The controls were locked and the waveforms were as good as she could make them. Letting out a shaky breath, she stepped back from the makeshift console and stared at the portal. The blue disc hung in the air, shedding motes of azure that lit up the unadorned bulkheads and nearly unbreakable ship's furniture of the ISS Unsealed. Strap reflexively put one hand on her hip, a nervous tic that popped up whenever she worried. A second later, she realized that she had left yet another palm-print of oil and grease on a fresh jumpsuit. On the verge of possibly meeting my own universal analogue and I'm going to look like a mechanic or something. I mean, who knows? She could be an actual doctor, or a scientist, or even a CEO. I haven't met her, and I already feel kind of inadequate.

The portal suddenly flared. She swung a concerned gaze at the console, and was relieved to see the mostly ad hoc system was holding up perfectly. Not for the first time, I'm thankful for my little friends. Inventing those little geniuses was the second best thing I ever did. Garter still gets the top spot… but only just. A figure stepped through, and in a flash of light, Strap found herself nearly face to face with a scowling, muscular, rather intimidating version of her husband. She froze, gawking at him. What the hell? Did he eat an entire truck full of steroids? I mean, it looks good but… hey, focus. Vegeta's own expression was of disbelief. The woman standing in front of him looked like Bulma, but with the close-cropped blue hair and calloused hands of a shipboard engineer.

"Um… could you step away from the portal? We really don't need any accidents," Strap said. No vocal fry. Good. Wait, why in the hell am I worried about that right now?

Vegeta nodded, his eyes flicking briefly toward the hovering blue disc. He walked over to a nearby bulkhead and leaned on it, observing both her and the portal through narrowed eyes. He looks defensive and suspicious. Totally wound up. I guess I would be too, after what he's dealt with.

The next figure to come through the portal was… her. This time, she managed not to gawk, and immediately felt a wave of sympathy pour through her. Bulma looked terrible, pale and afraid, and partially covered in thorns and tree sap. The contrast between them was obvious – the visitor with the well-coiffed business cut and high-grade jumpsuit, and the host with the crew-cut and belt full of tools. I kind of just want to give her a hug. She looks like she just went through Hell. Before Strap could say anything, Bulma stepped away from the portal, eying it warily.

"H-hi," Strap said, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice. The other woman turned to look at her, and her mouth made a silent 'O' of recognition. "My name-"

The portal flared once again, and a monster stepped through. Reflexes honed by years of encounters in space, Strap reacted almost instantly. Motes of green flooded out from a oblong metal container at Strap's waist and surrounded her. She activated them with a single thought, and then all of them sank into her skin simultaneously. A rush of energy flooded into her. I don't know how you followed them, but you're not going to harm my family. Green flecks lit up her eyes as she grabbed the furry thing and slammed it against a nearby bulkhead, her strength vastly increased from the nanite swarm. Then she caught sight of the being's ears and muzzle. A dog? A wolf? No, wait… that's purely canis latrans. A tense moment passed as the terrified alien silently allowed itself to be subjected to scientific scrutiny.

"He's with us," Vegeta said brusquely. Strap gave him an incredulous look.

"His name is Lavender. He's on our team," Bulma added. Having already removed most of the thorns and twigs from her jumpsuit, she idly began picking the ones off of her husband's battle armor. "Please don't kill him. We already lost two."

At that very moment, the crowded room became even more so as Trunks stepped through the portal. This time, Strap couldn't stop herself from staring. A boy. Huh, he's got his father's face just like Garter inherited mine. No Saiyan eyes or spiky hair though. Fascinating. Like his mother, Trunks was quick to move away from the portal. When he looked up to see the predicament that Lavender was in, his eyes widened.

"Mom, put him down!" he said. He then blinked, and his gaze slowly turned to Bulma. He turned bright red, and looked down at the floor in embarrassment. "Sorry, Mom."

Unable to help herself, Strap started giggling. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bulma put her hand over her mouth, trying to keep her composure. As the tension that had built in the room began to drain away, she carefully set down the coyote-man and mentally commanded the nanites to stand down. A haze of green poured from her skin and slowly funneled its way back into the container. Before another word could be said, Garter stepped through the portal. She immediately turned and nodded to her mother. Strap quickly entered commands into the console. The portal began to fade, dissipating into wavering strands of blue fire. Awesome. It worked. I still can't believe I managed to detect them, let alone bring them here. Heh, I guess I've still got it.

The sound of a throat clearing brought the eyes of the crowd to the doorway of the small room. A second prince surveyed them with his dark eyes, his face expressionless. Leaner than his counterpart, he was dressed in a unitard of full black with no ornamentation save from the curved scabbard hanging from his belt, just as dark as the rest. Compared to the other Vegeta, his posture was relaxed and open, and there was no trace of suspicion in his gaze.

"You guys look pretty rough," he said. A wry smile spread across his face. "Come on. We should talk."

DRAGON BALL EXODUS

Universe 15 Saga VIII: Two Princes

KALE

The corpse of the capital ship drifted in front of the sun, casting a shadow on the massive battle still in progress. Against a backdrop of stars and blackness, Saiyan fighters in combat suits and Saiyan pilots in sub-lightspeed fighters fought and died by the hundreds, with more following every minute. In the wake of the shadow, each casualty was a tiny candle flame, and the death of every ship a sharp chord of sickeningly white light. When the derelict finally left the path of the sunlight, most of the combatants still moving wore the red-and-blue logo of Cabba's loyalists.

"Universe Six has never seen a battle like this before," said General Brusso. The bridge of the newly repaired and recommissioned Silence was crowded. Standing next to the General was Cabba, and then Caulifla and Casavo. Behind them was Admiral Colla, sitting in her newly installed command chair and wearing a satisfied grin. Sitting at one of the backup stations, Kale leaned on the deactivated console before her and watched the fight. The last two rogue factions, a powerful group of former Defense Force reservists turned brigand and a loose coalition between deserters and the entire merchant marine fleet, had decided to join forces against the meteoric rise of the United force. The result had been an unexpected battle between Admiral Colla's scouts and a few merchant marine vessels, followed by a steady stream of reinforcements warping in on both sides. Within an hour, both sides had fully committed, and thousands of fighters and hundreds of ships poured into the conflict. Despite some impressive maneuvering on the part of the coalition, the battle had been one-sided.

"It may never again," Admiral Colla said. She's insanely good at this. I swear, after the initial briefing, she's had to give eight words of instruction total. She just sat back and won. I thought Cabba was nuts when he tried to recruit her, but I guess he was right. "Did all of you know that an entire third of Saiyan military strength is gone because of this little war of ours?"

"If it was the third that was terrorizing people, I'm not going to lose sleep over it," Cabba said. He had resumed wearing his SDF uniform, minus any rank insignia. He didn't need it. When people spoke of 'The Colonel', anyone on Sadala would know exactly who you were referring to. The King's broadcast in support of the United effort, uploaded to the network the day before, had galvanized many of the fence-sitters to join the now official loyalist faction. Cabba had already uploaded his own speech, in which he pledged to return authority to the King and the legislature. He could have easily tried to take over here. He could have done it too. I… honestly don't know if I would have made the same choice.

Out in the darkness, a last-ditch effort from the coalition quickly led to failure. Mercenary fighter craft loyal to Casavo coupled with transports bearing a mixture of former Army soldiers and members of Caulifla's gang laid into the enemy with a brutal offense. Turrets sheared off and hulls compromised, capital ship after capital ship fell to the hardened loyalist troops. The enemy's force had been brought down to almost a fifth of its original number, with only twelve ships destroyed to show for it. Projected on the screen by a few taps of Colla's fingers, video from several of the teams showed the enemies surrendering, or refusing and being killed on the spot. It could be taken as testimony to their weariness that not a single soul on the bridge flinched.

"I'm going to be glad when this is over," Casavo said. He was wearing only a few select pieces of gold, the Admiral having refused to let him on the bridge while covered in the stuff. She was probably right, that would have distracted the hell out of everyone. "You better keep your word on that amnesty, Cabba."

"For the tenth time, I intend to do what I said," Cabba said, annoyance in his voice. "You're not going to go to a court-martial, and you're not going to go to jail at the hands of any military authority."

"So, only the civilians that want to tar and snakeskin me," Casavo said, sighing. The entire bridge lit up for a moment as one of the enemy's last capital ships went up in a ball of white fire. Silently, blackened fragments and frozen debris tumbled from the dead vessel.

"My heart bleeds for you," Caulifla said. She sneered at the big man, who bristled in response. "I was an honest outlaw. You were a crooked army guy who used the force to avoid arrest. Not exactly a fair advantage."

"Try going through officer training school and dealing with years of bullshit," Casavo growled. The huge man dwarfed Caulifla, but the bandit refused to back down. "Fair doesn't mean a thing to me."

"That's because you were causing most of that bullshit," Brusso rasped, and then cleared his throat. "And would you two mind not talking to each other? I swear, it's like an old married couple."

The two criminals stared at each other in frank horror, and then turned away with red faces. I'm kind of glad he did that. Caulifla can't stop fighting with that guy for some reason. I hate to say it, but I think it's because both of them love to argue, and both hate to lose. Really funny with one person, really annoying with two. Also, he smells like metal and body odor. Ugh.

"The enemy has demanded a cease fire," Colla said. She tapped at the light headset she was wearing, and then barked a laugh. "Apparently, the leader of the reservists is requesting personal combat."

"No," Cabba said. The rest of the bridge looked at him in surprise.

"Are you sure? That's kind of your deal, isn't it?" Colla asked. Beneath her mop of spiky curls, the admiral looked dubiously upon her ground-forces colleague.

"Not when there's no reason to do it. We've already won this battle," Cabba said. He sighed. "I'm tired, Admiral. I've literally had to fight every person in this bridge except for the crew of this ship. I'm done. I don't care if this guy is a Super Saiyan God, just put a torpedo in his ship and be done with it."

"Hah! Fine. Would have been my choice anyway," Colla replied. As Kale watched, the Admiral got a strange look on her face and then started laughing. "The second I refused the cease fire, they surrendered. I don't think they were expecting that."

"Wait, does that mean it's over? Like, 'over' over?" Caulifla asked. The entire bridge fell silent.

"Yeah," Cabba said. A huge grin spread across his weary face. "Drinks are on me."

VEGETA

He looks like he barely trains. And why the hell is he so… friendly? The assassin had been surprisingly genial by Vegeta's standards, earning looks of surprise from Bulma. The only two who had yet to speak were, to noone's surprise, the men. The awkwardness between them was palpable. I'm… not the kind of man who wants to share an identity. Not with another version of myself and not with that idiot Kakarot. This is almost as bad as fusion. Their wives, on the other hand, had immediately began to treat each other like long lost friends. While the two men had decided to stand in the ship's small galley, both women had quickly taken seats on a tidy little shipboard couch. Trunks and Garter had left together a few moments previously, talking animatedly about different fighting techniques they had picked up from their respective fathers. Worn out from all of the running, Lavender had curled up by one of the heating vents and fallen asleep. A mild 'wet dog' smell began to permeate the room.

"No, no, goodness no," Strap said, giggling. "They didn't actually name me after Uncle Strap. My real name is Bulma, same as you. When I was younger, I honestly thought my dad was crazy. I ran away from home, signed on as a cabin boy with a merchant freighter."

"You pretended to be a boy?" Bulma asked. "Why?"

"I just… didn't really feel comfortable with a bunch of space bums knowing that I was a twelve year old girl," Strap said, shrugging. "I mean, they found out a couple of years later, but I was already Head Engineer of the vessel at that point. Nobody gives a shit when you're keeping the vacuum away."

"That's awesome," Bulma said, grinning. She looked thoughtful for a second, and then her grin faded. "Wait, why would you think he was crazy? Dad was a great man, in all respects."

"Mine was as well," said Strap. Her eyes dropped to the deck plates. "I just didn't realize it. By the time I knew the truth, he was gone. Actually, everything was gone."

"Yeah," Bulma said, suddenly serious. "Your family survived a universal erasure. You somehow managed to defy Zeno-sama. How?"

"Dad. I had thought he was crazy because he was convinced that an overgod was going to erase the universe," Strap said. Despite the sorrow in her eyes, she grinned. "Keep in mind, Maizcal-sama had already started that party. By the time I was born, the trade routes in the universe had shifted to accommodate the nearly galaxy sized festival he was throwing. Growing up, I thought we had the coolest god in existence. A lot of kids thought that. We were idiots. My father was the only person who had realized what was going to happen."

"I… yeah," Bulma said. I almost feel sympathy for them. Living in a universe with such a dangerously stupid god puts you in danger, without any real recourse.

"Anyway, Dad managed to invent this thing called a null-space generator. It can maintain a little pocket universe as long as it receives power. It can't be sensed from the outside, and divine beings can't really affect it," Strap said. "Erasures can take a while, especially for entire universes. When we saw it coming, I knew that Dad had been right. We had reconciled, but… I had no idea what he had really done for us. He'd already left a message on my phone, a password that would unlock the only generator in existence – the one that he'd hidden on board the Unsealed."

"He gave us the only generator he'd been able to make, and in doing so gave his life," the assassin said. His gaze was unfocused, thoughtful. Strap had plucked a tissue from a nearby container and was trying to covertly dab at her eyes. Bulma looked at her, seemingly ready to start crying herself. This is just getting maudlin. Come on, man.

"So you three managed to survive an entire universe being erased," Vegeta said. The eyes of the rest swung in his direction. "You do realize what you've done."

"Upset the multiversal balance, probably causing… um… all kinds of weird shit to happen," Strap said. She abruptly looked nervous, glancing in her husband's direction. "It's not getting bad, is it? I mean, the null-space field is barely large enough to fit the Unsealed into."

"Bad enough that the entire pantheon sent me here to deal with it," Vegeta said, scowling. Sure, let's just invent a machine that can defy the King of All. I mean, I understand wanting to survive, but this is a little extreme.

"Yeah… look, we were sensor-blind to anything outside of the field for an extremely long time. If we drop the field, we're dust," Strap said. She pounded a fist on the table, glaring at Vegeta. "In the last six months, the only thing we managed to pick up was that universe coming into existence about two hours ago. I managed to rig up a wide-area scanner from the scrap I had lying around. Given that I have our personal energy signatures stored, it didn't take long to pick up yours. Or to pick up the corrupted versions of ourselves. Their energy is very similar but just… wrong. You can tell they aren't natural."

"It's been fifteen years since your universe was erased," Vegeta said quietly. "Apparently, your version of Dr. Briefs managed to throw a real wrench into the system. Planets and entire solar systems that were destroyed are coming back into existence, and this corrupted universe is growing like a literal tumor. That's why we're here to stop it."

"Then we'll assist," the assassin said. He relaxed against the wall, like a lean shadow made out of sinew and iron. "Ironically, that universe is the only place where we can set foot without being instantly erased. If we stop the rogue universe, the crisis is over, correct?"

"No," Vegeta replied, scowling at his analogue. "You three even being in existence is screwing things up. Seriously. Even Reis couldn't figure out why it was happening. Now I understand why."

"So, you're saying that we should be erased then?" the assassin asked. He made no move toward the hilt of his sword, but Vegeta could suddenly readiness emanating from him. I think… he might actually be able to kill me before I could respond. His ki is deceptive, very weak when observed. It shoots up suddenly when he readies himself, and then drops almost instantly. If I had ki control like this, I would have already beaten Kakarot and possibly also Broly.

"No," Vegeta said. "We can talk about all of you later on. We need to get the artifact back from the Emperor."

The assassin and Strap stared at him.

"He's another version of us," Vegeta said. "But he's… uh…"

"Pure evil," Bulma said firmly. "He's more like Frieza then anything else. Also, our analogue is apparently into human experimentation. Great place to visit."

"Lovely," the assassin said. He walked over and stood by Vegeta, who looked up at him warily. "Let's go spar. If we don't fight, we're never going to say anything worthwhile."

"About time," Vegeta said. He stood and loosened up his shoulders. "Come on."

TRUNKS

The small gymnasium was extremely well up kept, if lightweight by the standards of the heir to Capsule Corporation. In the middle of it, Trunks had to move quickly to evade an arm-lock. His analogue had turned out to be a decidedly odd fighter, an enthusiastic grappler who was very, very hard to land blows on. He'd been narrowly escaping holds for the last five minutes, mostly without any real grace, as the grinning girl kept the pressure on him.

"So… why the sword?" she asked. As he prepared himself to defend against another grappling attempt, she snap-punched him in the chest. He staggered back a step, wincing with pain, and then intercepted her next strike and landed a chop to the side of her neck. It was her turn to step back, grimacing and breathing through her teeth.

"A couple of gods gave it to me," he said casually. That was the coolest thing I will ever say. Nailed the delivery too. Who's the man?

"Right. Gods. Sure," she said. God dammit. She reached out to snag hold of one of his legs and he dropped back and kicked her square in the chin. She recoiled, a thin line of blood coming from the corner of her mouth. "You wanna play? Okay, let's play."

Trunks almost started laughing, but was interrupted by a sudden flurry of blows. The grappler turned into a striker and started unloading on him, flaring with golden energy as she transformed. He did the same, and began to retaliate. Sweat flew off of them as bruises erupted across their bodies. The deck plates beneath them began to crack. After a full minute of exchanging blows at speed, Trunks suddenly became aware of a noise: applause. The two children stopped mid-strike, frozen in ludicrous poses.

"That's pretty good," his father's voice said.

"He can do better," his father's voice also said. I uh… really don't need two Dads. Really, really don't.

"Give them a break, they're sparring for the first time," the leaner Vegeta said. He removed the scabbard from his belt and hung it on a series of pegs on the wall. He then formed a ball of white ki in his palm and shaped the energy into a long blade, with the same dimensions as his real sword. "Blunted ki blade. I won't be much of a challenge unarmed, I'm afraid."

"A weapon fighter? Why?" the more muscular Vegeta asked.

"Because I prefer it," the leaner Vegeta said. "Why do you care?"

"Because it's… just… I don't understand why you would bother. We have the kind of power that makes unarmed strikes more powerful than any weapon," Trunks' father said.

"You obviously haven't seen my sword in action," Garter's father retorted. Garter leaned over to speak to Trunks covertly.

"Personally, I prefer unarmed combat. I practice with the ki knife just enough to keep Dad happy," she confessed.

The first parry, fist-to-blade, sent sparks flying across the gym. Both boy and girl escaped to one of the walls, watching intently. The two Vegetas flew into action, launching strike after strike. Neither could land a blow on the other, their skills proving exactly equal. He's actually really good. I didn't think someone could actually swordfight like this. Well, I mean… why not? He's me, after all. Vegeta ducked under the assassin's blade and then kicked him in the stomach. The assassin rolled with the blow, whirling and delivering a crack across one of Vegeta's shoulders. A series of ki blasts peppered the assassin, forcing him back against the wall. With a fierce grin, Vegeta brought his arms back against his body.

"GALLIC-"

"Dad, no!" Trunks shouted. Oh, wait. We're on a spaceship. Shit. Caught out, Vegeta ended up having to ground and reabsorb the energy, an annoying process that took far too long. The assassin waited, leaning on his blade and grinning.

"You do realize you almost killed all of us," the assassin said.

"Shut up," Vegeta replied. Without another word, he transformed and flew at his analogue, fists at the ready. To his surprise, his leaner duplicate did not answer with his own transformation. He simply became faster. Each blow was countered, each combination neutralized. Frustrated, Vegeta transformed again and redoubled his efforts. At Super Saiyan Two, even his analogue's masterful swordwork could not keep his strikes away. Finally, with a resigned look, the assassin transformed into Super Saiyan. He barely increased in size, staying compact but gaining a massive amount of fighting power. His blade lit up from within, converting from white to gold and beginning to crackle with little bolts of energy.

"I hate having to use this," the assassin said with clear distaste. He glared at his analogue. "I guess it is acceptable for sparring, but I consider it unprofessional."

"Why? Why would you hide being a Super Saiyan?" Vegeta demanded.

"Because I'm an assassin. Being lit up by a giant sparking golden aura really isn't my thing," the assassin replied. "I mean, I've got a few tricks left, but… I don't really need Super Saiyan. I personally fulfilled ninety-four contracts, and I only needed to transform twice. Once was for protection from vacuum, the other was because I had to kill another Super Saiyan."

"Another Super Saiyan? Who?" Vegeta asked. "Was it Kakarot?"

"Kakarot? The delivery guy? No," the assassin said, clearly incredulous. "He's a good guy, I don't think anybody would take a contract out on him. I've hired him myself a couple of times. God, no. It was some punk named Turles. I'll be honest, I was in a pretty bad mood and I didn't really catch what he was up to. I just flew in, killed him, and flew out."

"Wait, Goten's dad is a delivery guy? Like, he works for the Space Post Office or something?" Trunks asked from the sideline.

"I don't know this Goten, but yeah. Sort of," Garter said. She leaned against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. "He charges a lot of money, but he will transport anything to anywhere, period. He will literally fight his way across a warzone to deliver a pizza."

"She's not exaggerating, he actually did that," the assassin said, grinning. "He's some kind of genius. Invented his own perfect job, now he gets paid to fly into places he's never seen, fight people he's never met, and get paid for it."

"And you're not envious of this? Not at all?" Vegeta asked. The assassin blinked, then shook his head.

"Do you have any idea what assassins get paid? I used to work three days out of the month and take home millions. It was stupid," the assassin said. "I paid for this ship, every part of it except for that generator the old man bolted on. I'm not envious of anyone, brother. Honestly. You see my wife? You see my daughter? You see my ship? Almost everything I need is right here."

"You really mean that," Vegeta said. The assassin simply nodded. "I almost hate to do this, but allow me to teach you a little envy."

With that, blue light broke out and filled the gymnasium. When it finally faded, Vegeta stood before his analogue as a fully powered Super Saiyan God. The assassin whistled in appreciation.

"I can't sense you any more. Godly ki, right? Damn, good on you," the assassin said. Huh. He's actually content? Like, really content? I'm disappointed. We're more different than I thought.

"You seem complacent to me," Vegeta said through the azure haze. The assassin merely looked at him. Dammit, say something. Be provoked. Do… anything but just stare at me. "You do not seek to become stronger? Where is your Saiyan pride? In my universe, I was the Prince of All Saiyans."

"As was I, for a time," the assassin said. "Father died when I was young, poisoned by some vengeful noble he'd humiliated. Mother decided to take over as regent until I was of age."

"Mother? If your mother is anything like my mother," Vegeta trailed off, aghast.

"Exactly the same. Awful. Political sense of a sea mammal," the assassin said. "Two entire systems seceded, she does nothing. She sells a third to a potential rival. Then she tries to marry me to the rival's daughter, this incredibly ugly little being that I had trouble identifying as female."

"I take it you objected," Vegeta said mildly.

"I broke my own mother's nose and left," he said. "Last I looked, Tarble… excuse me, King Tarble, married her and took over the throne. The new Queen, I believe her name was Gure, surprised everybody by being just as talented as our mother was not."

"You don't mind this either? You could have been the King," Vegeta said.

"Didn't want it. After watching Mother screw it up for years, no way," the assassin replied. "You have no idea how happy I was after I left. I was free. No more stupid ceremonies, no more dumb obligations, just a whole universe to explore. However, for the first time in my life, I was also broke. I offered to take care of a little problem someone had, word got around, and suddenly… yeah."

"So you're like Universe Fifteen's version of Hit," Vegeta mused thoughtfully.

"Wait, you know Hit?" the assassin said, surprised. "The same Hit? Hit from Universe Six?"

"Yes, that Hit," Vegeta said. "How do you know him?"

"Well, we have the same… uh…" the assassin looked sheepish as his voice grew faint.

"You can say that it's High Priest-sama, we already know," Trunks said, sounding almost bored. The look on his analogue's face made Vegeta snort with amusement. He actually reacts to things. Amazing.

"Well, yes. That's how we met," the assassin said. "Wait a minute. How many times had you encountered him? He never mentioned that he literally met a different version of you?"

"Not once," Vegeta said, shaking his head.

"Great," his analogue replied. "Garter, remember this. Never trust an alien in a trench coat."

"Way ahead of you, Dad," Garter said.