Seeing as they had left the conversation early, Raditz and Piccolo had only now learned that Goku had no intention of going back into the chamber despite not being strong enough to beat Cell. He explained that another year in the chamber wouldn't be of any significant help. To prove it, Goku pointed out that while Piccolo gotten noticeably stronger after the year of training, Raditz had only improved somewhat. Once it became clear that Goku wouldn't change his mind, they said their goodbyes to Piccolo, and the three teleported back home.
"What the heck happened to you, baby girl?" blonde Launch had immediately asked upon seeing her rough state.
Before Ranch could dismiss it, Raditz spoke up. "She got into a fight with Vegeta."
"What! I'll make that bastard pay!" Launch shouted angrily.
"Mom, cool it," Ranch said. "Besides, I wasn't exactly innocent. And it's not as if you can do anything to him."
"You think so, huh?" Launch said derisively. "Just you wait. Go get cleaned up and change, baby girl, I'll handle this." Wary of what her mother would do, Ranch did as she was asked.
That evening, Ranch had the very first full family dinner that she could remember. Goku, Aunt Chi-Chi, Gohan, Raditz, Launch, little Ranch, and big Ranch were all around the table enjoying a large and delicious home-cooked meal. If it wasn't for the fact that she had her own time, world, aunt, and mother to get back to, Ranch might have been tempted into trying to talk Trunks into staying permanently.
The next morning Ranch bade farewell to her parents, and took off for Capsule Corp, where to her slight disappointment she saw Trunks got a haircut. Oh well, she thought, it'll grow back. After picking up a new set of armor from a rather grumpy Bulma, she and Trunks made a detour to the hot springs for a while.
Once they were done with that they went there to do, they began donning their armor. They had mutually decided beforehand to get it out of their system for now because they agreed it would be prudent to forgo such activates while in the chamber. "Hey," Trunks started rather hesitantly as he put on his gloves, "so yesterday I felt you and my dad power up. And not too long after my mom got a call that really put her in a bad mood. Are those two things related by any chance?"
"Vegeta and I fought," she answered nonchalantly, threading her tail through the fabric. "Then my mom called your mom about it."
"But why?" he asked in dismay, despite expecting that response.
"Payback, I guess. Trust me, I wish she didn't, either," Ranch sighed.
"No, I mean why did you two have to fight?"
"Because we don't like each other, why else?" she said obviously, putting on her gauntlets.
"Come on, Ranch, it's one thing if I fight him, but I don't want you—"
"I can take care of myself, you know," Ranch cut in irritably, stuffing their clothes into a bag.
"Obviously you can, but I still don't like the idea of you two fighting," Trunks argued. "I mean, how'd you feel if I fought your dad?"
She plainly stated, "If he pissed you off, and me or my mom aren't around then go for it."
"Well…I mean…I suppose…" Trunks sighed, dropped it, and they both took to the air. He'd just have to make sure that his mother was around as much as possible to keep his father reigned in.
By the time they got to the lookout they didn't have to wait long for the chamber's doors to open. When Vegeta exited the chamber and walked passed them without saying a word, Ranch and Trunks both noticed that, like Raditz, he got stronger but not by much. Still, the two again entered the chamber. After their first day of training, they were both exhausted, but they weren't quite done. Without warning, Ranch produced an artificial moon, and she would always treasure the look of pure shock on Trunks' face as she transformed….
A year passed for them, and unfortunately the result was very much like what was predicted. When they exited, Goku was there waiting for them. To their surprise, he announced that everyone was at Capsule Corp waiting their return, and after they changed out of their worn out armor into the normal clothes left with Mr. Popo, Goku teleported them away.
Upon their arrival, blue-haired Launch had Ranch sit on a chair, so that she could cut her hair, which had grown out of control after another year (Trunks declined one). After that she was told to put on another of the nice dresses that was bought for her. Ranch expected to be set up for another date night, until Launch and Chi-Chi got dressed up as well.
That evening was by far the strangest for the two time travelers. Not only did the families go to a fancy restaurant, and not only was everyone there dressed for the occasion, but everyone met everyone. Somehow the wives had managed to get their Saiyan husbands to fall in line, and wear a suit and tie—including Vegeta, who was clearly seething, but otherwise behaved. But despite how uncomfortable most of them were to be in such fancy attire, when the food came their complaints disappeared. In the end they ended up ordering so much food that the restaurant could barely keep up.
When the night wound down, and they left the restaurant, Trunks quietly admitted to Ranch, "I've got a feeling that mom wouldn't have gone this far if it was just me around."
"Maybe. Maybe not," Bulma said, overhearing them. She came up and put her arms around Trunks and Ranch. "But how can I resist going all out when my future son shows up with his girlfriend?"
Trunks then said to her, "It was you who basically told us that this wasn't a pleasure trip."
Bulma waved that off. "Sounds as if future me has remember how important it is to have fun."
"Bulma. Are we done here?" Vegeta demanded.
She said, "Yeah, I supp—" Vegeta immediately powered up and flew off into the night sky, leaving a power trail behind him. As annoyed as Bulma was, that was a clear sign that the night was over, and not long after Ranch ended up teleporting home with her family.
The next day was spent relaxing, despite Ranch's disapproval of her uncle's lax attitude. There were only five days left before the fight with Cell, and the training from that point forward was sporadic at best. Ranch did spar with Gohan, and she was both pleased and shocked at just how much stronger he had gotten. She had a feeling that if it wasn't for her extra year of training then Gohan would at least be dead even with her in terms of strength.
Piccolo would also drop by, and after he sparred with them, he would go off to the side and meditate. What was curious to Ranch was that Raditz would join him, and when she asked he told her that it was part of the training they did in the chamber. Seeing as she hadn't mediated since her Gohan had died, and since Piccolo was her mentor's mentor, she decided to join in too. Nothing of note happened as far as she could tell, but it was nice to just sit and try to clear her mind.
At one point Ranch was sparring with Goku for the very first time, and had quickly found herself overwhelmed. He was just too fast for her, and when he did allow her to get past his defenses, her attacks didn't have much impact.
"Great job!" Goku said approvingly, when it became clear to him she was too tired to continue. "You really improved a lot!"
"Thanks," she said, catching her breath as she powered down. "Wow, when you told Vegeta you were stronger than him you weren't kidding. Hard to believe you don't think you can take on Cell."
"What can I say? He's really tough opponent."
Ranch groaned, saying once again, "Which is why I've been saying you should let us help."
"Don't worry, it'll be fine," he replied as usual.
"You say that, Kakarot, but you refuse to tell us what you plan on doing," complained Raditz, who had been observing close by.
"Seriously, I'd like a better idea of what we should be expecting other than watching from the sidelines," added Trunks, who had joined in on the day's training.
"Look, I promise I know what I'm doing," he assured them confidently. "Now, how about you two go a round or two, while Ranch and I take a break?"
Raditz said in exasperation, "You better be right about this, Kakarot."
Trunks also knew that it would be futile to try and continue the conversation. So he said to Raditz, "How about it? We haven't fought yet."
"Very well," Raditz agreed. He then smirked. "I promise I won't take my frustrations with Vegeta out on you."
"Maybe you should. It'll be a better fight," he said as he transformed. Goku smiled as Trunks and Raditz got lost in their fight, while Ranch watched with interest.
The calm before the storm almost had Trunks and Ranch fooled. If they ignored the hysteria that Cell caused, it would easily be assumed that there was nothing wrong in the world. They'd love nothing more than to enjoy days of peace with the family that they had lost, and with each other. But it could not continue. The day of Cell's tournament eventually descended upon them.