Chapter 103

Piccolo reluctantly leads the party on its careful path further into the city. His natural regeneration offering him some safety from traps and ambushes has him grumbling in the position where he is far more likely to get shot than anyone else. That and Queen Vegeta insisting on being at the front and directing them to wherever she feels, which puts Piccolo at the front as the only one who can physically stop her charging off. Less than quarter of an hour into their exploration the Queen vanishes. Bickering from Vegeta and Goku distracting the Namekian and like a shadow she disappears.

What Vegeta started by bandaging himself up has been completed by Ryoko and Misaki. The white jackets of the two girls are repurposed as clothing for the adult women, torn and tied to hide at best what they can. It is not satisfactory for Misaki and so she carries the two girls Minami and Mikami in front of her – to aid their difficulty in walking with tied hair and to cover her ample chest. The clothing the girls have remaining is a light blue short sleeved shirt, khaki coloured trousers and a cravat of flamboyant colour either red for Minami or green for Mikami. Misaki does notice that the youngest Mikami has a blonde hue to some aspects of her hair in places amongst the pink and still refuses to speak.

With no guide they amble on slower and with more caution. Every so often they stop and scour a nearby building and have yet to have any luck in finding any supplies. Their captives have no clue where supplies would be and Vegeta is in no mind to trust their directions that could very well be a trap.

"Would it be so preposterous that you boys also don some clothing?" Misaki does not like naked Saiyans walking around her. They are a distracting sight and more importantly nude before young girls.

Ryoko concurs that she is of a similar mind and would prefer Vegeta to wear something. Goku wonders if he can use his tail to any effect in this but it does not yield the best results. The Saiyan Prince walks on without a care and listens out for where his mother might have disappeared to. He argues that if it discourages them then it might discourage his enemies.

"Attacking the Tuffles can only be a last resort. Your mind should not be on how you engage them in battle, we have these children here and this opens up channels of diplomacy with them. I am a Queen, I know how to converse and strike deals – all we need is a dialogue and there need be no battle."

"It can be tried. But I strongly suspect Kagato has planned this better than that, if all we have to do is talk our way out then we would be in here long before you stepped into my training room." He is too proud to relent, and too cynical to do anything but doubt they can merely talk and all be friends. A laser ran him through with no warning. Those are not the actions of people willing to talk – he knows from experience. If he shows any want for diplomacy here he knows Misaki will jump on it concerning the peace deals with Jurai.

"You, prisoners, explain to me why children are on the battlefield when all the other plebeians have evacuated? … Why has the gravity of this planet altered suddenly? … Who is the commander of your troops? And, what do you know of Saiyans?"

Confusion is the only response Vegeta gets from the two girls. They do not seem to understand half of his questions or to have even realised that gravity has changed. He suspected as much that talking would not be productive and marches off again keeping an ear out for his mother. Misaki parrots a few of his questions to try for answers and to prove Vegeta wrong, the confusion of the girls does not dissipate.

Lasers burn through the air. A salvo is unleashed. Piccolo hurriedly dives back around the corner he rounded and rolls further from the edge as the lasers face little issue punching through the building. Vegeta feels a sharp tug on his tail. Behind him Ryoko is attempting to pull him to safety, he kicks some loose debris around the corner and the motion triggers a few more shots – trigger discipline for these would-be attackers is lax though as the rock disintegrates he cannot insult their aim.

A call comes out from Misaki as she huddles over the children for a ceasefire, that they mean no harm and that there are children here who could be shot. The sensitive ears of the Namekian pick up murmurs and discussions between their entrenched attacks. He elongates his legs to a comical height and peers around the edge of the building at an elevation they would not expect him to be at. A few seconds later his reconnaissance comes to an end when he is spotted. Green and pink coils the distance and knocks out the Tuffle soldier. Piccolo curses his combat instincts as he retracts his limbs and gunfire rips the air again when their comrade hits the ground. Vegeta scoffs at his handling of this situation and asks for a rundown of what he saw. 8 Tuffles remain – all sporting various firearms and barricading a crossroads up ahead that will make going around them difficult. Several probing shots dot the wall they are behind and they fall back further. Vegeta pre-emptively goes over and covers Misaki's mouth for if she tries suing for peace again they might get lucky knowing where to shoot.

Goku crouches down and picks up some of the loose debris that the shots have littered around them. Having a careful think to judge distance based solely off of Piccolo's words he lobs the stone and building material up high over the building. A good lot of seconds later a few thuds and one loud pained cry comes out. Then another scream, and a third, then frantic gunfire. Vegeta, Goku and Piccolo dart around the corner and keep low in time for the last scream to fade into a gurgle.

Gore spatters her and coats her arms. Girlish chuckles and laughter come from the barricade. She jumps up onto the defensive wall with a beaming smile on her face. Queen Vegeta stands proud with death behind her. From her hand she drops a broken and sharpened metal pipe.

"2, maybe 3, were army – the rest chaff. That distraction of the rocks is appreciated. I assume we did not want any more prisoners?" Her voice cheerily coos out to her fellow warriors.

Prince Vegeta stands up and declines any further prisoners though reminds her that they need to keep fatalities at a low so that the mental stability of Washu is high enough to break them out of this trap. His mother shrugs and nonchalantly comments they were shooting and this was the safest way for her to subdue this garrison.

"Safest way? As un-Saiyan as my want for survivors those words are damning. I know your power is limited but surely you have the skill to win a fight-"

"I do and I have been shot before when toying with still living prey. We can all try to bait each other's pride here if we must, but we all know the trap for what it is. They are dead – again, more dead then their ashes already were – Washu has mourned them once, it should matter little to the number one genius of an extinct race if their likeness falls, screaming, scared and in pain." The smile and joy on Queen Vegeta's face from having engaged in combat and killed her targets is not going anywhere. Reliving these moments of her great victory, cutting down Tuffles as they are unable to best her, comforts her mind in comparison to the frightening reality she revived into.

From around the corner where the warriors dove from Ryoko jogs around and grabs onto Vegeta's tail. As he follows her back around he finds the issue. Misaki is not handling this well. War and death have been thrust upon her. She has heard the silence of death sweep through pained Tuffles who all descend from one of her closest friends. Lady Seto always protected her daughter from these cruelties and horrors, now without it the kind woman is suffering at these harsh realities. Still huddled over the children there are obvious cracks perforating her mind.

They have Ryoko take hold of the children to save them from potential harm in Misaki's strengthening grip. Vegeta has little idea how to handle this. His usual role here would be as the murderer. He pats her on the back of her head and she flinches. A pitiful mewl comes from her and she asks in denial if the Tuffles are alive. Vegeta tactfully replies that the simulations are gone. Her huddled form shakes, she does not accept this. Misaki quietly repeats to herself that she tried for peace.

Someone whom should not be left unsupervised is free to roam unattended. Piccolo is on the lookout for any possible further enemies and Goku has been bribed with rations found in the pockets of the deceased Tuffles. From behind Misaki a cheery voice calls her name. The blue haired Juraian turns from where she is on the floor and glacial black eyes stare back. Queen Vegeta casually steps towards Misaki. Her son is in the way. She steps closer to him. A hand goes on either of his broad shoulders, one thumb digging into his wound, and moving her head close to her child's she breathes heavily and deeply. Each exhalation carrying the foul stench of her recently pregnant physiology. With that and the pain of her pressure on his ruined shoulder a moment presents itself to her.

Deftly moving past him with her eyes locked on this particular prey she sidesteps and springs forth. Muscular arms of a woman wrap snugly about the Juraian two heads taller than herself. With glee, Queen Vegeta mirrors the hug and greeting she was given.

Warm. Sticky. Wet. Red stains from one Queen to another. Queen Vegeta moves her hand up and strokes against Misaki's face and leaves a horrific trail from the dead on her cheeks.

Black and red intermingle and wreath one of Misaki's arms. The building they used as cover shudders and groans as it finds Queen Vegeta sailing clean through it. Wrath filled are Misaki's eyes. Her countenance warped by fury with blood dripping from her face. A flash of dark crimson arcs across her hand. She takes half a step towards the hole in the wall she threw Queen Vegeta through and comes to a dead stop. The energy around her arm vanishes without a trace. Her monstrous anger escapes her. Misaki heavily collapses forward for Prince Vegeta to catch her with his good arm. Weak sobs and wretches come from her, hands shake like leaves and recoil as she tries to wipe the blood from her. Evil sadism like that she dared to hope could not exist. The bandage of her potential son-in-law is undone and he mops at the offending Tuffle blood.

" Th-th-than-thank you, my son. … To have you hit your own mother for my sake-"

"Missy, listen, do not hide from reality. That was you." He does not allow her to lie to herself about that shocking display of anger and power. Vegeta mops at her face as she trembles, recoiling from his words ripping away her cover.

"...C … Counteractor."

The name she was called is whispered with aversion and distaste. She shakes her head to herself and Vegeta moves her long blue hair out of her face as he continues cleaning the fresh gore from her. Previously it has just been a name, an insult from the Kais whom fear her, now she cannot disbelieve the credibility of this claim. There was something foreign and terribly powerful that burst from her. She can still smell the blood. She wants a bath, to run back into the sea to cleanse herself. Misaki is terrified.

"A power outside the realm of ki, very interesting. Do not be scared of yourself that power is yours to control and control it you must, if you need help controlling or facing your power – or if it is a transformation – then I have experience aplenty. Your daughter survived a day training under my tutelage, and you have a tournament to prepare for."

"It would … make the tournament more interesting, my son. Is your mother OK?" She hazards a weak smile at Vegeta's efforts and looks through the several demolished walls left in the other monarch's wake.

Woozily sitting up with scrapes and abrasions dotting her bare form is Queen Vegeta. A dangerous smile plays across her lips as she stares back through the building at her rival Queen – the one who holds an unknown power. To her side is Goku checking that she is fine which she also enjoys. She raises a hand and slyly waves at Misaki. The fearful Juraian wants to respond out of politeness yet horror stays her hand.

Provisions are scavenged from the Tuffles who no longer need them. True to her word, half of the food and water gained is ravenously consumed by Queen Vegeta. The share given to Misaki is charitably donated instead to the granddaughter's of Washu. There are some articles of clothing that are not wearing their former owner that get distributed around. The issue of nudity is now solved. However, these clean clothes are not the ones that either Vegeta choose to where. They are fully aware of the psychological horror it has on allies to wear blood drenched clothing, they shall terrorise their opponents and Prince Vegeta reckons this advantage shall be necessary for thinning the ranks of those to oppose them. Ryoko is happy that she manages to find with her sharp eyes some rudimentary first aid. She sets about working on Vegeta's ruined shoulder with her fingers being delicate and careful in touching his flesh.

Metal jangles across the floor. Misaki is immediately on guard and wary as Queen Vegeta throws several items to her and the children's feet. She demands for their prisoners to give information. The identifying name tags of the fallen are reluctantly read by the girls. They have no information to give on these strangers they do not know. Queen Vegeta huffs and remarks that she shall have to get more tags, pauses then goes to touch the children. Misaki's hand intercepts and Queen Vegeta smiles, half daring her to unleash that strange power that should not exist in a place with no ki, and feels the fear coursing through this woman. Blood is still on Queen Vegeta's hands and gets Misaki to quickly let go. The murderous Saiyan Queen chuckles to herself and says she currently means no harm and just wants to check the girls for their tags. At this request Misaki sees nothing wrong and does it herself. Only the silent youngest sibling holds an identifying tag with her name on, the other sibling does not and claims she is not old enough to have got one. Queen Vegeta's smile grows as she throws the tag of the youngest back to the girl to painfully hit against her head.

"It's dissection not vivisection you blasted fool. Sod off and keep guard whilst I perform an act foreign to you – learning." Snarling at his rival is Prince Vegeta. The discarded weapon from his mother is in his hand and dripping with fresh gore.

Ensuring that Misaki and the children never round their corner to see this scene of death, Vegeta's combat instincts are kicking into gear. From Washu and ki sensing her he has a rough estimate of Tuffle anatomy. That is a sample of one: of only a female, of only one ethnicity, of an ancient class 20,000 years old and possible not entirely natural in her physiology. Vegeta wants to know what a Tuffle is so that when he has to hit them he does not end up destroying a vital organ or breaking an important bone by mistake. He slices into one of the stripped male corpses and wrestles against the arguing Goku and Piccolo. Ryoko keeps her distance and joins Misaki to avoid watching Vegeta butcher a person.

"Kakarot and green guy, back the hell off whilst the elite class handle things. They are dead, what happens to some meat now is of no-one's care nor concern. Be thankful they had food on them or this slicing would be a precursor to something that will really get under that abominable Washu's skin." His mother confidently walks up beside him. "Taking the initiative to do this is a good sign, I can lend you my knowledge of these pitiful bodies."

In what amounts to a macabre parent-child bonding session, the two Vegetas slice and hack at a deceased Tuffle in an impromptu biology lesson. Queen Vegeta is knowledgable in this and explains the workings of the organs as they are revealed. Her hints at what can be fatal or not are purposefully become vague however. Preventing the death of Tuffles is not on her agenda. Neither Goku nor Piccolo see it wise to start infighting over this and definitely not against both Vegetas at once.

"You really think that as she is a woman of science she shall forgive you carving and butchering her beloved … whatever these worms are?" His mother questions with a raised eyebrow, seeing if since he has gone this far if he can be tempted to her view of killing.

Her son shrugs in response. He is not going to underestimate the man who constructed a beast that could battle on par with Super Saiyan 3s and shall take all precautions he can. Washu shall know of his reasoning behind these actions, though he shall be safer in this regard due to his mother being the main scapegoat for all hate. He asks how large the city is and how much space they have to work with for if this army of descendants is as large as he estimates they have to be outside the cramped interior of an urban environment. Queen Vegeta gives a rough guess of size, when climbing the sniper's nest an edge was not in sight.

One abrupt cough comes from Piccolo. He nods his head in the direction of an opposing corner to where they entered this crossroads and they understand his signal. Her body lowers and Queen Vegeta leaves her son to begin an ambush of her own. She creeps silently closer to this corner where another unlucky squadron of Tuffles approach. Piccolo then looks to Vegeta and hands him a hefty cinder block. He smirks. With the cinder block in his one working hand Prince Vegeta kicks out at the thing by his feet. Horrified screams and curses come from the unseen Tuffles as a disfigured and disembowelled body splats before them. Their position is blown and their nerves shot.

Vegeta opens his mouth to call out a warning to them, already at the sound of Tuffles comes another voice screaming with fear for them to lower their weapons or to flee. Misaki begs for them to try for peace and to take these children to safety. With a dead body in front of them her words are not heeded. This talk gives Queen Vegeta ample opportunity to get into a favourable position.

Five small items drop down onto the scene from on high. Blinding light and a deafening sound ring out. Flash-bangs blind them and as the Tuffles make their move both Vegeta and Piccolo make their own. Throwing with all their might they both cast their stones. They cannot hear the startled and pained grunt as the cinder blocks shatter on impact. When the dazzle in their eyes clears all of them find themselves surrounded, even Misaki and the children. 20 Tuffles stand around them. A mish-mash of various armours, uniforms and weapon types construct this unorganised mess of troops. Their ears still ring and Piccolo is in perceptible pain from his highly attuned large ears. On the floor two women lay. Ryoko feigns defeat laying amidst the bodies to go unnoticed. However, the other woman is not voluntarily on the floor. Queen Vegeta bleeds heavily from her jaw and the back of her head. Debris of cinder blocks is in her hair and around her. She is unconscious, and now after taking her out the others can act without fear of a massacre.

It is awkward for the Tuffles having to secure an area with several corpses littering the field and with some around a blind corner to the rest. Vegeta notices only a few know how to act, how to hold their weapons properly and he cannot pinpoint an actual commander for this squad. Disgust shows on his face. Misaki releases the children so that they can be out of the line of fire and the guards are quick to also prevent them from going anywhere they could spy the dead. Goku stands and puts a hand out in greeting to these men and women. A rifle butt slams into him. Goku looks at the one who hit him, not in pain, not injured, and with ease manages to simply grab the gun from this Tuffle by the barrel without fear.

Eyes turn to look at the rebelling Saiyan. Within several seconds all Tuffles are disarmed by the competent Saiyan warriors, Namekian and Ryoko from her ambush position. Disarray and fear are rife in the unarmed Tuffles as their pistols, automatic weaponry, rifles and melee objects are discarded on top of the deceased.

"You guys sure you should be trying to fight us? We ain't here to hurt anybody and you guys don't look like people who regularly get into fights. What gives?" Goku poses the question now that no amateur will interrupt him with violence.

Instead, a professional interrupts with violence. A thick dagger is expertly pulled from an internal compartment of a woman's forearm. One of the few military trained Tuffles charges with it keeping it low and stabbing as she brings her foot and momentum down.

"Filthy monkeys! You shall-"

Her arms and the dagger move back instead of her target moving. Her battle cry is cut short as the razor sharp edge of her armour piercing blade nicks against his hide. From underneath a widow's peak eyes fix on her. A second attack comes as pneumatic functions within the blade propel it forward with strength greater than a Tuffle can hold. The dagger crumples against his diaphragm. With the multiplicative tendencies of population growth the larger proportion of Washu's descendants are from a later time period and this female soldier is well versed in her familiarity with Saiyans. The broken dagger continues automatically stabbing the air.

Teeth fragments and blood spray from her face. Vegeta jabs his hand through her mouth, and grabs onto her tongue. A gargled and wet scream erupts from her as he tears her tongue out and discards it in the dirt.

"And now you can never insult the Saiyans again. Got any more tricks up your sleeve or are you quite satisfied now in your impotence?" One Vegeta may be down but a man who dwarfs her in terms of barbarism and brutality still stands. Her son shall not let that racist term be allowed on the battlefield, his enemies shall survive and that is the utmost he can allow.

He takes a hold of the wrist of his disabled arm and gently slaps her across the face as she begins coughing and choking on the blood running thick down her throat. Three Tuffles approach to aid her and the rest recoil in disgust and terror. Vegeta wipes her spit and blood on his already bloodied looted uniform. In glacial tones he warns the rest not to attempt to flail at him with weapons or to think of speaking ill of any in his party. Terror is a strategy he knows. Now that their most competent is collapsing to her knees with blood pouring from her ruined mouth their morale is broken, the rest need not be injured now. His allies are not looking fondly at his violence. His allies are not experts in war.

In the dirt the downed soldier scrawls hurriedly on the floor. Vegeta raises an eyebrow at whatever this message is. He cannot read the Tuffle language, and if it were the Saiyan language he cannot read that either since he has not seen it since he was 5 years old. The few brave enough to crowd around and protect their comrade are asked to translate her message. A young man with indignant hatred in his eyes and a scruff of beard speaks what the woman without a tongue cannot.

"She says that … that if you are to take prisoners for torture, for-for food or even for pleasure then she yields herself in place of the children."

With disinterest Vegeta wipes his foot through the message in the dirt. He sees the fires in the eyes of this woman.

"It is strange you think that we cannot just take both you and the children? Fear not, we have no need for more. If I wanted torture and pain and death all of you stood here would be joining your fellow's corpses, yet you stand. Food? You may be a woman grown but that prosthetic limb does not give me much trust in the amount of meat I can find in your body. Turn out all your pockets, all your provisions are ours. … As for pleasure, I am only interested in women who get up after I break them and try to stab me with their second and even third knife. No, I have no use for any of you. They aren't prisoners. You are useless for what we want. You will give your life for other soldiers and some will respect your sacrifice. If, however, a child was my shield I would feel far more comfortable in your inability to shoot them."

The weather changes. Few seconds of drizzle fall from a cloudless sky and breezes of arctic air blast from opposing directions. Then the sunshine returns. The Tuffles do not react to the glitches in their environment as they sullenly make a pile of their food and water canteens. Vegeta sends a probing and accusatory glance to Goku to warn him to not interfere with how he is handling matters, Goku maintains the stare and prepares to intervene if any more needless blood is spilt. Whilst he looks at his rival a pebble bounces off his skull. Ryoko looks at him, then down at the woman and back up to him. She coyly calls out that it is embarrassing her him so boldly stating his love for her on the battlefield. He sees the fear in her eyes. Similarities between her and the forced mute are too easy for her traumatised mind to draw as he unleashes his true Saiyan nature and decades of experience in horror and savagery. This is not the place for him to talk to her. What she also realises is that she has gotten off easy for the multitude of times she has thrown the insult 'monkey' at him as this other woman bleeds.

Vegeta's concern is the provisions with his dominance already asserted. Piccolo steps forwards and casually asks the group of disarmed Tuffles what year it is. None give the same answer. Half of them use an entirely different calendar system. All of the Tuffles fail to notice any discrepancy in their chorus, none can hear the issues that would prove their reality as a fraud. Ryoko is given food by Vegeta as he walks on past her and around the corner to where Misaki is. He orders the rest of the Tuffles to follow him and they do, he points them at Misaki and gives her the opportunity to try diplomacy. The Queen of Jurai stands in appalled shock when she sees the mutilated woman and catching Vegeta literally red handed with this crime. She shakes her head and then bows her head and apologises for any harm caused. Vegeta overrides her apology and says that if he meets this group of Tuffles again all of them shall lose one body part and he shall repeat this discipline until they learn.

"... I cannot speak on behalf of the Saiyans. Please, I am Queen Misaki Masaki of Jurai and I would like an audience with your commander. There need be no more- no more horrible violence." Authority is lost from her voice. Misaki is too shaken.

Denial is swift. The Tuffles here all died before her coronation, they do not know her nor recognise her claim and are swift in debunking her as a liar. Misaki falls back on her prior titles and her lineage from Lady Seto, but a few know this and even so they are not to trust her enough in putting her front and centre before their leader. The Devil Princess is not a name to breed trust.

"I am trying my best to prevent any lives from being lost and have been protecting those children from harm. You might not believe my status however I am still a Juraian citizen. Your aggression towards myself is a grave political incident towards the Juraian empire-"

"And you being part of a Saiyan strike force in our land is not an act of Juraian aggression for us to defend? We shall not bow to your imperial expansion." The same man who spoke up on behalf of the wounded soldier raises his voice to what he can only deem as an invading force.

Misaki cannot tell when most of these Tuffles originate from. The Juraian Empire is a long lived one which spans galactic distances and not all who joined it did so voluntarily. She does not know with what reputation of Jurai they perceive of her. With their powerful trees from Tsunami powering their navy in their history it was truly only the raw might of Frieza and King Cold that could and did oppose them. The Tuffles do not believe her laughable excuse of her and the Saiyans merely just appearing here in the ocean out of thin air with no motive against them.

"It breaks my heart that I cannot get you to find any faith in me, I must insist though that you at least inform me of your motives towards ourselves. All our previous encounters have had your forces wilfully opening fire upon us without warning nor provocation. Why are you doing this?"

"We must slay the Saiyan invaders or there can be no peace and no hope for our people."

"Are you finding yourselves currently under direct mortal threat by the Saiyans stood beside you? Your deaths have not come, you are safe, they are acting only in turn for your shooting at them. This is a dialogue we are engaging in, there need be no attacking each other like barbarians."

"... Shortly before your arrival we received a message from the Planet Trade Organisation. If any Saiyans are found to be harboured on Planet Plant then … Lord Frieza shall personally ensure that there is no planet for them to seek refuge on. We have one day."

Sharp inhales come from the Saiyans and Namekian. Kagato's plan makes perfect sense. Vegeta was wondering why only target Washu with them slaughtering Tuffles posing only minimal threat to them trapped in here when Kagato could slay them. The Tuffles are here first to ensure the breaking of Washu, to leave her in a state unable to free them so that once Frieza arrives they shall be dealt with and have no hope but death. Without ki they stand no chance. He has died to Frieza, Piccolo almost died to Frieza, Goku almost died to Frieza. Even stripping Frieza of his ki they cannot underestimate the monstrous natural strength of Frieza or their assured destruction if they do not escape before this impending doom reaches them. They cannot fault the Tuffles in their reasoning, they cannot persuade them to choose to die to Frieza over killing them.

Goku leans over to Vegeta and whispers that without ki they cannot do fusion which would be their only hope against Frieza. Vegeta's eyes fix on Misaki. There is one power here that Kagato surely did not count on; the Counteractor. Whether it is reliable or strong enough to go up against Frieza he cannot say. He knows for certain that in a fight Misaki is severely outclassed in terms of skill and cannot be depended upon to kill any enemy unless the rage of the Counteractor warps her horribly. Their fate is in the hands of Washu and her assistant Gohan to deliver them out of Frieza's grasp.

"Do you losers think that killing us will save you from Frieza? You're crazy. Evacuate the planet. Since Misaki's here then use her to get you safety behind the stupid wooden ships of Jurai. Just stop trying to kill my Vegey and leave." Ryoko sneers and offers an option to their enemy.

"Did you not look about you? We have evacuated, we are the few remaining who have chosen to save our home world-"

"Minami and Mikami. With what confidence can you soldiers say you have evacuated when these two girls are still in the line of fire? You are not the Tuffle military, most of you are civilians. You have not evacuated." Misaki interjects the Tuffle's argument.

"Unless we board the vessel you arrived on then the only way off of Plant is with Frieza's ship when it arrives. The evacuation is complete, what's done is done."

The scheme of Kagato is airtight. Diplomacy is a waste of breath. No options remain for Washu's kin but to fight and die to either Saiyans or Frieza. Misaki despairs. With no hope of reasoning with them and no hope of them leaving the battle of their own accord she can only see it as a matter of time until Queen Vegeta bathes herself in Washu's bloodline again. In a desperate last plea she asks whether their commanding officers would consider taking them alive as prisoners to be then given over to Frieza – to buy time for Washu and stem the killing – and the soldiers here cannot answer on behalf of the higher ups or their intentions. They can say that they have not been outfitted with non-lethal weapons.

An obnoxiously loud heave and cough brings an end to the discussion. Without her tongue the woman raises her face to Vegeta, her right shin magnetically decouples from her knee and she removes a snub pistol from her leg. She cannot stand now. She raises the gun and presses the barrel against his gut. His tail darts out and blocks the trigger. Calmly Vegeta tells her that if she does not lower her weapon and retreat he will kill the rest of her squadron. Her pistol is released from her hand, with only Vegeta touching it the defence mechanism triggers and gives him a painful electric shock. He orders the Tuffles on their way and in disgrace they leave – with the woman having reattached her leg. The children do not get to leave. Minami and Mikami he ensures stay as their prisoners, or rather meat shields.

More Tuffles are certain to come. However, here is as good a place as any to stay for now as they have no knowledge of where to go in this city and Queen Vegeta is still unconscious. Vegeta walks to distance himself from the rest and the disapproving eyes of Misaki and has Ryoko follow him.

"The Tuffles said one day till Frieza. I have no ki, how do you want to approach the night?" He crosses his arms and questions the nyctophobe.

She blinks a few times looking at him then smiles and laughs.

"We've got a Tuffle army on our ass and Frieza coming to slaughter us and the important thing right now is how we sleep together?"

"Yes. Those I can handle, with ease. You, I am not going to make any missteps with on your special date."

"You sure as hell better be kidding that this is our date, soon as we're back I'm teleporting us to the nearest dress shop. So, what're the options for scary night time? Washu could always make it day, that'd be nice. There any lights, power?"

"None so far unless the Tuffles have some power generators of their own that we shall have to raid."

" … Keep me warm under the stars then." Her hands reach out and earnestly grab his tail.

"Ryoko-"

" I can't be trapped in a dark cell if there's sky. Please Vegey."

"Ryoko I'm not saying no here. Can you handle it? Sleeping – and only sleeping mind you – with me?"

"Sleeping and cuddling, and I guess we'll have to see if I'm more scared of you or the dark. … If this were our date, I'd have to give it to ya that it sure as hell has 'escalated'. I'm looking forward to tonight, my Vegey." She winks and playfully blows him a kiss. Then as payback for earlier she spanks his butt. Ryoko grins to herself. "I promise I won't call you that 'M' word so long as you let me call you another: 'Mine'."

Shadows pass overhead. Buzzing drones hover above the city as larger aircraft perform reconnaissance at a high altitude. Metal rebar swats them out of the sky for them to crash and burn a street away. Queen Vegeta brushes herself down and picks up another piece of sharp metal in the rubble. Her lip is bust, the rear of her head is bruised and altogether she is not feeling the best following that concussion. She scrapes her metal bar through the concrete of a wall as she idles up towards where she hears the others trapped with her. Immediately upon rounding the corner she levels her weapon at Goku and asks with fury whether he was the one to attack her. He is innocent. Laughter from behind her allows her to deduce her son to be responsible, and Piccolo remains silent. There is food and water to be had and so her insatiable stomach calls her attention from vengeance for now. As she eats they explain what happened when she was knocked out and the valuable information they gained from questioning the living.

Queen Vegeta lets out a loud sigh at the threat of Frieza. That has loomed over her and this planet before. Frieza without ki she is unsure of in terms of destructive power. Given the correct weaponry any being without ki can be disposed of. She does not know enough of Frieza's weaknesses to formulate a plan. They cannot use Tuffle technology. The best she has is to leave the children to be found to lure him away from his ship and steal it. Goku is not confident that Kagato will let them escape. Queen Vegeta grins at him and teases that he is the one to have beaten Frieza before and that she can aid in this endeavour.

"No Spirit Bomb, no Kaioken, no Super Saiyan. I dunno. The main thing that cost him the fight was his 100% form burning his stamina and energy, now with no ki he can't weaken himself like that. Vegeta- I mean Prince Vegeta's been practising a lot against him so he'll do better than me." Goku is pensive at having any chance against his fated foe.

"Beaten to a pulp by the legendary Super Saiyan, sliced apart by his own attacks, blasted by Kakarot again and then a planet exploding … Frieza did not die from that. Sturdiness like that we will be fools to contend with." Vegeta shakes his head. They will die if they attack Frieza. The plan of Kagato is for their demise, they will not hold a chance.

A hiss comes from his mother at this perceived cowardice, even as she agrees with his judgement for she never openly attacked Frieza, and she points to Misaki. The suggestion of the Counteractor, the suggestion of having Frieza kill those girls to awaken her rage, Queen Vegeta is for trying this plan for if it fails the thing lost is a ruler of the enemy Empire of Jurai. Misaki states that if they walk the path of peace with the Tuffles they need not fear Frieza as Washu shall recover them from this simulation.

With that Queen Vegeta starts heading off further on the path they originally were walking. Reluctantly the rest follow her. She is asked for her intended destination and she shrugs. That crossroads she did not like defensively. Her aim if possible is to discover the forward operating bases of the Tuffles and raid their medical wards and tents. If they destroy the Tuffle's chances of healing from a fight they will be far more cautious when engaging with them. Misaki points out they are not likely to be undefended. Queen Vegeta is undeterred by this.

At length Queen Vegeta surmises her evaluation of the enemy and possible advantages they have been gifted. Just the simple shift in gravity she sees as a massive game changer. The Tuffles she feels are now massively underpowered. Expertise in physics and science are beyond her 20 years of life, but she knows weapons. She knows what the Tuffles used against her and beyond that the rest they are using would have been in museum archives and not the front lines. The Saiyans fought the same uphill battle in technology – 10 times Earth's gravity dictates so much of material science.

Materials had to be specially designed to be as light as possible and as structurally sound to compressive forces. Now those armours and metals are pointlessly light and lacking in structural integrity they could now hold. Melee weapons will hold no impact. Guns that fire projectiles and not lasers face significant recoil issues with gravity no longer dampening the effect on firing them. With that artillery and mortar fire would have to be rethought out as super light weapons fire very light shells at distances far outpacing what they were designed for. Vehicles they can push over with ease and any that relied on hover technology shall need drastic recalibration to not perform accidental vertical take-off. Aircraft shall fair better, though their handling in a different air density will need adaptation and the payloads they carry will be lacking in comparison to the weights they could store in this reduced gravity. Queen Vegeta is exceedingly confident in being able to tackle a mostly untrained army with their weaponry in this amount of disarray.

Sounds of machinery, voices and a higher concentration of aircraft in the air halt their movements. At best guess they are close to half a mile from the outer perimeters of the defences of a large encampment. Progressing forward shall be hard and face heavy fortifications and high risk of ambush. Vegeta looks to his mother as they stop. Both Saiyans know of the safest way to scout ahead. The Queen sneers as she is not in the habit of being degraded into asking for permission. Her tail wafts listlessly in the air as she nods at her son. The repercussions of this shall be severe. Vegeta knows war, and he cannot argue with the practicality of this. He walks over to Misaki and yanks the children from her hold.

All attention falls onto him as he begins roughly leading the children away from Misaki. Her complaints in them being taken from her get louder and more desperate as she sees Queen Vegeta expectantly waiting. She grabs at him to stop him moving. His lone arm is occupied in carrying the Tuffle children and so he retaliates with a headbutt which due to their height difference gets her in the sternum and winds her. Vegeta roars at her to behave herself and act rational during war, this is a battlefield and not a daycare and they must do what they can to survive. Pleads come from her to not harm the children. One Vegeta hands the children over to the other. Queen Vegeta is pleased that her son understands.

"Shut your trap, Juraian scum. These prisoners are going to serve their purpose now. I shall scout ahead. If they want to shoot me then they'll have to shoot through these girls first. … So long as no Tuffle tries to attack me they shall return alive." The Saiyan matriarch barks out to this lowly queen reduced to begging. All have a purpose and they shall have theirs.

Goku and Piccolo want to intervene as they do not trust the girls' safety with Queen Vegeta. Prince Vegeta stands between them and dares them to try or to explain to him any of their experience with war. Still trying for the release of the girls Misaki will not accept a promise of only Minami and Mikami's survival and wants Queen Vegeta's word they shall not be harmed, this is not given to her. The children are dragged off by Queen Vegeta.

"If those girls perish then she loses her meat shields and she shall take sniper fire akin to me. We cannot dodge a laser." Vegeta explains.

"No! Ch-children cannot be collateral-"

Vegeta is not going to listen to her and walks away to keep a lookout for any encroaching Tuffles. She shakes her head in disbelief. Someone flicks her nose and she looks to see Ryoko stood by her. Misaki quietly speaks that those girls are Washu's grandchildren, no harm can come to them, they have to be protected for Washu's sake. Ryoko nods her head. She understands that yet she has committed her own atrocities. What it comes down to is keeping themselves alive over some simulations. Misaki does not like this pragmatism, nor Ryoko's follow up point that using them like this could help her to see her own children.

Her metal bar once sharpened easily cuts through the hair of the two girls to disentangle them from another. One at the front and one at the back she holds them, keeping the youngest before her. Climbing a staircase to the roof of a 5 storey building the Queen surveys the land before her. She hears shouting, commotion and sees three laser sights trained on her and the young girls offering her protection. Queen Vegeta smiles as she surveys the reconditioned suburbs. Tents erected in lawns of houses, vehicles parked in empty sports fields, people milling around and mobilising with some organisation. There are a lot of Tuffles. They occupy a space larger than she can see. No tent or building she sees has a marking she knows of denoting it to be for healthcare.

She turns about so the eldest girl is now in front and with disregard throws the youngest to the other side of the roof. Her hold on the eldest is painful and the girl squirms. Queen Vegeta holds her directly before her and over the edge of the roof. Even if they have a shot on her this girl will fall and die, not that she believes most of these to be competent enough to shoot her. She starts memorising places, weapons, routes, patrols and estimating the strength of this Tuffle army.

Mikami lays sprawled on the roof. The blonde cut from her hair she rolls onto her front and raises onto her knees. Watching the barbarian before her with her sister. She takes her water canteen from her belt and removes a false bottom from it. Out falls into her hand a small switch-blade. The weapon is unusable by children thanks to Tuffle safety measures. Those safety measures do not activate. Instead of an alarm the blade snaps out and ignites with a plasma coating. Limbs elongate. Her body matures and grows. As a full adult Mikami keeps low and springs forth.

Her blade cuts clean through ribs and flesh A horrified face stares back at her as the lights fade in her eyes. Queen Vegeta chuckles from behind Mikami.

The plasma knife clatters to the floor in horror. Mikami grabs hold of her sister Minami and looks on in shocked despair at the stab wound. Arms lock around Mikami and hold her in a painful Full Nelson pressing down on her spine and making her knees bend to be at the same height as the short queen.

"You try and shoot Ryoko and you hit Prince Vegeta, now you try and stab me and … oh dear, you have gone and killed your sister. I'm not as hasty when hunting my target." Taunts come from Queen Vegeta after easily dodging this predicted assassination attempt.

Mikami does not hear her words. Her dead sister is in her arms. Running her through with her own blade, Minami is dead as Mikami begins to weep. Queen Vegeta is no fool. An injured hand that could only come from the wielder of the sniper rifle, a dog tag that only adults possess and a psychological maturity not natural for her age. The pieces fit together so well. This is the shooter, she is no child, and the tricks that Washu uses to control her age are not unique. She has been baited to reveal herself. Queen Vegeta holds the Tuffle responsible for shooting her child through the shoulder.

A harsh jolt from the grapple breaks Minami from her grasp and Mikami wails as her sister's corpse falls. A second jolt pains her neck and rocks her head so she cannot see the impact on the ground. Mikami screams out for her sister. A large amount of Tuffles are watching this scene from their base.

"No distractions now. I am not here purely to look over this pathetic sight of Tuffles. I have a message to deliver, and you get the honour of being my messenger. Ensure to me that only those brave enough dare to face Saiyans in combat. I have missed this."