Silver Linings of a Distant Sky:
The Wish That Changed It All

~ Epilogue ~

Three Years Later...

Sunlight streamed in through the open balcony door, splashing across Vegeta's face. It was rare these days that he should sleep in so late, even though the day was still just dawning. As of late, his daily regimen required that he rise before the sun and retire long after it had set. He stretched out across the sheets, working his muscles before rising from his diyando. He reached out to his side to find that he was alone. The sheets next to him were cold, indicating that his mate had risen some time ago. But he needn't search for the source of her ki to learn where she was. The soft sound of a lullaby drifted from beyond the balcony door.

Vegeta rose from his bedding, threw on a robe, and joined his woman on the upper balcony of their sleeping quarters. Bulma sat in a lounge chair holding a bundle at her chest. A tiny cub with soft tufts of blue hair suckled at a breast. The prince – now king – of the saiyans paused a moment to admire his mate and the newborn child in her arms. The blue-haired woman gave him a tender smile in greeting. Vegeta pulled another lounge chair over to Bulma's side and sat down.

"Is Trunks awake yet?" he asked.

"No, but I suspect he will be soon," she answered quietly so that she didn't disturb the infant. They spoke using the human language, as it had become their habit. Vegeta noted that she no longer carried the accent that she once had when she first arrived on Earth. "He's been looking forward to seeing everyone today. Especially Goten."

Vegeta nodded. It was no surprise to him that the purple-haired prince had become fast friends with the second spawn of Kakarot. Like they had in that long lost timeline known only to Vegeta, the two boys were a duo of trouble-makers and hell-raisers. Unfortunately, they had a little posse of minions under their sphere of influence in this timeline. Goken and Goharu were almost always on the older boys' heels, as were several other saiyan children. Among those children were the cubs of his cousin Lele. Vegeta didn't doubt that Trunks and Goten already had a full day's worth of mayhem planned for their growing pack.

Bulma shifted, pulling her mate from his thoughts. "Do you mind taking Bra for a bit while I shower?"

Wordlessly, the saiyan monarch took his daughter from her mother. Bulma had to unwind Bra's tiny, brown tail from around her wrist. The velvety appendage immediately wrapped itself around the next thing it came in contact with, which happened to be Vegeta's forearm. The blue-haired woman closed her robe and rose from her chair. She planted a kiss on Vegeta's forehead and then one on the child's before turning to pad away barefoot. She passed by the doorway to their diyando and instead took the stairway to their lower balcony and entered the lower level of their private rooms.

"I won't be long," she called back to him as she disappeared from view.

Vegeta cradled his young cub in his arms and gazed into her half-lidded eyes. When she had been born a few weeks ago, he was astonished to discover that she looked like the spitting image of the girl that his counterpart had sired in that alternate timeline. He thought it was only fitting to bestow upon her the same namesake, despite how odd Bulma had found the name. "It's not even a saiyan name!" his mate had argued. They had fought over the name for several days. But in the end, Vegeta's persistence had won. He smiled with the secret knowledge that in the other timeline, the roles of the argument had been reversed.

As Bra drifted into a post-feeding slumber, Vegeta's attention drifted to the landscape beyond his bedroom balcony. He no longer lived at Capsule Corp. As a matter of fact, he no longer lived in West City. The saiyans had erected a city around their landing site on the western coast south of the aforementioned city. His home – the royal estate – was just barely beyond the city limits, resting on a small bluff between an expansive mountainside jungle on one side and Saiya City on the other. His balcony, located on the northern side of the building's north wing, overlooked both the jungle to the northeast, and the city and the sea beyond to the northwest.

While the view of the jungles offered a calm and serene view, it was the city that he found far more interesting. The buildings of Saiya City was an odd mixture of saiyan and human architecture. Some of the buildings looked like those native to Earth. These were designed one of three ways; spheroid structures sitting on top of narrow towers, dome shaped buildings sitting low to the ground, or rectangular shaped skyscrapers. But other buildings were inspired by the cities of Planet Vegeta; round spires that reached high into the sky.

The architectural details varied as well. Humans liked architecture with large, reflective window panes that covered the majority – sometimes the entirety – of a building's face. Saiyans tended to build structures that were sturdier, necessitating thick walls of reinforced metal. Where there were windows, they curved outward like bubbles clinging to the buildings' surfaces. The blending of architectural influence resulted in buildings that looked like a cross breed between the two cultures.

The detail that made Saiya City truly stand out from the other human cities was the size and height of the buildings. The skyscrapers of Saiya City were much, much taller than those of the human megalopolises. Saiyans, having superior strength and flight, were capable of raising structures far taller than previously conceived by their human counterparts. Saiya City not only boasted structures that were much taller than the human cities, but also buildings that were much wider. The Megadome, a fighting arena located between the entertainment and government districts, was so large that it could be seen from space.

Saiya City was definitely unique compared to all the other cities on Earth. But Vegeta figured that its uniqueness would only last for so long. During the months after the arcosian invasion had been thwarted, the saiyans had provided assistance with the rebuilding efforts in the other cities. This was a deliberate plan to bridge the gap between the humans (who were still skittish of any aliens on their planet) and the saiyans (who needed to earn the human's trust if they were going to remain on Earth). With help from the saiyans, the damage wrought upon the cities and smaller towns had been repaired exponentially faster than it would have taken had the humans been left alone to their own devices. And because the saiyans were assisting with the recovery efforts, newly built structures had adopted saiyan design elements, just as the buildings in Saiya City had acquired human design contributions. With the saiyans continuing to assist with reconstruction in other cities, Vegeta deduced that in about ten year's time, most of Earth's cities would look alike, including Saiya City.

As Vegeta gazed at the city, his eyes followed random specks moving between the buildings, each one representing a saiyan. At this hour, there weren't very many of these tiny dots in the sky. This was yet another difference between Saiya City and the other cities of Earth. While most of this city's residents traveled by using their abilities to fly, the citizens of other cities depended upon air cars for travel. Not everyone living in Saiya City could fly, however. There was a small population of human residents living in this city and therefor an occasional air car could be seen. Likewise, there were small pockets of saiyans living in the other cities as well, enough that it was no longer unusual to see someone flying in any of the other cities.

The subtle stirring of Trunks's dormant ki alerted Vegeta to the fact that the lavender-haired prince was slowly waking. The boy's state of consciousness was confirmed a few minutes later when he emerged from his own diyando, stepping out onto his own balcony wearing only the pair of sweatpants he had slept in. With a fist rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he lazily levitated and floated over the gap between his balcony and his parents'. When his bare feet touched down on the stone terrace, he plopped down in the chair his mother had previously vacated.

"Good morning, Father," he sleepily mumbled in the saiyan tongue.

"Good morning, son," Vegeta returned the greeting, also in saiyan. Then he switched to galactic standard. "Did you sleep well?"

Trunks didn't skip a beat, changing languages to match his father. "I did for a while, until Bra woke up crying in the middle of the night. It took me a while to get back to sleep." The thirteen-year-old's stomach chose that moment to gurgle loudly, prompting him to ask in perfectly articulated human common, "What's for breakfast?"

To throw his son off, Vegeta answered in the dead language of the tsufuru. "We will break our fast on something that is considered a delicacy on some worlds. Boiled insect innards."

The teenager paused, caught off guard, not so much by the answer, but by the language it was spoken in. He took several moments to work out the translation in his head while Vegeta observed the amount of time it was taking him to do so.

For the past three years, this game of languages had become a morning ritual for the father and his son. Initially, it had been a way for them to bond, to get to know one another. Additionally, it was a way for Vegeta to help Trunks master the human language and be able to flip from one tongue to another without having to exert the time and effort to translate. When it became apparent after a while that there was no longer any challenge with the three languages in their shared lexicon – the saiyan tongue, intergalactic standard, and human common – Vegeta began to introduce tsufurin speech into the mix. To some, it might have seemed silly or pointless to want to teach the boy the dead tsufuru language. But taking into consideration the fact that many saiyan words had been adopted from their vocabulary, it made sense to do so.

Finally, Trunks made the translation. Appalled, he remained speaking in human common. "Ugh! Bug guts?! Gross!" He made a face. "You didn't ever really bug guts, did you? I mean... that would take a lot of bugs just to feed one saiyan..."

The corner of Vegeta's mouth quirked upward with mirth. He flipped back to the human tongue as he answered his son. "Yes, here on Earth, insects are quite small. Even on our former home world, they weren't very large. But there are many worlds out there where insectoid creatures are much larger, some that stand taller than myself or even Kakarot." Then he added, "And it's quite possible that I might have ingested insect innards at one point or another. One never knew what he or she was actually eating while enlisted in Frieza's army."

The teen's disgusted expression became more exaggerated. "I'm glad I was never in Frieza's army. I never could have eaten food like that."

'I'm glad you never were, either, son,' the king gravely thought, knowing that the boy had very nearly become Frieza's slave. "Come, Trunks. Let's go see what the servo-bots have been programmed to make for breakfast this morning."

"'kay."

Vegeta, with Bra still sleeping soundly in his arms, led Trunks down the balcony steps to the lower level and entered the private chambers he shared with is mate. He heard the sound of the shower turning off as he passed the door of their private bathroom. He noted that Bulma would likely join them at breakfast soon. They exited the chamber and made their way south through the northern wing of the royal estate.

The north wing was one of three wings of the royal home. The other two wings were the east wing, which faced Saiya City, and the west wing, which overlooked a valley of forests. In truth, the other two wings pointed southeast and southwest, respectively. The three wings met at the middle where a central dome provided common areas shared by all members of the royal family. It was in this central dome that the main dining and kitchen facilities – among other rooms – were located.

When Vegeta and his children arrived in the dining room, they found that Lele and her children had already started eating breakfast. Lele and Rabii (Nappa's younger twin son) had become mates several years before coming to Earth. Together, they had three cubs. Their oldest was a very quiet ten-year-old boy named Cabba. The younger two were a pair of energetic girls, six-year-old Soko and four-year-old Cresla. All three children absolutely adored their older cousin Trunks. And now with Bra's birth, the girls were super excited to have another female in the family and they eagerly anticipated the day when the blue-haired infant would be old enough to play with them.

"Vegeta!"

"T'unks!"

The girls squealed and they rushed across the room to greet their extended family the very moment their eyes had landed on them. Trunks humored them by allowing them to encase him in a pair of crushing hugs. Then they quickly turned their attentions to the young cub in Vegeta's arms. They were far more respectful towards Vegeta, but this didn't stop them from hovering around his legs as he crossed the room towards the large dining table and the banquet of breakfast foods waiting for him.

"Can we see the baby?" Cresla asked.

"I wanna hold her," Soko pleaded.

"Me, too," the younger sister insisted.

"No, you can't," the elder sister scolded. "You're too little."

"Nuh uh! I'm big 'nough!"

Lele picked that moment to intervene, ending their argument before it got ugly. "Both of you are going to finish your food and then you're going to go wash up."

"Awww..." they chorused their protest, but obeyed their mother's will nonetheless. They returned to their seats at the table and resumed eating their meals, but severely lacked the typical saiyan gusto while doing so.

Meanwhile, Lele redirected her attention towards her kingly cousin. "I'll take the little cub for you so you can get something to eat," she offered.

"Thank you." Vegeta took a seat at the head of the table and carefully transferred Bra to his kin's waiting arms. The exchange disturbed the cub only minimally, but it was enough to elicit a large, toothless yawn from the infant.

"Oh, I just can't get over how simply adorable she is!" gushed the younger cousin. "I keep telling Rabii that I'd like to have another little one, but he insists that we already have more than we can handle."

Vegeta glanced over at Soko and Cresla who had become completely uninterested in eating. Instead, they had begun to creatively concoct odd combinations of the uneaten portions of their food, getting much of it all over their hands, the table, their bed clothes, and their chairs. All unbeknownst to their mother, despite the fits of giggles coming from their direction. Opposite the girls, Trunks had taken a seat next to Cabba and the two boys were clearly conspiring with one another, no doubt planning some form of mischief for later that day. On his own, Cabba's level of trouble-making was usually at a minimum. But with Trunks's influence, the younger boy became a mastermind in mayhem.

"Perhaps Rabii has a point," the king muttered between mouthfuls of food.

"Oh, nonsense," Lele refuted.

The flame-haired man helped himself to another helping of food. "How is your mate faring this morning?"

A twisted smile graced Lele's lips. "Oh, he's still bitter," she answered with amusement. "And his ribs are still quite sore from that beating you gave him two days ago. This morning I finally convinced him to go to the med center and sit in a rejuvenation tank for a few hours, the stubborn oaf." She shook her head in loving disapproval. "He's still determined to best you in a spar."

The corner of Vegeta's mouth quirked upward and his eyes lit up in silent laughter. "Whenever he wishes to try again..." he left the invitation open.

Their conversation was interrupted when Kohul entered the room. "Good morning, my lords and ladies. My king," he greeted respectfully yet casually. His tiding was returned from almost everyone in the room, but it was the reciprocation from his nieces that drew his attention.

"Uncle Ko'ul!"

"Hi, Uncle Kohul!"

The elder twin of Nappa circumnavigated the table towards the girls. "I swore I heard voices from over here, but all I see is a couple heaps of food piled up in these chairs..." he teased, referring to the mess that the girls had left all over themselves.

The girls giggled uproariously. "We're not food, Uncle Kohul!" insisted Soko.

But the giant man ignored her delighted outcry. "With all this food sitting here uneaten, it's a good thing I brought my appetite!"

He plucked Cresla's oatmeal coated hand from the mess of food in front of her and pretended to nibble furiously on her arm. She shrieked with giggles that only intensified when he stuffed her entire hand into his large mouth. When he pulled her appendage from his maw, now clear of most of the oatmeal, he gasped in feigned shock.

"Jitaba! There's a hand underneath all that food!"

"Me next! Me next!" Soko pleaded.

Her uncle obliged her, repeating the process. "Another hand!? How did that get in my breakfast?"

While the girls' peals of laughter reverberated through the air, Bulma had discretely entered the room. She paused as she walked passed Trunks and Cabba and leaned close in between them and whispered something so quietly that only the two boys could hear. When she finished, the boys' expressions had morphed into the proverbial 'deer in headlights' look. They had obviously not been discrete enough in their plotting, allowing the blue-haired woman to catch just enough of their plans to warrant her to put an end to it before it could manifest. Bulma rose to her full height, gave each boy a patronizing pat on their heads and took a seat to Vegeta's left, putting her directly across the table from Lele.

As the blunette helped herself to helpings of various human and saiyan foods, she greeted her cousin-by-bond. "Good morning, Lele."

The younger woman lifted her chocolate eyes to meet cerulean ones. "Good morning," she answered politely.

There was still a bit of tension between the two women, even after three years of dwelling on the same planet, in the same city, and at the same estate. The strong bond that they had shared during their youth and teenage years had been shattered on that fateful day that the blunette, then known as Empress Brumal, had attacked Planet Vegeta. Lele's father Zukiin, as part of the king's guard, had dutifully stayed behind at his king's side. His reward had been his death. Lele had taken the passing of her father very harshly. Yet, her pain had not ended there.

After Zukiin's death, Lele's mother Aleguu appeared to remain strong. After all, she was the last remaining survivor of her generation in the royal family. It was her duty to ensure that her kin would endure after Planet Vegeta's destruction. But secretly she had withdrawn into herself, bottling up her grief. Grief over the loss of her planet, her brother, and her mate. This grief would have been her undoing, if not for the Seer.

During the saiyans' exodus in space, Aleguu and Bardock had worked together to help Tarble lead and protect the saiyans. It was during this partnership – the one between Aleguu and Bardock – that the two had began to form a relationship that transgressed from a professional one to a personal one. The Seer's courtship of the royal matriarch had been well hidden, at first. But their discretion could not remain secret for very long, especially when their scents could be detected on each other.

Lele, of course, had been the first to notice the mingling of their scents. And as soon as she did, she immediately protested her mother's involvement with another man, feeling that the relationship betrayed and dishonored her father's sacrifice. When Bardock and Aleguu became bonded mates (Aleguu and Zukiin had never performed the bonding ritual, nor had Bardock done so with his former mate Gine), Lele hadn't felt as though she was gaining a parent, but rather, she felt as if she had lost the only remaining one she had. Angry at the situation, but unable to blame her mother who had been so grief-stricken, Lele rationalized that if Zukiin had never died, had never been murdered by the traitorous Bulma, then her mother would have remained faithful to her father.

Because of this foolish rationality, the reunion between the two female royals had not gone so well. Upon seeing Bulma for the first time after Zukiin's death and after the union between Bardock and Aleguu, Lele was livid. She had not been prepared to encounter the blunette and so, when they did come face to face, the younger woman was ready to slaughter the older one. Lele's need for justice was so great that she didn't care about Bulma's ability to become a super saiyan (although, unknown to her, the blue-haired woman had already lost the ability).

Lele had unleashed her pent-up anger upon an unsuspecting Bulma. The younger woman fought with such ferocity, she was looking for blood. The confrontation had quickly gotten very ugly and quite brutal. Several times, Goku attempted to get in between the two women, but Bardock and Vegeta had stopped him from doing so, insisting that the only way for the conflict to be resolved was to let the women hash it out. The blunette tried her best to defend herself against the other female without trying to cause her harm. But that had only further infuriated the dark-haired woman, believing that her opponent was toying with her.

"Fight me with your true power, traitor!" Lele snarled. "I want you at your strongest when I defeat you!"

Bulma panted with exertion. "I am... giving you... my... strongest!"

"Liar! Transform! I know you have the ability!"

"I cannot..." the blunette admitted. "I beseeched Jitaba to take it from me."

Lele gritted her teeth in disappointment, but hid it with arrogance. "Then you are a fool. When you have died by my hands, honor will be restored to my father's name."

A pitying look crossed Bulma's face. "Are you not aware? Your father died with the highest honor imaginable."

"How could he when he was slaughtered and his own mate no longer grieves for him?"

"Zukiin dutifully protected his king until he could no longer fight. After I defeated the late King Vegeta, your father told me that I had given him the worthiest battle he had ever fought."

Lele faltered. "No. You lie."

Bulma pressed on, unperturbed. "He said that it had been an honor to test his strength against a super saiyan and that it was an even greater honor to be delivered to Viradisia by one. I did not slaughter your father, as you so put it. I gave him the passage he sought to the Afterworld so that he may continue to serve his king in death."

The younger woman struggled to maintain her vengeance and anger, but was failing. "I... But... No! You will not take my revenge from me..."

The blunette delivered the final blow. "You do not bring honor to your father by fighting me. You do, however, bring him terrible shame by insisting that his death was not a worthy one."

And the fight instantly vanished from the dark-haired female.

Bulma and Lele had been on much better terms since that day, but the rift had never fully healed. A guilt on the former's part and a distrust on the latter's part lingered, but remained unspoken, between the two women.

"Alright, girls," Lele admonished. "I think it's time that you get cleaned up and ready for today."

The girls were saddened only slightly that their fun with their uncle had come to a temporary end. They climbed down from their seats and headed for the doorway. Lele handed Bra back to her father, who in turn handed the infant to Bulma. The younger woman quickly left the room, mumbling to herself about hurrying before her daughters put their sticky hands all over the doors and walls along their way. Meanwhile, Kohul programmed a servo-bot to clean up the mess left behind. Afterwards, he took a seat next to those vacated by his nieces, seating himself across from the boys, and fixed for himself a hearty helping of food. With the girls gone, the elder twin returned to his usual, gruffer self.

Lele's departure was perhaps intentionally timed, as only moments after she had left, Aleguu and Bardock arrived. While Lele behaved respectfully towards the elderly couple, it was no secret that she still had difficulty accepting their union. Aleguu and Bardock exchanged greetings with those already present and took a few seats at the table opposite Bulma, skipping over the spot Lele had vacated. The couple were already well into their seventies, yet their appearances defied their true ages. Vegeta observed that the barest traces of silver laced through their hair and the faintest wrinkles adorned the corners of their eyes and mouths. But they still looked healthy and strong. They reminded the saiyan monarch of how his alternate self appeared in that other timeline that now felt so long ago.

Vegeta could not help but to observe Aleguu's tail affectionately brush Bardock's elbow. The pair was very stoic when it came to displaying sentimental expressions in front of others, almost to the point that it was doubtful that they were even a couple. But occasionally, one of the two would perform a small or subtle tender act. These little actions spoke very loudly, showing how devoted they had become to one another.

Their coupling still plagued Vegeta's mind from time to time. His dear aunt... bonded to Kakarot's sire. This technically made the Earth-raised saiyan his cousin. The king grimaced at the thought. He never imagined that he'd be related to the clown. But he admitted that it could have been worse than becoming cousins. After all, their children could have ended up mating each other. Vegeta released a sigh so soft that not even his mate took note. He admitted to himself – although this would be one of only a very few times – that if any of his offspring ended up coupling with any of Kakarot's spawn, he likely wouldn't really have minded too terribly.

And thinking of Kakarot... Vegeta sensed the spiky-haired man and his brood approaching from the northwest. Absent from their group was Gohan's ki, which the king found peculiar for only a moment. In the span of that moment, he remembered that the eldest of Goku's children had started college only a few weeks ago. He had enrolled in the University at Satan City – previously named the University at Orange Star City. The teenager had decided upon that particular college in order to pursue a certain girl, one Videl Satan, that he had seen on a specific news report during the arcosian invasion. Whether his efforts had come to fruition yet or not, Vegeta was uncertain, but he had faith that fate would bring the two together in this timeline as it had in the other one.

As Goku and his family entered the royal estate, Vegeta could hear Chichi scold her husband for his poor manners. "Goku! How many times must I tell you that you can't just barge into someone else's home like this!"

"Aw, Chichi, it's okay! It's just Vegeta. He doesn't mind!"

The truth was that Vegeta had attempted to teach Kakarot that very lesson in manners many times, to no avail. The king had long since given up trying. Goku was Goku and would always be Goku. Because he would always consider his friends welcome at his home at any time, he would also always consider himself welcome at the homes of all his friends.

At that moment, the Son family, dressed in their best attire (human attire, the king noted), filed into the dining room. After a rushed "Hi," to his grandparents, Goten headed straight over to join Trunks and Cabba.

Goken darted towards Vegeta, greeting him enthusiastically. He still considered Vegeta with awe and idolatry. But he was well disciplined enough to know that the king of saiyans was not fond of hugs and other displays of affection. He climbed into the seat earlier abandoned by Lele and slapped a sheet of paper onto the table between himself and Vegeta.

"Uncle 'Geta, I made this fouh you!" the six-year-old announced.

The king picked up the blue sheet of paper and studied the various colored scribbles adorning its face. It was the crudely drawn image of a person: a blocky body and stick arms colored with blue crayon, an angry face depicted in black, and flames of hair scribbled with yellow.

"That's you, Uncle Geta!" the boy explained.

"I see that," Vegeta replied, unsure how to praise the boy. "What is this?" he inquired instead, pointing towards a blob of black, green, and brown.

"That's the monsteuh that lives in the watauh and shoots the laseuhs at the people," the boy answered. The flame-haired man noted that the boy, even at his age, still struggled to pronounce his hard 'R' sounds, but understood him just as well.

"Oh?" Vegeta responded.

Chichi explained. "The last time the boys had a sleepover at our house, they stayed up late watching horror movies and Goken snuck out of bed to see what they were watching." In a sterner voice directed towards her youngest son, she added, "Now you've been having nightmares. Isn't that right, Goken?"

The boy neglected to give his mother an answer, pretended not to hear her, but failed to disguise the obvious guilt he felt for his crime. Vegeta returned his gaze to the drawing.

"Is that why you drew me blasting this monster of yours?" he asked, gesturing at the thick yellow scribble drawn between the blue figure's stick arm and the blobbish body of the monster.

"Uh huh. You'uh beatin' up the monsteuh so that he goes away."

Goku chuckled. "Yep, you're still his hero, Vegeta. Whenever he draws pictures of me, it's of camping trips or going fishing-"

"Or eating," a grinning Goten chimed in from the other end of the table.

The Son patriarch rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Or eating."

Goharu, meanwhile, had raced towards Bardock and Aleguu upon their arrival. The toddler had climbed into her grandfather's lap without waiting for an invitation. After seeing all the attention her brother was receiving for his piece of artwork, she decided to cash in on the adults' praising as well.

"I made a pikcha too, Gamma an' Gumpa!" she excitedly announced. She pulled a crumpled paper out from the collar of her pink dress and flattened it out on the table.

"Oh, it's lovely," cooed Aleguu after Bardock's initial response of flabbergasted silence. The drawing was scribbles and lines of color with no discernible shape or pattern. But the girl was proud of her handiwork and beamed when she received the compliment.

With her children settled down, Chichi made her way over to Bulma and the baby. She took a seat to the blunette's left.

"Oh, she's beautiful!" gushed the Son matriarch.

"Yea, who knew something so cute could come from Vegeta's genes, eh?" teased Goku as he took a seat between Chichi and Goten.

The king almost allowed the friendly barb to slide. "Yes, Kakarot, and only in half as many tries as it took you to sire a brat that is gentle on the eyes."

"Aw, Vegeta, that's not nice!"

"Ha!" the flame-haired man barked. "Who ever said I was nice?"

Bulma interrupted the verbal spar before it could escalate. "Would you like to hold her?" she offered the human woman.

"Oh! I would love to!" gushed Chichi as she gently accepted the blue-haired infant. As she cooed at the baby, she caught her husband's subtle movement in the corner of her eye. "Goku! You've already had breakfast, you keep your hands away from that food, you're not going to make a mess of yourself before we even get to the temple!"

"Aww..." the Earth-raised saiyan whined, withdrawing his hand from the table. "But that was two hours ago! Just a nibble?"

Chichi's eyes lifted from the bundle in her arms to burn furiously at her husband. "Goku, you know that if I let you eat again, then the kids are going to want to too and they'll end up wearing half of it! I didn't spend over an hour getting you and them ready just so that you all can make a mess of yourselves in two minutes."

Defeated, Goku sighed heavily.

Kohul, who had been keenly aware of the exchange, chuckled mischievously. "Kakarot, your woman has you by your manhood! You don't have to take orders from her. If you're hungry... eat! It's your right as a saiyan!"

But Chichi didn't skip a beat, preventing her husband from responding, even though he would have chosen the path of self-preservation by declining the offer – had he had the opportunity to do so. "Don't you tell my Goku what he can or can not do!"

"You see how she keeps you whipped, Kakarot?"

The human woman glared venomously at the large saiyan man. She hissed, "If it weren't for the baby, I'd come over there and show you what 'whipped' truly is."

"Ahem."

From the doorway, the sound of a male clearing his throat interrupted Kohul's intentional riling of Chichi. Several sets of eyes turned towards the quiet disturbance to find Tarble standing in the entryway. While his face appeared placid, the twitching of the tip of his tail revealed his irritation towards their behavior. Next to him was a very short human woman in a black business suit and a light blue blouse. Her skin was very pale and she had short, silvery-blonde hair. Her dark eyes were wide as saucers and she wore an expression of unease after having witnessed the hostility between Chichi and Kohul.

When he was satisfied that the escalating tension had come to a halt, Tarble spoke. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to my colleague, Dr. Gure Tech. Some of you have heard me mention her before, some of you have not. For those of you who don't know, Dr. Tech has recently been appointed by King Furry as his Diplomat of Human-Saiyan Relations."

Vegeta rose from his seat and turned to face his brother and his brother's guest. Bulma followed suit. The king and his mate had both heard of Dr. Tech from Tarble, but neither had yet met the human diplomat. Vegeta was not that surprised meeting her as he had been the first time Tarble had mentioned her name. The older brother remembered (barely) the alien woman of the same namesake that his brother had married in that alternate timeline. Vegeta wasn't sure if the human woman in front of him was the same woman in spirit as the alien female from that other universe. He figured that there was too much of a coincidence for her to not be the same soul. The mannerisms he had already noticed from this small, quiet, human woman were too similar to the techian version of the female of that other timeline.

Over the past several months, Tarble had been working directly with Gure, always focused on improving the relationship between humankind and saiyankind. Recognizing Tarble's leadership and communication skills, Vegeta had appointed his brother as the representative of the saiyan people almost immediately after he had been officially crowned as the king of the saiyans. Gure, on the other hand, had only come into her office roughly eight months ago after succeeding the man who had been her predecessor and supervisor. The transfer of the title to Gure had resulted in a much more agreeable and amicable alliance between the two races. Already, the two had signed more treaties and resolved more issues than Tarble had been able to do with King Furry's former diplomat.

"Dr. Tech, I'd like you to meet my brother and king of the saiyans, Vegeta, and his mate Bulma."

Gure stepped forward, bowed to the royal couple, and surprised them both by greeting them in the saiyan tongue. "It is an honor to have finally met you both. Prince Tarble speaks very highly of you."

Vegeta and Bulma returned the bow, but it was the latter who addressed the tiny woman first. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she spoke in human common. She reached out to shake the other woman's hand, in effect greeting her in the human way. "You speak the saiyan tongue very well," Bulma complimented.

Gure blushed and switched to the human language. "Thank you. I've spent the last few years studying saiyan culture. You can imagine how privileged I feel to not only have met all of you, but to also have been invited to attend the Blessing Ceremony of the young princess."

Vegeta stepped forward to shake Gure's hand as well. With a confident smirk, he replied, "Then you shall not be disappointed."

After their morning preparations, Vegeta and his extended family arrived in the historical district of Saiya City. Many people acknowledged that it was silly that the city even had a historical district, given that the city itself was only a few years old. But in this case, the name of the district took on a different meaning. Instead of referring to an older part of the city, the historical district was named such as it was the part of the city where saiyan history and culture were abundant and heavily preserved. It was in this district that the reconstructed Temple of the Deities had been erected.

The Temple was built to resemble the Temple of Mount Lechuga as close as possible. Because the original Temple had been carved into the side of a mountaintop, the exterior of the Temple of the Deities only vaguely looked like the source of its inspiration. The temple was a simply designed structure built of white marble. It was rectangular in shape with a peaked roof supported by marble columns. Purple flowers native to Planet Vegeta had been planted in meticulously groomed gardens on each side of the stone tile path leading up to the temple's entrance.

The interior of the temple, however, looked very similar to that of its predecessor. Pillars lined the interior corridor. Altars filled with red candles sat between each set of pillars. There were no seats inside, since the saiyans believed that it was disrespectful to laze about in the presence of the gods. At the far end of the corridor, a dais sat elevated by three steps above the main floor. Upon the dais was another alter, this one empty, and behind the altar were statues carved in the likenesses of d'Jitaba Saiya and d'Mele gu Saiya. The sculptures, also made of marble, looked similar to those that had once stood in the Temple of Mount Lechuga, except these were much smaller and posed slightly differently. The previous statues had been posed triumphantly after a battle, but these statues looked as though they were watching over the saiyan people as if they were prepared to protect them. Overall, the saiyans and humans who had constructed the Temple of the Deities had done a very good job. Other than the fact that this temple hadn't been built into a mountainside, the only other difference was that the stone used to construct it was made of a white material rather than a red one.

Vegeta, Bulma, Trunks, and Bra (in her mother's arms) were the last to enter the temple following all their family and friends. As the royal couple approached the dais, Trunks separated from his parents and joined his uncle and cousins to the left of the dais. The king and his mate knelt before the dais, bowing their heads in fealty to their gods. The shaman placed a hand on each of their heads and silently recited a prayer. Then he placed his left hand upon the infant's tiny head and repeated his prayer.

When the traditionally dressed shaman was finished, he withdrew his hand from Bra and spoke, using the saiyan tongue despite the fact that not everyone assembled could understand the language. "We shall begin the ceremony with the Offerings to the Gods."

As Vegeta and Bulma rose to their feet, the king could hear Bardock whispering the translation to Goku and his family, including his adopted family. The royal couple accepted a basket of offerings and placed it at the feet of Mele's likeness. They then accepted a second basket and set it down before Jitaba's sculpture. Once the baskets of fruits and smoked meats had been placed before the statues, Vegeta and Bulma returned to their original place at the foot of the dais.

The shaman continued. "d'Mele gu Saiya and d'Jitaba Saiya are pleased with the offerings and will watch over the Blessing Ceremony of Princess Bra of House Vegetus. We have assembled here today to beseech the god and goddess to gift our young princess with their blessings; to bestow upon her their virtues. From d'Jitaba, we humbly ask that he bestow her with the strength of a long and healthy life, with the courage to overcome the challenges she may one day face, and with the honor to be a wise and noble member of her house.

From d'Mele, we humbly implore her to gift our princess with love so she may find happiness in her future, with the ability to protect and be protected, and the loyalty to her family, her friends, her people, and the throne. Of these six virtues, one will stand strongest among the rest, and it is this virtue that will define her above the rest. At this time, King Vegeta II of House Vegetus and his mate Lady Bulmauka of House Nyctagis will come forward with Princess Bra so that she may receive the virtue chosen for her."

Vegeta and Bulma once again climbed onto the dais. The blunette placed her daughter upon the altar. And then the king and his mate each removed a glove and pierced the flesh of their forefingers with their teeth. When they each had a droplet of blood formed on each of their fingers, they pressed the tips of their digits together to mix their life fluid. Then Vegeta turned to his infant daughter and lowered his finger over her forehead. There he hesitated.

Which virtue should Bra receive? He and Bulma hadn't spent much time discussing it. Since Bra was receiving the title of her father's House, it was ultimately up to Vegeta which virtue the baby would receive. Vegeta knew that when he had been blessed, his father had gifted him with the virtue of strength. Tarble had been given the virtue of loyalty. Bulma had once mentioned that she had been gifted with courage. And when Trunks had received his blessing – from the boy's grandfather since his father had been believed dead at the time – he had also been given the virtue of strength. All of these virtues – perhaps with the exception of Trunks who was not yet a man grown – had had a huge influence in who they had become as adults.

Knowing this, Vegeta's decision for his daughter's future was not to be taken lightly. Should he choose strength like he had or courage like her mother had received? Or perhaps she'd be better suited for loyalty like her uncle. Or perhaps honor would be better. Maybe she should be gifted with love or protection. As Vegeta gazed down upon his daughter, his precious little girl, he couldn't help feeling the stirrings of emotional attachment he already felt for her. His delicate, fragile baby girl... He wanted nothing wrong to ever come to her, knowing he couldn't bear it if anything terrible did happen to her. He lowered his bloodied finger ever closer to her, listening to his instincts to guide his decision. He hesitated for just a moment longer before drawing a character in the saiyan language on her forehead.

When he was done, Vegeta stepped away to reveal the virtue he had given his daughter. Bulma peered over his shoulder to see the word written in crimson. She smiled with approval. The shaman then stepped forward and read the virtue, his eyes widening a fraction with surprise. He quickly composed himself so as not to be accused of questioning the king's decision. He raised his hand above Bra's head with his palm facing downward and closed his eyes as he recited another silent prayer. After the final invocation, the shaman withdrew his hand.

"The Blessing Ceremony is now complete. The god and goddess will watch over Princess Bra of House Vegetus as one of their own, as they watch over all their children of Saiya."

After the conclusion of the ceremony, everyone filed out of the Temple of the Deities. During their brief time inside the temple, the air had grown warm and humid. Only a gentle breeze from the sea alleviated the otherwise uncomfortable weather conditions. To Vegeta's surprise, a small gathering of saiyans had converged in the temple courtyard to offer their congratulations and well wishes, and to get a peek of the newest member of the royal family, no doubt. The crowd was unexpected, and made Bulma slightly uneasy.

The blunette still carried with her the guilt and shame of having destroyed the saiyan home world, even though it had been her inventions that had saved them from destruction. Fortunately for her, Bardock had had the Foresight to keep her identity as Empress Brumal a secret from the general population when he had warned of Planet Vegeta's imminent destruction. Only the royal family and a few of their closest advisers knew that Bulma and Brumal were one and the same. If this secret got out, it would likely spell disaster for the royal family and could very well lead to a saiyan civil war. It was this guilt and fear that caused Bulma to stay out of the public's view as much as possible.

Sensing his mate's trepidation, Vegeta sent her ahead of him back home where a festive banquet awaited them and their guests. The king stayed behind to address his people and to thank them for their adulation. He couldn't rightly dismiss them as if they were insignificant after they had gone out of their way to pay him and his family their praise. While he quickly prepared some words to say to the gathered mass, he watched as most of his family and friends took to the sky towards the royal estate.

As they shrank while they flew away, his attention was grabbed by the edge of a rain cloud in the distance. Due to Saiya City's geographic location, it was typical that the city experience a short rainfall each afternoon. Despite this fact, an inexplicable feeling of uncertainty came over the flame-haired man. He quickly shrugged it off and turned his attention back to his people who were eagerly waiting to hear the words of their king. He couldn't stop the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips. He soaked in the adoration and respect that they showered him with. But what truly made him happy was knowing that over time the sentiments of his people would grow into love and reverence for his children, who would one day lead the saiyans into a glorious new era of prosperity.

~ The End ~

Story Notes:
Cabba – obviously from cabbage.
Soko – a leafy plant of tropical regions.
Cresla – from land cress.
Gine – an anagram of negi, or spring onion in Japanese. She has recently been revealed in an interview with Akira Toriyama as a canon character, Bardock's mate and mother to Raditz and Goku.

Author's Notes: Thank you, everyone who has taken the time to read and review my story. I hope that you all enjoyed it. I have a few new story ideas bouncing around in my head. I'm not sure which project I'd like to take on first. It may be a while before my next story is posted, but be on the look out for it. I look forward to sharing my writing with you in the future!