Warning: This chapter contains extreme graphic violence. Reader discretion is advised.

"I'm pregnant."

Mrs. Brief shot up from her chair at the dinner table and squealed, "Bulma, are you really?"

Bulma nodded but her mother didn't see because she had already spun around to her husband in excitement.

"This is wonderful news! I'm going to be a grandmother, what a dream come true!" Mrs. Brief threw her arms around his neck, making him drop his fork.

Dr. Brief patted her shoulder. "Congratulations, dear."

Bulma glared at her father and cleared her throat.

"Uh, and congratulations on becoming a mother, Bulma," her father quickly added.

"And you're a gonna be a grandfather, sweetie!" Ms. Brief put in.

His eyebrows rose as the information sank in. "Congratulations all around then," he said with a chuckle.

Bulma rolled her eyes half-heartedly at her mother's display. She was already deciding which room would be perfect for the nursery and planning a shopping trip to splurge in preparation for the baby. Her reaction of taking the pregnancy news and running with it at full speed was predictable, and was one of two reasons she'd put off telling her parents; she knew how gung ho the blonde housewife would be over it, and she needed a little more time to process her new reality before that ball was set in motion.

"Oh wait, is it a boy or a girl?" her mother asked when she realized she needed to know the baby's gender before she went shopping.

"I guess I'll find out in two weeks," Bulma said. That was when her first prenatal appointment was scheduled.

"Wonderful! I bet Yamcha was so happy when you told him the news. It was about time you two started a family."

Bulma took a deep breath and prepared to confront the other reason she didn't tell her parents right away. "I'm not exactly sure it's his baby."

Mrs. Brief paused in surprise with her mouth in the shape of an O. "But, sweetie, who else could it be?" she asked innocently.

"There's one other . . . suspect," she explained awkwardly.

Her mom gasped. "Oh, I know! It's Goku, isn't it?"

"Of course not!"

"Goku? That doesn't seem quite right, dear," Dr. Brief mused with a frown.

"Well they spend an awful lot of time together. Wouldn't surprise me one bit," Mrs. Brief chirped happily.

"It's not Goku, mom!"

"Krillin?"

"Seriously, mom?"

"What? Even with no hair, he's a handsome young man."

Bulma sighed exasperatedly. "It's not anyone you know, okay? And there's a good chance he's not-, anyway, I'll find out soon enough."

"Okay, if you say so sweetie." Mrs. Brief went back to rattling off a list of all the things she needed to buy for her grandchild.

Bulma leaned back in her chair and pushed her carrots and squash around on her plate dejectedly. At least she had gotten it out of the way. But now that her family knew it seemed that much more real, and her not knowing who the father was, that much more frustrating. She speared the pork chop on her plate angrily with her fork as she thought about Yamcha, who she still was unable to reach. He picked a fine time to fall off the face of the earth – just when she needed him most.

"When I see Bulma again, I'll be sure to tell her I ran into you," Tights said as she gave Goku a goodbye hug.

"Give her my best."

Jaco offered a farewell salute to the Saiyan. "Have fun in space, Goku, but not too much fun," he cautioned. "The Space Patrol is always watching."

Vegeta rolled his eyes.

Goku chuckled. "I'll be on my best behavior."

Tights turned to the prince uncertainly. "And I'll … I'll tell Bulma you said hello."

"No need," Vegeta said stiffly. "Come, Kakarot," he ordered before walking away. Goku waved at Tights and Jaco once more before following.

"And thanks again for all your help, Prince Vegeta!" Tights called out to his back. Her mouth turned down in disappointment when he gave no acknowledgment, but she was more bothered by the darkening of his facial expression when she offered to give Bulma a hello from him. In her time around the prince, she noticed his demeanor changed whenever her sister's name was mentioned. At first, she thought it was nothing, but now she was sure something was up.

I wonder what happened between those two.

"Ready, Ms. Brief?" Ruti gently interrupted her curiosity.

"Oh! Yes, of course," Tights said, remembering where she was. She looked around the ship bay for what she assumed would be the last time and marveled again over the technology and the energetic hustle and bustle of all kinds of people she hadn't seen on her travels with Jaco.

"You look like you'd like to stay longer."

Tights laughed and looked back at Ruti. "Well, it's just that, I've never been in a place like this before! It's, it's amazing! I have so many questions."

"Feel free to give me a call anytime, I'll answer whatever questions you have."

Tights eyes widened in surprise. "A c-, a call?"

Ruti nodded. "You said you were planning to visit your sister. She has a direct line to the palace communications, just ask to be transferred to Ruti in the ship bay."

Suddenly Tights didn't know what to do with her hands or feet and she felt a hot sensation creeping over her cheeks.

"But won't you be very busy in here?" she pointed out lamely.

"If you were to call me, I'm sure I won't be."

At this point, Jaco opted to leave Tights behind and go ahead and board the Space Patrol ship waiting to be cleared by ship bay staff, rather than continue to bear witness to her awkward exchange with the Saiyan.

Tights cleared her throat and tried to laugh off the interaction but was growing ever self-conscious under his intense gaze. "Sure, if I think of something, I'll give you a call." She tried to say it as lightly and noncommittally as she could.

The corner of Ruti's mouth turned up into a smirk. "You'll think of something, I'm sure," he said, the intensity in his eyes never wavering.

Tights stood there transfixed for a few moments before she snapped out of it and waved goodbye to Ruti as she followed after Jaco, feeling as though she'd just inadvertently entered into a binding contract.

Nappa was waiting for Vegeta and Goku in front of Goku's ship. Goku went inside to retrieve the gravity rooms that Bulma had built for the Saiyans then he encapsulated the ship.

"Is there somewhere I can keep my ship to train in?" Goku asked.

"What gravity level are you up to now, Kakarot?" Vegeta demanded.

"80."

The prince hmphed. "And does the gravity simulator in your ship go up to 500G as well?"

"Yep."

Vegeta took the other three capsules from him and handed two of them to Nappa.

"Put one of these in training room 5, give the other to my father. Where is the old man anyway?"

"He's in a meeting, but he said to make sure you and Kakarot don't fight until it's done, he doesn't want to miss it."

"I wouldn't dream of letting him. You sure you're ready for this, Kakarot? I won't show you any mercy."

"You bet! I want to go all out, I've got a few new moves I want to try."

Vegeta and Nappa and exchanged amused glances.

"Your funeral, kid," Nappa snickered.

Formal battle challenges were usually hand to hand combat, no ki blasts, as it was the best way to judge battle prowess at its most fundamental level to determine which warrior was truly superior. But Vegeta was more than willing to accommodate Goku's wish.

"Very well. I know the perfect place," he said.

Around fifty Saiyans gathered in Red Rock Valley for the much talked about fight between Prince Vegeta and the third-class, tail-less Saiyan raised on another planet. No one expected anything less than a thorough beating of the latter, but something in the air, perhaps just the palpable concentration of curiosity, told them that this wasn't a fight to miss. If anything, they knew it would be good entertainment. Bardock was amongst them, trying to conceal how anxious he was behind his grim facial expression. Everyone there knew his son had no hope of winning, he just prayed his defeat wouldn't be too embarrassing. He'd suffered enough embarrassment over a boy he hadn't seen since he was an infant.

"I still can't believe Kakarot let them take his tail. He's like a mutant now."

Bardock cut his eyes at his son Raditz standing to his left but said nothing. Saiyans who lost their tail in battle and were unable to grow it back often ended up committing suicide over the shame and depression. A tail-less Saiyan was a rare and disturbing sight.

Ruti was in the crowd as well. He had only met Goku briefly but he found that he liked him. His cheerful disposition, positive attitude and innocence was a breath of fresh air, even his affinity for fighting was different from the average Saiyan. While most fought out of an instinctual enjoyment of engaging in violence and asserting their superiority, Goku's motivation for fighting was a lot purer. He wondered what such a fighter could do against the ruthless prince.

Goku and Vegeta stood across from each other in the valley a good distance away, staring one another down, not yet in their fighting stances. The spectators took the opportunity to consult with their scouters to see what kind of a matchup they were looking at.

"Aw hell, Prince Vegeta won't even have a chance to break a sweat," Squaz complained at the scouter reading. The prince had a power level of 16,000 while Goku's was 6,200.

"Kakarot's far outclassed. I guess he's too dumb to realize it with that goofy grin on his face," another commented.

"Prince Vegeta will be wiping it away real soon," someone assured him.

King Vegeta was standing with Zorn and other members of his council, impatiently waiting for the battle to begin. He paid little mind to the power gap between the two; he felt as if anything could happen. Everyone quieted down when the fighters finally shifted into their fighting stances, signaling the fight was about to begin. Goku attacked first, coming at Vegeta with a flurry of punches and kicks that were dodged expertly with ease. The few minutes went like this until the prince suddenly countered with a brutal right hook to Goku's jaw. It would have connected with his chin, immediately knocking him out if he hadn't been able to tilt the angle of his head and lean away just in time.

This did not escape the prince's notice. He smirked as he pursued the younger Saiyan backflipping away from him and then ascending to the rock formations. Vegeta went on the attack, overwhelming Goku with an uppercut to his gut and then a double axe handle to his crown that dropped him face first to the ground. He didn't move.

"Well, that lasted longer than I thought it would," Nappa said, laughing.

"Not sure why it was necessary to come all the way out here for that. Pathetic," Aspargon concluded.

Bardocks eyes fell and he turned to leave, but Raditz's hand on his shoulder stopped him before he could.

"Not so fast, father. There's life in him yet."

Goku was struggling to get to his feet, finally managing to stand up shakily.

"It's about time, Kakarot. I thought you were taking a nap."

Goku rubbed his head gingerly, his ears ringing. He was sure he had a concussion.

"It was foolish of you to think you could ever match me," the prince continued, "but even more foolish of you to not fight me at full power. How dare you take me so lightly!" From practicing to sense ki without a scouter on the way back from Jumin, he was able to tell that Goku had to be suppressing some of his power because his energy felt more substantial when he was apparently doing training exercises on the ship.

He smiled sheepishly at the prince. That wasn't it at all. He wasn't trying to hold back; he was trying to figure out how to channel the new energy he could feel bubbling within his body but he was having trouble accessing and wielding it as he would his own ki. But if he could, he felt he really could stand a chance. For the time being, he knew he'd better increase his power the way he knew best or he wasn't going to survive the next attack. Goku closed his eyes and concentrated on drawing out the store of energy he was not using, letting it build up until it flared up all around him, crumbling the rocks beneath him while he hovered in the air.

"It's over 9,000!" someone exclaimed.

"No, it's almost 10,000!"

"9,900 – impossible! How the hell did he do that!"

King Vegeta's eyes widened slightly. It was quite an impressive jump in power. Bulma Brief's gravity training invention was truly amazing.

Vegeta was unfazed. "That's more like it," he said once Goku was done powering up. "But you'll need more power than that to beat me!" the prince roared as he went on the offensive again, overwhelming Goku with a furious barrage of blows. Goku winced as his forearms felt like they were on the verge of breaking from blocking Vegeta's relentless attacks, while at the same time, he was struggling to concentrate on what was happening inside of his body. He was getting real close.

"Just a little more," Goku grit out. He crossed his arms in front of his chest to block Vegeta's kick that sent him sliding back. He was able to remain standing while his feet skidded across the ground, and before he was able to come to a stop, the prince phased behind him and he screamed as he was blasted in the back and sent flying. Before he could hit the ground, Vegeta materialized next to him in mid-air and kneed him in the solar plexus. Goku landed on his side and doubled over in pain while trying to get back on his feet. When Goku was able to stand the prince was taken aback when he wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth with the back of his fist and said:

"Alright, Vegeta. Now I'm ready."

"Oh, now you're ready?" Vegeta scoffed. "What the hell have you been waiting for?"

"This." Goku closed his eyes again and stood still. To everyone's amazement, his body began glowing in a succession of multiple colors and his power level started climbing higher.

"11,000!"

"14,000!"

"16,000! He can't be as strong as Prince Vegeta!"

"19,000! This can't be real!"

King Vegeta and Zorn exchanged serious glances. They were the only ones there, besides Ruti, who were able to maintain their composure during the highly improbable turn of events. Everyone else were losing their minds in disbelief.

"30,000!"

– was the last recorded power level reading before everyone's scouters began exploding on their faces from the energy overload.

"Impossible!" Vegeta roared. "What kind of trick is this!"

Goku smirked. "Come and find out."

The prince charged at him, intent on making him eat his words, only to find that he couldn't land a single hit. He was somehow avoiding them all though it looked like he was barely moving. Then Goku caught his fists in both hands and squeezed them. Vegeta howled in pain and headbutted him so that he could get free, but it seemed to have to no effect on him. Goku responded with a headbutt of his own and it had the prince dazed and seeing stars as he stumbled away when Goku finally let go of him.

"How, how dare you," Vegeta snarled as he shook his head trying to shake the dizziness away.

The other Saiyans watched in stunned silence as the prince attacked Goku once again and was easily intercepted and slammed head first into a cliff face. He flew out of the cave his body created ferociously and swung at his head and missed, then immediately tried to recover with a sweeping kick, but Goku avoided that as well. The warriors stood at the peak of another cliff facing each other. Vegeta was heaving in fury as Goku stood eerily calm and confident.

The prince clenched his fist towards Goku and announced, "Dodge this one if you can, Kakarot!" before ascending into the sky and gathering up enough energy to destroy the planet.

"What is he doing? That attack will kill us all!" Nappa cried.

"Gallick Gun!" Vegeta screamed before shooting a malevolent violet beam of energy down at Goku.

Right as the attack was leaving his hands, Goku prepared a Kamehameha wave swirling with a rainbow of colors to meet it. The Kamehameha quickly began to overtake the prince's Gallick Gun with him screaming "Nooooo!" as it propelled him out of the atmosphere until he completely disappeared from view. Goku dropped to all fours and started breathing heavily as the glow surrounding his form subsided.

"I think that was the last of it," he panted. He could no longer feel the incredible energy he'd received after eating the worm on Jumin. He could hardly feel his own energy either, he was totally exhausted and on the verge of collapse.

"So, does this mean Kakarot won?" someone asked quietly but no one answered him. Everyone looked to King Vegeta and he was staring stone-faced up at the sky. So, they all looked up at the sky too, waiting. Eventually, Vegeta could be seen descending rapidly from the sky, barely managing to control his flight enough to make a less than graceful landing a few feet from Goku. He did his best not to fall over as he half-stomped, half-stumbled over to him and yanked him up by his neck.

"Just how the hell did you get so strong, Kakarot?" he demanded angrily.

"It was the worm," Goku choked out.

"You mean to tell me-" the prince stopped short in rage and used his remaining strength to begin beating him to what would have been his death if his father had not intervened.

"Vegeta! You are not to kill him! I want to know more about the source of his power."

Vegeta stilled his bloodied fist and released Goku and both men fell to the ground. The prince breathed laboriously as he forced himself back up to his feet and faced the gathered Saiyans.

"Listen up!" he shouted at them. "That was not Kakarot's true power! He only borrowed it temporarily, it was nothing more than a cheap trick!" He pointed down at the unconscious Saiyan's body. "And look at him now! Did you fools really think he had defeated me? I am the Prince of all Saiyans! No one can defeat me!" Not waiting for a response, he turned his back on them immediately after his speech and stalked off as steadily as he could manage.

"Couldn't lay a hand on him on before," Korn remarked smugly to the Saiyan next to him.

Vegeta's back went rigid and he stopped in his tracks and turned around wearing an expression that made all the men's hearts shrink in their chests. It was the great-granddaddy of all murder faces. Before Korn had time to react, the prince was standing behind him. He placed his hands on either side of Korn's head and wrenched it so violently it tore completely from his neck. The body fell to the ground with a sickening thud followed by the severed head, and the prince walked away ignoring everyone's eyes on him – especially those of his father's. Although the king didn't say "I told you so" it was written on his face in bold print.

AN: Hey folks, it's been a while! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry for the hiatus, but I'm back! And I'm glad to be back writing, I hadn't written in a lonnnng time. Thanks again for all the reviews on this story, all the follows and favorites. Can't wait to see what you guys think of this chapter, and remember, fight scenes are not my forte so be kind haha. R.I.P. Zorn. You won't be missed and you totally had it coming. I know we all love Vegeta, but am I the only one who loves extremely pissed off murderous Vegeta? Swoon. Review!