in his tracks. He watched him hold his hand up to his scouter in frustration.

"Captain Ginyu," he hesitated before continuing, "I lost the brat." He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Because the little chimp blinded me that's why. All I see is glare right now." Zarbon began to ball his fists in anger. "It wasn't in the scouting report you provided when his warrant for capture was issued by Freiza."

Vegeta continued to hide in the thick brush; his ki was low due to his injuries but the more he began to heal he knew that he would start to show on Zarbon's scouter.

"Well you know what Ginyu," Zarbon said as he flicked the loose hair out of his face. "I'm not going to prance around in this mud, looking for the idiot Saiyan. He has no choice but to return to the mothership eventually. He can be punished then."

Unable to pinpoint his exact location, Zarbon turned and addressed the trees. "I know that you're out here ape, you wait until you get back to the mothership!" Zarbon blasted off into the sky and flew in the direction of the Ginyu Force.

Vegeta pushed past the brush to ensure that Zarbon was gone. He needed to think of a way to get off of the planet undetected and what to do about his brother. He sat down against a tree and pulled his knee to his chest. Just past the mountains, he remembered. But that would have made the house the right place. But the blood in the house, surely it couldn't have been Tarble's. Minus the blood everything in the house was pristine meaning that however died in there didn't put up a fight.

Then where did he go?

The ground underneath him began to shake jarring the prince from his thoughts. He thought that the planet beneath him was becoming undone. Had Frieza finally decided to end his life by blowing up the planet on which he stood.

'Coward,' Vegeta thought to himself.

If he were to power up now Zarbon would for sure sense the spike on his scouter prompting him to return; Zarbon's pride wouldn't allow the prince to get away unscathed. However not to power up may result in certain death because of his previous injuries.

Vegeta balled his fists and dug his boots into the dirt opting to power up at that moment, but before he could the ground underneath him eroded and Vegeta was blown back by the wind and the steam that continued to emerge from the ground. He managed to grab onto the trunk of a tree and dig his fingertips into the bark.

'So much for not attracting the attention of the Ginyu Force,' he thought as he clenched his teeth.

As the steam began to let up Vegeta frantically rubbed the dirt and debris from his eyes. Vegeta clenched his teeth and decided that he had to power-up for survival. The Prince of Saiyans ran from no one. He formed a small moon in his hand as a precaution; he only used Oozaru as his last resort. As he began to concentrate closer he caught a glimpse of his brother holding both of his palms on the ground.

'Was it him that caused this?' Vegeta thought to himself.

Vegeta crouched low to power up and blasted off toward his brother. His time was limited, there was no doubt in his mind the Ginyu Force were already on their way over here to see about the commotion. As Vegeta neared closer to Tarble he cut out his ki entirely and began to glide full-speed toward the younger Saiyan. Tarble was caught completely off guard and was tackled deeper into the forest. The sheer amount of force that Vegeta used to get over there knocked the wind out of Tarble who lay in the dirt wincing in pain.

"Father?" He managed to squeak out as he looked up at the goatee-clad prince.

"Brother," he spat angrily. "Were you trying to kill me?"

"No, I-I didn't see you. I was focused on the green man with long hair. He barged into my house and my family was killed," he said with his head down in agony. "I wasn't able to defend them, I wasn't strong enough so I ran." Tears began to fall down the younger Saiyan's face at the realization that his world was becoming undone.

"Did he see you?" Vegeta asked while tapping his scouter for his pod.

"No, I felt his raw power and took off leaving them to fend for themselves. I'm a coward. I guess you won't be able to take me back home to mother and father after what I've done."

"They're both dead, and our planet is no more," Vegeta replied coldly.

Tarble fell to his back as the dam holding back everything was breached. It was the reason why he was banished from the planet. A Saiyan who wanted nothing to do with fighting or training. His passiveness was detected at an early age; however after everything that had happened, it turned out to be the best option.

"Dry your tears, I need to get you out of here now."

Tarble was now crying uncontrollably at the news holding on to a tree. "Where will I go now," he asked through his hysterics." Tarble's life had turned upside down in a matter of minutes. His home was ambushed, his family was killed and he had just learned the fate of his biological parents.

"I am sending you far away from here, this planet must be destroyed," Vegeta said floating over to him. "If you do not comply you're going to get both of us killed!"

"No, I cannot leave this planet. I've already lost one home and I won't lose another! I've also lost both of my families, you can't," he pleaded.

Vegeta grabbed Tarble by the hair and delivered a powerful uppercut to his ribcage knocking him to the ground. He watched as Tarble began heaving struggling to catch his breath. He looked down at his younger brother briefly thinking about what their lives would have been like under different circumstances. At that moment, part of himself was glad that it was him who was in Freiza's possession and not Tarble.

"Please don't, this is my home. These people have accepted me as one of their own with open arms. Leave them out of this brother," Tarble pleaded through his tears. "I promise that I can become strong like you. I-I'll train harder but I beg of you don't harm them."

"You're weak! Nobody can know about you or your whereabouts, or your relation to me. This planet has people who have knowledge of both you and I. They will be interrogated and tortured and you will be hunted to the ends of the universe. This will probably be the very last time you see me again," Vegeta said. He didn't know how he was going to get off of the planet, this mission was beginning to look like a one-way destination by the minute.

"Please brother don't do this, I need you," Tarble began, forcing himself to his feet. "Train me!"

As Vegeta shook his head in reply, Tarble launched himself toward his brother and embraced him. Vegeta quickly brushed him off and opened his pod. He began to type in coordinates for the furthest galaxy he knew, far out of the Cold Family sectors. He grabbed his blackened necklace and put it on under his armour.

"Get in."

"No, I won't leave my-," Tarble began before being cut off with his brothers foot to his chest. Vegeta straddled him and punched him until he was barely able to speak. Vegeta grabbed him by the hair and threw him into the pod. "Your Saiyan blood will heal you by the time you get to your destination. Forget that I ever existed because I plan on doing the same. One day you'll understand why this had to be done."

Vegeta reached into his armour to retrieve his credit chip and tossed it into the pod. "This is untraceable, use it to take care of yourself. When you get to the destination set in the pod, travel further." He commanded the door shut and backed away.

With mouth bloodied and eyes swollen Tarble peeked up at his older brother and screamed. He began to bang his head onto the door of the pod in frustration, "How can you ever find peace when you destroy innocent lives?"

"I don't plan on finding it." Vegeta walked over to the underbelly of the pod and erased the serial number etched on it with his ki.

Vegeta turned his back as the pod prepared for takeoff. He heard Tarble struggling to get out and refused to turn his face toward him. He wasn't going to entertain the idea of having a relationship his brother. This mission was solely out of loyalty to his blood and nothing more. They were going to remain estranged until the day he died. He listened as the pod blasted off of the planet before turning his attention elsewhere.

Vegeta now needed to come up with a plan for escape and he needed to do it quickly. He looked up at the contrails left behind by the Ginyu Force's pods. He took to the sky and followed the trail; he was certain that he would find at least one pod and set a course into the eye of the storm.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please turn your attention to our fifth match for this afternoon: Idasa Yoshida versus Trunks Briefs."

The announcement caught the attention of Bulma who removed the scouter from her face and placed it in her purse.

"My Idasa is going to beat that boy with his eyes closed," she proudly proclaimed. "He's going to beat that boy with his eyes closed."

Bulma rolled her eyes. "When Trunks wins this prize money, I'm going to inject it into my foundation for kids, and your son will be welcome to take martial arts lessons from one of the many dojos owned by the Capsule Corporation."

Both women came nose-to-nose and glared at each other before Chi-Chi interjected. "You two have nothing to fight about once Goten wins!" She smiled proudly, "I will be using the money to enroll him private school and hire the best private tutors."

Bulma sat down wearing a sinister smirk on her face a. "Kick his ass Trunks!"

~/~/~

Trunks crouched down and readied himself in his fighting stance. He was determined to win this match with ease; he needed to conserve all of his energy for his match with Goten. The slim Idasa stood by uncaring and grossly underestimating the strength of his opponent.

"I'm going to make quick work of you," he said cockily.

"I'm going to allow you to try and hit me," Trunks said unmoving. "If you land a punch I'll walk out of the ring."

Idasa threw his head back and laughed, "Well if you want to make it easy for me to move onto the next round then so be it." As he finished his sentence Idasa flew forward leading with his fist. Trunks smirked and cocked his head to the side evading the attack. Idasa lifted his knee toward Trunks' stomach which was expertly batted away.

The Saiyain continued to evade his opponent all while wearing a smug smirk on his face.

"Time's up," he pompously declared.

Trunks wound up and his foot met Idasa's chin in one swift movement snapping the boy's head back. Trunks closed his eyes and turned to leave the ring before Idasa was able to fall to the ground.

~/~/~

Bulma threw her head back and laughed. There was not a single doubt in her mind her son would've won the match with ease. The only thing that Trunks really had to do was power up; the sheer force of his ki would have blown his opponent into the stands.

"I guess you'll be leaving now," Bulma said without even looking over at Mrs. Yoshida.

The burly woman huffed and didn't even offer Bulma a second glance as she gathered her belongings and headed in the other direction.

~/~/~

Vegeta peered down from the shadows as the match concluded. He looked around to make sure that he was alone before allowing his chest to puff with pride. He aspired for his son to pass him one day on the battlefield. For reasons unbeknownst to him, his son adored him. Vegeta signed in resignation once again contemplating what had happened to him; he had changed, albeit reluctantly, but changed nonetheless.

'When did any of this even start?' He asked himself as he began to search his memories.

Flashback

Vegeta's eyes were slow to open as he lay on his back. Peering toward the sky he reached toward his chest and felt around the fine whole that had pierced his heart hours earlier. He held up his hands looking at them in disbelief.

'Impossible!' He thought to himself. He sat up and continued to look at his hands. He was alive. A flash of yellow light caught his attention and his mouth dropped in shock. Kakkarot has ascended!'

"Hey Vegeta," Bulma whispered interrupting him from his thoughts. "This planet isn't going to hold up much longer, I have a ship we all need to escape."

"I run from no one," he proclaimed.

"Bulma have you lost your mind," Yamcha interjected. "He's kidnapped you, terrorized the Namekians, threatened to kill you me and all of our friends, and now you want him to accompany us back to Earth?"

"Yamcha, there's no way that he's as evil as he lets on. The dragon wouldn't have revived him. Do you see any of Frieza's henchmen prancing about?"

"Bulma-."

"Yamcha stop," Bulma began. She pulled Yamcha closer in hopes that the Saiyan wouldn't hear.

"While all of my friends failed to rescue me, he didn't hurt me and he never tried to. He said he wanted the Dragon Balls so that he could wish to be the most powerful being in the universe. To-to be immortal," she stammered. "But the more time I spent with him the more I realized that he wasn't trying to destroy anything except for Frieza."

"Think Yamcha, the only reason he came to Earth in the first place was to recruit Goku under the guise that they were the last remaining Saiyans, but it was really to help him beat Frieza. He never came to Earth to conquer it. He came to Earth for help even though he refuses to admit it!"

Vegeta refused to allow his eyes to be torn away from the battle that was taking place before him. His ear was open to every word she had said and he mentally winced at her assertions.

She saw right through him.

Vegeta sensed a presence that jarred him from his thoughts. He whipped around to see a figure stalking in the shadows.

"Show yourself. If I have to ask twice I will be very angry," Vegeta threatened.

The short toad-like figure emerged from the shadows and grinned at Vegeta. He stood no more than four feet tall and wore an 'M' prominently on his clothing.

"Who are you?" Vegeta asked coldly.

"I can return what you desire," he said to him.

"And what do you think that is?" Vegeta turned away and faced the ring as the next match began.

"Power rivalled by no one," he replied.

Vegeta's interest was now peaked. In his own eyes, he had gotten soft; he had people in his life that he cared for; he allowed himself to indulge in earthly customs with his wife and son. Vegeta clenched his teeth, wrestling with the decision to entertain the lunatic that stood before him.

"You're making me ask twice, who are you?"

"Babadi."