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.

49. Vegeta Muyo! Chapter 49

Chapter 49

They both stand under the swelteringly hot late Summer Sun, staring at each other with cold eyes. Not a single breeze stirs across the land as the air shimmers above the lake's surface. It has been a while since both Ayeka and Sasami went back inside to seek some shade and so Ryoko grins as she stands alone with the Saiyan who wronged her. She tilts her head to the side and then across to the other as her imagination runs wild at what she can do to him. She does want to use her sword on him to cut and scar him like he did to her, but if this is the compromise it takes so that she is allowed to cause him pain then she can make do. A single bird caws in the air as it lazily drifts on overhead. Ryoko takes this as her cue and saunters up to the impatient warrior. He watches her movements and sees where her slit pupils are fixed. Her hand grabs onto the front of his outfit and tears the whole top half off. This was the first thing he did to her and so she will repay it likewise. However, she does not see it as fair as he has no breasts to expose and she has no want to strip him further. A fist slams into his rock hard abdominals. He makes not a sound and does not move.

" Now, Vegey, seems like you aren't playing the game properly. I am here to give you a real bad day, just like you deserve, so would ya be so kind as to, hmm, half your power again? I told you, you are gonna be hurting bad so I need you weaker. Oh, and give me a glove as well." Crimson flames begin to lick over Ryoko as she strengthens herself to her maximum as she senses Vegeta's compliance. Even with him at the same strength as her he still has a large physical advantage over her with his musculature and how hardened he is to abuse. This will be no battle though.

He takes off his right hand glove and hands it over to her. She slides it onto her own right hand. It is heavy. For a moment she forgot about his weighted training gear but she can handle holding this glove. Vegeta's clothing might be heavy but they still have to be light enough so that he can enter buildings and not cause massive damage by simply walking about. Ryoko flexes her fingers about in this white glove, holding it up to her face and observing the movement of the absurdly heavy fabric. She lowers her gloved hand and pokes Vegeta at the base of his sternum and her hand goes ethereally through his lower chest. Waggling her fingers around, she smirks up at Vegeta who is just now understanding her intentions. Her hand retracts from his insides, becomes physical again and she rests the palm of the fabric against the same place she poked.

" Since you said I can't kill you I bet you weren't anticipating this. But, I love surprises don't I so this all works out so well. Now I don't even have to waste any of me on you. This glove feels sort of thick, and I'm wondering if it is thicker than your skin or not, time to find out."

Golden eyes flash and light up as she phases only the glove's fabric into Vegeta's upper abdomen. She looks at the deadpan Vegeta, waiting for a reaction of fear, of hate, of anything from him. Being half her own power right now he is in a dangerous position and she loves it. Anything she could do to him he could not raise his power to counteract in time. Helpless, just like she was. Ryoko materialises the glove and her hand. Her teeth show as her smirk widens when she sees a wince on the proud Saiyan's face. It was enough to remove most of the skin in that area, the contours of his body causing a few patches of skin in between the sore red. Quickly she turns the much lighter glove over and repeats for this part of the fabric. Ryoko laughs. Two objects cannot exist in the same spot and the scraps of the glove fall to the floor as faint droplets of blood begin to ooze out of the skinned hand print.

A knee rams up into his exposed flesh and as he doubles over a sharp elbow slams into the back of his head and floors him. A short chuckle comes from Ryoko as she looks down on her Saiyan as he pushes himself back up to his feet and stands before her again. Ritual humiliations and public punishments are nothing new to him. It is not a welcome source of nostalgia for him though as Ryoko worms her fingers about on his chest and then slices open his pectoral muscle with her nails. His teeth grit inside his head. The same focus he used to spare her life is performing an awfully similar role now. He despises it. Not for the pain, nor the injuries, but for the fact that someone is lording over him and looking down on him and overpowering him. For now he bides his tongue and quells his pride from acting. She hits him square in the nose and sends him sprawling through the air for several metres until he recovers and lands.

Teleporting behind him, Ryoko punches him in the kidneys before harshly kicking the back of the leg she knows to be injured. His body bends with the impacts thundering through him. There is movement within his leg as the fracture grows and splits. Ryoko swirls around before the staggering Saiyan and delivers a high kick to his chin. Her fist rockets into his already bleeding chest. She laughs again as it takes him a while to recover. Vegeta spits blood out onto the floor as he pants on his hands and knees. A bare foot rests on his shoulder blade with toes kneading and prodding sharply at his flesh, he cannot rise. The foot lifts and then falls onto his right hand. His left leg is no longer the only part of him containing a broken bone. Dark eyes glower up at Ryoko as he stands. His one working fist clenches tight and its knuckles whiten.

Ryoko sniggers to herself at how much she has damaged him already. She cannot decide whether she wants him to continue standing there and taking every thing she gives him or whether she wants to see him flail and struggle in an attempt to stop her. Ryoko knows the latter will come about given time, and he will be all the more weaker making it that much more amusing. The great sadistic pleasure she is deriving from hurting Vegeta is flooding her mind as a red haze of hatred clouds her vision. She cannot stop herself from smiling. She is hurting Vegeta, finally getting him back for all the times he has hurt her. All that mind bending rage exerting itself with each and every blow she delivers. He nearly raped and killed her and this is what he deserves. Not a single neuron within her mind considers any of the facts about him having warned her time and time again or any of what he tried to tell her yesterday. She just cannot afford to hear it or even think it for what dwindling grip she has on her mental state. Vegeta has to pay. Ryoko has to make him regret the day he was born for doing this to her and making her feel so wretched and tortured. Following a punch to the gut she spies something that makes her freeze as Vegeta coughs. She grabs him by the jaw to double check what she saw was no trick of the harsh sunlight.

"Oh … I see now. So – So! You've been tonguing Ayeka again. … Fuck you." A fresh injury to his tongue. Ryoko remembers Ayeka telling her about her method of ending Vegeta's kiss and this is a wound not fresh enough to be caused by her beating on him. Her sense of reasoning is failing her and the only conclusion that she can draw from this, that she deems logical, is that Vegeta had to have been kissing Ayeka again for the same injury to come about. Her fingers grip tight on his cheeks as she squeezes his face. This angers her. She raises her other hand and hovers her palm before Vegeta's forehead. It hangs in the air. Ryoko hesitates. She brings her open palm down and smacks Vegeta's head out of her grasp.

"I bit my tongue myself, Ryoko." He speaks brusquely as he lays on the floor. This is not a misunderstanding he feels he should have to deal with. Sitting up, he starts adjusting the bones in his broken hand so they sit better within his knuckles. A woman teleports in front of him. She does not believe him.

"What, you think it's the secret to your next shitty transformation? I'm not stupid!" This man broke his promise to her, he betrayed her, put on a pretence that only served to lead her to harm. Ryoko cannot believe Vegeta. She goes to kick the sat down man but all she hits is air. Her face warps into a snarl. She never said he was allowed to dodge or use instant transmission. Ryoko pivots on the spot and lets off a blast towards where she senses Vegeta. It hits.

" Ayeka, was making me bow to her and her demands." As the smoke clears, Vegeta continues to explain why his tongue is the way it is. A jagged and fresh burn runs up the side of his right arm. Both criminals from space have deep set and furrowed brows. The hourglass of his patience has a few trickling grains of sand left within it. Pain he can deal with. Being battered into a state in which he can no longer train is aggravating. Having some possessed and wroth fuelled femme fatale humiliate and belittle him as she does all this is the icing on the cake. Vegeta knows that he has to do something for Ryoko and this is the sole thing she wants from him. However, he is not some street urchin to be kicked about and it is frustrating him how sloppy Ryoko is being in all of this: all that rage is clouding her mind and her movements, there is great inefficiency to her easy to read and predict attacks.

" How nice."

Sarcasm and fury roll off Ryoko's tongue as she walks up towards her victim. So now whilst she is punishing him and making it crystal clear to him what he did to her he goes and starts spouting nonsense to her. Nonsense about Ayeka, about him treating her nicely and properly. He bows to Ayeka and her demands. The red glow about her body intensifies. Each breath she exhales seethes out of her body. None of those words where ones she wanted to hear, not one bit.

Ryoko breaks into a run. Her cyan mane whips behind her as she sprints headlong at the Saiyan standing there. His power remains below hers. Vegeta raises his forearms to block. Ryoko is no longer there. Two feet plant firmly into the back of his skull as she drop kicks him after teleporting. His vision dims into blackness as his brain rattles around inside his skull and his neck struggles to remain intact. He feels pressure and warmth on either side of his neck. She teleported again. With her thighs wrapped around his neck and squeezing like a boa constrictor, she rotates in the air and slams him down into the ground. The dirt beneath his body gives way and the crater he is in deepens as she pounds away at the horribly flayed part of his abdomen.

"They … They were for you … as well. Not just her." Even before his sight returns to him he splutters out these words in between her fists. The attacks stop, momentarily. The world comes back as a blurred mess to him. Blindness does not worry him with his ability to sense ki, the trauma to his vertebrae does. He killed Nappa because he was paralysed. A twisted laugh erupts over him. She screeches in the air at him even daring to say that he has done something in her favour, something kind towards her, something that does not bring her pain. A foot rests on his left pectoral muscle, rubbing dirt into the lacerations, and with a swift yank she dislocates that shoulder. The grunt of discomfort pleases her to no end.

"Whoop-de-fucking-do. What was it, eh? Do I get a special discount from your bitch-ass wife's company?" Ryoko leers over the downed man in the dirt, raising a fist above her head to drive her hurt into him. She will not let this mouth that has mocked and broken her speak any more lies to her.

Equally, Vegeta will not abide slander towards the woman he loves. A pained squawk comes from Ryoko as her wrist is seized, twisted and pinned behind her back. For a moment she sees blue eyes before her and then all is light as Vegeta head-butts her. Two constraints he gave her; no sword and to leave his innocent wife out of this. Blood drips down Ryoko's forehead, dyes her eyebrows and flows into her glaring, golden eyes. Vegeta twists her wrist further and watches as her teeth grit and her back arches. Lightning strikes around the electrified crater and Ryoko does not care. A blazing warrior of legend with flaming hair holds her pinned and she feels no fear. Only hate.

" Leave Bulma out of this or I will-"

" Will what? I'm not scared of you, Blondie." She head-butts the Super Saiyan back. He will not threaten her. She has been down this path and she will not be led down it again. With every ounce of strength she has she writhes and bucks and struggles to get free, all the while keeping her eyes locked on his. He lets go of her and appears out of the crater. Ryoko will not have him looking down on her. As he drops back from his transformed state she launches another attack which proves fruitless. The hot Sun beats down on her. She has been exerting herself a lot at a high power and her breaths explode out of her in growls and pants and insults.

Baring her teeth at him, Ryoko flares her power and aura. This is her time to have her revenge, not a time when Vegeta should be stopping her and making her feel powerless all over again. Vegeta is unimpressed. His black hair ruffles as a slight cooling breeze blows over. He lowers his power equal to Ryoko's for now, so long as she does not mention Bulma again. Ryoko might want him to half his power again but he will not comply. There are a few good reasons, the main being he does not want his spine broken and will use his power to limit what Ryoko can do to him. To emphasise her point of not fearing him, Ryoko fires a blast at his torso. The area on his stomach without skin has grown.

" Yes, you have proven how foolish you are already."

Vegeta crosses his arms and insults Ryoko for the folly of not taking him seriously. Of all people who should be fearful of him she is number 1, that lack of fear is what caused all of this to occur and she is not learning. The fine line of tolerance he had for this punishment has been overstepped, he will not be some punching bag for much longer. Ryoko needs his help, but that is one thing he cannot give her right now and she will not accept it. Another blast detonates, this time on his arm as he goes to swipe it away. One arm is dislocated out of its socket and the other has a broken hand and severe burns, Vegeta only has one properly working limb attached to his body. Some of his Saiyan blood is getting excited by this challenge of seeing how much he physically can take, he does not let that go to his head though. He focuses on thinking about what he has to do for the two women, and what he has to do right now to prevent Ryoko from accidentally killing him. Losing his cool to any large degree will be disastrous and potentially dangerous for Ryoko.

" You! Fuck. You! You don't … I'm gonna break your leg now." Roaring at him as her attempted rapist mocks her in an aloof manner, she stomps her feet into the cracking ground and blazes with crimson power. Ryoko is here because he hurt her and now he is hurting her again. He does not get to stand there and mock her. She told him that she gets to be be the one to cause the pain today. Hate, pure hate runs thicker than blood through her, all this stoked anger flowing rampant through her has to be released. Her target is becoming unwilling and rebellious. She will act fast to get what she wants.

" Go on and try. So as I was saying, Ayeka made demands of me that I have agreed to and they are in your interest."

Pre-emptive instant transmissions keep Vegeta one step ahead of Ryoko's vicious assaults and blasts. With not much effort he keeps his distance from the vengeful woman. In his current injured state it will not be possible for him to defend himself without shaming himself by becoming stronger than Ryoko. His pride will not allow him to face her only because he has massive reservoirs of ki to back himself up with. A screaming banshee of a woman hounds his every move like a shadow with only his blood on her mind. His words only serving to infuriate her. She did not come here to hear about Ayeka or what Vegeta and her have gotten up to in her absence. He will suffer and she will make him shut his mouth.

" So what are you giving to Miss Womb and me? Money? A home? A future? … Fuckin' l-love and affection, or are ya just gonna throw some damn pregnancy tests in my face and laugh again?!" Ryoko yells her lungs out as she finally catches up to Vegeta and grapples with him. His ability to defend himself against her is extremely limited given his dislocated arm, near broken leg and shattered hand among other things, but he has chosen to stand his ground in this weakened state against her. The great pain within her has started again. Her own words hurting her. This is not how she wanted things to go, and she still has not accomplished her goal. A failing Vegeta valiantly does his best against the relentless and savage hail of frenzied attacks ceaselessly pummelling him. Only a few does he manage to dodge or block to any modicum of success and those are due to failures on Ryoko's end.

She is becoming more and more confused and disoriented. Ryoko is struggling with herself now. She thought that if she simply turned everything into blind rage, just hated and nothing else, then it would be simple and clean and there would be nothing she needed more than the pain of Vegeta. It is not working for her. No matter how much she hits him and abuses his body her pain is not fading. It is not staying hidden, the more he talks to her the more it infects her and debilitates her mind. He betrayed and hurt her that means she has to hurt him back, however many times she says this though it does not change the result. Ayeka's name is piercing her elfin ears, the same way it did back on that rock in space. She cannot stand this. Her wrists get caught and seized, bringing her out from this inner turmoil as the man doing all of this to her breathes in a laboured and wheezing manner into her face.

"I agreed I cannot cause any more pain to you unless I am willing to lose a lot of time training." His lungs struggle to draw in the breath necessary to say this crucial fact to the uncooperative Ryoko as she breaks free from his hold. Telekinesis served him well in utilising his dislocated arm but this rabid woman is not fond of him holding her. Ryoko makes good on her words of wanting to break his leg as that it where she directs many kicks until he gets overwhelmed by the rest of her attacks.

"You mean pain to Ayeka, you don't give a damn 'bout me. So nice you two get along so well."

" That is completely false, but, Ryoko, why does that bother you so much?"

Ryoko hovers still in the air. An agonised look to her face as she hisses at him. He is calling her out on something she wants to deny for all that she is worth. Both know what they are talking about and Ryoko will be damned if he ever gets her to speak the answer to him. Her eyes stray and wander from him, giving him a moment to recuperate. His words have stirred a lot of things up within her. The raging river flowing through her now tainted with this dredged up silt. It hurts. It really pains her to know that it exists and it is so transparent that even now he can call her out on it.

She loves him. Deep down, secreted far away in some remote corner of her heart that well fed seed refuses to die and festers. The way he talks about Ayeka and his kindness to her is wounding her because she is so unremittingly jealous of it. She goes through hell and almost dies at his hand and Ayeka gets him bowing of all things to her. Red runs through her fingers. The blood of Vegeta stains her hands. She has done all of this to him and none of her is satisfied with it. Her sadism has been fed but that is about it. Nothing has been solved or sorted. She cannot accept what she wants. All of this is so wrong. This man holds the chains of misery that encircle and bind her, choking her flesh with their tight links and keeping her ravaged mind imprisoned. Nothing has ever been allowed to keep her in bondage and so she fights and fights and shreds herself against these chains to get out, to get free, and none of it has done a thing.

Ryoko lets out a short scream of frustration. Her golden eyes refocus onto Vegeta. The dark part of her mind has whispered something sweet to her. This whole punishing of Vegeta had one major goal she wanted to achieve and she has yet to do so. She slowly flies up to Vegeta with evil intent in her feline eyes. Maybe she just has not caused enough pain to him yet, or the right kind of pain. Sidling up alongside him, Ryoko wraps her arms around him so that he cannot escape or form much of any resistance if he wanted to. His bruised and bloodied face warily watches her as her mouth opens. Her own blood from his head-butt having dried into a dark scab.

" You remember – Must have tasted good, you remember that you nearly bit my ear clean off, yeah you did. Can you scream for me whilst I do this?"

Ryoko sultrily whispers to him in a low and intimate tone as she moves over to the side of his face. Her embrace of him gets tighter. She sees little worry in him concerning what she mentioned, obviously he does not put a lot of stock in damage to his ears. Her breath catches in eager anticipation. She lets her tongue protrude from her open lips and it snakes its way through the air. Ryoko begins to tease Vegeta's ear in a tantalising fashion. Raising his awareness of this appendage and its sensitivity as she runs her tongue over it and edges her teeth closer. Vegeta's eyes widen in shock and absolute pain as he lets out a loud and blood-curdling scream.

With a low chuckle that soon turns into deep belly laughs, Ryoko pushes Vegeta aside and lets him crumple in a heap to the floor. His whole body has gone limp as pain pulsates through him.

Her target was never his ear. He does not feel pain like she does within his ear and she is not dumb enough to exact her revenge in that way. When someone has previously tried to stab you the next time you meet them you make sure you get rid of their knife first.

Ryoko lowers her knee. Vegeta clutches at his pulverised groin. Ryoko continues to cackle and laugh as she finally hears him scream and groan in pain. Drool escapes from his agape mouth as he wretches in response to this underhanded strike. Like a spluttering and dying light bulb, gold flashes from his body and hair, gales whip at Ryoko as she laughs and laughs. She has bested him. She has got him screaming and broken on the ground. It elates her to see that she can cause a stone to bleed and cry out in pain. This is what she came here for.

" Now, my little Vegey, seems as though both of us are infertile. Are ya gonna cry now? Gonna beg me? Beg. Do it, do it, do it now!"

Ryoko cannot help herself as she pants in excitement. He cannot make her suffer now, she made him suffer. She cannot be the weak one if she did this to him. The surges of fluctuating power billowing forth from Vegeta blow her silvery hair about as she stands over him. His broken hand hits into the ground causing a large fissure which lake water spills into. There is great pain throbbing in his member. Noises like a dying beast scrape from his throat. With that one knee she has utterly crushed one of his testicles, none of his body is moving, his ki is not helping him. The damage has been done.

The flares of Super Saiyan energy are dangerous as Vegeta summons his strength to him to aid his failing body. His transformed state finally sticks and his pained moans soon become angry and gravelly growls. Nails stick into his back and lightly claw down it. Vegeta's blonde hair raises and grows rigid. Bio-electricity forms a static field around him as the air turns to plasma and Ryoko is forced to back away, hissing at his enormous and growing power. With one last snort of amusement she raises a hand and fires a blast at the second state Super Saiyan. A wall of blue halts her shot in mid-air. Her eyes narrow.

" Go back to sucking your brother's cock. I'm warning you, Ayeka." Without turning to face this unwanted intruder, Ryoko seethes out this insult. Another blast charges in her hand, and she is thinking on who should be the receiver of it. She has Vegeta right where she wants him, minus his transformed state, and interruptions are not welcome, especially not from this meddling princess who Vegeta appears to care about.

Holding her own slender arm out in anticipation for creating another barrier, Ayeka stands a few feet outside the house. She had to get Kiyone and Mihoshi to escort her sister away and take care of her as the proceedings just outside of the house were anything but subtle or silent. For a few minutes she has been watching from the large window in the front room, fearing to go outside and intervene between such great powers and also respecting Ryoko's want for revenge even if she does disagree with it. This has gone too far for her to idly sit back and play the part of an observer. Vegeta's flashes of gold and the inferno of power surrounding him are all she needs to know. Ryoko is trying for revenge however she is pushing way too far on this stubborn and proud man and Ayeka fears that if this were to carry on for a second longer then Vegeta might gain his own want for vengeance. She cannot allow Vegeta to fall to that. He has lasted far longer than she thought he would and in some sense that pleases her, yet violence is not something she likes. This beating must cease before Ryoko becomes the victim once again and the cycle of hatred starts anew.

A bright red flash darts towards the interfering princess ruining her quest for retribution. No explosion comes. Vegeta crushes the blast in his broken hand as his golden luminescence illuminates the purple haired maiden.

" … I need no help in defending myself, Lady Ayeka." Even with his body being on its last legs, his spine being held together by sinew and his genitalia throbbing in agony, Vegeta is resolute in his declination of any and all aid. The blood off his back and chest evaporate, electricity arks between each of his damaged limbs and he stands tall. Ayeka does not need to see his face to read his emotions, the tension in his shoulders and the scars running down his broad back are all she needs to see.

" Ryoko, this will be a warning for you, leave. Please, go now before Lord Vegeta's temper breaks. This is not the way. You-"

" Shut your cunt hole now! I say when I leave, not when some stinking, stuck up Juraian decides it for me. Vegeta owes me this, and I am not scared of him, not like you." A couple more blasts get sent directly at the Super Saiyan 2 and the Juraian he is protecting. She had Vegeta right where she wanted him and now it has been spoilt. This fertile woman who is a blight against her existence marches into her business and ruins it all for her. She is the one who Vegeta hurt and betrayed, not Ayeka, she is the one who deserves his attention and efforts. Ryoko bares her teeth. Her revenge will not be stolen from her.

" If you carry on like this then he will owe you nothing and you will be no better than he is, in these regards. I am trying to do what is right for all of us here. Do not let your rage blind you, Lord Vegeta here is on the cusp of hurting you again. Either continue like a fool and end up in the same place you were, or be smart and leave for now. He will make things better for you, he put up with this for you and there is more he can do, but not now with you like this." Ayeka steps to the side so as to not appear like she is cowering behind Vegeta and his strength. She reasons with Ryoko, for both their sakes. The ire in those golden eyes is clear, Ayeka knows how much Ryoko would like to pretend that what she says is not true but then Ryoko would be guilty of the pretending and fanciful thoughts that she accused her of just after the event. Ayeka remains calm and collected and tries to talk in as sympathetic a manner as she can to the woman she just watched brutalise her fiancé.

Vegeta starts working at getting his left arm back into its socket as he stares down Ryoko. What Ayeka says is true, his self restraint is past its limit and Ryoko is facing a very dangerous and provoked Saiyan who this time will not be holding himself back. His blue eyes never leave Ryoko as she begins pacing, eyeing the two royals opposing her and her desires. She shows off the crimson flames licking at her flesh but her aura pales like an insect before Vegeta and his Super Saiyan 2 state. If Vegeta is no longer co-operating then there is nothing she can do. She cannot hurt him like this, she cannot punish him further or exact more of her revenge. It infuriates her. However, that changes nothing about her predicament. Ryoko still longs for an end to her pain and a fresh beginning to Vegeta's pain.

The shattered fingers in his right hand make it awkward for Vegeta as he grimaces through the great discomfort of relocating his left arm. Ayeka takes a step away from him and his great flux of power. She looks back into the house to make sure her sister is still safe and far away from Ryoko.

" Is that right? Or maybe I'm just the third wheel here you want outta your hair-"

" Ryoko, go before you start crying again. I will deal with you later." Vegeta summons two halves of a barrier a few metres either side of Ryoko. The threat is clear and Ryoko hears it. He is not going to have this argument with Ryoko. She will leave now or she will kept safe and sound in a prison of ki where she can cause no more damage and cease her tantrum. He moves the two parts of the shield closer to emphasise his waned patience. Ryoko growls and teleports upwards, the walls of ki follow her. There is nothing more for her to gain by staying here and she is not disillusioned enough to think she could change anything by using force. She does not like it, it is a bitter thing to her, but a tactical retreat is in order.

" Sure, come see me when you grow a pair. Go bow like the good lapdog you are, maybe I'll see if your brat has any other good plans or secrets. … If you take too long, then I know where Bulma's grave is, how long that part of the city remains standing is up to you." Having to get the last word and blow in before she departs, Ryoko teleports off.

As the raging woman vanishes, Vegeta transforms back down to his base state and his breathing becomes haggard, his posture slouched and his legs appear to barely support his weight. He blinks several times as the pain fills the void of his ki, he is thankful that he can fly for a certain injury is heavily impeding his ability to walk. The floating walls of ki disappear into nothing as the Saiyan forgets about them. Vegeta turns his head to look at the princess stood nearby, she has a serious look on her face. He can tell what she is thinking and so he he shakes his head telling her he will not do as she thinks he will, his neck protesting at this movement. Even with his reckless abandon and mule-headed stubbornness he knows he cannot train, his spine could not take enhanced gravity and there is little he can do as he is now unless he gets healed. Ayeka appears marginally relived that she will not have to argue with him about his training. Vegeta looks back towards his house and his eyes go straight to the door leading to Washu. He saved her life, and she always manages to put Yamcha back together, she has to have a way to heal him from Ryoko's savage beating.

"Lord Vegeta, if I may, that was a … a fairly honourable thing you did back there for Ryoko. I do not approve of her methodology, but you are both violent people and actions speak loud. Pardon the fact that I was watching your punishment, your restraint was admirable, only getting tested when she spoke ill of your wife in hopes of causing you greater pain. … I see now. Was it to that level that you were stopping yourself d-during the incident?" Ayeka has to speak about what she was just witness to, merely looking at the state he is in she can tell that he must be in a lot of physical pain from the beating he surrendered himself to. She told him to put effort in for both her and Ryoko's sakes and she cannot argue that he did just that right there. He is an angry man with a vicious temper yet he bent his pride first to her in his bowing and now to Ryoko in this harsh discipline. Ayeka acknowledges what he has done, even if it is in poor taste. She hopes that what she has seen can enlighten her into the resolve of this stoic man and can partially ease her heart.

"Probably less so here. She did not catch me in a good mood at all, though her own mood was less than desirable. … I am going to ask Washu to make sure this can never happen again, after she heals me." One booted foot falls in front of the other and Vegeta's teeth grit. He does not have to walk but he has a much larger urge to not let his weakness be shown and not to let his injuries best him. His injuries are severe whether fortunate or not they are not life threatening and so he cannot gain any Zenkai boost from surviving this ordeal. His next foot moves forward and a creak comes from the damaged bones of his shin.

This idea of having Washu design a form of hormonal regulator is something he has to consider after his failure. He cannot risk anything causing him to lose control like that again. If Washu needs blood or data or whatnot from him he is willing to supply her with it. He knows that he can only reassure these women so much but if he gives them a solution that will negate this whole issue from ever occurring again then that fear will be abated. Vegeta does not know how much his ki will have an effect on any drug he takes and he will still distance himself like the other mature Saiyans do but this added precaution will ease everyone's minds including his own. Unlike the two others who face a similarly challenging time due to their warrior blood, he is the only one who was raised as a Saiyan should be and has a strong taste for blood or pain. Goku or Gohan can lose control and their sole focus will be on what it should be for a mating season, Vegeta has a twisted sense of pleasure which broke Ryoko. Ayeka nods at this idea, it is proactive thinking on his part and there is no downside she can see, unless Washu somehow catastrophically fails in some absurd and impossible manner. She will keep quiet for now about why he did not think of this before hand, hindsight serves little good now.

" You will find no argument from me. That is a sensible course of action, Ryoko will not appreciate it now but later, perhaps. … What you did, how you offered yourself fully up to her in all her fury, that was good of you. It pleases me to know you put that much consideration into easing her woe that you would put your own body on the line for it. Do you mind if I stay and discuss things with you whilst you cannot train?"

" I would prefer it this way, I predict I will have little time to train when Washu begins work for the time dilation."

Vegeta slogs his way as he lumbers and staggers with a screaming groin. He could stop and attempt to sort out his injured area but with Ayeka keeping him company and talking to him that cannot happen. Ayeka keeps an easy pace with him. Sweat is still lingering about her from the rising temperature of the mid-day Sun, finding little solace to be had in the house even with the fan. Most of the way towards the wooden door the fracture within his leg grows and he has to send more ki to the area to keep himself moving. Though there is frustration and anger inside him at being humiliated like he was he senses little fear from the princess beside him, quite unlike she was in the morning. Witnessing his pummelling has changed her view of him and she finds it hard to be afraid of a man when he is barely managing to cross a room. Ayeka is confident though after he did do as she said and promised her and bowed to her, she has seen his devotion and resolve today. Furthermore, Vegeta thinks to himself that his actions have somehow played into her heroic prince fantasies and that might have be why they have appeased her more than anticipated.

They reach the door to Washu's laboratory and Vegeta uses his left hand to open it. He could instant transmission to where he senses Washu and Yamcha to be, however he has said to Ayeka that she can keep him company and both are mutually exclusive. To instant transmission he would either have to leave her or make physical contact with her, neither he can do without her then having a want to enforce the consequence of no training. Ayeka pauses and hesitates at the doorway that Vegeta has already entered. Something is on her mind. Vegeta notices she is no longer at his side and turns to see her deliberating over some thought that is giving her quite a bit of trouble.

" Even so, if there is little training to be had that does not mean you can forget what you pledged to me. … Lord-L-Lord Vegeta? You said you would take me on a shopping trip, as a family, well … I – I want you to displace the weight of your evil within my mind with that of good memories." She cannot tell if now is the right time to push more of her demands onto him or not but she does know that she has the opportunity to speak freely to him now and she might not again for a while. Her hands fiddle with the long sleeves of her robes. He offered her something but his debt towards her is still large and she wants more from him. To forgive him truly she has to spend the time with him to see that he is worth forgiving and for him to earn it, that time with him is what she wants. Ayeka sticks to her guns about what she said yesterday in how she wants the good he does to offset the bad he has done, her face is averted from his as she speaks though.

" How do you mean? I have been hit in the head several times, be less vague, Lady Ayeka." Vegeta does not intend to be rude but he is badly injured, in a very foul mood and does not have the time or the patience to play word games with the royal. He begins walking again so Ayeka has to follow him. Healing himself is a priority and he does not want to waste any time. He hears a rush of fabric and the soft clack of her indoor slip-on shoes as she moves, and at a pace faster than his own. Ayeka overtakes him and with redness in her cheeks she stops before him, facing him and parts her lips to speak.

" A-A-Another. … I … I need to see the good and kindness in your heart. So – so-so after that year of training, I … I would like another, a s-second." She falters and stumbles over her words.

A great glow to her face as she asks him for a follow up to her first date with him. Unlike Ryoko she does not deny or detest her own feelings towards Vegeta, she finds them bitter and tainted by his sin but she still loves him. Ayeka wants to feel safe and warm in his presence again. She yearns to see that tender glow to him, to see he is not a man who would voluntarily commit evil any-more, she also wishes that if it is after his training he might be more open towards her and her own feelings. It sounds wrong as she says it, to be asking a date of him when he should be begging for his forgiveness from her, however she cannot change what her heart desires and that is time alone with him where they can talk and connect. He owes to indulge her this much, and hopefully the worst of this storm will have passed before this date rolls around. Ayeka will make him work for this forgiveness but she is not past taking as much as she can from him whilst he cannot say no to her.

Vegeta looks at her, a confused look to his face, and he takes a few seconds to process what he heard. He was not expecting her to be so aggressive in her demands of him, or so lenient in that what she would ask of him would be something he naturally would have had to give her some time in the future. Ayeka's crimson eyes fix on him even as she blushes at this brash request. He sees her shiver and for a split second believes he has scared her again before he realises that the interior of Washu's lair is much cooler than the heat wave they exited and so Ayeka's perspiration is cooling her down via evaporation. He nods his head and she allows a small smile on her face. " A second date? I am in no position where I could decline even if I wanted to, which I do not. I'll see what I can-"

"No. No, sorry, but I … I want to be the one to organise this."

After saying that, Ayeka drops back in line with Vegeta. It is a personal reason as to why she wants to be the one arranging this date, and she prefers being in control when she can be. She does not look at him as he trudges on this dim path towards where he senses Washu to be, mostly out of embarrassment as she has an internal discussion as to whether it was all right for her to ask that or whether it could be deemed shameful and stupid. In the end she decides that the answer will come as to how Vegeta behaves in the next few hours and days. She has faith in him, shaken faith that has been tested to a breaking point, and she has witnessed how willing he is to help the ones he hurt with his actions. Ayeka has also decided that whilst she is in here there are questions she should ask Washu and not allow herself to chicken out from posing them to her. For half a minute they walk in silence before Vegeta gives a late response to her.

" I am sure Washu can supply you with my bank details so you have currency to use and some form of connection to the web so you can research and organise it. Now … Washu! Healing tank. Now. I did not leave you to die so repay the favour." Walking is swiftly becoming an activity he would rather not be partaking in, thus he calls out to the machines and electronics for he knows Washu should already be aware that he is inside her realm. Ayeka seems bothered by his raised voice but she can excuse it given his injuries and urgency to be healed. None of this agitation is being directed at her but she realises it could be and he is being careful not to offend her too, though now because of her own words she has to wonder if his main reason for doing so is his training or not.

They stand still in the halls of metal as Vegeta awaits a response or a sign that he has been heard. Ayeka is about to mention instant transmission to him, wondering if his injuries are so severe that he has forgotten this useful technique, and then she sees the underlying problem to that technique. He is right that she will not allow him to touch her, she appreciates this unspoken consideration from him that she has now just picked up on. Vegeta turns his head about as he hears movement. They both see a flutter of pink hair through the many inventions before the scientist seated on her hovering cushion arrives.

" Hello, I … I obviously missed something. Last time I counted you had the same number of testicles as there were Saiyans. Such a shame that I missed a visit from Ryoko. So, healing then, follow me ..." Washu smiles at Vegeta as she disembarks from her cushion. She leaves the joke as it is, swiftly moving on, and begins walking towards the medical bay she has. Truth be told she did not know anything had transpired outside of her lab. Being nearly killed and separated from her lover, Washu has been devoting a lot of her time to spending it with him and living life in the moment, hence she was not checking the data feeds as she was too occupied cuddling with Yamcha. Not enjoying her time spent in Yamcha's arms being shortened, Washu cannot ignore the Saiyan who is now her saviour.

The slow and arduous pace of Vegeta leaves him tailing behind the two women as Ayeka moves towards Washu's side, feeling a lot more comfortable with her than she is currently with Vegeta. Washu makes no attempt to slow down her brisk walk for she wants to get back to Yamcha as quickly as possible and she knows that Vegeta would not take kindly to someone easing up on him like that. The emerald eyes of Washu turn to inspect the Juraian princess, just to discern what she can, and she then takes a sharp left turn as she weaves her way through the ever changing maze that is her abode. A screen pops up in front of her with an alert and she dismisses it after scanning its message. She has a few more answers now. There is quite a bit to walk left, and Washu hums to herself for a few moments before she speaks the words she has to.

"Thank you. You saved my life, Vegeta."

Being so entirely indebted now towards the Saiyan, who she previously detested, is not something she finds that uncomfortable. She has no complaints about who prevented her death. Washu did not want her 20 millennia streak to be brought to an end when she had finally found another man she could love, she wanted to live and Vegeta granted her this. Since she is tied to Vegeta in that she is needed for maintaining his training room she can see how it might be beneficial that she is given this equivalent to a fresh start with him and how it might make life easier for her. She will be less tempted to misbehave and act out against him and thus she will not have to suffer his anger any-more. Washu is very grateful and she knows she can help him in more ways than he will ever ask for, and judging by Ayeka being here there is one obvious way she can show her gratitude and make things easier for him.

"I couldn't leave the blushing bride to be to bleed out, not when my training is concerned. I already own your life, and nothing I did was anything special."

"Yes, I am aware. You could do with a first aid course, but thanks all the same, I'll have to thank Mihoshi as well when I see her. That Ryeka though, there was nothing you did which she could not have done also. Not holding anything against you yourself Lady Ayeka but I don't particularly enjoy dying. Take it that the whole shebang is still a large issue? I can give what assistance I can if you are willing." Washu makes the offer, there are many things she can do to ease his whole situation, even for Ryoko, though her assistance can only aid him and it cannot earn his forgiveness for him. She watches Ayeka as she mentions the fusion and how it might have saved the others from the assassin but did nothing to help her after she was stabbed. Not harbouring any ill will towards the Juraian she is sure to let her know that her own inner turmoil and that of Ryoko came close to costing her her life. Ayeka says a quiet apology. Washu waves it off, understanding that Ryeka is not Ayeka, and looks towards Vegeta to see if he will take her up on her generosity. All he has to do is ask.

The wounded warrior seems preoccupied as he catches up to the two women. He opens his mouth, sticks his left hand inside and fishes out several chipped fragments of his teeth. Washu smiles thinking how he is now the one losing his teeth and not her, Ayeka seems put off by it and looks away. Vegeta discards these knocked out parts of his teeth and wipes his left hand glove on his trousers to rid it of saliva.

" How long would it take you to design medication to suppress those hormones. " He truly dislikes the idea of having to rely on drugs but there is little he can do otherwise concerning his own biology. Future cycles will happen as may future incidents and he has to prevent them. Repeated failure is not an option for him. The more powerful he grows the greater the risk becomes. There are others who are and will be affected by this if he lets his pride gag him for asking this of Washu, and Washu smiles and nods at this request.

"I don't have too much in the way of research on Saiyans during that time as we all know how dangerous they are, but I have data that I can work with. Might not be perfect first time though, my trial simulations can only be so accurate with limited data ..."

"I have the time to test it safely." Vegeta foresaw the risk of using anything Washu devises for the first time and his year of training circumnavigates some of that issue. With it being just him and his son his natural behaviour will not be triggered, he will only act out as his blood demands if he can sense a female so unless someone starts a simulation of Android 18 then he will only have heightened aggressiveness. There is no way for him to safely test its affects when in the presence of women but when in the safe seclusion of his training he can at least find out if it does have an affect on his behaviour or not. Ayeka likes this idea of the medication being tested out in a safe and controlled environment so there is little risk. Washu raises an eyebrow, this is the first she has heard of him suddenly becoming a willing test subject and somehow gaining the rare commodity of spare time.

"You do? When would – There's another thing you want from me, not that I can say no to my hero. Good thing you've caught me in a very good mood for I'll do whatever you say, within reason." She speaks in a light hearted and partially teasing manner as she catches onto Vegeta's plan, now her job is at least becoming the slightest bit challenging. Washu enjoys the symmetry of this, in saving her he adds time onto her existence and now he comes here and asks for her to give him additional time as well. She can see that the lack of Ayeka's reaction means she was aware of this and that he has to be doing this for the partial reason of the women, though she can see the effectiveness of this method in her own mind she still does not believe two years is enough for this man to fully put his wife behind him yet she will keep that to herself.

"A year's training, both me and my son, as soon as possible."

" 37 hours. Tachyon proofing the room, installing all safety and control measures, adding food and water storage, healing tanks will probably be a necessity as well, I need a day and a half with your room. Can you handle that?"

" It is a fair trade, a day for a year. No slacking off though. I have plenty of duties and things to take care of in this time anyway."

The two from Planet Plant/Vegeta nod at one another in agreement. Washu continues on her way, leading them off towards the medical bay, and Vegeta casts a cursory glance towards Ayeka, she lets out a weak smile directed at him and his words. The princess has no clue what her prince will do for a whole day and a half being unable to train, or train in the way that he wants, but she will take it as good news to her that he will basically have nearly two days to surrender to her and help to sort out the mess he made. She is planning to wait until Vegeta starts healing before she starts her own discussion with the scientist. Vegeta drags his feet as he follows the Tuffle genius and grumbles in his mind at this daunting prospect of having to go without training just after 3 days of not being able to train.

It takes longer than the couple of minutes it should to reach the large medical bay and as they arrive Washu swishes her hand and a large medical tank full of healing gel emerges from one of the walls. Vegeta is familiar with this manner of healing from his time serving Frieza and heads towards it. However, he knows there is one obstacle now stopping him. The lid of the tank opens up to the bluish liquid inside. Washu begins pressing buttons on her spawning holo-top as she injects Saiyan DNA into the tank to specialise it to her patient. Vegeta stands beside the tank and looks about, towards the scientist first and then to the princess.

"Ayeka, I can and will make the glass opaque but first you and I need to leave the room. Rejuvenations works best without clothes in the way of the wounds, and he has a certain wound that requires nudity." Washu does not get to finish her sentence before Ayeka hurries out of the room, a button press later and the glass of the tank dims to pitch black. If it were not for Vegeta's damaged genitalia then she would not need to ask this, and she sees that Vegeta realised this. She looks at Vegeta with her analytical emerald eyes and raises a fair eyebrow to him.

" Take what data you need. If I am in there you might as well do what you can to improve the medication, as long as it is non-invasive... And make sure my tail does not re-grow." A glove and two boots get dropped to the floor. He pauses even after he hears Washu leave with a smug chuckle to herself. Vegeta knows that she will have cameras about her lab. He hovers up above the tank and lowers himself down into the darkness and only then does he throw out the lower half of his weighted training outfit. He grabs at the floating rebreather mask, fixes it to his face and lets himself relax suspended in the thick liquid. The lid closes automatically on him.

A large smile grows on Washu's face as she looks at the data feeds coming from her tank, a comprehensive list of all that has been broken and damaged within Vegeta and also the fact that after all this time she can final get the one sample she has been unable to obtain from him. She will add Ryoko to the list of people she is thankful to for this as she tasks her computers to quickly begin analysis on the trace amounts of detected gametes. From over her shoulder she can see the Juraian peeking at the screen hovering before her and at the array of flashing red over the anatomical, but censored, diagram of Vegeta. With another few key presses she gets some robots to take away the few articles of Vegeta's clothing for washing and repairs, then she turns and smiles at Ayeka who she knows has something to say to her. She expectantly looks down at the Juraian, waiting for the predicted questioning, and before Ayeka speaks Washu reminds her that Vegeta's hearing will allow him to hear this conversation and with his telepathic abilities he can join in the conversation if he chooses. Ayeka pauses and looks about, uncomfortable with this situation of Vegeta being close by and naked but she does think that discussing this behind his back and not allowing him to have his say would be quite rude. She gently nods her head.

"Miss Washu, you understand Lord Vegeta the best here, from several standpoints at the very least, and you will not let your own personal bias cloud the truth. Do … Do you believe that L-Lord Vegeta did everything he could in his power to prevent it? That there was nothing more he could do? That-th-that he tried his hardest to stop?" Ayeka's eyes are closed as she asks this hard question to the tall Tuffle scientist. She does not like harbouring doubt towards her fiancé and this Saiyan after seeing what he has done today, but she cannot ignore the truth and she has to know. She needs to hear that Vegeta did, in fact, do his best and there was nothing else he could have done. Ayeka needs Washu to play the part of an ally to Vegeta for she can only go so far herself. There is nothing more she wants than for this problem to be solved, to put it in the past, yet she has to stay extremely cautious and mindful of what she says or does so that she does not end up making excuses for Vegeta or his behaviour. It is a confusing and trying time for her where her heart and mind are so muddled up in not knowing what to be right or wrong, whether her kindness is a strength or a weakness, whether Ryoko's attitude is more justified, or whether she should even be considering forgiving Vegeta in the first place. She needs someone on her side to tell her that she is not a delusional fool being dragged along and blinded by misplaced love, and she wants that person to be Washu.

The pink haired scientist stands there for a moment. This is not a hard question to answer. It is, however, a hard question to answer properly and in a way that Ayeka will understand. Washu can do this much for Vegeta, and none of her science will be skewed by her debt to him.

"Technically, no. He has the power to kill himself and he did not do that, which would have definitely stopped it, though that's not exactly what you want to hear. I did take the liberty of listening in to the conversations I missed yesterday so I get the gist of what happened. I believe Vegeta. Let me represent a few things so you can understand it better." Washu starts off the bat with a point to show she is in no way going to bias things unfairly for Vegeta and outlines that she has a rough understanding of this delicate situation. Her green eyes watch as Ayeka's face immediately falls like a stone with her first sentence and so before the delicate princess can become too despondent she takes her hand and leads her back into the medical bay and towards a large monitor. She senses Ayeka tensing and resistance in her as she becomes uneasy knowing of Vegeta in the tank. Talk of death is not making things easy for the maiden though she is holding on tight to those words of belief in the Saiyan's favour, those few words mean a lot to her and help her immensely.

The monitor turns on and a swarm of medical data concerning the analysis of the healing Saiyan swamps its display before Washu minimises it and is left with a blank canvas. From there she writes two names at the bottom spaced apart from one another; that of the victim and that of the sinner. The thinnest imaginable line is then drawn above Ryoko's name and Washu turns to look at Ayeka.

"This line here, one millimetre thick, is Ryoko's maximum power and now to scale where do you think a level of strength would be that could kill her with ease?" She taps on the board as she talks like a teacher to a pupil, Washu knows that before someone has the right to judge they must become properly informed. Ayeka knows only what others have told her and Washu will clear all those tales and facts up for her and set things straight so she can come to her own decisions about Vegeta. The princess does not like the subject remaining on death or Vegeta's ability to kill, this is not a topic she wants to give any thought to.

"2, maybe 3, millimetres thick? Is that correct, Miss Washu?" Hesitantly, she hazards a guess. Not being someone who has ever used a scouter to measure power levels she thinks this seems a reasonable estimate. A line corresponding to her answer gets drawn in-between Ryoko's one millimetre line and the empty space above Vegeta. After a brief pause Washu then makes a monolithic black bar blasts upwards from Vegeta's name. Washu hates how visual representation of these numbers really does not work unless she were to use a logarithmic scale but for this it would seem misleading. Her monitor is not several metres tall and utterly fails in showcasing all of the data necessary in this format. Ayeka looks up at the bar that pushes to the top of the screen and beyond. Washu points back to the screen with her long fingers. A small arrow appears next to the bar and simply lists the numerical equivalent of Vegeta's power to make up for the monitor's lack of height.

" And here is my latest estimate as to Vegeta's maximum power that he has to control. Not including any of his transformations or abilities mind you. This is pure him black hair, base form, no nonsense. His margin of error that you 'allowed' him is microscopic and he managed to stay within it. Vegeta during his mating season repressed all of that power well below that bar you set, not an easy feat considering his opponent was himself. However, there is more. I do not think he has ever talked to you about his transformations so I will explain the process as best as I can. Super Saiyan, it is not exactly some skill he can just do like flight or a blast or such, as far as I can tell it requires heavily upon the user's state of mind. It has to be triggered each time by the Saiyan by appealing to either a few certain set emotional and mental requirements, every time they go blonde they have to very quickly and methodically work themselves into a rage or desperate state or something along those lines. The transformation does alter them, the power changing their perceptions, their confidence, their aggression and ruthlessness, and I am telling you all this because I think you also know that these Super Saiyan incidents can happen accidentally. Of course they have to, otherwise they would not have been discovered, but extreme negative emotion, anger, grief, whatever, will make a powerful Saiyan go blonde. Now, above Vegeta having to keep a reign on his power with any miniscule error he makes being fatal, he also has to keep a tight lid on his emotions otherwise it negates his other efforts. A lot for someone to do when his mind and body are not co-operating."

Washu turns off the monitor now that the talk about Vegeta's power is done. She stands still for a minute as Ayeka soundlessly absorbs this knowledge and runs it through her mind. Green eyes flash towards the black glass of the tank and she will take his silence as confirmation of her theories. For fun she could have put on a visual representation of Vegeta's Super Saiyan states and the way it multiplies his strength but that is not what she is here to educate Ayeka on, she needs her to know what Vegeta had to and did control, anything beyond a couple thousand, whether a million or a billion, would still be fatal to Ryoko. Another minute passes with Ayeka still seeming in thought. It scares her, and also conflictingly comforts her. To know that Vegeta has to be so perfect in his control lest he kills everyone is frightening, but to know he has that control and did not lose it at all helps her and strangely makes her feel safer.

Purple hair moves as Ayeka finally nods at Washu. All that information has been ingested now and is aiding her to shape a positive opinion on Vegeta, or as positive as it can be when on the subject of attempted rape. Washu then steals another glance towards where Vegeta floats, part of her worrying about any consequences to her next words. Apart from his power, there is one other main area Ayeka is majorly lacking in when it comes to knowledge. Washu moves closer to the princess and leans down so her head is next to hers and lowers the volume of her voice.

" Miss Ayeka, I ain't meaning to be rude here but if you are trying to understand more of this I need to know if there is a fundamental you are missing. Do not get offended, but, do you know the feeling of sexual desire, lust as it were?" This is not an easy topic for Washu to broach to the prudish maiden, the answer she already knows but she has to sow this thought into her mind. Washu plainly knows that Ayeka vilifies sexual actions and has a major dislike of physical intimacy, even so she is still a woman and has to come to see that feelings of the like are natural and not necessary shameful.

"What? I … N-n-no. No, I do not." Red eyes go wide. Several steps back are taken. Ayeka was not expecting this line of inquiry and is quick to try and stutter out a negative response as is befitting of her stature and is true. She immediately begins to look down at the floor as a red hue graces her cheeks. Sex is not a topic she is comfortable with discussing. Her feet shuffle about and she bites her lower lip. A cog is turning within her head now. Ayeka is beginning to think about how she does not understand the hunger that drove Vegeta into his actions or how affluent they could possibly be.

"I have many aphrodisiacs at my disposal that could teach you, but I do not fancy being the next one to go in that tank so I won't go there. You understand that during Vegeta's mating season his sex drive goes through the roof, his body wants to mate and reproduce … that ties in to another issue with Ryoko but we don't need to go there right now. Explaining such desires to an innocent girl like yourself isn't easy but trust me that they can be strong and rule your mind without a second thought, and those are just normal amounts of lust not those brought on from a mating season. Vegeta and the other Saiyans get overloaded with this libido and several physiological and psychological changes occur. This is derogatory towards Ryoko but for your sake I have to simplify it to this, OK, so imagine that you are starving … probably another feeling a princess is unfamiliar with. But let's just say that you are starving and you cannot allow yourself to eat for it will kill someone, why is not important, and then suddenly there is a piece of meat in your mouth. In Vegeta's case he has gone without 'feeding' for well over a year now and then there suddenly was an opportunity given to his starving self on a silver platter. People do what their bodies say. We eat when hungry, we sleep when tired, you cannot disagree with it forever or you tend to die. Nature evolved Saiyans to have that time so their species would survive and thrive, it failed but not due to that. And now let's take it all back to the issue of his power and emotional state and throw that all back into the mix."

Without going into too much of the nitty-gritty, Washu feels that is about as much as she could say to Ayeka without her starting to shun away and stop properly listening. The princess has gone awfully quite following Washu's words. Nothing about this is pleasant at all. She knows she has to listen to this, it is her duty to be fair in her judgement and she came here for answers whether they be the ones she seeks or not. The beeping of the machines and the hum of electricals keep Washu company in the otherwise deafening silence of Ayeka. She allows the princess to take what time she needs, Washu brings up her holo-top to check on Vegeta's healing and it seems to be proceeding well. His broken leg will finally be mended.

" … I … I see." Ayeka mutely breathes out this response to the tidal wave of information she is trying to process. That is all she can say on the matter. Her mind is being overwhelmed both by all this talk from Washu and from her emotions, she is having trouble finding what to make of all this so far. The scientist, however, has not finished with her lecture.

" Ordinary people would have had a 0.012% chance of success. Ryoko would have been dead before she finished teleporting in most circumstances. Vegeta has astounding mental control, the highest I have studied with his discipline, power control, motivation, ability to overthrow possession, yet even so I would have predicted him only having a 44% chance of success. I know that sounds high, but what is counted as a success here is Ryoko surviving the ordeal. A success from your standpoint, in which she is not raped, drops it down to … 7, yeah, 7%. This being a very moderate guesstimate given Ryoko's allure, the reason of her visit, and this whole thing of you, her and him. So there it is. He did bad. On the other hand, it is a damn miracle that it was only this bad. Miss Ayeka, he did everything he could that was not suicidal, that is my professional opinion and I am not being swayed by the fact that he saved our lives." Washu smiles in a comforting manner to Ayeka. That is her report on Vegeta's control during his mating season and she can now choose to do whatever she wants with that information. It is out of her hands.

"Thank you, Miss Washu." A very weak and forced smile is given back to Washu. It is a lot to take in. She needs time. Time alone to think and be with herself and her thoughts. She turns away from Washu and looks towards the tank housing her prince. Ayeka is exerting a lot of self control on herself at the moment to make sure she does not yield towards Vegeta in any way that he does not deserve. If he can stop his power from killing Ryoko then she can also stop her affection from allowing the many fluttering excuses in her head to hold any voice. She will remain both strong and forgiving, she tells herself that she will be unyielding and fair.

"As I told you before, Lady Ayeka, when I commit to doing something I only ever do it to the best of my ability." A voice enters Ayeka's mind and shocks her. Vegeta has telepathically communicated with her like Washu warned her he could. Ayeka's smile appears less forced as she continues looking at the tank. She likes those words that he told her underneath the cherry blossoms, and they are true. It was a matter of what he is that drove him to those extremes, not who he is, for the most part anyway. Washu predicts where Ayeka's train of though will begin to drift off to and gives her penny for thought on Vegeta's affinity for causing pain.

"On the other hand, his sadism is a none too rare quirk of Saiyans, albeit Vegeta's is ... complex. His mind is not a place I really fancy treading. I could tell you that it could be a coping mechanism of his so that all the killing he did would not mentally break him, I could tell you it was beaten and driven into him by his father and Frieza, or I could spare you the lies. It is simply a feature of him being a Saiyan, trust me, I've lived through it, they are all like that apart from Goku. His mind was unleashed and the stuff he keeps at bay poured out. I can say this much for him though, his sadism is not something he will ever use on someone he cares or loves for outside of his mating season. I looked at files on his wife, she would have left him in a heartbeat if he ever tried anything like that so you can rest assured that it is not going to rear its head again anytime soon. This help you out?" Washu has a decade of experience with sadistic Saiyans as they tore her civilisation and species apart bit by bit, it is as much a part of Vegeta's biology as his mating season is. There is nothing she can or will do to sugar-coat the bloodlust of this cold hearted warrior, he is who he is and that is not going to change anytime soon. She pats Ayeka on the head seeing her grow a bit despondent and depressed and Ayeka quietly thanks Washu for this talk. The princess removes Washu's hand from her and asks for directions to leave, Washu clicks her fingers and the exit appears in a nearby wall. Ayeka shuffles to the exit with one last look back at the healing tank and nods her head to herself.

The door to the real world closes softly. Washu gets the health reports on Vegeta back up to see he still has several minutes left until the spinal damage is repaired. She spots that hair growth on his tail stump has started and she fiddles about to make sure the dosage of the gel and Saiyan DNA are low enough not to stimulate tail growth. Vegeta lost his tail in a fight and his pride will not allow him to grow it back by unfair means, there is always a chance it could naturally regrow but it diminishes greatly with age and adulthood. Washu taps her feet to a random beat and she examines the results on the examined sex cells, nothing out of the ordinary except their ability to genetically pass on the parent's power. Her pink hair twirls about as she spins to face the tank and makes the top half of the tank transparent again. She smiles to the Saiyan staring back at her through the blue gel. There is much she has to say to him now they have some privacy, and they are not words of thanks. Ayeka had to leave for this or what she is about to say could panic and scare her and in her vulnerable state that would not be for the best. Washu summons her floating cushion and seats herself.

"OK then. Well, Vegeta, I have some news for you which you do want to hear. The thing that killed you, my research on that beast is all done. The files should be appearing on the inside of the tank but I'll run you through the basics. Genetically modified to a very high extent, so extreme that near half of it is pure artificially constructed DNA spliced in with the rest. Someone made and designed it, and it was designed with you and your friends in mind. It was tailor made to be a Saiyan killer, all its physical attributes pulled from some ancestral predator from your original home world and that green glow was a masterfully advanced photosynthesis reaction that constantly fuelled its body with an exponentially growing amount of ki. There had to have been another energy source for it apart from star and sunlight but there is no trace of it on the few cells I have. I do have to admit, that thing would have taken me a decade to design and create and grow, so this really limits the list of culprits down. Have to be of near equal intelligence to me, have to have access to great resources and research, specialised in the more biological side of things whereas I favour machines and robots, and the minor issue that it was a Tuffle. Good news is, I am not alone any-more, bad news, Kagato is the survivor."