Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters. Just my OCs

What? Another chapter so soon? Well, I had ideas for last chapter that would have made it too long, and then I just had a bunch of ideas. So anyways, now the delay will in fact be working on OC profiles and then fight scenes (of course…and I want to make them good too, because well...you know. XD) But I have a really good friend who's gonna send me a template for creating OCs. So, that will be where my attention lies this week :D Time to get this story to move along!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed on last chapter! I really appreciate the support :3

"Why are we doing this again?"

Bulma laughed lightly at her husband's discomfort, as did both of their sons. She went back to read the book her boys had requested. "And then after the prince defeated the dragon, he and the princess returned home and were wed. They lived happily ever after. The end."

"I like that story," Trunks said before looking at his brother.

Little Vegeta only shrugged, not openly admitting that he actually liked being read to by his mother before bed. "It was all right."

It was Vegeta's turn to chuckle as he ruffled the hair of both his boys. "See, that wasn't so bad," Bulma murmured. "I think this was a nice, quiet family moment."

"When the baby comes, he'll be able to join us, too, right?" Little Vegeta asked, some of his excitement at the prospect of getting another sibling shining through.

"He?" Bulma questioned. "And what, mister, makes you think we won't have a girl." She tickled her son and he started laughing.

"S-Stop," he begged between laughs. His mother did so and caught his smile. "And I don't know, but aren't girls usually annoying as kids?"

"I'll try not to take offense to that," Bulma replied softly, smiling over at her mate who was just taking in the interaction between mother and son.

"I think it would be cool to have a sister," Trunks stated, but then he frowned, "but what about all those kings who are trying to marry off the baby that hasn't even been born yet?"

"How do you know about that?" Vegeta asked the lavender-haired boy.

Trunks hesitated and nervously grinned up at his father. "Um…eavesdropping?"

Vegeta sighed. "Try not to make a habit of that. And don't worry about them. We're not marrying off a child we don't have yet."

"So when does the baby get here?" Little Vegeta asked.

"Well, with you boys, it took about eight to nine months, so it'll probably be around the same," Bulma explained.

"That long?" the twins whined.

The older prince scoffed. "You would think if you're training for a baby, it would go much faster the second time."

Bulma bit her lip to stop from laughing as she eyed her mate who was frowning with furrowed brows. She understood his concerns about having the actual talk with them, but Gohan's version certainly was entertaining. "As the brat said, those 'training sessions' are private between mates and not up for discussion, understand?"

"Fine," the boys surrendered.

"We'll be patient, then," Trunks mumbled.

"That's what I like to hear," Bulma stated as she stood up and bent down to give her boys kisses on their foreheads. Vegeta didn't show that kind of affection to their kids, but he did place his hands on their shoulders, gently squeezing them. "Now, off to bed."

"Night, mom! Night, dad!" both princes said before they flew out of the room and headed to their own for some much needed rest.

Bulma closed the door behind them only to wind up trapped against it. She turned around and was met with Vegeta's hungry kisses as he held her gently in place. Moaning slightly into the kiss, Bulma pushed him away a bit just so that she could catch her breath. She wasn't used to these random times where Vegeta would grab her from behind like that, but as long as it was him she could handle it. It just came as a surprise, these moments of desperation, because he rarely ever acted on them keeping her comfort level in mind. "What was that for?"

"You are the most amazing woman in the universe," he told her. "And motherhood looks too damn good on you."

The queen grinned at Vegeta, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. "And fatherhood looks really good on you, too, my king. The boys love you so much."

Vegeta leaned in again, claiming her lips with his as one of his hands moved to her stomach. He sighed into the kiss in relief as he felt the small energy stirring inside of her. "Even though this is a bad time, I don't necessarily mind the baby. You're giving me yet another amazing gift, my yuubutsu. I will do everything in my power to keep you both safe."

"I know you will," Bulma replied as returned his kisses. A knock on the door, though, separated them.

Bulma answered the door to see her brother-in-law smiling sheepishly at her. "Um, sorry if I'm interrupting anything," Tarble offered. "I just wanted to talk to you guys about something."

"Is everything all right?" Vegeta asked, slightly concerned. When Tarble smiled over at him, he relaxed.

"Yeah, it is. I just wanted to talk to you guys about some things I've been working on in the lab. It's going to help when all of the competitors get here."

"What do you mean?" Bulma asked. As she voiced her question she frowned. The fact that she had to ask that just showed how little she had been in the lab for a while. That was quite frustrating now that she thought about it. She would have to make it a point to get down there and make sure nothing was falling behind.

"Well," Tarble stated, holding his hands behind his back, "I've been working on something. I thought about it a while ago. I decided to look into upgrading our armor."

"What kinds of upgrade?" Vegeta inquired. He was actually interested to hear Tarble's idea to see if it would be worth investigation.

"It's a combination of the expanding armor that our soldiers used off-world when they whenever they went to a planet with a moon," Tarble began to explain, "and Bulma's shield technology. I had Gohan use one of the old prototypes and realized that when protected by the shield, I couldn't feel his ki at all."

"Really?" Bulma asked. She couldn't sense energy, so when she made the shield prototypes, she had no idea that she actually used a component that blocked out ki readings.

Tarble smiled at his sister-in-law and nodded. "I was surprised, too, but then I actually tried to construct a piece of armor with the shield system installed inside and realized that the wearer could actually mislead the enemies. They wouldn't be able to sense ki at all. It's malleable and great for stealth missions where fighting is unnecessary, but still protects from ki blasts in case someone is ever caught. I was thinking…you and Chi Chi should wear them when the guests arrive. That way, even if they have the ability to read ki or use those scouter devices, they'll never know either of you are pregnant. And…if they attacked you, you and the baby would be safe."

Bulma breathed a sigh of relief before grinning at the young Saiyan. "Thank you, Tarble. I would have never been able to figure that out without you. I had no idea that the shields could stop someone from sensing ki since I can't sense it myself."

"Speaking of which," Tarble spoke up again, "Bardock said that he wanted you to meet him tomorrow in the training area. He said he wanted to train you to sense ki so that you're aware of your surroundings and some basic defense, if Vegeta is okay with it, of course."

Both Tarble and Bulma looked to the king who mulled it over briefly before nodding. "It would be in her best interest," he agreed. "As long as he is careful."

"He will be," Tarble promised. "He said he's not really going to attack her or anything. He just figured she should learn the basics."

Vegeta nodded again and sent Tarble to inform Bardock that he agreed with his plans of training. He and Bulma then took to the bed for Bulma to get some adequate rest now that she would be training. Vegeta, though, decided to stay up a bit longer just holding his mate as she slept and feeling the shifting energy of his unborn child. It was truly surreal to feel another life growing day by day.

After Peppan had left, Raditz had felt hollow as his own shame came crashing down on him. It took a few hours for the reality of his situation to hit. He was actually mated to Peppan, and he realized that he had been foolish. It couldn't be fully his fault, but it definitely wasn't Peppan's. He could accept that. The fault lied in his own idiocy. His mind had perceived Peppan escaping purging life as rejecting him. He hadn't listened to her then, and that caused a misunderstanding that he had let last longer than necessary. He shook his head as he thought back to that day.

"So…why exactly did you call me here?"

He eyed Peppan curiously as her tail twitched nervously. Something told him that whatever his teammate had to tell him was big. He wondered if it had anything to do with their upcoming mission. They were scheduled to launch at the end of the week, and usually Peppan was hesitant about each mission. Lately, for the past four missions, Peppan had been confiding in him her fears. It would either be about that…or she could be pregnant. Raditz, then, grew nervous from his own thought.

"I…the last mission was too much for me," she admitted. "I didn't think it was going to be as bad as it was. The quadrant where Turles had sent me was definitely full of weaker beings…" The woman shivered as she thought about it. "But, Raditz, I need to be honest with you. I can't do another purge. I quit the team."

His mind went scarily silent before emotions started chaotically spinning through his head. "You're what?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, not able to look him in the eye.

His heart beat heavy and slow as he narrowed his eyes at her. He took her apology as a sign that she was turning him away to face this new planet alone, without her by his side as they comforted each other in the nights. Did she have any idea what she was doing to him then? Didn't she understand that he had been hurt? Raditz couldn't answer those questions and he stood up abruptly and started to walk out of the bar that had become their safe haven. At the door, he stopped, not looking back at the woman. "You're a coward," he told her before he exited her life for what he had thought would be forever.

Raditz gripped the drink in his hand, glaring hard at its contents. He realized now that he should have let Peppan explain back then. He had known that she was on her last threads of sanity. Killing children and their mothers went against everything Peppan believed it. Of course, she hadn't been happy killing innocent men, either, but the mothers and the children always hit her hard. Raditz could still remember when she confessed to him for the first time that she was dreaming of a world without purging.

Peppan had stayed off to the side, away from the fire, on the planet they were camping out on. They had just finished purging a small planet and needed to leave since all the food resources were depleted and the blood of its inhabitants poisoned the water. The team of five stopped off at a temperate, forested planet. There, they found plenty of animals to hunt and crystal clear drinking water. It was a small paradise that provided the group solace, but not Raditz or Peppan.

Raditz was always jealous of Turles's ability to just shrug off the senseless murders. The other men in their group seemed able to handle it as well. Raditz, though, could never look past the fact that it was murder. They were hired to be murderers, plain and simple, and it enraged him to no end that they had no say in the matter. With their king still in power, there was no choice. Besides, purging was the only way to get enough money to provide their large family with food and whatever medical supplies they could find to sustain their mother's life.

Listening to the men celebrating the success of their mission and their journey home, Raditz scoffed and moved as far away as possible, settling next to Peppan. She was sitting, arms wrapped around her legs as she rested her chin against her knees. He watched her wondering what was going on inside her head. Eventually, she sighed and looked to him realizing that he was there and not going to leave. "What is it?" she asked him.

Raditz wasn't sure what Peppan thought he was going to ask of her, but her voice sounded so empty and tired and she was probably waiting to be given an order to hunt or gather. "Why are you sitting over here alone?"

He could see her pure astonishment before she looked down and away from him. "I'm sorry, but…I would prefer not to talk about it with one of my commanding officers. It's no big deal, really."

Raditz chuckled a bit at her statement. "Peppan, right?" she nodded. "Look, no one here is anyone's commanding officer. We're all just Saiyans doing a job. If you want to talk about something it's not like I'm going to report you to anyone. Not even that bastard of a king."

Peppan gasped at Raditz's declaration and quickly turned towards him. "You mean…you don't support the king. You don't purge just to purge."

It was Raditz's turn to be stunned. "Peppan," he voiced carefully, growing serious as his form relaxed only slightly, "I don't think anyone purges just to purge anymore. It stopped being about finding good challenges a long time ago. The only reason Turles and I are here is because it's the only job that pays and we have our family to look after. We don't agree with the current rule."

"Oh," she said dumbly. "That's…actually, that's really a relief. I thought for sure I'd be killed if anyone on the team found out that I was apprehensive about purging."

"I didn't know you'd be so affected by it," Raditz admitted. "When I chose you for the team…you had qualified easily into our ranks with your power level. Why did you even apply for the position?"

"I didn't have a choice," Peppan answered. "My mother wouldn't let me do anything else. Mostly because of the pay."

Raditz was surprised that anyone's parent would force them into this line of work. His mother was a butcher until her illness took over, and before that she was on a purge team just because she thought she'd be doing good work through diplomacy. His father had been hardened back then and had to look out for her as they got through their first missions. After his father returned from a mission, he seemed distraught and ended up turning to medicine instead, luckily for the family since his mate had fallen ill after the birth of Kakarot and Turles.

"That responsibility shouldn't have been placed on you," Raditz told her. "You're just a child."

Peppan actually laughed. "Idiot, I'm no younger than you."

"Exactly," Raditz retorted. "I am a child."

"Yeah, okay," the girl snorted. She looked over to the fire, a small smile on her face. "Don't you want to go celebrate us going home with the other guys?"

"Feh," Raditz spat. "Celebrate returning to our 'glorious leader.' Don't make me sick. There's nothing to celebrate...the fact that we just got done killing a whole race. I'm staying here."

His and Peppan's eyes met, and the two of them seemed to reach a silent understand as she leaned her head against his arm. The two of them watched their other three teammates making fools of themselves in the firelight.

She should have been there by now. Peppan always came to her bar before sunset, taking over for her other workers and letting the majority of them go. She sometimes even sent the chefs home, not docking their pay ever. How did Raditz know? Well, mostly from eavesdropping, but also because Peppan seemed to be the only one working the nights that were anniversaries of their past purges. He could never forget them, and apparently Peppan couldn't either.

There was never a night she didn't work, but so far she hadn't shown at all. Raditz ordered another drink, hoping that she was just late and that she wasn't at home wallowing because of his mistakes.

Raditz and Turles could hardly believe it. Months after Peppan quit, she opened a bar and the rumor circulating the square was that it was better than their usual watering hole. It took a lot of convincing for Raditz to go, but Turles had pointed out that he could always go home with any girl he wanted. Raditz grimaced at the idea. It didn't appeal to him, even though Peppan had left him. Still, he kept the idea locked away in his mind.

He couldn't help but wonder how Peppan opened up a bar with limited finances, unless her mother stopped harassing her for money and she saved her purging earnings. It was an impressive little accomplishment, but as soon as the fondness entered his heart, Raditz snuffed it out with his bitterness and anger.

"Welcome, boys, what can I ge-" Peppan greeted before she realized that Raditz and his brother were both staring at her, hatred in Raditz's eyes and amusement in Turles's. "H-Hey, guys."

"Hey," Raditz spat. "That's all you can say to two of the people that saved your ass multiple times."

"I'm just surprised to see you here," she admitted in a soft tone. Now that Raditz thought back, Peppan looked vulnerable then, too. As vulnerable as she looked in the present time. "What can I get for you? It's on the house, okay?"

"Sounds good," Turles agreed as he started listing off what he wanted. Raditz simply stared intensely into Peppan's eyes and could see hers pleading with his. What she was pleading for, Raditz still couldn't figure out. Maybe, she had been silently begging him to return to her so that she wouldn't feel such emptiness. Had Raditz not been so prideful and angry, he might have been able to see the truth. Instead, he let himself get picked up by a woman as soon as he was done eating, and he looked back at Peppan's shaky form before smirking. He had finally found a way to get his revenge.

"Can I get you anything else?" the waitress asked him. Raditz simply looked up at her before his eyes returned to his glass. "Okay, I can get you another, but after this, I'll have to cut you off."

"I'll have t' cut you two brats off t'night," the bartender said to both Raditz and Peppan. Their eyes were already glazed over. They had been drinking all night.

They had just gotten back from the latest purge, and the events during the mission left them so broken. Each night after they killed the world's fighters and their king, the citizens actually lined up in front of them waiting to be killed one by one. It was as if the inhabitants knew that the Saiyans did not want to perform these acts, and each inhabitant looked at them with pity.

This was the only planet that even Turles and the other team members were truly haunted by. It was easy after the whole race had willingly let them take their lives, but at the same time it was the hardest thing they had ever done. During their other purges, they could attack at a distance, never seeing the looks on the faces of the innocents. Now, they would each be haunted by every face. For Peppan, the women and children stood out the most, mainly because the majority of them went to her looking into her eyes with empathy and understanding.

The slaughter lasted three whole days, and each night, Peppan and Raditz went off somewhere, because Peppan was afraid to let anyone else see her vulnerable. Raditz would hold her as she cried in agony each night. Her presence comforted him through the night as well. He didn't ever want to let her go.

He wouldn't have been able to sleep had she not been in his arms; he knew that. Nightmares would have consumed him; he knew that, too. Peppan, she would have been awake all night if not for him. She would have gone off somewhere alone to sob out her pain. Instead, she had fallen asleep first, and he had let her soft breathing to lull him into slumber.

Once the returned to the planet, things had gotten worse. Even though they had gotten through the purge quickly because of the people willingly dying, the king was still unhappy. Why he was unhappy, none of the Saiyans knew, but it didn't matter. He docked their pay for no reason, and that night Peppan's mother threw her out.

Raditz couldn't go home, couldn't face his parents, Kakarot, or his young, untainted nephew. Again, he was jealous of Turles because he could just return to life as normal, not caring how many lives he had taken. Despite being haunted, Turles could easily walk into the house and up to his room and sleep peacefully.

He found himself at the bar, and Peppan was already there nursing a heavy drink. She confided in him that her mother threw her out because she didn't bring home enough money and that she had nowhere to go. Raditz admitted that he had a place to go, but couldn't face his family after what they had done. Peppan understood, and the only reason she had been at the bar was because she wouldn't be able to sleep sober. Another thing Raditz learned about her that knight was that Peppan sometimes forced herself to stay awake because she was afraid to sleep. She expected him to pity her, but really Raditz felt like he could relate. He only ever slept well when she was in his arms, which only happened when they were off-world.

Once the bartender cut them off, they left the bar together, surprisingly laughing. They weren't really laughing at anything either. Somehow they ended up at a hotel, though to this day Raditz had no idea if he or she even paid for that night. He barely remembered anything that happened.

He did remember her body, and he definitely remembered them waking up together in bed. Peppan had been shy around him after that, but he certainly wasn't shy. Any chance he got, he would pull her aside and kiss her. The two of them continued to find solace in each other. It wasn't until she quit the team that Raditz had shut her out completely. Now, he regretted it.

"Hey, handsome," some woman said, gliding her hand across his shoulders.

Raditz felt a jolt in his chest and pulled away from her. It didn't deter the woman, only made her laugh. "What's your name?"

"Not interested," Raditz growled out through gritted teeth before tossing some money on the table. He stormed out, leaving a stunned woman to go off to her next victim.

"How are you feeling?"

Chi Chi looked over to Kakarot who was staring at her like she would disappear if he blinked. "I-I'm fine?" the healer replied hesitantly.

Kakarot realized how intense he was being, and immediately changed his demeanor. "Sorry, Chi," he offered. "It's just…it's been a while since you've been pregnant, and I just need to know that you're okay."

"I'm fine, Kakarot," she assured him, placing her small hand on his large one. "I'm just feeling a little sick, but that's completely normal."

"I thought 'morning sickness' happened in the morning, though," Kakarot stated seriously, though the statement made Chi Chi laugh.

"You know," she said, "I'm not even sure why they call it that. It can be at any time of the day. It just depends on the pregnancy."

Kakarot rested his head on his hand, propped up by his elbow, tilting his head slightly. The hand that Chi Chi was holding moved away from her and was placed over her abdomen. "Hey, in there," he spoke to her stomach. "Take it easy on your mother, will ya?"

A smile formed on the woman's face as she took the hand Kakarot released and ran it through his spiky hair. The Saiyan's breath hitched slightly at the sensation, his tail finding its way around her wrist and pulling it down in front of him. He sat up, taking her hand, and the seriousness returned. "We're going to have to be careful when the guests arrive. Frieza and his men have these scouters that read ki. If we can't find a way to conceal the baby's ki, we're going to be in trouble."

The smile dissipated, and Chi Chi's expression became stern as well. "We're going to be okay, Kakarot. Everything will work out."

"I know," he replied. "It's just that-" A knock on the door interrupted him. "Come in."

Tarble opened the door and entered the room with a smooth plate that looked like part of a piece of armor. Both Kakarot and Chi Chi stared at the young prince strangely. "I know everyone's worried about our enemies finding out about the babies. I modified some armor with Bulma's shield system and, long story short, Chi Chi can wear this and it will hide the baby's ki. It's not like they'll be showing then, but at least they'll also have added protection from ki blasts…just in case."

"Does it really work?" Kakarot asked, hopeful once again, hanging on the prince's word.

Tarble smiled at the general. "Gohan helped me test it out. It definitely works."

Relief was felt by the couple as Tarble set the stomach plate down on their dresser. He returned to the door and looked back at the two mates. "You can rest easy. We'll take every precaution to make sure everyone is protected. Have a good night."

Once alone, Kakarot and Chi Chi exchanged excited grins. Now, with the biggest concern out of the way, they could revel in the news, the news that they would once again have a baby. Everything would work out. Even the tournament would work out.

Time moved a little too fast for Vegeta as he watched the visiting vessels touch down on the planet's soil. He couldn't believe that it was actually time for the events to begin. Frieza's energy was the first he felt. It made his skin crawl, but he told himself that it was Bulma's reaction to sensing the energy of her world's destroyer.

Her lessons with Bardock had been successful. Where she was by no means strong enough to take someone on in a fight, she could at least evade if need be. The armor was perfect in hiding the pregnancy. It amazed Vegeta that the second Bulma adorned herself in the armor, their child's energy with which he was constantly attuned completely vanished. At first, the disconnection tormented Vegeta, but logically he knew. He wished that Bulma could forego the armor at night, but even then the baby would be in danger. He had made Bulma take the armor off once more just so that he could sense their child's energy once more before the weeks to come.

He sucked in a breath of air and shakily released it as Nappa walked up to him, placing his hand on his shoulder. "You ready, son?" the former general asked him.

Vegeta answered with a curt nod, still watching as the aliens disembarked their ships.

It was time.