*I'M BAAAACK...*
Gine raised her eyebrow when she opened her door to two sheepish Saiyans. "Let me guess. You want to stay the night?"
"Y- Yeah," Goku laughed nervously. "Something weird's going on at the house and Vegeta freaked out a little."
"Come on in." Gine grinned as Vegeta shot under Goku's arm and vanished into the soft dark. A few seconds later, they heard a shriek, a thump, and Raditz letting out a joyful cry. Gine laughed. "They'll be up all night. Vegeta may not talk much, but he and Raditz can sure communicate. Come look."
The two adults crept further back into the house. Vegeta and Raditz were sitting on Raditz's bed, completely silent, but their tails spoke everything they needed to. Goku watched them with a smile. "They're just like brothers," he whispered to his mother. "Vegeta looks so frail, but his battle power is unbelievable. It's slightly higher than mine, although his ki is pretty low. I'm going to start training him soon."
"He may be strong, but you can still hurt him. Please be careful." Gine looked at him. "I don't know how or why, but this boy is special. If we can get him out of this mess, I think he has greatness right in front of him."
"I think you're right," Goku murmured. "He's really special, and he's really important to me, even though I've only known him a little while. There's just something about him..."
"You know who he is, right?" His mother sounded so amused.
Goku looked at her curiously. "You know who he is? Like who he is?"
"I could trace his lineage back thousands of years," Gine whispered. "This boy is the son of Vegeta Ouj, King of Vegeta-sei."
Goku nearly hit the floor. "What!?" he squeaked. "Mom, that's crazy! Just because his name is Vegeta doesn't mean that he's the Prince!"
"He is the spitting image of the king," said Gine firmly, heading towards the kitchen. Goku followed. "He's had a very formal upbringing. After the king was killed, his surviving son vanished completely, seemingly from the Universe itself." She shrugged as she put some tea on. "But here he is. Our long-lost little Prince."
Goku had to sit down. He'd adopted the Prince. Who seemed perfectly ok with it. "Holy shit," he whispered, rubbing his face. "Mom... I think you're right."
"When am I wrong? I mean, I guessed he wouldn't like peas and I was dead right. This is a much more important matter than whether or not he will eat a vegetable. All the last Saiyans are finally together," she murmured. "Including our Prince. His life is more important than the rest of ours combined."
"What?" Goku had never heard his mother speak that way. "What do you mean by that?"
"Goku, he is the last living son of Begeta," she hissed, looking oddly aggressive. "I know that you were young when the planet was destroyed, but I've told you much about her. Begeta is not some religious fairytale. She walked among us, oftentimes in the form of her descendants. If he dies, we've lost her forever."
Goku looked at the floor dubiously. He never had been quite sure about his mother's stories of their "all-powerful" goddess. "I... It just sounds a little strange," he protested weakly. "Vegeta is the son, or great-whatever-son, of a goddess?"
"The entire royal family is identical to all the others," Gine said. She sat down and handed Goku a cup of tea. "They don't carry other genes. They are literally half Begeta, and half their sire or dame. It skips generations. That means Vegeta is a uke. He's a bearer. We cannot let our race die out."
The younger Saiyan almost choked on his drink. "Uh, Mom? You and me and Raditz and Vegeta are the last Saiyans. And Raditz and I are both semes. And Vegeta, if what you're saying is true, is the only uke left alive. That means..."
"One of you will mate with him," Gine finished with a nonchalant shrug. "Preferably you, Goku."
"Why meeeee?" Goku whined, pulling his hair. "Why at all?"
"He needs to bear a son," Gine snapped. "Or we're extinct, Goku." Then she brightened. "Hello, darling! Do you need something?" Goku looked over his shoulder and saw Vegeta and Raditz standing in the doorway.
"What are you guys talking about?" Raditz murmured. "Vegeta started acting weird and came in here."
Gine sighed. "I suppose I should tell the truth. Vegeta is our Prince."
"What?" Raditz gasped. "Really?"
Vegeta glanced away, then looked at Goku out of the corner of his eye. As if he was ashamed. Goku understood that, considering the condition he was found in. A mindless, voiceless addict found in a gutter. He wished he knew how all that had come to pass, but unless Vegeta finally started speaking, it could remain a mystery forever.
"You two need to be in bed though," said Gine, shooing them away. "We'll talk more tomorrow." She sat down next to Goku as the two boys went off, immediately returning to their rough play. "I wonder where he's been all these years."
"I was wondering about that myself," Goku whispered. "But he won't talk. He may not ever. I don't know. What might have made him mute?"
"Trauma perhaps. An injury. Brain damage from the drugs. It could be anything." Gine crossed her arms, looking unhappy. "Perhaps in time he will recover enough to finally tell us his story. I'm sure it's a very interesting one."
Goku remembered that Vegeta hadn't yet received his daily dose of what was in the bag... which was out in the car. "Oh! I'll be right back; I left the bag in the car." He went outside and immediately noticed how cold it was. He took a few steps forward, noticing frost. "What is going on here?" he murmured. It was so quiet.
Yeah, he was going back inside.
Goku went back in, and his mother saw how pale he was. "Goku, what's wrong?"
"Uh, so Vegeta freaked out because he thought something was at my house but it may have followed me here...?" Goku grinned nervously.
Gine raised an eyebrow. "Goku, don't tell me you're scared of ghosts."
"Mom. There is frost outside. I kid you not. It's supposed to be in the sixties tonight, not below freezing!" Goku stared intently at his mother.
"I think you've been spending too much time with Vegeta," Gine laughed. "I'll go get it-"
"Kakarrot!?"
Goku didn't even blink before sprinting back to where Raditz and Vegeta were. It was so cold... He landed on the bed, scaring both of them silly. He hurriedly turned on a light. Raditz was as white as a sheet and Vegeta was crying. "Hey, it's ok, shh, shh, what's wrong, are you ok?"
"Something was in here," Raditz hissed. "It got really cold all of a sudden. Where is it?"
"Kakarrot...!" Vegeta wailed, trying to get closer to him. Goku gathered the tiny Saiyan in his arms and held him tightly.
Vegeta's POV
Cold. Cold cold cold. Kakarrot... Power. Light...!!!
Normal POV
The lights went out.
Vegeta shrieked and Goku dove under the blankets with them. He generated ki in his palm, just enough to give them light.
"Guys?" Gine called. "Is everyone ok?"
Vegeta was sobbing, clearly terrified. Goku held him and Raditz as close as he could. The temperature dropped again. Raditz whimpered. "Mom!" Goku called.
Then the room was filled with light. They peeked out, hardly daring to hope that it was Gine and not some monster. But, there stood the Sons' mother in the doorway, holding a massive ki light. "Oh, come on, you..." She went quiet, slowly looking around. "... guys..." She exhaled sharply. "Oh my God."
Ice swirled in lovely patterns on the window, already melting. Frost covered the walls near the ceiling. Goku gulped. "Mom..."
Gine came over and sheltered them with light. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God, we've got to get out of here. Guys, come on."
Vegeta grabbed her arm, shaking his head wildly. "Blue. No."
Gine nodded. "Ok. Ok." She got under the blankets with them. "I'll stay awake."
Vegeta curled into Goku's chest, drying his tears. He still looked very scared, but seemed to be calming. He looked back and forth between Raditz and Gine, smiled a little, and snuggled his face into Goku's shoulder, promptly falling asleep. Goku sighed. "Well, if he feels safe enough to sleep, then so do I. Wake me up later, Mom, and I'll watch for awhile."
"Actually," Gine said, "I think we're all ok for now. Think about it. Vegeta is a perfect alarm system. He'll know if we're in trouble and start panicking, I imagine. That'll wake us up for sure."
"What are we going to do about light?" Raditz asked.
"We'll be alright," Gine soothed. "We're all here together, so it probably won't come for us, whatever it is." She slowly dimmed the light, her slightly anxious expression swallowed by the darkness. Goku thought for sure that he heard a soft sigh from the shadows, but soon he drifted away into an uneasy sleep.