Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters

"You idiot!"

Celen winced as his father screamed at him for his actions, and the young Saiyan was honestly thankful his mother had been away the last few days training. He realized that he had risked his family's honor and life by harboring the woman he found, as well as his new job and favor with the royal family. He had no defense for his actions. How could you defend the actions you couldn't explain?

He wanted to say, 'Father, she was dying', but he couldn't bring himself to speak. Why did he care? He never cared before. Saiyans never cared about outsiders. Any deals they made, idealistically, were for their own benefit. Frieza had been a bad judgment call, but the deal was only made because the king believed they could benefit somehow. They hadn't heard rumors of his strength until much later.

"I swear, I don't know what I'm going to do with you!" Nappa continued his tirade. "Do you know what you've done? You were given one job, one order, and you couldn't even complete it."

"I know," was all Celen could say. "There is nothing I can say to defend myself. I apologize for failing you."

Celen entered his room; his tail fell from his waist as he sighed. He felt incredibly stupid and hurt for angering his father. By helping this woman, he spat on the pride of his family, and he knew he may never be forgiven. Still, he was stopped by some unforeseeable force, and so that was how he was able to justify his crime to himself. To disobey an order of the king was treason, and to keep it quiet was just as bad. Celen knew his father would keep his secret. The youth did a good job cleaning up the scene and made it look good. Once he brought the woman to his home, he returned to the landing bay covered in blood and then fixed the camera. He made it look like he destroyed the creature and its ship as if everything was just fine. The task force and the royal family would never know.

The Saiyan sat on a chair facing the woman and noticed that she was very pretty, for an alien anyway. He had never seen any species with her blonde coloring. His eyes surveyed her and moved to the wound he cleaned and dressed. Hopefully, she would wake up so he could get some answers. He needed saving her to be worth it to him after he risked his family's pride and honor.

He didn't realized that his door wasn't shut and that his father was on his tail. Nappa was by the door, ready to enter and finish his son's job for him when the woman finally stirred and made noises. She gasped in pain after she stretched slightly, obviously really affected by her wound. She opened her brown eyes, attempted to sit up but failed to do so as her eyes simply moved to Celen fearfully. "Wh-wha…?"

Celen snorted. "What a reaction. Do you forget where you are?" Tears formed in the girl's eyes; she obviously remembered their first interaction. "Relax. You're safe, for now at least. Why the hell did you come here? You have to realize that Planet Vegeta is not a safe place for Galactic Patrolmen. What were you thinking?"

"I…" the girl spoke, "feel really heavy."

The Saiyan's brow quirked before he remembered that not all planets had as high a gravity as Vegeta. Still, for someone in the Galactic Patrol, they should be used to at least half the gravity of Vegeta and be able to utilize their ki to compensate. He ignored her wondering and said, "Then you're lucky your bones haven't been crushed. Who are you?"

The woman hesitated. "I can't…can't tell you. You'll kill me if I do."

Celen rolled his eyes. "You're running that risk by dodging my questions. Either answer me or I will turn you over to the king for trespassing."

She sighed; her eyes became sad as she managed to push herself up, ignoring the pain it caused. Her eyes met Celen's as she began to explain. "I will be honest with you, but you have to listen to my full story."

"Fine," Celen surrendered, then crossed his arms, "but it better be a good one."

After taking a breath, the blonde began her tale. "I am not an official Galactic Patrolman," she admitted, earning a glare. "I am from a planet that honestly hasn't done much with space travel. Years ago, over a decade ago, my father made contact with alien life and they warned us not to go into space. To be honest, your race was who they were worried about at the time. You have quite the reputation."

"Flattery will not help you," Celen countered, this time the woman's eyes narrowed as if to say he was so full of himself for she had not been saying this out of flattery. "Continue."

"So, my father warned the government not to pursue space travel," she continued, "for he was speaking of alien life. Those on our planet were skeptical about it. To be fair, only few on our planet believed in aliens."

Celen scoffed derisively. That was a new one he hadn't heard. "I'm a science fiction writer back home," she continued, "and the government demanded my father begin space travel operations. There were few willing to test the ship out, so I stepped up thinking I might get ideas for a new story. My father was against it, but once I said I was going, many of our scientists started to volunteer. No one wanted me to go alone."

But she was alone when Celen found her, so her story started to lose its credibility. "Eventually, we had to land on a planet, or we would have been too far away from our own, and that is where things took a turn. I met a Galactic Patrolman who rescued me from being mugged by those aliens our people didn't believe existed, and he warned us back to our own planet. He told us not to speak of our world to anyone and—"

"Then why are you telling me any of this?" Celen asked skeptically.

The woman frowned and looked down at the sheets. "B-because…you didn't kill me. You could have, but you didn't. I…I have to trust you if I'm going to survive this." She looked him in the eye once again and he held back a gasp. "Basically, if you decide to turn me in, I'm dead. You hold my life in your hands, and I can either cooperate or just surrender and let you kill me, and I never surrender."

Celen clamped up. He had no response to that. Her declaration was so very Saiyan-like and it took his breath away. He nodded for her to continue. He didn't have his answers yet, anyway, he reasoned. He couldn't take her life or turn her over without them. "Anyway…the patrolman tried to send us back, then he was pursued. I know I probably shouldn't have gotten involved, but he had saved me, so I had to. We took off in our ship, and the crew managed to get off the planet in time. Then he brought us back to his base."

"Where is the base?" Celen asked. Keeping the girl alive may have been useful. If he could get the location of the Galactic Patrol hideout, then they could take it by storm.

The woman's eyes narrowed. "I know what your people would do if I tell you that, and I will not betray them. They helped me send the other workers home and allowed me to stay and help them. I…I'm not just a writer, but a pretty decent hacker. They found information on Planet Trade operations that even you Saiyans are unaware of."

Celen rolled his eyes. "Enlighten me. And admitting this all to me…you're asking to be put to death, woman."

"It's Tights," the blonde huffed. "My name is Tights."

"Tights," Celen repeated not understanding why he liked the way it rolled off his tongue. "Never heard a name like it."

"Frieza destroyed the planet of one of his allies," Tights announced side-stepping the remark. Immediately, the curiosity left Celen; he stood up and glared at her, then grabbed her from the collar of her shirt.

"And what the hell do you mean by that?" he shouted in her face. The girl closed her eyes, and she gasped out in pain once again before Celen released her. Tights crashed quickly to the ground unable to lift herself up. "I think you're trying to save your own ass."

"I…I have proof," Tights said through gritted teeth. "Jaco and I were on our way to report our findings to the whole galactic council, but Frieza's men caught wind of me hacking the system and came after us. Jaco…he protected me and told me to escape and get the information to someone who could help, to warn other worlds of Frieza's treachery. He…he's a monster, and he won't stop with Planet Megalla."

"Y-you lie," Celen declared. "There's no way Frieza would destroy Megalla. The scientists there are the ones who developed most of the PTO standard technology. He wouldn't murder all those scientists."

"I swear to you," Tights said, her voice hoarse from strain, "it won't just be Megalla. Frieza isn't stupid. He demanded scientists volunteer to serve in his army, and even looked at a few himself. Once they were on the ship, his ship took off, but he stopped it right outside the planet. Their technology was becoming too advanced, and they were developing something to siphon energy from the sun. It…could have also been used on this ki energy Jaco told me about, and so Frieza felt threatened. He destroyed the planet. I found everything. Everything he told to his men, files on the Megallan people, and the archives of planets from which Megalla was removed."

The story sounded crazy and farfetched, but Celen and even his eavesdropping father remembered that Frieza would be taking soldiers from Planet Vegeta. "And why did you decide to land here? You could have gone to one of your allied planets. What benefit do you have coming to Vegeta?"

"Because he's coming here next," Tights stated. "I…I don't know if he's going to do the same thing. I had to warn you all even if you aren't much better. No one deserves to die that way."

Celen felt something stir in his chest as tears formed in the woman's eyes. This woman, who was not really supposed to be a part of his world or the Galactic Patrol, was there warning them. She had everything to lose by coming there, knowing they'd most likely kill her. She told him everything and, if he wanted, he could bring everything she said to him and her proof to King Vegeta himself and they could prepare. But she hadn't really given him proof, and that she would use as her bargaining chip. Celen was sure of it.

"So, you'll offer your proof for protection," he laughed. "But what if I don't believe you? Maybe I should kill you now and pretend I heard nothing. I'm not letting you bargain for your life."

"I'm not trying to bargain for my life," Tights replied. "I'm here to do the right thing, whether you kill me or not. The proof is in my ship log. All you have to do is tap the button and toss the pod down and it'll open. There is no password encryption."

Celen picked up the peg and observed it. He wondered which planet this technology came from. Tights wouldn't tell her the name of her planet, but he assumed it was most likely Planet Shikk. They were sort of new to space travel, and they were one of the first planets to investigate storage technology. Still, Celen knew quite a bit about assuming and, honestly, he had enough for one sitting. "You're certain about this," he stated, though it was certainly a question.

"I am," Tights replied. "Like I said, I don't know if that's what he's planning. The Megallan scientists were asked for scientists three generations before they were destroyed. He only just demanded troops from Planet Vegeta, so maybe it'll be a while before he does this. I just needed someone to be aware. Who knows…maybe you'll inform the Galactic Patrol in my place."

"Why would I do that?" Celen questioned in genuine curiosity. Why was the girl talking that way? "You can tell them yourself, if you can make it off the planet that is."

"You…" Tights gasped out. "You aren't going to kill me?"

Celen's expression softened, a rare occurrence with any Saiyan. He understood why the girl was talking like she couldn't perform her duties. "I have to ask…" he started. "If…if you knew this whole mess was dangerous and you knew we had our reputation, why did you even bother? When your people were sent back home, why didn't you join them? You wouldn't be in this situation."

"When Jaco told me what was going on out here, I couldn't go back without helping as best as I could," Tights explained. "I planned on returning home to check in after I got the information to Galactic Patrol, but I was injured and Jaco was still fighting. I'm hoping he made it out okay. He risked everything to get the information back to the base and to save me. I couldn't make it to the base, honestly. I was wounded and I would have died beforehand. I took a shot. I figured that if I got the chance to warn you about all that even if I died the information would get to where it needed to be."

"I can't believe you risked this," Celen murmured and then shook his head. "I should turn you in alone just for committing treason against Frieza and the PTO and for trespassing on our world…"

"But?" Tights whispered, hopeful by tone of the Saiyan's voice.

"But," Celen sighed, "I'm honesty impressed by the risks you took for something that you believed in. Even if you don't have the strength to back up that attitude, you made sure that you'd succeed and are willing to accept death. You aren't truly afraid. Well, you are, but obviously not of me."

"Does…does that mean…?"

"Yes," Celen responded. He extended a hand to the woman. "You have my trust. I know Frieza is a bastard, so it is not farfetched. I have no idea how I'm going to warn the king without risking my family's status or your life."

"I can help with that," she assured him as she took his hand and let him lift her up. "You can tell him that you destroyed the ship after you checked the computer drive. You can report all the information to him."

Celen nodded. "Sounds like as good an idea as any. I have one other question, though."

"What?"

"What would you have done if I told you I would kill you?"

Tights gasped, not wanting to answer at first. She turned sad eyes to him. "I wiped all information about my planet and its coordinates from my ship, but I left a way for my father to be contacted. Had you said you would kill me or turned me in, I would have asked for you to send him a message to tell him and my mother that I died trying to help protect the universe."

Celen said nothing else and led the woman back to his bed. He offered her support, impressed with the fact that she was getting the hang of the planet's gravity. The Saiyan sat her down on the bed, her expression a mixture of shock and thankfulness. "Celen," he finally said.

"Hm?" Tights asked. "I've never heard that word before."

The Saiyan chuckled and shook his head. "It's not a word. It's my name, woman."

Her face flushed with anger, but she instantly calmed as she saw Celen's jovial smirk. She couldn't help but smile knowing that he was toying with her. "Surprisingly, it's nice to meet you, Celen."

"Tights," Celen stated, "surprisingly, it's an honor to meet you, too."

Trunks listened intently as Nappa finished up the story of how his son met the woman, Tights. Before the story began, Nappa explained to the Saiyan prince that even though she was a hero honored by the Saiyans, no one beside him, his mate, and his son knew her name. Back then, Trunks learned, it was illegal for outsiders to mate with a Saiyan, and Tights eventually became Celen's mate. Trunks was honored that Nappa entrusted him with secrets that not even his grandmother or father knew. They only knew the basics the former general wanted them to know, way after the battle with Frieza.

"She was very brave," Nappa remarked, "and we were so foolish. I honestly planned to go to the king myself. Celen was pissed at me for eavesdropping on their conversation, but he understood. Our family was at risk. Treason was a big deal even then, and your grandfather never took kindly to it."

"I can understand why, but Tights wanted to help," Trunks responded. "Wasn't that worth protecting?"

"I was not a nice man back then, Trunks," Nappa admitted. "None of us were. To me, she was nothing more than a weakling that was disposable. I didn't realize until it was too late just how much my son cared for her. He did a lot to make her feel comfortable on our planet, but there were times she needed to return to her own. Celen helped her sneak around, and eventually he did the unthinkable and joined the Galactic Patrol alongside her. At the time, both my mate and I shunned him. We no longer wanted to associate with him. No one knew the specifics, and he would return to Planet Vegeta from time to time with Tights claiming her to be his assistant. They lived in a small home in the outskirts, a quaint place that no Saiyan would ever accept to live. He even went back to her world with her, never once betrayed her or told us where it was."

"He loved her, huh?" Trunks pondered. The Saiyan would have had to love her to give up his life like that.

Nappa looked incredibly upset at the question, and Trunks felt bad for causing him distress by following his curiosity. "Yeah, kid, he did. He ended up dying for her, all because of that bastard, Frieza, and his family."

"Yeah…Dad doesn't like Frieza," Trunks said. "He said he'd tell me more about him later this week. He wanted to mentally prepare."

"Frieza did a number on us, kid," Nappa explained, "and your father took the brunt of it. It's going to be harder for him to tell you, and even harder for you to hear. Just be patient. He probably won't be able to get it all out in one day."

Trunks nodded, accepted what his guardian was saying. "So, what happened after Celen went to Grandpa? Did Grandpa believe him about Frieza?"

The older Saiyan's expression darkened. "Kid…not only did he believe it, but he tried to postpone deployment of our men."

Celen argued with his father all night about the girl. Nappa overheard everything, and he was disgusted by his son's weakness. To think he actually put his trust in the alien woman. The idea was as insulting as it was laughable. Surprisingly enough, the woman was right, and both Celen and Nappa saw the information. Their expressions grim, Nappa agreed to go with Celen to report the findings to the king.

King Vegeta remained stoic as Nappa told him everything, even corroborating Celen's and Tights's story of how he came to be in possession of Galactic Patrol information. The king was impressed that Celen did the right thing and done away with the pesky agent. The Galactic Patrol was the enemy of the PTO. They threatened the Saiyan way of life, but the fact that they held this warning did make King Vegeta strangely thankful they existed. Of course, neither the king nor Nappa knew then that Celen decided to honor Tights's wishes by forwarding the information to Galactic Patrol, along with the warning to keep it quiet for the Saiyans would know of his treachery. The head responded that could handle the manner covertly, especially since there was evidence that another PTO planet disappeared from the space vacuum. For the first time, fear struck Celen's heart.

He continued with his new job, tried to ignore everything going on around him. His entire way of life was being threatened, and not just by Frieza. Each day, he'd return home, nurse Tights until her wound healed and she could move on her own. She was the first woman he ever interacted with besides fighting and sex, and that made her different. Celen wasn't sure if it was a good difference. He actually felt empathetic to the girl, an enemy to his people, an outsider, someone who should be nothing.

At first, she was just a nuisance and irritating presence that threated his livelihood and pride. Then, she was this pitiful creature getting used to increase gravity and healing so much slower than any Saiyan. She remained in his bed, and he would talk with her whenever he was home. Though she was guarded, she did humor his questions, and he did the same for her. Things started to change, though, as more outsiders kept landing on the planet.

Celen came home bloodied one day and felt euphoria from the battle. He was able to take down a fairly powerful thief who thought he could get past the planet's defenses. He planned to kidnap the queen and hold her for ransom, not even considering that she was stronger than Celen. It had been a while since Celen felt the true thrill of battle, and he wanted to savor it.

The Saiyan returned home while his father was training the soldiers at the palace. His mother was among the soldiers, though she still hadn't been by the house. He took what he could get. The woman would surely beat him if she found the alien woman in their home. His father wanted to eliminate her every day. Celen could feel it.

Tights started to move around by this point, and he found her sitting at his wooden table and writing in a notebook. He usually found her writing when he returned, and she always turned to him and smiled her thanks.

This day, though, was different.

At first, when Tights heard Celen enter, she smiled at him, but then she noticed blood staining and dripping from his clothes. Instantly, he felt rage…her rage, and that terrified him more than he cared to admit.

"I guess I know how your day went." Her voice cut through his soul; her derision felt incredibly painful in his chest.

Celen's hand moved to his chest as he tried to think of a response. "I…what?" was all that came out. "Huh?"

But Tights only turned away and continued to write. She wouldn't acknowledge him or dismiss him. In the meantime, he went to shower off and change, yet when he returned she still refused to look at him.

It shouldn't have bothered him, but it did. Celen left the room just to get away from that feeling. Then, he remembered that she was just some lowly…whatever she was, and did not matter regardless of the strike he felt. He did not have to cater to her. After all, he did his part and nursed her. It was time for him to forget about the alien for a few hours, and what better way than to head to a bar and find a partner for the night.

Unmated Saiyans didn't really care about forming bonds, and Saiyans his age were always ready for a good fling. It was always a battle, mainly for fun and relaxation. It had nothing to do with a connection, easy to walk away.

Celen met up with some guys he trained with for years, listened to their speculations on Frieza's visit. The tyrant was to be there within the next couple of days, and none of the Saiyans knew what the king would do. Even Celen was concerned about what would happen, but that night, as he downed the drinks, he didn't really care.

How he ended up making out with a Saiyan woman behind the tavern, he had no clue. All he knew was that she helped to slightly distract him, but he couldn't stop thinking of Tights fully. He kept picturing long, blonde hair as he ran his fingers through the Saiyan's, causing him to realize he had no idea what Tights's hair even felt like. When the woman opened hardened eyes shining with mirth as she smirked, he could only see soft, innocent, brown eyes. The Saiyan he held did not feel as soft as the skin of the alien, and it just did not feel right.

His eyes shot open when he felt an intense wave of fear and panic followed by an intense pain. He gasped as he pulled away and left a very flustered and angered woman behind as she shouted a slew of curses.

Celen raced home and stormed into his home. His father stood in the corner, arms crossed, as his mother, who had finally shown up, held Tights up by her neck. Nappa did nothing to stop Turna, even as she tossed the weak girl into a wall. Slowly, the alien got up on all fours, and her frightened eyes met Celen's astonished orbs. His attention instantly shifted to his mother as he demanded an explanation.

"The fuck, Mom?" Celen snapped, his eyes narrowed as his tail thrashed behind him rapidly.

His mother growled and then turned to him. "You stupid little shit," she chided. "Do you know how much trouble you've gotten us into with your little bitch, here? Because of you, we're lying to the crown. I've never been more humiliated in my life!"

"She aided us when she did not have to." His eyes cut to Nappa. "Or did father conveniently leave that out?"

"She came home and started tossing your toy around before I got here."

"And what were you out doing, anyway?" Turna criticized. "Screwing around with a real Saiyan? This trash not doing it for you?"

"Shut up," Tights huffed. She hated the derogatory way she was being spoke of. "I would never sleep with a murderer."

The way Tights said that struck another cord inside Celen, and it just made him want to prove her wrong. "That's enough, Mother. Leave her be. I decided to keep her alive, and I will decide what becomes of her, not you."

"You son of a… It is our house, and your little plaything is not welcome here. Send her on her way. Jettison her into space for all I care, but you are not to keep her here. Filthy pet."

Tights finally pulled herself up and glared at the Saiyan woman. "I am no one's pet," she hissed. "I don't care who you are or what you can do to me, but I will not let you degrade me."

Turna smirked. "What are you going to do about it, girl?"

Tights balled her hand into a fist, and Celen knew she was about to attempt to hit his mother. He got in between the two and took the weak hit. He grabbed Tights's fist and then twisted her around, imprisoned her with an arm behind her back. He felt her slight pain but did not care as long as he could get her away from his parents. He could feel his mother's ire through the bond and his father's disappointment at the girl having been spared. All Celen felt was relief, and he was sure both his parents could feel it.

Tights tore away from him once he shut his bedroom door. She tossed herself on his bed. Tears of rage streamed down her face. With his hearing he could make out, "I hate you. I hate all of you. You don't even give a shit about anyone else but yourselves."

He could feel that she didn't believe what she was saying was true. In fact, he felt hurt and distrust, and it was all directed at herself. It was like she believed she had betrayed herself, and Celen could not understand why she would feel that way. It resembled how he felt after he showered, disgusted with his natural instincts to kill yet pissed off that he had let her have that effect on him. "Tights…" he tried, but she shook her head and continued to cry. "Tights, look at me."

Celen didn't want to touch her while she was so volatile, but she wouldn't respond. He couldn't wait for the sobs to subside. It only got worse. Finally, he sat on the side of his bed and pulled the hysterical girl into his arms. She latched onto him which made him freeze as her arms wrapped around his neck. He had never been clung to before, and he couldn't help but tighten his grip on her waist as she shook.

"I hate this," Tights whispered as her whimpers started to die down. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

He knew what the 'this' was. "No, it wasn't," he agreed.

"What do we do?" the woman asked. "I hate your way of life. How could I…it makes no sense. I've only been here a few days. There's no way I could—"

"Unfortunately, woman, there is," Celen scoffed. "It's called a bond. Only Saiyans are supposed to be able to form a bond with Saiyans. This, I don't know what the fuck this is."

"A bond? What's that?"

The Saiyan sighed and shook his head. "A bond is a mental connection between family, comrades, and…" He decided to keep quiet about bonds to mates, not willing to accept that he was forming mateship bonds with a stranger after a couple days. "…It allows us the ability to sense emotions and pain, to know during battle what is happening to those with whom we fight. Because we put our trust in each other, we bonded. Plain and simple." His eyes went to her wound dressing. "How is it today?"

Tights was irritated by the change in subject, but she answered him. "Not infected, at least," she muttered. Her earlier anger returned. "I refuse to be your pet or anything…anything like…that, well you know!"

Celen frowned at her, annoyed that her words were contradicting his instincts. "You really only see me as a murderer."

"How can I not when you come home covered in blood every day and attempted to kill me when I landed. You weren't even going to question me. Had I not dropped the title, I'd be dead, and your warning wouldn't have come. I know you plan to keep me here forever until you figure out what to do with me."

How did she know? Celen's mind raced. He had been planning to do just that, keep her prisoner in his home until he decided what would become of her. He couldn't allow her to escape or be caught, and he couldn't send her back to the Galactic Patrol. He would never let her leave.

"Just," she huffed as she pulled away from him, "just go away. I don't wish to see my jailor at the moment."

"Enough!" Celen snapped. He instantly stood as he spat at her. "You owe me your life. I risked my neck for you, cleaned your wounds, fed you, and this is how you repay me. Maybe I should jettison you out into space."

"Kill me."

His heart nearly stopped, and his eyes softened as the roved over her. "What?"

Tights scoffed a laugh. "I said, 'kill me'. You were going to anyway, so just do it. I'd rather be dead than let an evil man like you decide my fate. So, I'm giving you your answer. Kill me."

He didn't want to, which alone made him angrier. He shouldn't feel this way over some nothing alien that had been a thorn in his side for only the week. It wasn't fair that she fell into his lap. It wasn't fair that his instincts and body wanted a woman who hated him.

"No," he said after he let his body surrender. He couldn't lift a finger to harm her. "I…I can't."

"Why not?" Tights goaded. "Are you not man enough to do it? Am I too lowly for a Saiyan to end my life?"

"Shut up," he growled, then turned his back on her. He moved to his window and gripped the stone pane. "Just shut the fuck up. You don't know—"

"Why would I want to know?" she shouted at him. Her voice cracked revealing just how truly broken she felt. She buried her head in her hands when Celen looked to her. "What am I doing? None of this is right!"

Celen had enough of this pain he was feeling, the same pain he sensed in her mind. He went to her, pulled her to him, and kissed her roughly as he had the Saiyan woman earlier. This time, he really had Tights, and he refused to let go…until she pushed him away at his chest.

The two were breathing heavily, and Tights was still crying and felt disgusted and ashamed. Celen could feel the hate and felt his soul deflate. She still hated him.

But she didn't. He felt some strange emotion coming from her, as well as a deep self-loathing. Maybe, the hatred was directed towards herself. Celen shook his head. He was about to make a decision that would change the course of their relationship.

"Get your ship ready," he ordered. "I won't keep you here against your will. I'll help you escape. Frieza will be here in two days, anyway. You can get a head start home."

"Wh…" Tights started to say before she silenced herself. She thought for a moment, refused to directly look at Celen when she finally voiced her question. "Why would you help me?"

Celen attempted to find the words when her brown eyes cut over to him, but he was held frozen as if this woman had some kind of power over him. "I…because it's the right thing to do," he offered, saying something similar to the reason she came to warn them.

Tights's expression softened as she took in Celen's rigid posture and realized that what he was doing was confusingly out of character for him, yet he was doing it for her. "I don't…I don't understand."

"To be honest, I don't either," Celen admitted with a sigh. "Most likely, my parents'll give me a good hammering, but I truthfully don't care…and that is a first for me."

Tights moved to him and placed an innocent kiss on Celen's cheek. The Saiyan tensed, not knowing what to do or say as she pulled away and looked at him with thankful, kind eyes and not hatred. "You don't have to do this, so I thank you," Tights murmured. "I don't know how I could ever thank you."

"Come back, one day," Celen said beside himself. He didn't know what caused the words to enter his thoughts let alone leave his mouth. His lips pursed shut, and his demeanor darkened as if he was berating himself for his words.

Tights was astonished by the demand. She didn't think she could ever return to this horrible place. For some reason, though, her consciousness was already agreeing, for she pictured seeing Celen again, this time as allies…maybe. "Maybe…"

Celen chuckled wryly, knowing that was probably as good as he was going to get. "Come on. Let's get you out of here."

"Celen got Tights to the ship bay covered up, helped her escape in secret. The footage from the cameras showed him holding onto her hand just a moment longer, and I had been the one alerted to it. I killed the Saiyan that found it and destroyed the footage. Your grandmother knows that, as does Vegeta, but your grandfather doesn't, so keep that between us." Trunks nodded.

"Anyway, Frieza did show up days later, and the king managed to convince him to give us at least six years to train our troops so that even the third-classes were up to his standards. Frieza pondered it and agreed. We wondered if he truly did accept it or if he'd destroy our world as he left, but he left it untouched. During the six years, my son left us. Tights had made an impact on him, and it became nearly impossible to complete his task force duties. The king found footage of Celen taking out strong, criminal aliens yet he let the innocents leave in peace. He was brought in, interviewed, and when the king asked him what he had been thinking going against orders, he could only say 'I don't know'.

"Thankfully, Turna and I held weight with the royal family, so Celen was just stripped of his duties and demoted to third-class from first. My mate and I were disgraced, but we continued to serve the king well and never lost our favor. Celen, though…he ran away afterwards and never returned home. Instead, he used what was left of his money to buy his own ship and fled. When he one day did return to Vegeta, two and a half years later, he was mated to the alien. Turna attempted to kill her, but Celen fought for Tights and was surprisingly even stronger than before he left."

"You said it was a crime back then to be mated to an alien, right? Then how did Celen not get arrested?"

Nappa chuckled and wore a fond smile. "He was such a moron. He told the Saiyans on the task force that he studied somewhere to be a doctor and that the alien woman was his assistant. They let him come and go with her as he pleased as long as she was accompanied by him. The two of them got a home in the outskirts."

"Did you ever visit them?"

Nappa again became tense as he looked Trunks in the eye.

Tights spent the day preparing a large meal considering Celen's father was coming. It surprised the couple when the general said he wanted to get to know the woman his son was mated to. Celen didn't trust his father, the bond between them broken months earlier. Turna, unfortunately, didn't care about their broken bond. Celen never spoke to her again, but he felt guilty about it for Turna died on one of the missions Frieza demanded her squad take.

The woman understood that Nappa was most likely trying to salvage his connection to his son, especially with his mate gone. She couldn't imagine how lonely the man must feel, so she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. It startled her, though, when he came early, before Celen returned home from treating one of his Saiyan patients.

"We need to talk."

Tights paused in her cooking and turned to face the stern Saiyan general. She set aside the food and motioned to the table where the two sat. Nappa looked angry and confused. "Why?"

"Pardon?" her airy voice spoke.

"Why did you mate with my son?"

Tights's expression softened as she took in the man's hunched posture. She saw him warring with himself the same way Celen had when he helped her escape. "To be honest…I can't explain it," she admitted. "I will tell you, but only because I know you need answers. When I first came, your son and I felt this overwhelming pull that I now know is the bond. I hated myself for feeling any kind of connection to a man I saw as a murderer, because it made me question my own beliefs. I only went off of what I had heard about the Saiyans but seeing him struggle as he helped me escape…it just pulled me closer.

"I returned home, and my father was very angry that I got involved with a budding intergalactic war. He became strict with my studies. After all, I was his only child. Now, he's gotten a little bit softer, for my mother will be having a daughter in a few months."

"On topic," Nappa demanded with narrowed eyes.

Tights waved off her embarrassment. "Sorry, sorry. I get distracted sometimes…get that from my mom. Heh heh." Her demeanor became serious again. "I snuck away a little over a year ago to reconvene with the Galactic Patrol. I couldn't just sit around on my planet and pretend nothing was happening in the universe like my father. He continued to keep the government in the dark about alien life. Our people are blissfully unaware of the conflict out here.

"When I returned to space, I was so happy because I ran into the same patrolman who rescued me. He escaped Frieza's henchmen. Unfortunately, he informed me that multiple planets were purged by Frieza's men, and those not willing to make deals with him or who no longer served their purpose were eliminated. It hit me so hard, and I was afraid Planet Vegeta could have been destroyed.

"I ran away from Jaco and directly to the planet database to look up Planet Vegeta's status and felt such relief when I saw it was still there. I was surprised when I heard Celen call out for me. I didn't expect to see him with Galactic Patrol. I found out that he changed, that he had helped innocents and lost his credibility and status here. I knew it was because of me."

Nappa glared at her; he agreed with her statement. "What was he doing there?"

"Saving people," Tights replied with a fond smile. "He had decided to help Galactic Patrol fight, gather intel, and even treat the wounded members. Eventually, he truly became more of a doctor, and I returned to my hacking duties. I know you would all count this as treason, but we are only doing this because Celen is truly afraid that Frieza will strike. Frieza is…nervous…about the Saiyan ability to grow stronger every time they almost die. There's something else we found out this week, and Celen, when he's done with his patient, is going to quickly meet an operative who snuck on the planet to get confirmation. Frieza will return in a few weeks. He knows of the prince."

Nappa's mouth dropped open, and he wondered how Celen or Tights would have found out. They had not been on Planet Vegeta in years, and only the Saiyans active in the palace knew of the prince. When Kalina gave birth, all the Saiyans pledged that they would never inform Frieza of the child's existence. If these two knew, they had to have heard it somewhere, and the only option was that Frieza sent a spy and the Galactic Patrol truly did have information. "Does he know of the prince's skills?"

"We don't know," Tights admitted. "That's what Celen is trying to figure out. He hopes to get the information to give to you tonight to warn the king and queen. We wanted to do this before we left."

"Where are you going?" Nappa asked in shock. This woman couldn't just drop this bomb on him and expect him to not focus on it.

"To my planet," Tights admitted, feeling Nappa's ire and being shocked by the thought. She tried to reassure him with her own emotions, and his stunned expression showed her that it worked. A smile appeared on her face. "Not forever, don't worry. Celen and I decided that it would be best to not be on the planet with Frieza here. There is no doubt he will recognize me if he sees me from my description by the soldiers years ago, and Celen does not want to see Frieza knowing that he might try to force him into a mission for his avoidance the last few years. My sister is to be born soon, and I wanted to be there for her birth. Celen has not met my parents yet, so I'm hoping they will have time to get to know him before the baby comes."

"Do your parents know you are mated?"

Tights nodded. "My father does. Every time I tried to introduce Celen to them in the past, he denied it, but he can't fight me on this, now."

"Will you or my son ever tell me that planet you are from?"

Her expression fell. "No," Tights admitted. "My people are weak, and they are ill-prepared against everything out here. As a whole, we know hardly anything about alien life, and that's how it's going to stay, at least until things begin to change."

"I don't like it," Nappa scoffed, "but I understand. I'm surprised you were so honest with me, and also that you seemed to bond with me in the span of a few minutes."

"I understand what you're going through," Tights admitted. "My father's father lost his wife and was a mess, and he has no relationship with my father. He was very critical and pushed him away when he had me, for he and mother had me before they were married. The man was very old-fashioned."

Nappa heard those words before. A lot of races had specific names for the man and woman counterparts of a mated pair, and husband and wife were becoming the more prevalent terms. "Hm," Nappa grunted, not liking that the woman brought up his mate.

"I know that if it were my child," Tights continued, "if we ever had a misunderstanding or fallout, I'd want to still have that connection, especially if I ever lost Celen. He or she would be my only connection to him."

Nappa nodded curtly, feeling a bit of respect for the alien, a respect he had never felt towards any outsider. "If Frieza really does know about Prince Vegeta, if he finds out how strong and strategic the boy is, we'll all be fucked," Nappa told her feeling overwhelmingly angry. "If he learns his progress, there will be nothing stopping him from taking him."

Tights knew what Nappa was saying. "I promise, I won't say anything," she assured him, "not to anyone. The only problem will be if our contact is correct in his assumption. If another soldier already told Frieza, unfortunately something will need to be done."

"The prince is almost three," Nappa stated, ignoring her remark. "If Frieza does know about him, he still isn't old enough to join his barracks. He has to be at least…shit."

"What?"

Nappa's expression became sullen and grim. "If Frieza wants Vegeta, then he'll leave the planet intact. Where it's normal for weak babies to be sent to other planets for purges, it is unheard of for the prince to do the same, not until he reaches elite status. It was just predicted today that he will reach that by his sixth birthday."

Tights hand moved over her heart. "Six? There's no way. He'd still only be a child."

Nappa nodded. "He's progressing faster than any Saiyan child we have ever seen, and it was predicted that he could reach the legendary status as well during his lifetime. Frieza…he'll take him then."

"Maybe…maybe we can take him down before then," Tights offered, her optimism shining through. "If you are all willing to ally with the Galactic Patrol, new planets are joining every day. We can work together to—"

"No, girl," Nappa admonished. "No amount of allying will defeat Frieza. I can assure you of that."

Of course, Tights did not believe him, and Nappa would later find the irony in his statement, for one day, Frieza would fall, and it would be to the strongest alliance the universe had ever seen.