When the two girls finally woke up, they found themselves lying in the very same beds that they had used whilst traveling to the Awlgrenian planet. With a touch of grogginess, Rejhan sat up, wincing as her ribs started to painfully ache. Wrapping an arm around her chest, she felt the tight wrappings of a bandage under her shirt. Lifting a hand to her forehead, she found yet another bandage covering the gash that she remembered was there. A snort echoed off the metallic walls of the room followed by a snicker.
"Apparently, Gohan fixed us up. He also said something about getting us both a Senzu Bean once we get back to Earth," the voice of Myshel said from the bed next to her, and the icy blue eyed demi-Saiyajin gave her friend a warm smile as she watched her examine her bandages. Myshel herself was sporting a sling that her right arm was resting in, the shoulder of which was bandaged up to minimize movement. Her right foot, under the blanket, was also wrapped up tight, and the swelling around her black eye had started to go down.
"Well, aren't we an attractive looking pair?" Rejhan said with a grin, and Myshel gave a slight chuckle.
"Our first real battle," she said, and Rejhan nodded. "I don't know about you, but I'm in no real rush to go through that again," Myshel added with a roll of her eyes, and Rejhan gave a slight laugh.
"Yeah, the boys make it look like getting beaten black and blue doesn't hurt at all. What liars!" she said in mock indignation, and Myshel nodded.
"I say we just kick their butts around the gravity room for a while for misleading us … when we're completely healed, of course."
"Of course," Rejhan agreed with a laugh, before the door slid open and several worried (and one indifferent) faces peered in at them.
"See? I told you we heard voices!" Goten said, and Trunks nodded in agreement.
"Ok, so you two were actually right for once," Gohan muttered as he entered the room, and Trunks glared up at him.
"And what do you mean by that, Gohan? We're always right," he shot back, but Gohan just waved the argument away.
"So, how do you two feel?" he asked, and both girls smiled at him.
"Stiff and sore, but pretty good considering," Rejhan answered, and Myshel nodded in agreement.
"You two are lucky to be alive. You could have been killed in there!" Goku exclaimed, but Vegeta just snorted from the doorway.
"When are you going to realise that your daughter is a Saiyajin, Kakarott? She's not some helpless little girl, and neither is her friend," the Saiyajin prince said, and Goku was left looking between the two girls and his rival for a moment, trying to let everything soak in.
"Your mother isn't going to be happy when she finds out," he eventually said with a shake of his head, and Rejhan gave her dad a sheepish grin.
"She already knows," she replied, and all eyes in the room widened in disbelief, and everyone started talking at once.
"You told mum?" – Gohan.
"Chichi didn't kill you?" – Goku.
"Wow." – Goten.
"Not even I'm that stupid." – Trunks.
"She actually stood up to her harpy of a mother." – Vegeta.
"Well, we had to tell them something," Myshel cut in, and the talking stopped as all eyes turned towards her. "When you guys went missing, Bulma and Chichi were frantic with worry. When we suggested that we'd go and look for you, we had to tell them about our training sessions," Myshel explained, and Rejhan nodded.
"Mum wasn't impressed, but I think she'll get over it. Especially since we're bringing everyone home with us," Rejhan added with a grin.
"By the way, how far away from Earth are we?" Myshel asked, and all eyes turned towards Gohan, who, while the girls had been asleep, had been the only person who had managed to work out how the ship operated. Even Vegeta had had problems trying to figure it out.
"About a day. You girls were asleep for ages, but we thought it best that we let you rest," he answered, before giving the girls a sly look. "I also noticed some interesting looking devices on the bridge. I couldn't get them to work, but I'm guessing that you two can?"
The two girls shared a glance, knowing that Gohan was talking about the ki-sensing device that they had used to locate everyone with. Turning back towards her twin, Rejhan just smiled slyly back at him.
"I'll explain later," she said. "But right now, I'm kinda hungry. I can't remember the last time that I had a decent meal!"
"I'll second that!" Myshel added, before Gohan and the two boys were assigned meal duty by Goku.
With his two sons and Trunks out of the room, Goku sat down on the edge of his daughter's bed, and gave the young girl an oddly serious look.
"What?" Rejhan eventually had to ask, as the look was really unnerving her. He always looked so joyfully lost, but this was something much different. It just wasn't like her dad to be that serious.
Goku shook his head with a smile. "Nothing. I'm just amazed at how you've turned out, despite your mother's best intentions."
"Yeah well, mum couldn't watch me 24/7, now could she?" Rejhan said on a slightly defensive note, and Goku nodded in agreement.
"I'm proud of you," he said, before turning towards Myshel with a smile. "Both of you. You really came through for us, even if we weren't expecting it," he added, before turning back to his daughter. "I'll talk to your mother, but I think we'll be able to work something out. A warrior of your potential shouldn't be left training on her own," he said, and Rejhan nodded in excited agreement.
"But only if Chel gets to train with us too," she said, and Goku nodded in agreement.
"Of course. You two work so well together, it'd be a crime to split you up!"
Over by the doorway, Vegeta had quietly watched this exchange of words, whilst making his own plans for a certain blue-eyed demi-Saiyajin. Rejhan was none of his concern, yet Myshel was different. She was descendant from an Elite warrior, just like himself, and a part of him simply burned to challenge her in combat.
'She'll need a bit more training, of course,' he added to himself. 'But I'll make a fine warrior out of her yet. I'll make her better than Kakarott's female brat for sure,' he thought as a smirk crept over his face.
-------------------
As soon as Bulma had picked the ship up on her radar, she had called Chichi, and the two women were now standing out near the landing pad, scanning the skies for any sign of the returning ship. Several times they had thought that they'd seen it, but it had only been airplanes. So when they spotted a tiny speck high above, it hadn't registered until it was a rather large speck heading straight for them.
"Oh thank Kami, they're back!" Chichi exclaimed as the ship got ever closer.
"We don't know who's onboard yet, so let's not get too excited," Bulma said, yet she was also overjoyed to see the return of the ship, even if it turned out to only be the girls coming back in it. That at least would be better than having no one return to Earth.
The landing wasn't exactly smooth, but the ship touched down onto the Capsule Corp. grounds without any complications, and before the door had even opened, Chichi was halfway up the ramp.
"Oh my baby girl, where are you?" she exclaimed as the door opened.
"Hi mum. We're back," Rejhan greeted, a little embarrassed by her mother's reaction, as the two girls and the boys all stood in the doorway. Seeing everyone safe and sound, Chichi broke down crying, and Goku crouched down to pull her into his arms.
"Trunks!?" Bulma yelled, running up the ramp and throwing herself at her son, who cringed in protest, but nevertheless let his relieved mother almost suffocate him in a hug.
Breaking away from Trunks, Bulma stood up and faced Vegeta, who gave her a look of casual indifference. With a glare, Bulma slapped him across the face, yet the prince wasn't even fazed by this unexpected attack from his spouse.
"You could at least pretend like you missed me!" Bulma yelled, before she saw something small pass over the proud Saiyajin's face, and she threw her arms around him. Vegeta discreetly placed his arms around his wife, breathing in her scent. He was indeed glad to be home, but he'd be damned if he'd show his relief in front of Kakarott.
Letting go of her husband, Bulma turned towards Myshel, who had been standing back, silently watching everything unfold.
"Well, don't you look a mess?" she said with a smile, before gently pulling the surprised girl into a hug. "I'm glad to have you back, Myshel," she whispered, and Myshel closed her eyes as she returned the hug, nodding in agreement, and holding back the slight tear that had formed in her eyes. Someone had actually missed her. It was definitely a new experience for her.
Out on the lawn, where Goku had carried her, Chichi had started yelling and crying at her children, who were trying their best to console her. Yet every time that Chichi caught sight of Rejhan's injuries, she just started crying again. Goku eventually flew her home, and after saying their goodbyes to the Briefs and to Myshel, the three Son children soon followed.
"Do you think that mum is ever going to forgive me for this?" Rejhan asked of her twin once they were back home again, and hiding out in her room. Gohan just shrugged his shoulders.
"You rescued all of us, so I don't see how she could stay mad at you for long," he answered, but Rejhan frowned.
"This is mum that we're talking about," she pointed out in all seriousness, and Gohan just laughed.
"True. But I reckon that deep down, she expected something like this to happen sooner or later. We are a family of warriors after all," he said, and Rejhan smiled, before a knock came at the door.
Goku walked in and looked between his two eldest children before he started talking. "I've spoken to your mother, and she hates the idea of you fighting …"
"But Dad-" Rejhan started, before Goku held up a hand to silence her.
"However, she did agree that you could train with me, Gohan and Goten. She wanted to make it perfectly clear that she wasn't giving you permission to run off into battle, though," Goku said, and Gohan frowned as a thought occurred to him.
"But what if battle comes to meet us?" he asked, and Goku grinned.
"She never said anything about that," he answered with a wink, and Rejhan smiled. "So, how does a training session at sunrise sound to the pair of you? I'd like to see the full extent of your abilities for myself, Rej."
"Uh, sure. That sounds great!" Rejhan answered, hardly believing what she was hearing. She had finally been given the chance to train for real, and it felt like a dream come true for the demi-Saiyajin. She'd only had to travel halfway across the galaxy, and fight one hell of a powerful warrior, but she had finally been given what she'd always wanted: a place amongst the Z-Fighters of planet Earth.
-------------------
"Darnit Trunks, when I say now I mean now!" Bulma called down the hallway for the millionth time before growling under her breath and checking her watch, sighing heavily as she plopped down onto the armchair. Myshel, who was lounging on one corner of the couch, smiled lightly and got to her feet, winking at Bulma before starting off towards the hallway.
"I'll go get him, Bulma," she said casually. Bulma sighed, this time in relief, as Myshel wound her way through the hallways towards Trunks' room. Pushing open the door, she laughed as she found the young warrior sound asleep on top of his made bed fully clothed. With an amused expression on her face, the older demi stepped over to the bed and shook Trunks lightly. He groaned and turned over, so she shook him again. Finally, his eyes crept open, and Myshel shook her head.
"You'd better hurry out, your mother has been calling you for a while," she said, and Trunks groaned again.
"Alright alright, I'm goin' ..."
The lilac-haired youth hauled himself off the bed and trudged from the room, mumbling under his breath. Myshel watched him a few moments before getting up and heading for the door herself. She reached for the lights and flicked them off, then looked back at the door and stopped in her tracks.
"You ... the gravity room. Now."
With that, Vegeta turned on his heels and headed off down the hallway. Myshel stood there, completely stunned, before shaking her head and darting after him. She caught up after a few seconds, and followed him into the blank room with the control tower in the middle. Vegeta strode straight towards the console and messed with a few buttons, but Myshel just stood there and stared. 'What's going on ...?' she thought to herself, watching the Prince intently.
Vegeta pressed a few more buttons before looking behind him. "Well? Do you need to warm up, or are you just going to stand there looking stupid?"
"W-what?" she stuttered. Vegeta smirked evilly and sniggered as a mechanical beeping filled the air. Myshel felt instantly heavier as the gravity increased, so she widened her stance just a bit to keep her balance.
"You are the direct descendant of an elite Saiyajin and yet your technique is inexcusably underdeveloped. I refuse to let that continue any longer," Vegeta said simply as he rolled his shoulders around once or twice.
Myshel was flabbergasted yet again. "You're ... you're going to train me?"
Vegeta snorted as another evil smirk spread across his face. "Very good, girl, what a fantastic observer you are," he said sarcastically as he did a few more basic stretches. Myshel quickly followed suit and began to loosen up herself as the Saiyajin Prince continued. "You live in my house now, so you live by my rules. I expect to see you here every morning at 4 and every night at 9. And let me assure you, it isn't going to be easy."
Myshel straightened up from touching her toes and nodded firmly. "I understand," she said excitedly. She dropped into a stance and set her face with determination as her mind raced. 'Oh my Kami ... I'm gonna train with Prince Vegeta ... ' she thought to herself. 'I'm actually going to train under someone … who knows who I am.'
Vegeta studied the young demi's stance with a stoic look on his face, carefully noting her strengths and weaknesses. Her stance was quite good considering her previous training (or lack thereof), but she was still vulnerable on her right side. Making a quick decision, Vegeta leapt forward, quickly darting straight at the young warrioress and throwing an attack at the exposed section of her body. Myshel, not necessarily unprepared but still trying to get a grips on the situation, immediately flipped to her left, lashing out with a spin kick. Vegeta batted this away easily and slammed a fist into Myshel's left shoulder. Knocked back a foot or two, the demi did her best to shake the blow off and started with her best series of attacks. Vegeta parried and blocked all of them carefully, still examining her every move.
"You need to do better than this! I refuse to let you disgrace the name of elite Saiyajins!" he demanded before sending her crashing into the wall across the chamber. Myshel fell to the ground, rolling on contact before springing up and racing back towards the Saiyajin Prince. She set her head on the same mindset she had been on Awlgrene, and summoned up all the strength she had. With a loud battle cry, she hit Super Saiyajin just as she reached Vegeta. The full blood gritted his teeth and met her head-on. Their battle raged on for quite some time, before finally Myshel collapsed to the ground, breathing hard, bruised, and thoroughly routed. Vegeta had a few cuts and scrapes and was breathing a bit heavier than normal, but was otherwise fine. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he strode over to the demi-Saiyajin and looked down with a sneer, crossing his arms.
"Not bad, but no where near good enough, girl. Though I must say, I believe your mother would be proud," he said simply. Myshel pushed herself up into a sitting position and took a few long, deep breaths.
"You ... really think so?"
Vegeta was silent a few moments before slightly nodding. "But you are too slow, too weak, too sloppy, and too unfocused. You're in for a lot of very, very long days."
The two Saiyajin warriors were silent for a few moments until their sensitive ears picked up on a faint ringing sound in the distance, obviously coming from somewhere else in the complex. Vegeta just shot a glance at the door to the gravity room before turning and strolling back up to the controls.
"That would be the doorbell, and it feels to me like Kakarott's brat is here to see you," he said simply. Myshel did a quick sweep with her senses and noticed that Rejhan's ki was rather close. She hauled herself off the floor and made for the door, fiddling with her mangled hair as she walked. Just as she was about to hit the hatch to open the door, when Vegeta cleared his throat, making her stop and turn automatically. "You have tonight off. But I expect you to be here at 4 tomorrow morning. And let me assure you, you don't want to be late."
"Yes, sir," Myshel said quickly, nodding her head. When he didn't continue, she left the gravity room and practically sprinted through the hallways, heading straight for the front foyer. She rounded the last corner and took three steps before crashing into a figure clad in a familiar blue and black gi. Both girls fell backwards onto their backsides, laughing hysterically.
"Well, I see one of the servants let you in," Myshel managed to say through her giggles.
"And I take it that you're happy to see me," Rejhan snickered. Both girls clambered to their feet and brushed themselves off and started towards the kitchen; their favorite place to talk. After all, what Saiyajin would turn down the chance for food? Around halfway there, Rejhan noticed that Myshel was breathing heavier than usual, her clothes were damp, and there were minor bruises beginning to form on her skin. Raising an eyebrow, the daughter of Goku lightly pulled Myshel around as they continued their trek through the halls.
"What happened to you? You look a bit shaken up," she said, a trifle concerned. That look quickly faded however, when she saw Myshel's face brighten and her mouth curl into a wide smirk.
"Vegeta's training me," she said simply, yet there was so much excitement in her voice it was hard to miss. Rejhan was speechless for a few moments, before she shook her head in mild disbelief.
"No way! He's going to train you?" she said. The two girls strode into the kitchen, pulled about a dozen different items from out of the fridge and the pantry each, and sat down at the table facing each other.
"Yeah! He just ... called me in today and told me that I have to meet him every morning and every night to train, isn't that something?" she said happily. "With that plus you training with your dad and brothers and our little sparring bouts, we'll be up to par in no time!"
"For sure! Wow, Chel, I'm so happy for you, going from knowing practically nothing about the Saiyajin race to getting to train under the Prince who on top of it all actually knew your mother."
Myshel gulped down another turkey and provolone sandwich before leaning back and sighing. "So, how's life? And what brings you down here?"
Rejhan chuckled. "Why, did ya miss me?"
Myshel snorted.
"I'll take that as a yes. Actually, I came to invite you and the Briefs to a BBQ we're having over at my house. It may be in the middle of nowhere, but there's enough room around for sparring sessions. Besides, Goten won't shut up about how he and Trunks could kick our butts ... I think we need to teach them a lesson."
Myshel laughed again. "So you're getting the same thing? Trunks doesn't leave me alone, either. I agree, they definitely need to be put back in their place," she replied with a trademark smirk.
-------
"Last rack of ribs is ready, who wants them?!" Bulma called out from her place at the grill. Immediately, seven Saiyajins leapt up from their spots around the tables and made towards the BBQ. Bulma, anticipating this, held up a hand to stop the stampede. "Whoa whoa whoa, there's only one rack! Which means that only ONE of you gets it."
Seven sets of eyes looked at each other at this. The two younger boys looked at each other and snickered, the three men all stared at each other apprehensively, and the two females gave each other knowing looks. One glance from Rejhan's shining black eyes and Myshel's glistening icy blue ones told the other exactly what they needed to know. Just as the male Saiyajins were about to speak up and plead their case, Rejhan cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention.
"Why don't we spar for it?" she said smoothly.
"Yeah," Myshel added just as casually.
The male warriors seemed to consider this proposal a few moments before identical smirks spread across each of their faces.
"Sounds good to me," Trunks said.
"This'll be fun!" Goten chimed in.
"I'm game," Gohan said with a shrug of his shoulders. Goku and Vegeta glanced at each other once more before nodding simultaneously.
"Then we're all in agreement … last one standing gets the food. Ready?" Rejhan said aloud. The senshi all crouched into stances, mentally choosing their first move on those around them. Myshel nudged Rejhan with her shoulder as she dropped down into her own stance. The two girls gave each other another knowing look before Rejhan joined her blue-eyed friend.
'Those boys are so gonna get it,' she thought with a smirk, before eyeing off everyone else around her. "GO!" she yelled, as both she and Myshel jumped straight into battle against the finest warriors that the Earth had ever seen.
Myshel: AH! Rej it's OVER!
Rejhan: I know! Finally!
Myshel: Well, it's been a trip, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this as much as we enjoyed writing it. It's been a long time coming! And who knows...maybe we'll come out with a sequel...
Rejhan: Yeah, who knows?! In the meantime, make sure you check out both of our profiles and read what's there, we'd really appreciate it.
Myshel: Well, I guess that about sums it up. Live it up, people!
Catch ya later and tOOtles!
Rejhan and Myshel