Chapter 31: Epilogical Payload

All in all, the hours needed to prepare for the long journey to Earth, probably equalled a day's worth. Bulma tried her best to fix the engine as quickly as possible, then made sure every single tracking bug had been wiped clear from the main control systems. At least Kakarot had managed to do something right. If the Almanac were sad to see the humans leave, they hardly showed it. As usual, they mediated at the break of day and night, remaining quite indifferent to the goings on around them. Videl in particular, wondered how anyone could live with such a strange species. She tried to make conversation with one, who had been dressed in faded crimson and cream robes. It had just gifted her with a crushed flower in response, and a peeping, eavesdropping ChiChi had softly chuckled at the sight.

"That's Jun. He takes care of the planet's flora." The older woman had explained quite uninvited. Then she'd proceeded to examine the rather ugly flower; the petals were spiky and coarse in a shade of faded, even dusty pastel rose. "Oh my! It's a fertility flower."

Much to Videl's further irritation, the older woman had chuckled rather loudly. Somehow, the teenage failed to catch the joke. 'Ugh… How embarrassing,' she'd further thought to herself, having tossed the silly 'flower' over her shoulder. Half the time, Videl actually wished she could be in Bulma's company more. Instead, she'd been lumbered with helping the rather old-fashioned woman, who expected men to do the heavy lifting jobs, and women to secure the food and more basic tasks. The very notion made the modern teenager snort in disapproval; was this woman from the stone-age or something? Meanwhile, Gohan and 'Goku' were allowed to spar with Goten and Trunks without hardly lifting a finger.

'That's so not fair," she'd grumbled to herself, longingly looking over to their constantly moving figures in the distance. As much as Videl figured that the father, sons and brothers needed time to get to know each other a little better, that didn't explain why she was stuck with the Saiyan's mate and mother. 'The sooner we're home, the better.'

Bulma Briefs of course shared this particular thought. The very much content heiress couldn't wait to be back on Earth and surrounded by the material goodness that the planet had to offer. The clothes, the comforts of civilisation, and of course, being able to do what she wanted, when she wanted, thanks to her very ample inheritance. At last she could be normal again, and raise her son as she deemed appropriate. Not as some savage, surrounded by nothing but dust and rock. He deserved an education, proper clothes on his back, and nourishing food of all kinds and varieties. Of course she'd taught him what she could; he knew how to count and spell, and he spoke her language decently. But she expected so much more. He was going to be the top of his classes, a real sports star at high school, and no doubt when he was a little older, a real ladies man. Bulma clasped her hands together and sighed wistfully. 'Only the best for my boy.'

Once everything had been transferred to the Saiyan warship, and farewells were made to the indifferent Almanac, the outlaws finally settled into the reality of their decision. Bulma of course spent most of her time running between the control deck and the engine room, after a much needed and rather long shower that is. She decided Kari's room would be hers, and the exotic woman certainly had enough gadgets to fill the majority of the formerly empty space. She also refused to shut up about how she couldn't wait to be home again. On numerous occasions, various occupants of the ship considered 'accidentally' tossing a spanner down the engine core cylinder. As for ChiChi and Kakarot though, they had a lot of catching up of their own to do. At least for the first two days, the pair were pretty much unseen and unheard from throughout the ship. That left Videl and Gohan as the main babysitters for Goten and Trunks, which suited Videl just fine. Since the whole bonding shenanigans, and then ChiChi's smirking and knowing little glances, the teenage girl had very much woken up to the precautions she needed to take. Especially being a female, she realised that if she wasn't careful for now on, there would be another Saiyan brat added to the load in approximately nine months from now. A certain conversation with ChiChi had made that fact even more alarming and closer to the home truths of her very much unprotected relationship with Gohan.

"It's so wonderful that you're bonded already!" The rather cheerful mountain woman had declared back on the asteroid, while stacking dried food parcels into an empty crate. Videl had more or less scoffed at the topic choice, but gone along with it in her driest, forcefully polite tone.

"It's not like I had that much of a choice." Of course, ChiChi had hardly heard the response. She was already clasping her hands together longingly and sighing to herself in clear memorandum.

"Goku and I were barely seventeen when we made the bond. It was so perfect! Oh my, I can't believe I'll be a grandmother soon. I could not wish for anything more -"

"Ugh…" At this point, Videl had to stop with the menial tasks, to quite blatantly roll her eyes. It was better to interrupt the older woman, before she got anymore carried away with herself. "Listen lady, I'm not about to give you or anyone else any grandkids any time soon. I mean, for starters, I'm only eighteen!"

"SO!" The sudden shriek of course made the poor teenager grit her teeth and lean backwards slightly. "Hmph! It's a married woman's duty to provide a child for her husband. Why… I was barely seventeen when I had Gohan."

"No offence, but I'm not even married to your son."

"Oh really?" A disgruntled ChiChi frowned considerably, quite literally tossing the next food parcel into the crate. Videl ignored the aggressive action, to instead plant her hands on her hips. Amusingly, the two women mirrored each other perfectly.

"Yes, really! And another thing. Even if I was married, that doesn't mean I'm sworn to do anything. Marriage isn't about turning out kids as quickly as possible."

"Hmph!"

"Especially not when your supposed husband doesn't even trust you enough to tell you everything that's going on! I would call that some major issues that speak against marriage."

The two women had exchanged snarling glares, and Videl had made sure she finished her job extremely quickly after that. Escaping any further questioning however, was unavoidable. Even when ChiChi changed the subject, she was determined to find out exactly who this young woman was, and if she really was a gem worthy of her firstborn son. It included questions such as 'who's your father?' quickly followed by 'and what about your mother?' All leading to a better understanding of the girl who was technically her new daughter-in-law. Videl refused to go into the headache of details referring to Kari, preferring to impart only her Earth parents to the nosey woman. Owning up to a millionaire champion father and a deceased psychologist mother, managed to impress the mountain woman sufficiently enough.

The other thing that concerned Videl, was her complete loss of time. Surely it had been a month? So surely she was due for her dreaded monthly period. Now she was fully aware that occasionally the way she over-exerted her body caused her to skip a month, so that could explain her current situation. But considering the other exertions her body had recently endured, it begged to question exactly what was going on. So babysitting had initially been a good set-up. Videl had presumed that Gohan would soon grow tired of the two brats and realise that his mate's excuse-filled decision to 'just cuddle' from now on, was actually a very good precaution. So much for that idea too. Goten and Trunks officially shared Nappa's old room, but seemed to demand surveillance in the training room more than anything. Gohan only delighted in teaching them Saiyan techniques, starting with flying. It had initially amazed him that they both had a basic understanding of ki, yet neither of them had learnt how to fly.

"Mom can't fly either!" Goten had giggled in his adorable ways. "But lookie what she taught me!" A mild energy blast had shot from his palm then, narrowly missing an inattentive Videl to smack the wall behind her. Adult sets of eyes had widened at the display of ki control, though Gohan had been the only one to follow through with very light-hearted chuckles.

"Not bad," he ruffled the young boy's hair. Trunks however remained frowning and unimpressed most the time.

"I could do that," he often grumbled. It was clear that he mostly just sought the same brotherly and even fatherly attention, that Gohan was only happy to give in ample amounts. He was a natural with children, which only continued to alarm Videl further. It was both undeniably attractive, yet also terribly daunting. She knew for certain, that having a family of her own, wasn't something on the immediate agenda. It never really had been a set-in-stone life goal, and she wasn't about to change the way she felt about that. Bond, or no bond.

When the two boys were finally exhausted enough to sleep peacefully, Videl found that the only slightly exhausted Gohan only wanted to dedicate himself to her solicited company. For three straight days, he tried to initiate more intimate scenarios, but she remained fixed in her prudish ways.

"I'm too tired!" Was the first excuse, followed by "I have a really bad headache" and then the far more desperate "I'm so tired, not to mention that erm… I've got a bad tummy ache" excuse.

By the fourth day, he was a little more adamant, and growing tired also, for entirely opposite reasons. Kakarot and ChiChi had mostly taken care of the boys, leaving the younger couple with much more time to themselves at last. Gohan had figured there was no possible way Videl could be tired this time, but alas, he made sure everything was perfect. Clearly she was testing his ability to be a male provider, or so he thought. So while she slept soundly, he searched through the food rations his mother had prepared the previous night. Something she called 'rice cakes' or 'dumplings' which were actually rather sweet and syrupy. Videl seemed to particularly like them, so he figured they would be a nice wake-up call. Alas, she still tried her best to inevitably evade his attempts to feed her, coupled with the follow-up persuasive kisses. When it came to his fondling touches, they were far more firmly swatted aside

"What's wrong with you?" He finally asked outright, gripping her at the waist and forcing her to remain next to him on the bed. His keen sense of smell told him that contrary to her complaining, she wasn't suffering from her female, monthly ailment. In fact, she smelt fresh and completely enticing.

"I told you, I'm tired." Gohan had never heard anything so preposterous. For starters, she'd had plenty of time to rest, not to mention he of all people knew that she was never, truly tired. She had proven that to him during their various forms of 'sparring.'

"Are you sick?" He suddenly demanded, pressing his palm to her forehead to check the temperature, and then taking a deeper whiff of her scent from the dip of neck.

"No, I'm not sick!" Videl tried her best not to nervously laugh at his fussing, but also found herself blushing as Gohan grinned in the most mischievous way. He had 'that look' in his eyes that only made her shudder slightly. Clearly he thought she was playing some sort of game with him, and once again she had to swat aside his more excited attempts to ravage her.

"Gohan!" She shrieked, though the rest was trapped behind his mouth. Already they were rolling, tumbling and disturbing the tranquillity of the bed sheets. "I mean it!" Videl finally broke away again, this time giving him a firmer shove at the chest, to pin him beneath her. "I really don't want to… t-to do it."

Gohan glared up, lightly frowning with his clear confusion. What had gotten into her lately? Had it been his show of emotions? Had it made him less attractive? He knew it; she found his lack of Saiyan decorum disgusting. Why shouldn't she? He should be a man after all, not an unstable, weak excuse for a provider and mate.

"And don't look at me like that!" He wasn't even sure how he was looking at her, but now she was very uncomfortably dropping her shoulders and shifting to grant him a view of her back instead. As he sat up, trying to pry more information out of her, Videl finally caved in. It was easier to be honest with him, especially when she didn't have him staring back at her with those puppy-dog eyes.

"Can't we just wait until we're on Earth and settled a little? Then we can, you know. Be a little more careful. It's bad enough having your mom breathing down my neck wishing for grand-kids already! I hardly even know the woman and she's putting pressure on me. I just want things to be a little more… normal!"

Though at first he didn't quite understand what she meant by 'being careful,' Gohan was quick to gather the full meaning of it all as soon as the part about his mother was made clear to him. To Videl's surprise, he lightly chuckled.

"So that's what bothering you." Without any warning, she found herself being tugged backwards from the shoulders, until her back hit his accepting shoulder. Wide, incredulous eyes stared up, as he pinned her exactly where he wanted her with an arm across her stomach. In that cradled position, he knew she would be forced to listen to him, once her initial scrambling was silenced by his more understanding, stoic words.

"I'm not about to do everything my mother wants. And I agree. It wouldn't be a good idea, given the circumstances." Cerulean eyes continued to stare up, processing the new data with a mental sigh of relief.

"So you're saying, I have the current situation to thank? Geez… that's not exactly what I wanted to hear." Again he grinned in his boyish way; she really was impossible sometimes.

"I'm saying, neither of us are ready for a family of our own. I know you're still struggling with the bond, and to be honest, as am I. Besides that, given the other circumstances, it just wouldn't be safe or fair."

"As in… the other Saiyans potentially wanting us dead for whichever insanely savage reason?"

"Mmhmm," he mumbled, glad that she was finally catching on. A stunned Videl stared up a moment, blinking a little blankly as Gohan tucked strands of hair behind her ear.

"Oh."

"Oh?" He echoed, mirth lacing his tone. She crinkled her nose, trying not to be anymore embarrassed than necessary. But then came that devious look in his eyes again, and her cheeks inevitably flushed with a dusting of more pink.

"Still, we should be careful." For such bold and firm words, her voice certainly didn't carry the right amount of strength. Again, the Saiyan was forced to lightly smirk, as mesmerised cerulean eyes gazed up at him.

"I can be careful," came the husky voice with suggestion hinted in the hidden words unspoken. "Besides, there are other things we can do." His actions spoke further, as the shifting Gohan let the unsuspecting Videl's back suddenly drop flatly onto the bed. Ducking between her legs, and lifting them up to rest over his shoulders, he left very little to suggestion as he proceeded to sprawl over her body, nestled comfortably between her raised thighs. Videl could only roll her eyes in a very defeated manner; trust him to be so adamantly warm-blooded.

"You're so impossible," she grinned, finding it hard to remain serious and stoic for much longer. He of course matched the expression, leaving no further room for argument, as his head dipped south to her collarbone. "You know, when we're on Earth, you're going to be completely at my mercy."

"Is that so?" He pressed further, asking for a verbal disagreement which Videl could hardly deny.

"Oh yeah," she insisted more confidently. "You know, I don't think you'll be able to handle trying to act human day in, and day out. Maybe you'll actually tire yourself out, for once."

"Is that a fact?" He proceeded to bait her, venturing even further south, to the faint line that trailed down from the centre of the ribcage, down to the dip of her navel. Videl squirmed slightly, even giggled somewhat.

"Mmhmm… oh boy. I won't be able to let you out of my sight."

"I'd consider that a good thing," he uttered, before venturing even lower still.

It was a good thing the private pods were well sound-proofed.

Unknown to the Outlaws, while their journey was coming to an end, as was another. Miles away across the Galaxies, various pods had already landed on Planet Vegetasei carrying the missing scouts recalled back to their homeland. Upon landing, those of lower class were forced to fight for their right to remain a loyal asset to the King, else join the incessant fires and charred ash. Others of more noble class and ranking, were granted the right of questioning and proof of dedication to the Saiyan ways. Yet the King had left the mess behind him, to his solitary training on Gelidus. The air was clean and fresh there, as opposed to the heavy smog and dust that refused to clear from his capital city. But here, his maniacal laughter could rumble across the tranquil skyline, declaring his victory over achieving his legendary golden aura at his beck and call. Ironically, it had all started here; his ascent to almost reaching true power, but not quite getting there. Now he returned to where his Legendary status had first been revealed to him, on the icy plains where Frieza had fallen. It brought a rather bitter sweet taste on his tongue. The last time he'd been on this planet, he had avenged his father and brought peace to his planet. Then there had been that blasted aqua-haired woman. Vegeta scowled and clenched his fists. It would've seemed that he'd forgotten all about the Earth wench over the years that succeeded her escape from him. But that was hardly true. The vixen still occupied his unconscious dreams, even when he'd attempted to fill the space in his bed with Imekian, Tazban and Shikkan whores. It wasn't enough though, and especially not now that he knew she'd escaped with more than just her own life. Vegeta quickly decided he needed a punching bag. So on the seventh day, Kurrat arrived to do his King's bidding. The two Saiyans sparred, until news from Vegetasei reached them. The remaining Saiyan warriors were growing restless. After all, they had quite literally been abandoned without further news of missions. What did their Godly King want from his chosen disciples? Unstable numbers dwindled further, as the savage warriors fought one another for supremacy. While other species valued evolution, the Saiyans were only continuing to de-evolve at an alarming rate. The King of course cared for one thing, and one thing only. Now that he ruled over a worthy race, he simply wanted to find his son.

Yet it was while Kurrat and Vegeta made the short journey back to the Saiyan home planet, that the true threat revealed itself. A race against time, and the spinning of fate's golden threads against the former dogs of the universe. It can be funny, how things work out in the end. For the slightly delayed cargo ship from Earth sped past the unsuspecting Royal cruiser, making that last stretch towards the target destination directly ahead. A lightly frowning Kurrat barely saw the vessel speed past on the monitor screen, but took very little notice of it either way. After all, it was normal for various cargo ships to sail back and forth from Vegetasei. If only they knew that this particular ship, carried a far different load.

Since the great purge on planet Vegetasei, changes had been made to the docking bay. Brawn replaced brains, as the very few alien species left to maintain technology on the planet, were also added to the fires. The King had made his orders very clear, to rid the planet of any unnecessary equipment. They were a warrior race after all, not scientists and mechanics. According to the Legendary Super Saiyan, a true Saiyan should have no use for unnatural enhancements, other than the gravity chamber, Blutz Wave machines, and methods of swift travel. So the cargo ship landed as planned, but it was greeted by two broad Saiyans who owned a very less than average I.Q.

"This is what happens when you trust tech," one sneered, as he struggled to open the cargo doors. The other nodded in total agreement, hammering his fist on the tough metal shell of the considerably large, pod-like ship.

"If I were the King, I'd toss this one on the pile too."

But it seemed the living ship was totally against that idea, as strange mechanical legs suddenly sprouted from the outer shell casing. The vessel begun to walk around of it's own free will, much to the surprise of the flabbergasted Saiyans.

"What the!"

"Did you do that?"

"N-No! I.. don't think I did? Did I?"

Yet rather than try stop the great beast, the two Saiyans chased after it, curiously wondering where it was going and what exactly it was doing. They were just warriors after all, and therefore didn't usually handle these cargo shipments.

"Is it meant to do that?"

"I dunno! But er… we should follow, just in case, right?"

And so they did, obediently becoming the shadow of the cargo ship, until it crawled out onto the dry, sun-baked soil of the cargo bay exterior, and started to beep in rather strange, high-pitched, digital sounds.

"What's it doing now?" The larger Saiyan asked, scratching his balding head.

"Do I look like I talk ship speak?" They didn't need to. The vessel dictated exactly what it wanted to do, as it suddenly turned to face the unsuspecting men. Two large guns hatched from the outer shell, already pre-aimed in the Saiyan's precise location.

"GAH!" The warriors yelled in unison, as the green energy lasers followed their persistent evasions. The initial beams had felt hot against the skin, even inflicting a slight degree of pain. Of course, that was enough to force the Saiyans to counter attack with their own energy attacks. Unknown to them, the cargo ship had long since been enhanced by its' makers. No longer was the outer shell constructed from durable yet destructible metal. It now boasted the same structure as the Saiyan warships, using the high density, yet low mass 'Kachin;' the toughest metal known to the universe. So their attacks were rather feeble, as they crashed against the metal leaving not even the slightest dent or mark.

"What's going on in - !" Another Saiyan joined the fray, only to duck underneath the red beam that soared towards him. This opponent was certainly unique, but as far as the Saiyans were concerned, it was just a heap of junk metal. Right?

"EMERGENCY!" The Noble Saiyan shouted, ducking and jumping more gun beams. "ROGUE VESSEL!"

As the three Saiyans joined together in firing their own unique blasts back at the ship, yet another very strange reaction would surprise them entirely. What seemed like a wave of rippling blue energy, covered the entire structure of the cargo ship in some sort of shield. Any further ki blasts, were just absorbed into this shield. If that wasn't bad enough, the living ship was on the move again. Like an excited crab beast, it scrambled over the city landscape with its' short leg joints, firing rogue energy beams in various directions. A crumbling building collapsed. Another Saiyan felt a beam hit dead on behind her, and suffered the burning after effects. Two more camped out Saiyans tried to disable the guns with close combat, only to find their fists connecting with rock hard solids.

"Someone must be controlling it!" One wiser noble concluded, as he witnessed his brethren trying time and time again to disable the ship from causing any further havoc. "SEARCH FOR THE INTRUDERS!" He bellowed, before flinging himself at the rogue ship. Yet he too, was just tossed aside by the now spinning object.

"What's it doing now?" A female asked, heaving for much needed breaths and grasping onto her slightly burnt thigh with a hissed wince.

"Burying itself!" Sure enough, the Saiyan who answered, was correct. The ship had found a large enough patch of dirt, to calmly settle upon regardless of continuous ki shots from the planet's natives. The legs perched themselves comfortably, allowing a large drill to unscrew from the belly of the beast. The computerised high pitched series of chirps repeated again, as though the ship was processing some sort of data. Then, the drill begun to spin.

"Stop it!" The female commanded, despite not really know the purpose of these strange actions. One by one, the six gathered Saiyans tried their best to pierce the ki shields. Those who attempted to physically inflict damage on the outer shell, only felt the sting of the shield's radiation. This was certainly beyond any technology they had ever encountered before.

"We need more power!" Another suggested, flinching at the burnt skin across his knuckles. "Alert the city! Find the source!" The female nodded, taking flight immediately to call more forces. Surely a mechanical object could not withstand an army of Saiyan warriors?

They would hardly have time to find out. The drill had already buried half the ship very much like an enlarged landmine. At last, still maintaining the energy shields, the cargo hold doors opened. The stunned Saiyans could only watch in further surprise. Various ball shaped missiles were propelled from the larger ship, approximately half the size of the one-man attack balls favoured by Saiyan scouts. There were eight in total, each shooting out in various directions towards the blood red skyline. It was impossible to track them all, yet the Saiyans didn't know if they even had to. This ship had just landed out of nowhere, and without any true form of command to take over the situation, it was more or less every man for himself. It was clear that these warriors were not the smartest tools in the box, or the best strategists for that matter.

"On the count of three!" Another noble elite had a new idea, one which he was determined could work. "We all must bombard the ship. ONE!.. TWO!… THREE!"

On cue, each of the five remaining, fired their ki blasts in unison. At last, the ship begun to visibly shake.

"THAT'S IT!" The Noble grinned and barked. "KEEP IT COMING! WE'VE GOT IT NOW!"

Onboard the Royal Vessel, King Vegeta made the most unlikely presence in the main control room. With a towel wrapped over his shoulders, the recently showered, short man, came to examine the status of the journey. A snoozing Kurrat was rudely awoken by the harsh palm swipe across the back of his head.

"I do not keep you around to slack off!" The King growled, and the still rather bruised noble elite, gradually sat up fully. The sparring on Gelidus had been rather intense, especially when the King had resorted to his more Legendary strength in order to win. Kurrat rubbed his jaw, hearing another crack. Suffice to say, he actually needed the rest if he was expected to heal for an inevitable second round, but orders were orders.

"Apologies," he dutifully spoke, hands finding the steering yoke and gripping firmly. Even if everything was set to auto-pilot, he at least wanted to seem like he was ontop of his orders to return to Vegetasei as quickly as possible.

"How long," the King demanded gruffly. The home planet was sure enough in clear sight through the main windows, but it was still little more than a dot.

"Two hours," came the instant response, gaining a typically gruff harrumph from the King.

"Too long," the impatient Vegeta folded his arms. As his eyes narrowed, he glanced down at his loyal servant. A light smirk lifted his cruel lips. "But time enough for another spar. What say you Kurrat, ready for yet another beating?"

The Noble cringed and thought, but hardly had a choice in the matter.

"Ahaha," the King confidently continued with her mocking laughter. "Too bad, maybe in a years time I'll be able to feel something from you. Ahaha… I believe you almost tic -"

Thankfully, fate had other plans for the King, who was suddenly completely tongue-tied with eyes wide open. His feet stumbled, and that alone was an embarrassment for such a proud warrior. Yet it was the sudden, single great explosion that erupted from the tiny planet dot directly ahead of them, that caused the most concern.

"WHAT!" The King demanded, but an equally shocked Kurrat could say nothing. The ship still trembled with the turbulent aftermaths, as the nearby regions of the Saiyan controlled galaxy felt the rippling force of the great explosion.

"WAS THAT?" Vegeta continued his stifled question, hardly believing what he had just witnessed. But that was not all, for though the planet still existed, something else was still stirring.

On Vegetasei, those standing nearest the cargo ship, met a very and unexpected sudden demise. Yet the energy field that had been unleashed, was now magnetically drawn back towards the cargo ship again. Upon impact, the entire structure unleashed the ultimate, final blast, that would begin the more intentional domino shockwave effect. Now, the Red Ribbon designers of the bomb, had only intended for the blast to wipe out those living on the surface of the planet. Little did they know how unstable the planet truly was. So as the ground trembled, the dry earth begun to crack until an intricate pattern was forming across the hazardous landscape. Those seemingly unimportant, eight smaller eggs, were the dominos that would carry the blast around the full circumference of what was in fact a rather small planet. Especially in comparison to Earth. Sure enough, the Saiyan race would be subject to extinction, as the payload delivered the ultimate comeback in the form of an entity erasing explosion of absorbed ki energy.

King Vegeta could only watch in total, disbelieving horror. His jaw dropping inch by further inch, and his eyes staring as wide as they had even been before. Multiple explosions bounced around his planet, and in a matter of very short minutes, the entire star was engulfed, and imploding upon itself. The great, legendary King was reduced to both cower and shield his eyes, as the great Saiyan mother planet, met a very long and overdue end. In the middle of the galaxy, was just an empty space. Just as the King's black heart now felt completely devoid of his chest. Half of it had already been clawed away from him against his will, and now there was completely nothing left in that empty vacuum. There were of course no words to explain the emotions that flooded and overwhelmed the King at that moment. No sound that could replicate the loud and deep, prolonged scream that erupted from his depleting lungs, as the proud and regal man fell to his square knees. And above all else; no immediate clue to determine what, or who exactly, had caused the sudden destruction of the beloved planet. There had been no warning. No honour. Nothing! Save for the recorded data of a single cargo ship, that had soared ahead of the Royal Vessel. A cargo ship, which when further inspected with zoomed in lenses, revealed the only clue Vegeta would ever need. The bitter insignia, of a certain very overlooked planet.

Vegeta did not care if that cargo ship actually had anything to do with his planet's destruction. Neither did he care to stop himself as a burst of golden light erupted around him in a blinding aura, or as the entirely innocent Kurrat turned punching bag, would meet the continuous fists of retribution. Someone had dared to cross Vegeta's path in the most obscene way possible. The King did not know he was possible of such hatred, yet his blood boiled incessantly, and his veins protruded in fleshy purple bumps across his body. Sure, the Saiyans had been close to annihilation before at the hand of both Frieza and King Cold. But look where they were now. The once King of all Saiyans, would now have only one purpose imprinted onto his entire being. A foul name, that would soon feel his wrath like none other. A foul planet, from which the devilish woman had spawned from, and continuously turned his world upside down. A foul word that he refused to speak, but was clearly typed into the Royal vessel's, now blood-stained, auto-piloting systems.

…Earth…

Fini?

A.N. Yup, this is an Epilogue, or sorts. I feel that this particular 'Saga' is somewhat concluded, complete with the relevant cliff-hangers.

Firstly, I'm finding it difficult to write blindly. Mostly because I haven't completely planned out the structure of events that will follow on from this point. I always thought this fanfic would be much shorter, and the original/revised structure had a more ambiguous ending that linked in more with the canon timeline. Involving the Androids in particular, was a new idea. One thing I don't want to do, is to just re-write the canon sagas.

Secondly, I feel like I need to do some major character development if I intend to carry things through with Vegeta. So while I take a break from Gohan and Videl, I'm going to be exploring the prelude story involving Bulma and Vegeta in the hope that it will help fuel the 'sequel' more. Maybe I'll regret that decision, and just end up returning here a lot sooner than expected. Maybe I'll end up writing both stories at the same time! Time will tell.

I hope this hiatus makes a little more sense, but I can guarantee that I will be returning to finish off the story! I really do want to wrap things up. Whether it will continue here or be a fresh new start though, is also yet to be decided. I'm leaning more to just following on from here once the much needed break is over.

Until then, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. The reviews have been amazing, and I really can't thank each of you enough for the support.

Watch this space.

~ Anorelei
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