AN: This saga is set between chapters 109 and 110 of Saiyan princess and brings into account the events of the more recent DBZ movies (Battle of Gods, Resurrection of F) as well as Dragonball Super. I have also made a cameo appearance of Tights Brief (who appeared in Toriyama's Jaco the Galactic Patrol Man) in this chapter. Thanks to Silverhawk88 for pointing out her existence to me!

I would like to point out that I have made a couple of updates to the chapters originally uploaded here, to fit in with the storyline of Dragonball Super.

Let the story begin!

-LilDBZBuddy89

The decade that spanned the pivotal points of Majin Buu's defeat and Uub's debut was one that, for many people, was seen to be a decade of peaceful times.

The population of Earth had been under the siege of Babidi and his monster for little under a week and yet it'd made such a lasting impact on their sense of judgement. None of them knew the identity of the monster after strings were pulled and a certain wish-granting dragon was asked to erase their memories of Buu. Yet they were aware that something had brought humans to the brink of extinction and that Mr Satan had saved them somewhere far, far away.

So the decade that followed, in comparison, was one that was peaceful… relatively peaceful.

Except for the times when it wasn't.

Chapter 01 – Fulfilling a Promise

Age 774, August: A few months after the defeat of Majin Buu…

As far as she was aware, everyone had finished packing, for once. Usually Trunks found he'd forgotten something the morning they were leaving, like his favourite toy or his toothbrush, or an item of clothing their mother insisted he wore even though he hated it. Perhaps it was too soon to say everyone had finished packing.

Corset checked her suitcase and hand luggage over one more time, ticking off her check-list for the third time running; it was never a bad thing to be thorough. After all, on the second run, she'd realised she hadn't added her second bathing suit to the list (the one-piece suit, just in case she managed to burn in her bikini or felt too uncomfortable to bear so much skin – she wasn't built like her mother had been at her age!). Everything seemed to be there, she concluded. 'Good.' Satisfied she was unlikely to have forgotten anything important, she closed the case lid and zipped up her hand luggage. With minimal effort, she swung her suitcases over her shoulders and headed for the aircraft their mother was planning to fly them in.

She didn't get very far before she came across her little brother. Disturbingly he seemed incredibly excited… or agitated. It was hard to tell sometimes.

"Sis! Sis! Oh my gosh, you'll never guess what Mama just told me!" He hollered, closing in on her in a flash, bouncing off the walls. "This is gonna be such an awesome break! Dad's coming!"

The crash of suitcases striking the floor was loud enough to alert their grandmother, who poked her head around the corner, tray of drinks in hand. "Is everything alright? What happened?"

Corset was too stunned to speak, her eyes couldn't have been any wider if they'd tried. So instead, it was Trunks who answered their grandmother. "Dad's coming on vacation with us! This is already the best holiday ever!"

It seemed their grandmother didn't quite know how to respond to this immediately, but unlike her granddaughter she did not drop the items in her hand! "… That's wonderful news!" She finally smiled, voice high and wobbily. Approaching her elder grandchild, she added in a quiet tone, "What's brought this on? Your father never seems to want to be separated from his training."

Corset dumbly shrugged her shoulders, still trying to take the news in. She was just as clueless as her grandmother. Intrigued, she left the two and continued down the corridor, forgetting to take her now-broken cases back to her room to repack. Clothes could wait, answers couldn't. So she located her mother's life force and followed it down the stairs into the laboratories. Wandering through the vast expanses of corridors and hallways was simple, having quickly learnt the building's layout during her youth. Within minutes she had found her target, funnily enough in one of the larger hangers underneath the grounds of their home, tinkering away at what Corset assumed was their transport tomorrow. "Mama, is it true Dad's coming with us?"

Bulma leant back out of the side-door of the craft, a smile playing across her beautiful features. "So you heard? That boy…" She pitifully shook her head, though the smile widened. "He was bouncing off the walls when I told him."

'Just what I thought,' Corset noted to herself, feeling another wave of shock hit her. What was the deal? Why had he decided to suddenly show some interest in their family holidays? Had recent events played out a few months back had that much of an influence on him? Was this one of his ways to try and reconcile his actions with his family? Or maybe she was overthinking this. Was there something going on between her parents; had their mother threatened to take something valuable away if he didn't join them?

"So, what do you think?" Bulma cut through her thoughts.

"It seems alright," Corset glanced the plane over.

"No," Bulma shook her head, "Not that, about your father joining us. Will you be alright with that?"

Corset raised an eyebrow and snorted, "Why would I not be alright with that?"

"Well, it's not like he's ever come away with us before…" Bulma stepped free from the aircraft and closed the door. "You've never had a break away with him with us before, you've grown up having holidays with me and your grandparents and then Trunks."

"It's fine, it's not like it's gonna make any difference to our vacation," Corset shrugged her shoulders, not getting what her mother was trying to suggest.

They had left early. Very early. Too early for anyone's liking. Trunks had protested so much, Bulma had rolled out a futon and told him to sleep through the journey instead. Corset was less vocal during the mornings, especially during mornings where she rose earlier than the sun. She sat quietly alongside her mother in the co-pilot's seat, wrapping a sheet around her to keep the cold from her bones, occasionally sipping on some tea to keep her warm. Their craft was large, large enough to comfortably store all their luggage and then leave plenty of space for Trunks' futon. On the downside, it was slow. Very slow.

"We could have gotten up later and just got one of us to carry you there…" She mumbled sleepily.

"Enough," Bulma snapped. "This way it feels more like a special occasion! Anyway, we're nearly there. Wake up your brother."

Corset sighed and rolled lazily from her chair. "Oi, Trunks. Wake up." Nothing. She crawled over towards him and poked him on the foot. Trunks jolted and sprung up.

"Wha… Sis!" He snapped indignantly. "Don't do that!"

"We're nearly here," Corset ignored his complaints.

Trunks glared out the window and sighed exasperated. "Aww, we're still in the air? Mama, if you could fly like us, it would only take us a minute to get there."

"Oh hush!" Bulma grumbled. "My body isn't made like yours."

"Is Dad still on top of the ship?" Trunks asked.

"Yep," Corset nodded. What exactly he was doing up there was a mystery to her. He'd always gotten the gist of what you were supposed to do when it came to air transportation so why he'd decided the seats were literally below him was a mystery to her.

"Saiyans are weird," Bulma muttered.

Corset returned back to her seat, stifling a yawn, missing her father muttering something to them from the other side of the glass encasing the front of the craft. So she had no warning what-so-ever when Bulma suddenly decided to turn the plane sharply to the right! Corset hollered, snatching hold of the arm of the seat for dear life, her legs flying in front of her face in her split-second panic. Then instinct overtook and corrected her movement. Flabbergasted, she turned about to snap at her mother when Bulma lurched the plane once more, this time into a nosedive. Bulma flicked a switch, something in the craft began to groan and shift.

A wave of worry came over Corset. "Mama, what are you-?"

The sheet of darker blue was in their vision for mere seconds before the entire plane shuddered violently as it collided with the sea. Corset felt her stomach be thrown around her abdomen as Bulma went into a spin once more, launching their plane back towards the surface and straight towards their island destination.

"What the hell was that about?" Corset hollered once Bulma had levelled out and calmed their flight pattern. "A little warning would have been nice!"

"I'm dizzy!" Trunks wailed.

The hotel resort was gigantic, packed with families enjoying the vast array of activities the resort had to offer. Checking into their room was smooth. Their suite rooms weren't as large as the ones back home but Corset figured that was to be expected. They were the richest family on the planet; nothing would compare to what they had at home, apart from the service. Of course, Bulma had gotten the very best the resort had to offer.

It didn't take long before Bulma rounded up the rest of the family and suggested they get to know the resort lay-out. This meant heading down to the main hall, checking where the dining hall was, then looking through every shop on site. The group took a little more time in one of the clothes stores on the complex; Trunks came across a large collection of flowery holiday shirts and quickly demanded he be bought one.

Corset wandered off on her own, leaving the other two adults to fuss over her kid-brother. Quickly she found the young fashion section and began browsing. It was then her watch began to vibrate: an incoming call. Flicking one of the tiny switches on the device, her eyebrows raised when she saw who was on the other end. Opening the connection, she spoke out: "Hi Gohan; I didn't know you were connected."

"Hey there," Gohan's voice came out from the watch. "Your mother updated the applications of my 'watch'." (Gohan'd learnt to refer to said device as his watch, as opposed to his Saiyaman watch.) "Where are you? It sounds really busy."

"I'm away with the family," Corset explained, walking towards one of the corners of the shop. "I'm surprised you're still awake. Isn't it near midnight where you are?"

"Um…" An awkward colour crossed his cheeks. "… Yeah, I guess it is here." His eyes kept on flicking over to the right as if he were expecting something. "I won't keep you waiting too long. I just wanted to pass some news onto you."

"Oh yeah? What kind of news?" Corset asked.

Gohan seemed to turn pinker. "Well… You know that Videl and I have been spending more time together? I, uh…. I asked her today."

She didn't need him to clarify what he meant like this but it was unbelievably fun watching him squirm like this. "Asked her what?" She decided to play dumb, a big smirk settling on her face.

"Y-You know… I think," Gohan mumbled.

Corset giggled. "Yeah, I'm just messing with you. So I'm assuming she said yes?"

Gohan's voice seemed to have vanished so she received a simple nod, eyes looking anywhere but directly down the watch screen but a tiny smile trying to break free.

"Aww congratulations," Corset beamed. "I'm really happy for you guys, you're really cute together. Does your mother know you're now officially going out together? Maybe she can now stop trying to force us together?"

"If I tell her now, I'll never hear the end of it," Gohan whispered, "Why do you think I'm still awake!"

The conversation didn't last much longer, Corset bid her childhood friend a pleasant night's sleep and continued to browse. Then again, she'd lost interest in clothes shopping, so she made her way back to where she'd left the others, using her brother's life force to double-check they were indeed still there. Her parents were stood outside the changing rooms, she could only assume Trunks was trying something on.

"Oh, back already?" Bulma greeted her, though her smile quickly dropped. "What is it?"

"Um… nothing?" Corset warily responded. "Why?"

"You're pale," Bulma frowned, putting a hand to her daughter's forehead. "… and you're clammy! Oh my gosh, are you finally getting ill?"

"I'm fine, really," Corset brushed her mother's hand away, taking a step back as she did so. Was she really that pale? What could have brought that on, she wondered. Then again now she thought about it, her chest did feel a little tight.

"What's with the defensiveness? You sound like a teenager!" Bulma grumbled.

"I am a teenager," Corset growled. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her father studying her. It irritated her. "Oh my gosh, will you stop it – both of you!" With that, she stormed off, not really sure where she was heading but knowing she had to get away from them and find some space. She left the shop, wandered out into the courtyard and followed the path towards the beach. Her walk took her down the promenade, along the beach and up towards one of the beach cafés. It was there she ordered a cocktail and found a small table to watch the sea roll in.

What the hell had that been about? Corset felt as if she was about to cry. Her chest still felt tight, her breathing quicker than normal. It made her feel restless, like she had to keep on moving, keep on doing things. That in itself made her uneasy, so she decided to do the opposite and sit still, watching those down on the beach and in the sea beyond. Why did she feel so sad?

Getting back to the hotel complex proved trickier than she'd anticipated. Her journey had been delayed somewhat due to the combined efforts of the head of the middle of the day along with the alcohol she'd consumed. She'd had to stop at one of the shops en-route to stock up on food and water, shamelessly stuffing her face and gulping down entire bottles in one sitting. Then the rest of the journey was impeded by the water-food-combo-baby she'd created in her stomach in her bid to sober up… and it hadn't quite worked the way she'd hoped. So when she had finally gotten back, she was still a little tipsy. She couldn't go back to their room like this; her mother would never let it go. So she sat down at one of the tables at the hotel bar overlooking the pool and sea beyond.

Before she knew it, the crowds were thinning, heading in to the dining room to get their all-inclusive dinner. A few lingered, including a small group of tweens and a few couples. The pool looked oddly inviting but she knew better. She'd be far too tempted to jump in and then power up just to make the water float and scare everyone else off so she could have the pool to herself. When asked by one of the staff if she'd like a drink, she decided to go ahead an order several cups of milk, purely because she was craving milk and despite her stomach telling her that another drink would probably make her stomach burst. And so the milk grew warmer and warmer as the sun set.

It was only when a shadow passed over her that she realised she'd dozed off. Corset rose her head off the table and sighed. "What?"

Annoyingly her father didn't say anything. But he did sit down beside her, which caught Corset off-guard. She had to ask. "Why are you being so… so…" What was the right word for this? Caring? Yeah right, she'd never live to see another day if she accused him of that. Nosey? Well, he was being that, but again if she accused him of that… So she settled for not finishing her question, resting her arms across the table before her and slouching forward. "… Why are you here?"

"The same reason you are," Her father responded.

"Oh yeah? And what reason would that be?"

"Because your mother's driving me nuts."

Corset snorted. Fair enough, that had been funny and annoyingly it'd made her smile.

"… Kakarrot's energy has disappeared from Earth," Vegeta mumbled after a while.

Corset looked up, then sat up when she realised he was right.

"No doubt he's training somewhere…" Her father added, crossing his arms.

Corset nodded. "… I'm surprised you're spending time here rather than doing the same thing. What made you choose spending time with us?"

Vegeta glanced away for a moment, then turned back to look in her general direction. "I made Trunks a promise. I'm done now."

"Oh…" Corset sighed and grabbed onto one of the many glasses of milk, taking a large gulp and downing one of them, flinching when it became hard to swallow. "… Well, lucky Trunks. Seems like everyone's doing stuff before me…" Another sigh left her lips and she slouched further onto the table, resting her chin on her arms. Trunks got a holiday with their father and he was eight; her first holiday with him was spent being eighteen – a whole ten years later than her brother. Being the eldest sucked sometimes. Then again apparently being her sucked. 'The more naïve people around me are doing more grown-up stuff before me…' So was that the reason why she felt sad?

In regards to matters involving the opposite sex, Corset had considered herself far more knowledgeable and superior in skill to Gohan… and yet which of the two of them was now dating someone? Not her!

He was such a naïve idiot on the outside.

What did that make her?

Lonely. She was going to die alone.

She downed another one of the glasses. Reaching for a third, her target was snatched away by her father, who took a swig and returned the empty glass to the table. She missed the look of displeasure that crossed his face. "That was my drink."

"You've had plenty already," Vegeta sneered. "You reek of it, that foul poison the people on this planet seems addicted to drinking."

Corset mumbled under her breath. Damn that dog-like nose; he was the one she'd inherited that from! At least this was one thing she was certain she had more experience than Gohan. 'Yeah, drinking more sounds like something to be proud of.' She sat back and sighed. "… Why are they always so annoyingly ahead of us? No offence to Chichi but the guys aren't exactly the brightest bunch when it comes to every-day human interaction!"

There was a large portion of silence between them after this. Corset almost dozed off again until she was stirred awake by the sound of chair legs scraping against the floor. Her father had stood up, looking mysteriously into the distance, almost as if he were about to impart some sagely wisdom upon her.

"I've wasted enough time…" He glanced over his shoulder. "Let your mother know." And with that, he took off, launching himself into the skies and over the sea, leaving his baffled tipsy daughter on her own.

She didn't stay much longer on the island. The afternoon's events had taken her to a more solemn place, one which told her she needed her regular routine back. So she dropped in on her mother and Trunks, apologised profusely and informed them she was going back home to train with their father. Trunks had protested but Corset insisted the break away would be much better for him. Her mother didn't ask, just merely nodded and accepted her daughter's choice.

Corset returned home late that night. Instead of heading to bed, she made her way down towards the gravity room. Unsurprisingly her father was here. He didn't seem surprised to see her here.

Training lasted until she passed out in the early hours of the morning. Then, next morning, she continued to train. She had a couple more weeks of summer break before she had to return to high school; she may as well make the most of her time alone before she was forced to socialise with the two people she considered her best friends.

It would never be the same. Not now they were a couple. She was the third wheel, the spare part. She was the odd one out. Whenever they'd have work to do in pairs, she'd be the one to have to step back and find someone else to work with. She couldn't spend as much time with them now, the two people she really genuinely liked at high school. That thought was terrifying. Being alone, being left on her own and abandoned by them, terrified her more than anything. And so she trained to keep her thoughts from reminding her of this fact. She trained to stop life dumping cold water on her, awakening her to the terrifying possibility that she may never find someone to share the rest of her life with.

Why did this bother her? Why now? It'd never crossed her mind before, so why now did she suddenly care?

Had she known that two years later, she'd meet the unlikely man unfortunate enough to fall in love with her, she wouldn't have paid so much heed and dread to the thought.