BOOM!

An ear shattering vibration caused Vegeta to snap awake, his blood racing. Instantly, sirens blared and he could hear shouting voices echoing through the hallways.

"…attacking! The defense….tampered…"

He snatched his battle suit and yanked it on, clawing about the darkened room for his scouter and shoving it into place hurriedly. As he stepped toward the door activator a loud whoosh sounded as it opened, his mother on the other side of it. Kovoka's obsidian eyes flashed with the warning lights as she lunged towards Vegeta, grabbing him by the arm and yanking him into the hallway.

"You must see the King! Quickly!"

He flinched at the contact, his mother never touched him. He only saw her every few dozen sun cycles, and even then it was passing. Even as the heir to the Saiyan throne, he hadn't been afforded contact with his mother for long after birth and he could barely remember his younger years at her side now. He knew he was lucky to recognize her at all, since most warriors left their unborn children in tanks to be carried to term, never seeing them again.

"What is going on, Kovoka? Are we being attacked?" he asked, sharply, his posture tensing even more.

Her lips tightened at his flinch and tone and she reluctantly released him.

"Lord Freiza's army has returned. Our defense systems have somehow failed. I do not have time to explain more, we must go, now!"

Without waiting for him to follow, she turned and hurried down the corridor stairs. He cursed and followed her.

Lord Freiza, as he titled himself, had lurked about Planet Vegeta for as long as the prince could remember, offering glory and battle to high-ranking and hot-headed Saiyan warriors seeking more adventure than simple space piracy of resources. He knew his father tolerated Freiza only out of a desire to avoid war so soon after their domination of the Tuffles; they had lost too many warriors and their technology was too newly acquired.

They neared the end of the corridor, his pace quickening to match that of the Queen's, and the sound of shouting and battle cries crept across the surface of the floor and wall. He felt his tail curl tighter about his waist and his blood heat, recognizing shouts of valor from the warriors. The acrid smell of what he now recognized as what had been the explosion to wake him stung his nose.

A second explosion rocked the palace, shaking loose stones from the walls and ceiling. He threw his arm up, his vision obscured by the dust and saw his mother had not even slowed her pace and she strode towards the main doors leading to the courtyard. They had not closed half the distance of the hall when the doors blew open, groaning sickeningly as the glass shattered in its frame and smashed to the ground. He felt his mother's fury on the edge of their bond, singing him and pushing his own anger higher. Freiza.

His thoughts were interrupted by his mother's voice, shouting thunderously over the din.

"All of the child warriors to the launch room! NOW!"

She turned to him and pointed hastily toward the now eviscerated doorway.

"The King is in the launch control tower. Go to him!"

Her sentence was not even over as Vegeta tore across the wasted floor, white boots lifting as he took flight towards the tower. The second he looked up, however, he nearly came crashing right back down, his still-new handle on flying shaken by the sight in front of him. The remnants of their energy shield were sizzling and snapping, fire arcing off of them as dozens – no hundreds of ships tore through, magically unharmed by what was supposed to be their greatest defensive adoption of the Tuffles.

Already, the courtyard was littered with burning ships and dead bodies, both Freiza's soldiers and those of Saiyan blood. He forced himself to concentrate and lifted higher, seeking out his father's energy through the bond.

I will make them pay!

He touched down roughly on the landing pad of the tower, his crimson cloak snapping in the gusts of wind generated by the spaceships screaming over his head. The door hissed open next to him and he quickly descended to see his father and Nappa standing over the controls. Nappa offered him hurried salute, his left arm bending to touch his fist to the same shoulder as Vegeta returned the gesture.

"It's Freiza, isn't it?"

He growled at his father, feeling the same rage from him as his mother. But he felt something else, too, as he reached out to share his own anger. Urgency.

King Vegeta nodded and Nappa cursed foully.

"It would seem voluntary service is no longer in his interest and he seeks to destroy our power. He is a coward, seeking to attack us from within, without warning. HE HAS NO HONOR!"

King Vegeta roared the last part.

"What do you mean from within?" Vegeta asked, his eyes narrowing and his tail bristling. "No Saiyan would ever stain their pride to sell out their people to that monster!"

"Not our own, Prince." Nappa snarled. "Freiza must have sent a spy. The targeting systems in the control tower are destroyed. They walked right in, with no resistance until they tore the shields. We're still not sure how they even managed to do that."

"None of that matters, now." King Vegeta replied. "Come with me, both of you."

He held his hand to the control on the wall and another door opened to a lift. They quickly entered and descended for only seconds before the door widened for their exit. The top level launch center was chaos, dozens of young Saiyans, most of them nowhere near his age clamoring about and fighting amongst themselves. A few older Saiyans rushed around the room, cuffing their inferiors and shoving them into pods. Vegeta watched as a young girl clamored in, yelling at the attendant that she wanted to stay and fight. Hearing none of it, he shoved her and snapped the pod door shut before slamming the eject button. Vegeta watched in shock as the pod jettisoned out into space.

He knew her, and he knew something was wrong. She was the daughter of one of his father's consorts, her power level incredibly high. Why would she be sent to a planet like some third-class brat, destined to die alone? And why now, in the middle of a battle?

"What is this?" He asked his father in confusion.

"Preservation." Was the clipped reply. "Freiza is clearly bent on destruction. He did not send warning, he does not seek a battle. He seeks to annihilate us. I will not allow our race to come to its end at the hands of this sniveling lizard."

Vegeta could not speak, feeling shame course from his father's bond.

"You are to go to Planet 4032-877 with Bardock's son, Kakarot."

As if hearing his name on cue, Kakarot skidded to a stop between Vegeta and the King, taking a defensive stance.

"We don't want to run! We want to fight with you and kill these invaders! We –" he didn't finish his sentence as Nappa's tail came flying and cracked him across the back of the knees, sending him to the floor.

"You will do as you are told, boy." The giant Saiyan thundered. "The King's decisions are not for you to question."

Kakarot glared up at him as he clamored back to his feet. Vegeta had been prepared to ask for an explanation, but not to appear as insubordinate as Kakarot instead steeled himself and faced his father.

"What is our objective, my King?" He asked, fighting to keep the most formal of tones.

The King pointed to the pod standing next to him. "Go to this planet. Seek power, become stronger, and remember the legends of our greatest warriors. Gather these remnants of our race."

Vegeta backed up into the pod haughtily. "I don't need this brat with me to attain power. Not even a Child of Proving."

"I know." The King answered. "He is not going for your benefit but his own. Your duty one day as king will be to protect your race. Start here. No one is above the benefits of a battle bond."

Vegeta fell back into the pod, his chest tightening with so many emotions; anger, betrayal, pride in his father, hope in their victory, but horror as the knowledge that his planet, people, and family would be destroyed.

Nappa was pointing Kakarot toward the pod next to Vegeta, but the rest of the room had become a blur. Vegeta reached for the hatch button, prepared to lose everything; at the last second his father laid a hand on his shoulder – the first time in his life his he had ever touched him.

"You will reclaim your throne. You will avenge us, my son."

Vegeta sat, too shocked to move at the unusual display of emotion as the hatch door closed. He heard a ding, and was slammed into the back of his seat as his father's hand hit the eject button. Pain flowed through the bond.