Frieza's spaceship command center

Frieza sat in his ever levitating chair. Most people didn't know this but the thing was actually just a regular old chair that had been specially crafted for comfort. The only reason it hovered was because Frieza moved it with his telekinesis at all times. He stared out into the vastness of space with a perplexed look on his face.

"Leave me…" He ordered his various staff members. They all scrambled to satisfy their lord's demand, leaving the room empty in seconds. Now alone the tyrant breathed in a deep shaky breath. His barely contained anger shimmered beneath the surface. But worse than that was a tone of.. pain. Something Frieza did not handle well. No one had ever hurt him and lived, especially not in an emotional aspect.

"I never thought… That he of all people would be the one to betray me…" He tapped the rim of his chair in-between ramblings. "It's a good thing I put that tracker on Captain Ginyu's ship… Sad.. *tap tap* what a waste.. now I feel truly alone for the first time since my mother.." Frieza trailed off.

"Oh well… Who needs friends when you can have immortality." He said with an evil grin. The tracking device on Ginyu's ship also served as a one way communicator meaning that anything that was discussed on the ship, Frieza would know about. Of course that included the Namekians and their dragon balls… As well as Ginyu's betrayal. 'Soon you shall all know a fate worse than death..'

Frieza pulled out an ivory scouter that was unique to the emperor himself and pressed the communication button ont he aide.

*beep*

"Yes, hello. Father? I need your help.. Yes I believe it is time. You'll never believe what I've found.. Oh and one more thing. I know this is asking alot of you but.. I need you to convince my worthless brother to join us… He will not be disappointed."

A few days later on Ginyu's ship.

Gohan had finally gotten his body back and while the child was naturally devastated at first he seemed to recover rather quickly.. At least from what happened to him. Piccolo's death was a wound that cut a fair bit deeper. Due to that, tensions were high and the Z-warriors' sorrow was a heavy presence in the air at all times.

But they didn't give up. If anything the man's death spurred his friends and allies to train harder than ever as they were harshly reminded once again what was at stake. Currently Kakarot was recovering from a solo training session when the door to his training chamber hissed open. He turned in confusion. Bulma and Gohan were both in bed so who might..?

Kakarot's eyes widened. They his gaze quickly morphed into a glare as it was Ginyu of all people. He walked in and stood several feet across from the saiyan.

"Hey listen.." He began, scratching the back of his head. Kakarot crossed his arms and waited impatiently for the alien to continue while tapping his foot. Ginyu swallowed hard. "I'm sorry about what I said before. The difference between you and frieza is your intentions. Your intentions are pure and we both know that. You just want to save as many loved one's as possible. You're the definition of 'light' if I ever saw it in my thousand years."

Kakarot stared speechlessly at the man for several seconds before struggling through his words. He still hated this man and he would likely never forgive him for endangering his son's life but.. He had more wisdom and knowledge than any being Kakarot had ever met. Kakarot was lost right now and there were some things he just needed to know.

"But what if my good intentions lead to bad outcomes? What if I hurt the people I love?" He asked. Ginyu looked the man seriously in the eyes. "Always put your loved ones first. Even if they don't understand that's what you are doing. If your good intentions cause something bad for you overall… Then you take responsibility and deal with the consequences. Like a man." Ginyu said honestly.

Kakarot contemplated what the humanoid said before asking with an upturned brow, and a frown. "Is that.. the only reason you came?" He asked skeptically.

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Ginyu shook his spiky, purple head. "Negative. Vegeta wanted to see you. Of course the bastard demanded one of my six training chambers belong solely to him. Damn saiyans. That's all." He finished, and left as quickly as he came.

Kakarot stood in silence for several moments. He probably still had a few hours left at least until Gohan woke up, at which point he wanted to be with his boy. For now he should have had plenty of time to go speak to Vegeta. He looked down at his right wrist which contained his gravity watch. "Starting to wish these things went past 100.. Oh well. When I train with the others it still helps an incredible amount. I wonder what Vegeta could want though..?"

With that he made his way in the direction of the area of the ship that he sensed Vegeta's Ki in. This ship was about the same size as the cruiser they had before, but it was certainly a step up in luxury and performance. Everything from the food and healing pods, to the max speed and comfortability of the ship were all vastly improved.

Roughly two minutes layer Kakarot found himself at the training chamber containing the prince.

Knocking on gigantic metal doors would be useless as they were all but soundproof. Hence the little panel full of buttons containing a small, square screen which acted as a two way video and intercom device. Pressing the large red button in the center the machine whirred to life.

*beep!* *static and sizzling*

The screen flickered on a few minutes later and Vegeta's furrowed forehead covered the screen. "Yes? What is it? What do you want?" His voice came out statically and disoriented. He cursed backing up a bit so his full head and hair were in view. Kakarot blinked a few times before waving dumbly. "Heyyy. Ginyu said you wanted to see me." He announced with a closed eye smile.

Vegeta scoffed. "Doors open, you moron, come in."

Heeding the verbally given invitation Kakarot pressed another button, this one causing the large metallic doors to slide open allowing his entrance into the chamber. They shut silently behind him as he strode casually into the chamber looking all around. There were scorch marks and dents on nearly every inch of the place.

Kakarot sighed internally. 'Still not trying to control his Ki energy even one bit..'

He made his way to the center of the room where Vegeta currently stood with his back turned to Kakarot, arms clearly crossed. Kakarot patiently waited for the prince to address him, but when he turned around he didn't expect what he saw..

The man before him was thin, unusually so even for him. He was clearly exhausted and certainly not getting enough sleep if the bags under his eyes were any indication. 'He looks so vulnerable..' Kakarot couldn't help but think. Vegeta clicked his tongue and furrowed his brow. "Listen clown. This conversation doesn't leave this room, understand?" He demanded.

Kakarot nodded. "My lips are sealed, you have my word, on my honor as a saiyan." He said truthfully. Vegeta nodded, seemingly satisfied with the man's response. "I.. Need your help, Kakarot." He admitted, looking into the taller saiyan's eyes. Kakarot did a double take as he tried to process the request that he thought he'd never hear come from the prince.

"What do you mean?" The saiyan from Earth blurted out. Vegeta's face turned bitter and the man looked slightly downward as he contemplated the nature of his request. Eventually the man just sighed, feeling crushed by the weight of it all. "Do you know what the legendary super saiyan is?" He asked, surprising Kakarot.

The taller saiyan nodded slowly. "Yeah.. Kind of. I mean. I read bits and pieces about it in the saiyan's archives. Why do you ask?" The man wondered, crossing his arms. Vegeta shrugged. "I didn't want to have to explain it to you mostly. But anyways.. The reason I ask is because.. All of my life. Or most of it at least.. I have dreamed of becoming the legendary super saiyan and being the one to defeat Frieza."

Kakarot nodded and leaned forward slightly, showing his interest in the subject. This was the most Vegeta had ever really said about himself outside of bragging about his intentions to rule the universe. He wasn't typically much of the sharing type and Kakarot could feel the significance of this moment.

This may have been the first time in the prince's life he had ever truly opened up. And Kakarot would be there to listen.

"Ever since I was a boy my father told me I was special. That I had the potential to be the strongest, to be the super saiyan! I foolishly believed him.." He clenched his fists and closed his eyes in frustration. "When Frieza made me his slave I endured all the years of abuse and degradation and torture because I knew that someday I would be the one on top!... I had to be.. Otherwise I couldn't handle it.." He shared, fighting back tears.

"Vegeta-.." kakarot began but was cut off by the prince cutting his arm through the air. "No! I need to say this.. With help from your father and many other brave saiyans; your brother, Nappa and myself were able to get away from Frieza and we've been on the run ever since. And since then I've delusioned myself with the idea that I was the strongest. The strongest saiyan if nothing else and someday the strongest ruler the universe had ever seen…" He paused to breathe and steady himself.

Kakarot remained silent, soaking in the weight of the moment. After Vegeta had drank some water he looked at Kakarot as if he were looking for answers. "But when Turles challenged me back at the outpost I was forced to face the truth. If Nappa hadn't been there.. I'm not sure how things would have turned out. Do you understand how embarrassing that is Kakarot?! I believed I had the potential to be the almighty super saiyan and the strongest king ever yet I have to have my babysitter save my ass from one of my own people!" The saiyan prince cried out in defiance and despair.

Kakarot gave the man a sad smile. "Being strongest doesn't always mean having the highest battle power. Sometimes you have to be able to do what others can't. A true leader puts his people before himself. Your goals have always been selfish and that's holding you back." Kakarot said honestly.

"True power doesn't come from pushing yourself to the brink and pushing everyone away. It comes from the need to protect your precious people and the willingness to let them help you when your oen power isnt enough.. You can't become King on your own. You need supporters. And I for one will always help you achieve your goal every step of the way." He swore sincerely.

Vegeta was at a loss for words so he let the man continue. "You've never trained with anyone but yourself and I've spent the last year primarily focusing on everyone else. If we spend the next six months training together non-stop in earnest and focus only on ourselves and pushing each other… We can reach heights never before seen by a saiyan. I'm confident we can do it." He said with determination and a fire in his eyes.

Vegeta's eyes sparkled in equal parts gratitude and shock. "W.. Why?" He asked cautiously. Kakarot walked over with calm, calculated steps and placed a hand on the prince's shoulder.

"Because you have the potential."

End of chapter 36