Everything had started off so well, too. I arrived, nuked a city, planted some saibamen, coached those saibamen, and killed several of this planet's strongest fighters. All that ended once Kakarrot finally showed up and he ruined everything. He somehow healed his friends, not even sure how the hell that works, and then moseyed up to go toe to toe with me, the great Nappa. Cocky little race-traitor; he would be easy pickings just like the rest of his comrades. I had everything under control, I had thought to myself. Sure, he dodged a couple of blows, he's fast, whatever. Nothing I couldn't keep up with.

I shook with rage; aware of how stupid I looked right then. How could I say that I'm in control of the situation, when Kakarrot's literally standing on my head?!

I clapped my hands hard above my head to catch Kakarrot, but he managed to get away. Suddenly a sharp pain exploded in my gut, as his elbow lodged itself into my stomach.

"That was for Chiaotzu." Kakarrot said hotly.

I furiously kicked at the low class dog in response, but instead got launched into the air by a swift kick. All his blows were actually hurting me! It didn't make any sense! How the hell could he be this strong?! Even Raditz had outmatched Kakkarrot in battle! I couldn't believe that the reading from Vegeta's scouter was accurate, but if not, then how the hell did he get this strong? It can't be right, it can't be!

We clashed against each other again and again, and each time I was being dominated. This isn't funny, this wasn't fair, and this wasn't fun. None my energy blasts fazed Kakarrot. Every punch I threw was dodged. Any attack I tried was countered and I was getting tired of being knocked back over and over again. I was being toyed with, like some kind of combat greenhorn. This is absolutely absurd, and my damn blood pressure is getting to me, I'm so god damn mad that it wasn't funny. I can't even concentrate, my form probably looks like trash, and I think my vision is failing… Kakarrot knocked me away again, why the hell can't I connect a single blow?!

The two Earthlings from the peanut gallery were talking amongst themselves and cheering the lower-class punk on, but it was Vegeta's words that caught my attention.

"NAPPA! Get ahold of yourself, fool! He can't beat you if you keep your head! Calm down!"

Like ten gallons of water dumped over a lit matchstick, my rage disappeared, replaced only with surprise. I blinked, then grinned, thankful towards Vegeta for catching me before I really lost it, but he simply turned away looking annoyed. Par for the course, really.

With my mind clear, I looked calculatingly at my prey. I noticed that Kakarrot was smiling too back at me with an eagerness that wasn't there before. So life on this peaceful planet didn't suck all the saiyan out of him after all huh? Good, enjoy it while you can.

"Are you ready, Kakarrot?"

"Ah, that's it." Kakarrot breathed, "THIS is what I wanted."

I couldn't help but chuckle and grin harder, powering myself up to my maximum. I focused my energy into to my fingers and repeated the devastating blast that took out that city earlier. Come on Kakarrot, take the bait...

Kakarrot flew out of the explosion as I had planned. "You're mine!" I bellowed, flying right at him. We exchanged a much more even series of punches. It was a much more even fight, I got some good blows in and his weren't always connecting anymore. Yes, Yes! This was a fight now, now we're talking! He and I disengaged and stood face to face, just a few feet away from each other. Kakarrot beamed from ear to ear, "Yeah! That was much better!" Patronizing punk, I'll show him what I'm capable of.

"I'll make sure that's the last wisecrack you ever make…" Energy grew in my stomach at an enormous rate. "This is it, Kakarrot!" I felt the dense, massive energy move up to my throat, I opened my mouth wide. Kakarrot realized what I was doing, too late!

The enormously powerful attack that vomited from my mouth went directly at Kakarrot and connected. I saw it connect, it was a direct hit! Once the dust cleared though, my jaw dropped. Not a scratch. Not a single God damn scratch. I'm honestly shocked, because that was my strongest attack, and it's never failed me before, damn. Think Nappa, think, you can do this, everyone's watching…

"That's enough! Get down here, Nappa! It'll take forever with you! I'll finish him myself!"

Oh God damn it… Locking eyes with Kakarrot, I sighed. I was enjoying myself so much too, right after I regained control. Sure, this would have been a long fight, but I would have been able to come out the victor. Vegeta takes all the glory for himself, Kakarrot's execution was supposed to be mine! Well, Vegeta was my prince so he had the final say in anything and everything. That was the rule. Crap. Now I'm in a bad mood. Need something to do, need something to break…

I looked at the two Earthlings just watching the fight. Spectators in a battlefield? Well, they're going to paint this wasteland red, starting with the bald one, I laughed, and charged the two little fighters.

"Gohan! Kuririn!" That was Kakarrot's voice, well too bad, they pissed me off. They're mine now. I was closing in on them, and I entered killing range. If my mouth blast didn't faze Kakarrot, I wonder how these two woul-

I felt a cannonball crush my spine. 'That hurt' doesn't adequately describe the pain that I felt in that moment. Suddenly, my entire body felt as though it was being electrocuted, and my legs were numb and searing intermittently. I wasn't able to think coherently at this point, as all the pain receptors of my body were all screaming in agony. This lasted for a few seconds, until there was a cool numb feeling, I was being carried by Kakarrot on one arm, and that I definitely couldn't feel my legs.

Kakarrot threw me onto the ground, like an employee in a pizzeria throwing dough. I'd make a comment on how much of a dick move that was if I wasn't in so much pain. Oh Gods, it hurt so damn bad.

"He won't be fighting anymore. Take him home, and stay there."

Oh Gods, what happened…? I couldn't move, this was a pain unlike any other. It hurt, it hurt so badly. Maybe Vegeta didn't appreciate just how much in pain I was in? "It… It hurts…" I coughed.

There wasn't any response from him. Maybe he didn't hear me? Vegeta was always the quiet wrathful one, a definite hardass, but surely he would be moved from a direct plea.

"V…Vegeta.. H…Help me…."

I reached out to my prince; even though it hurt to move. I was in agony; my back was most definitely broken. I couldn't feel my lower half; my upper half was in shambles. To my mild surprise and thanking my Saiyan Gods, the prince grabbed my hand without badmouthing me at all, everything was going to be okay now. This was good.

"Thank you... Vegeta…"

"No problem", Vegeta said with a smirk, and then squeezed my hand tighter. That… that hurt. What was he doing? He then threw me into the air before I had the chance to object. My body was being electrocuted with pain again, but the fear was overwhelming.

I yelled out, "What are you doing?! Vegeta! Vegetaa!"

Vegeta grinned evily, and spat out "What good are you if you cannot fight?!" He got into a pose I knew too well and saw him powering up. No...

I was tossed helplessly further and further from them, watching Vegeta's power shake the Earth. I knew what was about to come. This can't be happening! How could he kill me, Nappa?! I practically raised the whelp, I trained him, I fought with him! We're comrades! But there he was, looking to send a burst of power that would definitely incinerate me!

"N…No!"

The energy blast exploded out of Vegeta and cleared the distance between us, I was moments away from being obliterated. Cold acceptance washed over. So this is it, this was the end.

But instead of the terrible burning I expected, a kick from a heavy boot to my already broken back sending me flying down into the ground, crashing into the rocks. The rubble dug into my flesh. The pain was very real, so I knew I wasn't dreaming. As I could both feel pain and could acknowledge that I was in pain, I concluded that I wasn't dead yet.

With electricity running through my body with every slight movement, I struggled to get my face out of the rocks, and through my efforts the rocks crumbled beneath me, causing me to be flipped on my back roughly. It hurt like hell but now I could see, worth it.

Kakarrot floated above the rubble, the two small ones in each of his arms. They were hovering just a short distance from me. Vegeta was still right where he stood when he threw me, not looking pleased at the unexpected intervention.

The brat piped up first, "Dad, how did you, and why did you save the big guy. He killed a lot of our friends, he's a bad man!" The bald one shook his head, "Goku, what are you thinking? I know the little guy's a monster for wanting to kill his own friend, but why did have to risk all of us to save him?"

Kakarrot let go of both of them, letting them float in front of him. "Sorry guys, he was helpless. He wasn't a threat to anyone anymore, and it would have been a waste for him to die." Kakarrot looked guilty, and then his face changed to be serious as it did in the beginning of their fight.

"That's not important now though, the both of you need to get out of here. Take the big guy and take him to Kame House too. I don't need to tell the both of you, but right now he's not a threat to anyone, much less you two. His ki is draining fast, and I think he might also need some medical attention. It doesn't make sense for him to succumb to his wounds after I just saved him."

The bald man piped up "He certainly deserves it, come on Goku, he really gave us all the beating of our lives, and what about the other guy, his power's enormous. Are you sure you don't need our help? We could just let the big lug rot and take him on together, besides, what's stopping him from just killing all of us once he gets better? It doesn't make any sense Goku!"

Kakarrot shook his head "No, no. It wouldn't be right. I need to fight him alone, and besides, about the big guy, I can handle him just fine if he tried anything, but something tells me he wouldn't, especially after we saved his skin, that other guy though…"

Shows what he knew, they were the enemy, and if they were stupid enough that a simple betrayal and their saving my life meant that I'd be licking their boots, they're dead wrong. Ugh, he did save my hide, and I'm not sure on my status with my partner, I needn't be so rash yet. Damn this hurts though. I controlled my breath, the pain abated steadily. Better. I still won't be licking any boots, none.

My former superior shouted out at last "What's the holdup boy? Lost your nerve? Expect a crippled old man to help you in your time of need? Think again, his power pales in comparison to mine, even if he could walk normally."

There was truth to what Vegeta said, but I didn't like it. I groaned, I didn't like that I was shown mercy to, but I'd accept it. Begrudgingly, with no boot licking. I didn't much know about back injuries, but it wouldn't be anything that would be life threatening, right? I mean, I saw a couple crippled saiyans before the planet exploded, but that wouldn't be me, right? Best not to dwell on it too much, a doctor would be able to confirm or deny my fears. Ugh. I couldn't feel my entire lower half, and that sucked. I certainly can't fight without my entire lower half, and that sucked even harder.

Kakarrot descended to the ground despite the bald one's attempts to get him to come back. He stepped to the ground with and pointed in some direction. Both he and Vegeta flew off without a word.

Meanwhile, as the two flew away, the other two landed next to my body. I looked at the bald man's face, which was hard and angry. The Kakarrot's brat clung close to the man; obvious fear was stamped on his face.

"This as awkward for you as it is for me?" I began, humor was the best medicine for tension.

The boy stammered incoherently at the sight of me, while the bald man approached.

"Hey Gohan, do you think if he kicked the bucket accidentally your dad wouldn't put two and two together?" the bald man asked, opening his palm in my direction.

"Huh, wha, guh, what do you mean Kuririn?" The boy stammered even harder, looking at chestnut head and me rapidly.

I grinned, it was too good to be true after all. "I don't blame you shorty. All's fair in war" I finished somberly. I wasn't about to beg for my life. I lived a good 56 years. I wasn't alright with Vegeta finishing me, but to die to an enemy was something that I had been trained to expect sometime in my life. I saw the bald one, Kuririn's palm glow softly, as if he was charging an energy attack to finish me. That's the way I wanted to go, quick and painless. I'll tell my ancestors that I died in battle, taken down by an overwhelming force.

"Why did you come in the first place? Revenge for killing that asshole Raditz?"

"I have no obligation to answer anything. And another thing, Raditz was-" I started breathing sharply, moving even in the slightest bit was enough to bring the electricity back again to cause me terrible pain. Have to keep my words short, and try not to react with much movement. "Raditz was alright."

"The guy who came down to Earth to steal our friend was alright. He sent me crashing through the side of my master's house, he kidnapped his nephew, beat the crap out of his brother, and told him to make a pile of dead people for him. Sounds to me like he was an asshole." Kuririn responded bitterly.

I frowned, "He was a solider and it was his mission to bring Kakarrot back from what we thought was a ruined planet. Raditz wanted a pile of bodies? After he got it he would have probably would have used that to cover for Kakarrot, and save his brother from being labeled as a traitor."

The energy ball in his hand grew larger. "So what if he was a traitor?! He would never join you or your evil group. Being a saiyan has nothing to do with anything, he's our friend, and you had no right to interfere with his life!" Kuririn yelled out angrily

I turned my head to face the furious short man, obviously he didn't understand. "The only person that gave a damn about Kakarrot was Raditz in the first place. Had he been true to his mission assignment, he would have killed Kakarrot when he realized the planet wasn't neutralized. Instead he risked his own skin to cover for his brother. Or maybe you think that I don't know what it's like being a solider from birth, and Vegeta is the forgiving type?"

Kuririn stared at me, anger still obvious in his eyes. At last he sighed and looked away, his energy blast disappearing into sparks. He walked over to my side, then to my head, and looked perplexed and annoyed. Finally he took my arm and hoisted me over his shoulder. "I want you to know, you weigh a ton, and you suck."

You know, I'd just finished thinking that moving caused me terrible pain and the chestnut headed man was probably being deliberately clumsy, "I want you to know, THIS HURTS LIKE HELL." I snapped.

Seemed like I wasn't going to get the Viking styled death that I wanted, but I'll get another shot later.

"Be grateful that Goku thought it was a great idea to spare your life. I don't get it at all…" The chestnut man ascended into the sky, and with the boy following closeby, they floated off to what I could only assume would be the "Kame House" that Kakarrot had mentioned.

We traveled rather slowly in silence. I let my mind wander in the quiet journey. Vegeta, my prince, the whelp that I raised since he was a toddler, my comrade, just tried to kill me. He would have succeeded if not for Kakarrot's inexplicable intervention. I couldn't quite define the feeling I had for Vegeta right now. The cold sting of betrayal from my partner hurt my heart, I would admit that freely. I wanted to scold Vegeta, to tell him that that's not how you treat your comrades, but my position to scold the prince had passed long ago. I wanted to make Vegeta pay for discarding me like useless trash. To what extent? I'll decide on that later should that time ever come.

The silence, and by proxy my thoughts, were interrupted by Kakarrot's son.

"Hey Kuririn, why do you think Dad made us bring this guy to Kame House?" the boy asked quietly, but loud enough to hear.

"I don't know Gohan. I've known your dad since we were kids and he's done a whole number of unbelievable things that I can't make heads or tails of. This isn't the most absurd thing he's done, and I've seen a boat load of them."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Gohan asked, interested greatly.

"Huh? Well, what do you know so far? Your dad's life since I met him has been pretty wild."

"Well, dad doesn't talk much about himself, and mom wouldn't tell me anything, just to study and to become a scholar."

"Woah, where to begin. I mean, I don't know if that Raditz guy was telling the truth about sending babies to nuke planets bu-"

I needed to cut in. "It's very true. Our newborns were sent to weaker planets so that they can be claimed by the empire," I interjected flatly.

"Well Goku obviously didn't do anything like that." Kuririn snapped. Gohan was looking at him with interest, wanting him to continue.

Kuririn noticed and continued. "We both trained under the great turtle hermit Master Roshi… and-"

I listened to the tales of Kakarrot as told by the small human Kuririn. At first I wasn't paying much attention, more focused on my own situation but I found myself listening to the story as intently as Gohan. Hearing about Kakarrot's adventures, the mystic dragon balls, several fighting tournaments made me reassess Kakarrot's status, although only slightly. Hearing about how he obliterated an army base and killed off a so-called demon king also amused and impressed me. I thought Kakarrot was much too soft for that. After all, he spared me, someone who killed some of his friends mentioned in the stories. The odd man, Kuririn had gotten to the part with the rematch with the Namekian.

"And so, your dad, that crazy son of a gun feeds him a Senzu bean, and Piccolo jumps up and throws himself far away from us as if we smelled funny or anything. The jerk wouldn't stop laughing and telling your dad he was foolish. I agreed with Piccolo, and Goku just looked happy." The chestnut headed man sighed a heavy breath. "We all thought he was insane keeping Piccolo alive, what with him being evil incarnate, but It turned out well for us, since he helped against the fight with Raditz, and he trained you Gohan, but Goku made a call that worked out well for us."

"Wow… my Dad's had a really interesting life."

"That's for sure, Gohan," Kuririn chuckled, "But so far, no matter how much your dad has made us worry, everything's always worked out just fine, like he says it will. I mean, besides the Red Ribbon Army incident."

I moved my lips to a smile, the pain was negligible. "Hah, he sounded like Raditz at that part of the story. Completely obliterates an army base in a day, then comes back to report as if nothing major happened. That guy." I finished, with a hint of fondness.

Gohan looked at me, obviously some of the fear towards me wore off, "So he was your friend?"

I took a moment to answer, trying to assess my relationship with Raditz. I never really had to think about it. Much less put it to words. At last I answered, "Yeah, he was. I've known him since he was a whelp. He worked alongside us, and he was as loyal as you could get. He was strong, a bit of a coward though. I miss that long haired bastard."

Kuririn narrowed his eyes distrustfully. "Well, I guess you guys can't be all evil."

"Yeah, that'd be our boss." I responded loosely.

Gohan looked at me curiously, "You mean Vegeta?"

I choked "Hell no, I mean Lord Frieza, he's a -"

A sudden shining light in the sky behind him caused me to lose my train of thought, Kuririn and Gohan turned around to see the source.

Kuririn stared at it. "What's with that star… it wasn't there bef- Holy CRAP do you feel that Gohan?"

"Yeah… and someone's ki just exploded."

Curious, I looked at the direction of the star, noticed what it was, and then panicked. "Oh crap that's a power ball, put me down human, quick, I'm gonna…" It was too late. It had already begun. I couldn't control the transformation.

My vision blurred, and I felt my body begin to pulse. I was falling, the shorty must have dropped me. Well, it can't be helped. The landing wasn't pleasant, but the transformation process had a numbing effect that I greatly appreciated upon impact with the rocky ground.

My body pulsed rather violently, and I could feel more and more. It's a strange sensation, to grow into a behemoth. It starts out slow, but you get gradually larger until your body practically explodes in mass. I felt numb, but I could still feel my body against the ground, if that makes sense. My sense of touch expanded until I exploded in growth and fully turned into a giant ape I groaned loadly and deeply, and laid still.

The bald headed man looked to me to the direction of the fight rapidly. "Oh my God, this is ba- Gohan what are you doing?!"

The boy wasn't wasting any time, and was already flying back in the direction of the fight, but he stopped and looked over Kuririn. "I gotta help my dad, I can feel his ki slipping, he could die, I gotta do something."

"We have our own problems, look, Nappa's already full grown, he's gonna destroy th-"

I groaned loudly again to interrupt, on my back, in obvious pain. The numbing effect of the transformation process ended. Both fighters looked down at me. This was so embarrassing.

"My back's still broken. This sucks. I can't move." I winced, I moved my body so that the rocks didn't dig into me, but the movement sent more electricity to my upper body. Just what I needed. Now that I was a great ape, I wielded powers that would dwarf my original form, my five senses were sharper, and I was much faster and agile. Sadly, most of those benefits meant nothing due to my broken back, I could barely move without causing my giant self to feel great pain.

The chestnut headed man held his arms up to power up a blast, he looked afraid, "How can you talk, what are you planning, why are you a monkey, what's going on, what are you doing?!" He finished, if it wasn't obvious that he was afraid it was definitely obvious now. I couldn't help but laugh humorlessly.

"If you had given me some warning I wouldn't have looked directly at it. We can't control when we transform when we look at the power ball or a full moon. It's your fault. That's not really important right now, though, I can hear Kakarrot screaming, you might want to go help him."

"What, and leave you to destroy the Earth and everyone on it? Don't make me laugh! You're still weak, I could kill you right now! Gohan, come help me!" Kuririn shouted in a panic, charging up a blue beam. Gohan was looking from the direction of the fight to me rapidly, anxiously.

"Use your chestnut shaped head to think, if I'm an ape, Vegeta's an ape, and your only chance is to fight him as a team. Killing me won't help you at all. I won't cause your planet harm for now, promise." I sounded more annoyed than worried for my well-being. For good reason; irrationality in war was a pet peeve of mine.

A cold sweat ran down Kuririn's chestnut head, and the man dropped his hand again, dissipating the attack. "Okay, but mark my words if you do any wrong I will be putting you down!" With that, he flew away, racing in the direction of the fight with Gohan following him.

Hmph, not like they have a chance in hell now that Vegeta's gone oozaru. Maybe if Kakarrot still had his tail, they would have a chance. I closed my eyes to think about the situation. Vegeta was pushed by Kakarrot to turn into his great ape form? That's insanity, unless Kakarrot held back when we fought. That thought irritated me to no end. Damn him, I'll make him pay too. Then again, how the hell was he stronger than Vegeta?! I wasn't rooting for Vegeta, but I certainly wasn't rooting for the earthlings. Ugh, I don't know.

I did mean it when I said I wouldn't harm the planet. If I were to start anything I couldn't defend myself so for now I had to put up a white flag. Escaping the planet wasn't an option. I wasn't near my space pod, my controller was in my armor that I stupidly took off during those three hours, and I certainly can't ask Vegeta to call my space pod for me now that we weren't comrades anymore.

We weren't comrades anymore.

Thinking it let it sink in, and it hurt me more than I'd have thought. I closed my eyes and sighed heavily. "Damn it."