Chapter One: Buradea

Twelve year old Vegeta watched the scene below him. Most of Vegeta-sei lay in burning ruins. The blood red sun sank below the Kiyama Ranges as the young prince turned to his father.

"Why does it hurt?" the prince asked, his face clearly showing his internal pain.

"That's what happens when you care about things boy. I tried telling you. Nothing is immortal and no matter how hard you struggle, you'll lose it all in the end.

"I hate it," the prince choked, shaking his head. "I hate this feeling. My planet, Mum, my..." he trailed off.

"I tried to teach you brat. If you care for nothing, you'll be stronger, it'll make you invincible."

"Anything to stop feeling like this."

"The moment you stop caring, you'll stop the pain," the king told his son.

Vegeta stared resolutely at the burning ashes of his planet, amongst which somewhere lay his mother. And he almost consciously felt his heart stop beating, as it iced over, blocking out everyone and everything. The prince turned to face his father, an unrecognisable cold, hard, steely look in his eyes. The king smiled against the backdrop of his burning planet.

Twenty-year-old Vegeta sat up in bed, roused from his sleep by the dream. No, not a dream. By the memory. The memory from his childhood. The night he and his father had returned from a purge at the desperate bidding of his advisor Bardock to find the queen dead and the planet burning.

Vegeta looked out the bay window on the North side. The brimming rays of sun were spilling over the hills on the horizon. Closer to home the capital city, Kairon was awakening. It was a natural fortress, surrounded on one side by a giant cliff, unscaleable, and on the front side by a giant crevasse, across which there was only one way; the rock path, winding across the void. The rock path was no longer in existence however. When the Saiyans had first ventured deeper into the then 'Saru-sei', they had not yet learned to harness ki or to fly, and so the path had been a very strategic way in which the city was isolated. However the path became outdated when Saiyans learned how to fly, and had since been destroyed.

The young prince stretched, yawned and walked over to his wardrobe. He quickly dressed in his combat armour, realising with a shock that it had been nearly a year since he'd been on a purge. A smirk crept across his face as he examined a scar above his right deltoid, a souvenir of a close call on that last purge. His whole body tingled with excitement as he pulled on his boots, reliving the tortures of his last victims. Yes, he thought as he pulled on his pristine white gloves. His hands had been clean of innocent blood for far too long.

"Prince Vegeta, sir!" came the voice of a palace servant. Vegeta looked up to see the man enter his quarters.

"What," demanded Vegeta, lifting his hand and already forming a ki ball, ready to blast the man at a moment's notice.

"Sorry for the early disturbance your highness but your father demands your immediate presence in the Council Room." Vegeta released a small blast of energy, instantly vaporizing the servant. Almost instantly another servant appeared in time to see Vegeta standing over the scorching remains, clicking his fingers menacingly.

"Clean that up," he snapped. "I don't want this mess in my room." The servant's eyes widened as he realized the small pile of ash on the floor was one of his workmates. The servant intelligently said nothing as the arrogant prince strode from the room.

The War Council looked up as a slamming door alerted them to the presence of Prince Vegeta. It was barely 6am but already the council was underway.

"You're late," King Vegeta boomed from the head of the table.

"And?" Vegeta prompted. His father glowered at but said nothing as his son took his seat at his father's right hand.

"As we were saying," Srinak continued, "I believe that Vegeta-sei is definitely on the up as far as power within the quadrant goes, however-"

"Of course it is," Vegeta growled. "That's what happens when a real leader gets power. Despite the near obliteration of our planet only eight years ago, to the day, Vegeta-sei currently boasts supreme and sole power in the Northern and Eastern quadrants. The Saiyan Empire is 40% larger than it was at the Downfall those eight years ago and I am personally responsible for establishing over a third of that myself."

"Yes, Cantor Vegeta. No-one is denying you garsnr, your fighting skill and prestige, nor your reputation as the most ruthless killer this side of Vegeta VII," Kortinar told him. "However all that Srinak is saying, I assume, is that we must address the issue of Buradea. They have been quiet since the Downfall, however they need dealing to. They attacked us once and there is no reason to believe they won't come back and attempt to complete what they left unfinished last time. I believe we have been lucky until now, and it is only a matter of time." The council nodded in agreement.

"Precisely," Srinak offered. Vegeta snarled and rolled his eyes back. Kortinar was a long time friend of his father's, going back to the King's purging days, as well as being Head of the War Council. He had been much like Prince Vegeta in his day, arrogant and pig headed. Consequently, he knew the prince a lot better than the younger Vegeta liked to admit. Vegeta respected his father's old friend, but Srinak was a spineless was a spineless worm whom Vegeta would like nothing more than to erase from existence. His position as head of the Vegeta-sei Council was somewhat redundant, as the only council that ever met was the War Council.

"Buradea is of no threat to Vegeta-sei. We were unprepared last time. We won't make that mistake again," Peris offered. "However the planet would make an excellent addition to the catalogue for this year's sale at Volrun. We have a few planets already, but Buradea would definitely be a category above."

"Kortinar is right," King Vegeta stated. "We talked about this last time. The purging squad must go to Buradea. Within a week, during the Dentoyoru. No one will expect an attack during our planet's holiday season."

"I will go," Vegeta offered, more of a statement than a question.

"Vegeta, the purge is during the Dentoyoru.." Srinak trailed off. Vegeta glared venom at the man.

"I believe the decision is that of the council's to make, not yours, Sirinak." The man twitched. His name was spoken with a silent 's', said 'Rinak', but the young prince found twisted delight in mispronouncing the politician's name, infuriating the spineless Saiyan to no end.

"Your application is noted Vegeta. The council will now discuss the purging squad," Kortinar said with a note of finality. Vegeta stood up, moving the whole table and unseating Srinak as he did so. The prince strode from the room without a backwards look, his father shaking his head as he went.

Vegeta knelt down in front of the woman's statue. As he paused, he looked up at her. Her face looked the same engraved in stone as it did engraved in his memory. He stood, his gaze not leaving the woman's face.

"You have her eyes, Vegeta. You are more like her than you can ever know." Vegeta looked over his shoulder to see Bardock standing behind him. His father's advisor and prophecies minister, Bardock was one of the few people who made Vegeta uncomfortable, with his uncanny perception of events and rare gift to see things before they happened.

"What do you want, old man?"

"Your mother was a good friend of mine," he said as he stepped forward. "You are not the only one who remembers the Downfall as her death day as well." Vegeta fell silent. "She was a wonderful woman, Vegeta." Vegeta snorted.

"She's dead. She might have been wonderful but she was clearly weak. Don't kid yourself, Bardock. I am here for appearance's sake alone. I care little for my mother or her memory, nor anyone else's opinions for that matter. You of all people should know that. If I was not attempting to please my father and be named in the Buradean purging squad, I would not be here."

"Well I'm glad Portar has taught you something of the importance of appearances, my Prince, if nothing else." Vegeta shot the older man a hateful glare and left the tomb without a word.

'Virt Narya," Bardock whispered after the prince had left, sinking to his knee. He repeated himself in the common tongue. "Queen Narya. Forgive your son. He knows little of the world, and unfortunately, less of the future that awaits him. I fear that this arrogance will lead him down a dark path, one from which the escape is difficult to see." Bardock looked up at the statue of the queen. "The planet has not been the same since your death and the Downfall my queen. I advise your husband as best I can, but dark times are upon us and the king is loath to accept it. The old prophecy is upon us, my queen." Bardock sighed as he stood, eye level with the queen's statue. He kissed the stone monument on the cheek. "Your wisdom is sorely missed, my queen. As are you." He bowed again, whispering "Virt Narya," again quietly, and walked slowly from the tomb.

Vegeta grunted, furious as he punched the opponent in front of him. The poor third class warrior had no chance against the prince, trying desperately to fend off the infuriated man in front of him.

"Er, Prince Vegeta, my liege – "

"Shut up!" yelled Vegeta as he threw a ki ball at the man. The third class dodged, beginning to fear for his life as the supposed sparring match began descending into a desperate attempt to stay alive.

Vegeta seemed out of control as he threw punch after punch at the despairing warrior. Though his face betrayed little emotion, inside the prince raged. He had just come from the council room where his father had informed him he had been removed from the Buradean purging squad, claiming the prince was required at home. Vegeta hadn't been on a purge in close to a year, and the promise of blood in Buradea had been perceived by the callous prince as much needed rain in a seemingly endless drought. The fact that his father saw fit to remove him from the purging squad without consulting the prince had left him with a very sour taste in his mouth and a significant amount of unexpended energy, unfortunately for the warrior in front of him.

"Vegeta!" came a voice. The prince stopped in mid punch and turned, infuriated, ready to tear the life out of whoever it was who had the audacity to address him so informally. He stopped when he saw his childhood minder and fighting mentor, Nappa. Though Vegeta's strength was far superior to that of Nappa's, the tall bald Saiyan could boast position as the only being the Saiyan Prince respected.

"Nappa-kar," Vegeta bowed respectfully, employing the Saiyavor suffix for one above his station. Saiyavor, despite being the official language of Vegeta-sei was not commonly used, and instead the universal language of Ergo was used. However Vegeta's knowledge of the language was greater than that of most, representative of his position in the monarchy.

"Vegeta. Your father asked me to come and speak to you." Vegeta frowned, turned to his sparring partner, dismissed the relieved man with a nod and turned back to his mentor.

"Nappa-kar, I don't know what my father sent you to talk to me about but surely you cannot expect me to see reason if it is regarding my removal from the purging squad." Nappa sighed as he slid back into a fighting stance.

"Vegeta, your father is in a difficult position. Dentoyoruu is upon us, and it is important that you are here for it." Vegeta slammed his fist into the training room wall, destroying most of it.

"Damn it Nappa! I am the Prince of the Saiyans! I have not shed another's blood in several months. I refuse to sit around for political appearances while a bunch of brats bathe in one another's blood, when my own hands have been clean for far too long." He launched himself at Nappa, careful not to use his ki. When Vegeta had finally exceeded Nappa's strength by a large amount, they had decided it was best for them to fight without their ki, in which case Nappa still had the advantage of skill and was still able to teach the prince.

Nappa sighed as he blocked his prince's attack.

"Ok, Vegeta, let me speak with your father again." Vegeta smirked.

"With all due respect, you can talk to him all you like. With or without his permission, it doesn't matter to me. I'm going on that purge if I have to take the whole planet by my own strength." Nappa smirked back.

"Cantor Vegeta, you know as well as I or any other that if you lead a purge, the troops will follow you without question. It has been such since your time at the Dentoyoru all those years ago." Vegeta smirked.

"Leit, Nappa. You are right." Vegeta stretched his arms out in front of him. "Rally the troops. We leave at dawn. If the King wants me here for Dentoyoru, then so be it. But on my terms. We'll lead the squad in early, to hell with my father and his plans." Vegeta knew that Nappa's unwavering loyalty to him would ensure his father would hear nothing of the decision to put the plan forward until it was far too late for him to interfere.

"Leit, Vegeta-kor. As you wish." The tall bald man bowed to his prince and left the room without a further word. Vegeta turned around, whispered 'aut', quietly under his breath and a ball of fiery energy shot from his hand, absorbing the servant on the other side of the training room. Vegeta closed his eyes and inhaled as the smell of burning flesh engulfed his senses. The prince's blood ran thick with desire as he thought of the bloodfest that lay ahead. And then after the purge, despite his claims to Nappa that he cared little for the Dentoyoru, the anticipation of the night of blood excited the prince's primal instinct. Vegeta looked up as he left the training room, to see the waxing, almost full moon burning in its red glory. Vegeta smirked. It was going to be an excellent week.

The young woman smiled as she looked up at the man next to her. He smiled back. The two of them were sitting beneath a tree in a large open field. The local village lay just to the North, from which sounds could still be heard in the quiet of the falling night. The woman was dressed in a simple, plain, pale green dress, hung on a petite yet shapely frame. The man next to her was clearly of a different race. His skin was much darker than hers, a creamy, tanned, caramel-chocolate colour, starkly contrasting her milky white skin. He was dressed in body armour, red spandex covered by a silver chestplate and boots. He lay back against the tree, the woman leaning back against his chest, his legs either side of her. The woman rested her head against his chest as he kissed her cheek.

"Bulma?" he whispered as she reached over and picked a blade of red grass.

"Yea, Rainin?" she said quietly. The man paused for a second, seemingly unable to find the words.

"Bulma, will you marry me?" Her eyes widened as she turned to face the man next to her.

"But-but," she stopped. "But Rainin. You leave in two hours. You're going to war. How will I know... I mean what if you don't..." she trailed off.

"How do you know I'm coming home? You don't. But I want to know you'll still be here. Not this time. Every time. And I want you to know that I'll always fight my hardest to come home to you. From the moment I saw you, when you arrived on this planet, I've known you were special. I love you, Bulma." Bulma had arrived after she had been rescued as a young child from the height of an inter-planetary war. A well known court family had taken her as their own and raised her. Bulma knew very little about her home planet, except that it was called Earth. Due to its existence on the outskirts of the universe, she had been able to find very little information. Despite this, Bulma had grown up on Buradea regarding it as her home more than Earth. Rainin's family had been close family friends of Bulma's adoptive parents, and the two had been close since they were young, growing closer as they went through their teenage years. They had begun dating two years prior.

"But your parents... Rainin, they'd never allow it." Rainin was a first class soldier, a well respected warrior whose parents resided deeply in tradition. They liked Bulma, she had been like a daughter to them for nearly ten years. But she doubted they would accept the inter-species marriage. She doubted they even approved of the current relationship she and Rainin had.

"They'll come around. They really care about you Bulma. And so do I. In time they'll come to accept it. I promise." Bulma's eyes filled with tears as Rainin sat there, anticipating her reaction. Bulma threw herself at him and he wrapped his arms around her back.

"Yes," she cried. "Yes Rainin, of course. Yes." Rainin's face broke into a smile. The two of them stood up. They shared a passionate kiss, smiling as they broke apart.

Without warning, the siren went up. Bulma looked up at the two suns.

"You're not due to leave for at least another hour or so. Nearly two. What's that for?" Rainin looked towards the capital city, frowning.

"I don't know." Rainin was only 24, five year's Bulma's senior, but he was already a commander in the Buradean army. If anything major was happening, he should have been alerted. As if on cue, his pager went off. Bulma had designed the pagers, and quickly unclipped it off Rainin's belt and opened the message.

"Umm... Rainin?" He took the pager from her. His face paled. The two of them looked at each other. Bulma ran her hand through Rainin's navy blue hair. He cupped her cheek in his hand and gently kissed her on the lips.

"I love you," he whispered. And just like that, he was gone. Into the air, towards the main Buradean city, just as a deafening explosion rocked the planet. Bulma looked back down at the pager Rainin had handed back to her, and stood up, ready to head for the capital.

BURADEA UNDER ATTACK. ALL SOLDIERS REPORT TO CAPITAL IMMEDIATELY.

The Saiyan Prince breathed deeply and closed his eyes, listening to the screaming that surrounded him. Below, the cities burned, their citizens with them. A man flew over and hovered next to Vegeta.

"Cantor Vegeta," came the voice. The prince looked up at the use of his title in their native language. Next to him was Radditz, eldest of Bardock's children. Bardock was a member of his father's Council, the first male seer in many generations. Vegeta loathed the world of prophecy and visions that Bardock used to form his opinions, and as such had very little respect for the man's offspring.

"Radditz. Why are you not down there?" Vegeta snarled. The man was strong, that was clearly shown by his position on the King's purging squad, but he was a third class none the less. Though, Vegeta reasoned, that wasn't entirely true. Though the man had been born in third class, his father, Bardock, had been elevated to first class during the early years of his reign, so Radditz was also technically first class. Vegeta's upper lip curled.

"I beg your pardon my Cantor, but we have struck some trouble in the capital. It appears the army was stationed there, ready to mobilize and the squad is having a hard time winning them over. It's not a strong force my Lord, but their numbers are great." Vegeta glared at the man.

"And you lot call yourselves Saiyans. You're despicable." Without another word the prince burst into a purple flame and rocketed down towards the capital.

Vegeta growled in disgust as he landed amongst his fellow warriors. One of them fell to the blade of a native as the prince touched down. Vegeta held up his hand and blasted the native.

"Cantor! My prince!" one of the warriors yelled. Vegeta ignored him, walking through the destruction. Buildings lay in ruins, smoking, fires burned in the streets. Bodies lay scattered through the town, Saiyan and Buradean alike. Vegeta's face twisted into a sick smirk.

"We all look the same in pieces," he mused as he kicked a Buradean carcass. They were not that different from the Saiyans, though their skin was more caramel, and their hair unnatural shades of blue and green. The prince looked up as the fighting raged around him. It was clear to see that the Saiyans were losing.

"Saiyans!" Vegeta roared. The fighting stopped as the prince's voice reverberated off the walls. "You are a race of warriors! Show these primitive beasts why the name Saiyan strikes fear into the heart of all those who hear it!" Vegeta shot through the air in a blur, ripping the head off a Buradean soldier with his bare hands. The man's head remained in Vegeta's hand, the face twisted in a look of shock as the life drained from it, thick and purple. The Saiyans gave a heartened war cry, and the battle began again.

The prince's words seemed to have done their work. The Saiyans fought with a strength rekindled, ripping the Buradean army to pieces.

Vegeta suddenly found himself confronted by a soldier. The man was tall, strong, and young, only a few years older than the prince.

"You have no business here," the man growled, lowering his head and glowering at the Saiyan prince. Vegeta laughed.

"Quite the opposite. We have much business on this planet. Or rather with it. I'm sure it will fetch a handsome price at sales this year." The Buradean's face paled.

"You're purging the planet... to sell it?" Vegeta laughed coldly.

"Of course. What other use could we have for this mudball?" The man looked rattled.

"Is there no compromise we can reach? I am a Commander, I know that my regiment, at least, will swear loyalty to the Saiyans if you spare us and allow us to remain on our planet. We will fight for you, Prince Vegeta, if you only give us the chance."

A cold, hollow laugh echoed through the battlefield.

"Take a look around, worm. You are losing. What would our warrior race possibly have to gain from your service?"

"How about intelligence?" came another voice. The two men whirled to its source, seeing a young woman walking towards them.

"Bulma!" the Buradean choked out. He looked fearfully from the woman to his opposition. Luckily for the man, Vegeta was in no hurry to kill either of them. He had relished the fighting at the beginning, and filled his hands with the blood of thousands of Buradeans. He was now more interested in the arrival of the woman than shedding more blood. The woman, Bulma her name was, stood next to the Buradean. She turned to the prince and spoke with an authority beyond her appearance.

"The Buradeans are an intelligent race, technologically advanced and fierce in their fighting. They would serve as an excellent addition to the Saiyan's ranks." Vegeta observed the woman as she spoke. She was attractive, yet clearly not of Buradean descent, resembling a Saiyan more than a Buradean, though she too had blue hair as the Buradean did. She was clearly the Buradean's mate. He could see it in the body language, and smell the fear he harboured, fear that the prince would hurt the woman.

"Bulma, please leave, I'm begging you-"

Vegeta laughed again.

"Begging. Pathetic." In an instant he was beside the Buradean. He held the man in a chokehold, his fingers closing around the throat.

"Please," gasped out the Buradean. "Please, don't hurt her. I'll do anything." Vegeta smirked.

"A race who begs has no position in the ranks of the Saiyan army." The man grimaced as Vegeta's fingers tightened around his throat.

"No!" The woman named Bulma screamed. "Rainin!" She launched herself at the prince, grabbing his wild mane of hair. Vegeta swatted her away with his other hand, smashing her weak body against a wall. He snarled at her.

"I was going to kill him quickly. But for that, it can wait." Vegeta glared at the woman as she pulled herself off the ground. "And you can watch." He picked the woman up by the arm as she attempted to fight him off. Vegeta wrapped his fingers around her hair and yanked her head up, forcing her to look at the Buradean. Tears welled in her eyes as the Buradean smiled at her from Vegeta's chokehold.

Quick as a flash, Vegeta switched his hold from the man's throat to his arm and, as the man tried to fight him off, Vegeta twisted his arm behind his back until it gave a sickening crack. The Buradean screamed, as did the woman. She began sobbing as her mate grimaced. Vegeta smirked as he watched them. He then switched his hold to the man's other arm and did the same thing. The Buradean's face was growing paler. Bulma cried out.

"Please... please don't hurt him anymore. Take me instead!" Vegeta snorted and threw her on the ground.

"As if I would want you, woman." He powered up a small, rice grain sized ball at the end of his finger, and pointed it at the groaning Buradean whom he still held by the arm. Rainin continued trying to fight Vegeta off, as Vegeta pushed him backwards and brought his boot down across the man's throat. He pointed the beam of light at the man's chest and released it.

The blast was not enough to kill him. Instead, the laser-like beam burned through the man's chest. Vegeta traced the beam down his torso, then back and forth across his stomach in zig-zag formation as the man writhed and screamed.

"Rainin!" Bulma sobbed out, scrambling across the ground towards him. Vegeta kicked out at her, catching her in the face and causing a torrent of blood to come forth from her nose. The prince knelt down beside the Buradean, whose body was racking with convulsions. He put his hand next to the man's head, causing him to shiver. A scream pierced the air as Vegeta ripped his ear off and threw it at the feet of the woman. She cried out, and blood began to stream from the side of Rainin's head. Vegeta turned, smiled at the woman and shoved his hand through the stomach of the Buradean with a sick squelching noise.

"Rainin!" the woman screamed again, as Vegeta stood back, the woman threw herself at the dying man lying on the ground. His purple blood streamed from the wound in his stomach where Vegeta had driven his fist through. The Saiyan Prince shook his hand, spraying the excess blood across the ground.

As the woman sobbed across the body of her mate, Radditz landed next to his prince again.

"Cantor, we are victorious. The planet is taken. The capital has fallen, and as we speak the troops are spreading to the villages." Vegeta nodded.

"Send word that all able-bodied woman and children are to be captured and transported to Volrun for the auction. Any men, boys older than ten, cripples and elderly are to be disposed off. Leave the fourth regiment behind to clean the planet up. Destroy any manmade objects, the planet is to be reverted back to its natural state before the Volrun sale next month. It will fetch a higher price like that." Radditz nodded.

"As you wish my liege." The two of them cast their eye to two on the ground, the failing body of the Buradean, Rainin, and the sobbing form of his alien mate, Bulma. Vegeta smirked, pleased with his day's work and blasted into the sky, ready to return to the ship. He had three days to make it back to Vegeta-sei before the Dentoyoru began.