Barrier Forest, three months later

Training was a massive ordeal for everyone involved. The increase in strength for the individual Saiyan was slow but steady, the gains varying from person to person. While physical strength was increased at a slow rate, tactical prowess and common knowledge grew at an acceptable pace. The only ones that lagged behind were the more dim-witted brutes of the old warrior castes, several of which required an incentive to get them to understand. Regardless of prowess, many Saiyans enjoyed the stealth regimen during the evenings, for that meant they could use what was learned to hunt for game to eat afterwards. The trial for this evening was deliberate presence - making yourself known only when you want to, and not by accident. Many skittish animals proved excellent markers for this test. Selypa, Leek, and Gine observed from a great distance and altitude as several Saiyans worked to slowly approach their respective prey.

"Progress seems steady," Leek whispered, training his eyes as well as his newfound ability to sense ki on the forest. "They're certainly doing well to keep concealed."

"Yeah, especially when we add unexpected variables," Selypa commented, firing a thin beam of ki at a distant tree branch, causing it to snap and create a disturbance. "We should move to situational awareness training soon."

"I agree," Gine nodded as she struggled with ki sense. While She and Leek, along with Bardock and Tōma picked up ki sense with relative ease, Selypa, Toteppo, and Panbūkin struggled with the concept. Toteppo and Panbūkin she deduced had tough times because they were denser than lead, and given their tutor on the subject was Thouser, his accent and advanced vocabulary likely did not help matters. As for Selypa, she was always hot-headed and stubborn - too stubborn for her own good, and likely let her frustration mount before she could get the technique down. Gine was snapped from her musings when she heard a muted groan and a gentle brushing of skin as Selypa wiped her eyes with her forearm. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine," Selypa answered, blinking the irritation away from her violet eyes. "Just some dust in my eyes."

"At this altitude?" Gine retorted.

"I said I'm fine," Selypa repeated with a snarl.

Gine remained unconvinced, but dropped the subject to continue observing the Saiyans during their individual hunts, letting loose a crackling kiai once in a while to upset the local wildlife. Her attention turned to Selypa once again as she continued to rub her eyes with irritation.

"Gine's onto something," Leek commented, seeing the Saiyan woman's eyes turn slightly red from all the rubbing. "You're focusing too much on your eyes."

"Didn't I tell you I was fine?!" Selypa snapped with irritation.

"You're lying," Gine retorted, her face warped with concern. "Your eyes are red and slightly watering, and you've been rubbing them more and more frequently. I think you need to get your eyes checked, make sure your retina implants aren't failing."

"Look, when I say my eyes are fine, they're fine!" Selypa shouted, her frustration mounting.

"Hey!"

The group turned in the direction of a familiar voice and saw Tōma flying up from the forest. "What's with all the shouting?! You spooked a juicy dinosaur I was gonna kill!"

"These two idiots think I should get my eyes checked," Selypa answered, rolling her eyes at the idea.

"Then get them checked," Tōma agreed, causing Selypa to flinch back with surprise. She was about to say something before Tōma held up a finger to stop her. "No use trying to save face if your retina implants are starting to fail. If that happens, we lose our second-best scout and our third-best combatant will be visually impaired."

"I'm picking up ki sense though!" Selypa retorted.

"And you've been unable to pull it off so far," Tōma retorted back. "Head back and get your eyes checked. That's an order."

Selypa had no retort and merely grumbled as she flew back to the settlement to have Nion check on her eyes. Tōma turned to Leek and Gine and sighed. "You guys can hold out while she's gone?"

"No problem here," Leek shrugged.

"You're gonna go make sure she actually gets a check-up, right?" Gine guessed aloud.

"I swear, you have to be psychic like your mate," Tōma sighed with amusement.

"He's not psychic," Gine deadpanned, trying not to palm her face. "Just because he can put two and two together faster than any of you guys combined doesn't mean he can see the future. He's been wrong before."

"Buzzkill," Tōma snorted. "Alright, I'm gonna go make sure Selypa doesn't run into any trouble. Or trees."

Leek snickered at that last comment while Gine simply gave her trademark warm smile. Tōma simply rolled his eyes at the two scouts and flew off in the direction Selypa went.

"Tōma has a crush on her," Leek muttered, a sly grin warping his face.

"It's… hard to disagree with that," Gine responded, trying to stifle her giggles at how right Leek was.

The two were snapped from their conversation when they passively detected a rhythmic swelling and recession of ki coming from Tōma's direction. Another fluctuation came just a few miles west, but was far shorter, almost as if it was a response.

"Tōma's getting Bardock to fill in for Selypa," Leek announced. "I knew this technique would work with pulsar code."

"I definitely see the benefits," Gine nodded. "It's more subtle than a thumping ki ball, and I doubt scouter wearers could translate it, what with the numbers fluctuating."

Leek and Gine proceeded to return to monitoring the forest below as a few other Saiyans - those who had learned ki sense with ease - picked up the odd fluctuations generated by Tōma and later Bardock. Eventually the Saiyan commander in question joined the two in creating disturbances and agitating the local fauna.

"Hey boss," Leek spoke up, not taking his eyes or senses off the forest. "Are you… well, are you actually psychic?"

"That's the first thing you ask me when I show up?" Bardock smacked his hand into his face and groaned. "If I was psychic, I would've told you to shut up before you finished your sentence. I can't read minds and I'm not clairvoyant. Besides, do you seriously take me for some schmuck who relies on future powers?"

"Told you," Gine added, smirking the entire time, much to Bardock's delight and Leek's dismay.

Selypa flew at cruising speed over the tree line, absolutely furious that her fellow scouts think she should do a medical check-up on her eyes. She was never a fan of the doctor, especially at a young age, when a flashbang grenade seared her retinae and she had to get retinal implants to repair her hampered vision. The operation was successful and her vision had been restored, in fact improved upon, but the surgery changed the color of her irises from their traditional onyx hue to a vibrant violet. Suffice to say that the stronger, and more often than not, dumber, Saiyans began throwing out accusations that she was a bastard hybrid instead of a pure-blooded Saiyan. They couldn't be farther from the truth, as both of her parents were indeed full-blooded Saiyans, and her eyes were changed to mend an injury. Selypa was snapped from her musings when she heard the presence of another flying closely behind her and to her left.

"Piss off, Tōma," The woman snarled. "I don't need a babysitter."

"With temper tantrums like yours, I disagree," Tōma jeered with a playful grin. "Someone has to make sure you get those eyes of yours checked, because you can't be relied upon to do it yourself."

Selypa had no retort and simply sighed. Tōma began speaking again. "Not gonna blame you for hating doctors visits, but that doesn't mean you should let your eyes fall apart."

"Yeah yeah," Selypa dismissed, venom laced within her sarcasm. "I'm the second best scout and third best combatant, yadda yadda yadda, I get it! Why do you even care anyways?"

"Do you want the actual reason, or the one that makes logical sense?" Tōma asked, grinning the entire time.

"You don't want Bardock to kill you for neglecting a squad mate," Selypa retorted in a deadpan manner. "I can only guess what your real reason is."

"Sheesh, tough crowd," Tōma shrugged.

The two Saiyans continued their flight back to Salad, Tōma keeping an eye on Selypa's irritation, both physical and mental, from a short distance. Soon the faint glow of campfires and makeshift huts rolled over the horizon along with the still-parked spacecraft from their escape months ago. Selypa touched down first followed by her superior and they walked into the support barge to find Nion, who was running an inventory check of medical supplies. The blue-haired Saiyan turned to see her new guests walk in.

"Yo Nion," Tōma called out. "Selypa needs a check-up."

"Will you shut up?!" Selypa snapped back towards Tōma, who was trying his damndest to stifle a grin. The woman turned back to the medical officer with a sigh. "I need to get my retinal implants checked. Lots of irritation as of late."

"Well, let's have a look then," Nion answered with a hum. She rummaged through one of the drawers and pulled out a magnifying lens with a light. "Hold your left eye open for me please."

Selypa sneered, but complied. Nion took the lens to her own eye to examine Selypa's. The light irritated the violet-eyed Saiyan's retinae to no end, but she held firm.

"Mhm," Nion nodded, earning a mildly confused look from Selypa. "Your retinal implants are fine for now, but they simply need to be cleaned. Luckily I can mix together a solvent that will take care of the issue."

"Solvent?" Selypa repeated, not familiar with what the medical officer was getting at.

"Eye drops, in layman's terms," Nion elaborated as she pulled out three phials and began measuring them in a beaker. "Just let it drop into each eye and blink a few times. It'll also help soothe any irritation you have."

Nion poured the stirred contents of the beaker into a little bottle followed by a dropper lid fastened to the top, and proceeded to hand the small container to Selypa. "Twice a day for a week, but no more than 5 times a day, and no more than two weeks. Once that timeframe is up, your eyes can go another decade before the irritation starts up again."

"Huh," Tōma hummed as he folded his arms. "I thought it was more severe than that."

"Regular maintenance is usually a must for retinal implants like hers," Nion commented off-hand. "I must admit, I'm sort of envious."

"What's there to be jealous about?" Selypa inquired. "The coloration in my eyes caused by my surgery made all the dumbasses above think I was some bastard child with some other race."

"Ignorant morons, I'm sure," Nion sighed. "I get similar insults just because I dyed my hair, though if you want my opinion, those eyes suit you."

Selypa couldn't help but blush at the comment and began to pout, all while Tōma gave a warm smile that was unusual, even for him.

"Well, are you gonna try those eye drops, or what?" Nion implored, gesturing to the bottle still in her patient's hand.

Selypa sighed and pulled her eyelids back, dripping one drop into one eye and blinking rapidly to distribute the solvent, and proceeded to do the same with the other. The result was almost immediate as the clear liquid cooled the irritation around her eyes and her vision improved by a margin.

"Whoo!" Selypa exclaimed, still blinking through the solvent. "Stimulating."

"Alright, let's get you back," Tōma directed, his smile unwavering.

"Fine, but what's with the dumb look on your face?" Selypa inquired.

"Would you believe me if I said I was relieved Bardock won't kick my ass?" Tōma asked.

"No," Selypa answered flatly, but a small smile of her own began to form.

"Like I said, tough crowd."

"Alright, get a room you two," Nion interrupted. "I still need to take stock."

Selypa's small smile vanished and was replaced with a frown, all while Tōma was chuckling like an idiot. The two left the support barge to return to the stealth grounds.

2 Hours Later

Several Saiyans were happy to take a load off after today's training while others conversed about their gains around campfires as well as tell old war stories before Planet Vegeta's destruction. Bardock's squadron sat around their usual campfire telling various stories of previous missions or chance encounters, including one where Toteppo was called up as an exterminator to remove a worm that made its home within King Vegeta's wardrobe, but this was a pure fabrication and never happened. The crew still had a good laugh. Gine's mind was elsewhere as Romei had not been seen all day. Sharp and observant as shey may be, she could not find the Saiyan queen with her typical senses, and has resorted to seeking out her ki, all while her squad mates continued on about their absurd stories.

"Okay, so the king goes 'Toteppo! I need you to sterilize this closet!'" Panbūkin elaborated in between laughter. "Of course the big guy didn't know why, so the king leans in to whisper 'There's a fucking worm in one of my boots!'"

Everyone except for Gine laughed at this story, and Bardock spoke up. "You really need a new story," The Saiyan commander said while chuckling. "King Vegeta being scared of worms is like me being scared of syringes."

"And yet you're still laughing!" Panbūkin added.

"There!" Gine exclaimed suddenly. Her exclamation caused the crew's laughter to suddenly cease, and several eyes turned to her.

"Uh, s-sorry," The Saiyan scout sheepishly apologized. "I was uh, just trying to find the ki of different animals."

Everyone shrugged and continued on with their story. Only Bardock was unconvinced.

"Be right back," Bardock announced as he stood up. "Gine, with me."

"I bet things are gonna go down,~" Leek suggestively... suggested. His musings were quickly interrupted by a sudden feeling of heat whisk past his head where his scar was. The pilot let out a high-pitched yelp and shielded himself from any future attacks.

"Careful," Bardock warned, a dangerous smirk on his face, and his index finger outstretched, steam wafting from it. "That kind of talk might reopen that scar on your scalp."

The entire squadron broke out into laughter at Leek's misfortune while he sat and pouted, enduring the social torment. Bardock and Gine walked away from the campfire and out of earshot.

"Subtlety isn't your strong suit," Bardock playfully jeered as Gine's face was laced with a small amount of worry. "You just found her signal when you made your outburst, right?"

"Her highness isn't doing well," Gine sighed. "I think the grief is hitting her more than first anticipated."

"Pride and grief are quite volatile when mixed."

"I'm gonna go talk to her." Gine announced as she began walking towards the direction of Romei's ki. Bardock swiftly got in front of her and blocked her path.

"Gine, I don't think that's a-"

"Good idea?" Gine finished her mate's sentence. "I may be physically weak, but my will can be strong when I need it to be. I think Romei needs some of that strength right now."

Bardock stared at the Saiyan woman, who had a determined look in her eyes. Eventually the man sighed and got out of the way. "Don't get yourself killed. Romei was King Vegeta's wife for a reason."

The two embraced and then Bardock walked back to the bonfire where his squad was while Gine locked onto her target and took to the skies and flew west.

Western Crags

Far to the west of the Salad Settlement was a very rocky and mountainous region. The terrain was very uneven and jagged. Despite the warm color of the rocks, the climate was bone-chillingly cold and arid. Despite the harsh conditions, a few herbivorous dinosaurs could be found milling about looking for any edible plant life, but immediately ran for the hills when a loud rumble shook the area. Gine could be seen flying high above the crags, still locked on her target. After a few minutes, Queen Romei was in sight, throwing various physical attacks at the air and lobbing various ki attacks at several jagged rocks The warrior queen soon paused her training and landed with her breath haggard.

"Piss off you whelp!" Romei shouted, obviously directed at Gine. "I'm in no mood for conversation!"

"Your highness, the others are questioning your well-being," Gine spoke up, now landing a few dozen meters away.

"A Saiyan should only concern themselves with their own well-being," Romei retorted with a click of her tongue. "Now piss off already!"

"If a Saiyan should only concern themselves with their own well-being, you're not doing a good job at it," Gine retorted back, her gaze harshening.

Romei turned to face the Saiyan scout. Her eyes had bags and her hair was disheveled more than usual. Her normally generous figure was also slightly more gaunt.

"I said. Piss. Off." Romei warned one last time, her tone now dangerous. "I cannot show weakness. Not now, not ever."

"Then take it from someone who's been weak her entire life!" Gine snapped back. Romei's eyes widened with fury. "Have you looked at yourself?! You're letting your grief consume you! You're surrendering to your emotions, and you're running yourself ragged to the point of suicide! Is that what you want?! To rejoin your husband knowing that you allowed your weakness to be with him again?!"

Romei vanished for a split second and reappeared right in front of Gine, lodging her fist into the smaller woman's stomach. Gine's breath was forced out of her lungs and a cough of blood followed.

"What do you know of loss?!" Romei screamed, tears rolling down her face. "My King Vegeta was killed by that callous bastard and my firstborn is thrall to him! MY ENTIRE HOME WAS OBLITERATED!'

Gine's legs wanted to give out, but she stood her ground, slowly grabbing Romei's forearm and backing away from her fist with great difficulty. This left the queen surprised and confused, all while the scout looked up with fire in her eyes.

"You think you're the only one lamenting?" Gine growled as she coughed up another wad of blood. "My firstborn is with yours and is likely suffering more so due to his place in the caste system you disbanded! I never even got to know my secondborn because we sent him off-world shortly before our home was obliterated, and he's off gods-know-where! He could be dead, devolving into a feral beast, or worse! I may be weak, but I don't let it consume me!"

Romei was now livid and threw the same fist across Gine's face, knocking her back several meters and against a rocky wall, causing several boulders to break apart and fall down, partially burying the scout. The widowed monarch swiftly flew over to the pile of rubble and plucked Gine out of the rubble by the scruff of her combat jacket.

"You… are the Queen of the Saiyans," Gine groaned out in between breaths. "Your pride… shouldn't allow you... to be consumed this way. Instead… of using your power… to self-destruct like you are, use it to honor your husband's name… and liberate your children."

Romei's scowl relaxed as she processed the words she was hearing. Along with her face relaxing, her grip slackened as well, dropping Gine to the ground. Romei took several steps backward, almost losing balance as she held her head as it began to ache. Gine struggled to push herself to her feet, stumbling a few times, but got herself upright. Romei soon regained her composure and looked at the scout with an apologetic face. Gine's glare softened to one of genuine concern for the monarch.

"You're right," Romei croaked out as she stood up straight. "Suicide is the coward's way out."

"You should get some rest," Gine sighed as she began to hug her own abdomen. "And don't worry. I won't say a word of this."

"Do you need help?" Romei uncharismatically asked as Gine began to hobble away into flight. The queen herself then bit her tongue lightly as she realized what she had just said.

"I'll be able to make it back," Gine waved off. "A Saiyan should only concern themselves with their own well-being."

Gine did not believe in what she had just said, for she had expected this to happen. She knew Romei would lash out at her for the words she used, and she knew she would suffer major injuries like the ones she was nursing. Romei took off for the settlement with Gine slowly following behind, not out of courtesy, but because her ki reserves presently could not allow it.

Salad Settlement, Bardock's campfire

The squadron of Bardock were having a heated discussion that was just shy of silly. On one side, Tōma, Panbūkin and Toteppo were wanting the squad to perform awesome poses like the Ginyū squadron, while Bardock, Selypa, and Leek were abhorrently against the idea.

"Oh come on!" Tōma whined in an almost child-like fashion. "It would help boost morale and make us look cool!"

"Your definition of cool is absolute trash," Bardock retorted, palming his face. "If it weren't for their performance record and collective combat score, the Ginyū squadron would be nothing more than a glorified circus troupe!"

"We could totally pull it off though!" Panbūkin defended his second-in-command. "Toteppo could easily fit Butta's role, I can take Gurd's, Selypa can take Jheese's, and Tōma can take Reacoom's leaving…"

"An absolute disaster that should never happen in the first place," Selypa finished, a vein popping on her forehead. "What is it you… Gine! The hell happened to you?!"

The entire squadron turned to see Gine arrive with several cuts and bruises, as well as fresh cracks and dust riddling her otherwise pristine armor. Bardock immediately rushed over to support his mate, but the scout waved it off.

"I sought out Queen Romei and had some… choice words for her," Gine answered as she sat down with a groan, followed by a chuckle. "If I go out cold, could one of you take me to a healing tank?"

"Sheesh, you could've gotten yourself killed!" Leek whistled, seeing the state Gine was in.

"I know, but this kinda served a dual purpose," Gine sighed with a smile. Bardock and his squadron looked at her with confusion for a moment, but the Saiyan commander immediately caught on.

"I see what you did there," Bardock grinned. "Dangerous, but effective."

"Uh, am I missing something?" Panbūkin muttered.

"Recovery boost," Toteppo grunted knowingly. "When she recovers, she will become stronger than before"

"Ooooooh!~" Selypa exclaimed, a smirk of her own forming. "All the more reason to take our top scout to a healing tank now!"

"Oh crap…" Leek groaned. "Now I'm gonna be the weakest one here!"

"Easy Leek," Bardock consoled with a hand on the pilot's shoulder. "We don't know how stronger she'll get until she recovers. Plus we still have the training regimen going for us. Tōma, Selypa, escort Gine to the support barge."

"Sir!" The two nodded as they helped the woman up and walked over to the support barge to have Nion dunk her in a healing tank. Panbūkin, Toteppo and Leek simply shrugged and called it a night. Bardock was about to turn in as well until his senses detected a ki signature that gave four long pulses and two short ones. Romei was on her way. A minute passed before the monarch touched down and stood before the Saiyan general.

"You don't look too good," Bardock commented on Romei's disheveled appearance.

"I know," Romei sighed. "I want to make an adjustment to the regimen."

"Explain."

"Reduce the combat score requirement to 2,000."

"Now you really need to explain."

"I know you're working on a new technique that is efficient. Enough so that opponents more powerful will still take major damage."

"So you're wanting to expedite the breaking of that satellite grid?"

"Exactly."

"And what gave away the fact that I had a technique in the works?"

"My family has a similar technique."

Bardock's eyebrow arched up. "You mean the Garlic Cannon, yeah?"

"The very same," Romei nodded. "But pride being what it is, I want your variant to be what the others know."

"Consider it done," Bardock smirked with a nod. "I'll have to guarantee its effectiveness before I teach it."

Romei nodded and walked off before stopping for a moment.

"You're a lucky man," Romei muttered quietly, but was loud enough for Bardock to hear. The queen then took off while Bardock was left with his thoughts. Eventually he went to the supply barge to check up on his mate before turning in for the night.

Gurd - Guldo

Jheese - Jeice

Butta - Burter

Reacoom - Recoome

Garlic Cannon - Galik Gun

A/N: Okay! Apologies for taking so long for this update, but I did say I was gonna slow burn this. Carrots and Cauliflowers is my bread and butter and this is on the side. I also didn't know how to approach this chapter for the longest time, so that's a thing as well. Luckily I have a bit more solid of a roadmap on how I'm gonna tackle this, so stay tuned.

As for the story, I wanted an interesting excuse as to why Selypa's eyes were purple. Option B would to have her be a hybrid child, but I think this works. Meanwhile, grief + pride = not a fun time, and having Gine do the Talk no jutsu thing seemed like an apt thing to do, though I worry that may be received sourly depending on who's also reading the fan manga Dragon Ball Multiverse. (At least I didn't spend excess of a year wanking off to a roided up angsty fusion daughter :P ) Hope this was a fun read, and leave a review on what you think. :)