Chapter 110

Underneath the former bed of Ayeka rouses a slumbering Saiyan. Huddled tight in blankets from both the bed above her head and the covers from Sasami's prior bed is the nude form of Queen Vegeta. Sleeping on the floor in weak gravity is more comfortable than the natural 10G she is used to. She pats the protective bed over her head and pushes it upwards as she stands and stretches and cautiously scans the dark room with her eyes. Her tail tucks about her slim waist. The bed lowers down. She stands for a moment listening to the world. Night is still upon this foreign planet. The air is quiet as animals have grown to avoid this area. No other sound of movement comes from this house. Wandering in the gloom she pushes open the door to where her son sleeps. Seconds pass as she weighs up the option of ambushing him in his sleep and she decides against that reckless folly even if she does manage to hit him with all she has. Queen Vegeta turns about and makes her way towards the bathroom. Though this room is owned and managed by Washu, the Saiyan is allowed entrance since the scientist predicts too much hassle to come from that level of pettiness when it comes to annoy Prince Vegeta.

A hand not her own opens the door from behind her. Her son was not as fast asleep as she thought, her decision to spare him has proven wise. Vegeta gruffly tells her to get on with it as he marches into the bathroom to begin his early schedule. She complies for bathing is her intent. Together mother and child bathe in silence, neither socially gifted or of a want for conversation. Nudity is no bother to them. Familial bonds tie them and only a smidge of awkwardness arises in Queen Vegeta over her son's similarity to the King in both appearance and now age. The cavalcade of scars across his body she approves of. Queen Vegeta sniffs at the shampoos and hygiene products, wary of their chemical composition and also wanting a mild smelling product to not overpower her keen nose. Short hair makes bathing easy and quick for herself. Tussling it to the side when she is finished so it mostly stays out of her eyes. Longer hair like her son would be preferential yet she has little choice in styling for Saiyan hair does not grow and what she lost when she gained her burns remains lost.

Following a curious sniff at the air her son questioningly remarks that her smell is far less offensive this morning than last night. The protection she had has dissipated. His black eyes meet hers as they both think of the same thing. Dismissing his comment as a remark on something that should be obvious she sneers that of course her scent has faded as she would fail as a mother quickly if her sons would not touch her when she tries to nurse. That makes sense to Vegeta as she lords her parentage of him over him with that, and her detailed knowledge on Saiyans he sorely lacks. With her son heading back into his room to silently dress for training whilst Ryoko is dead to the world he sees his mother in his doorway still stark naked. The unspoken question is there. Clicking his tongue in annoyance Vegeta vanishes and after 5 minutes reappears behind her and throws 2 bags of women's sports clothes on the floor. She openly investigates and spills out the contents of the bag. Vegeta does not care for her approval or not. He heads off to boot up his training room and begin his eternal training anew.

As he expects his training room powers down a few minutes into his warm up and a substantial and raised ki waits on the other side of the closed door. Queen Vegeta shunts open the bulkhead. Black elasticated crop top and shorts with a ready made tail-hole are her ensemble of choice. The Queen knows what has to happen now. She flares her ki and points at her son in challenge. He has already said himself that the main determining factor dissuading this event has gone. Her body yearns for this. As a Saiyan parent this is what is required of her. Unable to train properly she will get her fix of combat and pushing her body to the limits in what could well be her final fight if her son wants to claim control over their bloodline. Since this woman is his mother and the Queen of Saiyans and Vegeta knows all she has to do is linger around to prevent his training he agrees. For sport he splits a multi-form of equal power to herself, a power so low he has not naturally held since shortly after her own death. She comments on this duplication for sensing ki is beyond her and his explanation irritates her for this patronisation of her weakness yet relieves her that her chance of being sent to hell again have lessened.

Having personally witnessed his skill and brutality in dismantling Frieza she does not brim with confidence in a fight against her son. Outside in the twilight dawn she stands facing her son and assumes her fighting stance. Prince Vegeta calmly stands there and patiently waits. From what he has witnessed of his mother he has a succinct battle plan devised for handling her. To his surprise she unfurls her tail from her waist and lays it upwards against her spine. He has no need to make the first move, he shall wait it out and goad her, this fight shall be his to control. All he requires is one word to begin this and draw her out into where he wants her. That one word is given: Pranis.

With the gauntlet raised and her anger stoked he calmly observes his mother darting towards him and keeping low to make use of her shortness. Vegeta counts her steps and how many more she shall need. Raising his hands to his head a quick bit of footwork comes from his mother as she pivots on the spot and bounces away and to the side. It does not matter. Fingers splayed either side of his widow peak he uses a move that is quite ineffectual on anyone with ki sensing. There is no sunlight to mirror it as he lets loose a Solar Flare and blinds the unsuspecting Queen, her movement to block an attack not covering her eyes at all. Staggering and blind she listens out for footsteps that never come. Instant Transmission gets him behind her. A booted foot cracks down on the back of her knee as a hand grabs at the back of her neck and pushes her down. She is slammed to the ground with her son atop her.

Snaking around his wrist is her tail. She has a limb at her rear and she is ready and willing to use it to gain freedom. A small amount of traction is all she requires to unseat his hand momentarily, Queen Vegeta pushes to get up and then a second hand rams her head into the ground. Her tail cannot compete with two arms. She bucks and struggles in vain. With their power levels being equal his larger mass and size is coming into play to overpower her. Weak blasts spew out from her hands and she begins flying at top speed after blasting away the floor she was pinned to. Escape is not granted as her tail is grabbed and pulled. Queen Vegeta's vision blurs in pain. As she is pulled back a knee plants itself past her chin and into her throat. He blocks a retaliatory strike and tosses her aside by her tail.

Queen Vegeta struggles to draw breath as she gets her feet underneath her. Purple shines before her. Her son hovers with his hands cupped, his arms raised to one side and his knees bent with crackling purple erupting from him. Queen Vegeta's mind goes blank. Blocking when he can teleport will allow him to strike her easily where she fails to guard and fleeing the blast likewise shall gain her no sanctuary from Instant Transmission. Inspiration hits her and she dashes towards his house so that his aim cannot be true towards her whilst his house will also be in the line of fire. The roar of Vegeta shouting his signature attack comes all too soon. Not even halfway there the Galick Gun is fired at her. Her eyes are filled with purple light. Queen Vegeta raises a hand in response and her own violet energy erupts from her palm and clashes against the planet destroying beam. Ground is immediately lost by her own beam as she struggles to get her ki output up to the high level of this Galick Gun quick enough to save her. The blast dances ever close to her hand as she stalls for long enough to bring forth her other hand to aid her failing defence. Even then with her full might surging out into her counter attack the technique Vegeta has honed for decades is not being denied. Her arms brace as her son's attack hits her open hands. Legs shake and knees tremble staying upright against this force and her teeth adamantly grit. As she feels her defences crack and crumble, Pranis looks through the light of the blast at her confident and insurmountable son. Facing her fate Pranis smiles.

Queen Vegeta's smile fades as she is tackled to the ground from the side and the blaze of purple curves purposefully upwards into the dimly lit sky. A fist pummels her in the side of the head, another in her temple, and a few more in her jaw. Her feet connect with the body atop her and she manages to wrestle her way to elbow him off. Queen Vegeta springs to her feet as the Prince stands with no urgency. She kicks him in the side. A roar is about to come from her.

"You were wishing for death then. Why?" Her son gravely questions.

"I don't - … I guess even the Queen of Saiyans still has to abide by her duty as a mother. My purpose then was to aid the next generation ascend past me, what of it." She crosses her arms and turns to face away from her son.

"No, that's not all, far from being the perfect mother you might pretend to paint yourself as you are a terrified whelp trying to overwrite her shameful death with something more fitting. That shall not work with me around, Pranis. You claimed to seek the power of a Super Saiyan. I care not for your presence if the limit of your determination and effort end at submitting to death at the nearest convenience."

"You traitor to your own kine and kin who so hopelessly indulges in alien blasphemies shall not lecture me on how to live or to die as a true Saiyan."

"As Queen, that is your job. As Queen, that is yours to change. Don't want to die, then so be it. If you do then I can exceed your cruelty in perpetuating your stay among the living in your shame and pathetic weakness."

He thumps her in the chest with an accusatory finger. She snarls back in response and her mind begins to tick. Not just rewriting the Saiyan doctrine she sees now that it is hers to mould and reform in her image. What she can and cannot create for their culture is a moot point in regards to enforcing it though on any other Saiyan. Queen Vegeta shakes her head. She tells her son she wants another shot at him now she understands a few of his techniques. Vegeta smirks at her and lowers his power further, telling her as he does so. In anger she strikes at him and he does not have the speed to dodge nor the intention to. When her knuckles brush against him the world vanishes, when her punch knocks him back his body then disappears and Queen Vegeta is greeted by the black void of space. Protecting herself with ki from the vacuum she panics. Eyes wildly look for any sign of anything she can fly towards. No large source of light is apparent. No planetoid is close enough for her to fly towards and even so she has no clue where she is or even what Earth looks like from orbit. The frantic nature of her panicking alone in space has her oxygen supply diminish fast. There is nothing here. No hope, no life, just darkness and the void as someone with half her strength has her asphyxiate in space without a warrior's death allowed to her. There is nothing she can do. Her state of being powerless is taken to the extreme. The document from Washu comes to the forefront of her mind as the company of death gets closer. Her son reappears, offers his hand to her, she takes it and is returned to Earth.

" … Nothing … I- death greets me again … and my son saves my life like a helpless child. …" In between pants to refill her depleted lungs, despair and shame fill Queen Vegeta at how utterly hopeless her attempts against her son not using any power against herself is. She cannot even blame her lower strength now in failing. In every aspect she is beat as a Saiyan. His continual shaming of her by not ending her life in combat stomps on the already broken shards of her pride. That name of Tarble given to her second born is looming close over her own head to grind down what little identity she has left. " Training. Sparring. Anything. … I need to stay a Vegeta."

Queen Vegeta grips her son's hand tight. She is trying to keep it all together. Her identity is being thrown to the wayside and she needs whatever aid she can to grasp back something of who she was. She needs strength, power, she needs her ability to hold her head high once again and not be the laughing stock of all other Saiyans. Her air of confidence and arrogance that her son also shares cannot protect her from the nothingness she has after resurrection.

Her son looks down at the lost woman that is his mother. Dark years troubled his own past. Ascension to Super Saiyan. The revenge against Frieza being stolen by another. Inferior strength to another. A life of combat squandered. The death of a loved one. All these moments have plagued him and beaten down at his soul. All that same pain crushes his mother the Queen. She is young, younger than he was by a large margin before the troubles of coming to Earth hounded him into his perpetual hell of training day and night, she has already broken to it and what little Saiyan heritage she can cling onto is not helping in her want to embrace death where possible. It does not feel right, it is not natural nor normal but his definition of family is not strictly that of a Saiyan any-more. Vegeta brings his arm around his mother and gives her a hug. Her body tenses at this strange touching – a grapple with no ill intent against her – and as she looks up into her son's eyes she sees the most damaging thing she can: pity and sympathy. Silent rage and choked back tears, Pranis has no strength in her to deny this and allows her son to embrace her for the first time. She growls as she exhales at what she has become. Pranis puts her tail about her son's waist and bites down on Vegeta's collar for she needs some aggression to excuse this action.

Letting the curtains fall back into place Ryoko rolls back onto her side after the noise of Queen Vegeta shouting and a Galick Gun nearly hitting the house roused her. Her Vegeta has left her side. Groggy, she whistles half heartedly and Ryo-Ohki equally groggily rolls out of the bed and lethargically hops towards the light switch to give her mistress light. With her job done Ryo-Ohki is welcomed back and cuddled under the covers as Ryoko shuns this dawn. The Queen of all Saiyans proclaims her hatred for her son patronising her as he is as his multi-form's power rises to match hers and he takes a fighting stance. Ryoko grumbles at the loud sound of clashing warriors. Quickly on in their bout of sparring Vegeta realises and commends his mother on one advantage she actually holds over him; she is far better at utilising her tail in combat then he is. When he had his tail combat was trivial for a blast would demolish a planet and he had no need to learn his tail, she fought tooth and nail in a war using every asset she had.

No tricks, no techniques, just brawling with fist against fist. Even being beaten in this regard by her son the chasm separating her from Vegeta in martial skill is not insurmountable. A smile finds itself on Queen Vegeta's lips as she enjoys sparring against a formidable and challenging opponent and lands her own hits on her son. Rest and relief for the Saiyans comes when a secondary multi-form of Vegeta prepares breakfast for the diminished number of residents within his house, long after the Sun has risen proper and Ryoko deemed it time to get out of bed. What is provided on the table for breakfast does not limit the Queen. Food to sate three with Saiyan stomachs is hard to fit on one meagre dining table – much to the knowledge and annoyance of Chichi. The portion for Ryoko barely makes a dent in the rest of the spread of food needed to occupy the warrior race. This does not deter Ryoko. She knows what today is.

Excitement shall not be quelled. Practically bouncing with giddiness and giggling to herself Ryoko can not contain herself at the prospect of what today is bringing for her. Her feline eyes lock on her target sat beside her greedily. Staring at him with impatience over the delay she has had to wait through already. Today is the day. Today is her date. Today is when she gets her dress for marrying Vegeta. Her over eagerness causes her mouth to run. Words spill as she pesters Vegeta. Questioning and probing him for times, details, locations, flattery until one small comparison brings a clatter of cutlery to the table.

Ryoko mentioned the other looming wedding. The greatest foe of the Tuffles hears this and chuckles to herself darkly as food is momentarily forgotten. Queen Vegeta sneers. She knows that Washu is holding a ceremony soon, one that means a lot to her, and one that would devastate her were it interrupted. Such a juicy target as this cannot go ignored by her and her evil intent to finish the extinction of the Tuffles. Prince Vegeta on the other hand would have preferred this small complication not to occur.

Consequently, after having waved off Ryoko's advances and persistent want to go, go, go full steam ahead off on their date and telling her lunch is the time he plans to leave not breakfast, he has his training disrupted. Beyond his mother annoying him and her proximity shutting down his training room the other annoying woman from Planet Vegeta distracts him. He is of a marginal want to destroy some of her lab over her blatant continued use of listening devices around his house but that did not stop her prior. Washu appears on the screen within his training room. Harsh words come from her directed at Ryoko for giving away her wedding to her mortal enemy. As a prince he does not care for her orders or bartering to get him to agree to basic guard duty over her wedding. Protecting her from his mother is a given since she is instrumental to running his training room and her noise of worry and concern over the monster that is his surviving parent is meaningless drivel he could do without. Then with his mother's incessant want to end Washu's life and consequently hearing Washu's voice this prolongs the conversation as it cuts out whenever Queen Vegeta tries to listen in or interrupt. Queen Vegeta gets hastily palmed off to spend time with her grandson before Vegeta leaves her in space for a second time today.

A morning of sparring has gotten the Queen into a want to spar with Trunks which he reluctantly agrees to under the silent threat of angering his father by declining. Queen Vegeta's all out and enthusiastic energy to fighting her latest descendant is not mirrored by the bored Trunks.

" 'Sup, so do I need to get a bridesmaid dress as well when I'm out, what colour?" Popping into existence in Vegeta's training room and being safely in her phased state so enhanced gravity does not kill her, Ryoko chirpily joins in the conversation of weddings and such. She wants to gloat and brag – and without Ayeka around she does not have any decent opportunity to do so.

"Mihoshi is my bridesmaid, yeah no you're not invited to be one. Get yourself one if you want a back-up for Ayeka's marriage but you don't get any special role in my wedding, just healthy supervision that your drinking stays in line." Washu cracks down harsh on the careless space pirate who outed her wedding to her most detested foe.

She pouts in response to being shot down and Ryoko shrugs and mumbles something about nepotism for only Mihoshi getting allowed to be her bridesmaid. Vegeta trains regardless of what the invading women say around him. Ryoko muses that for her own wedding Washu has to have done some research into how Earth weddings work. Washu nods and explains she has several compendiums of Earth culture and traditions around weddings sorted by relevance towards Yamcha, that if Ryoko wanted to start reading it now she will have little time for anything else until the tournament on Jurai. Ryoko simply asks about Washu's wedding dress. All Washu gives away is that she has one and its details are highly confidential until the day. Fishing for more and for a clue of what to aim for today the follow up question is asked of where Washu got her dress from.

"Ryoko, do you think I'm some fool who pays full retail price for some shabby garment made on a backwater planet like this? My wedding dress came from the same place the rest of my wardrobe does. All synthesised to perfection from the highest grade materials from machines found nowhere else in the galaxy." Boasting back at the rogue, Washu gloats over the perfection of her preparations and her confidence in how her wedding dress shall eclipse any Ryoko can purchase.

"Bah! That's no help, go on Vegeta get her talkin'. The less she says the less idea I got and the longer I'm gonna have to take on our date."

Vegeta continues his training. His mind focusing on blurring out the voices of these women. With nothing else to gain here Ryoko leaves in a harrumph telling Vegeta that he has to be ready on the dot for their date come noon or she will not forgive him and will ban him from training till Ayeka returns. He gives a non-committal nod. She punches him in the back and he verbally agrees this time.

The boredom of Trunks ends the training session with his grandmother within the hour. With time to herself the Queen sits by the lake and ponders the mystery of how she shall bring about the rebirth of the Saiyan Empire. She keeps in her mind all she can recall of the old constitution her King upheld and she enforced – and wonders on the less satisfactory areas and how she can improve upon them. Laws come with an issue of law enforcement and this quandary takes the forefront. As a Saiyan leader her presence and might itself is the deterrent to breaking her code. Goku and Vegeta laugh at her paltry strength. She cannot invoke punishments for breaking her law. It will rapidly become a useless piece of paper as soon as ink touches parchment. Thinking logically this should not be her first port of call yet her Saiyan blood will not let her sit still on this unnatural issue of the monarch having no power. The order is on its head, the low class being the strongest, her son the second and her the rightful Queen as the weakest. Her complaints become verbal. Her anger becomes manifest.

Ryoko does not like her time relaxing before her date having its mood soured. She teleports the Queen far away and to the home of Goku.

The scenery change about Queen Vegeta causes her to blink in alarm until she recognises the small dwelling and begins making a beeline straight for where she hopes to find Goku. Helping with hanging the laundry outside a rotund man who dwarfs her at double her height lets out a worried groan. The Ox King grimaces and waves at the Saiyan intruder thrust upon the Son family household again and she stops and stares at him. Her gaze bores at him expectantly as she knows his size does not hide any strength – much as his physique is similar to that of the average Saiyan excusing his age. Both being royals in mostly name only, the Ox King chooses the path of least resistance and bows to the Queen. She smiles content at him conceding to her strength as he should.

Following a swift bark of an order from the prodigal son, Ryoko reappears clicking her tongue and chucks down the bag of Queen Vegeta's new clothes and floats off into the house hiding something else in her hand. Goku can sense the arrival and so pops out of his training room for a breather to see her. The Queen's excitement rises as he approaches her. She holds herself out towards him and proclaims her odour has subsided so he can fight her. He grins as Goku is always happy to accept challengers, then the Queen becomes unnaturally apprehensive and takes a wary guarded step from him. Prince Vegeta showed the Queen the true power and prowess of the current Saiyans and this is the sole man above even her own son in terms of combat potential. Queen Vegeta states that her lack of techniques has been made clear and she shall focus on simple sparring and not being teleported into space, which has Goku pause confused as that is a specific action until he thinks on Vegeta then also thinks on that less than honourable use of Instant Transmission of abandoning foes who cannot teleport themselves.

Behind him the Ox King gives him a friendly reminder of Chichi's rules about sparring near the house and says he does not want the laundry to get dirty from their fighting. Goku chuckles and nods until Queen Vegeta interrupts by throwing a punch at him. That sounded dangerously close to an order directed to her so naturally she disobeyed. Her fist is swept aside as Goku pushes her attack past him without issue. Her tail behind her catches hold of his wrist and coils about. Goku has more mass and strength. A tug at her rear end has her counter attack foiled. Queen Vegeta is lifted from her feet as Goku raises his arm upwards with her tail adamantly attached. She growls at the indignation as this mocks her shortness. Hooking a leg around his elbow and locking his arm's mobility her claws come out as she goes for his nearby face. Goku's one free hand is sufficient to block her attacks before he playfully flicks her on the nose. Queen Vegeta's temper rises and so a blast begins to charge in her foot by his shoulder. Since she is so stubborn in staying attached to his arm Goku goes for an elbow drop, with her over his elbow and her blast losing all aim as it goes into the sky. Even this is not enough to get her to relent and so Goku threatens her with his own blast charging in the hand adjacent to her head. The blast hangs there as she slowly unwinds her tail and leg from him. As soon as it dissipates she goes on the offensive again.

Inside the house Chichi was supervising Goten doing a short piece of homework set by herself when a woman flew through her wall as if nothing were there. Her eyebrow raises and she tells Goten to continue concentrating on his work as she walks over to Ryoko. A slip of paper is given, Ryoko says all the information comes from Washu and will come in handy when dealing with her own homewrecker, stating her allegiance that the true partners of Saiyans should stick out for each other. Then Ryoko teleports back to her lakeside love nest. Chichi groans to herself as she peers out a window and sees that Queen Vegeta has been returned and is cavorting with her husband. Out of curiosity she unfolds the paper document and looks to see what secrets it might hold. Washu held no quarter in making the information contained as damaging as possible for Queen Vegeta, or Pranis as Chichi learns her birth name.

It is a hard read. As a mother it is devastating in how vindictively it focuses on Pranis' children, on Tarble, on his failings and shunning from Saiyan society and Pranis' death at his birth. She cannot help but think towards herself. Chichi's hand goes to her stomach, to little Chibusa, and worries for her own unnaturally sped up pregnancy. Goten asks his mother what is wrong as what she is reading is clearly upsetting her, his mother shakes her head as this should not concern him and says that Queen Vegeta has had a hard life. She excuses herself and walks out of her house and towards their guest. Chichi is not jealous towards the actions of Queen Vegeta. She has complete faith in her husband, is not possessive over who he fights with despite what Queen Vegeta is clearly attempting through fighting him, though that does not mean she has a want of a woman lingering around their house whose goal is to steal her husband.

In a well trained response Goku stops fighting when he sees his wife approach and assumes he is about to get scolded for humouring Queen Vegeta when their house is potentially in the firing line. Stern words do not come from her – which is a pleasant surprise for Goku. For disengaging in the fight he does get struck repeatedly by Queen Vegeta who did not say he could stop yet her strikes mean nothing. Queen Vegeta scowls at this woman, her rival not of Saiyan blood, who dares interrupt her training to build rapport with the strongest male Saiyan and edge herself closer to Super Saiyan. Her scowls deepens into an intense snarl. Those emotions on Chichi's face directed at her, that familiar paper in her hand, Queen Vegeta will not stand for it. Sympathy and pity of that magnitude shall not be tolerated nor shown towards the Queen of all Saiyans. She has but one course of action to rid this shameful humiliation. Queen Vegeta sprints past Goku and goes in for the kill. Chichi is not ready nor suspecting an attack on her life. An arm hammers down into Queen Vegeta's collar, her feet embed into the ground and she is shunted by sheer strength aside and prone on the floor. Goku stands barring her way to his wife.

"You have no right, no right to read that filth from the Tuffle! Burn it. Destroy that libel before I smash it out of your brain." Queen Vegeta seethes out as she glares up from the ground. She fires a blast at the paper and Goku deflects the attack to his wife.

"Pranis, you-" Chichi calls her by her birth name. Queen Vegeta's rage intensifies.

"No! No, no, I am not that! Queen Vegeta of all Saiyans. Vegeta. The Queen. I am not her, not her at all. She died and Queen Vegeta was resurrected. I am not that … My legacy is that of a Vegeta, of a Super Saiyan warrior elite, nothing else. I am the strongest female Saiyan. That name belongs to no-one."

"I don't care who you say you are, whether this is some Kakarot or Goku kinda thing, you don't attack Chichi over your own issues." The mighty Saiyan draws a comparison with his own name's duality in silencing Queen Vegeta and laying down the law.

"You shall care! I am your Queen. Obey me or suffer. Any who dare to speak of the … heresy on that paper Washu wielded against me shall perish, painfully."

She pounces to her feet and slams her hands against the chest of the Saiyan defying her. It cannot happen again. That thing is another cowardly weapon of the Tuffles made to hurt Saiyans. She reaches past Goku to destroy it. He catches her arm and prevents her from moving. Goku looks behind him at his wife and asks Chichi what this business with this paper is all about. Chichi is not wanting to reveal secrets and breach the privacy of this woman if it causes her so much distress, and on top of that the Queen does what she can to stop any revelation. Queen Vegeta yells at the top of her lungs to mask any speech of Chichi that shall endanger her. There is one thing she did not count on. Goku rests a palm on her head and shall be done with this. Her mind is read.

" … All this over a few tears?"

Horror crawls over Queen Vegeta's face. Her face goes white with terror and she recoils away from Goku and the dangerous words he should not know of. She raises both hands and begins charging a blast and it peters out as she hesitates looking at the powerhouse of a warrior she cannot contend against. It has been spoken. All Saiyans know of her sin. That last vestige of pride and face she could show to Goku is stripped from her. He knows. And now he looks at her with the same sympathy as does his wife. Vegeta was at least kind to her with his callous antipathy towards her and his Saiyan reaction of cruelty and violence to her moment of weakness. This destroys her. They do not look at her as a warrior, as a killer, as a Queen, in their eyes she is some poor soul – a weak victim and not a conqueror supreme.

"Saiyans do not cry." It is pointless speaking yet her Saiyan nature compels her to contend against what Goku rightfully claims she did.

"I know I've done my fair share of crying throughout my lives, I've even seen your son cry when Frieza killed him. -"

"Do not disgrace me further by claiming I failed educating my only decent child properly! I disciplined him as stated. I made sure he learnt to not cry when I nursed him! What would some backwater exile like yourself know of the Saiyan ways? I did my part for Prince Vegeta. Do not say that I am a failure!" Shouting, purple energy erupts about her as she tries her damnedest to defend her diminished and broken identity.

Goku raises his hands to show he means her no harm and steps back away from her so she feels less cornered and attacked by him. She takes this as grave offence that he has to go easy on her and shudders at the pain in how he calmly handles her and how she can do nothing about it. They will not mock her, they will not deride her, debase her, attack her, shun her or insult her for her failings. They instead are sorry for her. Queen Vegeta stomps and shakes the ground. Her fists raise to strike Goku but she cannot bring an attack to bear for all it shall mean for her is more disgrace in defeat that she cannot handle. A hand moves towards her and she flinches from it.

"Come fishing with me." He is serious as he extends this invitation to her. "We need some more for lunch and whilst we wait for the fish to bite you can do some training."

Her gaze goes to the side. Her eyes close in a pained grimace. She can tell what that offer is. Queen Vegeta hurts. Her want to not have been resurrected or even to have been vaporised by her son's Galick Gun is strong. This is not the life she left upon death. She croaks out a wounded exhalation.

"Training is welcome, as is the quiet of fishing for holding council on the matter of setting up the Saiyan Empire anew. … You hear that, 'wife' of Kakarot, your Saiyan is asking for time with the Queen of all Saiyans and not yourself. I want fish to eat, come." With false confidence the Queen of Saiyans turns and briskly exits the scene towards where she can hear running water.

She has one thing left. Her blood is that of a Saiyan, and so she knows how to do only one thing. Fight. Washu shall not have her victory over her. She shall fight to reclaim herself and endure this hellish torture. Whether they can clearly see through her pretence or not does not matter now. For her all that matters is when she can make it so that her actions of confidence and power are no longer a facade. She shall accept Goku's training to aid her.

Butterflies build and swarm in her stomach as the ticking of the clock becomes both her enemy and friend. Ryoko prepares herself as her anxiety propagates. The momentous occasion shall soon be here for her. The wedding dress, her wedding dress, shall be in her possession by the end of the day. Even beyond that she promised Vegeta a proper proposal to him on this date to override the rain drenched insanity of her crazed ask of him. To top it all off there is no-one left any-more to help her. There is no female company for her to seek advice from in this house, and would not have been even if she did not discard Queen Vegeta elsewhere. Not even Ayeka is here to answer questions for her on this topic of a future she always thought was beyond her grasp. Her hands are not steady. She growls in frustration as she has to wipe away her wobbly eyeline and start again.

Lunch is not that distant. She realises her efforts into her appearance are more for vanity's sake than appeasing the stoic Saiyan yet all the same she cannot go out for this special date without putting some effort in. The impossible task of managing her unruly mane of hair takes the lion's share of the dwindling amount of morning she has left. Taking a break from the endeavour she wanders about the house and focuses on what she might glean from sensing Vegeta's ki. His training and emotional discipline is strict and nothing is allowed to leak.

Instead she seeks out another. Ryoko walks up to Trunks and cautiously stands near him. She greets him and he looks up at her wondering what she is after. He brusquely tells her he will not be giving her compliments on how she looks to feed her ego – in a manner all too familiar to his father. Ryoko thinks this is the right thing to do. She asks him his thoughts on this whole thing today. He groans in annoyance and shrugs. Ryoko pokes him and asks him again saying that it is important and to give better answers than Vegeta does half the time. Begrudgingly Trunks engages in conversation with her over the topic of her dating his dad and what she has planned for today. In short he is not going to stop his dad doing what he wants, nor does he have the power to oppose him even if he did, he knows what moving on means for his father and what this second chance could do for him. If doing this gets his dad in the same mood and state of happiness he was in before his mother's death then he is all for it. With Ayeka having left for now he understands that only a woman like Ryoko can keep up with the evil of his father and understand that side of him, but he believes this way she shall become more dependent on Vegeta for change and personal betterment than the alternative with Ayeka. Trunks also is not impressed with the rushed and stressful events and speed all this is taking place at. He remembers how his father acted with Bulma and until he sees that again he cannot say much on how this is helping his dad to recover from his grief.

"That's what today's for, see if I can get blood from a stone and a smile from that jackass. And if you're all bothered by Ayeka leaving and your favourite having left then just give it like what, 10 years or less, and hell you can try and marry her then." Ryoko gives him a teasing push as she gets a blush from the prepubescent still too young to properly think on romance.

"... Whatever, I just think it's weird my dad going after some broad 5 times older than my gran." The sharp tongue of Trunks strikes back.

"Pretty sure I've done you a favour here, so be nice. Your good ol' gran's at Kakarot's, and I don't think I've found anyone who likes spending time with her, and you are gonna have a house to yourself, I'm saying that chances are your bud Goten'll be about pretty soon."

"If you have the time to talk to my son I guess that means you are all ready and set then?"

Ryoko gets a tap on her shoulder and turns with a start. Vegeta stands there looking at her and waiting for an answer, his main multi-form still training away as this one surprises the pirate. She goes silent and shakes her head before arguing back that this is not lunch time yet and not to sneak up on her. He scoffs back that lunch is whenever he is hungry and right now he wants to eat so it is lunch now. Ryoko calls him impatient and over eager for their date. He shrugs whilst looking at her with a poker face and gets a slight blush from her as a reaction.

"Yeah well anyway I ain't ready so you'll just have to wait."

As she excuses herself off to finish getting ready and more importantly mentally preparing herself for this date she finds her teleportation has been shadowed. Vegeta is there with her looking at her. She eyes him warily. Aggressive pursuit from Vegeta still unnerves her. Ryoko makes a shooing action with her hand, wondering why he is here. Vegeta strides past her to a mirror and shaves and washes his face. His form flickers for a second and his multi-form now wears the clothes he has picked out for this date. A mostly buttoned up black silk shirt and white dress trousers. He cricks his neck to the side.

"Time's wasting. Do you want my help or not?" He crosses his arms impatiently and looks at Ryoko with an eyebrow raised.

"Your … help? What like brushing my hair for me and stuff, or you got some mad skills with makeup I don't know about? Anyway this is weird! Why are you trying to help me?" Taken aback by this sudden strange behaviour from Vegeta, she tries to find out what his game is in acting this way. For a man who will never accept aid himself it is likewise rare for him to offer it so freely.

"Because you like the attention."

With that statement Ryoko gets her answer. The date has already begun, Vegeta is making his move to please her. Her eyes wander about the bathroom purposefully not looking his way and giving him the satisfaction that he is correct. The arrogant smirk on his face grinds her gears at how easy he has read her. With a harrumph she goes over to a mirror to finish her makeup. A small smile grows on her lips as one of Ayeka's fine hairbrushes she stole is gently pulled through her hair by Vegeta. Being preened by him she does like, especially how delicate he is and careful around her ears. This attention is seeing the date off to a good start before it even begins.

"Would you answer me one thing, her?" With her appearance sorted out she leans her head back to look up at him.

"This shall be a date with you where no multi-form of myself shall be anywhere near her. I cannot sense her ki, cannot reach her even if I tried."

"Out of sight, out of mind?"

"We shall see if your plaything Kaia agrees with that. Trust me, Ryoko, I am not worrying about what I do here in regards to her thoughts on my actions. That boat has sailed and the only line we really have to cross … we won't."

"Nope, no crossing that line anytime soon. Not till I'm 100% sure on your bedside manner and maybe when I stop seeing murderous fits of rage from ya. Slaughtering and fighting in that training room doesn't aid your image."

"No … it doesn't, not against the weaklings I end in there. I know Kakarot trains fighting Cell without transforming, I think Buu is more my aim for pushing me into enduring Super Saiyan 3." He purposefully misunderstands her meaning of his image to suit his Saiyan pride and she rolls her eyes in turn at his bravado.

Her hair is tied in a low ponytail as it becomes as neat as it physically can. Dark and smokey is her eye makeup. No colour to worry about just a harsh darkness highlighting her eyes to contrast with her stark gold irises. Eyeliner flicks off in a long and bold trail from the corners of her eyes and a vibrant and classic red paints her lips. Apart from that only a few pieces of contouring to her face complete her look she has taken an exorbitant amount of time to perfect. She is ready.

Ryoko floats upwards and gives him a blasé thanks. She vanishes into her room and quickly throws on the outfit she painstakingly decided upon for today. Since there is a certain theme hanging over today she has white be the primary colour. A summery white dress of light and loose fabric tied about with an equally white obi she stole from Ayeka's wardrobe under her chest to keep her womanly curves apparent through the loose dress. It covers down past her knees and no more with a slight frill of lacy fabric decorating its hems and sleeveless shoulders. Jet black thigh high boots encase her legs and for fun a 3 inch heel raises her to annoy Vegeta. Her tail she leaves behind. An eclectic mix of rings adorn her right hand and she leaves her left hand expectantly bare. Her avant-garde tastes are not satisfied with such a bland ensemble so a small neon purple shawl goes over her right hand shoulder. A meow of approval comes from Ryo-Ohki and she blows the cabbit a kiss.

She peeks her head through the door and sees Vegeta waiting leaning against the opposing wall and so she gradually phases out of her room to tease him over her appearance. Vegeta stands up from the wall and without a word holds one hand out and with the other places two fingers on his forehead. Ryoko stands there naively pretending to not understand the gesture and not so innocently ignores it.

"Lady Ryoko, would you do me the honour?" He speaks the words he thinks she is forcing him to. Her elfin ears twitch in response.

" ' Lady' Ryoko is it? Wouldn't 'Princess' suit better for today, my prince?"

" When you become the leader of the Planet Trade Organisation due to the Saiyan Empire gaining independence then you can grant yourself whatever fancy title you deem fit. As of today … should you not be more concerned over the title of 'Mrs' or 'Miss'?"

Cheeks flush to a rosy hue and Ryoko falls silent. That landed perfectly with her. As the tips of her ears burn at that well executed flirting she mutely nods at him and grabs his hand. Vegeta's confident smirk is there aiming back at her, and he flatters her on her appearance and she remains quiet and blushing. Feeling that he has gained the dominant position now and quietened Ryoko's cheeky acts of rebellion he teleports them away to their destination.

Ryoko's hand keeps a firm grip on him as they appear under the shade of a tree in a moderately sized park on the outskirts of a city she has never been in before. A small child who just saw two people appear out of thin air screams and runs off to his parents. Together they stand where they are for about a minute with Ryoko basking in her emotions. With her hand still in his he spins Ryoko about and reminds her that his urgency was concerning lunch. A suggestive offer hangs unsaid on Ryoko's tongue before she smiles at him and shouts loudly for their date to begin.

The park is not a mainstay attraction for the date. It is a place to arrive that is less crowded than most whilst still retaining some air of romance –he is dating Ryoko not Ayeka after all and cannot rely on a non-existent connection with nature. They walk to exit the park and as they do they come across a sizeable bistro pub that Vegeta makes a bee-line for. White washed walls, a hanging sign outside with a name on it that Ryoko cannot read and the pictures illustrating it she does not know the names for and a small plaque in the entranceway proud of some accomplishment that Ryoko does not care for. She teases Vegeta that this is the opposite of escalation in dates if they go from a high class restaurant to 'some bar', he jests back that she is breaking the bank as is with all the money he has and is throwing her way.

Entering the pub she sees that it is quiet. It is barely noon and so beyond what she guesses are a small group of students here for a cheap meal and drinks and a couple of ruddy faced old timers that look as if they have been here since opening time and slowly nurse a few beers as they read the newspaper. A pub, however, is her element. She approaches the bar with a wide smile as Vegeta lags behind since alcohol has no lure for him.

"Cider for me, and a water for Mr. Boring here." Gaining taste buds has altered her preferences in drinks. Cider is sweet and she likes sweet and she is not drinking for intoxication here so flavour is the main factor.

Her hand reaches out behind her and she waits as she listens to Vegeta fishing his wallet out. Having someone to always pay for her is a luxury she shall never grow tired of. The change is reluctantly handed back from Ryoko to Vegeta, she grabs both drinks and follows as Vegeta stalks off to a table in the corner. Not wanting to overdo it or ruin this big day Ryoko makes the solemn decision that this shall be her only alcoholic drink here.

A short skim of the menu is all Vegeta needs. This multi-form has minimal requirements to eat. He looks across to Ryoko as he will have to order or read the menu for her and he sees her shuffle her chair over closer to him. In a continued rare act of being bashful she gently holds his hand over the menu in a way more fitting her rival than herself. She brings her head close to his and stops it to see if he shall move away or scold her. Her wide feline eyes examine his face and look away at his continued piercing stare at her. Ryoko nuzzles against his face until her lips are near his. He makes the final move to complete the act.