It was a few hours later. The Z-fighters had left shortly after Vegeta had (very reluctantly) agreed to speak to his sister, Piccolo suggesting that it would be best to let the Saiyans solve their domestic issues in private. As they exited the Capsule Corp home, Piccolo motioned to them.
"I thought I should tell you, Vegeta was right. There is someone else here – two people actually. They're pretty far away, and if they're really with this woman they may not want to cause any trouble. But still, they're strong so keep your eyes peeled."
They nodded solemnly, then dispersed into the cool night air.
Meanwhile, Vegeta, Bulma and Goku, who had stayed behind at his blue-haired friend's request to make sure no one got murdered, gathered with the Prince's erstwhile sister, whose name turned out to be Cora, in Bulma's office. Trunks and Bulla had been sent to bed, although neither was getting much sleep.
"Well?" Vegeta spat at his sister. He was sitting upright in Bulma's office chair, arms crossed. Goku and Bulma sat on an old couch in the corner, while his sister walked around the office curiously.
She turned to him and took a deep breath. "I need a favor."
"A favor?!" Vegeta laughed. "I am doing you a favor. I'm willing to let you and that bastard get back on your ship and get the hell away from me without so much as a scratch. It's far more than you deserve."
"Well then, I need another one."
She hadn't changed at all, Vegeta thought to himself. Unfazed in the face of his anger, completely confident that she would get her own way one way or another. It had irritated him when he was a child, and it irritated him now.
"Hold up here. I need to understand what's going on," Bulma said, turning to her husband. "Why didn't you tell me you had a sister?"
"Because I don't."
"I was disowned," she said, by way of explanation.
"What for?"
"For being a whore, that's what for," Vegeta interrupted, venom dripping from every word. "For choosing a low-bred brute not fit to even wipe her boots over the honor of her family and her race. For running off like a thief in the night and shaming the royal family of the Saiyans in front of the entire galaxy."
There was a pause.
"I ran away with a man from the lower class of warriors," Cora translated.
Vegeta's fist slammed into the desk, sending papers flying everywhere. "You don't care at all, do you? You never cared! You never spared a single thought for what it would do to our father, to our reputation! Do you know how many times Frieza threw it in my face, that my sister…"
"Who cares what Frieza thinks?" Cora interrupted. Her arms were crossed now and she was glaring at her brother; you could really see the resemblance now. "He was a bastard then; now he's a dead bastard. Or did he mean that much to you?" Her voice was taunting now.
Vegeta got up from his chair and came up to her, his face inches away from hers, seething hate and rage. "If you'd heard the things he said…"
"If it bothered you so much you should have just left. Turles did."
His hand blurred, smacking her right across the cheek and knocking the scouter from her face. "If you say that name in my presence again," he whispered, "I swear to all the gods I'll break your neck."
Cora lifted her head slowly to meet her brother's eyes. It was not the first time he'd hit her, but it was the first time it had hurt. Then again, the last time she'd seen him he had been a child. As she looked into his face, she could see him clearly as boy, leaving Frieza's ship for a rare visit to his royal home. It was some kind of occasion, she remembered, although the details escaped her now. And yet she could it see it so clearly – it was memorable not just for being the last time she would see her little brother, but also because it was the day she decided she would run away with Turles after all, after her father had taken her aside and suggested that Nappa would be an excellent choice for a mate.
She sighed. "Look brother, I'm not here to relive the past…"
"Then what are you here for?"
"I…I have a child. A daughter. And I need a place to leave her, a place where she will be safe, while Tur…my mate and I sort a few things out."
Goku and Bulma exchanged wide-eyed glances.
Vegeta sneered. "The undefeatable Crusher Corps having a bit of trouble?" he taunted.
Cora closed her eyes wearily. "If you care to know, the Crusher Corps disbanded a while ago."
This interested him in spite of himself. "How?"
"What's the Crusher Corps?" Goku piped up from the couch.
The two siblings turned to stare at him and Bulma – they'd almost forgotten they were there.
"Mercenaries," Vegeta explained after a pause. "Turles," the name came out with a level of disgust that rivalled the one he used for Frieza, "used to work for Frieza. Then he and a bunch of other lowlifes deserted, and ran off to terrorize a neighboring galaxy." He turned to his sister. "They were quite effective, from what I heard."
"Yes, well," Cora picked at her spandex, "I won't bore you with the details, but a while back we took a job on a planet in Sector X67-9B. It used to be Frieza's, and when he died there was a big civil war over the stupid place. We got called in to settle it." She sighed, remembering. "It was actually a pretty easy job. But then, a few years ago, there was another little tussle and the group that we…," she paused. Annihilated would be a good description for what they'd done. Certainly accurate. But it seemed vulgar somehow, in this strange place with a brother who hated her and two complete strangers. "…defeated," she continued, "took over. Apparently, they're a little upset over our involvement in the first war, so they've been chasing us across the galaxy, picking us off." She held out her hands, staring at them – Vegeta felt a strange jolt in his stomach as he recognized the gesture, something she did when she was upset. "At first, it wasn't a real problem. It was almost like a game. But now they're using different tactics, separating one person from the group and then ganging up on him, or waiting outside pubs for us, to try and take advantage. Things like that.
"We decided to split up, temporarily, to try and throw them off, make them think we're done for. But those persistent little bastards…"
"They're not going to come here looking for you, are they?!" Bulma shrieked in horror.
Cora shook her head. "Don't worry, we're not staying here. Turles and I are going on the offensive. We have a plan that'll get them off our backs once and for all. But…," she paused, turning to Vegeta's scowling face, "we don't want to get our daughter involved."
"And why not?" Vegeta said. "Surely she can take care of herself."
"They don't know about her," Cora said. "She was really young when we took the job originally, never even left the ship. So they're not after her, but if they see her with us she'll become a target. So far we've been careful, but with the way things are going we won't be able to hide her anymore. We just want her someplace safe and out of the way, so that if things…don't work out, she won't be in any danger."
"And you want her to stay here? That's what you came for? To ask me to babysit your little brat?"
His sister raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar Earth-ism, but didn't bother to ask for a clarification. "Essentially," she said.
"How long do you think you'd be gone for?" Goku asked.
"A few months probably."
"Absolutely not! I don't want anything of yours on this planet, let alone my house, for any amount of time!" Vegeta was shouting again.
"Oh come on Vegeta!" Goku protested. "You're not gonna seriously turn your own niece away, are you? When she could be in danger?"
"I don't have any nieces because I don't have any sisters," Vegeta retorted. He turned to his sister. "I don't care what happens to you, that slimeball or your little brat. Get the hell out of here and be grateful that all your limbs are still attached."
His sister opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Goku. "Well if you won't take her in, I will."
The two siblings gaped at him. "What?!" Vegeta looked oddly horrified.
"Yeah!" Goku smiled at Cora. "She can come stay with my family. Our house is smaller than this one, but we can make room. I'll take good care of her, and my wife's cooking is a lot better than Bulma's." Bulma jabbed him with her elbow.
Cora gave him a big smile, which became a self-satisfied smirk when she turned to face her brother. "Well," she said, her voice triumphant, "this puts you in quite the predicament doesn't it, my lord?"
Vegeta gritted his teeth and glared at Goku's smiling face, willing the man to just drop dead right there. He forced himself to take a deep breath, before turning to his sister.
"Fine," he hissed through clenched teeth. "Bring the stupid brat." In his head, Goku was being disemboweled slowly.
Cora's face lit up with the joy of the victorious. "You are a kind and benevolent liege, Prince Vegeta," she said to him completely unsarcastically. "I am truly grateful. I will bring her in the morning."
She turned to leave, but stopped at the door to smile at Goku. "By the way," she said, "Turles is your uncle. Not sure if you knew that. You look a lot like him, so handsome." With a wink, she was out the door.
As they watched her retreating form, Goku said, "Gosh Vegeta, I really like your sister…"
"YOU IDIOT!" Vegeta was railing at him. This was probably the 312th time, so Goku didn't even flinch. "Well we can't just abandon the poor girl…"
"You really don't know what you did, do you?" Vegeta's face was red. "You idiot, when a request is made of a Saiyan, only someone of equal or higher status can meet it! You disrespected me! You made me look petty and small…"
"Huh?"
"YOU SHOWED ME UP IN FRONT OF MY SISTER!"
"I can't believe that's what you care about," Bulma said. "Do you realize that you just invited some girl we don't even know to live here for months on end without even asking me? This is still my house you know!"
"Woman, the last thing I need right now is your ridiculous whining!" With that, the Prince of All Saiyans stomped out of the room.