Disclaimer: Dragon Ball and all related characters don't belong to me.

We belong to him.

By

Dr Facer

Chapter 4

0-0-0

The impossibly thick and heavy book was actually very interesting. Gohan couldn't really understand most of the medical concepts described on its pages yet, as he was too young to do so, but the illustrations and pictures depicting every alien race that had ever worked for the PTO was something the boy could not get enough of and he had already memorized the names and characteristics of the species shown on the first few pages of the massive tome. The little half-Saiyan had received this book only two days ago as a gift from Prim, and he liked it more than the other subjects like math and grammar his mother had been instructing him in for almost two weeks already. He'd also discovered he liked training as much as studying, because both activities allowed him to learn new things, and learning was something Gohan enjoyed more than anything else.

He turned the page with glee, anxious to see a new extraterrestrial creature for him to study. It was page fifty two, and he was rewarded with a picture of a small chubby alien with purple skin and a big, bulbous, hairless head. He looked at the footnote below the picture and learned he was looking at a member of the Beenz people. The boy tried to read the full description, but like the rest of the captions on this book, most of the words used were too technical for him to fully understand. Still, the kid was able to gather that the Beenz had been highly intelligent. He saw they were also marked as being long extinct. He noted the word 'purge' was mentioned in a context he didn't comprehend completely. The kid frowned; this wasn't the first time he'd stumbled upon this word and he couldn't get the meaning of it the way it was being used.

He looked over at his mother, who was busy reading the R. Tank operating manual again and decided not to ask her what this 'purge' thing meant. He had a feeling his uncle would be able to explain this to him better than his mother, so Gohan returned to his book and went back a few pages. There were other pictures he liked to look at and he still had to try reading some of the longer captions under them.

A few minutes later the door opened and Raditz entered the apartment. He sat down in the living room next to Gohan, reached for the jar of juice mom kept on the table, poured some into one of the two cups there and drank it in silence. Gohan saw how his mother's eyebrows twitched, which was not surprising since his uncle had used her cup without permission. But she said nothing to him, which to Gohan was a little strange as she had always corrected Goku (his dad) when he did something like that. The kid had also noticed his mom and Raditz didn't speak much to each other in his presence and while he wondered about it, he had yet to build the courage to ask any of them if they were angry or if they had a grownup problem or what.

"11:30, time for Gohan's training," Raditz finally said after drinking more juice.

"Already?" Chi Chi looked up at the wall, straight at the clock she had taken from the empty room to here and saw that it was indeed was time for her son's training. She closed the manual she was reading and nodded at the long-haired Saiyan. "Alright then, please be careful, Gohan. Don't overdo it."

"Don't worry, mom. I'll be careful," the boy replied and smiled at her while carefully placing his book on the little table. "I promise."

"Good," she stood up and looked at Raditz. "The temperature control needs some adjusting again, the kitchen was very cold this morning. Can you do something about it?"

"I'll do it later today," he assured, finishing a third cup of juice. "Shouldn't you be getting ready? You and Gale always start at noon."

"You're right," she said plainly. "I do have to get ready."

"Have fun," the tall Saiyan then patted his nephew on the back. "Let's get going, kid."

Nothing else was said, and Gohan simply followed his uncle out of the apartment. As they walked in silence, the kid kept thinking about the way things had been for the last ten days. He knew his uncle was always the first one up, and that he left to train on his own until at least half an hour before his mother had to start her own training with the woman they called Captain Gale. Gohan had yet to meet her mother's trainer, but he really wasn't interested in meeting her and so he had not asked about the chance yet. He did wish his uncle would have breakfast with him and his mom but Raditz never did; he went to eat with the other soldiers so Gohan and his mother had the apartment to themselves for pretty much all morning, which they would spend studying the books Prim had provided or whatever his mother saw fit for the day, which was normally math and sometimes lessons about the history of the Ox kingdom.

They reached the elevator closest to their house and Gohan asked if he could call for the lift, to which his uncle assented. The boy smiled and jumped to reach and press the button on the wall. While they waited he wondered what they would do during training that day and also about the type of food they'd get in the Mess Hall later. The kid had grown fond of the hot meals the chef always had ready. It was not as tasty as what his mom cooked, of course, but it was good and different and he could also get dessert there if he asked for it, something his mother would not allow unless it was for a special occasion.

The boy briefly wondered what his mother would make for dinner that afternoon. She always finished her own training before they did and went back home to cook them all something. Gohan really liked eating with his family after a day of studying and training, even if his mom and uncle didn't talk much. He enjoyed the feeling of peace between the three, which was different from the frequent complaints her mother always had for (his father) Goku because he ate too fast or too loudly or like a pig, as she used to say. His mom had yet to argue with Raditz about that and the change on the table pleased the young boy, since he really loved to see her mother enjoying a peaceful meal instead of seeing her trying to keep everything correct and proper. Gohan had also noticed Raditz and his mother went somewhere together every night. He'd seen them leaving once when he had gone to pee late at night, and now suspected they were doing the 'boyfriend and girlfriend' thing he had seen on TV a couple of times before coming here, but was not exactly sure.

Gohan didn't know how he felt about his mother being in a 'boyfriend and girlfriend' relationship with Raditz, if that was what was happening. He was really ok with the other soldiers thinking Raditz was his dad because he knew that was the only reason he and his mom were safe. Or something like that. He was too young to put these complex ideas to words yet, but he somehow felt his uncle was good with him and his mother and that was all that mattered.

"I'll start teaching you how to fly today," Raditz announced when the lift arrived, interrupting the boy's thoughts. "You better pay attention kid, or I'll have to do the 'dropping you from up there' thing again."

Gohan went pale and looked at his uncle with a mix of fear and anxiety. "You… you said you wouldn't do that again!"

"I said there was a chance it wouldn't be necessary," the soldier corrected as he pushed the kid into the elevator. "Don't give me a reason and I won't do it."

"But…"

The elevator doors closed behind them.

0-0-0

"No! Your punches are lacking in power!" Gale scolded, blocking Chi Chi's attack with ease and stopping the sparring match, the first one they'd had today, immediately. "You're distracted!"

"I'm not distracted," Chi Chi argued, looking straight at her trainer's eyes. "I'm honestly not. And my punches are not lacking."

"The answer's yes to both," the captain said returning Chi Chi's stare with an annoyed glare of her own. "You are distracted and that makes your attacks weak."

"I am not distracted!" the princess insisted, even if she knew quite well that she had been distracted. She hated to admit it but she had been thinking about… him, wondering about the way he'd been acting for the last ten days.

"Oh, please!" the older woman sighed and ran her slim fingers through her soft hair. "Anyone could see from a mile away that you're not focusing on what we're doing!"

"That's not true I was just… thinking about a strategy?"

"Don't lie and just tell me what your man did," the Captain groaned, she didn't think she would have to do the 'girl talk' thing with Chi Chi so soon. Gale disliked girl talk a lot, she felt she wasn't good at it and if it weren't because she could learn interesting pieces and bits of information she could use later if she ever needed to have a second talk with the same member of the group, she would've handed this duty to Breeze or Twister long ago.

"He did nothing," the princess answered, knowing that he doing nothing was one of the things she was wondering about.

"When one of my girls is distracted like you are now there's always family or some stupid man involved, and they always need to talk about it with someone, even if they think they don't have to," Gale chastised, steeling herself to help Chi Chi with whatever sort of marital trouble, if that was the problem, she was having. "And since none of us has family then it's always a man. Looking at you I can tell your idiot Saiyan did something so go ahead, start talking."

Chi Chi blinked at Gale and was unable to reply. She didn't like it but the Captain was right. Thoughts about Raditz were keeping her distracted. They had been for days and the princess understood the only reason Gale hadn't noticed before was because she had spent the previous days exercising using the machines on the gym instead of practicing combat. The Ox princess had another realization then: last night when she'd trained with Raditz all her moves had been smooth and effective; they always were when she practiced with him.

"You are having trouble with your man," Gale said again. The expression Chi Chi had when she heard her convinced the blue skinned woman she was right. "And you need to talk about it."

"I… I don't know if I should, I mean…" the Ox Princess hesitated. In truth, it was not that she was having trouble with her husb… with Raditz; the Saiyan had in fact behaved well, he hadn't hurt Gohan yet, his behavior at the table was quite acceptable and he was willing to clean himself after training and before eating dinner, he had even helped with everything she had asked regarding the apartment they shared: moving furniture, adjusting lights… It was just that a little part of his behavior these last few days was puzzling her to no end and, try as he might, she could not stop thinking about it because after telling him they would not be intimate again, when she had expected him to try seducing her every chance he got, he had instead only made weak attempts that he dropped as soon as she demanded he stop what he was doing. It really made no sense to her that he would act this way after how insistent he had been at first and even if she would never admit it out loud, she had even wondered once or twice if he had stopped finding her attractive. Not that she cared, because she did not care if he liked her, not at all. And she definitively had stopped thinking about the way he'd kissed her, and she had not remembered how he could drive her crazy with pleasure… and she was not feeling guilty about those thoughts if she ever had them, nor feeling a barely contained pain about how those thoughts she was not having meant she was still betraying her real husband. No, she was not thinking that.

"It seems you really need to talk," the captain told her, placing a friendly hand on her shoulder after seeing the troubled expression crossing the face of her pupil. "We both know the stupid Saiyan you married is the reason why you can't concentrate. Is he not giving you enough attention? Perhaps you're not having enough sex?"

"Wait, w-what?" Chi Chi, who had been lost in her contemplations, stared at Gale and turned completely red from head to toe, embarrassed from what the captain had just told her. "That's not at all! What makes you think s-sex is a p-problem?"

"Oh my, you should see your face!" Gale started laughing at her pupil's discomfort. "It's redder than Breeze's hair!"

"I…I can't believe someone as childish as you ever got her own squadron!" the princess stated, anger at being mocked again replaced her previous discomfiture; her voice was not hiding how displeased she was feeling at the orange-haired alien.

"Oh, Chi-Chill," Gale said finally controlling her laughter, but giggling again right after at the way she'd used the annoyed human's name. "The only reason why you say that is because you don't know me very well yet."

"The reason why I say you're infantile is because you enjoy making fun of me any chance you get with your childish jokes!" Chi Chi declared with an annoyed glare. "I don't like that!"

"Nope, I bet you don't," Gale agreed and then winked mischievously, her tongue out in a funny gesture. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know my jokes are bad but I just can't help myself! Besides, the joke made you forget about that hairy idiot you married, did it not?"

Chi Chi, despite her indignation, couldn't help be a little appeased as she saw Gale's weird wink and listened to her accurate choice of words. "He… he's really a hairy idiot, isn't he?"

"Yes, he really is. Look, he's the best of the bunch as far as the Saiyan trio goes, but he's still an idiot. And hairy, I mean seriously what's up with that hair, right? I bet he spends hours combing that enormous mane." Gale smirked satisfied that she had managed to get her new student to relax a bit. Perhaps now they could start talking for real about the actual issue she was having.

But before Gale could suggest they start discussing the issue, the doors of their gravity room opened and Twister came inside. The emerald beauty seemed anxious, and rushed to the captain's side with an expression of great urgency that made Gale immediately serious, as she always was when about to discuss important matters.

"Captain Gale, Lord Zarbon wants to talk to you," Twister informed. "He is expecting you to call him right now."

"Zarbon? That's strange," she said in a surprised tone. "Thank you, Twister."

The orange-haired woman pressed a button on her scouter and held it until she found the frequency she wanted, then let go and waited a couple of seconds. When communication was established she started walking around the room talking in a thoughtful tone, asking for information and details and finally requesting that all the data was sent to her scouter so she could have it at hand.

"We have work," Gale announced when she had finished. "We're all going to planet Letek. And when I say we're all going that includes you as well, Chi Chi."

"M-me? But I don't even…"

"You're coming and that's final!" Gale snapped. "This mission is not dangerous, even a weak rookie like you could survive it! You're coming with us so you can get an idea of how this works."

"I really don't think I should…" Chi Chi tried again, uncertain about what going on a mission meant for her; then her fear of leaving Gohan invaded her. She couldn't leave her son unsupervised and in the hands of a stupid brute like Raditz, she just couldn't!

"Twister, take the little princess here to where our team's space pods are and get her one," Gale ordered, ignoring whatever the young princess wanted to say.

"I tell you I don't want to go!" the Ox Princess shouted then, but her complaints were cut short when Gale hit her in the base of her skull, effectively knocking her out and catching her before she could hit the ground.

"Put her in a Space Pod. Set the course to planet Letek," the captain said, placing Chi Chi in Twister's arms. "I'll explain what the job is about once we get there."

"Letek's on the border with Lord Cooler's territory," Twister recalled wondering why Frieza's second in command wanted them to go to that particular world. "I don't like this, Gale. The members of the Cooler Corps are not too fond of us Lord Frieza's Army soldiers."

"I know, but don't worry. It'll be alright. I'll explain later," Gale repeated. "This job is something we need to be discreet about so I don't think we'll have any trouble."

The emerald-skinned woman nodded and, after hoisting Chi Chi over her left shoulder, she walked out of the room all the while muttering about how risking a fight with members of the Cooler Corps was not worth any amount of money.

Once alone Gale pressed the frequency button on her scouter and established a connection with a certain person inside the garrison. She got a reply almost immediately.

"Hello, Mr. Long-hair!" She greeted once Raditz accepted the call. "Can you guess which one of the beautiful women living in this base is calling you? Here's a clue, I'm not your wife but I'm training her every day."

"Cut the bullshit, Gale. I have no time for your stupid jokes," the voice of Raditz replied, obviously not happy at all for the interruption.

"Aww, you are such a polite gentleman," Gale said, smiling as she imagined Raditz's angry expression. "Or at least you are if we compare you to the bald brute and the pompous little prince you used to hang out with. They would have insulted me and cut communication on the spot, so bonus points to you for not being a total jerk, Mr. Long-hair."

"Just tell me what you want; I'm too busy to waste my time on you!" Raditz demanded.

"Only to tell you I'm taking your wife with us," the blue skinned woman provided. "She's helping me and the other girls with a mission."

"You're what?" the tall Saiyan seemed to have trouble believing what he was being told, which Gale found quite entertaining and even a little cute. She couldn't know, however, that Raditz's obvious concern came from his fear of losing the chance of learning a certain Ki detection technique. "You can't take Chi Chi with you, she's too weak."

"Two things, big man: One, she's strong enough for this particular mission," Gale indicated. "And two, this job was requested by Lord Zarbon so I have to do it right away."

"Why do you need her?" Raditz insisted a little bit more subdued once he heard Zarbon's name.

"I don't," the captain replied. "But she needs to get used to the job. Don't worry, Raditz. I'll keep your wife safe and also, from what she said, it may be best if you two spend some time apart. It will help you both think things over, as they say."

"Time apart? What the hell are you talking about? I can't under…"

The Alf-Squad leader, not interested in anything else the Saiyan had to say, cut off the link and blocked Raditz's frequency. She had work to do and couldn't afford to be distracted by the stupid ramblings of an angry Saiya-Jin. Gale had no desire to get into Zarbon's bad books, so doing this assignment right had become an imperative for her.

Not wanting to waste more time, the captain made her way to the inner dock where her team kept their Space Pods. She found them all there, waiting by their transports. Looking behind the other women Gale saw Chi Chi was already inside an open pod and still unconscious.

"Are you ready, girls?" Gale asked. "This mission is very important, and it will pay really well if we do it quickly."

"Can't you tell us what this is about?" Breeze requested. "Twister said you want us to be discreet but we're going to Letek so that means this isn't a conquering or a purging mission; I would like to at least have an idea of what we have to do so I know what to expect."

"I agree," Gust added. "The Cooler Corps doesn't care for soldiers from Frieza's army; we need to know if we're going to end up fighting some of them."

Gale took a moment to think about the best way to handle this and then looked at her team, offering them a reassuring smile. "Girls, I know going to Letek on an assignment is suspicious and I understand it can make you edgy, but other than being careful with the Cooler Corps I assure you the mission itself is easy as pie and will be quite profitable. If we fail, though… you all know Zarbon will kill us, so… do you understand now why I want to keep things quiet? I think it's for the best if only the five of us handle this."

"Princess here will be furious when she wakes up," Breeze pointed out as she looked at Chi Chi's pod. "I suspect she didn't want to come."

"Of course she didn't want to come!" Gale said with an amused smile. "But she has to get her feet wet at some point and this is an easy enough mission."

"Well, when you put it like that… I guess she does have to learn the ropes at some point," Gust said while scratching her left arm. "So, are we waiting for someone else, Prim perhaps?"

"No, just the five of us," the leader of the squad answered. "Alright, enough talk for now. Let's go!"

And they did. In silence the female soldiers entered their pods and, as soon as they were all asleep, the round vehicles activated and shot themselves to the stars.

0-0-0

"Where did mommy go?" Gohan asked looking up at his tall uncle as he wondered what had just happened. The child had heard his mother's name mentioned; it seemed that she had gone somewhere and going by the expression on his uncle's face the place his mom went to was not very nice.

"I don't know," Raditz groaned with a scowl on his face. This was not supposed to happen! Chi Chi had told him the night before she would start teaching him how to track down this Ki thing that day after dinner; this was just not fair at all!

"When is she coming back?" the kid asked, concern for his mother rising up his throat. He knew he was close to tears but held them back as best as he could. He had to know more about his mother first.

"I don't know that either," the Saiyan replied. "Gale didn't say."

Raditz looked down at his nephew then and didn't like what he saw. While the boy was managing to avoid crying, it was clear that he would start at any moment. This did not sit well with the warrior, as he really hated it when Gohan cried for insignificant crap such as his mother being away for a few days or months. It was very un-Saiyan like!

"But… but what if… something bad happens to her?" the boy whispered, two tears glistering on the corners of his eyes. "W-what if I can't see her a-again?"

"Children are such a pain…" the soldier muttered so his nephew didn't hear and tried to think of a way to calm him down and when he couldn't, he resorted to doing what his own father had done with him once. Raditz remembered it had worked so he figured it wouldn't hurt to try. He sighed his frustration away, crouched next to the mortified kid and placed his left hand over his nephew's head.

"Kid, I told you days ago that you're with me now, remember? And I'm not going anywhere. You mother will come back before you know it so the best you can do is train and show her how strong you've gotten when she returns. So stop with the tears, aren't you a Saiyan? Act like one!"

Gohan, who was not expecting this contact, raised his eyes and stared at his uncle. This was different from how Goku (his father) used to pick him up when he cried, the kid recalled that being held helped but for some reason this was… better? His uncle's hand on his head made him feel safer without making him feel like a baby the way being carried had, it instead made him feel like one of the big boys from the village near Mount Paoz, the ones who didn't need to be picked up after they fell and could do more things. It also made him understand than his uncle really believed he could be strong. Gohan blinked and dried his tears. That was true, he had promised to be strong, and learning not to cry was part of it.

"O-okay…" the boy said. "I'll try da… Raditz… I'll try."

"See that you do," the tall soldier said, standing up as he walked to the door. "Now let's get something to eat, I don't feel like training right now so we'll continue later, fine?"

"Yes, fine," the boy managed a small smile and followed his uncle out the gravity room. He outpaced Raditz quickly; the expectation of seeing other aliens in the Mess hall had cheered the boy a little.

A couple of steps behind, Raditz kept staring at the kid and wondered about that 'da' Gohan had interrupted before calling him by his name. Had the boy slipped and tried to call him dad beforequickly changing his words? Impossible! But… but… it wouldn't be so strange since they had spent so much time together recently and kids made those mistakes all the time, right?

The Saiyan took in a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck. For some reason, he felt as if something heavy had been placed on his shoulders, and while it wasn't too bad, he also knew he didn't like it.

"It's not lunch time, won't the chef get mad at us?" the half Saiyan kid asked once they reached the elevator.

"He better not," Raditz answered glad to have something else to think about besides the kid and his mother. "I'm too hungry to deal with that tub of cosmic lard's attitude."

"Tub of cosmic lard…" Gohan giggled and repeated the insult with a fair dose of excitement. His mother never let him call people names like those, and he wouldn't let the chance pass by.

Hearing that innocent chuckle, the Saiyan felt deep down that maybe being called 'dad' by this child wouldn't be all that bad. This feeling, not even an idea yet, vanished as soon as it came and once the elevator arrived it was forgotten, replaced with the expectation of an abundant meal.

0-0-0

Two weeks later, far away from planet Hypra…

Five pods landed without a hint of problem at the designated landing bay on the very top of an observation tower. With a hiss of steam they split open to allow their occupants to step out. The first one on her feet was a woman with orange hair, who spent little time surveying her surroundings before looking back, waiting for her companions to join her.

After her, two other women left their pods; one was a redhead while the other was a woman with shiny golden hair. Then a giantess of a woman squeezed out of her Attack Ball, already mumbling about how she needed to save enough money to buy a bigger one. Once the four women were together they all stared at the fifth pod, waiting for the princess sleeping there to step out.

They were curious about their new comrade and Gale, the captain of the All Female Squadron, wanted to know how angry the newest member of her group would be once she woke up. The other three, Breeze, Twister and Gust, were interested in if restraining the princess would be necessary, as the three of them expected their new friend to be furious.

And one look at the Ox Princess as she stepped out of her pod, hands balled into shaking fists and a glint of unspeakable rage in her eyes, proved them correct. Chi Chi was beyond angry. She didn't waste any time either. Fixating on Gale, the princess stomped towards the Alf-Squad captain and grabbed her by the neck of her armor, staring at her with such anger lesser women would have crumbled on the spot. Gale, however, smirked and signaled for her team to stay back.

"You… how dare you bring me here without my consent?" Chi Chi screamed, her voice dripping with venom. "You took me away from my son, you self-entitled, inconsiderate witch!"

"So much rage, you're gonna get wrinkles and an ulcer if you don't calm down," Gale said, her smile never wavering. "That happened two weeks ago, I'm sure your kid is fine."

"TWO WEEKS?"

"Yes, but hey, at least it wasn't a year and besides…" Gale started, but something colliding with her lips forced her to stop. She didn't have to look to know Chi Chi had punched her in the face, not that she had felt it, though. The power difference between her and the princess all but guaranteed that her punches would be as harmless as a baby's kick. Gale wasn't amused by this, as she was not used to her subordinates acting like fools and while she was not angry, she could not allow this to continue so when the fist of the princess was about to strike her again, the captain shot her hand up and caught it. She then grabbed the princess by the arm and with a quick move of her feet, used Chi Chi's own strength to throw her flat on her back, effectively driving the air, and the fight, out of Goku's widow.

"Will you cut it out? I don't have the time to deal with your stupid insubordination!" the captain hissed at the surprised noblewoman. "Yes, you spent two weeks away from your kid. Boo-hoo, you break my heart. And before you ask, it will take us another two weeks to go back to Hypra, plus the time it takes us to complete our mission here, so the sooner we wrap things up, the faster you'll be with your son, so I suggest that you help us finish this job quickly! Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Chi Chi replied. The young woman managed to sit and spent a couple of seconds catching her breath. Letting her rage get the best of her had been a mistake, as she had forgotten how strong Gale was in her fury. It was difficult for Chi Chi to believe that the captain had seemed to not even notice her attack. She suddenly realized Gale could have killed her with incredible ease and the revelation was terrifying. Gohan came back to her thoughts then and she decided that for him she could not be afraid because, without her close, her son had only Raditz to look after him and she did not trust that hairy brute. She would never trust him to look after her child.

"Then let's start working," Gale said as she offered her hand to the princess. "The sooner we're done, the faster you'll be with your kid… Gohan, was it?"

"Yes, Gohan," Chi Chi replied and after a moment of hesitation, took Gale's hand and let the captain help her up. She was no longer afraid of Gale, for her child's safety, she couldn't be. All she could do was to complete this mission as fast as she could so she could return to her son's side. "Gohan's his name."

"Alright then," the orange-haired beauty looked at the other members of the Alf-Squad and motioned them to follow her. "I know a place here where we can talk in private and have a drink or two, we'll go there now."

Chi Chi stood still, watching as Gale and the other three headed for the doors where a couple of soldiers waited. It brought her memories of the time she first arrived to Hypra, and the desire to see her son grew even stronger inside her, as did her conviction of completing this assignment quickly.

"Bring your scouter, princess, and hurry up! You don't want to be left behind here!" Gale called back once she and the others entered the building in front of them. "We'll be waiting at the elevators!"

The young widow did as she was told and walked back to her pod; once she had her scouter she looked, really looked, at the scenery around the landing platform. In every direction she saw tall towers made of metal, enormous buildings made of stone and massive statues of creatures that made her think of lizards adorning some of the structures. Flying vehicles passed by at amazing speeds and above in the sky, she could see many large mother ships slowly descending or ascending, in their way to and from space. She was in the middle of a huge city, a metropolis so big it stretched as far as her eyes could see.

She stared at this majestic urban landscape in wonder for a moment, until she remembered what she was truly here for. Her mind still digesting the idea that a city so big could actually exist, the princess put on her scouter and rushed inside the building.

0-0-0

Not too long after…

Gale had spent a few minutes doing paperwork for her team. She had registered them all as a squadron of Frieza's army and was given permission to access the barracks at night and also a label with barcode on it that she and her teammates had to stick on the shoulder pads of their armors. This code was important as it proved the wearer had authorization to be on planet Letek and losing it meant the members of the Cooler Corps could detain them for questioning if they saw fit, something that none of the women in the ALF-Squad needed.

Once that was done, they all left the tower and still had to take another elevator until they descended to ground level, several hundred stories below where their pods were kept. The tall buildings blocked most of the sunlight, making the busy streets dim and foul- smelling, something the young princess did not enjoy at all. She had learned from Gust that the whole planet was a single city now, divided into four sectors, each devoted to receive trading ships descending from the north, east, west and south. She'd also learned that this planet's official designation was Planet Cooler #131, and that it was located at the border of a certain Lord Cooler's territory. The princess found this information useful and very interesting, as she had never even imagined life outside her planet to be like this. It awed her and made her feel very small, but she didn't have the time to ponder on it, so she instead filed it for later consideration. Perhaps she would even discuss it with Raditz to get details Gust may have missed. Thinking of him, however, made her remember certain things she didn't want to think about at all, so she quickly pushed his memory out of her mind and focused on following Gale and the others through the labyrinthine streets.

They all had walked in line for a long while when they finally reached the entrance to what Chi Chi assumed was some sort of underground mall, which instead turned out to be a long and ample corridor that went under a massive skyscraper. The place was littered with shady looking restaurants and bars on both sides, and Gale walked straight to one at the other end, near the stairs that went back up behind the building above.

"I didn't know this place," Breeze said once they were all inside, sitting in a secluded table all the way on the corner of the bar. "Then again, I've always avoided Letek like the plague."

"They sell good stuff here, and as you can seem nobody will bother us," Gale offered, emptying a glass full of the transparent, purple drink she had ordered for the team. "This Gelboian Ale is amazing, you girls should try some!"

"I'd rather you tell us what we need to know about the job," Twister said, poking at the jar full of ale the captain had ordered for them with her finger. She didn't like the color of the drink, and was not interested in tasting it.

"I agree with Twister," Gust said while pouring some ale in her glass. "We've waited long enough."

"I don't drink wine," Chi Chi informed Gale stiffly as she pushed her glass to the side. "So just tell us what we're here for."

"The girls are right, we need to know," Breeze agreed, sniffing her glass before taking a sip of the wine. "My, this stuff isn't all that bad."

"You are right, it is time I told you," Gale finished her second glass of Gelboian ale and then removed her scouter, turned it off and placed it on the table. "But first, you all do what I just did."

The rest of the ALF-Squad did as they were told and placed their scouters on the table, all of them wondering why doing this was necessary.

"Good. Now that's done, it's time to explain why we're here," the blue-skinned soldier leaned forward on the table and lowered her voice a notch. "Lord Zarbon's been robbed. His personal assistant, Motato, took with him a very large sum from Zarbon's account and transferred it to a bunch of PTO cards; I saw the surveillance video back on Hypra."

"How much?" Twister asked, quite interested in this development as it took a lot of guts, or an incredible lack of brains, to steal from Frieza's second in command.

"Let's just say Zarbon's broke right now," Gale provided. "Anyway, he knows Motato is here and wants us to find and capture him. We can kill him if we get the information on where he keeps Zarbon's money and get it back, though."

"Why would he hide here?" Gust asked. "It makes no sense."

"Motato's cousin is a part of the Cooler Corps and works here in Letek. This is the only planet where he can hide and be safe, because Lord Frieza would think twice about bothering Lord Cooler for something as trivial for them as Zarbon being robbed," Gale answered while filling her glass for the third time. "And Zarbon wouldn't come here on his own because he could cause a very lamentable diplomatic incident if a fight starts."

"But this city is massive!" Chi Chi pointed out, the princess had ignored what she didn't understand and focused on the mission, and it worried her that locating their target would be like finding a needle in a haystack. "How are we supposed to find that man? And how do we know he's still here?"

"We can find him because he can't leave," the captain assured. "Zarbon's money is marked with an elite code. The moment it's used he'll know where it happened. But, conveniently, one of the only places where you can find a hacker skilled enough to remove an elite code is also here on Letek."

"And since Zarbon called you, then that probably means Motato hasn't used the money yet. Otherwise he wouldn't be in this planet, right?" Breeze guessed.

"Exactly," Gale said. "As for this city being massive, we don't have to look too hard. All we need to do is to find Motato's cousin and squeeze his location out of him."

"And how can we do that without having to fight a bunch of Cooler Corps soldiers?" Twister asked. "You said it would be easy and what you're proposing doesn't sound easy."

"One of us can lure our prey to a hotel room where we'll be waiting," Gale said. "Once we have him there it will be easy to make him talk."

"Is he strong?" Gust wanted to know. "If his power level is high, he could fight us all at the same time."

"The information I got from Zarbon says his power level is of 2017, so we can take him no problem," the leader of the squad proclaimed. "And I know he works in this sector so we can find him in less than an hour."

"Well, all that's left is to decide who'll be the bait," Breeze rejoined. "I vote for the new girl."

"Me too," Twister added.

"Not me," Gust said. "She's too weak and inexperienced. She could ruin it."

"Gust is right," Gale agreed looking at Chi Chi and noticing the princess was, unsurprisingly, not pleased at all with this voting. "I'll be the bait."

"Are you sure?" Twister asked. "Since princess here can't do it, I could do it instead. I'm better at luring men than all of you, anyway."

"I'd say your tits are the ones that lure men," Breeze muttered while taking a sip of her ale.

"I heard that. Not my fault you're a carpenter's dream," Twister shot back.

"At least I can see my feet while standing straight," Breeze retorted.

"Girls, cut the crap," Gale requested while leaving her seat, not feeling like going through one of the usual verbal spars between Twister and Breeze. "We've got to rent a hotel room close to the customs building Motato's cousin works in and finish our plan."

Both arguing women nodded, picked up their scouters and joined the rest of the team, as they were already standing up and about to leave the shady bar at once.

0-0-0

Meanwhile, on planet Hypra…

If there was one constant for Saiyans was that they liked to eat and both Gohan and Raditz were no exceptions to this rule. For the last two weeks the two had eaten most of their meals in the Mess Hall; most, because Raditz had also cooked dinner for them a few times—he had the experience as he usually had to cook for Nappa and Vegeta during missions— to use the food they had in the frost box before it went bad. He had not bothered to get new rations since then as there was no need for it because he and his nephew could eat their fill with the other soldiers in the Mess whenever they felt hungry.

And it was the Mess hall where both Gohan and Raditz were currently dining. The long-haired Saiyan was standing in line, waiting for his turn to get their meals while his nephew waited for him in one of the far left tables. Gohan's table was next to one where a group of tall, horned men sat; they all displayed long beards and hair in reddish tones, and the boy correctly identified them as Griffians, much to the delight of the bearded soldiers who found the kid's information about them quite amusing and surprising. All the Griffians congratulated the child for his knowledge and one of them even went as far as ruffling his hair. This was something that had happened often in the last two weeks. Gohan was polite and easy to like, and almost all soldiers stationed in the Garrison had grown somewhat fond of him after he approached them to ask them about their species, if they had any special abilities and about their planet of origin, always listening attentively to what they had to say. And even those who didn't like the kid much were quite tolerant with him. But this was not true for soldiers who weren't stationed at the base, such as the four Raptician soldiers who had just arrived to Advantage and entered the mess hall.

"A Saiyan child?" The first Raptician exclaimed as he noticed Gohan's tail. More than intrigued, the bulky reptilian alien separated from his loud companions and went straight towards the kid.

"Are you for real?" a second reptilian asked, following his friend. "That garbage is reproducing?"

"Unbelievable," the third Raptician said when he got a good look at the kid. "That means one of the three idiots actually managed to get a woman?"

"Well, this is surely a disappointment," the fourth one added. "The only thing the PTO doesn't need is more stupid monkeys running around."

"Hey kid, go away, we're going to sit here!" the first Raptician ordered, slamming his hand on the table so hard the startled child jumped on his seat and almost fell from it.

"I… I was…" the boy started. He had lowered his face and was almost trembling in fear, only avoiding crying with great effort.

"You were what?" the second soldier asked, reaching for the boy's head. He grabbed Gohan with his green, scaly hand and forced him to look up. "Go ahead and say it, we're dying to hear you."

"I was here… first," Gohan managed, trying very hard not to be afraid.

"The boy is right, we were here first," Raditz announced. The Saiyan had already placed the two trays of food on the table, and was staring hard at the reptilian holding Gohan by the head. He had noticed what the Rapticians were doing once he got his and his nephew's meals and at first thought it wouldn't go beyond the lizard men being annoying pests, but the moment one of them grabbed Gohan he felt a surge of cold rage quite unlike anything he had ever experienced before, to the point it took all his self control to keep his fury at bay. He had already analyzed the Rapticians, and knew that they all had a power level that ranged between 2004 to 2059 meaning Raditz, with his recently increased strength, could take them one on one so he felt his chances of stepping in were good enough; besides, he was not going to let those reptilians rough up his nephew, it wasn't right.

"You stinky apes should eat outside," the strongest Raptician sneered as he walked up to the Saiya-Jin. "The Mess hall is supposed to be for the evolved species after all."

"You really want to die today, don't you?" Raditz retorted with a growl.

"Behave, or your kid will get hurt," the reptilian that still held Gohan reminded him.

The long-haired warrior looked at his nephew and noticed Gohan was trying hard to look brave, but fear was evident in the boy's face. In that moment, the Saiyan understood the horrible irony of this situation, as he was now going through the very same thing he had forced his younger brother to experience. Life is really a bitch when she wants to teach you a lesson, it seems. The difference here, and Raditz knew it quite well, was that he wasn't weak like his younger brother had been. He'd find a way to keep his nephew safe and to cripple these idiots, he was sure of it.

"Hey, you, leave the kid out of this," a voice demanded then. Behind the Rapticians, one of the bearded Griffians had left his seat and was staring at the reptilians with cold eyes. "He did nothing to you."

"You heard Hexobon," another Griffian seconded, also standing up to back up his friend, he was followed by the three other Griffians on their table.

Raditz' right brow lifted in confusion. Were the Griffians actually helping him? This… this was unheard of! Most other species despised Saiyans and would only watch as they were humiliated, but this support right now… why was this happening? Was this the result of Gohan's constant questions to every other soldier here? The tall Saiyan was speechless for a moment, but soon recovered his voice as his priority was to keep his nephew safe; he could ponder on everything else later.

"You going to let the kid go or you want me to make you?" he threatened, confident that now he had the help of the Griffians, each with a power level of about 5,000, the Rapticians would be much more cooperative.

"You can't be serious, this is just Saiyan garbage!" One of the reptilians tried, looking skeptically at the one they had called Hexobon. "They're nothing but useless monkeys!"

"Perhaps, but they're our monkeys," A new voice said on the left. A look in that direction revealed two tall Azurians had also decided to leave their seats and voice their opinion.

"I suggest you leave the kid alone," the second Azurian recommended. Unknown to Raditz, Gohan had also reached out to the Azurians, and had left them with a good impression. The boy's little gesture was paying off now.

"If you mess with one soldier from Advantage then you mess with all of us!" Another voice, to the right this time, sentenced. The voice belonged to a grey skinned alien Raditz quickly identified as one of the two Zadrians who had carried him to the clinic on his first day here after he had that accident in the gravity room.

"He's right!" the chef announced. He had walked around the kitchen area and was obviously not happy at all. "Besides, this is my kitchen, you morons, and if you try to fight here I will kill you myself and serve you as tonight's dinner! So here's what you assholes are going to do: You're going to release that kid, walk out of my Mess Hall, take your pods and go to the next garrison."

"What if we don't?" the apparent leader of the Rapticians challenged, but it was obvious in his tone of voice he was doing this only to save some face.

"Then I vaporize your head right where you stand," Raditz said, his right hand up to eye level, a small energy ball shining on his palm. "And then we do the same to all your friends."

"I knew making a stop here was a fucking mistake," the reptilian growled, frustrated at how outmatched he and his squad were. "This place is so upside down people here actually stand up for the stupid Saiyans! Fine then… let the kid go!"

The other Raptician obeyed and released Gohan, making sure everyone saw he hadn't hurt the boy at all. Saying nothing more, the reptilian gang retreated slowly to the door, all the while under the accusing eyes of every Advantage-stationed soldier in the Mess Hall.

Once the Rapticians were out of the Mess, Gohan rushed to his uncle's side and jumped at him, hugging him tight, his 'thank yous' muffled in the soldier's chest. The kid didn't care if this was something a Saiyan wouldn't do, he was too glad the reptilians were gone to care. After a moment, Gohan turned to look at the rest of the soldiers.

"Thank you everybody, you're the best!" the boy said offering the soldiers a shining, honest smile as he thanked them, just as his mother had instructed him to do when being grateful to others. "Thank you for helping us!"

"Don't mention it, kid," Hexobon the Griffian said. "It was nothing."

"Yeah, you and your dad live here in Advantage," one of the Azurians added. "We care for our own."

Raditz was unsure of what to do; his Saiyan pride closed his throat so tightly he couldn't force himself to thank the other soldiers, even if he had to admit he was glad they had helped. In the end, all he could manage was a grin directed at them and a nod, which apparently was enough, as every other soldier returned the gesture before going back to their meals.

"Would've been a shame if your wife came back to find her kid hurt," the chef told him then, his eyes never leaving his kitchen as he didn't need to be seen as an overly sentimental man by the other soldiers. "And… well, her ideas helped me make some new stuff, so… I kind of owe her and I thought… damn it, you get it what I mean, right?"

"I think I do," Raditz said. And he did.

"Good, now eat your meals before they get cold and the taste goes all wrong."

Saying nothing else the chef went back to his kitchen, and Raditz and Gohan simply sat at their shared table. The boy didn't seem too affected by what had just happened, and was already eating with Saiyan-worthy appetite, much to his uncle's relief. Raditz started eating then, trying to understand the weird feeling that still lingered inside him. He couldn't really place it, and he believed he had a name for it but he did not know if this feeling that had appeared when the other soldiers helped them was actually gratitude, as he had never had much to be grateful for. Still, knowing others were willing to help him and the kid felt… nice? Yes, nice. It was very different from how Vegeta and Nappa acted when he was with them and he sort of liked it.

"I didn't cry."

Raditz looked at Gohan with a puzzled expression. "What?"

"I didn't cry when those bad men tried to hurt me," Gohan repeated. "Isn't that what a Saiyan does?"

"…Yes, yes it is," the tall soldier said, smiling a little. "You're becoming more of a Saiyan every day, kid… and that's good… it's really good."

"I'm glad. Can we practice flying after this? I think I can do it better now," Gohan said.

"Sure, why not?" his uncle nodded. "We have time."

"Neat! I'll show mom I can fly real good when she comes back," after this promise, the child smiled satisfied and returned to his meal.

Raditz resumed eating as well, thoughts of the boy's mother returned to him full force for the first time in days. What are you doing now, woman? Driving Gale and the others crazy with your annoying bitching? The Saiyan smirked at the thought, and felt that his guess was very close to the mark.

0-0-0

Back in Planet Letek…

A spherical, red-skinned man walked out of a large building, he wasn't alone; he walked, talking and joking, with three other members of the Cooler Corps. They weren't in a rush, and once they reached the main avenue ahead, two of them took off and flew away while the others stayed behind and entered a bar down the street.

"Ugh, Totoma's got friends?" Gale sighed disappointed that their target wasn't a loner. "That'll make leading him to the hotel room we rented even more complicated."

"But he's also way too fat and ugly," Twister observed. "If I'm right about men, and I always am, he'll follow me like a puppy the moment he thinks I'm interested in him."

"I'll have to agree with you on that," the captain nodded. "Well, can't do anything tonight since he's drinking with a friend, we'll have to try tomorrow and with some luck we'll catch him alone."

Gale stood up from the bench she had been sharing with Twister and stretched, ready to go back to the hotel to get some sleep.

"Not necessarily," the emerald beauty said, stopping her captain before she could leave. "If he gets drunk he'll be easier to trick. We just need to give Totoma a couple of hours so that he's gotten a few drinks in him. In the meantime we can go into the bar and just hang out; when I think our target's ripe for harvest, I'll make a move on him."

"You're a devil," Gale said with a mischievous smile. "I like how that sounds, let's give it a shot!"

A few blocks away, in a hotel room…

Chi Chi was uneasy, she was sure that something was happening to her son, or that it happened to him already and she had not been there to protect him. It maddened her to think the only one out there making sure her son was alright was that obnoxious, long-haired Saiyan.

"Gale and Twister will come back soon with our target," Breeze told her, she had just finished talking with the leader of the Alf Squad on her scouter and was pleased things were going well for them. "Try to relax, with some luck this mission will be over tonight."

"Yes, with some luck," the princess said. She didn't sound convinced.

"I'm kind of hungry," Gust announced. "I'm going to that restaurant across the street, won't take long."

"Keep your frequency open," Breeze advised. "Gale said it was possible they'd be back in a few hours."

"Sure. You guys want me to bring you something? That place's got a buffet and I'm really gonna take advantage of it," Gust offered; she was already standing by the door.

"I'm not hungry," Chi Chi replied. "But thank you anyway."

"I'm good for now," Breeze added. "Go knock yourself out, Gust."

"Don't mind if I do," the tall woman grinned and left the room. A moment later Chi Chi, who was sitting by the window, saw her enter the restaurant with a happy stride.

"I pity the owner of that restaurant," Breeze said from behind the raven haired girl. "Gust's metabolism is incredible when it comes to processing food."

"Does she really eat that much?" Chi Chi wondered. "Gust is too fit to be a big eater."

"The woman can eat, I assure you. And she never gains weight, either," the redhead said as she sat down on the only bed in the room. "Her race is similar to the Saiyans in that one aspect, but I'm sure dealing with someone who can easily eat for six is hardly surprising for you."

"You're right, it isn't," the Ox princess admitted, recalling Goku's eating habits and more recently, the way her new… companion, ate. "It isn't at all."

The white-snow-skinned woman replied with a disinterested 'oh' and picked up the old magazine that was on the night table next to the bed. She put it back seconds after, as it was written in a language she was not familiar with. Why couldn't this hotel be like any other in the galaxy and provide magazines printed in basic?

"Are you really going to kill that Motato person?" Chi Chi asked then. She was still sitting on a stool but was now facing Breeze. "Is that the punishment for his crime?"

"He's going to die regardless; Lord Zarbon will kill him for sure," the redhead said. "And it's 'we' … you're a part of the group now, princess. Don't forget that."

"I'm not a killer, Breeze."

"Something tells me that isn't true," she disputed as she stared hard at the young Amazon. "I think you've killed before, and that it wouldn't bother you much if you had to do it."

"I've never killed sentient beings," Chi Chi rectified, "only animals, and only for eating or to escape a dangerous situation."

"I see… well, I may be wrong here but something about you makes me think killing your enemies wouldn't bother you."

Chi Chi remembered then the immense satisfaction she experienced when Raditz told her Piccolo was dead. She also recalled that she had entertained the thought of doing… things, painful things, to a gang criminals who had terrorized the only town near Mount Paoz for a long time until the police stopped them and how she had been angry because Goku never got involved since he was busy training and she couldn't help because she was in the last months of her pregnancy. That's when I lost the ability to ride his stupid cloud, when I realized killing that scum was necessary.

"I… I think if it's a really bad person who has committed many crimes…" Chi Chi said. "I guess if it's like that then it's acceptable… or maybe if it's in a war or in a life or death situation."

"Well, in this case it would be an act of mercy," Breeze said. "If we deliver Motato's thieving ass to Zarbon, he's going to get tortured for months before they finally kill him, not that he didn't ask for it."

"Can we talk about something else?" the Ox princess asked, no feeling too comfortable with the issue. She didn't like talking about killing, and was anxious to change topics to something less grim.

"Like what?"

Chi Chi considered it for a moment, then spoke, "Prim told me you're the only female soldiers active right now, is that true?"

"Yes, at least in Frieza's army. I know there are many women in the Cooler Corps and the Cold Elites also have their share of female soldiers."

"I've been wondering about that. Who are these Cooler Corps and Cold Elites?"

Breeze sat cross-legged on the center of the bed and smirked. "I keep forgetting you don't know a lot of things. Well, it is time for class, Chi Chi, so listen well: The Planet Trade Organization is owned by King Cold and his two children: Frieza and Cooler. Each one of them owns a personal army. We are the army of Lord Frieza, power-wise we're the weakest but most numerous. The Cooler Corps have smaller numbers but they're stronger on average than us. Above us all, however, are the Cold Elites who serve under King Cold; the Elites are the smaller army under the PTO, but their members are so strong their numbers hardly matter."

"That's… interesting," the princess said. "I understand now why you said this was Cooler's territory. I imagine Frieza and that King Cold also have their own territories."

"Correct, though the three of them all manage the PTO together."

"That still doesn't explain why you're the only women in this particular army," Chi Chi noted.

"It's because Zarbon doesn't like girls," Breeze said. "I'm sure he gave us this mission hoping one of us gets in trouble or even killed."

"I thought Frieza is the leader? How can this Zarbon decide if women can't be soldiers?"

"Because Frieza doesn't care who works for him as long as everything works and his army keeps his sector in line," the redhead said. "Now that I think of it… it seems the only other women to ever work in Frieza's army were the female Saiyans, but they're all dead now. You're not one, are you? You're listed as a Ningen type but maybe you lost your tail."

"I'm a hundred percent human," Chi Chi assured. "Or Ningen, as you say here. So… how did you all enter the army? Can I ask that?"

"I don't see why not. Just don't let Gale know I told you; she loves to tell the tale," Breeze stated. "Anyway, we used to be members of the Galactic King's Royal Guard; before he got vaporized by King Cold, of course."

"There was a king ruling the whole galaxy?"

"Well, he thought he did but his influence limited to only a few systems. He was an idiot, but he paid well," the redhead recalled. "About ten years ago, the Galactic King tried to put an end to the Planet Trade Organization."

"He went to war against the PTO?"

"What war? It was over in minutes! King Cold and his two sons entered the Galactic King's castle while their armies destroyed the rest of the city and the Galactic Police with it!" Breeze trembled a little. "I still get the creeps when I remember it; King Cold is the most imposing person in the Galaxy!

"That's… impressive" Chi Chi said. "Cold and his children went straight for the Galactic King without trying for a diplomatic solution?"

"The PTO does not negotiate," Breeze assured, looking up and smiling a little smile. "I'm really glad Gale managed to get up after Frieza hit her, it's the only reason why he offered us a chance to work for him."

"I can see you agreed."

"We didn't have another choice," she studied her hands for a moment, blinked a couple of times and smiled again. "But it's not bad, you know? The PTO pays better than the Galactic King."

"I imagine other members of that Galactic Police you mentioned are also PTO soldiers now."

"No, most of them were killed. There weren't that many of them anyway, like only fifty or even less," the snow-white skinned woman recalled. "Some may have escaped, I guess."

"I see," Chi Chi became pensive then and sitting straight and composed, turned to look out the window again. "Thanks for sharing this information, Breeze; it's interesting, and it's really helping me understand how life is here."

Breeze looked at Chi Chi attentively and perhaps it was because of the dim light in the room, or maybe the glow of the neon signs flashing outside but there was something there that struck the red-headed soldier to the core. A small hint of… what? She couldn't really tell but there was something. Whatever it had been, though, it vanished in an instant and once again Chi Chi was just the rookie Ningen woman who had joined the ALF-Squad recently.

"No problem, it happened a long time ago. I don't think it is that interesting."

"Well, I thank you regardless," the princess smiled gently. "The more information I have the better choices I can make."

"…Yes," there it was again, that something that made the Ox princess different from other women. Only this time Breeze was able to put a name to it. Royalty, she's royalty! She's a Princess for real so of course she has that posture and tone of voice. She's used to being in command! Oh shit… will she challenge Gale's leadership at some point? But… what if she doesn't and I'm just imagining things, should I even tell Gale?

The redhead's thoughts were interrupted by the young woman's voice, leaving Breeze still somewhat confused about what she should do with her fears. In the end, she decided to wait and see, and would tell Gale depending on the Princess' actions.

"Gale and Twister are heading this way; they're bringing a man with them," Chi Chi, who for Breeze had radiated some sort of regal authority for just a fraction of a second, was back to normal, looking out the window again. "And Gust is coming out of that restaurant. They'll be here pretty soon."

"Good, I was tired of waiting."

0-0-0

The abandoned warehouse in one of the decaying sections of Letek was massive, tall and imposing, standing in the middle of a large empty space created by the many demolished buildings that were once around it. Several signs indicated this area would be refurbished soon into a gigantic housing complex. But that night it was eerily silent and only the sound of the steps of five women floated up the cold wind.

"Was it necessary to tie and leave Totoma hanging upside down?" Chi Chi asked. "And hanging above the toilet of all places?"

"He said he felt like shit when we finished questioning him," Gale said smirking. "I was just following his lead. Oh, c'mon, you gotta admit that was a funny one!"

The princess sighed and shook her head; she just couldn't understand Gale's random and strange brand of humor at all. "Humor is subjective, Gale. I'm sure I'll laugh at one of your jokes one day. And I'm worried he'll call his Cooler Corps friends."

"You just have no sense of humor, Chi Chi; besides, Totoma's not going to accuse us because then we would tell he was helping a fugitive criminal. It would be his ruin, so what's wrong with taking advantage of that with a little joke?" the captain said to end that conversation, as her full attention was now on the warehouse in front of her squadron. "I need a reading, Twister?"

"Five energy signatures," the emerald beauty provided after scanning the location with her trusty scouter. "Two are close, probably at the Warehouse's entrance. The other two are a little farther, surely guarding Motato. I bet they have scouters too and are waiting for us to try something."

"The power levels closer to us are at 1123 and 2045," Gust said and spat in frustration. "I can take care of one but I'd need help with the other. It'd be difficult for me to fight both at once."

"The ones farther are at 3007, 3001 and 212," Breeze completed. "Don't worry girls; those guys are nothing if we all fight together."

"And Motato escapes while we're fighting whoever he's got in there protecting him. And the hacker who is supposed to remove the elite code from Zarbon's money is going to arrive tomorrow morning," Captain Gale told her squad. "We need to do this tonight."

"So what do you suggest, boss?" Gust asked. "We rush in and hope for the best?"

"No, but I do have an idea," Gale scratched her chin and then looked at Chi Chi. "This is your time to shine, rookie. According to Totoma and the reading we just made, Motato's weaker than even you. We distract his men, you go and capture him."

"But… I don't even know where he is!" Chi Chi argued.

"Twister, send princess here the layout of the warehouse Totoma gave us," Gale ordered.

"Done," Twister said after pressing one of the buttons on her scouting device.

Chi Chi's scouter rang and a map of the building ahead of her was displayed on the small screen. On the inside, the warehouse was nothing but a big empty space with only a small office on the other side. A note on the map explained Motato was using the office as an apartment, and that he hardly ever left it.

"Stick to the walls while we do the fighting," Twister advised. "Chances are you won't get blasted that way."

"I'll be fine," Chi Chi assured somewhat offended by the comment. "But… aren't the men inside members of the Cooler Corps?"

"Not likely, they'd have delivered Motato to Zarbon already to be in good standing with Frieza and Cooler" Gale answered. "My guess is they're hired help."

"So, how do we proceed?" Twister said. "If they do have scouters I think they might yield once they get a reading on Gale and the rest of us."

"No, Motato probably promised them a lot of money," Breeze opined. "They will fight us. I feel they'll try an ambush."

"Agreed," the captain said. "So let's ruin their plans, girls."

Saying this, Gale took off and shot an energy blast at the warehouse, destroying—disintegrating is more precise—the front with ease. Gale's attack revealed two hulking men with orange skin and black armor who were still covering their faces to protect themselves from the sudden impact. Further back inside the warehouse two other men of the same species were already rushing to help their friends. A full fight was imminent.

"Mercenaries!" Gust shouted in satisfaction. "And they have no scouters; we can fight them all out!"

"Fantastic, now let's kick their butts quickly before the actual Cooler Corps come to see what's going on," Breeze said while assuming her fighting stance.

"Time to do your part, we'll cover you!" Gale screamed from above. "Go, Chi Chi, GO!"

And so the princess ran. Ignoring the sounds of battle and the hot explosions of energy blasts all around her, Chi Chi did as she was told and rushed to the office all the way to the other end of the building. It was all she could do to make sure she would return to Gohan's side.

A light green energy beam struck the wall ahead of her, the impact threw her back and she had to cartwheel to avoid falling flat and hitting her head. Landing on her feet, she crouched and vaulted to a pole above, which she used to further jump ahead—doing this allowed the princess to avoid the ki blasts that had started to rain around her—landing so close to the office she could almost taste victory.

And that was when one of the orange men landed in front of her. Her scouter beeped, showing her the alarming power level of her new adversary: 3007. She backed a step, intimidated by the powerful ki she felt emanating from this furious man. Chi Chi raised her fists but in the end she didn't have to; Gale swooped in from the side and kicked the man all the way to the opposite wall.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of him; you capture the target!" the captain ordered before going after the mercenary.

"Easier said than done," Chi Chi muttered as she approached the office. She reached for the door and almost opened it, but stopped at the last moment. She felt the energy of the person inside gathering and that made her step to the side. He's preparing an energy blast; the idiot thinks I'm walking into a trap. The princess lowered her ki to the minimum and then pressed her back to the wall. She had noticed that as long as the energy didn't go up or down, the scouters couldn't detect if an enemy was preparing a ki attack. But she could sense it just fine, another proof that these machines were useless in fights.

She paid close attention and noticed that Motato had given up on using a ki blast and was on the move, he was not even in the office anymore. How?

"A backdoor!" she guessed and rushed inside the office. Sure enough, there was a backdoor and a little, fat, red man was running away from the warehouse like the hounds of hell were after him. He carried an impossibly big box above his head, comically balancing it as he went. In a different situation, Chi Chi would have found this amusing, but not then.

"You're not getting away!" she swore, going after him on nimble legs, catching up to Motato in less than a second. "Give up and they may not kill you!"

The only answer she got was Motato stopping, dropping the box and turning to face her. "Hah! They sent a woman with a power level of just 59 after me, how stupid can they be?"

"You're wrong," the princess smirked then and without warning, unleashed her full strength for him to see, hoping that would intimidate him into surrender. "My power level is higher than just 59!"

"403?" Motato paled and his eyes bulged out of their sockets. "Ho-how… is my scouter broken? This is impossible!"

Chi Chi's smirk accentuated. While she knew she'd gotten stronger, she hadn't made a reading of her own power yet and was pleased to learn that after days of training with Raditz and Gale, her full power level had gone from 359 to 403. It was very satisfying.

"I suggest you give up now, it's your only choice."

"Never!" Motato challenged. He quickly reached for a small device hidden in his pocket and pointed it at his pursuer. "You die here!"

"Wha…?" the princess couldn't finish the sentence, an invisible force had trapped her, and she couldn't move her body at all!

"Yes! I didn't think this would work but it did!" Motato was dancing in joy. "How do you like this Localized Inertial Damper? I knew this would put a stop to you!"

"Turn that machine off!" Chi Chi growled, managing to both speak and look at Motato with a titanic effort. "Let me arrest you before they kill you!"

"No! I'll get rid of you and then hide somewhere, I can still escape!" Motato yelled and turned a knob on his device, making Chi Chi feel as if her heart itself was slowing down.

"Stop… this!" the princess demanded, feeling how her pulse slowed almost to a halt and how her lungs were stilling. Consciousness was leaving her, she found breathing was an impossible task, she could swear even the blood in her veins had stopped! I'm… I'm going to die! Please, save me, Goku…!

But Goku was dead. Goku couldn't save her anymore. Was this her fate, a stupid death in a planet far away from home?

No. She still had Gohan, and for her child she would never stop fighting!

"You're going to regret this, you… you ugly bastard!" the princess muttered and forced every cell in her body to expel as much energy as it could. Raditz… he says I can use my power better when I'm angry… let's see if it's true. Focusing on the lesson the Saiyan had taught her, Chi Chi allowed her anger to rise, concentrated and with a groan, managed to lift her right fist.

"This… this cannot be!" Motato backed up a step. "I increased the LID's power to ten! With a power level of 400 you can't move, you can't!"

"I can!" Chi Chi shouted back and instinctively moved both hands up. She realized she was reaching for the blade she had kept on the helmet she used to wear as a child with the intention of throwing it at Motato. But the weapon wasn't there; she hadn't used her Amazon armor in years. She wished she had kept it so she could sling the axe blade at this fat bastard. Well it didn't matter! She controlled her body again and she was going to bring him down!

Feeling as if every muscle in her body was tearing, the princess moved forward and escaped the area affected by the Inertial Damper before Motato could increase the power of his device again. With a yell of rage, Chi Chi stepped ahead and grabbed Motato by the head. She screamed in fury and smashed her knee into the man's face, feeling very satisfied by the crunching sound his nose made. The fat thief fell to his knees, his hands covering his nose while he spat out several of his teeth; he tried talking, but all he managed were sad, pain-filled whimpers.

"You shouldn't have done that to me!" the Ox princess said her voice still full of anger. "This is what you get for not giving up when you could!"

"Huh…huh…" Motato started, scared to no end by the (murderous?) dangerous gleam in the woman's eyes.

"Shut up you… you garbage!" Chi Chi ordered and kicked Motato's stomach as hard as she could causing the overweight man to spit blood and go on a coughing fit.

"Good job, princess!" Gale said a moment later. She was unhurt and landed to her right and seemed to be pleased by what she saw. The rest of the ALF-Squad, also unharmed, touched down then, and they also looked happy with Chi Chi's work.

"I didn't think you had it in you, noob!" Gust said with a happy grin. "Well done!"

"She's right, this is most surprising," Breeze agreed, "in a good way, of course."

"What they told you," Twister said with a smile. "Good job, princess."

"We got the target. The mission's over," Chi Chi stated, her breathing still labored. "Now what?"

"Now I call Zarbon and tell him we're done here," Gale supplied.

0-0-0

Three weeks later…

The five pods landed without incident in the Advantage's inner dock, and the first one to come out of hers was Chi Chi, who wanted nothing but to see Gohan again. She could have rushed out looking for her son, but she instead waited for her teammates to exit their Attack Balls. She was still a little upset that they had secretly chartered an actual space ship—not a big one, but it still managed to impress the princess—to take their pods, Motato and the stolen money to a rendezvous point Zarbon had designated. Chi Chi, Gust, Breeze and Twister had not met with Frieza's second in command; Gale had been in charge of delivering Motato and the money, which in the end helped because it made the transaction faster. Still, that detour had cost them an extra week but it didn't matter now, they were back on Hypra at last, back home.

Home… I'm starting to think about this place as home. She thought surprised at how at ease she felt when that idea had entered her thoughts.

"It's good to be back!" Gale said. The captain was already on her feet and looked around as the rest of her squad exited their pods as well. "And it's much better to return a few thousand credits richer!"

"Indeed," Breeze grinned. "Zarbon paid us quite well!"

"We're having a party to celebrate our triumph tonight!" Gale announced; she was feeling very happy and in the mood for a bash with her girls.

"Sweet!" Gust said. "I'll talk to Doc Ygrus and get permission to use one of the entertainment rooms!"

"We should ask the other two girls to join us," Twister suggested. "Make it a real party for just us girls; the seven of us!"

"That's a good idea!" Gale nodded. "I'll get Prim, you and Breeze go to the machine rooms and get the cyborg girl who always works there to come, it's high time we meet that one!"

"I agree, she never leaves that place," Breeze said. "I heard she's also a Ningen type, but since she's a cyborg we'd have to see her to make sure."

"Better reason to invite her, then," the tall, blue skinned woman said. "Alright, you go get that woman so we can get to know her; Gust, you go see the Doc and I'll talk to the chef so he prepares the food we'll need."

"You're coming to the party, right?" Gust asked as she passed by Chi Chi's side.

"I'm not sure, my son…" the princess started.

"It's going to be tonight!" Gale interrupted. "Once your kid's sleeping, you can slip out of your apartment and meet us, you'll find us in one of the entertainment rooms, just follow the music!"

"But…"

"If your man is against it, I'll go and convince him," Twister said with a wink.

"No! Not you!" Chi Chi refused, an image of Twister using her flirty ways on Raditz flashing on her mind and making her feel strangely alarmed. She crushed the idea immediately and quickly composed herself. "I mean, no, thank you, it won't be necessary. I'll… I'll go to the party, ok?"

"You're the jealous type?" Twister smiled. "That's so cute! But don't worry, princess; I don't like your husband. I'm into older guys like that handsome doctor Ygrus, now that's a catch! Can you believe he's still single at his age? He's so ripe for the picking, like a tasty, tasty, juicy fruit that you can just grab and bi…!"

"Stop drooling over doctor Ygrus, Twister, you always get carried away when it comes to that man. And Chi Chi, make sure you go," Gale said, behind her Twister complained that she wasn't drooling, but the captain ignored her. "Let's move, girls, the party won't organize itself!"

The princess watched as the other girls entered the base, chatting and laughing as they went and couldn't help but to admit that she had enjoyed their company. She reasoned it was because she never had many friends before, and was somehow glad that they had admitted her into their circle so easily. She smiled at the idea of having friends and then her mind went back to Gohan. She had to see her son!

The Ox princess hurried inside the garrison, thoughts of her son filling her mind now. Chi Chi focused on finding her son's ki as she walked, but after having no success, used her scouter to find where Raditz was. The device found the Saiyan quickly, and his location puzzled the young Amazon quite a bit. He was in one of the large, inner gardens. Wondering what he was doing there and hoping Gohan was there also, she ran in that direction.

She arrived to the inner garden in a matter of minutes, and once she opened the door she saw a large space covered with dark green grass. The wall and part of the roof were entirely made of the dura-glass she now knew was as resistant as the metal used on Space Pods. There were patches full of flowers and many trees and plenty of benches over a slated road and even a tall fountain. But after looking left and right she could not see Gohan anywhere. Where was her son? Did she enter the wrong garden?

She tried feeling for her son's ki as a last resort and her eyes darted up as soon as she located it. The princess gasped and for a moment, lost the ability to speak because up there, almost all the way to the glass ceiling was Gohan. Her son was flying. Flying! He had not seen her yet, he was busy chasing after Raditz, who was going through a series of rings with an ease that revealed how skilled at flying he was. And her son was almost matching his uncle. Almost. Gohan hit a few of the rings but for the most part her son's flight was perfect.

"He can fly…" she muttered, realizing then that her son's Ki had increased; if she had to judge, she bet Gohan was about 900 by now. She reached up and made the reading: 1004. Her son's power was now slightly over a thousand. And he could fly.

For just a brief moment, Chi Chi was afraid of calling her son's name. He just seemed so happy to be flying with her uncle that she felt estranged, even replaced. This doubt vanished immediately as she realized there was no way Raditz could replace her. She was Gohan's mother and nothing that man did would ever change that.

"Gohan!" she called after another moment had passed, long enough so she knew her voice would not break. "Gohan, I'm here!"

The kid froze and then turned to the entrance of the in-house garden. He floated there for a moment, shocked by the immense happiness just seeing her made him feel. She was back, and she was unhurt! The boy's smile could have melted an iceberg and before he knew it, he had flown as fast as she could to her.

"Mom!" the little boy landed and jumped at her, hugging her tight, laughing and radiating joy. "I am so happy you're finally back, I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, sweetie," Chi Chi said, tears of happiness glistering on her eyes as she returned the hug with the fierce, strong love only a mother could feel. "I thought about you every single moment."

She leaned back to take a good look at her son. Gohan's hair was a little longer—she'd have to cut it a little on the tips—and it seemed he'd gotten a little taller; he seemed well fed, too, which pleased her. Had he studied while she wasn't here? She doubted that but it wasn't that important as she could help him catch up with his studies later. What mattered was that her little boy was healthy and knowing that, seeing it, made her feel so relieved it was as if the world had turned brighter and more colorful all around her.

"I can fly now!" Gohan boasted. "Did you see me, mom? Raditz taught me how!"

"I know, I saw you," she smiled and kissed his cheek, she then placed her son on the ground and crouched so she was at his eye level. "I'm very proud that you learned to do something so difficult. Did you learn anything else while I was gone?"

"Of course I did!" Gohan grinned and lifted his right hand, a warm golden orb of light formed above it. "I can also do this! I can't throw it yet, it goes puff before I do but Raditz says I'll get it right in a few days, isn't it cool?"

"It is, Gohan. It is," the princess was impressed, so impressed that she forgot about asking Gohan if his uncle had treated him right. Raditz had managed to teach Gohan how to fly and the basics of ki manipulation in about a month; never in her wildest dreams did she expect him to be so good a teacher.

"You're back."

Chi Chi looked up and saw him standing a few steps away, his arms crossed as he observed her. He had changed his armor again to one in white and yellow (again with no shoulder pads), which gave him a completely different look, less primal and feral. She discovered that she approved of it. He looked better in her opinion. Realizing she was staring, Chi Chi blinked and hastily stood up, her hand never leaving Gohan's shoulder as she looked at the fountain behind him. "Yes. I'm back."

"Good. I'll go train on my own while you and Gohan talk, I'm sure the kid has a lot of things to tell you," the soldier said as he walked past her. "I'll see you both later."

And with that, he left; Chi Chi frowned, surprised at his behavior… and had he ignored her? She made a pause. Did it matter if she had? Was she… hoping for a warmer welcome from him, a hug? What? She couldn't tell. She wasn't even sure if she was happy to see him again. She was glad—and thankful— that he had taken care of Gohan so well; that much she knew and in the end, she decided, that was probably enough.

"I'm learning the parts of my scouter too," Gohan said. "Raditz told me I need to know them before he teaches me how to fix it."

"He's… he's teaching you things other than fighting?" the princess found that difficult to believe.

"Yes, he's been fixing the scouters of other soldiers so he said it helped him remember the names of the parts," the boy explained.

"Why is he repairing things for other people?"

"Raditz says earning a few extra credits never hurt a man," Gohan shrugged. "I think he used those credit things to buy the stuff in the workshop he made in the empty room… and food, too."

"He… he got a job?" now that was something Chi Chi had to see. "Raditz?"

"He just fixes scouters and gadgets for other soldiers, mom," Gohan corrected, unaware that what his uncle did was actually a job. The kid then pouted. "But he won't let me enter his workshop alone. That's a little unfair!"

"No, it's not, sweetie. I'm sure he has things there he doesn't want you to touch because you could get hurt or it could cause him trouble, try to be more understanding." Chi Chi didn't notice she was smiling. He had a job. Would surprises ever stop that day?

"Ok, I will," Gohan sighed disappointed, but this didn't last much. He looked up and hugged his mother. He was just too glad to have her close again. "Mom?"

"Yes, Gohan?"

"Thank you for coming back."

"Thank you for waiting for me, my dear Gohan."

0-0-0

Gohan finished eating dinner and Chi Chi sent him to his room to study the book about alien species he was still reading. Once the kid was out of her kitchen, the woman finished cleaning and recalled that the chef had been more amiable than normal when he gave her the week's rations a couple of hours before. She also noticed Gohan had no trouble saying hi to almost every soldier they had crossed paths with, and that they all seemed… fond, of her son. They had arrived to find Raditz was already home, but he was locked in his workshop and demanded that he not be disturbed while he worked. He had not come to eat dinner yet. Not that she worried, but…

"Stubborn man," she whispered. She contemplated calling him with her scouter but didn't feel like putting it on so she instead opened the frost box and took out the leftovers she had just put there. She grabbed the equivalent of bread they used here and quickly fixed a few sandwiches, which she put on a big plate. She poured juice into a large jar and after putting everything back in place, exited the kitchen while carrying a tray with the food. She reached the formerly empty room and just before knocking, stopped. What the hell am I doing? Why do I even care if he eats? Is it because…?

Because he'd been good to Gohan while she was gone and this was nothing more than her paying him back, simple as that.

She knocked.

"What?"

"I brought you something to eat," she announced.

Silence. Then, after a moment which to her felt eternal, the door opened. He stood there, an annoyed expression on his face being almost enough to make her not notice he was shirtless and that he wasn't wearing his scouter.

"Why?" He asked, looking at her with a frown.

"No particular reason."

"That's what I thought," he said as he reached for the tray and walked out of his room, intending on going to the kitchen.

"You're not eating in there?" she asked and peeked on at the workshop, seeing several tools she couldn't identify on top of a large table, a blackboard, a few books and a couple of chairs.

"And risk getting crumbs on my work?" he sneered. "Woman, I know you're smarter than that."

She followed him back to the kitchen and sat in front of him, watching him eat.

"It seems I have to thank you," she admitted in a low, low voice. "You… took good care of Gohan."

"I guess I did, didn't I?" Raditz drank some juice, wished they had something stronger and then looked at Chi Chi. "You're being surprisingly nice, by the way. Is this a part of the husband and wife thing you mentioned before?"

"Yes… no, I mean… no, it isn't. I'm just doing it because you were good to my son, you've earned this," she told him. "You taught him how to fly and you're even teaching him things other than fighting, so…"

"Oh, that? He has to learn how to fix a scouter, that's standard procedure," Raditz corrected with a shrug. "You'll have to learn at some point, too."

"Perhaps, but you are teaching him," she insisted. "And you started working!"

"I needed the money, I'm not getting any missions and the greedy chef always charges extra for the food I want," the Saiyan growled as he recalled the many times the cook had made him pay a bit more for bigger rations. "And I won't give that fatso anymore of my savings!"

"The point is you have a job. You're doing something productive and that's good," Chi Chi actually smiled at him as she said this. "Gohan needs a good example, Raditz, and even if I find it difficult to admit, that is one."

The Saiyan finished his last sandwich in silence, unsure of what to say or how to respond to this praise. It was strange, almost as strange as that moment when the other soldiers—who had been friendlier with him ever since—helped him with the Rapticians; and he was at a loss, because this didn't happen to him. It made him feel good… pleased, even. For a moment he thought this meant she would be open to intimacy, but he remembered her words and rejections, which irritated him a little. He didn't feel like being rejected, not when he had to finish fixing seven scouters more before the following day.

"If you're having trouble with money…" Chi Chi started. "We can use what I got from the mission; I understand it's a considerable amount."

"Those credits are yours. I made you an account so you could use your own money," the soldier said, looking at Chi Chi as if she had something weird scribbled on her face. "Squad members respect the profits of their teammates. You earned it, do what you want with it."

"…But I…"

"It's your money, princess," Raditz insisted. "If you want to use it to buy the kid something at the garrison's store or to get more food, it's your choice, but don't offer it to me. That's not how it works here."

"Fine, I won't," she sighed, realizing she still had a lot to learn about the PTO. "But don't bother me if you don't like what I buy with it."

"Why would I care about that?" the tall Saiyan said as he left the table. "Well, the food was great, but I have to finish my job."

"I'm invited to a party tonight," she said before he left the kitchen and while taking his dishes to the sink. "Gale wants to celebrate our success."

"Party?" Raditz turned and raised an eyebrow. "Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight; I have to be there."

"Alright, we'll resume training tomorrow, then," Raditz said. "Have fun if you can."

"It doesn't bother you if I go?" she asked, surprised about this as she had expected him to be against her attending the reunion.

"Why should it? Go do what you want," and saying nothing else, Raditz left the kitchen.

That night…

Chi Chi stood in the shower, allowing the warm water clean her fair skin. Gohan was already asleep and she would be going to the party once she got a clean uniform. She would normally enjoy the shower more than what she was enjoying it at the moment, and the reason for her relative discomfort was her conversation with Raditz. She couldn't really understand him. The princess imagined that he probably was too proud to take money from a woman, something she found ridiculous, but there was another thing, something she didn't want to admit but that she knew was bothering her: He was avoiding her; she knew he was. He hadn't even made the attempt to talk to her as much as he had before she left!

It wasn't as if she cared—she had made the rules of their relationship clear—but deep down she had gotten used to him talking to her, it had become a part of her day to have short, and somehow polite, conversations with him. That talk they had in the kitchen… it didn't feel like before. To her, it felt forced. Strained. The princess decided that maybe this was better and brought her hands up to straighten her long hair.

The door opened.

She turned and saw him standing there, still shirtless and holding a clean set of clothes. It was obvious he wanted to use the shower. The young woman's hands flew for her towel, and she moved so fast she had covered her nudity and pressed against the wall away from the shower in just a fraction of a second. She knew she was blushing fiercely, and while fury at this invasion to her privacy was starting to rise, another part of her felt thrilled and a nice warmth started spreading all over her from her belly.

"You don't need to cover your body," he said casually as he placed his clothes on a shelf. "That's why we have those fans on the wall, towels are not necessary here."

"Get… get out of here, you pervert!" she yelled, her face reddening even more. "Don't you know how to knock?"

"Yes, but I wanted to look at you," Raditz said his voice calm. "Drop that towel."

"No! Go away!"

"I promise I'll leave," the Saiyan assured. "I'll keep my word. Now let me see, that's all I want."

"I don't trust you!"

"I've seen you naked before," he reminded her. "And you know I can make you do what I want if I try, so…"

She gasped as he took a step forward; she knew quite well that if he tried touching her in this situation, if he kissed her the way he had done before she would have a hard time resisting. The fact her body was already reacting to his proximity was proof enough that he was right: he could make her do what he desired. And… does he want me? I… I can't read his eyes…what if he…? This uncertainty made her understand that this could end one of two ways. She let him see her and then he hopefully left, or he would try to convince her to do… that, in the shower.

She did not like how much a part of her desired for the second option to actually happen.

"Fine, just… stay where you are," she told him her voice weak despite her efforts to sound strong. "G-give me some s-space first…"

He obeyed and waited, watching her all the time with great interest. The woman steeled herself and took a slow step towards him. She was close now, so close that he could have touched her if he had just reached for her. The young princess lowered her arms and the towel fell. She stood straight and despite her shame managed to look at him with a certain amount of defiance, letting him know that she was allowing him to see her body again not because he asked, but because it was her choice.

"Good… no scars," he muttered, "at least not in the front…"

"S-scars?" Chi Chi frowned, surprised at what he had just said. "That's… that's all you wanted to see?"

"Yes," Raditz shrugged, smirking at her confusion. "What were you thinking, princess?"

Chi Chi blinked and tried to understand this development. She had fully expected him to throw her one of his lecherous comments and instead he was simply trying to see if she had gotten hurt? I don't get it. Why is he interested in that? I thought… She thought he wanted to see her naked because he liked her body.

"It would have been a shame if you had gotten a mark," he continued as he adopted a disinterested tone. "Can I see if you have any on the back?"

Chi Chi, despite all her previous worries felt somewhat insulted as a woman. He had told her all those things last time about wanting her, and now all he cared about was checking for scars as if she were nothing but an object? She realized she didn't really like that. For some twisted reason that escaped her, she wanted him to feel desire for her.

"Why?" She asked and leaned forward a bit, allowing her hair to flow down her shoulders, when she straightened she threw her hair back with her right hand and then stood still in a pose that she imagined would make her look more enticing. "I think this is more than enough, is it not?"

The saiyan's breathing quickened as he looked at her little display of coquetry. What was she doing posing like that? He blinked and cursed his luck. It was true that he had seen her before but somehow this little thing she had just done… it changed it all. She somehow made herself look… perfect. The fierce Amazon had only shifted the way she stood but now she was simply gorgeous: the drops of warm water still hanging on her glistened under the lights, making her skin shine in the most interesting ways. The line of her neck descended to her shoulders and continued to slim, yet powerful arms that ended on pretty hands that rested on her sides. Her generous breasts sparkled and below them, her firm torso gave way to her magnificent hips, tilted just slightly to the side of course and her inviting thighs, firm and full, were the perfect introduction to her strong, shapely legs.

"You are…" Raditz searched for an appropriate word but found nothing could make justice to the beautiful goddess standing in front of him.

"Tell me," she dared him, feeling completely vindicated by his expression of hopeless desire, "I am what?"

"There… there is no way I can express what I'm thinking right now."

"That means… you like…?" she whispered, his words had been unexpected, and it was now her who was at a disadvantage. She felt her body flustering from head to toe as a strange satisfaction born of his approval spread all over her.

"More than what you can imagine," The Saiyan's hands clenched into fists and he started backing away, as if her beauty was hurting him. "I better go… I won't be able to control myself if I stay here another second."

"But…" She bit her tongue, what was she doing?

"I promise I'd leave," and with this he left her alone.

0-0-0

A few hours later…

Chi Chi, walking back to her apartment, had to admit Gale's party had been nice and that she had enjoyed it. She had talked and joked and even sung with the rest of the ALF-Squad in a way she hadn't since before she was ten, and the best of all, it had helped her forget that moment in the shower, for which she was glad as she still couldn't understand the way he had made her feel without even touching her, and trying to understand it was something she didn't want to do.

So the princess instead recalled the events of the party: Prim had attended the reunion and to everyone's surprise, her singing voice was amazing! The princess was still humming the notes of one of the songs the nurse had delighted them with. The only negative was that the cyborg girl the captain had mentioned refused to go to the party. Chi Chi had wanted to meet her since she heard she was also a Ningen type, a human, but it didn't matter; she could always go look for that evasive girl another day. All she wanted then was to get home and sleep.

She arrived to her apartment minutes later, and entered as silently as she could, not wanting to wake Gohan up. The first thing she noticed was that Raditz wasn't sleeping on the couch as he usually did; fearing he had decided to start sleeping in her bed in her absence, she rushed to her bedroom but the Saiyan wasn't there. Puzzled, the princess walked to the room he had fashioned into a workshop and entered without bothering to knock. As she expected, he was there. Raditz was sleeping on his seat. He had slumped over the table, and his head rested on his arms. She got closer to look at what he had been doing before falling asleep. There were seven scouters on the table, each labeled with a name. He'd obviously worked until he fixed them all and sleep had claimed him shortly after he finished. Her attention returned to him, and she took the opportunity to observe him. He's not so bad looking, at least when he's asleep. She reasoned and chased the thought away. It didn't matter that he wasn't bad looking. He wasn't Goku.

Not really thinking about her actions, the princess touched his muscular arm, marveling at how warm he was and how firm his muscles felt under her palm, so similar and yet so different to the way Goku's arm had felt.

"He really isn't Goku…" She whispered. "But that… that isn't a bad thing, he…"

"What… who?" her hand on his forearm had tickled the sleeping soldier, causing him to stir and open his eyes. He stood up with a speed that defied logic, prepared to do battle. A second passed and he finally recognized the woman in front of him. "Chi Chi…? Why are you here?"

"Sorry, I… I just arrived and I didn't see you in the couch so…"

He relaxed now that he knew who had wakened him and yawned loudly. "Don't feel like sleeping there tonight."

"Well, you can't sleep with me, remember?"

"Know that, don't wanna do that either," he yawned again and stretched. He ignored her questioning stare and reached for a bundle next to the door: a futon. "Got this a few days ago, it beats that stupid couch by a mile. You thought I was in your room?"

"Yes…" she suddenly felt ashamed for thinking he would be there. "Sorry, but knowing you…"

"You don't know me very well," he interrupted her once he finished preparing his futon. The Saiyan was still sleepy and not paying too much attention to the princess; truth to be told, all Raditz wanted was to sleep. "And I don't think you want to."

"I…" Chi Chi stopped. He was right about that; she didn't know him and wasn't sure if she wanted to know him but… she couldn't help feeling suddenly curious about him. Would it be wrong trying to learn more about him? She remained silent and watched as he made himself comfortable. It seemed he was about to fall asleep again, so she decided to let him be. But just as she was closing the door, he spoke again.

"Gohan's a good kid," he admitted with a tired voice. "I… like that brat… I really do."

The princess froze at that declaration. He liked her son? Well of course he did. It was the only possible reason why a rude Space Pirate like Raditz would have agreed to take care of a child that wasn't his. But everyone here thinks Gohan is his son. She looked behind her shoulder, hoping he was still awake to ask him about this but he was already snoring in an almost inaudible way. She was not going to make him talk again unless she woke him up.

She stood there for a while, watching him, thinking that perhaps it was best if she didn't pry further and just accepted the fact this man had come to somewhat care for her son. She closed his door and headed for her own bedroom, feeling strangely happy at that revelation. This is good; if he likes Gohan then perhaps he won't force my son to do anything bad… but if he likes Gohan then I wonder if… I wonder if he likes me. The princess blinked and felt confusion settle in her heart. What if he really liked her? She knew he was interested in her body, but if he ever came to like her beyond that, to maybe even love her if he was able to love… could she even consider the idea of… loving him back?

"I couldn't possibly…!" she whispered. "There's no chance I would ever… no… impossible!"

Chi Chi closed her door and collapsed on her bed. She hugged her pillow and bit into it, terrified and anxious because, deep down, she was starting to believe that maybe, just maybe, she was starting to like him.

And that was the scariest thing that could ever happen to her.

0-0-0

Far away, at the other end of the Galaxy…

Seblas was a small planetoid that had a rich variety of flora and fauna, but no traces of sentient indigenous life. It wasn't big enough to be of any importance to the Planet Trade Organization, which meant it had never been visited by PTO soldiers.

But that had changed that day.

A large, bald Saiyan stood in the middle of a devastated landscape. Surrounding him were the mauled corpses of the five warriors who had ambushed him. The victory had been hard won by the Saiyan, as his wounds and ruined armor demonstrated. Still, the fierce elite soldier Nappa stood proud and tall, ready to face the leader of his enemies.

"Your Crusher Corps were crushed," a short man who sat on a rock behind the bald soldier said with a mocking tone. "I don't understand what you were thinking. Even if those morons increased their power to a little over a thousand units each, they were too weak for Nappa."

Another Saiyan, with tanned skin and unruly spiked hair, smirked and crossed his arms. "A miscalculation on my part, prince, I admit it. But if they couldn't even defeat your bald slave, it's best that they are dead."

"I'm not a slave, you third class piece of trash!" Nappa growled his hand still over his wounded torso. "Come down here so I can make you swallow those words!"

"Calm down, Nappa," Vegeta ordered. "Don't attack him until he explains how his pathetic group managed to increase their power levels from the low hundreds to over a thousand units each. Care to share that information, Turles?"

"Oh, it's all about this," the renegade Saiyan started, holding up two spiky, orange fruits, one in each hand. "This is the fruit of that large tree you can see on the distance. It's the most peculiar life form on this planetoid and we found it by accident last year. You know what makes that tree so special, prince Vegeta?"

"The suspense is not killing me," Vegeta said with a bored tone. "But go ahead, Turles, enlighten us. It's why you asked we turned off our scouters when we arrived, is it not?"

"Sharp as usual, prince," Turles laughed. "That tree has a very interesting life cycle. It grows that big in a matter of hours and then proceeds to absorb the energy of every living thing on the planet until the sick or weaker life forms die. After that, it withers and the fruits fall to the ground. The fruit rots and the seeds expel the stored energy, which is in turn absorbed by the soil, allowing the tree to revive and for the cycle to start again. I was hungry so I ate one of the fruits, and do you know what happened?"

"It made you stronger?" the Saiyan prince guessed. "That's the only way you could have gone from 300 units to 6,000 since we last met."

"Indeed, you're as intelligent as they say!" Turles praised. "Eating this fruit will make you stronger! Not much I admit, but I believe if we grow the tree in a bigger planet full of life, the power up will also increase. That is why, Vegeta, I am offering you the chance to work for me! We can take some of these fruits to a large planet, grow another tree and then consume the fruit! If we do that, we can destroy Frieza and take over the PTO!"

"Work for you?" Vegeta sneered. "You aren't fit to lick the dirt off my boots, Turles. I'm the Prince of all Saiyans, you should be the one begging to obeying me."

"I am holding the key to conquer the universe, you arrogant midget! You should be glad I even considered offering you the chance to join me!" Turles growled. "I imagine you want to continue living as Frieza's little errand boy? I know he destroyed our planet, don't you want revenge?"

The prince laughed. "The Saiyans died because they were too weak and pathetic to defend themselves and I would have probably killed them all because their weakness was an embarrassment! So do explain why should I waste my time avenging such trash? As for Frieza, I will kill him on my own terms when the time comes."

"If you don't join me…" the renegade Saiyan left the sentence hanging and prepared to take a bite of one of the fruits he held.

"I have no time to play games with idiots like you," Vegeta said. The prince, already aware of Turles' intentions reacted quickly and shot two energy blasts aimed at the other Saiyan's hands.

The result was as effective as it was brutal: Turles screamed in pain as his two hands disappeared in twin burning flashes of light.

"Imbecile, did you think I would let you eat that?" the prince mocked, floating slowly towards the mutilated Saiyan. "I despise idiots who sacrifice their Saiyan pride and use tricks to get stronger. They don't deserve to live!"

"Wait…!" Turles pleaded. "We can still follow my plan… I'll work for you instead…! You can use the fruit and…"

Unfortunately for the Saiyan pirate, the prince was not interested in listening. Vegeta simply punched Turles as hard as he could, his fist impacting with demolishing force on the left side of his target's chest. The hurt Saiyan dropped to his knees. His left lung had collapsed and he couldn't breathe, his ribs were dancing inside his chest and he was sure some were stabbing him from the inside.

"And now, Turles, you die," the prince sentenced. He grabbed Turles by the neck and hurled him high into the sky; Vegeta followed this with an energy blast, engulfing Turles in an all-consuming, glowing heat. The charred, smoking body of the Saiyan pirate fell into the middle of a nearby forest.

"Want to check if he's alive?" Nappa asked as he approached the Siayan prince.

"There's no way that piece of trash survived," Vegeta assured. "Now, Nappa, let's destroy that stupid tree."

"Why? I thought you killed Turles so we could use it instead!"

"Don't be an idiot, I'm above using those pathetic methods to increase my strength," the Saiyan prince said. "I'm the strongest of the elite members produced by Saiya-Jin royalty, Nappa; my power will continue to increase without limits on its own."

"But…"

Vegeta didn't listen. He simply gathered his power on his hands and then shot it forward, unleashing a powerful wave of energy aimed at the Tree of Might while shouting: "Galick Gun!"

The earth-shattering power of Vegeta's special technique hit the base of the massive tree with a deafening boom, causing it to ignite in flames as it fell. The prince stood there for a while, smiling as he witnessed the destruction his abilities had caused. He simply loved the feeling of empowerment it brought him.

"Let's leave this hole," Vegeta announced after a few minutes. "Nothing else for us to do here."

"Alright," Nappa agreed, hoping they would go to a nearby garrison so he could use an R. Tank as soon as possible.

What Vegeta and Nappa did not know, however, was that they were not the only ones who escaped Seblas. Another Saiyan, badly burnt and bleeding profusely, had managed to crawl back to where his ship waited. Leaving a trail of blood behind him, Turles managed to get inside the R. Tank of his ship and to instruct the ship's AI to take him off the planetoid. The Tree of Might and its miraculous fruits were lost to him now, but he would find a way to get revenge. As he fell unconscious inside the healing machine, the Saiyan renegade swore that someday, somehow, he would be the cause of Vegeta's demise.

-END-

Notes:

As usual, extra thanks to Adam for beta reading this chapter.

Gelboian ale is a reference to planet Gelbo, from Dragon Ball GT.

With the release of Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, Toriyama included a few new canon elements to Dragon Ball lore that are mentioned in this chapter such as the Galactic King and his (extremely) limited interference with the Planet Trade Organization. I think it stands to reason that sooner or later the PTO would have clashed with the Galactic Police.

As for the rest of the way the PTO is organized as mentioned here, I tried to go the most logical way. I believe since both Cooler and King Cold are stronger than Frieza then they should have stronger warriors at their disposal as well.

I included Turles and the Tree of Might because I wanted to do a small background on the tree as I always found it an interesting concept. I wanted to write a scene that explains why he didn't go to Earth in this story, and Vegeta seemed the best option to take him down. I understand Turles is far stronger than what I wrote here, but keep in mind he has just found the tree at this point so his power has not increased that much yet.