Vegeta Muyo!

by Llwchwr

A year after the Buu saga the Z warriors continue life in peace until tragedy strikes, a family is shattered and hearts broken. One Saiyan excommunicates himself and lives as a hermit training day and night until one day a visitor crashes into his life.

4. Vegeta Muyo! Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Another day dawns in the foothills of the mountains, a slight mist is rolling down off of the verdant foothills. The twinkle of the rising Sun's first rays of the day glisten off of the lake's calm surface and into the steely eyes of the prince. Squinting his eyes from the dazzling beams reflected off the still water and from the sweat rolling down his face, he continues his ceaseless training. Having got up long before the dawn chorus, he squeezes in every opportunity he can get to better himself in the field of battle. Fatigue means little to him, it is inconsequential compared to the deep seated desire eternally burning at his core for furthering his combat abilities.

His highly attuned ears catch the end of a conversation, the voice is female and it seems quite worried about something. Weary from endless hours of martial arts, he takes this as an excuse to end the session and to check up on his guests. Walking back into his abode, he nearly stumbles into a frantic Ayeka. Catching her from falling and putting her back on her feet before she even realises anything has happened, he observes the large mess in the living room and looks back to the troubled Ayeka glancing about worriedly.

" I hope there is a rational explanation for this behaviour Lady Ayeka, or else …"

" Oh yes, it's terrible. A hundred pardons for the mess Lord Vegeta, I just can't seem to find the dragon radar you gifted to me. When I woke up it was not where I left it so I began to search and I-I've looked everywhere but it's gone and without it I just don't know what I'm going to do and I …" Ayeka is working herself into a state and is on the verge of tears. Not wanting her to start a scene and also that like all men he has a weakness for crying or distressed women, he gently puts his hand on her shoulder. She looks down at his comforting hand then back to his face. It is strange for some man to be touching her.

" It can't have gotten far Lady Ayeka. I believe I have a good idea who might know where it is, now get a grip on yourself and stop fretting whilst I search for it." Ayeka weakly offers a smile at the area where Vegeta was as he has now gone off to seek out the missing device at supersonic speeds.

That device was his wife's, no-one will steal from Bulma whilst he is about. Appearing in front of the person he deems most likely to know where the radar is, he wakes her from her nap abruptly. Hovering by the side of the structural beam that the space pirate seems to have taken a particular liking to he watches its current occupant lazily roll over to face him.

" You wouldn't by any chance happen to know where the dragon radar has suddenly disappeared off to now would you Ryoko?" Vegeta accuses Ryoko, who is still weary from being woken up but hears the clear implications in his tone and takes offence at it. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she sits up with a frown.

"Nope, no haven't seen it and if little miss goody two shoes over there can't keep track of it then it's not my problem." Ryoko dismissively replies. Vegeta looks down at her calculatingly.

"Without that device no-one gets their wish, including you remember?" Not surprised in the least Vegeta sees Ryoko perk up and sit up straight. "One more thing; I would like to have my wife's clothes returned to me now. I'm sure you are more than capable of finding your own clothing." The space pirate's feline eyes look down at the borrowed articles he is referring to and coyly meets his expressionless stare.

"You want me to take my clothes off right now do you? Well OK but just this once Vegeta, you naughty Saiyan. I knew it was only a matter of time."

"No Ryoko, you know that's not what I meant. First priority is the dragon radar. Find it, gather the dragon balls, get wish granted, understand?" Being reminded of the spare wish she was promised and with her imagination running wild at what it could grant her she springs up off the wooden beam and energetically begins searching for the device, all too easy for the Saiyan.

Having completed his full and thorough search of the entire house before he woke Ryoko up he heads to the last place he has not checked yet. Knowing all too well he could search for hours, if not days even, in there and still come up with nothing, he steadily pushes open the door to Washu's laboratory. Entering the realm of the unknown and best left unknown he decides on his best course of action and Instant Transmissions behind Washu. The miniature scientist is engrossed with the machinery she is busy tinkering with on her work bench and so has no idea that Vegeta is silently walking up behind her, his footsteps completely muffled.

" Now what do we have here? That wouldn't be the dragon radar there now would it? For your sake woman I hope not." Vegeta menacingly declares looking over Washu's shoulder at the dismantled electronics and microchips. Startled, she abruptly turns around to see him leaning over her and sees his penetrating gaze. She starts to deny that thought but halfway through her sentence he starts cracking the knuckles of each finger slowly and deliberately as his eyes darken. Even if he were just a normal man he would still be able to overpower her being twice her size and she knows full well he would feel no remorse in snapping her like a dry twig, in fact she has a worrying suspicion he would take great pleasure in doing just that.

" OK, OK, so I took it to run a few little harmless experiments on it. I'll give it back to you when I'm done OK? Wait, even better, with my vast intellect I'll improve and modify it, maybe even duplicate several copies of it -"

" I don't care about the details, just how long will this take?" Vegeta interrupts her half way through her spiel. He is quickly losing patience and not liking the way this day is turning out already.

" I'd estimate less than a day for sure, not too long working with this primitive device... " Before Washu can finish her sentence the shadow looming over her has gone and exited her lab, she lets out a sigh of relief and wipes her wet brow before returning to work.

Arriving back into reality, Vegeta looks about himself to see Ryoko, Ayeka and Sasami all looking about the house as if their very lives depended on it. Such a frantic environment is no place for a rodent sized animal like Ryo-Ohki, poor thing nearly gets trampled on several times under busy feet. After enjoying the scene from the doorway for a while he goes into his living room where they all are and explains the situation to them.

" Apparently the radar will be unavailable for a day as Washu has taken it upon herself to investigate the device and … do something to it to make it work better." The women look relieved by this news and so stop searching and begin to go about relaxing around Vegeta's house. Trunks and Sasami have commandeered the television as Trunks tries to teach her how to play Earth's video games so Vegeta heads off into his training room.

However, no sooner has he taken a step into his favourite room then he backs out, slams the door shut - splintering the wall - and storms into Washu's lab with a red haze descending over his eyes. She is alerted to his presence by the splintering sound as her door is kicked down again and Vegeta breaches into her dimension heading straight for her. This time his steps are not silent, neither is her lab's flooring staying intact when he walks.

" Who do you think you are?! You've got some nerve woman. I kindly let you live in my house, even experiment on me and for what? You to do whatever you like in my own home! Messing about where you shouldn't have gone, I'm afraid you've forgotten your place and I'm about to kick you back down there!" By the time his stomps reach her hovering cushion, Washu is but a speck of red hair disappearing far off. Seething with rage he stalks his prey, slowly following her every move as she attempts to flee deeper into the darkened recesses of her refuge. Each doorway she turns to scamper through reveals a waiting shadow. He wears her down and tires her out, she can no longer run any further.

" Wait now, come on be reasonable. I-I improved things in your home! Fine so I tampered with a few bits and bobs, but now the artificial gravity machine can produce a much larger gravitational force and I've completely reworked the heating and energy efficiency of this dwelling, added a dimensional gate to my own luxurious personal bathing quarters and added a 3 dimensional output to the monitor in the living room." Vegeta stops a foot away from her, accepting this reason and leaving her again as he is curious as to how the increased force that the training room can generate could help his training regime.

That thought is then discarded momentarily as the raised voices of Ayeka and Ryoko tear through the house again. First things first though he needs breakfast. With half a cow slowly digesting in his gullet he realises that simply ignoring a problem does not make it go away. Resigned to their inability to get along with one another he goes to try and establish peace, or some semblance of it, in his home and figure out what they are arguing about this time.

" Lord Vegeta I am glad that you are here, this she-demon has gone and stolen my clothes. Look, she is even shamelessly parading around in them. You can tell she's from a lowly poor background as she has failed to even fasten my robes up properly, that or she's too fat to fit into my clothes." Ayeka does not need to persuade Vegeta on this matter as he can clearly tell that what she is claiming is true. For all her guile Ryoko can't spin a web of lies to get out of this one as she is wearing the offending items, another one of Ayeka's many lavish kimonos but tied up loosely and exposing more flesh than the princess would ever be comfortable with.

" Hey don't go crying to Vegeta, he said I could help myself to your clothes." Flaunting off her newly acquired garments, she jumps and twirls in the air, the kimono billowing out revealing most of her supple legs. She nimbly lands behind the Saiyan and wraps her arms around him with a cheeky smile on her lips.

" Ryoko that is not true. I said you were capable of finding your own not stealing like some common thief." Vegeta turns his head to look at her before brusquely removing her arms from his person.

"Same thing. Ayeka why don't you just admit I wear this a helluva lot better than you ever could and by the way if you had anything worth displaying then you'd dress exactly the same as I do."

Sighing to himself, Vegeta momentarily leaves the two women to continue their argument before returning to them with something held in one of his hands. Both women are too engrossed with their row to notice his reappearance. Vegeta clears his throat and calls Ryoko over to him and hands over the small leather purse that he was holding to her. Bouncing this object on her palm she squeals in delight as she hears the jingle of coins coming from inside it and her eyes greedily light up at the sight of the golden cash as she pours the contents out into her hands. Not letting a single one drop on the floor, she replaces them all back into the purse before stuffing the money-bag down the front of her outfit. Overjoyed by such a sizeable present, she goes to hug Vegeta. Allowing her to embrace him he explains to her how that money is for her to buy her own clothes with as her arms squeeze tightly around his chest. With that she is off, out of the house and flying off in search of a city, town or anywhere else to spend her zeni. The look of disbelief and shock on Ayeka's face says it all.

" What by the powers of Jurai are you thinking? Giving her money is like rewarding her for her barbaric behaviour. This simply will not do, not at all." Ayeka's annoyance at Vegeta's gift to Ryoko is surfacing clearly.

" It will stop her stealing your clothes won't it? Anyway I only gave her a million zeni or so…" Ayeka's jaw drops at how flippantly Vegeta talks about such a large sum of money. " … and as my son is the sole benefactor of Capsule corporation, that's but a drop in the ocean to the wealth my wife left us." He walks away leaving Ayeka in a stunned silence as her shocked mind tries to comprehend how his level of wealth could rival even hers. Looking out the window at the clear blue sky and the faint breeze stirring branches in the treetops his primal yearning to be outside rather than cooped up in a metal box gets the better of him as he turns to face the princess.

" Lady Ayeka, would it not be in your best interest to learn how to fly during this day? This basic skill will allow you to collect the dragonballs on your own and free up my time as I won't have to lug you around. Come, I will teach you briefly." He beckons her as he leads her outside, the surprised expression is quickly replaced by that of contentment as she follows his lead. With the warm summer sun bearing down on them she stands ready in front of him as he examines her with his sixth sense.

" Yes, you have sufficient power so come, demonstrate your ki powers." Vegeta stands with his arms at his, side defenceless and ready for her show of power.

" Ki? What is that Lord Vegeta? I do not understand. Never before have I heard this word used, please explain it to me." The look of befuddlement says it all to Vegeta as he tries to explain to her what ki is. After several fruitless minutes of trying to explain life energy and the force that she tapped into to generate barriers he gives up.

" I … I apologise for I still do not think I fully understand. You must be mistaken Lord Vegeta, the power I tap into is the power of the Jurai Royal family that only those of noble birth can access." The sound of his palm impacting into his face resounds and echoes across the landscape.

" Fine then, just tap into your reserves of whatever you want to call it and blast me with all you've got. Don't hold back." He braces his legs and prepares for the impact that never comes.

" What? I couldn't do that. What if I hurt you, oh I couldn't live with myself if anything bad happened to someone because of me. I am not a violent person." He looks at her and scoffs at the thought of her injuring him. His mocking and laughter at her impotence towards him succeeds in goading her to attack him. As the smoke clears after her blast Vegeta is seen checking his clothing to look at the substantial charring on it whilst Ayeka looks on at him regretting her actions and hoping she did not hurt him. The lack of any physical harm and the peak of her power he sensed leaves Vegeta disappointed.

" It's been a long time since I met someone weaker than Raditz by that margin. I suppose you do have enough ki for flight though, so start channelling that energy into your feet, the heel not the toes, and slowly try and release it. Don't want you blasting off your shoes now. The key is for it to be nice and steady and perfectly balanced in each foot, feel the flow of your ki and utilise it." He says no more and watches her face furrow in concentration. Many minutes pass and all that happens in that time is most of the morning dew on the grass has been blown off from around Ayeka.

Blades of grass quiver from an unseen force, stirred by a wind not naturally caused. The prince calmly waits as he sees the disturbance in the grass increase in magnitude and the princess' dress start to flutter about. Then, millimetre by millimetre, her feet leave the ground as she begins to hover a measly foot off the ground. No longer is she concentrating with all her willpower but now smiling gaily at her tutor. Her radiant happiness would be infectious to most people but Vegeta simply nonchalantly levitates as well and leads her over the lake at a snail's pace. This simple act of moving whilst in the air is greatly building her confidence in her ability to fly as he continues to help her perform simple aerial manoeuvres. Her pure joy at this simple feat leaves her happily laughing as she ascends and descends with Vegeta above the lake.

"Lord Vegeta this is wonderful, absolutely wonderful. Thank you ever so much for taking the time and effort to help me like this." The levitating pair stop over the centre of the lake, faint ripples disturbing the serene waters they are above. Saiyan eyes follow the darting silvery morsels hiding in the lake for a few seconds before looking back at Ayeka.

" Don't thank me yet, you still have a lot of work to do. At the minute you'd be faster walking to gather the dragonballs."

"Indeed. However in such a short span of time how am I ever going to improve so radically a skill I have learnt mere minutes ago."

"I did." His cold, black eyes yield no sign of what he says to be a lie or idle boast. The Juraian princess would find such a fact hard to believe were it not for who was saying it.

" Well … of course a strong warrior would have no trouble accomplishing such a -"

" I was learning to walk at the same time. Both I mastered as an infant in under two hours, that was the day my training started … the training I have been continuing and shall continue until I have no equal in the field of battle." Each sentence Vegeta states with the same inherent lack of emotion that most of his speech retains. Shoes get dangerously close to getting wet as Ayeka's concentration is thrown entirely from her feet, her shock at these things being true is plain for the prince to see. Vegeta never expected anyone to ever understand the ways of his near-extinct race but her reaction was a bit more exaggerated than what he expected.

"Walking and flying in the same day? Training as a toddler? It is hard for me to imagine that such a culture existed, no offence intended Lord Vegeta." She ascends back the few feet of altitude to get to eye level with him again. Different cultures arise on different planets and as royalty she has been privileged to have seen many in her travels but never before has she heard of a race so utterly dedicated to its military as the Saiyans were.

"Neither those things are strange or peculiar for Saiyans, save for my prowess, truth be told those are the only memories I have of my childhood. If you don't start training young it just makes it harder in the long run. Wasting your time playing stupid games, making friends … all useless, all things I did without." His eyes travel upwards as he stares into the middle distance, reminiscing over when he still had a family and a species. Even as a child he was short but that did not mean his trainers went easy on him, half his life back then was brutal training and the other half recovering from it in the medical machines. He was the child prodigy the likes no one had ever seen before - and will ever see again.

" Lord Vegeta that is … I apologise for being so frank but its sounds like you were denied a happy childhood. Such a lifestyle must have caused great distress in you when at such a young and vulnerable age." Ayeka is a kind soul. Hearing practically that he was subjected to years of abuse for the sake of strength does not sit well with her, she has to speak up about it. The prince's eyes return to the princess' as a smirk returns to his face - a smirk when there are no signs of happiness on his face at all.

"You think that's bad, then try when I was led past the fresh corpse of my father to watch my whole planet explode as the one responsible made me swear an oath of fealty to him. That … that was when my 'childhood' ended and I became a warrior, I was 5." Ayeka is gob smacked at how flippant he is concerning such a tragic event that no child should ever have had to endure. Her mind can not comprehend how he can act as he does, what should have destroyed his young and fragile mind seems to have left as much of a psychological mark on him as stubbing his toe. She seems more affected by the recounting of his past than he is.

" I … I don't know what to say, except I am sorry for your loss." Heartfelt words to a man with a heart of ice, ice much thinner and weaker than it was when Frieza was still alive but it is still there nonetheless. Vegeta's smirk lessens into a more casual smile. He had forgotten the calming influence of female company, Ayeka's original hostility towards him has all but disappeared for the time being.

" I thank you for your kindness but I have no need or want for your sympathies. The past is the past, what matters now is you, Lady Ayeka, and your abilities of flight." The Saiyan's smile is directed to her and she returns it. His arm points towards the open expanse of the air for her to continue flying and him to follow her lead and instruct her further.

The few times that her ki fails her and she falters in the air he is always there to catch her and prevent her from taking an early bath. She expected his grip to be constrictingly tight because of his stupendous strength yet there is a surprising delicacy to his touch when gravity once again takes its full effect on her. The first time she started to descend rather quickly it took her by surprise when her movements ceased and she felt a slight pressure around her waist; looking to see his arm there keeping her airborne she was in two minds as what to do. As a princess her first thought was to remove the hand touching her and scold him for acting so but the rational part of her brain tells her to leave it be and accept this help, maybe even enjoy this comfortable closeness a little bit. It is a reassuring strength to have supporting her, a strength used to slaughter millions now directed in such a gentle fashion.

The man before her is a mass murderer, a walking devil, yet she cannot help but feel at ease in his presence as he guides her through the air. Her heart skips a beat every time she suffers a lapse in concentration and winds up in his muscular arms. For over a good hour they continue this merry dance of flying about with Ayeka's speed increasing to around that of a horse at full gallop. They don't converse much and spend most of the time in silence except when Vegeta is giving her a few tips to aid her or correcting what she is doing wrong. She realises his attention is starting to drift back towards the house and the room that he spends inordinate amounts of time in, like a drug addict he can only go so long before he craves his next fix. Ayeka has enjoyed her time with him but it would be rude of her to keep him against his will when he would rather be elsewhere.

" Yoo-hoo, Vegeta I'm back!" Ryoko and several large bags full to the brim materialise outside Vegeta's house. Ayeka's focus is lost by this surprise and she forgets all about channelling ki into her legs and plummets towards the lake. Her screams are cut short as Vegeta catches her with one arm and escorts her back to dry land; two amber eyes lock onto this touching. As she is released from his grip Ayeka continues to blush from the intimacy of the moment as the Saiyan strides towards Ryoko.

He eyes the bags and looks at Ryoko who is more than happy to show off her many new purchases if Vegeta tells her what he was doing over the lake with Ayeka. In as many words Vegeta brusquely replies he was teaching her to fly, which in response leads to a torrent of laughter and mockery from Ryoko at the premise of Ayeka being able to fly. As the two women glare at each other waiting for a single spark to ignite their conflict into a full blown fight he intervenes. Their fight between each other is soon forgotten when they feel the strong hands of Vegeta on their shoulders. They turn from each other to look at him and Ayeka blushes at the contact whereas he just looks about disinterestedly and waits to find out what Ryoko went and spent his (technically his wife's) money on.

Vegeta folds his arms as he looks back to the space pirate smiling widely at him. Ryoko happily rummages through her shopping bags showing off the many things she bought. Around a dozen different multi-coloured outfits she shows to Vegeta, he has no idea where she found clothes the likes of which she is showing to him but it would be safe to assume that not many other people bought similar clothes. Holding each outfit in front of his face and draping them over the clothes she is already wearing she hopes to gauge by any minute, subtle reaction whether he likes them or not, the Saiyan's opinion is that he could not care less. After realising that her new clothing isn't getting much of a reaction from the Saiyan she sidles up to him and quietly whispers in his ear.

" You know I also have a few more … private outfits that I'd be more than willing to show you. Just say the word and you'll be a very lucky man." She winks at him seductively with her eyelashes nearly grazing his cheek as Ayeka watches and scowls, just watching the pirate act as immodestly as she does grates against her dreadfully.

Ignoring Ryoko's last comment, he raises one of his eyebrows and points at the many other bags which do not have clothes in and enquires as to their contents. Her mischievous grin widens as she reveals that the contents of all the other bags are all alcoholic beverages of one kind or another but mainly sake and one large cardboard box containing a music playing device. He helps her carry the bags inside for no better reason than for some slight physical exercise as Ayeka excuses herself and leaves them to go and check up on her sister. With the bags set down out of the way Vegeta cannot continue being unproductive and heads off into the training room to see Washu's improvements and test them out for himself. As he starts to open the door to his sanctuary he turns to face Ryoko who was approaching him and about to say something.

" Let me train with you. I'm a space pirate after all, I have to keep up my strength." Ryoko pleads. Vegeta concedes and allows her to join him, knowing full well that she has no motivation for hard work or exercise and only wants to train to spend more time near him. He is getting wise to her little attempts and what she appears to be after but for the life of him he cannot work out why. The single reference point he has for female behaviour is Bulma but he sees few similarities between his dead wife and Ryoko. One interesting thing he did notice was a glint of an unusual emotion in her eyes when she saw him carrying Ayeka. Her reasons for this request might be out of jealousy for the time he spent with Ayeka earlier, if that is the case Vegeta thinks he might have let himself in for more than he originally bargained for allowing her to stay.

That same happy smile appears on Ryoko's face again at what she sees as a small victory edging her closer to her ultimate goal. She dashes off to the pile of shopping and searches around for a particular one of her bags and gets out a red and black, tight fitting, sleeved jumpsuit and begins to change into it there and then; Vegeta sees this and as his eyes start to widen and colour creeps into his cheeks he hurries off into the training room before he sees too much. Not waiting for her to get ready, he boots up the artificial gravity machine and puts it on an automatic setting – one he would never contemplate on using were he training alone - and begins doing push-ups He does not look up as Ryoko saunters into the room but stays solely focused on his exercises. Rising up and down his eyes stay fixed on the tiled flooring. She glances at him then idles about exploring this new room she has not been in before, inspecting everything like a curious child. Nothing sparks her interest in the training room save for one thing, yet he still has not even raised his head to even glance at her. Again she looks at Vegeta, perplexed and annoyed by the lack of attention shown to her. Ryoko thinks that maybe speaking his language will allow her to reach out to him and so begins to do some basic and rudimentary fighting techniques in front of him in a vain attempt to show off. She may continue thinking her motions to be as fluid and fast as a raging river but the Saiyan prince would perceive them more as stop motion animation. Vegeta continues paying no attention until the console has fully loaded and signals the fact with a short high pitched beep. It initiates artificial gravity, starting at ten times Earth's gravity. To Vegeta there is no change, he feels nothing when his body drastically increases in weight, but for Ryoko however it is a different matter.

She has never been under increased gravity situations before, most of the time she is in space and so doesn't feel gravity or weight that often anyway. Her legs suddenly feel like lead and consequently she is finding it difficult to move, but in plain sight of Vegeta she cannot show her weakness and must persevere through it. Blackness rolls down over her vision as all her blood starts to rush down away from her brain and into her feet, at first trying to blink away the blindness in confusion before she sets her circulation back to normal with the help of ki. After a few minutes of pushing herself to her limits, the gravity machine beeps again and it exerts fifty times the natural gravity of the planet. Sweat pours from her brow as Ryoko is brought to her knees under the crushing force that so far is still not effecting Vegeta's movements or actions in the slightest. Such a great constriction upon her internal organs, the very act of breathing becoming a herculean task. Struggling back to her feet Ryoko manages to stand up, but she is shaking violently from the sheer effort of it. Her eyes widen as another beep is emitted along with a rise to seventy five Gs. Crashing down to the floor, with all her strength leaving her she collapses in a heap on the cold metal floor in a puddle of her own perspiration.

Only now does Vegeta look up and across to the space pirate. Looking over at her unconscious form, Vegeta somersaults onto his feet and shuts off the gravity. She withstood the gravity longer than he thought she could considering his estimations of her strength. Kneeling beside her he lowers his head towards hers and places two fingers on her neck, checking her pulse. Her eyelids flutter slightly as he listens to her breathing so as to make sure her life is not in any danger from the experience she has had with high levels of gravity. Ryoko mumbles something but he is unable to decipher the word at first until she repeats it a bit louder and clearer. Her eyes close and body goes limp, she whispered his name. With this she will never bother him when training, the lesson has been delivered. Gently picking her up, he carries her out of the training room to set her down on one of the sofas. Standing back up he looks up at the other woman in the room and freezes. The shock of this woman is paralysing his brain as he tries to comprehend, but can not. He detects no difference in her ki but physically something has drastically changed.

The woman in front of him is Washu. Her long magenta hair is still the same, her piercing emerald eyes and even her outfit is exactly as it was previously but this one single change she has made to her form is still causing Vegeta's mind to reel. The last time he saw her she was near two feet shorter and around ten years younger. She now has the mature body of a woman and knows it. He continues to stutter and back away from her as his mind is still in disbelief. She slowly struts towards him in an extremely feminine way she was unable to do a few minutes ago, her hips swaying and a predatory aspect firmly locked in her gaze.

" I take it that you no longer wish to be called Little Washu, but what kind of power is this to alter one's own age, did you use one of your blasted machines?" Vegeta spurts out, trying to buy time whilst his mind races as he watches her steadily approach him.

" I do not rely on external technology for this, it's a simple feat which anyone of my intellect would be able to accomplish at will." She disinterestedly replies whilst closing the gap to Vegeta who is unsure what to do in this situation. Ayeka strolls into the room bored from seeing her younger sibling so engrossed with those interactive virtual games she was playing and freezes when she sees the all new grown up Washu. Vegeta takes this opportunity where Ayeka basically repeats all of Vegeta's questions towards Washu to slip away unnoticed in the background when her attention is elsewhere.

Now safely upstairs, Vegeta takes a deep breath to calm himself and regrets inhaling through his nose. Having olfactory senses that are as sensitive as that of a dog, his own personal reek he has managed to produce through all his toil and labour nearly overwhelms him. Remembering his conversation with Washu earlier he decides to investigate what she has done to his bathroom. Silently padding down the corridor so that the women will not be alerted to his location he opens the door to what was his bathroom but now seems the doorway to an entire new building.

As far as the eye can see there are pools of pristine waters, fountains made of enamelled metals, jewel encrusted wash basins and flora from around the galaxy decorating the land. Warily he enters, not trusting anything remotely to do with Washu. Carefully he walks around the large heated pool by the entrance and inspects the waters, testing it before deciding to bathe in it for one can never be too careful when Washu is involved. Seeing a storage unit for clothes near the entrance and a towel dispenser he heads back where he entered, closes the door and begins to undress. Folding his clothes and placing them on a shelf he dives head first into the water. He breaks the surface and judges the distance of the length of the pool before starting to swim laps around the Olympic sized pool, for his idea of bathing does not include idling about. He slices through the water with powerful strokes at speeds parallel to those he is capable of on land, churning the water into a steaming, frothing current.

Sasami is bored of being cooped up inside. Trunks' video games were fun but she has had enough of playing them for the time being and so has wandered off into the forest surrounding Vegeta's house. She is not the kind of child to go off on her own not telling people where she is so she left a short note on the kitchen table and brought Ryo-Ohki along with her for company, however she has overlooked that only Ayeka and Washu can read Juraian. She is captivated by the natural beauty all around her and is not paying much attention to how far off the beaten track she has aimlessly wandered. Unfortunately for her she does not yet know about the few rare creatures that stalk these remote areas of this planet and at this moment one is watching her right now with its keen reptilian eyes. Slit-like pupils narrow as the unsuspecting Sasami wanders into its hunting grounds. The Juraian child kneels to pick some of the many vibrantly colourful flowers and sniff their aromatic fragrance when an ominous, low, thundering growl shakes through her.

Slowly she timidly raises her head to see the large, mottled green, scaly foot in front of her. In a frightened state of shock, she continues looking up to see the full size of this terrifying Paozusaurus as it slowly opens its mouth. The large horns protruding in a ring from the thick hide around the nape of the beast's neck get caught in the lower branches of the trees it was using to stage its ambush. Sasami prays that the terrifying theropod will stay stuck but that hope quickly diminishes when she hears large pieces of wood smashing down around her. Petrified, she stumbles backwards and begins to scream whilst Ryo-Ohki stands her ground and hisses at the gigantic dinosaur. The high pitched screaming aggravates the dinosaur and so it responds with a deafening, ear-splitting roar. Dumbstruck, the trembling princess falls over backwards. Saliva drools from its razor sharp maw as it moves it's head closer towards it's trapped prey, terrified beyond her senses the little girl cries out for her big sister to help her. She shuts her eyes tight, hoping against all hope that when she reopens them it will be gone and it all to have been a bad dream.

As impending doom looms closer and her tears start wetting her face a thunder like whip-crack resounds through the air. The jaws of death stop inches away from Sasami's face. She trepidatiously opens her eyes to see a thin sliver of blood trace around the predators neck as its eyes gaze at her with a glazed expression. Sasami shies away again. The earth shakes and she feels the hem of her dress getting wet causing a fresh outburst of tears from her. When she feels a hand on her shoulder she nearly jumps out of her skin with fright.

" Heh, that was fun you wanna play some more?" Trunks impishly grins at her as she looks back at the freshly decapitated animal. With blood dripping from her dress, she runs off back to the house so her sister can comfort her leaving a bemused Trunks wondering whether he said something wrong as he sheaths his sword.

Back in the house, the space pirate rises from her slumber and looks about to see where she is. Slowly she recalls what happened and hears the drone of voices coming from the kitchen, still weary she can only just make out the sobs of Sasami and the gentle reassurances of her sister. Not interested in the slightest with the Juraian royals, she gets up on to her feet and winces at the pain in her screaming muscles and sits back down grasping at her agonised quadriceps. A few minutes pass as she massages her muscles back into working condition again, easing their pain with what vestiges of energy she has recovered during her lack of consciousness. She set out to prove herself to be a strong woman in front of Vegeta and ended up with him … she actually ended up with him leaning over her, checking she was alright and tenderly lifting her up to take her to safety. All things considered Ryoko can not count that as a total loss. Able to move again, the space pirate then phases in pursuit of the one she tried to impress with her physical abilities but failed miserably. Not sure where he is, she searches for a good long while before she pops her head through one of the many doors to see a flurry of activity that could only be the one she seeks. No-one else she knows would not be relaxing in the soothing hot baths that apparently are hidden behind this door or capable of evaporating most of the nearby pools bone dry through friction alone.

Fully phasing through the door so as not to attract attention from the swimmer, a wide grin splits her face from cheek to cheek as she giggles and slowly starts to remove her clothing. Throwing the battle outfit in a rumpled heap on the floor she teleports into the large pool directly in front of the torpedo speeding through the water called Vegeta. A sudden spike of ki is sensed by Vegeta as he halts in the pool mid-stroke and water from his massive wake engulfs him and the person in front of him. Steaming the water from his eyes with energy, he already knows that it is Ryoko before him but he was not prepared for the sights he saw.

He blushes immensely seeing her wet and naked body before him before realising that his state of dress is no different to hers. She brushes her sodden cyan hair from her face and mischievously sticks her tongue out. His face turns an even deeper shade of red watching her scan his body with her feline eyes, tracking the drips of water working their way down him. Ryoko begins to slowly swim towards him with a wry smile on her face. Not needing to tread water as he can fly, Vegeta quickly improvises and uses one of Piccolo's techniques to instantly materialise and spawn clothing on himself – a by-product technique he learnt from Bulma pestering him as he is apt to destroy. Frowning at his reluctance, she continues slowly swimming towards him in such a way to show off her womanly curves and body the most. With limited options and wanting to find out what the hell is going on in his life, he stops her by placing his hand on her damp forehead. She is confused at him by such a random place to touch her as she looks at his closed eyes and thinks of a few different places she would prefer that hand to be. A weird, indescribable sensation diffuses through her skull and fills her head causing her to recoil away from his hand.

Definite lust exists. Her actions are motivated by a want to begin a sexual relationship with him, she has seen his body and is attracted to it. Ryoko wants to have fun, she wants to have the protection of a Super Saiyan as an ally, to win over this pool of resources and money and dragonballs. Her plan to get him to destroy Goku for her exists still. More than lust and pragmatism exists. The envy he thought he saw does hold root. Ryoko will not abide Jurai to take anything she deems to be her possession. Deeper still is curiosity, and an interest. Parallels between them exist, he found a happiness she thought would always be absent from her future. His actions are not like most other men she has met, he intrigues her in a dichotomous twist she secretly likes how he has not taken advantage of her advances.

With physical contact broken the feeling in her skull cavity immediately vanish. She pauses and looks at him as he slowly opens his eyes with a worried and embarrassed look on his face.

" Wh... what was that?" She asks inquisitively as she sees him slowly backing away, she continues moving towards him as he lifts his body out of the water. He reluctantly looks at her again.

"I … I used a technique I saw Kakarot use on Namek one time, thought I might give it shot. I … I- I just read your thoughts, … I know. " He slowly says, it takes a while for his words to sink in. Ryoko looks puzzled still for a bit and then it hits her, it hits her as hard as if he has punched her. He knows. He has probed her, although not in the way he now knows she would like, and her secrets must have been revealed to him. She has no way of knowing how much of her inner thoughts were exposed to him just now but by his reaction it obviously included what was on her mind at that second in time. She turns a very deep shade of crimson as she blushes from what he must know, embarrassment is a rare emotion for this vagabond of the void but his little technique could have cut through her outer thoughts and down towards her deeper, hidden feelings that even she is not so sure about yet. Her plan is not going to work with her enemy knowing it, her plan to use him. With her distracted, Vegeta dries himself instantaneously and makes his getaway out of the bathroom and straight into Princess Ayeka.

Barging into her accidentally he once again catches her and puts her back on her feet before her brain has even time to comprehend what this sudden movement is or that it even occurred, but this time his hands stay on her shoulders. Inside his mind he is still wrestling with the thoughts and images he obtained from Ryoko and he can't help but wonder if such a thing has made things better or far worse.

" I apologise Lady Ayeka, I – I did not see you there, my … my mind was elsewhere."

"Oh, that's OK Lord Vegeta. I should have been paying more attention to … why … w-why are you um …. Lord Vegeta, why are you touching me?" The shock of walking down a corridor and then having the Saiyan face to face with her has worn off now; she has noticed his close proximity to him and that he has not removed his hands from her person yet. For her this is a tad too intimate, him being stood right before her and with a strange look on his face. He places his hand on her forehead. Startled by the sudden movement, she is about to say something and then senses the light pressure of his hand on her head and the other feeling oozing into her cranium, she frowns in discomfort.

His family photograph and the mystery it exudes when compared with his past. The murders and his gallant sacrifice to protect his loved ones. A son who loves him, a widower in bereavement – traits not associated with cold blooded killers. He is different, he is unusual and not at all like the few men she knows. Exotic. For all his cruelty he treats her and her sister with respect, helped them and shelters them. She has learnt what a man is, she does not understand, a pull exists. An option exists. Flight, freedom, his arms. An alternate path is open for her.

" I had to clear some things up so your thoughts have been read by me." Vegeta says as he takes his hand off her forehead whilst blushing again. Her look turns from one of confusion to realisation to embarrassment to anger. She tries to shove him back away from herself as a great rosiness graces her cheeks but he does not budge an inch due to her efforts.

" How … h-how dare you i-invade me in such a personal manner, it - i-it's not right! A v-violation of this magnitude-. H-hey come back here, I'm not finished with you!"

Not wanting to get a lecture on the moral issues surrounding knowing a person's innermost thoughts, he continues his escape from the woman irate at him and leaps down the staircase in a single bound. All his life he has lived with but one single woman who ever saw him in a kind light, and that was not even his own mother. Having not truly mastered that level of telepathy he cannot be certain if what he ascertained was indeed true but thinking on the way both Ryoko and Ayeka reacted when he confessed to his deeds does not leave much room for doubt. There are seeds germinating. Knowing only of one way to solve the problem of the troubling things he has found out he swiftly enters Washu's lab and finds her sitting in her hover cushion only a few metres from the inter-dimensional doorway. Still running, he goes up to her and demands to know how long until the dragon radars are ready for use. She swivels round to face him with a smile on her face, it slipped his mind that she was in the body of an adult now and how she acted before he took his bath.

" How nice of you to come. I knew it was only a matter of time before you paid me a little private visit, hehe. You really should knock though, who knows what I might've been doing in here." By the time she has stood up Vegeta has had enough of being messed around with and takes matters into his own hands and he is damn sure that he does not need to read her mind. Her cold gleaming emeralds are purely working a similar angle to Ryoko for self preservation.

Both Ayeka and Ryoko were hiding some small token of affection for him within their minds - Ayeka keeping it concealed a lot better than Ryoko – and such a fact his own mind is having trouble processing. His ego is massive so women falling for him is a concept he has no trouble imagining but the actuality is beyond what his mind can comprehend. They have been here but a few days maximum, it took Bulma several months to warm up to him by that degree; he wonders to himself what has he done to deserve this. From the start Ryoko appeared to have an unhealthy obsession with his physique yet he thought that was just an act put on so that he would allow her to stay in his house not something stemming from emotion. Ayeka on the other hand came as a total shock and what is going through Washu's mind would probably scare even him – he is not some data for her to gather. Disappearing and reappearing in the same instant, he now holds all five dragon radars that Washu has been working on. To him they look the exact same: same shape, same display, same lone button. Frowning at his rejection of her half-hearted advances she watches him press the single button on top of each radar for the same response; no dragon balls detected. Infuriated, he crushes one in his hands and glares at Washu.

" Tell me you didn't break my wife's invention, or you will suffer the same fate." With his gritted teeth bared, Washu knows he is serious but remains unmoved by his show of aggression.

" None of the core electronics were changed, they all work perfectly fine. You think the greatest scientific genius in the universe would create a faulty product?" Her eyes show she is not lying and that leaves only one other explanation left, could he have been so preoccupied with his training he did not realise? Angry with himself now, he casts aside the radars at Washu who manages to catch most of them as he vanishes into thin air.

Landing once again at Mount Paozu in the same crater he formed nearly a year ago, he attempts to calm himself down before approaching the two buildings in this primeval wilderness. His mind still races a mile a minute, he has a son to think of, and training to do. He bellows out the name of the only other surviving member of his race and waits for a response; the echoes of his bellows bouncing off the many mountains die down before he calls out for him again. The door to the main house slams open and nearly falls off its hinges.

" What is it?! Oh, it's you. My husband has gone away with our Gohan and will be back soon. If you're here to start a fight then take it elsewhere." The annoyed housewife reluctantly lets him into her house to await Goku when he declares he has no intention of fighting today. Neither of them are pleased with the situation they are currently in, they sit across from each other at the dining table and wait. The seconds drag on and the silence is left unbroken for what seems like an eternity; having spent years at a time in transit between planets Vegeta sits patiently until he hears the pitter patter of little feet.

" Um, Mr Vegeta sir, is Trunks here?" Vegeta does not bother to look at Goten and just slowly shakes his head. The disappointed kid then wanders off leaving the two adults alone again. More minutes pass before Vegeta decides to break the ice.

" So tell me woman, when is that kid of yours going to get round to marrying that daughter of a clown." Apparently the first topic that came into his head was not the best subject as talking about it seems to have displeased Chichi. As a prince he has a duty to now if any more of Saiyan blood are likely to be born, hence his question.

" I don't know. Maybe later this year some time. Why, are wedding bells on the horizon for you too?" He did not expect the question to be turned back round on him like that and resents the implications this woman is making. His eyes narrow and his brows furrow.

" Whatever you're thinking you can forget it, those women mean nothing to me!" He snarls at her, only just stopping himself from bringing his fist down onto the table. Her only response to his outburst is a sly raising of her eyebrows, the insinuations in those dark eyes cause his facial capillaries to expand. Chichi does not fear the strength of Saiyans. She sees his confusion and she been there herself.

" It's OK, most people do choose to move on after the death of a loved one. In those seven long years without my Goku it did cross my mind in those long and lonesome nights … but, I couldn't bring myself to do it. It just wouldn't have been right with Goten and Gohan … and I knew he was going to return to me someday. You though, you're a selfish one, but maybe think of Trunks." Not sure what to do with what she has just confessed to him another awkward silence begins and lasts until voices can be heard nearing the house. Goku does not manage to set a foot into his own house as Vegeta immediately heads for him and grabs the front of his gi. Paying no attention to the young couple who have entered with Goku, he snarls at him and lifts him off the ground.

" Kakarot, were you the one who used the dragonballs? Answer me!" He continues to lift him higher but Goku's height advantage makes it difficult to lift him any further. Not feeling threatened and used to this sort of behaviour, Goku just scratches his head trying to think back as to whether he did or not. Goku carries on thinking for a while as Vegeta's patience breaks. A pulsing vein stands out prominently on the Saiyan prince's forehead.

" It's not a difficult question you damn fool. The dragon radar is not picking up any dragonballs, therefore they must be inert as someone used them and that someone is you!"

" But I haven't used the dragonballs I swear Vegeta, at least I don't think so." Vegeta seems reluctant to accept this answer but yields and drops Goku back to the ground.

" No. Dad didn't use them, I did." The prodigal son of Goku steps forward facing Vegeta who's eyes focus and narrow on him maliciously. " I gathered them and used them around three months ago, I only used one wish and that was for world peace; it's about time they were used for such a noble purpose."

" A Saiyan wishing for peace? I hope my son doesn't get that sort of cowardice from a human mother." With that last disparaging remark he barges through them and jets off back to his home to face the music.

Back with his house in sight and his feet with firm ground beneath them, he holds his head in hands before approaching and entering his house. No dragonballs means his visitors are not a problem he can get rid of easily. Trying to appear confident and in control of the situation he walks in to find all the female occupants of his house squeezed onto one of the sofas and sobbing at a wishy-washy romance flick they found on the upgraded TV-hologram. Not in the least bit interested by any of the broadcasts from earthlings, he looks again at the women who have taken over his house. Ignoring the film, Ryoko and Ayeka look up at him and dry their eyes whilst blushing from the memories of their last, extremely personal encounter. If only all of the women in his house acted like them, for at a speed at which any normal being would have been taken unaware Washu stands and goes to envelop Vegeta in her slender arms. Unfortunately for her his reaction time puts insects to shame and she is left holding nothing but air whilst he looks on unimpressed from the other side of the room. She shrugs, it was worth an attempt but his rejection means little to her.

" Whilst you lazed about I went off to Kakarot's shabby hut to solve our little situation, unfortunately I don't return with good news…" The women seem interested by what he has to say and so switch off the television set to listen to him recount what he found out whilst visiting his rival and the implications of it. " … The dragonballs will remain inactive for up to a whole month, so Ayeka and Sasami you will be stuck here for a while longer..." He then looks towards the other two women. " … and only one wish will be available for use." Washu and Ryoko look down disheartened by this turn of events and the space pirate groans.

Dread passes through Ayeka. A month is too long.

" Oh well, guess it can't be helped. We'll just have to keep you company for a little while longer … and for the kind hospitality I even made a few more changes in your little training room. …" Washu's announcement gets Vegeta's attention as he looks quizzically at her wondering what she has been up to in his absence. " … If you must know all I did was simply install a holographic simulator that allows you to re-fight any battles that were recorded on those primitive discs of yours." This news is the best he has heard in a long while, his face lights up as he prepares for what he deems to be a very important occasion. As he goes upstairs to put on his Saiyan armour, Washu sits back down next to the women and quietly says to them. " I also built in observation cameras that feed directly to this television so we can watch him whilst he trains." Both Ryoko and Ayeka rush for the remote to turn back on the television. Having slipped on a clean new pair of white gloves and boots, he lowers the expandable chest piece over his head and readies himself for battle. A few stretches to warm up his muscles and the Saiyan is ready to go to war.

Entering the metal chamber he notices a small amount of minor changes: a few new buttons here and there on the main console and a weird metallic box embedded with many glinting lights and diodes hanging from the ceiling, but apart from that it is the same training chamber. Looking at the buttons he is glad to see that Washu has labelled them clearly and in the language of earthlings which he is now accustomed to. Gleefully pushing a combination of buttons, he makes one of his most sought after dreams come true. For a decade this was denied to him but now the prince can have another shot at victory. The walls of the training chamber fade and are replaced by the rolling hills of blue grass and seas of green water, by a sky lit with multiple suns and no life in sight except for a few spindly Ajisa trees dotting the landscape. Before him a figure is simulated into existence, a small figure of the same height as Vegeta, the same figure he has wanted to pulverise into the dirt all of his life.

The white and purple alien standing before him is Lord Frieza in his final form with his tail swishing restlessly from side to side. The being responsible for his race's destruction, his father's death, his first death and why Goku was able to ascend to levels of power that were but a legend for him stands in that same arrogant and confident manner when Vegeta first fought against him. He has to give it to Washu, she has perfectly recreated this foe as he listens to the mighty conqueror of the universe rant on about his awesome power and how he, a small, pathetic monkey, will not take any effort to defeat. Having listened to monologues like that from Frieza in the past he smirks at the memory and how Frieza still thinks he was as weak as he was on Namek.

Vegeta steadily gets into a defensive fighting position and with two fingers goads Frieza into trying his luck against him. Frieza smirks at what he thinks is overconfidence on the Saiyan's part and gladly accepts the challenge. The one who once ruled most of the known sectors of the Milky Way charges straight and true into Vegeta. Vegeta does not move, he makes not a single effort to dodge or block and before he knows it Frieza is laying into him left, right and centre. Blow after blow lands on Vegeta; the Saiyan armour cracking and fracturing under the humongous levels of force until Frieza decides to finish it with a vicious swipe to the Saiyan's face. The punch lands but, unfortunately for the virtual Frieza, all it does is simply move Vegeta's head slightly to the side.

" No, no it can't be. The legends can't be true. Impossible, you can't have become one." Frieza slowly backs away from the Saiyan prince trembling as he sees that he is more or less uninjured. A flash of light and the piercing blue eyes of a super Saiyan are staring directly at Frieza with only one thing in mind.

Savouring the moment he appears behind Frieza with one of his arms outstretched to the side and turns back to look at the still form of Frieza. Purple blood jets high into the air as the ruler of the universe's head rolls clean off his shoulders and comes to a rest at a pair of white boots. The detached head stares at him lifelessly as Vegeta brings his foot down slowly in sadistic glee, crushing his skull and loving the sound it makes. Frieza is now nothing more than a decapitated corpse and a smear of purple staining the grass.

" He … he killed Frieza in a single blow?" Ryoko stares at the screen gob smacked She might have seen that he was strong but never did she think he was so strong as to voluntarily take a beating from what she thought to be the most powerful being in the galaxy and still be standing afterwards. What happens next shocks her even more. Ayeka has Sasami leave to the kitchen.

Smiling and laughing manically with his old bloodlust returning to him and sending him spiralling down into the mind-set of a berserker, he punches in several commands into the control panel and awaits his entertainment. This time his fight isn't a one on one, he chose instead to input ten of the tyrannical ruler to duel with him. War erupts. Fending off all of the heartless monsters at once the battle rages for over an hour but only because he allows it to. Not wanting to spoil his fun as he toys with them pitilessly, watching their anger turn to irritation and frustration before his recreated foes realise this battle was decided before it had even begun. Confidently controlling the battle the whole time, he ascends to his highest levels of power in the transformation to Super Saiyan 3 for no other reason but to see the fear in his opponent's eyes, those red pupils once filled with sociopathic remorselessness now holding only the look of overpowering terror. One after another is brutally executed in painfully torturous ways as he exacts his lost revenge on them all. Limbs are severed, spines are broken, bodies flayed, torsos pulverised, bones shattered and Vegeta remains untouched. Every one of them failed to land a single hit on him.

The women watch in stunned awe as they try and fail to follow his speed and agility on the projected hologram. Washu begins to mutter to herself as she attempts to calculate the impossibilities of the feats she is witnessing and mumbling incomprehensible science jargon and formulas. Ayeka does not know whether to turn away in disgust at the gratuitous amounts of bloodshed and appalling violence or to watch the nightmare figure she was told of during her childhood, the one who threatened the Juraian empire daily, be slaughtered without mercy. Ryoko continues to stare at the screen in amazement, even when the victorious warrior emerges from the chamber in broken armour and his jumpsuit only charred from the power of his own blasts. He continues past the women still in his Super Saiyan three state which all but Ryoko have never seen before at such proximity. Ignoring the unwanted attention he is getting, he heads upstairs and shortly afterwards is coming back down dragging his son behind him.

He stops outside the door to the training room and simply points towards it. Trunks, knowing better than to argue with his father, goes in there and unsheathes his sword. Vegeta goes back to where the women are and leans on the back of the sofa and powers down back to his base form. Ayeka looks at him, unsure of what to make of such a monstrously powerful person so close to her, someone who by any rights is hardly any better than the alien she witnessed him slaughter. But that is not true, years ago maybe he was ruthless and vicious but at this moment in time all she sees is his fatherly pride shine through as he watches his son stand his ground and take on the same despot he fought with. His son has to go Super Saiyan to fight the son of King Cold, but in the end Frieza is overpowered and tastes the cold steel of Trunks' honed blade., his overconfidence in dealing with a child his downfall. Weary from the exertion of fighting a foe so strong, Trunks nearly bumps into his father looking down on him, some minor wounds and lacerations marring the child. The descendant of Saiyan heritage looks up with a weak smile at his father who returns the smile and puts his gloved hand on his son's head.

" I'm proud of you son. Remember that, always. You fought well, now off with you." Vegeta ruffles the purple hair of his son as the youth runs back upstairs. Watching his son as he disappears around a corner he turns to face the three women. No longer with a smile of pride or battle euphoria, his stone cold expression takes control of his face once again as he begins his speech.

" All of you will still be welcome in my home during this delay waiting for the dragonballs to become active again. However, none of you are allowed to show or express in any way your … your interest in me. That is unless you prove yourselves to be worthy to me." They all see how deadly serious he is but Ryoko and Ayeka can not help a little blush at how bluntly he has acknowledged their feelings for him, how the princess wishes that he did not have telepathic powers.

" Prince Vegeta, … h-how might one go about proving themselves if they …, um…" Too embarrassed to continue, she blushes and just cannot say it aloud in front of so many peers.

" All it would take for any of you to prove your worth would be to cause me to bleed." Vegeta sternly replies, turning from them to leave the room. All the women seem apprehensive by the gargantuan task set before them and Ayeka more so than the others, for she does not want to try and physically harm him in any way. If even Frieza himself could leave little to no damage on him what hope in hell do any of them stand.

" Yaaargh!" Ryoko shouts and in a flash is across the room with her energy sword stabbed down into Vegeta's armour. A faint sizzling sound is heard in the deathly silence as Vegeta slowly turns his head around to look at Ryoko. He smirks at her as she dissipates the sword to see her efforts were in vain for she did not even singe one of his hairs. Content with how he has sorted out the situation, he leaves the room as Ayeka glowers at Ryoko for making the first move.

The women then go their separate ways with Washu slinking off back into her realm to re-analyse all the data she has collected on the Saiyan prince to pinpoint any of his weaknesses. Her research is faultless, her methodology superb, but she is probably the only one in the household who can truly comprehend the sheer force and power known as Vegeta. Not truly disheartened by the news for she has no true romantic feelings towards the head of the house, she turns her attention to other projects she has been studiously working on. Her research into upgrading her 'Dimension Cannon' would probably yield enough power to hurt Vegeta, saying it was designed as a weapon of mass destruction capable of eradicating small galaxies, but she doubts he is going to stand still long enough for it to be set up, charge and fire.

Ryoko sees whether trying to do some training like Vegeta to raise her strength to his level would do her any good but falters at the door remembering what happened last time she tried that and so goes for a nap instead to think. Attempting a more subtle approach, Ayeka roams about the house and finds her younger sister still playing video games with Trunks. Saying she is playing against someone who has a lot of experience at the game and can control his body at supersonic speeds she is doing exceptionally well against him. Casually Ayeka asks Trunks about his father and whether he might have any metaphorical chinks in his armour.

" Weaknesses? Nah, my dad's the strongest guy in the universe." With that Ayeka sees it is hopeless and leaves the two children to their games. Both Ayeka and Ryoko have not a single grain of hope at causing the Saiyan prince injury and that is exactly why Vegeta set that as their challenge.

Hours pass and the sun is now low in the sky, dinner has been had and everyone is resting and letting their meals go down, save one. The man who never indulges in relaxation is sat on his own in the corner of the room meditating, trying to ignore all external stimuli. Having opened one of the many bottles she bought earlier Ryoko is on her way to intoxication rapidly. Not following her example Ayeka and Washu refrain from drinking too much and only have a glass each, even this is pushing it for the princess of Jurai though having never dabbled with firewater before. Peer pressure and competition against Ryoko forcing her hand to accept.

Ryoko did try and offer Vegeta a drink but she should have known that he would never touch anything that could bring harm to the body he has worked so hard to perfect and improve. Ayeka notices that Vegeta is still trying to distance himself from her and throws occasional glances at him not sure what to do. The mood in the room would be a cold and sour one if not for Ryoko's drunken debauchery that is obviously severely irritating Ayeka. Stumbling across the room and almost tripping over Ayeka's feet, Ryoko snatches the remote and turns on the TV with no thought or care about what the other people in the room want to watch.

" Ryoko turn that off right now. I do not want to be watching such vile things, if I did I'd simply look at your face." The first thing that caught Ryoko's eye was an old horror movie that does not sit well with the princess' delicate sensibilities. The reply she gets is Ryoko's tongue stuck out at her followed by many more rude faces and gestures. Ayeka snaps and a full blown row between her and the now instantly sober Ryoko is in full flight. Slinking away in the background, Vegeta heads into his sanctuary and sighs to himself then does a few warm up stretches to prepare himself for the course he has decided to take. Over the past hour he has been readying his mind and body for this ultimate challenge.

The loud clunk of the training room bulkhead sized door interrupts the women's argument and Ryoko pushes a button and Vegeta appears on the holographic display in front of them. Seeing that arguing will get her nowhere and that she is now watching something she wants to, Ayeka calms down and sits back on the comfortable sofa. Trunks and Sasami come inside as they were playing outside but the dim lighting has forced them to end their game. The display shows Vegeta press several buttons and stand back from the controls as a rolling grassy landscape appears. The greens of the grass and blues of the sky seem more vibrant and alive than those of Earth but there is one blip of colour on the horizon, a small dot of pink.

" Huh, what's that … it looks like, no. Oh no. What is dad doing!" Trunks seems scared for his father as the pink blob starts to oscillate and slowly take on the form of a small pink humanoid with a long head tentacle wearing some baggy white trousers. It takes a while for the women to place this villain from the recordings they watched a few days ago, but when they recognise Kid Buu they start to share Trunks' apprehension and fear.

Vegeta slowly strides towards Buu who has taken up beating his chest and hollering for a reason still unknown to Vegeta. Soon there is barely a few metres between Vegeta and the short menace of the universe, and then they are off. Minutes pass before any sign of the warriors emerge and then all it is are many of the hills and cliffs randomly vaporising or getting blown apart. Then both fighters appear exchanging blows and blasts right next to each other. Vegeta was hoping his newfound strength in Super Saiyan 3 would give him an advantage, but he is forced to use the form just to keep up with the speed of Buu.

The shockwaves and explosions from their intense duel is cracking the planets crust around them, the land deforming beneath their feet. Only rarely does either pugilist land a blow on the other and each impact is devastating. Vegeta never seems to have the upper hand as fatigue sets in from maintaining the transformation and the way that every single injury he lands on Buu is instantly healed by his regenerative powers. Pumping up his strength and increasing his power to the highest he has ever got it, he charges Buu in a last ditch attempt to try and vanquish him as he can't rely on a spirit ball from Goku this time. A sprint finish is all he can hope for as the hourglass for Super Saiyan 3 drains rapidly.

The lightning fast combo of strikes raining down on Buu is too much for him and his guard soon breaks, taking blows to every part of his body and disrupting his amorphous form. The flurry of violence has taken a lot out of Vegeta who is sweating profusely and consequently is nanoseconds too slow to get his guard back up after the last blow. Buu repays every single blow to Vegeta tenfold as the Saiyan is slammed around and into the planet, decimating the landscape further. Trying to climb back out of a crater his own body made when he was sent to the ground a sharp cracking sound bursts from his outstretched arm. He shrieks in agony at his now shattered arm and the continual assault from Kid Buu which he is now helpless to defend himself against. Executing a final move, Buu charges and unleashes a point blank range, salmon coloured Kamehameha wave inches away from the battered prince.

The audience watching him look on with horror and disbelief as Vegeta is enveloped in a blinding light … slowly the smoke and debris from the blast clears. Only just able to get his guard up, Vegeta smoulders as he grimaces at the pain that racks his entire body in great throes. Protecting his own life with his broken and ruined arm he is left with only fragments of pulverised bone left in the mangled flesh that was his arm, the rest of his radius and ulna are jutting out of his arm or embedded in the small amount of armour that has survived intact and his chest in jagged splinters.

A grim look of pain and determination crosses his face and the anger from the throbbing pain his tortured body is hardly coping with gives him the required boost of energy he needs. Buu is just staring beady eyed with his mouth open, unable to comprehend how his attack didn't kill him. The hesitation of Buu is interrupted by an uppercut to the chin, rocketing the pink destroyer high into the atmosphere of the Supreme Kai's planet. Recovering in orbit of the planet, Buu unleashes wave after wave of pink coloured ki blasts at the crumbling planet. An iron grip encircles Buu as Vegeta instant transmissions behind him, grapples the mighty foe and dives towards the jagged rocks of the planet below.

Buu's ability of transformation is no help when it tries to escape from the warrior's grip, the first hint of escape and Vegeta summons multiple manacles of pure energy wrapping around his adversary. Letting go and coming to a dead stop only a few feet from the desecrated planet, Vegeta starts gathering energy as Buu hurtles through kilometres of rock into the molten core of the planet. Hoping the intense heat and pressure of the inner core will slow down Buu and buy him a few precious seconds, Vegeta cups his hands, or what remains of them, together and executes a Gallick gun.

The planet and the destructive force known as Buu are instantly obliterated from existence in a shining amethyst conflagration. The last remaining vestige of energy that Vegeta had is gone as he floats in the vacuous abyss of where the planet's implosion flung him, now in base form and bleeding from more wounds then he has intact bones. Coughing up even more vital fluids he manages a faint whisper to deactivate the training room - for Washu has installed voice commands. Like a lead balloon he falls and collapses onto the cold tiles.

Ayeka and Ryoko watch in deathly silence as he struggles to rise then slumps, unable to move the wreck of a body he has. At the sight of him not moving they rush to the thick metal door to get to him, as Ayeka struggles with the weight of it Ryoko phases through. Not being able to get up at all, Vegeta just manages to lift his head to see Ryoko flying towards him and Ayeka in the doorway with the door swung wide open.

" Console, 750G!" He shouts through gritted teeth, knowing full well what will come. Lights on the console start to flash and Ryoko gets herself out of the room quickly, hovering next to the princess, both with no way to get to him.

" Leave … . Just leave me …b-be!" Vegeta screams at them as his fractured body is slowly being crushed, intensifying all of his wounds to limits previously undreamed of in the realms of agony. Trying as hard as he can, he stops himself from yelling out at the world of pain his body is forced to endure. No more can he keep his head up to look at them. His head thuds to the floor slick with the crimson fluid that is pouring out of him with a resounding, meaty thud.

Helplessly looking around for a way to reach Vegeta, the women start to fret and worry for his very life just when a blonde saviour goes to his father's rescue. Being the only one in the house able to survive in the conditions Vegeta has left his prone body in, he quickly flies in and back out again carrying his father. Carefully laying his father down on the vacated sofa, Trunks stays by his father's side as Ryoko and Ayeka hasten to see if he's OK – or more realistically going to survive. Drifting off into unconsciousness Vegeta smiles weakly seeing the two women leaning over him and his son by his side. A sadistic smile births itself on the red lips of the woman stood in the shadows of the room.

" Well looks like someone will need a little bit of medical attention. Don't worry, my lab is fully outfitted with all necessary equipment for me to nurse him back to health. Just leave him to me -" Chuckling to herself Washu looks down at the ravaged, barely alive body.

" Leave dad alone, he doesn't need your help." Trunks steps forward in-between her and his father, he is still in his Super Saiyan state with his golden aura illuminating the room.

" Don't be unreasonable, just look at him. Only I have the knowledge and facilities to heal him. It's not like you can take him to a hospital, or have you got a plan for when they find out he's from another planet." Washu grins at how the situation is turning in her favour when Trunks decides enough is enough and carries the soon to be corpse of his dad elsewhere. This is not the first time he has had to deal with his father in a critical situation, the occasions growing over the past year. The women tail him, anxious for the health of Vegeta, and stay by his side as Trunks lays his father down on his bed. The son looks back at Ayeka and Ryoko before opening a window and diving out of it, flying off into the sunset's amber gleam. Washu, who was slowly following behind like a wolf stalking its prey, eventually gets to the room to see the two women barring her entrance.

" It is our duty as guests in this house to respect the wishes of Trunks so I will not let you in."

" Yeah, what she said. Beat it Washu, go on scram." With that they slam the door in Washu's face and go to Vegeta's bedside inspecting the extreme major damage he has sustained. After a few minutes Sasami hurries into the room, past Washu sat down outside of it, and hands over a small first aid box she managed to find in the kitchen. Still disturbed by the bloodshed she saw earlier she has to leave the room whilst Ayeka and Ryoko carefully and tenderly nurse his bloody lacerations, gaping wounds and gore pumping slashes. The provisions that Sasami gave them were basic and all they could do was bandage the worst of his wounds and try to stop the worst of the haemorrhaging. The Juraian princess though does not have the stomach to watch as the silvery haired rogue yanks out the pieces of forearm lodged in Vegeta's chest. The cooperation between the two rivals lasts a long time, that is until Ryoko has the smart idea of taking advantage of the comatose Vegeta.

" Well Ayeka, it wouldn't be proper if we didn't check all of his body for injuries would it now. So you just leave the room and I'll check under here…" Ryoko puts her hand on the Saiyan armour preparing to remove it. Ayeka slaps her hand away threateningly.

" How dare you! He has been mortally wounded and you still have such abhorrent base thoughts on that filthy mind of yours. Have you no compassion?" The women are about to lock horns when a great whooshing sound draws their attention. Landing back at his father's bedside, Trunks - back in base form - pays no attention to the squabbling women and feeds his dad a Senzu bean. Reflexively the bean is swallowed.

The eyes of the warrior snap open as the bean works its magic repairing his body and providing him sustenance. Leaping out of bed he shrugs off the tightly woven bandages the women applied. Not sure what just happened, the women look startled at Vegeta and how he is perfectly fine. As Trunks walks out of the door Washu seizes the opportunity and enters, to find to her disappointment her services are no longer required.

Turning around slowly and surveying his room and the women in it Vegeta smiles as he walks back to his bed. The women still look on unsure as he removes the sheets from his bed that were soiled with his blood and rips off what is left of his Saiyan armour. Without replacing any of the bedding he lays himself back down on the hard bed with several new scars on his chest and arms and small patches of carbonised clothing being the only thing protecting his modesty. Ryoko approaches him and investigate whether he is as miraculously healthy as he appears, Ayeka distances herself. Staring up at the three women crowded around him he quietly asks them to leave him in peace. Ryoko and Ayeka put up no argument and leave, understanding he will want to rest after his near death ordeal.

" You ended up in a bit of a sorry state back there … and it was my invention that caused all your bloodshed so…" Washu slyly sidles closer to Vegeta and leans over his bed.

" You just try it woman and I'll show you bloodshed." Vegeta stares at the ceiling not looking at her. With that threat in mind, Washu silently walks out of the room dejected and closes the door behind her leaving Vegeta alone.