Goku smiled in bliss as he rolled over in his bed, his mind running wild with food fantasies. "That's right... Pour that maple syrup on my pancakes... You beautiful, beautiful woman that lives in my house." In his mind's eye, a faceless woman was doing just that - drizzling delicious maple syrup onto his banana pancakes. Now this was something he wasn't used to. Whenever he had this dream (which was almost every night) he would see Chi Chi's face not... This.

Weird, Goku's subconscious thought. Maybe I should give her a hug and see what happens? As if he was operating on autopilot, Goku (in his dream) stood from the dinner table and wrapped his arms around the woman's petite, toned hips. "Good morning."

The unknown female turned around and suddenly her features became more familiar and prominent. Her hair suddenly turned into a mass of spikes and she scowled at him, obviously annoyed at his antics. "What's so good about it?"

What the?! Goku sat up in his bed, blinking sleepily in confusion. That wasn't Chi Chi!

It was a grey, cloudy morning, one which Sadala's yellow light couldn't penetrate. Goku made a rough estimate and concluded that it was still relatively early in the morning; the sun had probably risen only two or three hours ago. The smell of something cooking downstairs instantly wiped all traces of sleep away and he pulled off the covers, getting dressed and freshened up in only a few minutes. Chi Chi had instilled the habit into him - she hated it when Goku arrived downstairs sloppy and unwashed and constantly demanded he 'try again' when he did.

The looming threat was at the forefront of Goku's mind but he managed to push it back, wanting to enjoy breakfast before getting down to business. It wasn't going to be easy explaining this to Caulifla. If he hadn't fought so many battles with super powered androids, mutant grasshoppers and bubblegum monsters he would have a hard time believing it himself. Bulma had told him that he and Caulifla should 'stick together at all costs' but Goku had caught the underlying message in her words and it made his stomach coil with uncertainty. He had finished essentially promising Chi Chi not long ago that he would try more of a family man just a mere six weeks ago. Everything had seemed so simple then - now everything seemed to be getting more and more complicated as it went along. And all of this... All of this was centered around the female saiyan that he had not been able to push out of his mind: Caulifla.

Caulifla was confusing to say the least. Though she had insisted that it had only been sex, he knew that, deep down, there were some repressed feelings in both of them, though he was more open to sharing them. He had learned quickly that she was not one to subject herself to turbulent emotions, which was probably why he knew so little of her psyche. But he knew enough to relate with her on a more personal level. To put it in short; she was brash, hasty and tended to make judgement on first impressions; almost everything that he wasn't. They shared some traits but were also complete opposites. Like Vegeta, Caulifla was constantly on alert and never let her guard down (outside of the bedroom). He, on the other hand, had more of a relaxed, carefree nature, as Whis had noted.

Goku's nose led him to the kitchen, where a familiar someone was standing at the stove, heating a gigantic roast and frying a meat that seemed to be something similar to bacon, a favorite for Goku when it came to breakfast.

"Good morning!" Goku greeted with a grin, making the the female at the stove startle and whip around, pupils dilated in alarm. When she saw who it was, she did not relax. In fact, she seemed more on edge than ever.

"H-hello," mumbled Kale, turning back to the stove so that she did not face him. Of course it's him... She glanced around the room. Oh, sis, where are you? Please don't leave me here to deal with him by myself.

"Smell's good. What'cha cookin'?"

"Seluin." Hopefully that one word answer was enough to put him off. She had also chosen to roll her tongue in a particular manner, hoping that that might also intimidate him a little.

Of course, it did no such thing. "Wow! Like I said, it smells really good. Is it a delicacy around Sadala?"

"U-um, yes, it is. It's very expensive and tastes delicious." She hesitated slightly before scooping some of the fried meat onto a cracked plate. "D-do you want some?"

"Yes, please. And also, some of that roast if you don't mind."

Kale wanted to refuse him but couldn't will herself to properly do so. Instead, she just stood there, staring at Goku like a deer in headlights, the plate stiff in her hands.

"Kale?" Goku said. "Is everything okay?"

That shook the shy girl out of her stupor. "Y-yes. So-sorry about that... The roast... It's for Caulifla." Please don't be too angry... Her mind flashed back to his irritated glare back at the tournament and she looked down at the ground, feeling slightly ashamed and afraid.

"Oh, that's alright then." Goku took a bite of the seluin and immediately broke into an even wider grin. "Hey! This is actually really good." He started shoveling the rest into his mouth. "You're a really good cook, Kale!"

Kale blinked in surprise at the compliment. She resisted the urge to shake her head in disbelief. "You really think so?" Caulifla had told her the same thing multiple times but Kale had always figured the older woman only said that to spare her protégée's easily hurt feelings. None of the others had ever gave her such a compliment if any. The best she had ever gotten out of anyone else was when Ayote told her that she had a special talent for deftly opening beer bottles. And now, hearing it from Goku... Kale beamed in delight and felt a few tears well up in her eyes. He's not lying! He... He really believes that I'm a good cook. Oh, you were right all along Caulifla. I can do something! I can!

"Hey, don't cry," Goku said gently, mistaking her tears of joy as tears of sorrow. "I'm sorry if I offended you in some way, Kale. If this is about the tournament, I apologize. I can get real serious when fighting and I don't like any outside help for my opponent or me."

"It's okay," Kale sniffed. "I had almost forgotten about that anyway. I-It's just that... You actually think I'm good at something? I-I find it very hard to believe, that's all."

Goku tilted his head to one side in bewilderment. "Well, I meant it. Heck, you can rival Chi Chi with this. It won't hurt to believe in yourself a little more, you know."

Believe in myself? Kale thought, the concept almost foreign to her. "What good will that do me?" she asked, genuinely curious.

Goku blinked at her. Is she trying to make a joke? No... It looks like she's being serious. Man, she's definitely got things backwards. "Believing in yourself can do a lot of good," he told her, trying to explain. "If you don't believe in yourself, you'll never be able to do anything in the face of a challenge or obstacle. Like, for example, in a fight, if you don't believe that you can win, then you won't." When Kale merely looked at him skeptically, he continued, "I once fought a monster called Majin Boo. He was real strong and actually managed to blow up the earth unlike all the other bad guys I'd fought before then. Me and Vegeta were at the end of our rope but..." He smiled up at the skylight of the kitchen. "We pulled through. You know why? Because, even when things looked bleak, we still held onto our pride and our confidence. It was what saved us." That and we had a responsibility to revive our family and friends and restore earth. But Kale didn't need to know that.

There was a brief silence and Goku returned to his plate of food to let Kale mull things over in the quiet. The only noise that penetrated the near deafening silence was the sizzle and pop of the huge roast as it cooked upon the stove.

"I feel like I'm living a battle with Majin Boo everyday."

Goku, with a mouthful of seluin, glanced upward at Kale's confession. "Come again?"

"I said... I said I feel like I'm living a battle with that monster you told me about everyday. Every... Every single day."

"Why's that?"

Kale didn't meet his eyes. "I... It's hard to explain. I-I feel like I'm a failure at everything I do. Even - no - especially relationships." She bit her lip to try and keep herself from crying again. "I can't do anything right. It's what my father always told me. He always told me that the only thing I'll ever be good at is when I get a little older and..." She hiccuped as the first sob wormed its way out of her throat. "H-he told me..."

"He was wrong!" Goku stood up, suddenly vehement, though the effect was slightly marred by that fact that two half-eaten pieces of seluin fell from his mouth and back onto the plate. "Kale, I've seen you fight. You're amazingly strong, you just need to get things under control. And this?" He pointed to the seluin full of bite marks. "Delicious! A super-strong fighter and a wonderful cook?" He laughed. "As far as I'm concerned, you're way better than I can ever hope to be."

Kale stared at him in disbelief, a trail of tears running down her face and gathering at her jawline. "W-what?" She sniffled. "D-do you really mean it, Goku?"

"Of course. I bet Caulifla tells you the same thing. I can't imagine her not. So why don't you listen to her a little more often?" He gave her a warm smile and gobbled up the rest of his food.

By now, Kale was full on crying her eyes out. He means it! He really means it! And he's right! Caulifla does say these things but I'm always too stubborn to listen to her. I should listen to sis more often... But oh my gosh, he really means it! I... I am good at something. Father was wrong. I am good. I am. I need to start listening to Caulifla and Goku now. Her lip trembled. I misjudged him... I thought he was just another male saiyan like the rest. But he's... He's like Cabba, almost. She made up her mind. If Caulifla wanted to be mated with Goku, she wouldn't get in the way. Goku had been kind to her. Her, of all people! She was not such a fool as to not notice how annoyed people got at her constant crying. But he had been patient with her and showed her a rare kind of altruism that a lot of saiyans did not have.

"You are kind, Goku," Kale muttered, removing the roast from the stove and placing it on the counter-top to rest. "I severely misjudged you... I'm sorry." She knew that he could not hear her for she was far too quiet, but hoped he would know that she was sorry for holding a grudge against him. Kale stared at the roast before cutting a chunk of it off with a butcher's knife. She placed it on Goku's now empty plate. "Here. I'm sure sis wouldn't mind too much."

Goku stared at the slice of meat, salivating. "Are you sure?"

"Y-yes." She giggled softly. "Go on, Goku. I wouldn't want Caulifla's mate to starve."

The male saiyan choked. "W-what? Sorry, but you got the wrong idea, Kale. She and I aren't mates. I'm already mated to Chi Chi, my human wife."

Now it was Kale's turn to be puzzled. "I don't understand. I know that you and her have slept together. Saiyans are incapable of having sex with another being that is not their partner when they are fully mated."

Goku's brow furrowed and he stopped chewing the meat, choosing instead to stare at what remained of the chunk Kale had given him. "Are... Are there any signs that can tell a mated saiyan from an unmated one?"

"Oh, that's easy. A mated saiyan always smells like their partner." She tapped a place on her neck, looking a bit embarrassed. "There's also this really tender spot where they bite one another during the mating process. If the bond is complete, then they are bound to each other until one of them dies. Each saiyan has an individual pattern for their teeth, so, when examined closely, you can tell who belongs to who. Semi-complete bonds also exist. It's when they don't bite deep enough because of one reason or another. The mark fades after sometime and then they're free to," she blushed, "r-rut whoever they want."

"It makes sense," Goku thought aloud. "Bulma does keep wearing neck scarves nowadays." Chi Chi doesn't have any kind of mark on her neck. I don't either. Which means we're not mated. There had been times where he had contemplated giving her a hickey or two in bed near that special spot on the neck but he had always chosen not to in the end. It was as if some force was telling him not to. Up until this point, he had always thought it was his subconscious saying that Chi Chi wouldn't enjoy biting during sex. She was always one you needed to be gentle with in the bedroom despite her tiger-like personality.

In the other room, the warehouse door rolled open loudly, catching the attention of Goku and Kale. Then Caulifla walked in, a rosy flush on her cheeks from flying through the wind.

"Good morning," both Kale and Goku chanted at the same time.

Caulifla gave them a flat glance as she set her saddlebag down on the table, letting what she had picked up in the market spill all over said table. "Aren't you two cheery today?" She gestured to the skylight. "Doesn't seem like a good morning to me."

"It is to us," Goku replied. "Wanna know why? Because both of us smiled today."

Caulifla gave him a weird stare. "What kind of cheesy ass answer is that?" She looked at Kale expectantly but her protégée seemed to have an equally content smile as Goku's on her face. It was strange seeing her smile so widely but not an unpleasant sight. The girl looked beautiful when she smiled. Caulifla sighed through her nose. If only she did it more often. But still. What's up with her? Not that I'm complaining.

"The truth," Goku retorted. "I have a feeling what Kale cooked up will make your morning better though."

Caulifla took one glance at the roast and her bodily needs were awoken. Her stomach grumbled loudly and she blushed slightly. "For once, I agree with you." Without waiting for an answer, she took the roast by its protruding bone and started eating, her sharp teeth biting and tearing into flesh. "You're a great cook, Kale," she said in between mouthfuls. "Look at how I'm eating this... Do you believe me now, huh?"

Kale nodded. "I do, sis." At Caulifla's surprised expression, she said, "I really do."

"... Goku," Caulifla addressed her former lover. "I don't know what you did, but I'm grateful as hell. I've been trying to convince her of her worth for years." She paused. "Thank you, Goku."

"Anytime. She just needed a push, that's all - needed to hear it from someone else for once."

"I'm different now!" Kale declared, sounding much more confident than she normally did. "I-I c-can do things. If I put my heart into it, I can." She blushed slightly and put her finger to her cheek in a show of slight embarrassment. "I-I think."

"Erase that last part," Caulifla scolded, twirling her breakfast in one hand. "As sentimental as it sounds, you're right."

"Caulifla's right," Goku agreed. "Don't listen to those who try to put you down."

"O-okay!"

Cabba clocked out and immediately set course for where Caulifla's hideout was located. His heart still ached, fresh from the wound his mother had indirectly inflicted on him. He had managed to get another day off from his work to attend Parsley's funeral thanks to his understanding Commander. There were many things he had to deal with right now, but the first thing he needed to check off his list was breaking the news of Renso's disappearance to Caulifla. There was a high chance that she already knew thanks to the fast-spreading gossip from her nearest bazaar but Cabba felt obliged to inform her anyway.

Parsley, Cabba thought with a heavy sigh. I miss you. When was the last time we talked? It had been quite a while ago. Frost's, or rather Kafara's, ship had docked at Planet Sadala a few months ago and Parsley, who had insisted that he called her Yvonne for some strange reason, had recounted her adventures to him. They hadn't had much time to talk since she had had an appointment that day but he found himself now wishing he had treasured every precious moment he had spent with her. Sure, the girl had liked alcohol too much and was far too raunchy for his taste, but he still loved her. They had been family. They had had strong familial ties that could have only been broken by death. And death didn't pull any punches, did it?

Before he knew it, Cabba was standing in front of a looming, seemingly abandoned warehouse. He slid open the door and walked inside comfortably.

From what he could sense, all of the gang members were still asleep, save for Caulifla and Kale, who were both in the kitchen along with another familiar signature. Wait... Goku? No way! What's he doing here?

"Hey everyone," he said politely, grabbing all the attention.

Caulifla's expression flattened into a nasty scowl, Kale simply looked down shyly and Goku waved at him, a slab of meat halfway inside his mouth.

"Cabba," Caulifla said, her voice carrying a steely edge to it. "What brings you here?"

Kale looked back up hopefully. Is... Is he maybe here to see me? She surprised herself with her own suggestion. That confidence boost had really done a number on her - just an hour ago she would not have even begun to contemplate such a thought.

"I have to tell you something, Caulifla," Cabba said, oblivious to Kale's disheartened look. "It's... It's about Renso."

"Tch, save it. I already found out this morning. How about that, huh?"

The atmosphere suddenly became stiff and uncomfortable for Cabba. "I-I see. Then you know what happened?"

"Enough to wonder why you didn't come to me first before sending incompetent officers gallivanting across the woods."

"Am I missing something here?" Goku interjected. "What exactly happened to Renso? Who is that anyway?"

"My brother, you could say," Caulifla responded. "He and I aren't close in case you were wondering. But still, it would have been nice to not have found out that he went missing almost two days ago by a second hand source." She gave Cabba a withering stare.

Cabba sighed dejectedly. "I'm sorry, Caulifla. But I had to take the matter to the Sadala Defence Force first. Renso is former military personnel, which makes it our business."

"What? Afraid of all the secrets he might spill about your precious police force?"

"It's not like that, Caulifla! Our first priority is his wellbeing."

"You never really denied by statement, Cabba. So what I said holds some truth, huh?"

Cabba opened his mouth to respond heatedly but Goku beat him to it. "Enough, both of you. We have bigger problems at hand here. We'll find Renso quickly and then deal with what comes next."

"What comes next?" Cabba parroted. "Are you saying that there might be something dangerous going on?"

"That's exactly what he's saying," Caulifla affirmed. "We talked about it before you arrived. Once we find my idiotic brother by blood and nothing else, we can focus on solving whatever new universal threat that's going to pop up in Universe 7." She snuck Goku a swift glance. "You told me that you have reason to believe that the threat will come from Universe 6. Why can't we nip the problem right at the source."

"We don't know who or what it is, first of all," Goku reminded her. "It'd be better to return to earth and train hard for their arrival." That and Chi Chi wants me home, fast!

"And what if they come to us first?"

"Then we'll just have to outplay them in their own game, don't we?"

The two of them stared off, their gazes full of challenge.

"Fine," Goku relented. "We'll stay and do a bit of digging. But it's not a good idea to make our presence known."

"I can live with that."

While Caulifla and Goku discussed things further, Cabba led Kale away to a different room. On his way to Caulifla's abandoned warehouse, he had contemplated on inviting Kale somewhere important and had finally made up his mind to do so.

"What did you need to ask me, Cabba?" Kale wondered, looking particularly drained. "Is it because we haven't seen each other in a while? I-If that's it, I'm sorry for not being there..."

"No, no, not at all," Cabba reassured her. "If anything, I'm sorry. Work and training are no excuse to ignore you. I'm really sorry, Kale. I know I promised you a movie, but... I think this might be more important to me."

"O-oh? What is it?"

"Kale... How do you feel about meeting my parents for dinner tonight?"

"How did you get this?" Niifa uttered in disbelief as Moblit handed her what seemed to be condensed dark purple chi in a bottle.

"Lady Kafara," was Moblit's answer. "She told me she made a breakthrough in something and wanted me to deliver this to you. She says to put aside the inter-universal travel project aside for now. You're to study this and keep it carefully stored."

"Right, right..." Niifa muttered, rolling the bottle in her hands. The chi winked at her. "It's dangerous. I just know it. My Lady must have great faith in our squad."

"She still needs it for something later, so try not to use it all up in your experimenting," Moblit advised.

"Got it. Thanks, Moblit."

Renso sat still in his cold cell, a modern structure with a very confined space. He wouldn't even be able to fit another person in there. Outside his cell, an alien guard had been posted. The frog-like alien had tried getting information out of Renso a few hours ago but to no avail.

"I'll take it from here, Lecyee," a crisp female voice ordered.

The frog-like extraterrestrial nodded his bulky head and removed himself from the vicinity with surprising agility for someone of his body shape and size.

Renso was relatively familiar with the female guard. She was a saiyan, just like him. Heck, if he looked closely enough, he could swear that she bore some resemblance to him too. Then again, that wouldn't be uncommon as, up until recently, it was not rare for a saiyan to take their cousins or siblings as mates. Many saiyans came from the same gene pool. She was likely to be distantly related to him.

He did not know what her name was. Her subordinates had only ever referred to her as 'Captain'. Renso had mused grimly on the fact that she carried the same title as he used to before his unexpected accident that left him crippled for life.

The female saiyan would occasionally ask him questions in her gruff manner but he never responded to her pithy demands. Other than that, they made no interactions. Judging by her silence, Renso could assume that she was regrouping her thoughts to try and penetrate the shield he had formed out of sheer willpower. He was worried that he might break.

The demon woman had said that she would extract the information out of him the night they encountered. He guessed that she already had the information she needed so why was he still rotting in his cell with a guard at his side? The saiyan woman didn't seem to know either. She had been purposely kept in the dark; was Kafara trying to play both of them?

Renso chuckled to himself. Very well. He'd humor the woman. For once, he couldn't wait until she began interrogating him once more.

A/N: Volleyball tryouts are tomorrow! I can't wait for that but what I certainly can wait for is my geography Research Action Plan (RAP) assignment. It requires me to go out and actually interview people about Waste Management.

You know what that means? Human interaction!

Oh noes...

OMAKE!

Something actually relavent to the story! A friend of mine (GoHaNViDeLSoN) recently gave me some insight into Caulifla's speech pattern in the Japanese dub. She ends her sentences with "ara~ ara~" a lot, which means "huh"? in English. So I've tried to implement that into this chapter.

It's somewhat reminiscent of Marcarita's (Universe 11 angel's) speech pattern, except she ends her sentences with "desu~masu~" which is polite and formal.