Chapter 64
Over the sounds of his crushingly heavy footfalls it takes until the third time for Vegeta to hear that someone is not too loudly knocking on his training room door. He pauses to glance at the main console to check what time it is, it appears to be late enough for him to accept a pause for food – his fourth meal of the day so far. Vegeta barks a command at the console to deactivate and he strides over towards the bulkhead door. He lifts his red vest up to wipe at the sweat forming on his Neanderthal-like brow. Swinging the door open the one disturbing him turns the same shade as his damp vest. Glistening abdominals reflecting the light he emits as a transformed Saiyan acutely brings to the forefront the topic that Ayeka was forced to discuss with her mother. Her words flee her open mouth and the reason she knocked on the door is evaporating like mist. She takes a backwards step and covers her glowing cheeks. Vegeta raises a puzzled brow as he lowers his vest, this is not her normal reaction as she is accustomed to his semi-naked form from his training. She is obviously troubled. Ryoko did not gloat about having done anything to her rival when she pestered him earlier.
He can smell food. Ayeka definitely came here to inform him of dinner being ready, yet she has not said anything to him nor has she managed to look away from his body. Vegeta tests the waters, something is up with her and he did get her to view his death so it would not be too far-fetched to think that may be involved. He touches her forehead with the back of two fingers and the surprised squawk unleashed is quite loud. Not even Ryoko with her fear of him reacts that strongly. Ayeka's breathing has become erratic and rapid, she steps back another pace and her hands now cover her entire face.
"What is it?" He asks bluntly as he is fairly hungry and if he lets her Ayeka will take an extraordinary amount of time to dodge the issue.
The smell of fear perforates the aroma of Sasami's delicacies. It holds a different quality to the one she gave off as he roared at her during lunch. She begins turning her head, looking behind her, planning an escape. Ayeka does not move. She stays rooted. A hot hand then gently grabs one of her own and pulls it from her face. Vegeta asks again what the matter is with her. Her red eyes are wide and blankly staring at this physical contact. Ayeka wants to scream. She wants to yank her hand free and run. Her heart beating is deafening her to Vegeta's question and her chest feels agonisingly tight. Some of the thoughts floating in her mind can only be classed as impure.
"Flirting like that in broad daylight, what would your mother say? Or better yet, what has she said?" A small cackle follows the teasing taunt of Ryoko. She rolls off the wooden beam above them and floats down, grinning from ear to ear at the massively embarrassed Ayeka for she knows exactly what kind of smut she cannot help but think of.
A noise comes from Ayeka. The exact nature of the noise even she is not too sure of herself, she was going to defend against Ryoko's insinuations and it did not come out properly. Nervous, feeling extremely awkward being near Vegeta and with a dry mouth it failed utterly to be a word of any kind and as Vegeta shifts his hand slightly it raises an octave and her voice cracks as she tries to cut it off. Ryoko snickers to herself. The Saiyan is growing tired of this and plainly looks to the tickled pirate for an answer.
"I've caused some short term chaos for some long term order. Y'see I-" She puffs out her chest as she takes great joy in getting to announce this to Vegeta with Ayeka stuck and unable to move. The princess manages words this time to stop Ryoko but she carries on regardless. "That's very rude of you, Ayeka. Seems like as well as basic sex-ed you coulda done with learning a few manners from mummy. That's right, Vegey. I got them to deal with little blossoming flower here and have a nice chat about good ol' rumpy-pumpy."
Smiling, enjoying this to the fullest, Ryoko mimes shooting Ayeka with her hand. The princess is dead silent, her mouth hanging open aghast, the Saiyan lets go of her hand and simply nods at learning this. Ayeka's hand limply flops to her side. Her eyes are vacant. Ryoko hums and sidesteps out of the way of some materialising Juraian logs. The pirate points at the impatient Saiyan.
"This is your fault, my Vegey. You and your body sexually awakening this poor little girl, so I had to help and step in to clear all her guilt and confusion."
"E-Enough!" Ayeka snaps. Ryoko recoils with a fresh mark across her cheek.
Her body shakes like the last leaf on a tree, hardly looking like she can stand, Ayeka is finding it hard to regulate her breathing and her vision is hazy. The pirate rubs at her smarting cheek and snarls. A finger almost grazed her ear and that would not have been good for either of them.
"Just shut up. I know you-y-you were helping. Stop. Now. Y-you're horrible! …" It becomes too much for Ayeka to continue her outburst. Having to talk to her mother about love and sex and having it shoved right in Vegeta's face is not something she can handle. Every second she hates. She feels as if her worth degrades with every syllable from Ryoko. Her face shows how openly distraught and troubled she is by it all.
"Mummy's not gonna be happy that her little baby's hitting people." The retaliation of Ryoko falls flat as Ayeka is too far gone at this point to see her situation worsening.
Vegeta reaches out a hand and taps it on Ryoko's face. She flinches away and warily looks at him. He states that he was the one to strike her. Ryoko shakes her head, that is not an escape route she will allow Ayeka to have after slapping her. Vegeta claims again that mark on her face to be one he caused. A brief snarl hisses at him and then Ryoko grabs the front of his outfit and walks off towards the kitchen taking him with her. The Saiyan is hungry and does want to head there and so follows, but at a pace slower than hers so she is dragging an immovable weight. Ayeka stays stood where she is. She looks towards the large metal door and the empty room beyond.
"By the way, Ayeka, your 'secret' little time sharing policy with Vegeta was real sneaky. It ain't unique no more." Ryoko informs Ayeka just before she leaves the room, trying to claim some sort of victory from this after Vegeta chose his side.
The scowl on the pirate's face remains in place as the order she hoped for is still lost to the anarchy of the seating arrangement. Misaki and Trunks once again spearhead the table on either side of its head. Standing by the kitchen side with their plates on the worktop Washu and Yamcha have separated from the group to free up some more space around the table. The mother looks up at the two entering. She expected her daughter to be arriving after she very trepidatiously left to summon the house owner. This cannot mean anything good for her daughter if Ryoko is accompanying him and Ayeka is not in sight. Ryoko seats herself in the same place she sat earlier. However, she continues to hold onto Vegeta's top and pulls out the seat next to her that previously Ayeka used. With this both parents can sit next to their children and the prince and princess are separated. No word is spoken as Vegeta complies and relinquishes the head of the table to the one on her own in the adjoining room. He reaches out and immediately starts consuming food.
With effort the metal door is closed and Ayeka stands on the side that Vegeta is always on without her. Its solid build proves useful as she needs the support. Quietly she tells the console to generate coastal scenery. The rare scene she has seen but a few times in her life appears again with the Sun in the artificial sky mimicking the position of its real life counterpart and a gentle tide lapping at a wide and infinite expanse of fine sand either side of her. Waves lapping at the beach make a soothing sound. A warm breeze carrying a salty air stirs around her. She reaches up and undoes her hair, both high tails spilling down around her and over her slender shoulders. Her shielding fringe is back over her face as is a good deal of loose hair the ocean breeze has picked up. Ayeka's fingers fall to the necklace about her neck and then past it to the cold metal propping her up. She hopes that Vegeta is a good deal louder than her when he roars and yells inside this room,
"Miss Ryoko, what is that mark on your face?" Even Misaki fails to make the question sound innocent and light hearted as she probes as nicely and politely as she can. It is all too telling what it is and even without one of her children missing in action she would have had to ask.
"Exactly what it looks like. Damn elitist pig hit me." Her golden eyes glare at the man beside her. That is as far as she will tell the lie. She shoves whatever is closest to her on her plate into her mouth so that she cannot keep talking.
A short and horrified sound comes from Misaki as she gasps, both policewomen react in a similar manner but due to how they remember the last time Ryoko was mistreated and abused by Vegeta. Those with a warrior's eyes see the truth for what it is, neither Trunks nor Yamcha are fooled and can tell that the wound is not one of Vegeta's making. Washu nods to herself. She has watched a few of the feeds to know that it was not long until Ryoko got hit for putting Ayeka through all that and still pushing. A small hand reaches out and Sasami pulls Vegeta's plate of food away from him. Her cooking is being confiscated from the bully as she frowns at him and looks to her mother to discipline the naughty man. The Super Saiyan 3 can still reach the food and eats regardless. Trunks passes his father his plate back.
"What gives you the right to-"
"In Saiyan culture the right to discipline is held by any with the strength to dole it out. Don't make a big deal out of this, you're the stranger here. She has rapid regenerative abilities latent in her cells and if not for my several doctorates in medicine there would be a fair few injuries of Ryoko's own making on Vegeta." Washu stops her friend from blindly intervening in a situation where Vegeta is covering for Ayeka and taking this blame and hate for himself. Including word of Vegeta's own injuries the prince does not approve of but Ryoko does as she slams a fist into Vegeta's chin as he chews, and carries on chewing after the ineffectual hit.
The queen shakes her head. This is not right at all. Domestic violence does not breed any hope of a healthy relationship, be it Saiyan or not, she cannot approve of any of this and it just keeps adding to the pile of things worrying her or not right here. Her daughter still expects something of her and so she does speak her mind and bluntly tells Vegeta that he should never hit someone for no good reason. Trunks joins the fray and tells Misaki that Vegeta has had to become physical a few times to either defend Ayeka or to stop Ryoko on Ayeka's behalf. The player who has the role of villain starts to change. Ryoko does not see this as being too favourable for her when Vegeta wants her to get along with his child and he is ratting her out to Misaki with a smile on his face.
Ryoko's eyes catch something. It is small but being acutely aware of this part of her body she notices it, Vegeta's ears are listening attentively and it does not seem to be the talk going on at this meal table. Misaki is giving the evil eye to the pirate, yet she ignores it as she is thinking on what sound has grabbed Vegeta. The blue haired monarch looks across to the policewomen and the scientist to see if they will corroborate any facts on possible attacks on her child. Kiyone has a strong sense of duty but she knows to speak out now is in no-one's best interest – Ayeka is her friend and Ryoko can be a nasty piece of work who does not restrain her vengeance as much as Vegeta does. The mark is already fading on Ryoko's face. Her own elfin ears are not picking up any strange or interesting sound. There is a person missing from this scene, Ryoko can only guess that Vegeta is very rudely listening to Ayeka when she is sat here next to him. Then Ryoko hears it herself, faintly and muffled.
"Why is my Ayeka not present?" Misaki pushes to her feet and stares down at Ryoko. Her voice is raised and there is a threat present in her tone. She spies hesitation on Ryoko's part. A lie is being formed and she will not listen to it. Ryoko is in half a mind to just speak the truth and say that Ayeka was the one to hit her and not the other way around.
"The expression she would want to be used would be 'powdering her nose'. Ryoko has not touched her. Bizarre as it is she can be innocent occasionally. Threatening my fiancé with violence yourself is unwise, Ryoko can tear you apart if you anger her, then guess what, she ends up with another mark on her face and we come full circle. Sit down." Vegeta barks an end to this and silences Misaki by putting her antagonisation under the spotlight and dispelling her fears for her child. The woman at his side likes him calling her his fiancé so openly – knowing full well if Ayeka was in the room he would not have – and his confidence in her prowess in battle when Misaki is a lot stronger than her. Vegeta's blue eyes watch Misaki until she seats herself.
Queen and pirate stare at one another for a while, one smirking as the other is far from amused and is not liking being ordered about like some serf. Soon enough Misaki distracts herself by doting on Sasami. The young girl is confused and dislikes the shouting and controversy and so her mother caringly fussing over her helps Sasami forget about it. A thumb rubs across Washu's food stained mouth and her scar faced betrothed smiles at her and nods his head towards the blue haired woman several inches taller than himself. Washu makes a loud remark back to Yamcha concerning him reminding her of an event that happened decades ago. The squirming little morsel is noticed and Misaki says that she remembers that well, with that Washu reels her into a nostalgic conversation about some festival on Jurai that only those two are old enough to have been alive for.
A small hint of directed ki is noticed by Ryoko as Vegeta does what is necessary. Her keen ears hear a creak. Ryoko does note how massively heavy the bulkhead is and how she struggled with it before her month of training during Vegeta's death. The seconds start being counted in her head as she relishes in her meal whilst she can. For fun she rolls up one of her black sleeves and passes her exposed arm near Vegeta's and watches her hairs raise from the static. An arc forms. It is more uncomfortable than painful and she watches as it carves a path down to her fingers and then dissipates. She rubs the burnt hairs from her and rolls her sleeve back down, Vegeta is looking at her with a questioning non-eyebrow raised and Ryoko repeats her stance on preferring him when his hair is shorter and black.
Ayeka shuffles into the kitchen in a subdued manner. Her hair is now in one loose tail tied at the base of her skull and her side locks are un-braided. She looks at the back of Vegeta's glowing head. He opened the door for her hence he had to have been listening and know of what she hoped to be a private moment in solitude. Her mother sends a warm smile her way and only at this point does Ayeka take note of where everyone is sat and the lone spot left for her – away from Vegeta. She takes her seat and an awkward air hangs between mother and daughter.
"What took ya so long, we're beginning to think you locked yourself in the bathroom." The lie that was told is conveyed to Ayeka so that she knows her story and also becomes aware of a second listener. Ryoko grins at her rival, her cheeks now showing no signs of a princess' open palm. Ayeka looks away trying to act as she normally would to a joke of ill taste from Ryoko. The pirate waits and no rebuttal comes, not even a word about her hogging Vegeta to herself.
Having waited for her arrival and now seeing her daughter safe, even if a bit on the quiet side, Misaki welcomes her eldest to dinner and asks why she changed her hairstyle and whether she did not like how she did it for her. The princess' voice is hoarse and quiet as she quietly gives the reason that it kept getting in the way and once she undid it to sort it out she was unable to redo it. Ayeka quickly takes a sip from her glass of water, disguising the way her voice is to her throat being naturally dry and not from an outburst she does not want to trouble her mother with. Without any tact the younger sibling asks Ayeka if Vegeta hit Ryoko to stop Ryoko attacking her. The elder princess takes a few breaths and then her red eyes look up. Yes or no, either one condemns someone. She then looks down at her plate. Ayeka says that it was her who was in the wrong and angered Ryoko to that point.
"Hey, after food can me and Kiyone come and play more games in your lab?" Mihoshi swivels about in her chair and smiles at the scientist and the man next to her hoping for a rematch or for other games as there is little else to do about the house. Her partner offhandedly shrugs, it seems a good enough idea for her to go along with and so she turns her head for a response.
"No, I don't like cheaters." The proud scientist harrumphs, crosses her arms and pouts. That grudge is being held. She will not let someone who beat her by sheer luck trounce her reputation and most probably humiliate her again without even trying.
"Yes. Yes, you can. And you're going to play nice with them Washu, she won fair and square. Make some friends to occupy yourself with." Yamcha interjects and overrules Washu's decision. Mihoshi smiles.
"Why? What does that mean? You don't like spending time with me and want to palm me off to these two? You're mine, all mine, and I don't need anyone else." His closest arm to her gets captured. She does not want to have fun with other people given the option if she can instead be with Yamcha.
"You do, or I do at least – need you to have other friends. Gonna drive me crazy otherwise."
Without argument Washu concedes and accepts. She understands and as a genius she learns from her mistakes. It was costly last time she suffocated him with herself and made him feel like he had to take matters into his own hands and flee to get a breath of fresh air. For his sake she shall make friends with the police and entertain them with some games so he can have some space. Washu takes a bite out of the food on his fork, swallows and lays down the challenge to Mihoshi that she will not be defeated by her again.
Breaking away from Sasami for a moment, Misaki remembers something and asks Washu if she has what they requested her to prepare. Washu takes a case out of one of her lab coat's back pockets that contains a disc compatible with Earth's technology and nods in affirmation that she has done her job. The timid princess looks at the disc and then across to Vegeta. She did not really ask him about this, she meant to but his raised vest complicated matters, and on top of that she has other favours as well. A warning comes from Washu to the ascended Saiyan to not come anywhere near this device when radiating energy or transformed and so with that he takes it that somehow the data on the disc concerns him in one way or another. Washu sets the disc down on the kitchen work-surface.
"Lord Vegeta? It … it was never agreed, just mentioned really, but- but mother would like it. W-would you graciously spare the t-time to view Jurai's recordings in lieu of mother being shown your own?" Ayeka makes the request that angered Vegeta during lunch and bows her head in respect to him, and to avoid looking at him as his gaze makes her stomach flip.
"Also, I took a few liberties. Spice things up for you Vegeta, there's more than Jurai on this disc. The digital infrastructure of the Planet Trade Organisation was not that secure. I've found what was there and added them in. You might learn a few things about yourself or the Saiyan race if you let the lady have what she wants." Washu cuts in with an addition of what she has supplied compared to the product specification was, this should prove more persuasive to Vegeta. Some editing was done with what she found to limit the on screen murders or nudity. She taps her disc and holds it aloft. The Juraians also appear more interested in viewing this, even Ryoko does.
"Fine. So … hacking into Frieza's stuff. Can I assume that when me and the other Saiyans were nearly flung into a star by our navigational software suddenly changing that that was yourself trying to kill me?" Agreeing, he lets his mind also wander on his past and pry into Washu's involvement post Tuffle War. Ryoko gloats making a short comment that with Ryo-Ohki as her craft she never has to worry about things like that.
"I supplied the key and unlocked the door. Whatever Jurai or some third party's cyber warfare division decided to do with it is down to them. Of course, this was you flying in pods I designed, wearing armour and scouters I also made and getting healed in my medical tanks. Think that makes us even. Well, except for your dad also taking my planet but water under the bridge and all that."
"About your medical tanks, could you instead manufacture or replicate Senzu beans. The next harvest is a good couple of months off and your healing apparatus take minutes that I don't want to waste."
"Give me one and that I can do. I can begin some preliminary work on the sprouts but until I get some of those beans I couldn't make an exact copy without an original to work from. And anyway, what's wrong with my healing tanks? They're a lot faster than letting a broken leg heal on its own." The alternative to using her services is given, knowing how much he hates being reliant on her aid or assistance. Creating the Senzu beans will take some work on her part, they grow in an incredibly niche environment high in the atmosphere and she will need soil samples, records of local weather patterns and a detailed interview with Korin if the replication is to be perfect.
"Or for a tooth to regrow." Vegeta thrusts back with a good old reminder of the damage he can easily cause to her.
"Or a tail. … Sensitive subject?" Her joke gets a small laugh from Ryoko. For him that is a permanent loss that she can heal but out of pride he declines.
Yamcha worries that his other half has maybe stepped over the line by mocking Vegeta's injuries and amputation and places a hand on Washu's shoulder, she keeps her emerald eyes on Vegeta. Having recently viewed the recordings of Vegeta's past the women are aware of what Vegeta's tail did look like and what it allowed him to do. One woman decides to open her mouth to question about what having a tail is like.
"Woman, you dare speak what I think you're about to and it will be your last. My tail was neither cute nor fluffy." The Super Saiyan 3 is firm in stopping Mihoshi. She closes her mouth and looks away, that was something she was going to ask. Vegeta will not have his missing appendage perceived like that of some pet. He has killed with his tail. Being raised under Frieza he could not help but try mimicking the overlord's actions of strangling a victim with a prehensile tail.
"Having a tail sounds fun." His threat does not stop Sasami voicing her opinion on the matter. It sounds like a cool and fun thing to have. Ryoko looks over at the girl and nods, giving a thumbs up. In this they share the same view, Ryoko can say that a tail is fun since she commonly chooses to wear one.
"It brought me and other Saiyans lots of enjoyment." A dark grin is sent from Vegeta to Washu. They are both aware of the fun he speaks of. Washu will admit defeat in this one, there is too much in her past to want to continue talking about this.
" … Yeah, I much prefer Saiyans when they've lost 25 of their lower vertebrae. Huh, there's a joke there about being half spineless but I value my life so you win."
The scientist goes back to finishing off her meal with that said and tries not to think on when thousands of Oozaru made her population the same as Vegeta's currently is. Ryoko finds herself tickled by that possible joke concerning Vegeta's missing back bones, she will remember that one for another time. She glances across to the disc and mulls it over. Shaking her head she comes to her decision. With the ability to read minds she can get it all uncut and on demand when she wants – and Vegeta agrees – so she will forego having to sit through watching Ayeka play happy family as a royal to the empire she despises. The thought crosses her mind to go and have some fun and games in Washu's lab, if not for not liking the place, it is ill lit and she spent enough time with law officials when imprisoned. She gets the last piece of vegetable on her fork, one her new taste-buds disagree with, and lifts it to the side and towards the Saiyan. Food is always welcome in his books.
Trunks nabs the offered morsel for himself as he flies out of the room to the disgruntled noises of Ryoko. Ayeka tries to keep her eyes to herself and her own meal however Ryoko's open attempts are far too distracting for her. The pirate takes her fork and moves it towards Vegeta's own plate. She has no food left to do this with so his shall have to suffice. The prince does not share food. His fork pins hers down as he continues eating using just the knife. Ryoko drops her cutlery. She is done here, the meal is complete and Vegeta is not being much fun.
"After you're all bored from flicking through some kiddy pics come and see me in my room. I wanna talk. He's all yours for the time being, princess." Ryoko stands and stretches, she shall call her own promised time with Vegeta into play. Her body hovers backwards directly through the chair and she begins rotating about to leave when Washu calls out to her, halting her.
"I have found plenty for you to share with Vegeta too. For a thief you sure do get caught on a lot of cameras. Though a century is a lot to condense into any easy length of time for viewing I found a way."
" You're 200 times older, and Yamcha would be stupid to believe your photos. For all we know you coulda shrunk down and took 'em yesterday." The pirate wafts off the taunts about her past. Vegeta will not be seeing her in her desperate states of living on the brink of starvation as a child, being an idiotic and wayward youth or watch as she slowly wastes away in chains year after year. If he asks her, if he wants to learn about her, she will concede but until then he can keep this as his only image of her.
There is no-one sat either side of Vegeta now as he clears his own plate. The light in the room dims. He has multi-formed and his transformed self is back to training, a raven haired doppelgänger sits waiting. Only one person is still eating and that is the one who came in far behind everyone else. Misaki looks about behind her and looks to her friend, Washu passes her the disc and receives thanks for her efforts. Mihoshi excuses herself and swiftly half of the kitchen's occupants empty and head off into the laboratory. The Queen across from the Prince asks if he is looking forwards to seeing his past and Ayeka's. Vegeta shrugs. There is not much Washu could include from his dark history that would pass the censoring, none that he can remember anyway. Sasami chips in and questions whether they will get to see Vegeta's mother like in the story he told her, at that Vegeta also cannot give a definite answer. For all he knows he could be shown his mother and unless the female Saiyan is spoken to by name or her title of Queen he would not recognise her. Feeling eyes on her and that people are being held up due to her, Ayeka tries to hurry her dinner.
After a few minutes everyone is ready and Vegeta stands up and clears Ayeka's plate away into the sink. She looks up at him and across to her mother. Her heart is beginning to race. Vegeta takes the disc from Misaki and walks off into his living room for he is most familiar with Earth technology and does not require any aid in reading what the buttons say. Misaki rests a comforting hand on her eldest and quietly asks if she is OK and alright with this. Her purple fringe bounces as she nods. The Juraians leave the dinner tale, Misaki pulling Sasami's chair out for her, and they follow Vegeta.
The large monitor is on and showing just a black screen. Vegeta is sat down on the sofa and it becomes apparent that Sasami will have to share space if everyone is to fit on the sofa. Misaki lifts up her child and carries her over as she sits on the other side of Vegeta and places Sasami on her lap, the Saiyan prince warns her that no matter how much Washu has censored it there could still be some content beyond what Sasami should see. The Queen knows this, she wants to see all that she can but if that happens she will take her leave with her pig tailed daughter. Their eyes then turn to Ayeka, still standing and looking quite nervous. This is already going to be an embarrassing endeavour. Sitting in contact with Vegeta is a thought that is making her cheeks rouge, to touch him. She blames Ryoko entirely for tainting all of this casual intimacy and making her emotions run rampant now at the smallest thought of Vegeta's body. Ayeka is hyper aware of it all and on edge. Sitting ram rod straight on the edge of the seat she manages a simple thing that a few hours ago was nothing to her.
Vegeta looks across to the princess. This is not a predicament he has come across before, his son is still too young to have reached a need for him to tell him about the birds and the bees and like him Bulma was reaching thirty when they met and so they both were well past this awkward stage. He decides continuing to act like he normally does is probably the best way to deal with Ayeka's enlightenment on life. She will relax soon enough, or the viewing will end and he can train as a single individual again. Not having been forgotten about he hands the remote control over to Sasami. The young girl has done exceptionally well at keeping her lips shut and not blabbing to the queen about his episode in space, or the assassination attempt, or several other events. He bribes his cook with this power. Sasami is happy and presses the triangular button she knows to mean 'Play'.
The first thing to appear is a caricature of Washu appearing with her name and titles beneath proclaiming this as her work and crediting herself as is due. A year appears in one corner of the screen, and then again in the mirroring corner in Juraian for the rest of the audience and in the centre is a brief and succinct medical form. Transcriptions of the text shadow the Cold Empire's standard language. Next to this is an accompanying image of a newborn. The baby does not look happy, nor like it co-operated at all in having its picture taken – fangs bared and its tail defensively wrapped around itself. Misaki is really enjoying this, she makes an excited sound as she fawns over this baby. Vegeta hopes this is not in chronological order for if it is it will take a long time until they reach Ayeka's section. The baby version of himself has a few bangs covering its widow's peak, something he lost as his skull shape changed with age, and its body seems unusually slim for that of a newborn. Misaki cannot help but compliment how cute he is and Vegeta chooses not to listen to her.
"Lord Vegeta, those red warnings, were you unhealthy as a child?" Ayeka is not being distracted like her mother is, as nice as it is to see the youngest possible version of Vegeta this appears more important. All over the medical form recording his stats at birth are red labels and warnings save for the one concerning a scouter reading. At birth he was almost half as strong as she currently is, it is humbling for her yet she is beyond ever questioning his power.
" … There's no need to beat around the bush. Misaki here would pass for a small Saiyan in terms of size, my physiology flagged up several warnings. Even Kakarot is short for a Saiyan. The power I was born with helped overcome this stigma, and stopped me being sent off-world immediately."
Raditz and Nappa towered massively over him even when he was fully grown, when you are 2 feet under the average height the word runt has caused several people to lose their life. His physical failings in weight and size were picked up at birth, there is no need for Vegeta to hide it, he is fully aware of how tall he is. He adds that all this information prior to his planet's destruction was purposefully kept from him by Frieza so that he could not learn any of their secrets and had less chance of becoming the Super Saiyan he feared.
His image fades and transitions to a scene showing an immaculate hospital, a private ward empty of all but one patient with several doctors and midwives standing in the background with the best equipment available to them. Drenched in sweat, exhausted after several hours of labour but with the most radiant smile Misaki lies in a luxurious hospital bed cradling a swathed bundle. Azusa, Funaho and Yosho crowd around her and gaze at the newest addition to their family. A few tufts of fair purple hair are all that can be seen from this angle. Misaki appears wistful as she comments that Ayeka arrived 2 weeks premature, and it nearly took that long for Azusa's hand to heal. Vegeta notices the slightly mangled aspect of the one legged Emperor's hand, Bulma tried doing the same to him when Trunks was born.
"Yosho appears no younger here than he did on your last visit. How much older than Ayeka is he?" Vegeta holds no sentimentality to the scene. There was barely any emotion felt as his own son was born, he cares naught for children or for seeing this. He is gathering information, that is all. The structure of the Juraian royal family seems complex, at least in terms of his experience of family, and as a sibling he would expect Yosho to be similar in age to Ayeka.
"Brother Yosho's older than my mummy, just a bit though." The girl with the remote answers with a smile, Sasami is enjoying this. Misaki looks across to Vegeta and nods, also quietly stating that due to this she will not give a number and winks.
The Saiyan prince leaves that as is. Politics will be ignored. Misaki was an arranged marriage and he is in no place to talk about age differences when Ayeka is less than half his age and Ryoko over double. More pictures of the hospital and post birth play. Vegeta gets introduced to the grandparents and sets his eyes on the green haired Lady Seto holding her first grandchild. The manipulative woman is not keen on having her picture taken but at this time she acquiesces to the event. In the background of any image where Misaki is not holding her newborn the recent mother appears distraught at the loss and has her arms reaching out to be reunited with her child. The mother jokes that she was smitten as soon as she became a mother. Ayeka silently nods. Even today that scene is still quite applicable to her situation. This is as embarrassing as she thought it would be, luckily Vegeta is silent and not commenting.
5 broken ribs and a fractured pelvis. Vegeta is 3 months old and his medical history has been updated with his latest admittance to a healing pod. An immediate look of concern and worry is followed by an anxious question by Misaki.
"My planet had 10 times this planet's natural gravity. Falling as a child hurts. 99 metres per second acceleration. Couldn't've been beaten with so few injuries." Not even Saiyans randomly attack their infants when they are unable to walk or talk, and especially not the King's child. This is the rare time in Vegeta's life when he did not have a training regime. Washu would testify to how much falling over or tripping on her planet hurts. Misaki does not look too convinced.
In a pastel blue dress far too long for her an equally aged Ayeka is being photographed in a field of flowers with her family. Misaki nods to herself, these were images used for a publicity campaign to showcase the new Princess of the Empire. A symbol of Jurai flourishing and staying strong in the face of the costly war they were embroiled in. Ayeka's purple hair is short and has only started to properly grow at this age, not at all like Vegeta born with the same head of hair he has still. The mother observes the slide-show of this staged photo shoot and says to herself that her husband is a bad actor. The sleep deprivation and stress is there for all to see. She is so glad that the war is over and her husband can rest without those troubles and her family does not have to shoulder the brunt of an Empire on the verge of turning on them. Misaki smiles across to her daughter and says she still has that dress. The only thing Ayeka can manage to do is nod is response.
More pictures cycle through of Ayeka growing as a baby, far too many for Vegeta's or Ayeka's liking, and the remark is made of where Vegeta's childhood images have disappeared to. The Saiyan prince did not have photo shoots. He did not have parents who loved him or wanted photographs to display. Sasami is becoming impatient too. Some of these dresses she had as a child as hand-me-downs and she knows that if she can get later on she can see herself as a baby as well.
Still images turn to video. A camera feed from a hangar zooms in as a flying saucer touches down and out march the right hand men of Frieza – Zarbon and Dodoria – followed by the overlord himself sat in his hovering throne. Misaki freezes and looks to her son-in-law. This is dangerous. Two Vegeta's are in the frame, the King kneeling down before his ruler and the young prince on the floor next to him. The child crawls about in a miniature Saiyan armour with cape affixed which is keeping the young Vegeta's mind enthralled as he grabs at the waving fabric. A humble greeting is given to Frieza. The tyrant makes demands of what he believes the Saiyan army should be doing and how many able bodied 'monkeys' he needs for certain occupations and missions. King Vegeta can only say that the population of his people is less than required for what Frieza needs. Prince Vegeta then decides at the wrong point to show off that at only 6 months old he wants to stand up. Using his tail as a balancing aid the smaller version of his father stands upright in front of Frieza. His first of many acts of rebellion, unintentional as it was.
Dodoria bends down and lifts the child by the tail. Wails erupt as the pained infant loses all strength. The King stays silent. Frieza coldly comments that unless his people start learning some basic manners and show some respect the population of monkeys will decrease even further. The spiked and broad pink alien swings the child about by the tail and then lets loose, throwing it out the open hangar door. A massive pink limb slams down into King Vegeta's skull. Washu's manipulation of the footage takes control as the video zooms in on the exterior of the hangar and against the sky a small silhouette is floating with dots of light shining about the child. Off screen a remark is heard by Frieza after the bleeps of a scouter stating that he will find good use for this child yet.
Ayeka remembers Vegeta's words to her as he taught her to fly, how he proudly stated he learnt to walk and fly at the same time and began training. It was no boast. Nor was it anything more than a gifted child tapping into its power for pure survival. He cannot remember this far back, he must have been told his version by another Saiyan she deduces. She looks across to his face. There is murder written in his eyes. Nothing will ever take away his undying hatred for Frieza. Seeing his father reduced to a humble beggar and his lifetime of slavery beginning, Vegeta snarls. A hand is put on his lap. Misaki offers sympathy. There is a distance between the prince and princess, Ayeka cannot cross that yet and take up the role her mother is filling in her stead. Vegeta tells the Queen to remove her hand and clenches his fist. The lone photograph on the table, the single image he cares for, stares back at him. If his son was treated that way as an infant he would have acted.
Luckily his mood gets a chance to simmer down as a few short video clips and images of Ayeka's accomplishments as a child monopolise the screen. Her first words, walking, birthdays and a few other occasions flash by with Misaki wishing she had the remote and could pause the screen to wallow in the nostalgia for just a bit longer. The princess looks across to the prince and can see the boredom written plainly on his face. He is absorbing the information, learning, that is it. This is awkward for her. She can feel the physical space between them. It is so narrow. His body is there next to hers. Ayeka sees herself before her as an innocent child and here she sits thinking on her intimacy with her fiancé's body.
Frieza sits in his throne, tail restlessly shifting side to side as he listens in on a call from one of his generals. Another planet belongs to him and he has several buyers already scrambling to claim it. He reminds his prospective buyers that with brute force alone he could take whatever he wanted and more, the demands for the planet sky rocket and many exotic and rare items and technologies get mentioned. The screen dims and Frieza abruptly ends the call. Someone has entered the bridge of his ship, he had guards stationed outside. The smell of smoke informs him that he shall have to hire new guards.
Taking feeds from an ancient spy satellite launched by the Tuffles when they were still a race, Washu allows the audience to peer through the viewport of Frieza's flagship and relays audio she mixed and created herself. Sasami looks at her mother, she is scared by the evil doer and Misaki looks across to Vegeta to see whether this is the point at which she escorts Sasami away from these recordings. The Saiyan is only seeing one thing. Frieza is there and sat obediently at his side like a pet is himself. At 4 years old he has some musculature and has learnt the hard way to obey Frieza. He curses. At that point in time he even believed the lie that serving would spare his father. His multi-form has become distracted and begins training in an untransformed state against Frieza, damning it all and letting loose his rage.
"What is this about my next mission? Escort duty? 3 months in a pod each way? I'm the best! Let me kill something, give me your toughest planet and I'll turn it to ash." A female Saiyan glares at the overlord, growling her dissatisfaction.
She stands there unflinching before Frieza at a mere 5 feet tall. Her pitch black hair is cropped short and wildly spikes about in a messy fashion. She wears a black fully sleeved elasticated outfit, blue boots, white gloves, a blue cape with a red inside and full Saiyan armour with shoulder and hip guards and the trident like crest emblazoned on the chest. There is however one large and striking thing about her appearance. This female Saiyan is muscular but only in an athletic and slim fashion yet even so she is stretching her armour and outfit by a considerable amount. Her tail is not wrapped around her waist as is the norm, instead it hooks and coils down her left leg. She is heavily pregnant. Baring her fangs and wanting a challenge, the pregnant Saiyan does not even pay the slightest attention to the other of her race in the room.
"My dear I do not want ashes, I cannot sell ashes. You are getting too big for your boots it seems. Remember, you are by no means the best. Close to 9,000, even an army of you could not touch me, transformed or not. Know your place monkey." Frieza does not take kindly to insubordination. His word is final and his commands are as absolute as is his power. An evil grin breaks on the horned demon's face. "If you would only put that monkey spawn growing inside you into an incubation chamber then your chances of getting a decent fight might improve. I am no monster, it would not be right to send someone in your state to a war-zone."
" 3 out of 7 of our young never come out of those incubators, we never had this problem with the Tuffle technology before the Planet Trade Organisation tampered with them and took them. You're not having my child to kill." She does not back down from Frieza's aura of intimidation and growls at this blackmail that unless she yields her unborn child she cannot fight like a Saiyan. Her stance changes into one meant for fighting and her tail constricts against her leg.
"How amusing. You defend that unborn wretch with such strong accusations against myself, and all this when you have already yielded a child to me. To kill if I want." Frieza reaffirms his threat and points to the young Vegeta. With this amount of back talk and disturbing his business meeting there will be blood one way or another, he does not care who.
Finally the two Saiyans look at each other. Neither recognise their family member. The woman who is the Queen of all Saiyans sees the resemblance between this runt and her mate. Vegeta stands up and sizes up this pregnant woman. She appears strong. As a child he does not know the meaning of her large belly or that given time a rival to his claim to the throne could appear due to this. He takes his own fighting stance. There is a look of disgust on the woman's face. Her own offspring has been diminished into some servant quietly sitting at the feet of a being he should be training to defeat.
"You're my mother? Fight me. I've already beaten Nappa, next on the list of strongest Saiyans is you, then I can take down my father and become King." His voice is gravelly even as a young child. This is no welcome reunion, this is a chance for him to prove himself and test his mettle. The young lad makes no move forward, instead his nose twitches and he motions backwards with his tail lowering.
The Queen's form disappears and Vegeta is no longer standing. His mother has grabbed his tail and debilitated her son. Her disgust in him grows. A Saiyan should always know to guard their tail or at least put in the months of training so that he could withstand it being held.
"Why should I waste my time on you? You stink just like your father does – cowardice, subservience – I only fight real Saiyans, warriors, not some pet. You're no challenge to me." There is undiluted hatred in her words. The more she looks at that face the more she sees the man who dared to best her and then humiliate her by forfeiting everything to Frieza instead of fighting. Her son is disgracing her by proxy with his proximity to Frieza. She releases his tail and her child begins to stand.
"I am Prince Vegeta and I-"
"No, you're not. I am a true Vegeta. I killed and battled to become a Vegeta, I claimed my spot as the strongest woman. … You, you've done nothing. You haven't done a thing to earn your title. You are weak. Maybe my next child will be a real Vegeta, not you though."
This honorary title she seized through effort. She was not born to it like her child, gifted it like the planet she fought to take, she fought and rose through the ranks to become the best like her mate did that she took it from. Queen Vegeta does not see her child as worthy of his name.
"We shall see about that. Zarbon, discipline these monkeys. Their entertainment proved lacking." Frieza grows bored. The monkeys have stopped amusing him. Their pompous pride he shall crush.
Her guard raises too slowly. Zarbon has over double her power level and it is no contest. An ear splitting scream rings out as she drops to her knees clutching at her stomach, convulsions of pain running through her body. Zarbon delivers a few harsh kicks to her swollen stomach and as her pained yells ring out he turns his attention to the boy readying himself. Queen Vegeta vomits blood. Pregnancy has weakened her, her body has softened and become more sensitive and her movements are hampered. Her child is in danger. An heir to destroy Frieza must be born. Prince Vegeta manages to block the first strike of Zarbon. He may be young but he knows how this green haired alien likes to fight and has taken that hit many times before. The second hit he is not so lucky as it impacts into his jaw.
Frieza looks down at the overpowered Saiyans and motions his head for Dodoria to join in. The bulk of pink towers over the diminutive Saiyan on the floor. She raises a hand and charges a blast, her son is trying and failing to spar against Zarbon. Frieza's eyes shine and terror fills both royal Saiyans. Neither can move. The strong telekinetic powers of Frieza have left them powerless and immobile, the Queen's blast dissipates. Frieza motions with his hands and effortlessly gets them stood up and hovering in the air before him. He shakes his head and tuts. Blasts would ruin his ship, this misbehaviour should be punished. Both Saiyans growls and strain for freedom. One green hand and one pink hand grab hold of a furred tail each.
"Only one man gets to hold my tail and you are not it. Have you no shame to restrain us whilst you fight?" Spitting with rage, Queen Vegeta feels terror filling her. Her unborn child could be killed right now and she cannot stop it. Dodoria yanks on her tail in response.
"Luckily because of your silly little power boosts you will be spared reaching near death. Break their tails. Crush them." Frieza clicks his fingers and enjoys the show.
At the end both Saiyans are where Frieza wants them to be; helpless and on the floor before him. Bones are pulverised and fur has become matted with blood. As they are carted off he gives them one last warning that next time he shall dock their tails and leave them to be mocked and scorned by the horde of monkeys on the planet below.
Misaki carries Sasami from the room, saying sorry to Vegeta as she leaves. His hair would be blonde if this multiform had enough power, his rage has fully returned, eyes stay focused on the screen as it transitions to more of Ayeka's peaceful life on Jurai and visiting nearby colonies. That was his mother and brother and her words she said cut deep. The third strongest Saiyan alive at the time at 4 years old, only inferior to his parents, and he was chastised and berated by her for the slavery he was sold into by his father. Frieza threatened his family, planned on killing his brother when in an artificial womb and he has suspicions about how great an effect Zarbon's beating had on the fate of those two. As Misaki leaves she says that they are going into Washu's lab to play games if anyone needs them. Her eldest daughter shoots her a worried look. She is now on her own with a furious Vegeta sat beside her.
The young girl on screen visits foreign planets and dignitaries whilst her present day self debates what she can say after seeing what life under Frieza's fist was truly like. She's seen the scars, and those are just the rare few that have not healed. The remote is out of reach, Sasami and her mother have gone and so it is abandoned, yet on the opposite side of Vegeta – a chasm too far for her to stretch. A young girl giggles as she plays with other children of noble families. Vegeta swipes at the remote and the video ceases. The image on screen is the first frame of a new scene starring a young Saiyan prince. A feed from a scouter of a most unfortunate soul who has not made a wise choice for their opponent.
He did not do enough. He let Dodoria off too easily. A swift disintegration was too good for him. Vegeta lets out a dark chuckle as he thinks how he did manage to avenge his mother. His mother died in child birth and it is not too large a leap to guess that the monstrous strength of Zarbon pounding on her womb did her no good. The same way she was destroyed from the inside he gutted him with his fist and ended him with a blast from the interior of his stomach as the bargaining and begging began. A fitting gift of a corpse for him to give his wife the first time they ever met face to face. If they ever were allowed to leave Frieza's side his attempt on them would have been much earlier. His teeth clench as rage consumes him again.
"Lord Vegeta? We – We do not have to watch more if you do not want to."
"Your words imply that I am incapable, that you think simple memories will overthrow my mind. These are nothing. … Like I care he killed the Queen – in the same room father died. … And I smell Washu's game. She's edited this less for censoring and more to string some inane babble making me out as something I am not, a story pleasing to Juraian culture. Fallacy. Your markers of development were shown and she has only just found one of my kills." Washu will not best him with this history she has made, he will not back down from ghosts of his past. The intended audience makes her target clear: make him out to be a poor and tortured soul who was broken and abused into his violent ways. Vegeta was moulded by Frieza yet the material he was cut from was always that of a killer. Vegeta growls and resumes the footage to make his point.
So young and it is easy to tell this is not his first murder by the ease in which he pulls it off. The miniature prince stands on the torso of the dying soldier and watches and waits for the lights to go out in his eyes. The scouter continues recording as the haughty prince orders for Nappa to dispose of the corpse. No guilt or hesitation. Vegeta turns to see Ayeka. His true self is no victim, his pride will never allow him to be seen in that unfavourable light. That is him killing, his childhood hobby that Bulma made him shunt to the sidelines. She sees it. She knows this already. A harsh truth but not a surprise. It is disheartening all the same to see a child ever become so accustomed to such evil and that Vegeta still wants to take pride in these sins.
" … I no longer am such a fool to be taken by tales like that." Ayeka says in a subdued tone as she puts a hand into her robe's opposing sleeve. Before this large event of his season she would have. His darkness is always there. There is no escape from the 'what' he is.
There is no breaching their differences. Born as royals and beyond that she fails to see a single similarity between their lives, no common ground. Murder and pain and Frieza is all she sees of his side whereas the troubles she faced were nowhere as life threatening as the hell he endured. It is almost insulting for her images to be shown aside his. She sees he has no enjoyment here and all it is doing is fuelling his rage. Making his muscles taught and his strong arms tense. He might be forcing himself to watch more but she does not feel the same desire: being humbled and embarrassed by her side and shocked and disgusted by his is not how she wants to spend her afternoon.
"Good. … Think of it like me justifying Sasami by a debt of guilt. It is highly insulting. My kills are my own and Sasami follows you through her own choice and goodwill. If Washu wanted she could cut clips here and there later on in this to make it appear Sasami treats you as she does and stays by your side eternally due to her feeling guilt over her birth forcing you into a life predestined with your brother." After an elongated pause Vegeta continues with his point. Still riled up by his life being shown under the wrong light he makes sure that there is no false understanding Ayeka holds about him. Ayeka winces at such a hypothetical accusation.
"You're too close." She mumbles and inches away in her seat.
"To the truth, maybe, not to you though. … I'm skipping forward, my views on children are limited at best. Ayeka, so far as a child your development is quite gradual and slow, how old were you when started taking on an adult's form?"
The princess is silent and does not appear to want to answer that question. Then a hand reaches around her far shoulder and the distance she so desperately tried to create becomes nil as Vegeta brings her close. No smile is on his face but he knows her distancing herself could form an unhealthy habit that would put a strain between them. She turns a rosy colour as she finds Vegeta's arm around her and locking her in close to him and her mouth opens to protest however no words manage to find her lips as her brain enters a mini meltdown. Vegeta reiterates his question to her. She strains back with weak and hesitant movements as even this involves touching his body. Her eyes are on him, glued open in surprise and a small part horror as she feels the proximity. Ayeka's red orbs fail to notice the similarly coloured planet on the monitor detonating into cold chunks of rocks as her prince is all she can focus on.