"Bulma!" Tights called, running after her sister as the blue-haired woman stalked down the halls. "Bulma, wait! Where are you going?"

"My room," the heiress said curtly, not stopping for her elder sibling. "There are some things I need to sort out..." She halted in front of her quarters. "Listen Tights. I wouldn't let the others know yet. I just need to figure out some things first before I go announcing that we're about to have an apocalypse if things don't change. I don't want anyone freaking out. You go back to Bra and play with her and Wally for a bit before returning outside."

Tights nodded. "Just one thing. Wally?"

"Why not?" Bulma retorted. "I've always wanted to have a puppy called Wally but I never got the chance..."

"Mmhm." Tights brief amusement faded away. "Sis. What's going on? Do you have any idea? You made that machine after all."

"I don't know what's going on," Bulma admitted. "But trust me when I say I'm going to find out. If they ask about my whereabouts just say I as feeling a bit under the weather from all those drinks I had, 'kay?"

"Fine. But you know how easily I crack under peer pressure, so don't blame me if Vegeta smashes your door open while you're busy 'being sick'." She said the last part mimicking quotation marks with her fingers.

"Got it." Bulma gave Tights a brief thumbs up before entering the room and shutting the latter out.

Tights sighed. "Why do all good things have to come to an end?" She had been hoping for more bonding time with her sister. "Oh well... I'll go see Bra and Trunks and then it's back to the party for me." The gory image of the dying rabbit passed through her mind, sending a chill down her spine. I hope Bulma figures things out soon...

As the two females, one saiyan and the other one fierce enough to be a saiyan, stormed off in opposite directions, Goku was at a loss of what to do; who to go after. He stared after Caulifla for a bit before retreating in Chi Chi's direction.

"Chi Chi! Chi Chi, wait up!"

Gohan furrowed his brow. What's going on? What have I been missing?

"Gohan?" Videl said, her voice filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

Pan made a small squeak as her father rocked her particularly violently as he snapped out his thoughts. The small baby pouted at her father, who apologized softly and kissed her forehead.

"Why is it that I feel like I've been missing something?" Gohan wondered aloud. His gaze sharpened. "Mom and dad are having a fight, aren't they? I bet Caulifla is somehow behind is."

"Don't you think you're jumping into conclusions too soon, Gohan?" asked Videl, taking Pan from her husband and bouncing the babe lightly in her arms.

Gonan stared solemnly after Goku. "I don't know, Videl. But I'm going to find out."

"Let them talk to each other first," Videl advised, raising her voice slightly. "It'd be better that way."

Saiyaman's alter ego took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. I just hope they don't hurt each other too much. Mom's really sensitive even if she doesn't show it at times. At the same time, she can be insensitive too. Gah, parents are so complicated!"

Videl couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her husband's expense. "Oh? Does that mean we're over complicated too, then? After all, we're parents too."

Pan cooed in agreement.

While the young couple spoke, they didn't notice Cabba and Kale flying after a seething Caulifla.

"That witch!" Chi Chi howled, slamming her fist on Bulma's expensive wooden table just as Goku reached her. "That dirty hussy... stealing my man!" She wiped off the pie stuffing from her face with a cloth.

"Chi Chi!" cried Goku, putting his hands around her trembling shoulders. "Chi Chi, calm down." He met her furious gaze evenly. "We need to talk, Chi Chi. About everything."

Chi Chi looked like she wanted to spit on his face. "Oh, so now you want to talk? Where were you last night?! I waited for you all night!"

Goku's stomach immediately rolled with guilt. Had she really waited all night for his return? He couldn't imagine how she had felt when he hadn't shown up. And what had he been doing? Satisfying his needs with a certain saiyan female. Suddenly, all his actions caught up to him. Is this what it feels like when you cheat on your wife? he wondered. It was a terrible feeling - one of guilt mixed with shame and the feeling of uncleanliness.

"Well?!"

"I needed to get some things done," Goku told her, knowing full well that Chi Chi would never forgive him if he told her the truth. "But really, Chi Chi, we need to talk." He pulled a chair out and sat on it, watching as Chi Chi reluctantly did the same.

"Fine," said Chi Chi, the mental exhaustion of the past few days suddenly catching up to her. "We'll talk."

"Thanks. Man, where do I begin... Oh yeah. I guess we could start at why you threw the pie at Caulifla?"

Chi Chi folded her arms and sniffed haughtily. "If you're trying to get me to apologise to that... female, then you've got a long day ahead of you. There's no way in hell I'm doing that."

"Okay, but could you at least tell me why you did it?"

"It was because she broke a promise to me Goku," Chi Chi explained. "She told me she wasn't out to steal you away from me. She lied to me, Goku. That was the very least she deserved. You're... you're in love with her now."

"No, Chi Chi!" Goku denied. "Of course I'm not. I love you, Chi Chi, not her. There was never any romance between us."

"Oh, really?" Chi Chi challenged. "Are you absolutely sure?"

There was a tense silence.

"No," Goku finally admitted and Chi Chi's face fell. "But I would never leave you for her Chi Chi. I love you more than I'll ever love her."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Chi Chi muttered. "Hell, you just admitted to liking her. Why should I even be listening to you?"

"You don't know," Goku said, answering her first question. "But if you're willing to give it another try..." He trailed off, looking at her expectantly.

"I don't know," Chi Chi said flatly. "How do I know that we won't become further apart again?"

"You don't," Goku repeated. "We just have to trust each other." He outstretched his hand toward her. "Please, Chi?"

Chi Chi looked at his hand, torn. After what seemed like an eternity, she took it, her small hand sliding into his larger one. "On two conditions," she said softly. "One, I don't want you to be around her anymore."

Goku dealt a blow to his own heart as he nodded. Chi Chi was his world. And he would give up Caulifla's training to be with her. Sure, he loved Caulifla too... but it wasn't that kind of love. "And the second condition?"

Chi Chi hesitated. "I know that you're a saiyan and that fighting is in your blood... but when you're on your training trips, try not to stay too long, please. Come back every once in a while."

Goku sealed it with a kiss. "Deal." I'm sorry Caulifla. I'm sorry that we couldn't finish our training. But you have to understand. If you had a mate, you'd do the same thing for him or her too, wouldn't you? It's an unbreakable bond.

There was something in Chi Chi's heart that wasn't there before. Even as her husband kissed her passionately, she felt nothing. But of course, she wasn't going to let him know that. They were mates, weren't they? She relaxed. They would learn to love each other again. It would just take time.

"I'm sorry," said Chi Chi when they pulled apart. "I know that I can be a bit... unreasonable, at times. If I hurt you in any way, I apologize."

"I'm sorry too. We shouldn't have let ourselves grow so far apart. It won't happen again as long as I'm still loving you." He got up and embraced her but could put help but notice how tense her shoulders were as she hugged him back. It was going to take a while so rebuild bridges but it was going to be worth it in the end.

Wasn't it?

"Hey, Caulifla!" Cabba shouted, flying after the pie-covered saiyan. "Hold on a second!"

"What?!" snapped Caulifla, halting and narrowing her eyes at Cabba, ignoring Kale, who was floating behind him.

At her harsh tone, Kale instantly deflated. "S-sis, we just wanted to make sure if you were okay."

"I'm fine," Caulifla said stiffly. Not even Kale could shake her out of this mood right now. "Really, Kale. You don't have to baby me."

"I'm sorry... I just... I just..."

"Caulifla, we're only asking because we care," growled Cabba. "Don't push us away now. Especially not Kale. We're trying to help."

"I don't want your help! The only reason I flew away was because if I'd stayed any longer, that harpy would be dead ten times over!"

"Take your anger out on me then, Caulifla. But leave Kale out of it."

Caulifla's gaze darkened. "I would never hurt Kale. Never. So don't ever insinuate such a thing. But you?" She cracked her knuckles. "Do you know what you're getting into, Cabba?"

"Caulifla! Cabba!" cried Kale as they gradually powered up, a white aura surrounding them. "P-please don't...!"

Down at Capsule Corp., most of the guests had stopped their socializing to check out the fight that was about to happen.

Hercule Satan looked up in awe as he stood next to Boo, still slightly disbelieving of their power even after spending so many years with them. His knees trembled. Man, I'm glad I'm not on their bad side!

Marron ran back into Kuririn's waiting arms; the diminutive man picked up his daughter and held her close to his chest, the strong beating of his heart calming the little girl. Goten was standing with Gohan and Videl, the latter shooting concerned glances at the direction where Chi Chi had marched off in a gooey mess. Secretly, Gohan hoped that Cabba would give Caulifla the thrashing of her life. Even if Chi Chi had thrown the pie first, there had to be some reason why the Son matron had done it in the first place. Caulifla was in no way innocent.

The Namekians, Piccolo and Dende, looked passively at the powered-up saiyans, the smaller Namekian sweating slightly at the sheer power that was being released. Such power... Not even Freeza had been this powerful back on Namek.

Vegeta beheld the Universe 6 warriors with an indifferent stare, his onyx eyes cold. From a distance, his posture would seemed relaxed, but closer up, one could see him bracing himself for battle.

Even Beerus and Whis stopped shoving food in their seemingly bottomless bellies to observe Cabba and Caulifla. Both of the saiyans had now gotten into battle stances, with Kale watching helplessly to the side. Beerus' ears twitched in mild amusement. This should be interesting. They'd better not blow away any of my food though.

Though different thoughts were racing through the guests, most of the warriors were tense, geared up to intervene in case the fight went awry. They would never know - saiyans were so unpredictable after all, if Goku and Vegeta were any indication.

"Kale," Caulifla said, her voice low as she transformed into a super saiyan, Cabba doing the same. "You should probably go back down with the others."

"B-but sis -"

"That's an order, Kale."

When Kale wilted, Caulifla sighed. "I'm sorry, Kale. But if I don't release all this... anger now, it'd be even worse later on. You of all people should know that." She grimaced. "It's not going to be pretty. I apologize in advance for any damage I do to him." Caulifla hugged Kale, her golden energy warm against Kale's wind-cooled skin. "Also, you look really nice today. That dress suits you."

Kale smiled weakly. "T-thank you, sis..." With that, she floated downward to observe the inevitable fight from the ground. "Do well, Caulifla! You too, Cabba!"

From his bedroom window, Trunks watched in anticipation as the two saiyans sized each other up before clashing in a massive explosion of sound waves and sparks. He sighed. The thought of a fight would normally excite the demi-saiyan but he simply wasn't feeling up to it today. The vast difference in his and the other saiyans' power couldn't even compel him to feel inadequate.

He tried to push the thoughts of what he had seen a mere hour ago, his brain filling in the blanks on Chi Chi's demise. He shivered as the morbid thoughts went wild in his head. It wasn't like he wanted Chi Chi to die - he would never wish death on Goten's mother, no matter how overbearing she was - but it was... a macabre curiosity. What had the creature done to kill her? Did it slaughter her like a pig? Did it torture her? For everyone's sake, Trunks hoped that it was the former. He groaned and bashed his head on the bedframe - not hard enough to to break said bedframe of course. His mother would add another month to his punishment if he did that.

There was a knock at the door. Trunks groaned. Has she come to add more punishment?

"Hello~" an unfamiliar voice chimed. "Is anyone in there?"

Huh? What the - that's not mom! He reached out with his chi senses and found the energy signature to be similar to his mother's with some differences. Who's that?

"Hello?" the voice sang again, accompanied with some more knocking. "It'd be polite to answer you know."

"Y-yeah!" said Trunks, sitting up on his bed. "You can come in..."

The door opened and a woman with short blonde hair and overalls entered. Her dark eyes, almost as black as Vegeta's, were filled with mischief (while Vegeta's was normally reflecting a killing intent). "Wow! You look so much like dad."

"Who are you, lady?" asked Trunks, crossing his arms.

The woman bowed in a dramatic fashion. "It's an honor to meet you, Prince Trunks. The name's Tights!"

Tights... only one family would name their kids after underwear... "Did grandma and grandpa have another kid?"

"Ding, ding, ding!" cried Tights, doing some jazz hands. "I'm your mother's sister, which makes me your aunt."

"Whoa! Really?!"

"... You're asking me if aunts are the sisters of your mother? Man, I thought this family was supposed to be smart."

Trunks shook his head. "You know that's not what I meant." He stepped onto the floor. "Are you really family?"

"My last name is Briefs so I would suppose so."

Trunks eyed her warily at first before hugging Tights' waist. She's family! She smells like mom does. He felt her hand pass through his lavender locks as she ruffled his hair playfully.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around much," Tights said. "I'm a very busy person but that's really no excuse to not drop by from time to time." She hugged him back tightly. "I hope that I can rectify my mistake. Will you give me a chance, Trunks?"

"Heck yeah!" Trunks blurted without hesitation. "I can't believe I'm meeting my aunt for the first time..." He examined her, rubbing his chin. "And you don't look like those stuffy old ladies on the sitcoms. You look like a cool aunt."

"Ohohoho!" Tights chuckled haughtily. "You better believe it, honey! I'm the coolest, hippest aunt around!" She paused and blinked. "Is 'hip' not 'in' anymore?"

"Not really, but I'll let that slide."

"Aww, thanks! You've just made this old lady's day!" A lightbulb could practically be seen popping up over her head. "Hey, you haven't met Wally yet, have you?"

"Wally?"

"Hooboy, do I have a surprise for ya!"

By the time their fight ended, Caulifla's (Chi Chi's) dress was in shreds; totally irreparable without taking many hours from a professional tailor. Cabba wasn't too well off either, his 'model clothes' as some had deemed it, ragged and flapping in the wind.

"Good fight," Caulifla grunted, taking care to make sure that the black fabric still concealed everything. She could not live down another humiliating incident concerning her clothing - or lack of thereof. "You know, you seem to have a natural talent when it comes to pissing me off."

"What can I say?" Cabba said, wincing as he felt a fresh bruise throb on his arm. "It's what makes me appealing."

Kale raced up to them as they landed, the other guests parting slightly. "Oh, thank goodness you're both okay!"

"Of course we are," Caulifla said, smirking. "It's not like it was a fight to the death or anything. Isn't that right, Cabba?" She purposely elbowed him in a spot where she had fractured one of his ribs.

"Oof! Right..."

"That was a pretty intense fight," Yamcha commented. "It really did look like you two were fighting to the death!" Oolong and Puar were hiding behind his legs, peeking out slightly with wide eyes.

"I wouldn't have killed him," huffed Caulifla. "Don't make it sound like that."

Android 18 approached them with her brother. "You know, we should spar sometime."

"I agree," said 17. "Me and 18 against you and Cabba, yeah?"

"If you feel like getting your butts kicked, sure," Caulifla said with a nonchalant shrug. "Tomorrow?"

Cabba sighed. "Don't go arranging fights now! I have something on tomorrow."

"T-that's right," Kale added shyly. "He's, um, taking me to the mall. So please don't schedule anything for tomorrow... please?"

Caulifla nodded. "Fine. But we'll fight soon," she promised 17 and 18.

"What's this I hear about going to the mall?" demanded Vegeta, approaching Cabba with a dangerous look in his eyes. "And I suppose you just thought you could skive off of training?"

Cabba gulped. "I-I was going to ask permission first, Master Vegeta."

"Too bad, brat. We're spending all day in the gravity room tomorrow where I'll whip your sorry ass into shape."

Cabba deflated. Sorry, Kale. But there's really no force on earth that can possibly change Master Vegeta's mind after he's made his decision. He shared a disappointed look with Kale, who nodded understandingly.

"HOLD ON ONE SECOND!"

Tights stormed up to them, a robot dog barking at her feet as Trunks tried to catch said dog. She halted in front of Vegeta with a defiant look in her eyes that eerily reminded everyone of Bulma's when they were angry.

"What do you want, woman?" growled Vegeta. "I'll say this once. Do not interfere with my training. He sought me out for help. He's not slacking off now."

"And I'll only say this once," countered Tights, glaring up at the saiyan prince. "If you don't let him go shopping tomorrow then," she glanced around conspiratorially. "I just might let it slip to your wife that you would love to go shopping with her all day tomorrow."

"... You wouldn't. I'll kill you if you do."

"Dragon balls," Tights reminded him. "Also, Bulma will cut off your manhood and destroy your gravity machine if you dare touch me. So what's it going to be? You have a choice, you know."

"God fucking damn it, this isn't a choice, it's an ultimatum!"

"Need I add 'no sex' to the list as well?"

Vegeta's eye twitched slightly as he snarled at her. "Why do you even care if he trains or not tomorrow?"

Tights leaned in toward him. "Because I get the feeling that they're destined mates. You wouldn't deny a fellow saiyan of spending time with their mate, now would you?"

"If the circumstances call for it, then yes, I fucking would!"

"I could always holler for Bulma right now~" trilled Tights, looking at him triumphantly.

"... You witch. Fine." Vegeta tossed a glare at Cabba's direction, making the other saiyan sweatdrop. "Looks like you've got another day to yourself, you lazy fuck." He marched up to Cabba. "If you don't end up mating with her then I will crush your head into a pulp."

"R-right!" Cabba tried his best to focus on Kale instead, who was standing in the background as Vegeta's blue tailored shirt invaded his view. "I'll make sure..." ... So this is what an ultimatum feels like. A literal life or death situation.

"Say, what's that?" asked Kuririn, who had just noticed Wally for the first time. "It's pretty cute!" He put down Marron, the little girl laughing and grabbing at the robot dog.

"His name is Wally," Trunks answered, petting the dog as Marron played with the ears. "Aunt Tights made him!"

There was a pregnant pause.

Then;

"EHHH?! BULMA HAS A SISTER!?"

Tights sighed through her nose. "Hooboy."

Caulifla didn't return home until late, continuing to socialize with Cabba and Kale even with a shredded dress. When she got back to Grandpa Gohan's place, she noticed a chi presence inside her bedroom. She slipped in and saw Goku, the man blending in with the dark. There was no moon to reflect any of the sun's light tonight.

Caulifla raised an eyebrow, though that couldn't be seen by Goku. "Come back for another round?"

A pair of arms slipped around her. She blinked in surprise as she realized Goku as hugging her. It was a very... intimate gesture, and if she had to admit it to herself, the move scared her a little. Why did she feel like something bad was about to come when he released her?

"Cauli..." Goku breath tickled her ear and she shuddered. "I have to tell you something."

"... What?"

Goku removed himself from her and stared at her with remorse. "I can't train you anymore."

"WHAT?!" What the fuck?! So this is how the day's going to end?! "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"

"I can't!" Goku exclaimed. "Chi Chi won't let me anymore."

"You are fucking joking. Because of that jealous harpy bitch -"

"Don't call her that!" Goku's own temper was rising now. Don't ever call her that ever again.

"You didn't tell her anything, did you?"

"Of course not."

Caulifla snarled. "Then why should we stop training altogether? Because your mate is insecure?"

"No. Because I'm a married man and this..." He passed a hand through his hair in frustration. "Isn't appropriate."

"It was just sex," Caulifla said flatly. "We both know that there were no romantic feelings involved. But that's beside the point. So what if we had sex? I don't really give a rat's ass if we stop now. But training? That's a totally different thing entirely."

"What we've been doing," he paused and then corrected himself, "and I'm talking about the training, is something that Chi Chi doesn't feel comfortable with. I'm sorry, Cauli -"

"Don't call me that! Don't fucking call me that, you bastard! Do you think I'm too weak or something? I can improve!"

"No that's not it! It's got nothing to do with strength. It's just that Chi Chi -"

She cut him off maliciously. "It has everything to do with strength. It's about you not being strong enough to stand up against her."

Goku glared at her. "No. It's nothing to do with strength and has everything to do with how much I love her. My training you has caused a rift in our relationship. So it has to stop. Why can't you just understand?"

"Maybe because it's completely unreasonable?"

"It wouldn't be if you just stopped and walked in someone else's shoes for a change. We hurt her and I'm going to help her no matter what."

"Why?"

"Because she's my wife and I love her. It's simple, Caulifla. We're not training anymore. I'm sorry about that. But what's done is done."

They stared each other down.

"You coward." Caulifla ground out, her chi fluctuating angrily. She could feel his chi becoming increasingly agitated also but she didn't care. "Why would you even want to submit to that harpy bitch -" Her head jerked back from where Goku had struck her.

"Don't. Call her that."

They burst out of the door in a combination of golden flame and lightning. They attacked each other relentlessly, Caulifla fighting more furiously than she had ever fought before. She had never felt such a terrible rage before - any other fits of fury she might have had earlier on were nothing but mere temper tantrums compared to the outrage she was feeling now.

Goku was feeling equally outraged. How dare she describe Chi Chi with such terrible words. Her behaviour at the tournament had been unimpresssive but this really took the cake. Why is it that fighting is the only way she'll ever understand?

Caulifla growled as his fist skimmed her arm. How dare he be so spineless against that human woman! I thought he was supposed to be a saiyan. The woman disrespects him. Period. So why does he keep going back to her?!

They're fight did not end until both of them were embedded into rock, bloody and sore. Goku got up and stretched, wincing slightly. He turned to look at Caulifla, who was also getting up.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way," he said, his eyes gleaming with regret. "I really am. If it were up to me..." He trailed off.

"... I'm sorry too." What do I have to be sorry for? For ever getting involved with Goku's stupid mate probably. She didn't know what she was apologizing for. But whatever it was, it marked the two leaving everything they shared behind. In some way, that relieved Caulifla immensely.

Goku floated up and silently flew home, observing the moonless night. He was sorry. He really was. But what their apologies marked was what he really cared about. It wasn't as if they were really sorry for ever getting involved with one another. But this was necessary.

Sometimes, bridges had to be burned.

A/N: I know I promised the mall scene so that'll be next chapter. I decided to split this chapter. I'm posting two chapters in one day soo... hope it was worth the wait!

And for Mr X, nope, I'm not a pedo. They're both consenting adults. There's no pedophillia in this so I hope that that's all cleared up.

And daww... no more Cauli and Goku for now. Chi Chi's intervened. But of course, Ascending is just getting started and they'll make a comeback later. Especially when Kafara's plot is unfolded.