I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. Nor do I own any legal imprinting of whatever theme I'm using, such as a crossover with another anime, movie or TV series. Did I think it up? Yes. Was I the first to think it up? Probably not, but I digress. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just the merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.

Chapter 35: The Galactic Patrol

Two days had passed since the Dragon Team had left Earth. They had ended up just about half a day shy of their destination and had more or less limped into the star system, arriving at the headquarters of the literal Space Police just as their main engine gave out from the stress Bulma had put it through. While they had the supplies to fix it, it was going to take quite a bit of time to address.

It had been Bulma and Vegeta's plan to seek refuge with the Galactic Patrol instead of going to New Namek, though Vegeta only intended to use them as a place to stay temporarily. As most of the group was completely unfamiliar with Jaco and the Galactic Patrol, Bulma acted as mediator. She had to originally so that they wouldn't attempt to destroy the ship, as seeing even a Capsule Corp replica of a Frieza Force ship was unnerving. Once they were able to explain who they were, they were accepted into the headquarters, half of which was a hollowed-out asteroid with a small docking bay that the ship could never fit in. The alternative was the even smaller docking port, but thankfully there was a built-in docking clamp and chute on the ship that could make it work.

"Oh, come on Jaco! This is literally your job, isn't it?!" Bulma pleaded with the small alien.

"You know I can't do that, Bulma. While Earth is in our jurisdiction, we cannot hope to go up against the Frieza Force's full might. Word is that Frieza's son Frost is much more powerful than his father, and we have a strict policy against suicide missions," Jaco replied.

Vegeta, Bulma, Goku, Gohan and Seventeen, along with Goten and Trunks, had gone over to meet with Jaco in person while everyone else stayed on the ship itself. Laysh was going to come along at first, but she revealed that the Renegade Saiyans didn't have the best relationship with the patrolmen. That hadn't stopped her from arguing that it was foolish to ask for their help, and Vegeta could certainly agree with that.

"I told you, asking them for help is a waste of time," Vegeta mumbled, earning a glare from his wife.

"If I recall, you agreed to come here!" Bulma shouted at him, causing everyone to wince. Vegeta turned his head slightly and grumbled inaudibly.

"I see you're just as feisty as ever. Old age is coming early, eh Bulma?" Jaco asked. Jaco was immediately smacked over the head by Bulma, earning a noticeable red bump.

"Geez, ask a guy for help and this is how you treat him? How do you stay married?" Jaco dared to ask again.

Bulma growled and threatened to hit him again, only to be held back by Vegeta who whispered in her ear, "Not now, woman."

Jaco shook his head slightly as he held the bump that had formed, "Look, Bulma, I agreed to let you guys in and stay here while you figure out what you're going to do. I even offered to use my commlink to your sister Tights for communication, but you can't ask even us elite patrolmen to go up against the Frieza Force. We only have thirty-eight members in total, and most of them are out on important missions of their own. Frost has thousands of troops, not including his immensely powerful commanders and lieutenants that make the dreaded Ginyu Force look like pushovers. We wouldn't have a chance going up against that!"

"Bulma has a sister?!" Goku exclaimed.

Bulma and Vegeta collectively rolled their eyes in disgust while the former turned towards him, "That was what you took from that conversation?!"

Goku put his hands up in defense, "Well I didn't know! You never told me about her!"

Goten immediately nudged Trunks, "I didn't know you had an auntie."

Trunks blinked and attempted to cover his own surprise, "Well, it's a family secret obviously."

"That isn't the point, Goku! Besides, Tights just doesn't have any interest in money, fame or technology, she just wants to be a writer. She's always out working on her books, so she doesn't visit often," Bulma explained.

Jaco's pale yellow eyes appeared to narrow, "Goku, as in Son Goku? The man who defeated Frieza?"

The group turned towards Jaco in surprise as Goku nodded, "Yeah, that's right."

"Well, I must say it's an honor to meet you! But that doesn't change my answer," Jaco replied.

Bulma let out a noticeably sigh of frustration, "Argh! C'mon Jaco, do it for your old friends. You do know that as long as Frost remains on Earth that my sister isn't safe either!"

Jaco planted his feet, "For the last time Bulma, the answer is no! Tights could have evacuated with you, but she didn't, did she? I'm not going to risk my important life on a fool's errand! If you want a different answer, then go ask the Galactic King yourself! Besides, I have missions of my own that I'm already running late for."

Bulma was instantly enraged again, "And what possible mission could be more important than this?!"

"Well for one, some well-deserved shore leave, after I track down the intergalactic criminal Gryll. He and his band of pirates have been raiding planets for abandoned treasure. In fact, I could use some assistance on this mission as Gryll is stronger than the average Frieza Force soldier, so even a super elite like me might have a tough time taking down all of his crew," Jaco attempted to hint.

Vegeta scoffed, "That's rich. You ask for our help after denying the same to us."

"You can just forget that Jaco, tit for tat and all that you know!" Bulma grunted with agreement.

Gohan, who had remained silent up until this point, stepped forward, "I'd be happy to give you a hand."

Vegeta's forehead veins immediately began to swell and pop, "What?!"

"Listen, we can't expect anyone to just help us if we're unwilling to help them too. That's not how you build trust. Maybe if we help them a little, then they'll help us a little. It doesn't have to be a lot, but they are already letting us dock here so we can regroup and repair the ship. The least we could do is help them out too," Gohan suggested.

Goku smiled, "That's a great idea Gohan."

"We have the time. The ship is broken and Frost doesn't appear to be following us. So, you guys go talk to this Galactic King and I'll help out Jaco on his mission. It's a win-win," Gohan claimed.

"It's hardly a win-win, but fine," Bulma said as she folded her arms.

"Oooh, can we go too Gohan?!" Trunks piped up along with Goten.

"Yeah! Please big brother? This sounds fun!" Goten added.

Jaco frowned, "This mission is not for kids. Gryll is a very dangerous criminal who has no problem taking down anyone in his way."

Goku smiled, "If he's barely stronger than a Frieza Force soldier, then I don't see the problem. These two have fought against Majin Buu and lived to tell the tale!"

"Did you say Majin Buu? The legendary demon of destruction?!" Jaco asked.

"Well, sort of," Goku repeated with an uneasy laugh, "Buu has a good side and a bad side, and they helped fight against the bad Buu. The good Buu is still with us on the ship."

Jaco backed up a step, "The same Majin Buu that absorbed the great deity Grand Dai Kaio and killed all but one of the other Supreme Kais?!"

Goku was a little surprised, "So you know about them too, huh?"

Vegeta grimaced, "Seems like you space cops have a lot of information and fail to do anything with it."

Jaco frowned slightly, "Well that's up to the King, not me. Goho or whatever your name is; if you think you're plenty strong enough for Gryll and his crew, meet me here in an hour. Leave the kids, I'm not a babysitter, and I don't want them messing around with my ship. Bulma did that enough when she was a kid."

Gohan nodded, "You got it." With that said, Jaco walked away towards his ship that looked big enough to carry only a few passengers.

Bulma scoffed slightly and went back towards their ship, "Fine Gohan, if you think it will help. Take a few Senzu beans with you just in case. We're in uncharted territory here. The rest of us will stay here and try to talk some sense into this Galactic King he was talking about. We don't want to get completely separated, after all. Boys, you can explore a little bit, but don't go running off anywhere. We have to be ready to leave once the ship is fixed." Goten and Trunks were immediately bummed that they didn't have permission to go, but began whispering to themselves, though quickly hushing up when Vegeta turned his head towards them.

"In the meantime, I'm going to try and restore Kain's program so that we can repair the ship faster. We have to wait on Tights to contact us anyway to see if Kati managed to infiltrate Frost's base on Earth," Bulma said as she turned towards the docking port.

"Relying on that android to spy on them is not going to work," Vegeta claimed, earning a look from Seventeen.

"Maybe it will and maybe it won't, but did you have a better idea?" Seventeen asked.

Vegeta grimaced and didn't answer, earning a smirk from Seventeen, "I thought not." The group moved back towards the ship, though Goten and Trunks lagged behind, with the latter giving long stares at Jaco's ship.

"Hey Goten, I've got an idea, you want in?" Trunks asked.

Goten eagerly nodded, "Way ahead of you Trunks!"

"What is the Galactic Patrol?" Torev asked.

"An organization opposite ours that tries to maintain order in the galaxy, as the name suggests," Frost explained.

After Sorbet had reported his findings to Frost, he immediately summoned most of the alliance except for Kati and Doctor Wheelo to hear the news. Soren was also absent, but more due to the sudden nature of the meeting. This meant interrupting Kaon and Torev during another bedroom romp, to which Sorbet saw another of his low-level soldiers get vaporized. He had grimaced at the thought of wasting another soldier to deliver the word in person, but far better than another minion was sacrificed instead of himself. Bojack, Zangya, Ginyu and Metare along with Kaon had also attended the small gathering, while the rest of the Kihon brothers nursed wounds earned in their latest training rounds.

Sorbet cleared his throat, "That puts them at least a few weeks from Earth at our fleet's top speed, my Lord. It seems that Vegeta's wife is more technologically savvy than we previously thought."

Frost grinned, "It's hardly surprising. Between all of the alien technology left behind on Earth over the years in addition to the good doctor's research added to her own, it's only natural that she would have a ship just as fast or better than one of ours. The Protoss technology in particular gives them an advantage that they likely made use of when they escaped."

"Yes, my lord, our spy drone reports that their ship was damaged by overuse and they will have to repair it unless they utilize the GP's ships, which are also faster than ours," Sorbet continued.

"That is a possibility, but I doubt there is much concern there," Frost replied.

Torev scowled, "And why is that, clearly this Galactic Patrol is a problem."

Frost held up a finger, "Not as much as you may think. We have an unwritten agreement with the GP to not interfere with each other's business. While their elite soldiers are more capable fighters than the average empire soldier, there are not many of them. Additionally, their leader, the so-called Galactic King, is a pacifist, and unlikely to join forces with any Saiyan. You see, their organization has been around for much longer than the Kold Empire and has rarely exceeded even one hundred members. They butted heads many times with the Saiyans prior to the Kold Empire taking over, and afterwards did not dare interfere with our affairs for fear of massive retaliation. Our goals are not unlike theirs when it comes to bringing order to the cosmos. We just take a more effective approach."

Torev's scowl didn't budge, "Fine, I don't care about a bunch of space pigs anyway. When do we leave?"

Frost frowned, "Leave? We're not leaving."

Torev growled, "Blue boy here just said that they'll have to repair their ship. That means they're stuck. The time to strike is now before they can run away again."

"Lord Torev, that would be a terrible strategy. We would fly into an ambush. That is not a wise course of action. The GP may not be a large group, but they are well-armed. We'd lose at least thirty percent of our ships before we got close enough to engage the Saiyans, with a minimum of sixty percent of the force wiped out before success. Even if we were able to somehow broker a trade of some kind, do you think someone like Vegeta would willingly surrender?" Sorbet asked.

"Like I give a shit about your toy soldiers. And we don't need to fly in there where they can see us coming, you idiot. Soren's teleportation can get us there instantly, without the need for spaceflight," Torev pointed out. Sorbet grimaced, not having considered that option.

Frost looked amused, drawing Torev's ire, "Something funny?"

Frost's smirk slowly became a frown as he held a glass of wine in his hand, "It's not that, it is how idiotic you are for a being a clone of that boy. You're correct that our sudden arrival would catch them off guard. And it also would completely shatter our divide and conquer strategy."

Torev rolled his eyes, "Like I'm afraid of the risk. We go in hard and take them out before they can regroup, and you don't need to divide anything. It's literally that easy."

Ginyu stepped forward, "I concur with Torev's strategy. It may be messy, but a soldier's duty is to go on the offense when the opportunity presents itself. Attack them first, before they can return here."

Metare nodded slightly, "I also agree, my lord. Our window to strike will grow smaller if we wait."

Frost's eyes narrowed slightly, "Hmm, Lord Bojack, your thoughts?"

Bojack grinned, "I'm all for an offensive strike, but in this case, I agree that patience would be wiser. Our fleet is not yet equipped for a space battle of that magnitude. When the new armor is ready, that is when we should move, and not before."

"They also possess the final Dragon Ball and a means to reach the Namekians potentially before we can locate them. That would pose a significant problem," Ginyu pointed out.

Frost then eyed Kaon, who had not yet said a word, "Lady Kaon? I want to hear your opinion."

Kaon's eyes darted between the group and settled on Torev for a moment before looking back at Frost, "I advise against attacking at this time. All it would take is one fusion between Goku and Vegeta or a few well aimed blasts and the entire plan is over."

Torev's face reddened, "Oh give me a break, Vegeta isn't going to stoop to that technique with Kakarot! You and I both know that!"

Kaon glared at him, "Don't count on the prince's stubbornness to work in our favor, he's made that decision before as you well know. Even if we would prevail in a battle, it would get out of hand very quickly. Sorbet's estimate of sixty percent is likely too low as that does not factor in desperation tactics such as fusion. In addition, Goku can traverse large distances with his teleportation technique, even going to other dimensions. We may win the day, but not before they do a lot of damage."

Frost set his wine glass down as his large tail shifted to the side, "I'm glad we agree. Patience is a virtue. You do not continue to chase down a desperate enemy until the right time, especially if they can easily escape. You watch them and counter their movements once they become clear. When the odds are in your favor, strike, when they are not, wait for them to come to you. We will not move on the Saiyans at this time."

Torev growled audibly and turned on his heel to leave the throne chamber, "Fine, whatever."

"Lord Torev, the briefing is not yet over!" Sorbet called out.

Torev stopped in the doorway and gave Sorbet a frightening glare, "Care to repeat that?"

Frost sipped his wine and nodded, "You may go." Torev's glare shifted to Frost for a moment before he continued on, and the door hissed shut behind him.

"It would not be wise to try and order him around Commander, as you can clearly see," Frost suggested.

Kaon folded her arms and frowned as she moved towards the door to follow, "Apologies for the attitude, I'll deal with it."

Bojack chuckled out loud, "Better put that dog of yours on a leash before we have to put him down."

Kaon also stopped at the door, but did not turn around, "And you'd better not play with fire, you know what might happen."

Bojack laughed slightly as the door slid shut, "Silly witch."

Frost set his now empty wine glass down, "Now now, we don't want to be rude to our allies, for now anyway."

"I still can't believe we're allowing her to live. Him I can understand, but not her," Zangya declared, finally speaking up for the first time.

"I agree with you Miss Zangya, but unfortunately she is probably the only reason we successfully took the planet without losing more of our forces. Without her, there would be no Lord Torev. And without her, there is no one to keep him in line," Sorbet pointed out.

Ginyu rubbed his chin slightly, "I've gone up against my fair share of Saiyans, angering them can be a problem. Especially those two, I recommend we move very carefully, my lord."

Frost nodded, "On that we can all agree. I suspect that whatever patience Torev has will wear thin with time, we had best prepare for that logical outcome as much as we prepare for our mutual enemies."

Kaon returned to her and Torev's quarters just in time to see one of the end tables get thrown into the window. The table was apparently made of a softer material than the window, and shattered on impact, leaving the glass barely scratched.

Kaon shook her head slightly, "Well that could have gone better."

Torev's glare shifted towards her momentarily before he turned around and stared at the wall, "Why did you take his side over mine?"

Kaon grimaced, "Really, that's the part you're pissed about? And here I hoped that your body aged mentally along with physically. I clearly should've taken that further, then I'd be dealing with a man instead of a teenager."

Torev grumbled slightly, "I am a man! I spent god knows how long in that Hell where time moves faster than the normal world."

Kaon snorted lightly, "Because that has so much to do with maturing, especially without a body. I see now why Verto had so much trouble with this little girl. You're as much of a child as she was."

Torev finally spun on his heel, "Watch your tongue."

Kaon smirked, "Or what? You'll fight me? Need I remind you where your boosted power comes from? I can just as easily take it away. Then you'll be weaker than one of the doctor's robots. Keep it up and I'll drain so much power out of you that Sorbet could defeat you hand to hand." Torev bit his lip slightly and appeared to calm down slightly, but he was still angry.

"Now if you're done having a temper tantrum, let's talk about how we're going to move forward," Kaon suggested.

"Well, you and Frost are still wrong about waiting for them to return," Torev mumbled.

"A difference of opinion perhaps, but the right one. Tell me again why we should rush into it when your power hasn't yet developed fully?" Kaon asked.

"That's a rotten excuse, they could just as easily utilize the time to train or gain more allies to fight us, get them while we can!" Torev argued.

"Right, and then when that's done, if we win, then what? Hope that our shaky alliance stays together? Despite your emotional outbursts, I know you're smarter than that. You can't count on shortcuts to power either, especially now that your counterpart is dead," Kaon replied.

Torev's eyes narrowed, "Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

"You really don't know? Remember when we had him cornered along with the Namekian and his power erupted? The seal on it was broken and we would have been able to access it, if he had lived long enough for the procedure. That red witch made a change to it, and she probably knew that would happen since even sealed away, his demon power could mature. Once he unleashed it on his own, no seal was going to easily hold it back," Kaon explained.

Torev looked to be deep in thought, "About that. You literally fainted when that happened. Just how strong could he, or for that matter, I, get?"

Kaon grinned, "I admit that I don't know where your ceiling would be if you were able to get that power. But if what he did to you and Frost was any indication, it is very likely you could be just as powerful as my brother originally was. And while they could have beaten him if they wanted, even the highest deities did not wish to start trouble with him."

Torev looked thoughtful, "I see. Well at least we have another reason for going after them now."

Kaon blinked sharply in surprise, "What are you thinking?"

Torev smirked, "Oh, for once you don't already know?"

"That's…a crazy plan lover. You know Frost will be able to stop us before that could work. And even if it did, the risks are too high!"

"As opposed to what Frost and our so-called allies will try to do once our mutual enemies are gone? I get it, it's a small window with a low chance of success, but it's not impossible. All we need is the last Dragon Ball and a nice big distraction in order to use them before they notice," Torev said, sounding very pleased with himself all of a sudden.

Kaon frowned, "And what happens when something goes wrong? What happens if I'm not here with you to help if something happens to screw it up?"

"We'll improvise," Torev said plainly.

"Whether we can improvise or not will be the question. How about we make it so that it will be easier for that plan to succeed?" Kaon offered.

"Oh, now you like my idea?" Torev sneered.

Kaon promptly smacked him across the face, "Don't get so full of yourself!"

Torev held his reddened face defensively, but grinned nonetheless, "But you admit I'm right?"

Kaon sighed, "As much as I hate to admit it. I know your impatience will hamper our best moves, as today has clearly shown. But we must be able to act when the time comes, and you know what that means we have to do? Develop your demon power. Even if you get your hands on your counterpart's power, you won't know how to use it properly without training. So, here's the deal. I will train you while we wait to make our move, it will be pointless if we are unable to make this plan of yours happen because you were too weak. It's equally pointless if you're able to gain that power and just destroy yourself by not knowing how to use it. When the time comes, and when you're able to use your own energy instead of borrowing from me, we'll do it, not before. Understand?"

Torev rolled his eyes, "Fine, I get it. Let's get started."

"Good, because I thought I actually was raising a child there for a minute. Now get into bed, you owe me something else first."

"What a waste of time!" Vegeta grumbled as he entered the ship and promptly punched the side of the wall in the entryway. Fortunately, the material was made Saiyan-proof by Bulma and would not break easily. They had met with the Galactic King as Jaco had suggested, but the King refused to offer more than refuge to the group. The King himself appeared to be a large green Octopus with a crown that was able to stand on his tentacles. He was particularly interested in Goku since he had defeated Frieza originally, but that changed when Goku went on to shake one of the King's more sensitive limbs. After Goku and the King were both beyond embarrassed, Bulma attempted to barter assistance in fighting off the Frieza Force in other places once Earth was liberated, but the King did not give in due to what he felt was a low chance of success. That prompted Vegeta to be more assertive in his words.

"Well at least he's not throwing us out after you threatened to blow him up," Bulma remarked as she followed him into the ship. Goku and Seventeen trailed behind her alone as Gohan was leaving with Jaco.

"Hmph, if you hadn't stopped me, if wouldn't have been just a threat," Vegeta sneered.

"Oh stop it, you've giving me a headache and I have a lot of work to do," Bulma fired back. This turned into a barrage of unintelligible shouting as Goku and Seventeen glanced at each other and promptly snuck by them. The spat did not last however as Bulma stormed off to make repairs, and Vegeta headed to the ship's gravity chamber to work off his frustration. He frowned when he saw the chamber was activated and there was a deep red light smothering it. That's when he found Laysh working out in nearly one hundred times gravity, though without her armor on, leaving a very revealing bodysuit that was skintight with sweat. She was too entranced in her training regime to notice that he had entered until she turned and threw a punch towards his face that he easily caught.

Laysh quickly drew back and bowed as she caught her startled breath, "My apologies!"

Vegeta snorted lightly, "Computer, reset gravity to normal. We have things to discuss."

Laysh grimaced lightly at being interrupted but didn't dare object, "Yes of course."

"Why are you here?" Vegeta asked first, repeating his initial question when she had met up with them.

Laysh blinked sharply, "I told you already. The others wouldn't send any help, so I'm here of my own choice."

"I heard you the first time, and you still haven't answered why," Vegeta growled.

Laysh frowned, "Because I owe the boy. I wouldn't have come back if I knew he was dead. Speaking of which, how did that even happen?"

"A lot of things have happened since you were last on Earth. I take it you intercepted a transmission of some kind that tipped you off that Frost was on his way?"

Laysh nodded, "Yes sir. He had equipped his ships with a stealth technology for space travel, but we were able to track the fleet's movements after we took down his main base on Frieza Planet Seventy-Seven near the edge of the galaxy. We were a little surprised he abandoned it, but once we realized where he was going, it all fit together. Unfortunately, my space pod was not fast enough to catch up. I attempted to send out a warning signal, but it never got through."

Vegeta seemed to accept her answer, "I see, very well, you're here. Is there anything useful you have to share with us?"

Laysh's eyes narrowed in irritation, "Aside from my fighting ability, I do have intel on Frost's special warlords the Kihon Corps. They are a group of brothers with varied elemental abilities."

Vegeta glared at her, "Like the rest of your Renegade brethren?"

Laysh scowled at this but nodded, "Correct, like some of them. And don't you mean our brethren?"

Vegeta snorted, "No, I do not. Perhaps if they had all come in force I might have thought differently."

Laysh bit her lip slightly to keep from answering like she wanted to, "Well, do you want the intel or not?"

Vegeta folded his arms, "Eventually. Why do you owe the boy anything?"

Laysh bit her lip harder, "It's a…personal matter. He saved my life more than once and I hate owing a favor to anyone. Besides, he's a fellow Saiyan…"

"Half," Vegeta interrupted.

Laysh couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Whatever, I'm sure even your stuck-up ass can appreciate wanting to help out a fellow Saiyan." She regretted the words immediately and tensed up, but Vegeta made no move, if anything he chuckled.

Laysh's face turned red, "What's so funny?"

Vegeta's chuckle became a louder laugh, "Ha, you're smitten with him, aren't you girl?"

The surprise on Laysh's face was priceless, "Wha? He's too…young…for me…wait what?!"

Vegeta continued to chuckle with a grin of victory, "Lie to yourself if you must, but not to me."

Laysh's embarrassment flipped back to anger quickly, "Oh please! I already have a mate and…"

"Had you mean," Vegeta corrected her.

Laysh paused, "Yes, had. No thanks to him. And I have a child with said mate. Why would I want anything to do with the killer of my child's father?"

Vegeta was still amused, "Well, it wouldn't be the first time a Saiyan female ran off with someone that proved stronger than their mate."

"Oh, so that's why Kakarot spends so much time around yours?" Laysh dared say. Vegeta's grin disappeared, as did any other hint of activity on the ship when his energy spiked around him. Laysh prepared herself for the retaliation, but it never came as he remained calm.

"You've got guts girl, I will say that. Speak that way about my woman again, and I will tear them out," Vegeta said in a threatening tone, even for him. Laysh gulped slightly and nodded. No more words were exchanged before Bulma suddenly appeared in the doorway that was still open.

"Vegeta, we're getting a transmission from Tights! Jaco routed it to us from his ship!" Bulma called out.

Vegeta didn't take his eyes of Laysh for another few seconds, but eventually turned to his wife, "Fine, let's hear it." Bulma stepped over to the nearest console and pressed a few buttons, causing a large holographic screen to pop up. There, a blond woman with black eyes and overalls came into view. She was sitting under what appeared to be a straw hut on a beach somewhere, with a pen in hand along with her phone. Vegeta had not met his sister-in-law before but could see the sharp resemblance to Bulma.

"Hey Sis, I heard back from your spy friend a little bit ago. She had quite a bit to say about that Flandal guy, and Fridge, or whatever his name was," Tights began.

"It's Frost," Bulma reminded her.

"So? You don't call that Flandal guy by his preferred name either. People don't care about official names as long as the content is juicy," Tights replied.

Bulma turned her head slightly, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Let's just say my readers don't care if there's a major global crisis going on, they keep IM'ing me for more content. Seriously, my phone keeps going off and I can't even get in a decent nap. Hate to see how they would react during a pandemic or something. How dare I have things to do," Tights said with an annoyed chuckle.

Vegeta grumbled slightly at this banter, "If you two are done gossiping, what did the robot have to say?"

"A lot, hi Vegeta. Anyways, I had to write down the cliff notes, but that Flandal guy wants to infect everyone with his nanotech and turn them all into slaves. Sounds like an awesome sci-fi story doesn't it?" Tights asked.

Bulma glanced at both Laysh and Vegeta, "You'll have to forgive my sister, she loves working on stories and can get off track easily. Ahem, what else?"

"Well, Frost, did I say that right? He wants his ships armored up and to use the human race as his slaves to build up his armada. Apparently Flandal has advanced armor to supply him, and in return, he gets to build a body to inhabit like the monster Cell, but stronger, something like that. Kati did mention that she thinks her dad will try to take his army over from the inside though, using the Earthlings. She admitted that she wasn't sure if we were all infected already or not, but I know I don't feel any different so I'm guessing no."

"Is Frost on the move, or is he staying put?" Vegeta asked.

"No, it sounded like he was fortifying here, at least for now. Makes sense, who would want to keep chasing anyone all around the galaxy with no supply line. Oh, that gives me an idea about my Space Force book!" Tights quickly started writing something else down, momentarily forgetting about the task at hand.

Bulma folded her arms, "Tights, we're short on time here."

Tights glanced up and frowned, "Hey, cut me some slack, I don't have your brain after all! Anyways, her dad tried to have her killed a few times already, good thing you gave her that robot body eh? By the way, can I have some insight, I want to design a robot character that endeavors to be human, but I want it to be one of those Catch-Twenty-Two things!"

Bulma ignored the request, "Anything else?"

"Yeah, she said something about that clone of your adopted son being not as evil as she thought he was. Claimed he stepped in and saved her or something, but that all of them are trying to get her to spy on each other. Sounded like a twisted mess. Hmmm, I wonder if he has a goatee, it makes sense for being an evil clone, right?" Tights asked while deep in side-tracked thought.

"Thanks Sis, we'll keep in touch," Bulma replied, clearly annoyed at this point as she shut off the feed.

"Clone?" Laysh asked.

"Yes, sort of. It's complicated," Bulma said plainly.

Laysh glanced at Vegeta, who was only looking away, "So in other words, it's another day around here?"

"Pretty much," Vegeta mumbled.

Loud footsteps drew their attention as Chichi came running into the room, "Bulma, I can't find Goten or Trunks! They're not on the ship, and Goku can't sense where they are! And Gohan just left with Jaco!"

Bulma smacked her face lightly with her palm, "It's always something."

A/N: I know it's been a long layoff, but between Covid and a lot of personal things, I haven't had the motivation to write much. In addition to having a health issue or three since New Year's, I've been very worn down lately. That being said, anyone who has seen at least some of DBS, specifically the filler arcs, you probably have an idea of where some of this is leading to.

WDG: Ugh, tell me about it. These last few months have been anything but fun. In that sense, Tights might be on to something – a sidetrack here and there might just keep me sane!

VB: Definitely what I've had to do.