Author's note: So, I thought that while I was back home in New Zealand for a month visiting family and friends, that I would have plenty of time to write, but it turns out that I was wrong! I got no writing at all done there, as we were in a constant state of socialising, travelling or drama. And when we got back here I had major jet lag that merged seamlessly into the flu that I probably caught on the plane, and had me sick for a whole week. Through that period we had some more drama involving my company's bullshit immigration and benefits department, which is kind of sorted, but not completely, and almost left us without health insurance. I finally got around to finishing this chapter after I started back at work, and then my husband broke his elbow ice skating, so thank fuck for that health insurance! There's just been a lot going on that I didn't expect, and a spouse with a broken elbow who needs and operation is more to deal with than I would have anticipated.

OMG, so much moaning!

Anyway, than you to everyone that voting for this work or Illuminary Inc in The Prince and the Heiress Annual Awards! This fic came first place in the Honorific Mention: 10 Years Older or Less category, and Illuminary Inc came in second place for Honorific Mention: 1 Year Older or Less category. I'm so happy so many people like them!

Also, thank you to Froglady15 for beta reading this chapter and the last. Adli has new baby, so I won't be bugging her with beta requests for a while I think.


'So, I need someone with reliable energy output and fine control for the test.'

Vegeta looked down at the mess on the lounge floor as he finished up a box of what Bulma called Grain-Os from her stash of Earth supplies. They were slightly sweet, relatively tasteless, and weren't going to go far to fill up the hollow under his ribs, but he appreciated the Earth milk and the gesture.

'You need me, then,' he concluded.

'It could be dangerous.'

'You just told me you were planning on going up there.'

'Yes, but I kind of have to.'

'You could tell me how to control it, and I'll go alone.'

It looked like she actually considered it for a moment. 'No, not possible yet. It's a very manual process and you won't be able to control it and power it at the same time. Plus, you wouldn't be able to make adjustments on the fly. No, I need to go.'

She bit her lip. He supposed he should feel nervous if she felt nervous, but instead he was adrift in the pleasant sensation of lightness that had come over him. She called it clearing the air, but for him, he felt as if half the weight on his chest had fallen away.

'Have you ever built any tech that failed?' he asked.

Her face screwed up. 'Hmm. Well, no.'

'What makes you think you might fail this time?'

She gave him a smile that lifted him another fraction of an inch off his feet.

'That this is the most difficult invention I, or possibly anyone on Earth, has ever attempted to create.'

'I have full confidence in you.' He wasn't sure exactly where this confidence came from, but for the moment it was true.

'You have no idea how complex the science behind this wormhole business is, which is why you're saying that.'

Which was true. He didn't. 'Perhaps. But your record is spotless. There is no shadow of doubt that I recruited the cleverest ships mechanic in all the galaxy.'

'You call it recruiting, I call it kidnapping.'

'All right, I kidnapped the cleverest mechanic in the galaxy.'

'Very true. But you forgot that I am also the prettiest mechanic.' She batted her eyelids. Vegeta snorted.

'Don't push your luck, woman, the flattery well is dry for now.'

'What a stingy well!'

Vegeta tried not to smile, and shoved the last spoonful of cereal in his mouth to hide it. Then he lifted the serving bowl to his mouth to drink the milk.

'When are we doing this?' he asked when he was done.

'I should be ready sometime around mid afternoon tomorrow.'

He nodded, feeling the weight beginning to return to him. What would he do until then? He didn't relish the thought of mingling with the others one bit. He supposed he would have to face them now, unless he was planning on hiding out in Bulma's house. But that would look cowardly. He couldn't allow that. In fact, he should go over there as soon as possible to show he was not scared.

'I'm going to go get more food off the ship before everyone goes to sleep,' he said.

Bulma raised her brows. 'A whole box and you're still hungry?'

'Charred lizard is worse than even Grenouillean cuisine.'

'Charred lizard sounds exactly like Grenouillean cuisine!'

He laughed and turned for the door, clutching at the moment of cheerfulness to get him through the next few minutes.

'Well, if you're going over there, don't forget to tell them how you were wrong about me being a two-faced whore.'

He cringed slightly and opened the door. He would be doing no such thing. It seemed like she read his mind, though.

'I'm serious, Vegeta!'

He turned in the opened doorway. She wasn't smiling any more.

'What purpose would that serve?'

'You insulted me in front of everyone, you can damn well take it back in front of them, too!'

'I can't do that!'

'Yes, you can! Just go over there and say, "Hey, everyone! Turns out I was all wrong about Bulma's whorishness and the number of faces she has! My bad!"'

'The first thing I do after my return will not be to make some sort of gesture of humility.'

Bulma was flushing red, and not with embarrassment. Guessing what was coming he quickly closed the door again.

'Do you think I give a crap about your humiliation after what you called me?' She practically roared it - he would be surprised if someone didn't hear even with the door closed.

'I am in a weak position,' he said in a low voice, trying to calm her by example. He was loathe to even admit this, but it seemed pointless to hide the bald facts, especially from Bulma who would have fathomed them anyway. 'I am a toppled leader returning as a second. I can't very well show more weakness the moment I return!'

'It isn't weakness to admit your mistakes! A good leader does that!'

Ah ha! He had her now. 'And when was the last time you publicly admitted your mistakes?'

'When was the last time I made any?'

They glared at each other while Vegeta wracked his brain for an example.

'When you sedated me on Namek, while seducing me!'

She recoiled, but rallied. 'That was months ago! And I did apologise, and paid your shity reparations for it, remember? Besides! That was before we had an agreement - before we had trust!'

'Then what about the time you gave yourself alcohol poisoning in the presence of Raditz, of all people?'

Bulma blushed. 'Well, I did apologize to Goku and Krillin for that - I'm sorry if you don't recall.'

'You didn't apologize to me! I was the one that had to take care of you in that revolting state, worrying that you might just die.'

'Oh.' She hesitated. 'Well, sorry then.'

'What for?'

'For making you worry. And clean up puke. That was gross. Sorry.'

'Now you can say it in public.'

'No!'

'You're making me!'

'It's not the same! That was something private between you and I. But you insulted me in front of everyone! What if I don't want them thinking that I'm okay with letting that slide, huh? Doesn't that make me look weak?'

Their stand-off lapsed into silence as Vegeta searched her arguments for inconsistencies. He had to avert his eyes from her glare eventually, to better concentrate. There appeared to be no logical flaw in what she said, though. And if he considered the situation with the roles reversed...he probably would insist on something similar.

'It'll take ten seconds, Vegeta,' she said eventually. 'Then you have the rest of your life, or however long you want to bother, to assert yourself with them.'

He sighed. Or maybe it was more of a hiss.

'Fine! What is ten seconds of further humbling on top of the ruination of my life?'

He opened the door, stepped out and was in the act of closing it when he felt her pull it open again. He stood in the doorway and blocked her exit.

'You are not coming with me,' he told her. Damned if he was going to be marched over there like a naughty child forced to apologize by their elder.

'But then how will I know you've-'

'Trust, Bulma,' he said, more mockingly than anything.

'But I want to know what you say.'

'I'm sure you can get a full report from one of the others. Stay here or I'm not doing it.'

She looked like she might argue more, but then she stepped back into the house.

'Okay, then. Will I see you in the morning? I might need some help setting up the generator.'

He nodded vaguely. Any of the others could help her, but if she wanted it to be him it would give him a good excuse not to have to endure the company of the others more than he had to.

'All right, then. Goodnight.'

Vegeta walked towards the campsite with all the haste he would make to his own execution. How was he to go about this? He couldn't take forever, though. The voices at the campfire had already hushed, anticipating his entrance. As he rounded the ship he saw them perched on the logs around the campfire, though by this time they were usually in their blankets and furs by now.

'Hey, welcome back!' said Kakarott, getting to his feet. Vegeta grunted in acknowledgement. Of course Kakarott would be cheerful about this. But then Krillin got to his feet, too.

'Hey, I'm glad you're back, Vegeta!'

Vegeta stopped in his tracks and so did Krillin. Why was the Earthling happy for him to be back?

Krillin chuckled nervously and sat back down. 'Er, that's all I wanted to say.'

'Are you staying?' Tarble asked. Vegeta locked his gaze on the boy, looking for any challenge in the set of his face, but was relieved to see only hopefulness. It seemed he was not entirely unwanted.

'No,' he said, remembering a good excuse for not doing so. 'I'm just here to get some food. I left the signal suppressor at my camp, and the signal will go out soon, but I will return in the morning.'

Nappa made a noise that could possibly be interpreted as derisive if it had been any louder. Vegeta refused to look at him.

'You want me to help you find something to eat?' asked Raditz. Vegeta looked at him in surprise.

'Ah…' Was Raditz offering deference, or...something more like a favour to an equal? 'Yes, in a minute. I just have one thing to say, first.' Instantly he felt his armpits moisten. He made the mistake of glancing at Brolly. The boy sat rigid and tall, his face set like stone.

'A while ago, I mistakenly referred to Bulma as a...two-faced whore. I made that remark based on poor information, and now retract it.'

'Are you saying you were wrong?' Kakarott asked.

'Yes.'

'That's okay, Vegeta, we knew you were wrong at the time,' Kakarott said, nodding his head sagely.

Vegeta quickly cast his eyes around the rest of the campfire to see how the others were taking it. Brolly seemed to have deflated a little. Raditz looked either happy or amused, he wasn't sure which. Nappa's face was full of scorn. Well, of course it was.

'Did she tell you to say that?' his former second asked.

Vegeta stood straighter, attempting to look down his nose at Nappa, which was hard when Nappa topped him even sitting down. 'She rightly wishes the record to be set straight.'

Nappa snorted and then laughed, lifting his lip in a sneer. 'There wasn't anything wrong in what you called her - that girl is a whore whether she thinks so or not, and is as two-faced as they come! All I see is a Saiyan doing exactly what she says.'

Vegeta felt himself flushing red. He wanted to defend himself, but at the same time he could see Nappa's case - he was only admitting he'd been wrong because she was making him.

'Oh, shut up, Nappa!' Krillin snapped.

Nappa sat to attention. 'Hey! Watch how you talk to me, Shrimp!'

'Don't say mean things about our friend, then!' Kakarott, shot back.

Vegeta was amazed by their impertinence towards Nappa, and couldn't decide if he was amused or worried by it. Brolly sat next to Kakarott and Krillin, and Vegeta couldn't stop his eyes sliding to the other boy, despite his wish not to interact with or even see him.

Brolly was looking back and forth between Nappa and the Earthlings and caught Vegeta looking. Their gazes locked, and Vegeta struggled not to react, not to sneer or taunt, or do anything that would be his natural inclination. Brolly tensed, like he might leap from his seat. Vegeta could feel sweat prickle the skin of his forehead.

'Er… You guys okay?' Krillin asked nervously.

'Do you have something you want to say, Brolly?' Vegeta asked in a forced light tone.

'I was just wondering why you came back,' Brolly replied.

This was almost too much for Vegeta. His rage lashed at the insides of him like a serpent of fire, demanding to be let out and attack its target. But if he let it...he might die tonight, long before he ever faced Frieza in battle again.

'I am still a Saiyan,' he said, unable to completely keep the acid out of his voice. 'I wish to live with my fellow Saiyans. Unless you would drive me away.'

Brolly dropped his eyes again, shrugging.

But mere companionship was not the point - he did have other reasons for returning. He took a deep breath.

'I also came back because we Saiyans signed a pact of alliance with the Earthlings. Until we get them back to Planet Namek, we haven't honoured that pact. As a prime signatory of the treaty, I can't very well abandon the quest.' He didn't mention that the Earthlings wouldn't fulfill their side of the bargain until Vegeta had defeated Frieza or died trying. He didn't want to draw attention to what was in it for himself. 'I believe I can still help in that quest. That is if you still intend to honour the alliance?'

Brolly looked suddenly unsure, and glanced over at Nappa.

'The so-called treaty is a meaningless scrap of paper,' said Nappa. 'It binds nothing and no one. We Saiyans can do what we want.'

Vegeta waited for the whelp to turn back to him before going on.

'It would be detestable for any of us Saiyans to dishonour a treaty signed in all our names.'

'That we never agreed to,' Nappa added quietly.

'There's a real lot of people from Earth who are dead right now,' Kakarott said to Brolly. 'Of course you wanna do the right thing!'

Vegeta leapt on that angle. 'It would crush Bulma and the other Earthlings to lose every person they have ever known, for good.'

Brolly's mouth sagged open. He looked appalled. 'Then of course we should honour it.'

'I'm glad we agree.' Vegeta wanted to sag with relief that this detestable situation had a way forward, but he held himself up straight. 'Raditz, I'll take that food, now.'

Puar and the younger boys converged on Brolly, telling him he had made the right decision. Raditz got up from his seat and loped up the rampway. Vegeta was about to follow when Nappa spoke up, not so loud that he got the attention of the boys, but loud enough for Vegeta to hear.

'I never thought I'd ever see you of all people so corrupted by a female.'

Vegeta turned. 'I believe I am doing what my father would want me to. Avenge him and my people.'

'Oh, I believe you are doing exactly what your father would do. Bending and scraping for some ball-busting woman with an agenda. I thought if I raised you right it couldn't happen to you, but I guess some things just run in the blood.' Then Nappa's face came alive with revelation, his eyes popping wide. 'That it, isn't it? Did you mate her?'

'What?' scoffed Vegeta. 'Who? How? When?'

'Bulma! Did you mate with her?'

'No!'

But the old man ignored Vegeta's denial, instead staring ahead, seeing into some other time or fantasy world in his head.

'There was a rumour, back in the day, that the King had mated with that bitch Aubergina. I didn't believe it at the time - because how could the most elite of the Elites fall victim to such a primitive urge? But now I'm not so sure. Not when his son has gone absolutely lame over an alien girl. It makes sense.'

'That's absolutely ridiculous!'

'I know something that's even more ridiculous.'

Vegeta growled, finally gaining the attention of the others. 'Don't push me, Nappa. I'll still yank your fucking tail off!'

That shut him up. Vegeta stalked up the rampway and joined Raditz in the kitchen, staring sightlessly at the items Raditz was piling on the bench.

'This is what we had tonight - a kind of fish pie. Not bad, I thought. Do you want me to heat some up for you?'

'I don't care what it is,' said Vegeta. Then he huffed, still angry from Nappa's last words. 'Nappa is losing it.'

'What makes you say that?' Raditz replied, loading a container into the heating unit.

'He suddenly thinks that my parents were mated, which is the first I have ever heard of such a thing!'

'Your parents? But I thought no one knew who your mother was?'

Vegeta bit his lip, realising that between Nappa and Raditz he had just given out enough information for them to figure out that he knew Aubergina was his mother, if the two of them talked. Then again, Nappa already more than suspected. He sighed.

'Well, everyone seems to think Aubergina was my mother, and I suppose there is some evidence to suggest that she was.'

Raditz stopped all movement and stared at Vegeta. Dammit, he knew what the big moron was thinking about - he was thinking about Tarble!

'Anyhow! It's just an outrageous suggestion!' he exclaimed as a distraction. 'And he asked me if Bulma and I are mated! The man is insane!'

Raditz was distracted all right. 'Mated to Bulma!' He burst into laughter. 'Oh, gods! That's hilarious!' Vegeta laughed, too, until Raditz's laughter went on and on, unabated, and then Vegeta began to get annoyed.

'It is not that funny.'

Raditz tried to calm himself by fetching a salad bowl to dump Vegeta's banquet-sized pie into. Once he'd subsided into half-stifled giggles he finally faced Vegeta again.

'I've never heard of a Saiyan mating with a non-Saiyan before, but Bulma reminds me of a Saiyan woman sometimes… You don't think he could be right, do you?'

'Of course not! Why would you even ask that? Even if it was possible to mate with an Earth woman, I didn't mate her!'

'Are you sure? I mean, I don't know if you'd know for sure, but...'

'I think I would have noticed us going through the mating challenge, the vows, the ceremonial marking, and the witnesses listening in on the consummation!'

Raditz frowned. 'That's not what a mating is!'

'Yes, it is. I remember my history tutor going over it very clearly.'

'No! You're thinking of the old matings of alliance they used to make between tribes. Those were very rarely real matings - it was all ceremony and politics. Do you think my parents consciously went through all that ceremonial junk to become mated? That would have taken conscious effort - they did it by accident.'

Accidental mating? Of course, that made more sense. Why would any sane Saiyan go through so much effort to become the subject of ridicule? But if it was something that could happen by accident… No, not possible. He wasn't even going to entertain the thought that Nappa was right.

'All right, then, Expert. What makes a "real" mating? Enlighten me on the primitive ways.'

That squeezed the last of the humour out of Raditz with an irritated sigh.

'I don't know. My mother said it all just kind of happened.' He got that same look of discomfort on his face that he always did when talking about his parents' strange bond. At that moment Vegeta was inclined to induce as much discomfort as possible.

'What just happened? Tell me.'

'Urgh. She said that when they first met...they used to argue and sometimes fight, but not like super-serious, you know, because my father could have wiped the floor with her if they were fighting seriously. So, I guess in a way maybe there was a challenge of sorts? I don't know. Then they saved each other's butts a couple of times, and after that they got close. I doubt anyone witnessed any consummation, unless you count me stuck in the room next door trying to block my ears every time my father was on shore leave.'

'And there were no vows?'

Raditz took the pie out of the unit and dumped it into the bowl, turning it into beige and creamy mess of crust and filling.

'I don't know. I remember my mother telling her friend once that she'd never even considered sleeping with another Saiyan after my father, and she claimed he never touched another female, but I don't know if there was any vow.' Raditz's face was puckered like a sphincter holding back a gutsful of bad curry. 'She said that they just slowly realised that it had happened. That it was like slowly realising that this other person is now more important to you than anyone else.'

Cold flashed through Vegeta's visera.

'Even more important than even yourself,' Raditz continued, and Vegeta relaxed again. 'Hard to imagine that.'

'Huh. Primitive instincts.'

Raditz's face darkened. 'Yeah. Guess that's me. Son of primitives. But maybe we both are.'

Vegeta scowled at Raditz but took the bowl and spoon and left without refuting what he'd said. Nothing would surprise him about his father at this point. He was more disturbed by-

No. Nappa had just been trying to needle him, and it had worked. It was impossible, and therefore pointless to consider.


This time Krillin lay still for at least ten minutes after he heard Raditz get up, take items from the ship, and leave camp. Then he calmly shucked his blanket, pulled his pants on, and followed.

By now he was reasonably sure that Raditz was not attempting to flee their company. but he also wouldn't admit where he was going. Krillin's best guess was that he was going to see Anemone, but in that case, why hadn't he just told him that? Krillin was already his secret keeper on that front. It's not like he didn't expect Raditz to want to keep seeing her. In fact, he'd think less of Raditz if he didn't.

So he tracked him across the desert and up the coast. Raditz was keeping his power low, but not so low that Krillin couldn't sense him. He was like a hillock in a field rather than a mountain on a plain, but still easy enough to detect. He was keeping his own power as low as possible, but he guessed that Raditz might also be still able to sense him coming. He would just have to hope that Raditz wasn't actively checking for someone tailing him.

As Krillin approached Sweet-Stuff Village though, he could tell that Raditz wasn't there. He flew straight over Anemone's apartment, sensing nothing, Nor was Raditz in the next town North where Anemone sometimes worked. Krillin slowed to a stop above the town after that, hardly believing his chi sense.

I'm not sure I even want to know what he's doing down in Boys Town.

He set down at the end of a quiet side street and followed the rest of the trail on foot, into the main street and through the exclusively-male late-night crowd. He tried desperately not to make eye contact with anyone on the way. When he got to the building that housed Raditz's chi he moaned aloud in dismay. It was a strip club called Young Bucks.

Please tell me this is just a mistake! he begged the universe in general. An innocent explanation that I'm just not seeing! He thought he knew Raditz, and he didn't like to think that he could have missed the fact that he was into underage boys!

He dithered for several long minutes. Here he was again, standing outside some den of vice, waiting on a Saiyan to show up freshly soaked in it. He would have thought that living with Master Roshi would have prepared him for dealing with the lecherous behaviours of his elders, but he'd been wrong.

I've got two choices, he figured. Go back to camp without letting on I was here and never saying anything. Or go inside and find out what's really happening. If Raditz is really in there there ogling underage boys, someone has to tell him to stop! That it's wrong!

He found he felt angry enough to cross the street and enter the glad lobby of the club. Ahead, the view into the club was blocked by a velvet curtain and a huge bouncer. Krillin approached the ticket desk, and a reed-like alien of no discernable gender at the credit machine. He would have to sweet-talk himself in somehow - he didn't have any credit chips.

'Oh, boys can go in free of charge, honey,' said the ticket vendor. 'Except the fifth night of the week, when it's Boys' Night.'

'Oh.' A shudder ran through Krillin's body. 'Thanks.'

'Do you want to buy some vouchers, though?' The vendor waved something that looked like a book of raffle tickets.

'No, I'm good, thank you.'

Behind the curtain the club was dark except for the spasmodically flashing lights of the stage, reflecting off chrome and mirrored stage ornaments. Bodies writhed up there. Krillin tried not to look, which was easy, as he was shorter than most of the patrons. Instead he walked through a crowd that smelled like alcohol and sweat and the wildly varied perfumes and colognes of the galaxy. But Raditz's chi was drawing him closer to the stage.

'Oh heck,' he muttered, about to chicken out and leave. He was only a couple of men back from the front of the stage, and he could see glimpses of a dancer down on all fours on the edge of it. One of the men in the front row must be Raditz. He was staring at their backs, thinking that none of them looked tall or broad-shouldered enough, when the man in front of him stepped aside, and Krillin was left with an unencumbered view of the dancer.

It was not a boy, but a man in tiger-striped furry underwear, his head thrown back while he gyrated down low, his long, thick braids hitting the floor behind him. Those raffle-ticket looking papers were tucked in the top of the underwear and scattered on the ground around him. As Krillin watched, a man in the front row reached out and stuck a paper ticket to the glistening abdominal muscles...of Raditz.

'What...the...?'

As if he had heard that whisper amid the din of the club, Raditz raised his cat-ear decorated head again and looked out into the crowd. Krillin couldn't seem to look away in time and in the instant their eyes met Raditz reared back and fell over, toppling into his ass on stage. He was on his feet again in an instant and turned to run, then appeared to have second thoughts, returning to snatch up the pieces of paper off the stage. This done, he glowered at Krillin, his face beet red, mouthed something that looked like 'I'll kill you!' and then moved off further down the stage, out of Krillin's sight.

Krillin was no less confused after this revelation, and stood dumbly until the tall, strapping patron next to him bent down to shout in his ear, 'So, do you do private dances?'

'Give it up for Manchild and The Radness!' a voice said over a PA system just as Krillin was making all haste for the exit. 'Two young beefcakes who love to be seen flexing those perfect young physiques!'

He waited outside for at least another hour before Raditz came out, having changed back out of his Sphere Field Tournament costume.

'Why are you here, Baldie?' he said as he pushed by him, heading for the edge of town.

'To see why you kept leaving camp in the middle of the night,' said Krillin, following him.

'Well now you know. Satisfied?'

'Not really. I don't...I don't understand what I just saw! Raditz, why would you be stripping? In Boys Town?'

'For money, you idiot! Why else?'

Some pedestrians coming the other way halted in their tracks and crossed the road.

Krillin followed him, still confused. Was Raditz so dedicated to their mission that he'd strip for creepy dudes in this hell hole? Somehow he didn't think so.

They were getting to the end of the lamp-lit street, so Krllin spoke before Raditz could take off into the sky.

'Is the money for passage through the Centennial Wormhole?'

'No.'

'For partying?'

'No!'

'Then for what?'

Raditz turned on him. 'It's for Anemone, of course!' He pulled a credit chip out of his battered training suit and showed it to Krillin. The faintly lit figures showed a healthy number just below two thousand credits. 'It's money to replace what she lost betting on me! I've almost got enough.'

'Oh.'

Raditz took to the air, and Krillin followed, digesting this. About halfway back to camp, he sped up to come alongside Raditz.

'Wow, you really like Anemone, huh?'

'I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't!' Then he growled. 'Krillin, if you ever tell anyone, I will dismember you. I'm serious!'

'I won't.' He wasn't sure if it was the stripping or the liking of Anemone that Raditz didn't want shared, but Krillin would keep quiet about both. 'You're still seeing her?'

'When I can manage to sneak away.'

'Why do you even sneak, though?'

Raditz gave him an incredulous glance. 'I don't think Vegeta would think it the best use of my time.'

'Vegeta wasn't even around the last few days, and I don't think Brolly's going to care. Why not just say, "Hey guys, going to see my girlfriend!"?'

'Because that's why!' Raditz exclaimed.

'Why?'

'She's not my "girlfriend". Saiyans don't have such things.'

'Oh really. Don't they? Because if there was a girl I really liked, and we were having… If we were seeing each other, like you and Anemone are, I mean, and I wanted to see her badly enough that I snuck out to see her and also stripped for a bunch of horny dudes when I didn't even have to, because I felt bad for her losing some money...I think I would think of her as my girlfriend.'

'Yes, but you're an Earthling. If the others knew, they'd take it all the wrong way.'

'They'd take it as you have a girlfriend.'

'They'd take it as I mated some alien chick like a total loser of a third class throwback! Which I didn't, by the way. I just like her and feel bad that she lost her money betting on me.'

'Oh.' Krillin let it drop. He wasn't clear on the distinction, nor why Raditz felt so defensive about it. 'So, why did you pick, uh, that job to make the money for Anemone?'

Raditz groaned. 'While we were in the tournament, the owner of Young Bucks offered me a slot dancing if I happened to want it. He said I had some flair or some shit like that, and some of his regular patrons were showing up to my fights. I almost punched him in the fucking face at the time, but I didn't because I knew him from when we were selling aclohol to his club. The guy knows too much about me. But the kind of money he said could be made in a night sounded reasonable, and after Dex shut down the tournament, I couldn't think of any other way to make money that easy or fast.'

That kind of made sense. But Krillin's mind was still caught up on the details.

'Is it really all that easy letting creepy guys tuck paper into your undies?'

'You know what? Just shut up, Krillin.'

'Shutting up.'


Bulma made sure she had her report on Vegeta's public apology first thing in the morning, dragging Puar into her house before breakfast to tell the tale. Now, to hear it, she realised she'd been skeptical that he'd go through with it. Maybe it showed on her face, because Puar said, unprompted, 'I think he really does feel bad about it. Or, least, he feels stupid about it.'

'Hmm.'

It brightened her mood a bit, and amused her a little, until her preparations for the wormhole generator test started to make her nervous again. When Vegeta knocked on her front door, his face was completely sober and solemn.

They interrupted the others' breakfast to tell them what they were about to do, and what they should do if it all went wrong.

'I am reasonably confident of success,' Bulma finished with. 'And almost a hundred percent certain that it won't end in disaster. But if it does, you all have to carry on the mission in any way you can.'

Krillin and Goku looked like she'd just hit them upside the head with a trout.

'Wait, Bulma,' said Goku. 'If it's that dangerous, is it actually worth it? I'm okay with plan C and fighting our way through the Centennial Wormhole thingee.'

'That's because you don't realise how dangerous your "Plan C" is,' said Vegeta, who had been silent until now. 'It's Plan C for a reason - a single laser cannon or chi blast could destroy any vessel we are on, and it won't be a matter of who is strongest, but who can survive in a vacuum.'

'Even plan D?' suggested Krillin. 'I don't like the thought of ship-jacking people, but maybe if it was targeted, like taking the freighter from the pirates?'

'Good luck with that,' Nappa chuckled.

'You'd need at least two ships taken cleanly, and then find the right buyers for them,' Vegeta said. 'I don't think it would be wise to steal a ship close to Baccanelli and then sell it here too. You'd need to take it elsewhere, which would take some time in itself.' Then he turned toward Bulma. 'Though perhaps we should be trying that before this?'

Bulma considered it. She was not above stealing innocent people's spaceships, not even, perhaps, though she would feel guilt over it forever, above them getting hurt in the process of being ship-jacked if it would get her parents and all the people of Earth back. But it was...not very noble to risk the safety and lives of others to avoid a risk to her own. She had told Vegeta not to kill innocent people. Was she going to condone it now? Besides, if this thing worked, and she thought it would, she would be a Galaxy-class genius. She could come back to Earth knowing that she was the goddess of technology whose invention (okay, with the help of a certain fortune-telling physicist) had saved an entire planet! How could she walk away from her wormhole generator without even knowing if it worked?

'I'm still game to test this thing, if you are.'

'Alright, then.'

'Let me come!' said Brolly, suddenly. He was gripping the log he was sitting on, unconsciously crushing handfuls of timber to splinters.

Bulma tried not to cringe. That was all she needed - Vegeta and Brolly confined in a small space together.

'No, it's okay, Brolly. I only need one person to help power the generator.'

'But I could help if something goes wrong.'

'I'd rather expose as few people to the possibility of danger as I can.'

His face was the picture of anxiety. 'Please don't do the test.'

Bulma closed her mouth. Was Brolly about to make this A Thing?

'It's essential to the mission,' Vegeta pointed out.

'There are other ways.'

'It's their lives,' Nappa said. 'Let them take the risk if they want.' Bulma hated the inference that it was Brolly's decision whether to let her and Vegeta do this or not, but at least Nappa was arguing on their side - for whatever reason. And it seemed to work.

Brolly's shoulders slumped. 'I guess. I hope nothing goes wrong.'


There was not a lot left to set up. She and Vegeta tested the seal on the newly widened cable access to the exterior mount and clamped the new dedicated control panel to the console on the flight deck. She found Vegeta to be an able helper, and less chatty than Tarble, which was not a bad thing when she needed to concentrate. She had expected him to be more difficult.

'I thought you'd be second-guessing me more,' she said eventually, while they were testing the electronics and motor on the telescopic arm. Vegeta was above her on the ladder, supporting the weight of the telescopic arm while she controlled it via her laptop.

'Why would I?' he asked. 'High technology is not my field of expertise.'

'Hmm,' she replied, taking the opportunity to admire the view of his backside. The battered orange training suit was still tight enough to show everything off, especially at close quarters. If only this ass wasn't attached to such an ass. Though, to be fair, he was being much less of an ass now that he was back, and she was very glad he was back. She felt a surge of fondness towards him, unable to resist the feeling that he was her ass.

He leaned back to better hold up the arm as it reached its maximum extension, the end of it waving around wildly, and giving her a better view of his arms and shoulders. She was so intent on this that she fumbled and almost dropped her laptop.

'What are you doing down there?' he asked. 'How much longer must I play Saiyan scaffolding?'

Yes, still an ass, she reminded herself. Don't fall down that hole again, Bulma!

Shortly after lunch the others were banished to the plain above the ravine, and Bulma and Vegeta went up to the flight deck. Bulma opened her laptop. Her hands were shaking just a little.

'Ready?'

Vegeta nodded, taking a seat in the other pilot's chair. 'I'll take us up. Do we need to be out of orbit?'

'Preferably out of the solar system,' she replied. 'If this goes wrong, I don't want to take a whole star system with me.'

Vegeta looked at her, his facade of confidence cracked.

'I'm like, 99.99 percent sure that won't happen.'

He grunted. 'I suppose that's better odds than I faced against Frieza last time I met him.'

They rose quickly from the surface of Baccanelli, Bulma feeling as always, nauseated by the G-forces of the sudden ascent, but as soon as they were high enough above the ground and the gravity generator kicked in, she felt entirely better. Vegeta guided the ship for about half an hour until they were a reasonable distance from any planetary body, all in silence. Bulma was busy doing final sanity checks on her calculations, and there didn't seem much to say anyway. Her mouth was dry.

'Is this far enough?' Vegeta asked softly.

She nodded. He slowed the ship, and after a few minutes, it was stationary, or appeared to be.

'Here we go,' Bulma whispered, and turned the control panel on. Everything to control both the arm and the generator was in this panel, which was a heavy duty insulated case with a crystal display and a two thick cords coming out connected to gloves that were lined with, and wrapped around, the best conductors that Bulma could lay her hands on. The cables were so thick that the gloves stood up in the air at the end of them like eyes on a snail's antennae. She plugged her laptop into the panel so that she could make fine adjustments to the program and get more in-depth feedback, but the program itself was in the panel.

Taking her position at the panel she powered that up, too, and pressed the on-screen controls to extend the arm. At first they couldn't see it over the bulge of the top surface of the ship, but once it was out far enough they could see the payload, bobbing slightly as the servos stopped at the end of their range.

Bulma wiped her hands on her shorts and stood back. 'So, you're going to take the, er, reins, so to speak, and when I say, push some of your chi into the unit.'

'How much?'

'Well, I don't know how to tell you how much. So I guess we're going to start with an insignificant amount and work our way up. We might have to start over a few times if it's such a small amount that it fails to open any quantum foam bubble at all, but at least we'll have an idea of what is safe.'

'And if I put in too much?'

'Well, I've put a cap in that will just spill excess chi into space above the level we need to produce a space-time bubble. And I think it's set slightly on the conservative side, according to my calculations, so I will mostly likely need to adjust that threshold, but… This has never been attempted before, so who knows?'

'Who knows, as in I might melt the ship? Or I might send us through an uncharted, unstable wormhole?'

'Either of those things. Or crush ourselves in a singularity.'

He abruptly turned on his heel.

'Where are you going?' she shouted as he ran down the stairs to the main desk.

'Going to get something.'

Shortly after he ran back up the stairs holding a saggy thing with an air tank attached.

'Put this on,' he told her.

She made a face at the emergency spacesuit. Was he trying to protect her? She appreciated the sentiment, but…

'It won't help if we crush ourselves into a singularity.'

'But it will help if we merely accidentally tear the ship apart.'

She felt another bubble of fear burst and coat her insides with cold. 'Okay. But it won't save you.'

He shook his head. 'I can survive long enough to get us into the airlock, and then hopefully the others can rescue us in the freighter or the shuttle before we run out of air. But knowing how fragile you are, without a spacesuit you'd be dead before I could get you in the airlock if the ship ruptured.'

She nodded, and put the suit on, grateful he had thought of this. Just before she pulled the helmet on she pressed her transponder. The hundred billion kilometres between her laptop and their comms units put them out of range by a few orders of magnitude, but for today she had routed the comms system through the ship's computer to the receiver on the shuttle.

'Hey, guys, you might want to prep the shuttle just in case you need to mount a rescue mission. We're going to be checking in with you every five minutes or so. If we stop, or if we ask for help, please come and get us. Do you copy?'

There was a lag in the response. 'Sure, Bulma,' Raditz said. 'Can you send us your location?'

Vegeta was already punching displays on the ship's console. 'Doing now.'

'Maybe we should get into orbit, to give ourselves a head start, if we need it?'

'Good idea,' said Vegeta. 'You know I hate to be kept waiting.'

There was a pause and then a snigger from the other end.

They waited until Raditz reported that he, Kakarott, Krillin, Tarble and Puar were in position. Bulma wondered why Nappa and Brolly weren't on board, but not for long.

'We're in orbit, too,' Brolly's voice came sharp and clear over the comms. 'Nappa and I are in the freighter, just in case.'

'The ship is going to be faster than the shuttle over that distance,' Nappa chimed in. 'I would have thought someone could have worked that calculation out pretty easily.'

'Thank you, Nappa,' Bulma responded, feeling annoyed, because she didn't know what the acceleration rates and top speeds of either the freighter or shuttle were, so hadn't even tried to work it out. To be shown up in a technical matter but Nappa of all people was galling.


'They're off to a good start,' Nappa muttered to Brolly in the slightly dank and musty freighter cockpit. 'I predict miserable failure.'

'Don't say that!' Brolly said. He felt sick with worry. 'Do you think we will be able to save them if it all goes wrong?'

'Don't know,' said Nappa. 'It will probably depend on whether there is anything to save.'

Brolly raised a hand to his mouth and chewed on his knuckles. 'What do we do if they both die?' he whispered.

'I suppose, some kind of memorial service. The Earthlings are very sentimental. But it would be very convenient for you if Vegeta was gone.'

Brolly wouldn't argue with that, but it missed the point. Bulma would also be gone.

'You don't want some bitter ex-prince dogging your heels for the rest of your life. You've seen what he's like already - trying to call the shots for everyone like he's still in charge. He'll never really accept that you are our leader now.'

Brolly wished he could shrink. Here Nappa was bringing this up again. 'Do you really think I could be the leader of the Saiyans?'

'What? You already are! From the moment your chi turned to fire! You just didn't know it yet. You're the Saiyan Saviour!'

Brolly felt a mere touch of gratification before his anxiety reared again. He didn't know the first thing about leading anyone to salvation. He wasn't even sure what salvation was.

'I don't know how to lead, though.'

'That's okay. That's what I'm here for! You've not seen much of the universe and the way it works. I've seen... a good amount. I'll be here to give you advice, be a guiding hand, that kind of thing.'

Brolly tried to imagine it. Could he lead with Nappa's help? Would that bring Bulma to him? He had a feeling it wouldn't, but maybe Nappa would have advice about that.

But wait. Nappa's advice was what he'd been following when he'd hugged her and tried to kiss her. When he'd tried to take charge with her. And look how that had turned out.

'You mean like the advice you gave me about women?'

Nappa grinned. 'Exactly! And my advice in that quarter right now is to gather more practical, hands-on experience. But that's details. You need to have a long term plan, too.'

'Like what?'

'Like taking over the galaxy!'

'I can't do that!'

Nappa chuckled again. 'Boy, with your power, you wouldn't even need to stop at one Galaxy - you could probably take the whole Cold Empire, if you wanted. Do you realise you've got the power to destroy Frieza at will? You only need the time and opportunity to face him, and everything that is his will be yours! Imagine, a Saiyan ruling the galaxy! You could have anything you ever wanted! What are you making that face for?'

'How would I do that?'

'Easy - I just told you. First, kill Frieza. Then, I admit, there might be some chaos as you take power, but once everyone realises how deadly and terrifying you are they'll all fall into line. You'll have to sort out some administrators and generals and that sort of thing...I guess communication is important, and you'll have to keep up the PTO or build a new military force to keep order-'

'But I don't want power like that!'

'Don't want... What? How could you not want it? Of course you want it! You just don't know what it will get you yet. When I say anything you ever wanted, I mean anything. Palaces, spaceships! You could buy a planet and have the whole thing redesigned to suit you! The hottest women on every planet you visit! You could feast on the hearts of your enemies every night! Or - I don't know what you like - fine wine and silk sheets and a menagerie of the cutest petting animals in the known galaxy, if that's what tickles you! Anything!'

Not a lot of this sounded appealing. It sounded like hard work, and it sounded like becoming the biggest bully in the Galaxy. He knew what Frieza did - he killed people. He'd seen with his own eyes the sick violence Frieza dealt in, when he'd tortured that village of Namekians, and Brolly felt queasy and faint even remembering it. Why would Nappa want that for him?

And then it hit him. Nappa wanted that for him, because that's what Nappa wanted for himself. Nappa was like Frieza, just not as powerful or as clever.

Brolly felt his skin prickle with goosebumps. He'd let Nappa teach him and guide him these last few weeks, and he'd felt happy that someone was being kind to him, making him feel like he belonged, but that person...was not someone he should want to belong with.

As Nappa rambled on about the ways Brolly could use his power, Brolly sifted back through his dimmer memories of when he wore the diadem, or the crown before it. He knew Nappa and Raditz and Vegeta used to kill people for Frieza before he'd met them, but he didn't realise Nappa still wanted to kill people - for profit. Nappa was as bad as Vegeta! Maybe worse!

Then he recalled Nappa almost killing Bulma with a single blow. How could he have forgotten that? How could he have listened to anything the man said after doing something like that? Why had Nappa encouraged him to pursue Bulma when he hated Bulma? Had he meant for him to screw it all up and upset her? Had he actually been trying to help him at all, or was he just doing it for his own gain?

For that matter, did Nappa want him to rule the Galaxy for his sake, or because Nappa got something out of it? If he was Brolly's advisor, teacher and mentor, maybe he thought he could rule the Galaxy through Brolly, and he'd get all the planets and ships and women he wanted. It wouldn't be the first time that Brolly had been made a puppet king! He wouldn't be made a fool of like that again!

'I don't want those things, I want Bulma.' Brolly snarled, interrupting him.

Nappa gave another chuckle, but it sounded weak. 'I doubt you'll stay hung up on her for long, but if you still want her I'm sure she'll fall right into your arms now she knows who holds the power. I doubt the trollop can resist sucking up to a Super Saiyan for long.'

And yet Bulma was scared of him. Not sucking up to him.

'No she won't. She's not like that!'

'Well, if I'm wrong, and you're right, the King of the Galaxy can still have her. There's more than one way to roast a Tuffle.'

Brolly felt hot anger flow through him, and with it, chi.

'You don't know anything!' he said.

Nappa's smile froze right on his face. 'My young lord, give me the credit of my years. I know a lot that you would have to find out the hard way if I wasn't here to tell you.'

'No, you don't!' Brolly stood up, and glared down at the older Saiyan. 'You don't know what I want! You don't know about women! And you don't know Bulma! I did what you said, and she won't even speak to me now! I should have known you were trying to put me wrong! I don't know why I didn't remember what an asshole you are!'

Nappa flushed red. 'I don't care if you call me an asshole,' he said, though he looked like he cared. 'Someone's got to spell out the hard truths to wide-eyed, young fools. I guess that might make me seem an asshole when I'm not telling you what you want to hear. But you'll need me to wise you up if you're ever going to make anything of that power you have.'

'No, I won't! I don't want to rule the Galaxy, and I'll never follow any advice you give me ever again!'

Brolly turned away from the open-mouthed stare Nappa was giving him. The man sputtered and then after a few moments said, 'Brolly, son. I know you're angry with how things went with Bulma. I'll let you calm down, and when you're ready, come talk to me-'

Brolly wheeled back. 'No! I don't want to talk to you! Even if I did want to rule the Galaxy, I wouldn't ask for your help to do it!'

All trace of tolerance and humour left Nappa's face, and he blossomed bright red from the V-neck of his training suit to the crown of his head.

'Is that so?' he hissed, his face distorting into something that terrified Brolly. Seeing how angry he'd made Nappa, he lost his nerve, and didn't reply. The thought of another messy fight with all it's high emotions made Brolly start to shake. He didn't want to go through all that again like he had with Vegeta.

Nappa seemed to realise he wasn't going to get an answer. He stood up and left the cockpit, heading for the living quarters of the ship.

'Where are you going?' Brolly asked. 'What if they need us?'

Nappa stepped into the lounge and slammed the door so hard that Brolly felt the jolt through his seat. He sat, trembling, unsure what to do, and wishing he hadn't argued with Nappa now of all times.

'Okay, juice it, just a little more this time.'

Vegeta bled a little more chi into the strange receptor gloves. The metal and mesh warmed a little in his hands. Outside the dome of the flight deck he thought he saw a flicker of something. He extinguished the chi immediately.

'Woah, that was it!' said Bulma. 'We had a bubble for a moment, before we lost it.'

'You mean, we had a wormhole? And we're still intact?'

Bulma looked up from her laptop and nodded vigorously, whole face aglow with excitement. 'Yes indeedy! Now, let's go again. See if you can hold it steady this time.'

'I can hold it steady,' Vegeta said defensively. 'I just didn't, as the bubble surprised me.'

'You saw it? Ooh! Hold it steady, hold it steady! I want to see it this time!'

Vegeta pressed the button to initiate the process, then put his hands back in the gloves, cautiously powering back up. He was sweating about a gallon a minute. Now that they were up here in space he had no idea why he had been so calm and relaxed about testing Bulma's life- and possibly solar system- endangering experiment when they were safely on the ground. His pride kept him at the task now, and left him no choice but to put his faith in her.

This time he didn't flinch as the stars directly in front of the ship warped and disappeared. The end of the telescopic arm seemed to bend and distort around an invisible corner. In its place were just more stars. The hair all over his body stood on end. Holding the power as steady as he could, the bubble of warped space pulsed.

'Holy cow!' Bulma said, looking up from her laptop and then standing up to get a better view. 'I made a wormhole!'

'Shouldn't you be monitoring this?' Vegeta said tersely. 'Making sure we don't overdo it and end up falling inside the damn thing?'

'No, this is fine,' she replied. 'In fact, can you go a little bigger? I need to test the limiter.'

'Is this really the best way to test safety features?'

'I'm keeping an eye on it! Like I said, I set it too low to be useful, based on my calculations. But it will be helpful for calibrating it for actually transporting the ship through it.'

He waited until she took a seat again, and then slowly pushed more chi into the gloves. He knew he could put out a lot more, but keeping this level at a constant output was difficult.

The bubble grew bigger, dragging in more stars and gantry arm, and endangering the edge of the ship.

'I'm stopping,' said Vegeta.

'No need - you've hit the limiter. It won't get any bigger.'

He stopped anyway, needing to release the effort, and the bubble of stars imploded. 'So, when it is used for real, the limit will be higher?'

'Yes, high enough to encompass the ship and then some. And it will work in reverse.'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean that to safely travel through the wormhole it has to have a minimum size rather than a maximum size. And it has to reach that size pretty much instantly. So, how it will work is that the initial chi output will prime a small wormhole at the end of the arm, then the limiter will kick in while you continue to power up, and then once you hit a certain output, your power will suddenly be diverted into the wormhole, opening it up wide enough for the ship to pass through. Depending on how quickly you power up, the whole process could take a fraction of a second.'

Vegeta grunted in acknowledgement. Bulma was bouncing in her seat with joy, sending the spacesuit fabric billowing around her. He shivered again at the memory of seeing space warped right in front of his eyes, and it took a few moments for relief to subside into something more like gladness.

'You can send your congratulations now, guys!' Bulma said over comms. 'We just had our first full test and we're still alive!'

They did, and Bulma basked in their words, even when she had to tell them what to say. Vegeta smiled to see her lapping it up. She was indeed a galaxy-class technologist - not just spoiled, not just pretty. He felt a glow inside, a strange ache at seeing her full of pride.

'Okay, a couple more trials and then we're done here.'

On the way back to Baccanelli he asked her again if she had any idea how it might be steered.

'Well, steering is completely the wrong term. But you know what - I just had an idea while we were talking to the others. You know the lag on the comms we had just now?'

'Yes.'

'That's because it's an electromagnetically-based communication. It's limited to the speed of light. And then there are the various civilian networks that use warped space to speed the process up over long distances, which also use electromagnetic waves, or photon packets. But there are also instant communications devices in the galaxy. Again, they're a controlled technology like the wormholes, but back on Earth we and some of our competitors and universities were already doing experiments with passing information via quantum entangled particles. I'm going to assume that the PTO uses a similar base to their technology.

'Anyhow, what I'm thinking is that we could create many short-lived wormholes and seed them with one half of an entangled particle and keep the other on board in a kind of library. I think I could use the saved half to direct a wormhole to open in the space between the two halves.'

'But couldn't they be billions of light years apart? How would that help?'

'Ah, but because they are entangled, they are also an infinitely small distance apart. We'd be opening that hairline crack in the substrate of the universe, not splitting actual distances.'

'Uh huh,' said Vegeta, pretending he could follow. 'So how does this help us get somewhere in particular?'

'We wouldn't know where a wormhole was appearing until we'd gone through it, but we could use another entangled pair to get back to our origin. So if we did this enough times we could build a map of random points and then chose a path that got us the closest to where we want to be.'

'And how long would that take?'

She didn't answer right away, and he glanced over at her. Her face was clouded. 'Well, to be honest, I have no idea. We could get lucky. But we don't really know how large the universe is, and we'll be basically stabbing in the dark for something useful. Hmm.'

'And what if we accidentally stabbed the centre of a star?'

'Then we'd be instantly incinerated. But the ratio of open space to burning gas cloud suggests that the chances of that happening are astronomically low. Pun not intended. Although, in this case, is it really a pun?'

Another shiver went down Vegeta's spine. He didn't like the idea that they'd just been stabbing the universe, hoping not to hit a star, even if the chances were very low.

'Maybe I can set up an automated process of mapping locations,' she mused. 'It could save a lot of time if we just powered the generator for a few minutes and zip through hundreds of locations at a time.'

'Perhaps.'

'I have to create the entangled particles first, before we can experiment. Unfortunately that means that I need to build a particle accelerator.'

'Will that take long?'

'I don't know yet. I haven't investigated sourcing parts. Maybe they sell them ready-made in the galaxy?'

'Probably not on a pleasure planet.'

'No, probably not.'


Zarbon shifted in bed, stretching until he found a warm, heavy weight to his left, blocking his leg. He pushed at it until he could stretch fully, ignoring the yelp and the sound of elbows and knees hitting the floor.

'That wasn't very nice,' Yolona crooned in his ear and wrapped an arm around him. Zarbon opened his eyes. The other girl was getting to her feet and looking groggy and unsure about where to go next.

'I think you left your clothes in the bathroom, Culotte,' Yolona said, and the girl trotted in that direction, dismissed. Zarbon smiled at the memory of the night's activities. Culotte had been amenable to all his suggestions, but he really didn't want to have to suffer her company at breakfast.

'Today's the big day!' Yolono trilled, pressing her sticky body to his back.

'Indeed.'

'Are you excited?'

'When Pentoncles is dead I will call myself...satisfied.' At the darkest part of the afternoon, the interim President of Grenouilles II would be executed ostensibly for his failure to do his duty, but not so secretly for his part in the betrayal of Zarbon's family to Frieza.

'Have you thought about your speech?'

'These things do not require much grandstanding.'

'The whole planet will be watching though, Zarbie. You could make quite a statement.'

'And what statement does my pet snake suggest?'

'Announce your coronation date.'

He rolled over, fixing her with a stern eye. 'You know very well I can't be coronated whilst Freiza is still alive. That would be the end of all of us.'

'Well, communications are all down for now.' She smiled. 'It would give you a deadline to work with. Announce the coronation and then get going back to Frieza's palace to finish him off.'

'You make it sound so simple.'

'Is it not?'

Zarbon could not see a way to assassinate Frieza when his Lord was immortal. He hadn't told Yolona that yet though. For now he lived in a bubble of fantasy, where he was the Prince of Grenouillea, surrounded by slew of beautiful and willing women, and a very bad woman in his bed.

Coulotte crept from the bathroom and Zarbon rose to do his business. While he was showering Yolona entered, stumbling a little from her hangover. He wished she wouldn't. Though the shower was obviously built for two (or more), he still preferred to wash alone.

'Jervois just called,' she said, lathering herself. 'Says that there's one of your PTO vermin is downstairs demanding to speak to you. But I thought all your soldiers were dead.'

Zarbon felt both guilt an alarm at that. He had not put a lot of effort into keeping his soldiers alive. He'd sent them to the garrison so that they wouldn't be able to notice or report any change in his behaviour. He certainly didn't want Frieza to find out that he was fucking a rebel whilst living like a king, and frankly, doing nothing in the interests of the PTO that wasn't also in the best interests of Grenouillean freedom and independence. Some order had been restored, though all the spaceports remained closed, the transmission sites disabled, and the AIRT towers completely out of action. The military and government under Zarbon's rule had gone silent and merely stood by as celebrities of the rebel cause had spread their message. The wider populace was coming around to the idea that maybe they could shirk Frieza's rule, and the message they were taking from Zarbon's inaction was that he wasn't opposed to the idea either. Even within the People's Palace, Yolona told him that there were rumours that he was going to lead their people from enslavement. Then again, she was probably the source of the rumours.

Not long after sending the soldiers to the garrison it had been stormed by rebels in a rather organised attack, and every remaining PTO soldier had been wiped out. When he complained to Yolona about it she had rolled her eyes. 'It is not like I ordered it, but really, what did you expect? And they worked for Frieza, not you. Do you honestly care about some alien soldiers that much?'

Well, honestly he didn't, so he had let it slide. Their deaths also meant that there was less chance that word of his malingering would get back to Frieza. He had no idea what to do with the situation. On one hand, he felt a growing pride for his people and wish that he could deliver them their dream of freedom, and return home their King and saviour. On the other hand, he knew there was absolutely no getting away from Frieza. His holiday here would have to end sometime, and when it did there was a good chance it would end with the genocide of his people. And he didn't want that. Really, for their own sake he should bring them back into the PTO fold, get them all strictly back on track under Cold law and rule. But he couldn't bring himself to crush their naive hopes.

'I thought they were all dead, too,' he told her, the stirrings of misgiving starting to trouble his stomach and make him feel he was not yet ready for breakfast. 'I guess I should go and find out what this is all about.'


Dressed and hair braided, he made his way downstairs to one of the many waiting areas that Jervois had indicated. As soon as he saw the man awaiting him his heart fell. It was the captain of the expedition ship they had taken from Frieza's mother ship. He had forgotten all about the man and his first mate. The captain looked terrified until the moment he saw Zarbon.

'Have you been in orbit all this time?' Zarbon asked him

'Yes, sir, awaiting word, though we've had none, not even from the garrison. We've been unable to hail on your scouter.'

The captain's eyes darted to the side of Zarbon's face where the scouter was notably absent.

'There's been nothing to report,' Zarbon said casually. 'Apologies, Captain if we left you hanging.'

'I was concerned about what had happened to you and the landing party, sir.'

'Surely you don't think anything could have happened to me?'

'Oh, well, no sir, it does seem unlikely, but still, we've been unable to raise you or any of the crew for some time now, nor get through on civilian channels. Lord Frieza's communications team has told us they are also unable to contact you or anyone on the planet's surface. Lord Frieza has also become concerned that he has had no report or contact from you. He is considering making a detour here to assess the situation himself.'

Zarbon felt his slightly queasy insides liquify, and clenched his buttocks to hold onto them. This could not happen! He hadn't expected for Frieza to ask for an update so soon. He had to go into damage control mode now.

'The communications infrastructure here was completely destroyed by rebel activity. I had no way of contacting Lord Frieza.'

'Is the General's scouter not working? A transmission could have been routed through to Lord Frieza via our ship in orbit.'

'Yes, I...quite forgot about the ship in orbit. I will make my report to Lord Frieza as soon as we are done here.'

'If you would, sir, that would be appreciated by all. Lord Frieza is currently on his comms deck awaiting word as we speak. He personally ordered me to come down here and inform you.'

All Father, gird me, Zarbon prayed, closing his eyes on a moment of panic.

'I will. Thank you.'

'Shall I report to the garrison, sir?'

'No, er… Return to the spaceport.'

'As you wish, sir.'

Zarbon rushed back to the 58th floor and his apartment to find Yolona presiding over breakfast arrangements.

'Out,' he demanded as he rushed through the dining room to the bedroom.

'What?'

Zarbon went to the luggage container in the walk in wardrobe and took the scouter off the drawer set where he'd left it all this time. What an idiot he'd been to think that he could use the lack of working communication on this planet to buy himself...what, exactly? A holiday from Freiza? He needed one, that was for sure, preferably permanent. He couldn't understand how he could have stood it, working most of his life for the lizard, and for what? All the rewards that he'd gained under Frieza looked hollow compared to his time here on Grenoulliea.

He put the scouter back on and walked back into the dining room to find the serving girls gone but Yolona still there.

'What has you all so flustered, Zarbie?'

'Yolona, get out of the apartment; I have business to attend to!'

She sat down instead. 'I will wait.'

'Yolona, get out!'

'But no! What is so important that I am not to hear?'

He grasped her by her arms and manhandled her out to the door.

'How dare you! No man has ever treated me so!'

He shut the door in her face and locked it.

At last he took some deep breaths, put his scouter on, turned it on and spoke to the first mate.

'I believe Lord Frieza is wishing to speak to me?'

'Yes, sir! It's a relief to hear from you, General. Lord Frieza was, um, tired of waiting and returned to his chambers, but I will patch you through at once.'

The overlay display of his scouter lit up with an image of the communication deck on Frieza's mothership and a tech sitting behind the desk. It took another few moments for Frieza to be informed that Zarbon was currently on the line, and then Frieza appeared on Zarbon's eyepiece, probably shot from his bucket chair judging by the low angle.

Zarbon felt a creeping prickle of chill at the sight of his master. Those red eyes and cherry black lips were both narrowed and flat with temper.

'Oh, so you decide that you will answer me, after all.'

'I am so very sorry, my Lord! Planetary communications have been and still are down. There has been a great deal of destruction caused by rebels.'

'And yet it was always in your power to call me!'

'I did not realise you were awaiting word quite so urgently.'

'I have been trying to reach you for a week! Do you not wear your scouter, Zarbon?'

'It has been next to useless down here on the planet, so I have not-'

'Not even to communicate to your own men?'

'Not since the last of them regrettably perished, my Lord.'

'What? Every last one? What kind of situation is brewing down there? Do I need to come over there and sort out the mess for you?'

'No, my Lord! Everything is under control!'

'Perhaps I should be the judge of that? I'm not all that far away - it would only be a small diversion.'

Zarbon's tongue clove to the roof of his mouth for a second before he managed to blurt out, 'Absolutely not necessary, my Lord. I have control of the military and government, and the civilian unrest is settling down. It would only be a waste of your time to visit.'

'So, your work there is nearly done?'

'Yes, exactly.'

'Then I will look forward to Slydrool and Abacusa's tax audit.'

Zarbon decided that this was not the time to tell him that the accountants were also dead.

'Is that all that you wanted to discuss, my Lord?'

No,' said Frieza flatly. 'It's good that you are nearly done, as I have another, higher priority, assignment for you.'


Author's Note: Thank you for sticking with this story, dear readers! My husband was just watching me post this chapter over my shoulder and was like "Chapter 74! How many words?" Well, a whole lot of words, that's for sure. We are in a marathon together, or possibly an ultra marathon, maybe even the Marathon des Sables of fan fictions.