(("You were never supposed to mean this much to me; I was never supposed to fall so hard. But you know what? I did and that's the truth, that's what keeps me holding on because it hurts like hell to let you go."

-Unknown))

Not In A Million Years

Chapter 54 – Epilogue

Ten years later...

Now this is a scene I'm familiar with. The bustling crowds and people shouting and buying various merchandise, the colors and the chaos and announcements spoken over a megaphone that shrieks a little with the static. The smell of adrenaline and cooking food and excitement.

Yes, I've been to a Budokai Tournament before, more than once, but in the past I was here as I fighter. Now, I'm simply a spectator.

Even if I did want to fight these humans just for sport – which, I'll admit, I didn't really – my mate forbade me from entering anyway. Because I was pregnant. Again.

We both agreed this would be the last time. I know we'd sworn not to have any more, but with Goten and Trunks moving out and Gohan's new daughter Pan emerging a few years ago, we decided to give it one more go.

I had gone ten years without this. Bulma had tried to get me on birth control pills, but with a Saiyan metabolism, they weren't permanent. They did, however, cause me to be essentially sterile while in heat and diffused the scent that would otherwise drive Kakarot insane with unsated lust. I had to take these once every six months to ensure that no more unplanned pregnancies occurred. So a decade went by rather peacefully where Tesserot and Veito grew and already indestructible bonds kept strengthening.

I was three months into this fourth and final pregnancy, and Kakarot had already predicted the child to be a girl. I'd never had a daughter before, and full-blooded Saiyan females were rare, so I considered this a blessing.

Anyhow, the reason we were here today was actually for Tess and Veito, who were old enough now to fight in the junior division of this Tournament. Of course, they could probably enter in the adult division and still have their opponents running for the hills, but apparently that was against the rules.

If there was any comparison between my two full-blooded sons, Tesserot was born to be a fighter. He was two years old when he created his first Kamehameha wave, and four when he got into his first real fight. He was an aerial predator, attacking from the sky with amazing agility and strength; and nowadays he could beat both Goten and Trunks in a fight two-to-one. He wasn't a Super Saiyan yet – thank the gods, or he'd be a nightmare – but he was definitely a protégé.

In contrast, Veito got the brains. A strategist, but not one for brute force, he wasn't as enthusiastic about fighting as his brother, and he was very... quiet. Like he had been since birth, he barely made a sound and was reluctant to speak to people, especially people he didn't know. He was ten years old, but barely had any real friends outside his family circle, and while he got top marks in school, frankly, he seemed bored with it.

There was a darker side to Veito. It was almost definitely because of his genetics being as messed up as they were; but he got a little... off, sometimes. He'd say or do something inexplicable, or he'd get really unstable and freak out. And then there were... what Kakarot and I referred to in secret as his attacks. I don't know if I'd call them seizures, but he would either be completely paralyzed for anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, or his energy level would go insane and he'd get a horrible headache and his pulse would fluctuate. One time when this happened his heart completely stopped for a second or two. And if his father hadn't been there to keep him alive with his ki, I dread to think what would have happened.

No one was sure what caused these attacks, and they didn't happen often, but whenever they did occur; all I could think of was Kakarot's speculation ten years ago when he found out about Veito's genetics. 'with the instability resulting from something that should be universally impossible, his mind and body could come undone completely...the scenarios I've come up with would more than likely result in him self-destructing or something.'

But on the average day, Veito was just a normal kid. Well... about as normal as a Saiyan can be. He was a little antisocial and was more withdrawn than most kids, but he had a fascination with living things that reassured me. He had the will to keep going even when it was hard, and he was strong.

A hand on my shoulder lifted me from my reverie and I looked up to see Kakarot watching me, tail flicking slowly. I realized he had asked me something, but I hadn't been paying attention.

"I'm sorry, Kakarot. What did you say?"

Amusement lit his eyes for a moment, "I was just asking you where you wanted to sit. The preliminaries won't start for a while yet, so we've got time."

I shrugged, "Wherever, just not too far from the action. I want to watch my sons fight."

He nodded in understanding, and I felt his pride in his youngest children radiating through him.

"How come you didn't enter?" I asked as we sat down in the second row of the stands, "Swaying from tradition, are we?"

He laughed a little, "Against these humans? Nah, I got bored of that a while ago. Besides, there's nothing to be gained from it. It won't make me stronger and it won't benefit them to get their asses handed to them when I'm not even trying."

"Heh. Where's your Saiyan bloodlust, Kakarot?" I smirked.

"The only person on this planet worth my time in battle is you," he said, "And maybe Tesserot when he's ready for it. I have no reason to fight either of you though, so unless we're sparring or the world is in danger, my fighting days are over."

Somehow that thought almost made me feel sad. Kakarot loved to fight, but there just wasn't anyone left who was at his level anymore. It had been a damn long time since either of us had gotten a real challenge, and we still had a veritable century or two ahead of us before we parted this life.

Gohan and his wife and daughter joined us after a while, and Kakarot joined them in a conversation while I scanned the gathering people below for my sons. I had given Tesserot very clear instructions as to what to do if his brother had an attack during the fight or before. Get the other contestants away from him, alert his father or me by raising his ki, and tell the announcer to call a time out. I knew the child's protectiveness for his younger brother, even if they argued sometimes, and I knew he'd do as I said if it came to that.

"So I hear I'm going to have a baby sister," Gohan said to me, smiling.

I nodded shortly, wincing as three-year-old Pan grabbed the end of my tail in her tiny fist. Curiously, she squeezed the furry appendage slightly and I couldn't silence a quiet sound of pain.

"Pan, let go," Gohan said gently, prying his daughter's grip from my tail.

I blinked my thanks and returned my attention to the contestants below, still searching for Tess and Veito. I remembered what they'd said before they left to follow the other youths entering in the Tournament.

I had knelt to their eye level and reminded them both to go easy on the humans, and not fight at full power, and Kakarot had added that they should still try their best and have a good time, and that it wasn't about winning if they didn't come by it honestly.

"Fight with honor," he said, "It's more gratifying that way."

Tess had stood tall and looked from his father to me, and back.

"I'll make you proud, Dad." he said boldly, "And you, Tӫtka."

And Veito had hugged me around my shoulders and given his father a confident nod, "They won't know what hit 'em."

Then they were gone, and I'd stood next to my mate, wishing I could protect them but also remembering that this was supposed to be a sport. For fun.

'Vegeta, stop worrying, they'll be fine.' Kakarot sent to me, sensing my thoughts of the recent past.

'I know,' I said, 'I know.'

He smiled and leaned across the space between us to put an arm around my shoulders.

'When was the last time I told you how much I love you?' he asked.

'Counting all the times you said it in your head? About 20 seconds ago.'

He laughed and Gohan and Videl looked across at us first skeptically, and then compassionately.

I hadn't been sure how the latter would take the... unusual state of her husband's family, but to my surprise she jumped right on it. In fact, she fit right in, and I suppose that was because she'd seen a lot stranger things than a family where two – soon to be three- of the children were born from a male Saiyan. She had even asked my advice when she was pregnant with Pan, and while I was surprised, I also felt what could have been a surge of pride. I remembered Bulma advising me when I was new to this, and now I had knowledge to share and things to pass down to others. I'd probably have to teach my daughter about it too, but that was far in the future.

Goten and Trunks showed up then, waving to us and coming over to talk.

"I thought you were fighting in the adult division?" Gohan said.

"We are," Trunks said, "Just stopping by to say hey."

I raised an eyebrow, "You're allowed to do that?"

"No," Goten admitted, "But we don't have to fight for a while yet, so..."

"Have you seen Tess and Veito around?" Kakarot interrupted.

"Yeah," Goten nodded, "And then I remembered I haven't seen them in two years, Dad. Man, Tess grows like a weed."

"Soon will come the day when yet another of my sons is taller than me," I muttered, "If he's anything like his father."

"Veito actually looked kind of bored," Trunks added, "I hope he livens up in the actual fight."

As long as he was bored and alright, I was fine with that.

Trunks glanced over his shoulder and tensed, "Shoot, the officials are gonna come after us. We gotta go."

"See you guys later," Goten grinned, following his adopted brother as they headed back.

"They really needed to get out and do something," Kakarot said absently, "Besides stalk every girl in creation, I mean."

I snickered, "At least they get rejected about eighty percent of the time."

"Shh," Gohan commanded, "It's starting."

With the usual idiotic fanfare, the announcer began to introduce the contestants of the youth division to the cheering crowd. Well, most of them cheering, anyway. Some of us had sensitive hearing, and some of us were royalty and didn't want to make fools of ourselves.

Human kids ranging from what I would call young children to near-adults filed in, some waving, some flexing muscles, things like that. My mate beside me aided my search for our sons, guiding my line of sight in the right direction. And I saw them. Tess stood just next to his brother, ignoring the crowd entirely and focusing his gaze stanchly on me. I could see the pride evident in his coal eyes and confident stance, and I returned his wave once he was sure I'd seen him. Veito's eyes flitted around the crowd, a spark of interest lighting them as he seemed to be counting in his head. Eventually his gaze found his father and me and he lifted his chin with a smirk that fit perfectly on a face near-identical to my own.

Kakarot leaned against me slightly, smiling genuinely and twining his tail with mine. This would be a day to remember, both for us and for our sons who awaited the assigning of their opponents below.

I mused wistfully about the events leading up to now. Everything I'd done, everything I'd said and every life mine had touched had added together to create this moment today. The future could always change, but at least one thing was certain.

No matter where it lead, I would face it with the ones I loved.

And that was worth every moment of it.

END

X

((Not quite! There is still a sequel coming up, and the title and teaser will be revealed...

NOW.))

**As the clouds boiled above me I stand, drenched to the bone, insignificant beneath the endless gray sky that mocks me with its power.

It was never enough. All my efforts to go beyond and surpass my brother were for nothing. For how long had I tried and tried to ascend and become a Super Saiyan? Just to see the pride in the gaze of my parents that I might never achieve now? How long had I strove for that? For the gold that seemed like dirt to me now.

I remember why I stand here. I remember why I think these things, why I can never go back now.

And as the image of my little brother's broken, beaten body flashes in my mind, I throw back my head and scream at the heavens.

"Why did you take him away?! Why couldn't it have been me?! Dammit, I'll do anything, just give me my brother back!" **

Going Gold

((How's that for a teaser? Keep a lookout for the sequel, and yes it will be from both Tesserot and Vegeta's points of view. The title is Going Gold, and it'll be coming soon enough.

EDIT* Going Gold is up RIGHT NOW, go check my profile, it should be right there.

Thank you all for your help and praise for this story, all of you are amazing and I could never ask for better readers.

-Shinsun))