A.N: Sorry for the slight delay! Blame sunny skies, the World (football) Cup, and some slight re-planning ^.^'

Chapter 27: Galactic Purge

A roaring wave of orange and red damnation, spread across the capital city of Vegetasei in loud and crackling rumbles. Two figures fought behind the incessant fires, until the victor stood clear over the defeated. Yet another limp body fell to the feet of the Godly King. A powerful death beam blast, sealed the easy triumph in an explosion of red and black. The weak male had tried to protect his even weaker, lower class mate, to what was now his very last breath. It was a decent enough fight, but now the clearly victorious Vegeta stalked towards the cowering woman. As his shadow loomed closer, she merely fell to her knees and inhaled a deep, defeated breath.

"My King," she pleaded hoarsely, lowering her head with the curving of her spine. "Let me swear to you, my devout loyalty. I have never crossed you, your majesty!"

'Pathetic,' Vegeta scowled as he observed yet another weak excuse for a Saiyan. 'Even after the death of her presumed mate, she is willing to believe she still has use to me?'

"Is that so," he answered, deep voice laced with an aloof tone. "What makes you think I desire the loyalty of a low class dog?"

"I.. I will prove myself," the female gulped. A sick smirk found the lips of the King, as the woman dared to lift her imploring eyes. He knew exactly how to deal with her, and so he offered his hand down to her. The foolish woman exhaled a relieved sigh, and reached up to take the offer. Yet as soon as their palms touched, the King gripped harshly. Tugging suddenly, he turned and launched the unsuspecting female upwards into the skies thickened by lingering smog. Her screams were soon engulfed by a single ki blast, and her body was just another corpse on the bonfire. Vegeta spat his disgust to the side. There was no longer any room on his planet, for those who did not possess the strength to stand by his side. Making sure he wiped his tainted hand clean over his chest plate, the King neglected to turn around as another being leisurely landed behind him. He didn't need to, not when he already knew exactly who the ki signature belonged to.

"Well?"

Kurrat's feet had barely touched the ground, when the King coarsely made his over-the-shoulder demands. The Council Elite touched his hand to his heart regardless of the gesture being ignored, and dipped his had as he reported in an even tone.

"The Outlaws to the South are dealt with. Death count rising.… Your majesty," he paused a moment to consider his next words carefully. "Is it wise to diminish our numbers so drastically?"

"Are you questioning my orders?"

"N-No Sire, it's just -"

"That's funny," the King cocked his head over his shoulder, still only partially regarding the man behind him. "I could have sworn there was doubt in your words just now… Or do you now think I'm deaf?"

"Apologies." Kurrat suddenly corrected himself before he faced the complete wrath of the Golden Legend. A brief silence passed between them as the King fixed his stare to the side, and Kurrat counted down what could be the last few seconds of his life.

"…Continue."

A relieved breath passed between them, before Kurrat recollected the courage to address the King once more.

"The population is already almost halved. We are averaging a strong army of thirty, and counting. Reports from the east and west are pending, not to mention those scouts who still remain outside our galaxy."

"An army is useless if one weak soldier remains in the ranks." Unfolding his strict arms, the philosophical King kicked at the abandoned scouter by his feet. Most likely it had belonged to the recently perished female. "It's high time we reminded the universe exactly what the meaning of fear is."

Finally, he turned to face the Noble Elite fully, who saluted respectfully in a fully stoic stance. Kurrat had an inkling of knowing where this was going next. The King had already issued orders to deal with the Saiyan home planet first and foremost. Unnecessary technology was to be destroyed along with any further believers in the former council's ways. When only those who had proved themselves to be strong and worthy of life remained, he would then address the state of the nearby galaxies. But now Vegeta had referred to the universe, which could only mean one thing. An act of all-out war worthy of a new tyrant who could finally fill the shoes of the former changeling Prince. Kurrat didn't doubt his King, especially when he had rearranged the state of the Saiyan population in such short time. So much kindred blood stained Vegeta's hands, and yet

"Purge them all."

There was one planet however, that the Saiyans had long since overlooked and underestimated. Following the second invasion and what had mostly been a great scare to the populace, the surviving inhabitants of planet Earth had been pushed far too close to the edge. The alien forces, upon seeing that the planet still flourished with great cities and a large population, had re-enforced the trade contract. The initial insubordination was met by one female alien turning into a great, ape beast. The Central Capital City was decimated. Fearing total annihilation, democracy reared its head again, and the Earth's Leaders agreed to the new contract. So the Saiyans had cut their losses and left, but it wasn't quite as simple as they thought. The resource desperate pirates had made a grave mistake, and even worse; they had crossed the deadly path of the Earth's Champion.

Black boots strode down the corridor of a top secret research facility formerly known to a select few as the Red Ribbon Army base. The proud and egocentric Hercule Satan, was just one of these esteemed few. Since the rightful heir of Capsule Corp had failed to take over the company following the owner's demise, the competitive company's one and only rival, had taken over. Now, Red Ribbon Inc owned the rights to Dynocaps, which had led to the inevitable financial boom that would support their army-related funds. With the Champion's heavy investments following the recent disappearance of his one and only daughter, the extra dose of revenge had fuelled the research over the past month. Enough time had been wasted though, and Mr. Satan was not the most patient of men, as he was about to demonstrate.

"Where's mah rocket?" He demanded with his loud and bumbling, heavily accented voice. The scientists and mechanics hadn't even realised the sudden presence in the lab, and so they all shrieked and gulped in their own individual ways.

"M-M-Mr Satan!" A scientist stuttered, as he re-adjusted his spectacles over his nose again. "We ah… we were not expecting -"

"Quiet!"

The Champion strode past, shoving the unsuspecting scientist aside. A colleague caught the poor man before he could fall against a collection of very precarious machinery. At all the commotion echoing around the large garage space, a blonde, very attractive woman, glanced up from her handiwork. She was perched over the 'rocket' sought by the champion, fixing the final adjustments in place. Now, her calm, icy blue eyes settled on the approaching intruder, and she calmly slipped her rear from the weapon, to gracefully land on feet clad in fashionable, brown leather boots. Everything about the woman, was perfection from that all-important first impression. The Champion even had to stop and gulp a moment, as he realised the female mechanic was staring and walking directly at him.

"What a pleasant surprise," she started. Casually tucking stray strands of lightly golden hair behind her ear, she stopped in front of the stalled champion, and extended her pale hand. A single, golden bracelet, decorated the slender wrist. "I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Satan. I am Doctor Ju Hachi, co-leader of your project."

A light grin lifted her slim pout painted in a pretty pink shade that shimmered as it caught the light. Again, the Champion had to gulp, barely even touching his hand to the offered palm. She initiated a very gentle yet cold handshake that literally took his breath away.

"Your contribution has been more than appreciated. I feel we are already friends. Please, just call me, Eighteen." She lightly smiled as he gaped in stunned silence, and lifted her brows as she lightly slid her hand away from Hercule's. He shivered at the after effects of her touch.

"But I'm afraid you are a little early. We were not expecting you for another hour, at most." The Champion struck a more confident pose, placing both hands on his hips with white cape flapping dramatically behind him. Exhaling a forced laugh, his voice boomed across the garage laboratory.

"HAH! Yeah, that's right m'am! The Champion always comes early and uh… unexpectantly!" The woman closed her eyes under relaxed brows, folded her arms across a generous chest, and subtly chuckled. The Champion was clueless to her disapproval of his malapropos, and furthermore unaffected by his flirtatious flexing.

"I don't doubt that. No matter. Please, follow me."

Hercule counted his lucky stars as the pretty blonde woman led the way, with the enticing, natural swing of her wide hips. He had to gulp and tug at his cloak's neck strings, which seemed to suddenly be a little tighter over his thick neck.

"Ah believe ah will!" He snickered crudely, striding after her like a well-trained puppy. Or so Eighteen thought, with her amused, sarcastic smirk.

In an office above the main garage building site, a black-haired male typed furiously at a keyboard console. Digits and letters raced over the screen, far too rapidly for a human eye to recognise. However, he seemed to have no problems. Ice-blue eyes kept a strict focus, even as he heard the door open behind him.

"Mr Satan," he called in a relaxed, youthful voice laced with a very suave tone. His typing stopped, but he still was yet to turn away from the screen. "You're early."

Eighteen lightly brushed past the oaf of a champion to join her fellow colleague. As she slid her rear over the desk edge, the male finally turned in his chair to reveal his clear relation to the project co-leader. The champion had to gawp; the twin's resemblance was uncanny. Not just the exact matching length of their hair, but also the exact same facial features, such as the small noses, large slanted eyes and icy blue irises.

"Yer related?" He continued to gawp and state the obvious. The twins exchanged glances with quiet chuckles.

"Doctor Ju Nana," the raven-haired male finally introduced himself, crossing his legs, and then clasping his hands over the raised knee. "Humble greetings Mr. Satan. Please, call me Seventeen."

Hercule was completely boggled and swept away by the incredibly seductive nature of these strange siblings. He could only nod and scratch his head somewhat as he pondered a moment. 'What strange names they have!'

"I presume you received our correspondence," Seventeen continued, while his sister kept her unblinking gaze on the client. "The project is ready for the final stage."

"Now?" The Champion could hardly believe his ears. "Yer gonna launch it right now?" Eighteen's mellow laughter was music to his ears, and the score was completed by the more visually pleasing way that she leaned back, to cross one slender leg over the other.

"Mr. Satan, would you like to push the button?"

"WOULD I!" Again, the twins exchanged subtly grinning glances. Clearly the Champion had misheard, but his excitement remained as he coughed away his crude thoughts.

"Uh… ah mean - Yes please, m'am, ah would. But uh," he paused to scratch his bearded, large chin. "You sure this is gonna work? Ah mean, can't have it blowing up before it reaches the target. Right? Gotta make sure everything goes to plan!"

"It will work," Seventeen answered calmly, even as the champ formed a fist and laughed in his annoying manner. The male twin had already turned back to the computer screen to input the final commands though, which would raise a single alarm raised beneath them.

"Initiate launch." His voice rung out outside the office, alerting the inhabitants of the lab to clear. The final tasks were to be performed by well trained mech-suits, who would fit the bomb perfectly in place on the Saiyan supply ship. It really was a well-contrived plan, and smoothly executed. Hercule was lost for words as he watched his project fall into place. The Saiyans would never expect a bomb of epic proportions, to greet them when the resource ship landed. Or so both he and the Red Ribbon Army thought. It had taken many years and sacrifices to obtain the research needed to piece together the correct amount of explosive energy. Not to mention money, which Hercule was recently more than happy to donate to the cause. He'd struck a rather comical deal with the Red Ribbon Army, so he of all people needed to be sure that this experiment would wipe out the Saiyans, for good. Hercule didn't have the most scientific brain, so he didn't understand what a certain Dr. Gero had meant by creating a bomb that sapped 'living energy,' and then imploded using that 'live energy.' But it sounded good, and Hercule liked to trust plans that seemed concrete.

Several minutes later, and the area beneath them was prepared. All it would take now, was one thumb pressing against the fabled red button. Eighteen unlocked the glass hatch casing, and stepped aside for the pensive Hercule to make his mark in the history books. This was his moment, but in his mind, he could only think of the daughter he was finally revenging. He was convinced she'd died in the Central City blasts. The fires had burnt for days afterwards, and many lives were lost in the great blaze.

"This is for you Videl!" Without any further hesitation, the ship's engines were ignited.

"It's done," Eighteen remarked, watching the vessel light up before flaring in a single, powerful blast into the skies. Her brother nodded, monitoring the statistics, as the Earth's atmosphere was torn by the revenge powered ship.

"Project Saiyan Purge, is officially initiated."

Meanwhile, three unaccounted for Saiyans traversed the currently tranquil universe in the safety of their battleship. The captain put his feet up and settled back in his navigations chair, as he saw that they were finally approaching the correct co-ordinates. The previous galaxy map automatically switched to open space and an incoming, un-chartered galaxy. Attempting to manually navigate through such regions would test the pilot's blinded skills. Kakarot however, reacted calmly in full awareness of his task. Casually inputting the next commands, he upped the engine power a notch more, and then simply relaxed back with a large yawn. He would need to be completely alert for the asteroid belt navigation, so a brief nap while they crossed through the traverse of open space, couldn't really hurt. Or so he thought.

Down the hall in an equally tranquil private pod, a pair of bonded mates had finally settled after the intimate exercise worthy of an exhausting sparring equivalent. Entangled between themselves and the bed sheets for several hours much needed rest, they at last re-greeted each other with the silence of content stares and interlocking fingers. Gohan would more thoroughly explain to Videl the details of their next destination; an un-chartered, small planet where they could re-supply and talk through the next course of action. Thankfully the settled bond allowed him to leave out the vital details of the other outlaws they would meet there. After all, how could he tell her that he would gain a mother, while she had just lost hers? Perhaps the withheld information would come back to bite him in the rear later, but it was worth the risk in his opinion. Then they would meditate, as Gohan had stressed that it was vital for their connected ki to settle naturally. It would be hard to practice the extent of their bond in such confined spaces, as he continued to explain.

"Gelidus was perfect. We could've trained ourselves to both sense, and find each other there."

"Like hide and seek?"

"Yes, I suppose you could call it that." He momentarily grinned at the slightly devious thoughts in his mind; generally he preferred the term 'hunting.' There was nothing more satisfactory than tracking down your target, leading them around in circles, and then ultimately beating them to the chase.

"Gohan?" The female voice snapped him out of his wishful thoughts, along with the hand she waved in front of his slightly glazed eyes. A grin found his face, and he had to lick slightly dried lips. Videl only frowned deeper at the gesture, and instantly secured her slipping robe over her shoulder. There was both a protective and authority seeking mix to the way she folded her arms over her chest. "I swear, if you're having rude thoughts again…"

He could only chuckle to himself at her assumptions, while the pair of them felt mixed opinions over the absence of their connected minds. He'd been right about it being temporary, though Videl had expected it to last a little bit longer than just a few hours. Although the unshielded rawness was gone however, Gohan had insisted that it was possible to regain a mental connection, by choice. Hence their meditation.

"There will be plenty of time for games," he finally said, somewhat glad of the mystery behind his words. It would be fun to teach her how to hunt, without his mind involuntarily giving all the best tricks away. "For now, we will make do with that we have."

Videl soon found that with enough focus and deep concentration, she could send specific images to her mate, and vice versa. But even a simple thing, like imagining the exact details of their pod, took a great deal of effort and precision. By the end of that day, the two half-breeds were left exhausted again. Not even a shared shower could soothe the throbbing that Videl felt in her skull, or her completely sapped energy.

"It's a skill that will take time to master," Gohan had soothed. He'd learnt by now that his mate hated not being able to master something quickly. "For both of us."

Despite the warm embrace they later shared, Videl in particular found it difficult to sleep that night. When she'd first closed her eyes and settled into a light slumber, she had been faced by a barren landscape materialising in her strange chimera. White booted feet stepped out from a one-man space pod, to tread over sun-baked and cracked soil in fulvous hues. Then, a dusty breeze had strongly swirled around her, forcing her to spin around. Behind her, was a tranquil city built from mustard yellow and olive green stone. Before she could step towards the city, something suddenly shot from the space pod. A beam of light, projecting up to the peach-yellow skies. As she looked up, her eyes widened to stare fully at the small, artificial moon hovering above her. Yet the more she stared, the more powerful she began to feel, while she unknowingly absorbed the energy ball's Bruits Rays. Hands lifted to the sides of her face, where the cheeks stretched with the expansion of her skull. At the same time, her skeleton was growing, causing limbs muscles, organs and skin to follow suit. Thick brown fur sprouted over her body, as her nose formed a snout, and her large eyes slanted beneath thicker and heavier brows. As the Oozaru transformation was completed, the great ape Videl had become, hammered it's fists against the expanded chest plate. A mighty roar cracked across the horizon, and from the open jaws of the beast, formed a strong blast. The pure red light rocketed towards the innocent inhabitants of the tranquil city, and with the impact of the explosion, came Videl's awareness in the realm of the conscious again. Gasping, she jerked awake, gaining the automatic response of a strong arm tightening around her waist. Looking down at Gohan though, she found him to be contrarily fast asleep.

'Well that was weird,' she nodded to herself, absent-mindedly scratching at the itching sensation at the base of her spine. Sighing, she found herself struggling to re-find the comforts of sleep. Though her tossing and turning failed to rouse Gohan, it did only annoy her further that he should remain so relaxed. Was it just her, or was the temperature a little warmer? Perhaps it would be cosy and quite comfortable, if only her skin wasn't already layered in a film of sweat. As she sat up again, she referred back to Gohan and his deep slumber.

'Typical,' she told herself with the light wrinkling of her nose. Feet padded towards the kitchen, where hands fumbled past many empty jars in search of something decent to nibble on. 'Gohan's dad really wasn't joking about taking it easy on the supplies,' she mused to herself.

Just as Videl laid her grasp on a jar of what looked like dried, purple jerky strips, something suddenly disrupted the calm momentum of the ship. What felt like a sudden collision that not only shook the entire room, but uprooted Videl's feet as the ship jerked harshly to the left. She felt herself stumble back into the kitchen table, and roll onto the floor, miraculously still hugging the food jar to her chest. The strange thing was, that the floor still trembled, as though the explosion was coming from inside the ship. Just as she managed to sit up again, something else barged against the side of the vessel, rocking it harshly to the left. The jar rolled and crashed into a cupboard, while Videl winced as her skull hit another cupboard's door. As she recovered, she turned her attention to the large back wall window, where she just about caught sight of the flaming comet brushing past the ship.

'That looked a little close,' she frowned, sensing Gohan's suddenly very alert ki frequency rousing nearby. The spaceship both agreed and corrected her, with the sudden warning alarm that erupted throughout the vessel in a high-pitched siren. Videl wasted no time, as she sprung to her feet and followed the mechanic wails, to the red lights flashing over the control bridge doors. Charging through, she was greeted by the sight of a very panicked Kakarot, trying to multitask himself over various screens. One hand held steady over the ships steering stick, while the other stretched to type various overfeeding messages into a flashing red, database screen.

"What's going on?" She asked as she raced forwards, eyes darting from one screen to the next as if she could somehow figure out the alien coding. "Did something -"

"Not now!" He barked, though Videl wasn't quite sure if he was talking entirely to her, or just the ship. Especially when he suddenly pulled back on the control stick. The wall stopped Videl from backing up any further, though she had to move fast to avoid the chair that tumbled towards her. Crossing the room, she came to stand beside the overworked Kakarot, who was quickly surprised by the way small hands tried to take away the task of pulling the control column's yoke back.

"I've got it," she barked back at him. "Let go!"

He did, freeing his hand to pull at an overhead, red hook. Carefully steering to the right and bringing the half-wheel back to the centre, Videl stabilised the ship. This really did put her air-driving license to the test; having her very own yellow helicopter on Earth was really starting to pay off. Another ripple through the ship however, proved just how blind the driver's seat was in this area of space. It felt as though something had surely struck the ship his time, as powerful vibrations shook the entire inner structure. The floor groaned, and Videl momentarily lost control. The nose of the ship dived, until she jerked back on the yoke with the sudden help of Kakarot's squeezing hand over her own. A fully dressed Gohan sped into the room then, thrusting boots, gloves and bodysuit at Videl's chest. She quickly grabbed at them, leaving quarrelling father and son to take control. Stepping back, she neglected modesty to waste no time in quickly replacing her dressing gown with more appropriate attire

"The engine core's overheated," Kakarot explained through gritted teeth.

"What! And you didn't see that happening?"

"Now isn't the time for this! We're coming down fast over an asteroid belt." Kakarot growled again, barging his son aside to take the navigator's seat once more. "Gohan! You've got to get down in the engine room and see what you can do. I can handle this, but without full power -"

"Right," the son nodded, fully understanding the mission. A wide-eyed Videl was suddenly dragged behind a brisk Gohan, back through the double doors to a flashing panel on the opposite wall. Once the code was inputted, the floor gaped open, revealing a staircase that descended deeply down the ship.

"It's going to get really hot down there," he instructed, slinging a tool bag over his shoulder. Videl nodded, not really knowing how she could help, but determined to try her best regardless. So she followed after Gohan, down a steep yet somewhat diagonally curved climb to the very bottom of the ship's layers. He was right; a strong breath of warm air pushed out towards them. It was almost comparable to the physics of the Earth's core, as the façade of a cold floor was melted by a searing heat brewing from the lower centre of the ship. Down a corridor lit by small red orbs, they came to the submarine hatch. Gohan wasted no time in turning the tight, large wheel, after tossing the clattering satchel to Videl. She sunk to her knees, opening out the bag flaps to reveal a very mechanical set of tools. Cerulean eyes finally looked up as Gohan opened the hatch, where a pool of deep water bubbled. In the very centre of the cyclical pool, was a long, cylinder device.

"What's dad been doing?" The teen asked, frowning as he leaned over the hatch to access the control panel on the inner side of the lid. Digits pressed again various beeping and unresponsive buttons. "Damn it!"

"You're not going in there," Videl started, concern lacing her voice as she stared down into the pool. The space between the central object and the inner walls, was quite narrow, not to mention how steam was rising from the liquid surface. "Are you?"

"Not exactly," he calmly responded. "Unless I had a total death wish. That water is beyond scolding. But we'll both have to manually lift it."

She wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but she nodded nonetheless, figuring that she would find out soon enough. Moving to a far off wall, Gohan opened a panel to reveal two hooked poles. Tossing one to Videl, he demonstrated with the other how to latch on to the top of the engine hooks. She copied, and begun to pull as he did. The object was heavier and far more stubborn than she expected, but the white coated structure lifted towards them, painfully slowly. Losing his patience, Gohan dropped the pole and braced himself. Leaned forwards, he sunk his arms down into the bubbling liquid pool. Videl gasped with him, leaping to grab onto his shoulders, trying her best to pull him back.

"STOP!" She pleaded, but he was impossible to shift, and fixed in his decision.

"I… have to … do this!" He growled between his firmly grit teeth, the strain clear on his body as muscles bulged and veins protruded against thick skin. Frowning, Videl drove her hands in also, noticing how the thick 'water' seemed to have an oily texture. The top layer was freezing cold, but beneath it was far warmer, to the point of scolding. Yelping at the initial temperature shock, she grabbed hold of the device underneath, and pulled up with Gohan. At last, the incredibly heavy metals coated in thick white plastics shifted, until the top of the structure submerged fully above the surface. Neither of the half-breeds gave up, until the engine core was lifted as high as the tracks allowed without disconnecting the power entirely. Even out of the water, it was incredibly hot to touch.

The lights immediately flickered with the ship's momentary lapse in power, as another collision to the outer shell trembled across the interior walls. Both Videl and Gohan were flung backwards as the ship turned brutally to the side, before finally stabilising again. As they recovered, Gohan helped Videl find her feet with his reddened hands. Naturally the thick skin wasn't melting away or anything absurdly horrific like that, but she could see that minor burns lightly damaged the raw skin. Her own hands were burning, but she grit her teeth to the pain. There were more important things to worry about.

"Go!" He commanded deeply, accompanied by a hasty, encouraging shove against Videl's dejected back. "I can handle this. Just… Help dad hold her steady."

Seeing the seriousness in Gohan eyes, Videl realised the importance of her task. Racing back up the ladder, she gripped on for dear life as the ship shook frantically again, until she finally climbed up to the upper level. The bridge doors opened to reveal an equally frantic Kakarot, clinging to the control stick with firmly grit teeth. He barely acknowledge the new presence near him, as he focused completely on the window in front of him. Control screens blinked various messages below the main window, but he seemed to be ignoring them entirely to rely on his foresight alone. Videl could see the extent of the cluttered asteroid field he was trying to navigate. There were various gaps but sparsely spread apart from each other, and smaller meteors barred the way. Barging against space debris was inevitable. It reminded Videl of a graveyard.

"Did he do it?" Kakarot asked with a light growl, barely dodging the corner of another space rock.

"He's working on it," she answered calmly, eyeing the window also. The puzzling maze was already giving her a headache. "Why do you want full power? Isn't it best to go slow?"

"It's not about full power," he barked back, quickly lifting the vessel's nose to leap over the spinning rock coming up beneath them. "Engine failure means we could be stranded here, and that really isn't an option."

"Watch the left." Kakarot took quick note of the instruction, lessening the left tilting angle of the piloting yoke. Videl inhaled a tense breath, as they narrowly missed the edge of the small rock. Luckily it was floating very slowly away from their line of path.

"Why did the engine overheat in the first place? Weren't you watching it?" The Saiyan was reluctant to answer the question, simply narrowing his eyes a moment as he focused on the task. Admittedly, it was easier with a extra pair of eyes.

"Keep tilted right," she instructed again, pointing out the incoming dangers. Kakarot had to silently compliment the human's good eyes.

"I fell asleep," he finally answered her. Videl almost choked on her own breath, and released it in a stifling, unbelieving laugh. Not only had she not expected him to even answer her, but she could also hardly believe her ears when he did. Meanwhile, her 'father-in-law' equivalent seemed to cringe lightly under her stern glare.

"You fell asleep?" She countered, still not believing it. Luckily, Kakarot was at least still watching the screen. "Why didn't you ask us to take over for awhile? I mean, Gohan was sure you could handle this alone. He said you didn't want our help."

"You both needed a break," he simply answered, slowly steering to the left. "After everything you've been through… It was not my place to disturb your mating."

Videl had to swallow back the disturbing realisation that this man was fully aware of the other activities onboard the ship. He spoke like it was normal, and in his culture, it was. The bonding process was a recognised ritual easily compared to the public-friendly, human marriage. Undisturbed peace and acceptance during the 'honeymoon phase' was the only gift Kakarot could give, under these circumstances at least. Videl just saw it as silly negligence, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Mostly.

"Well I'd rather be alive and unmated, than potentially dead or stranded in the middle of nowhere. Do you even know where we are now?"

Ironically, a light grin found the full-blooded Saiyan's mouth. Not only was he now aware that his son had picked a female who would have little trouble keeping him in-line. But now, coming into view past the lesser asteroids, was the one asteroid he'd been looking for. To any other pilot, it merely resembled the rest of them as an obstacle to be particularly avoided.

"Wow, that's a big one!" Videl proved that point, as Kakarot's oddly grinning silence had prompted her to gape back at the screen. "Wait. Why aren't you turning?"

Indeed, he had locked the control yoke in place, to head straight for the large asteroid. Even under the Earthling's horrified gaping, Kakarot maintained his calm composure. Consulting the various screens, he typed in the relevant commands, and leaned over a single communications microphone.

"Gohan! Get back up here. Now!"

Videl was completely lost for any words, wondering if perhaps the father had finally lost it. But he turned to her at last, and very lightly smiled. Excitement was clearly bubbling, even in the darkest shadows of his burnt umber eyes.

"If I were you, I would sit down and brace myself. It's going to be one hell of a bumpy landing."

To be continued…