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► Chapter 01     Chapter 02     Chapter 03     Chapter 04     Chapter 05     Chapter 06     Chapter 07 A deadly silence welcomed Goku as he showed up at the door of the ship and a lump instantly formed in his throat. Guilt and awkwardness had been foreign to his careless mind all through his life, but at that moment they sharply pierced through his guts.

He paused at the top of the ramp.

He had bothered to put on his official uniform, including the dark blue cloak he hated so much. He knew that it meant something to the gloomy group waiting for him. In their eyes the outfit was a reminder of who he was, the legendary savior of their entire race, a fighter like no other, and yet, it felt of small help as he met their disapproving glares.

His gaze slid over the armored figures and locked on the one and only man he had ever cared about. The King. Goku was aware that he had failed him.

Vegeta was standing still in the middle of his men. Oddly enough, he was looking very much like his usual self with his arms crossed in a familiar stance and perpetual annoyance painted on his face.

Goku wasn’t fooled by the apparent normality though. The matter they had to handle was nothing but ordinary. If anything, the way the Royal eyes bore straight into his soul was a good hint.

Next to his King, Bardock was restless, shifting nervously and certainly eager to spit his fury at his son's face but he was bound to a fuming silence. The rule was that nobody was allowed to speak before the King and Vegeta seemed to mind protocol a lot for now.

Goku was too focused on him to pay much attention to his father either way.

The Earthling Saiyan braced himself for the clash to come as he went down the ramp. It was becoming hard not to shy away from Vegeta's intense gaze and he was relieved to escape the burning eyes by bowing his head and getting down to one knee once he reached the ground.

Goku had never been the type to kneel in front of anyone. He’d always been a free spirit. Back at the time when he had been told that he was a Saiyan supposed to bow to his King, he had a hard time accepting this custom. Over the years, he had ended up caving in, but it had nothing to do with resignation. He had only yielded for Vegeta. No one else could have made him bend that way.

Still, the King was wise enough to excuse his formal salute most of the time and the sight of Goku willingly getting on his knee looked like an admission of guilt and an apology.

Goku ignored the faint reactions of the audience at his unusual act of submission. The only thing he was dreading was his King’s feedback. Vegeta would certainly unleash his anger and bitterness with some biting, cold words. Goku deserved them but they would hurt nonetheless.

The King didn't utter a sound though. He took a step forward closer to his soldier and when Goku looked up at him questioningly, he motioned at him to follow him with a slight movement of his head.

Goku blinked in confusion but he obliged nevertheless as the King slowly ascent to the sky. The councilors watched them leave in bewilderment. None of them dared to move, even Bardock, although Goku could sense his seething frustration.

Goku’s heart was hammering in his chest as he flew in Vegeta’s wake. He was perplexed by the King’s acting and he wondered what he had in mind. The Royal wordless rage filled him with fright and he feared that Vegeta had made up some cruel punishment on purpose.

They overflew the boundaries of the town and sank further into the desert around until Vegeta eventually landed in a secluded area.

Goku touched the dusty ground a few steps from him. He was realizing that they hadn’t been face-to-face in a very long time. Vegeta always had a court around him. People smarter than Goku, preventing them from behaving naturally. Even when they were sparring – which rarely happened anymore – they were often interrupted, always watched by curious eyes. He was aware of how ruthlessly the turn of their lives had ruined the privacy they once had and the thought added to his misery.

As he looked up at Vegeta, Goku felt he should say something. He should give an explanation or voice a clear apology, but words were stuck in the whirlwind of emotion raging in his heart.

Vegeta knew better than him. Things were beyond words between them. He didn't wait further and launched a dreadful punch straight to Goku's guts, causing him to double over in a gasp. A second blow smashed the tall warrior's face before he could react and he nearly collapsed, restoring his footing at the last minute. He was quick enough to avoid the next hit by arching his back, but when a kick aimed at his ribs, he gave up.

He let Vegeta beat him as much as he wanted without retaliating or dodging the attacks. He was aware that Vegeta would find no satisfaction in such a fake battle, but it was all he had to offer to make amends.

Vegeta kept pummeling him for a good while, conveying a great fury with each blow. He didn't turn super though. This fight wasn't exactly a fight. It was a way for the King to express his feelings and even if it was painful and violent, Goku still considered that it was sharing something with Vegeta.

It lasted quite a while but the King eventually stopped his assaults. He was breathless, still tense, as he took in the battered man coiled up at his feet. As Goku pushed himself off the ground, blood dripping from his lips, Vegeta turned away with a frustrated grunt.

The warrior struggled to sit up. He spat another spray of blood and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Vegeta was looking away in the distance, obviously trying to regain some composure. He still hadn't said a word.

“I’ll find him,” Goku stammered in a low voice.

Vegeta glared at him with clenched teeth. “You’ve already said that and where is he, now? Why would I believe you anyway? You lied to me. Why the fuck would I still trust you?” he barked.

“Vegeta, I’m sorry. I thought – I thought he would find something, that we would at last figured out what happened to Goten,” Goku pleaded. Hearing Vegeta say that he would never trust him again was wrenching his heart.

Vegeta bent over him and caught his collar to yank him to his feet, bringing their faces so close that their foreheads nearly touched. “Your son died in the crash of his ship, that's what happened to him,” he uttered in a cold voice.

Goku closed his eyes to absorb the shock of hearing the truth spelled out.

“I know it fucking hurts. But maybe you thought I should lose my son as well, just to be sure I would remember your own sacrifice,” Vegeta hissed while tightening his grip on the collar.

Goku scowled at the offending hint and he brutally shoved the King away from him. “Asshole. How dare you?” he growled.

Vegeta pointed an accusing finger at him. “Your father said it. You lost your mind at Goten’s death. Trunks’ Second reported the way you mistreated him on the ship. You nearly killed him and the Second had to insist so that you’ll let them put him into the regeneration tank! How could you do this to me?”

Goku pinched his lips in a thin line. How could Vegeta believe a single second that Goku had lashed out at Trunks? Goku felt outraged by the thought. “You know me better than that and after all I did for the Crown, how can you think that I could harm you or your family on purpose?”

Vegeta squinted in wariness. “I’m not sure if I still know you, Kakarott. We've been apart for years. You’ve spent your time on lonely missions far away from Vegitasei and being alone, cut off from your people, you might have reconsidered your loyalty to me and your race. Who knows? The loss of Goten could have been the final straw.”

Goku gaped in shock. “You were the one who sent me on those missions in the first place!” he exclaimed forcefully.

“And you never refused them. As soon as you turned back, you were in a hurry for the next ride, never giving a damn about what was going on in Vegitasei,” Vegeta huffed.

Goku froze. “That’s – that’s not true,” he stammered, all by knowing that it maybe was. “I was serving you,” he added.

“And you screwed the only mission that really mattered to me. You broke your promise to protect Trunks,” Vegeta retorted.

Goku bit his lips at the rightful reproach. “I’m sorry,” he sighed.

Vegeta frowned in contempt at the apology but after a silent while, he sighed in turn and he averted his gaze. “I don’t care for all these planets we conquered. One more, one less, that’s naught to me, but my son-“ he mumbled in a low, tired voice.

Goku sheepishly took a step closer to him. “I’ll find him. I just – he went off in Outer Space and I lost track of him but that doesn’t mean that anything wrong happened to him,” he claimed softly.

Vegeta’s eyes drifted back to him. “Are you really telling the truth, Kakarott?”

Goku was hurt by the doubt coating the question. He couldn’t help but grab Vegeta’s wrists and against all odds, the King didn’t shrink away from his touch. “Vegeta, you scare me. You can’t seriously imagine that I could harm your son and come back lying to your face.”

Vegeta’s jaw tightened and he pulled his wrists out of Goku’s grip. “I don’t know, Kakarott. The court is humming with strange rumors. For now, no one knows that you came back without Trunks but when the news will break that the heir to my throne is missing, things might get out of hand.”

Goku arched his brows. That was for sure a detail he had missed. Trunks wasn’t only Vegeta’s son, he was also heir to the Throne. The tall warrior had never been into political matters. They were boring and complicated, making people worst than they truly were. Vegeta sounded weary of it all as well.

“Not to mention Bulma. She doesn’t know that her son's lost so far. She’s on a trip at the other end of the Planet and I’ll make sure that she stays away as long as possible,” Vegeta resumed bitterly. “But when she’ll be back, she’ll freak out and we’ll both be in big troubles.”

Goku lowered his head, thinking that he owed her apologies as well.

Vegeta crossed his arms in a confident stance. “As for you, the Council regards you as a traitor,” he added.

Goku flinched at the statement. “A traitor?” he repeated in indignation. After everything he’d done for them, Saiyans had a downright poor memory to call him a traitor. He had even given them his sons. He clenched his fists and frowned. “And you? Are you regarding me as a traitor as well?”

Vegeta scowled. “Me? Honestly Kakarrott, at this point, who cares?”

“I do,” Goku hissed, stepping closer to him.

Vegeta blinked in embarrassed irritation.

“You know I do,” Goku insisted.

“Don’t do that again,” Vegeta growled, turning his head away.

“Then answer me. Am I a traitor to you? If so, just look at me and say so.”

Vegeta looked him straight in the eyes. For a very brief instant, hesitation flickered in his orbs, but it died out in a split second and the King’s face went back to an emotionless mask. “You broke your oath to your King and you deliberately endangered your Prince, Kakarott. You’re under arrest. Make it easy for me and let them handcuff you when we get back to the palace.”

Kakarott was so dazed that he needed to take a step back to maintain his footing. He was speechless. Hearing these words in Vegeta’s mouth was like a stab in his stomach. He probed the King’s expression for a sign of sorrow but there was none. Vegeta wasn’t sorry. He saw him as a traitor and he was treating him as such.

“Will you surrender without a fuss?” Vegeta asked again.

At that moment, for the first time in his life, Goku couldn’t find any reason to keep fighting and he nodded. ► Chapter 01     Chapter 02     Chapter 03     Chapter 04     Chapter 05     Chapter 06     Chapter 07