"Listen up, brats, we're going to start at 300 times Earth's gravity. We'll see if you can handle that." Vegeta cranked up the machine as the kids stretched. Vegeta was so glad to be back in his armor, though he cursed at himself for his continued use of the term "brats." Just one more thing for him to change.

"Come on dad, give us a challenge!"

"This is just the warm up Trunks. Now, I'm going to come after the both of you. Don't let yourselves get hit. If either of you gets touched, the other one will pay later. No blocking, just movement."

"Sounds fun, bring it on!"

All three went Super Saiyan at the same time, ready to move.

"You're gonna regret those words, boy." He got a sadistic grin, golden hair flowing, just a moment before he lunged with blinding speed.

Vegeta breathed hard as he pressed a button on the console of the machine, responding to a call.

"What?"

"Goku's here."

"Alright, I'll be out with them in just a second."

"See ya."

"Hey, real quick, which of us won?"

She paused for a time. "What do you mean?"

"Our little bet." He said, breath levelling and smile widening.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Vegeta knew better by now than to try and argue his point while not face to face. She would just hang up. But she was forgetting one vital thing: he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He did the hanging up this time.

"Bring it in, both of you!"

"Yeah!" They came together and high-fived

"You didn't even get us once, Vegeta!"

"Yes yes, I know. Come on, hurry up. Goku's here. The others won't be too far behind. We must prepare."

Both of them let their Super Saiyan go, their hair returning to normal as they descended towards the door. They began walking to the door, with Vegeta behind them. He placed a hand on their shoulders.

"Ah, there we are. Now I can punish you both."

"What!?" They both shouted, looking up at him, then their eyes fell upon his hands.

He smiled as he said, "I told you not to let me touch you. We'll continue later."

"That's not fair, you tricked us!"

"I never said it ended with training. Besides, you two should know better than to trust me by now. Come on." He jerked his head towards the house, pleased with himself and the progress of their training. Even if he was going easy on them.

"Hey guys, have you been training?" Goku sat on the ground in the living room as Bulma worked tirelessly to prepare food hours earlier than she thought she would have to.

"Yes. They've experienced Piccolo's training, but his training is nothing compared to a Saiyan's."

"I can hear you." Piccolo said from the other room.

"You were meant to, Namekian."

"Hmph."

"Goku, who else did you bring?"

"Just Piccolo. Everyone else will be here when we said."

"Oh, how gracious of you to only bring one person hours early to a meeting."

"Goku didn't tell me when we were actually supposed to be here, he just told me to come now. Sorry."

"Bah! Not your fault, it's the fool's."

Goku chuckled and got up, before he lifted Goten above his head.

Vegeta folded his arms and rolled his eyes, which landed on a clock. Suddenly it all came flooding back and a smile crossed his face. It was 1:40, twenty minutes before his guess expired. He strutted into the kitchen, grabbing his wife from behind, reaching his arms around her.

"What's this? Intimacy and romance? Is it my birthday or something?"

"No, but it is a very special occasion."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"I'm right."

"What? I don't- oh."

"Yeah."

"You jerk! I thought you were being sweet, but you just showed up to mock me!"

"No, I came to give you a preview."

He turned her around and pressed his lips to hers. They kissed passionately for several long seconds. They pulled away and Bulma stared for a while before saying,

"Fine, I'll let you off this time."

Vegeta chuckled then left the room, remembering the serious business that was to be conducted in a few short hours.

Everyone made light conversation and watched various TV shows, waiting for the rest to arrive. It was currently on a sit-com about roommates.

"Eugh! How do people watch this drivel!?"

"I don't know, ask your wife."

"Watch it, slug."

"I'll watch it if you shut up and just watch the show."

"Wait, do you actually enjoy this?"

"That's none of your business." Piccolo folded his arms and continued to keep his eyes on the screen.

There was silence for a time, except for the TV with it's dialogue and occasional laugh track.

"It's good to have some humor in your life." Piccolo grumbled. From the look of him, he wouldn't talk again even if you coaxed him. He said what he wanted to say, and now he would say no more. Goku laughed at a gag on the show, while Piccolo chuckled slightly. Vegeta could do nothing except stare in confusion at the usually somber Namekian.

Mercifully, the door rang soon after, around 2:30. As Vegeta stood to answer it, he asked his present company a question.

"Who do you think? Place your bets."

"Krillin." Goku said.

"Krillin." Piccolo said without even looking.

"Yeah. Unfortunately, he tends to be eager to help, whether you want it or not."

He opened the door, but was surprised to find Yamcha instead.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Uh, like 2:30?"

"Yes-" Vegeta said in a high, condescending tone, "- follow up question, when were you supposed to arrive?"

"Uh, 5?"

"And yet you are here!" He yelled in Yamcha's face.

Yamcha wiped spit off his face then said, "Look, can I come in or not?"

Vegeta stepped aside in answer.

"Thanks. Hey Goku, what have you been up to?"

"Oh you know, training, mostly. Goten has a lot more energy than I expected. He's… well, he's a lot more trouble than Gohan ever was. I blame-" Goku remembered where he was and saw Vegeta glaring at him.

"What's wrong, Goku? Were you going to say something? A name, perhaps? My son's name?" He growled.

"No, no! I, uh…" Goku scratched the back of his head. "... I, hey, ya got any food?"

Vegeta's eyes narrowed and he said, "Yes, yes we do. Then after, we have a debt to settle."

"What?"

"Remember the day your br-kid," he corrected, "hit Trunks? We still have to discuss that. And by discuss, I mean spar in my gravity chamber."

"Sounds great, Vegeta! I'm always looking for a good fight!"

Vegeta still frowned. He expected at least a little bit more intimidation than that. Goku's lack of fear was infuriating sometimes.

"Ha! This show is great!" Yamcha sat on the couch and ate popcorn as Piccolo meditated on the floor in front of him. The doorbell rang, and Yamcha checked the clock. It was 4:42.

"Wow, they've been in there for over two hours. Do you think they're okay, Piccolo?"

"I don't doubt it. Or either of them for that matter."

The doorbell rang again and Yamcha got up to get it. He opened the door to find Tien and Krillin.

"Hey guys, Goku and Vegeta are training, but you're welcome to come in.

"Thanks, Yamcha."

"Oh, hey Piccolo!"

"Hello, Krillin." He said without opening his eyes.

"Piccolo."

"Tien."

With the greetings out of the way, everyone began talking, discussing how their "retirement," seemed to be only temporary.

"Well, I don't think I'll actually do anything." Yamcha said. "I'm probably just there for my aesthetic appeal" He made a face that everyone guessed they were supposed to be attracted to, but he just looked pained instead.

"Yeah, it's not like we could do more than a Super Saiyan. At least, not where Goku's gone."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Vegeta said from the hallway.

Everyone turned to see the two Saiyans walking towards them, clothes in tatters and bodies strained. Blood dripped from wounds on both of them, several on their faces, arms, and legs.

"Woah, you guys must've gone pretty hard." Krillin commented.

"Yeah, it got pretty intense!" Goku said with cheer.

"Uh, hello everyone. I'm… glad to see you all." Vegeta said, as polite and friendly as he could. This was his chance now. He'd made his own friend, but now he had to repair the friendships he already had by proxy. Piccolo opened his eyes and even raised an eyebrow, or at least, the Namekian equivalent. Vegeta restrained himself from loudly asking the green man what he was looking at, and instead began to think of something else to say that was pleasant, until the door knocked. There were only two people left to his knowledge. The half-saiyan and… him. He strode to the door and hesitantly opened the door.

"Hey everyone!" Gohan and Videl stood in the doorway. Videl held onto Gohan's arm, but pulled away embarrassed when she remembered where she was.

"Hello, Gohan. Thank God, it's you and not-"

"H-hey." Hercule poked his head between his daughter and future son in law, meekly waving at Vegeta.

"Oh."

Everyone stood there a moment, Vegeta watching Hercule, daring him to speak again.

"Won't you come in?" He said, stepping aside. Gohan and Videl walked in while Hercule scurried inside. Once he noticed that others were there, Hercule stood proud with a goofy smile before taking a seat, to save some face.

Vegeta was about to roll his eyes, but considered something. He didn't say he would be kind only to those he liked. He was improving his self, and if that meant being nice to Hercule, he would abide. Just maybe not yet.

"Hercule?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"What time is it?"

"Uh, 5:17?"

"And when were you supposed to be here?"

"5."

"That goes for you too, Gohan. And your girlfriend." Videl's eyes widened, and Gohan mouthed the word 'No!'

"What do you mean, Vegeta!? You can't honestly think my Videl could be with him! He's good, but really… I mean…" Hercule looked at them and the way they sat so close to each other. Videl and Gohan both studied the floor, and he seemed to realize something.

"Oh. I see. I guess he's alright." He shrugged and looked away.

"So, you're okay with this, Mr. Satan?"

"Please, Gohan, call me Mark."

"Mark?"

"Yes."

Vegeta suddenly felt himself pulled away by his ear. He broke away and saw his wife, clearly very angry. She was trying to take him away, probably to give him an earful. Vegeta accepted his fate and walked with her to the kitchen.

"Why did you say that!?"

"How was I supposed to know he wasn't aware!?"

"We all were! They barely even know they're dating! They're both too shy to actually admit it! Please use what little brain you have, it's the only muscle you don't use regularly."

"Fine, you're right."

"And another-! Wait, what?"

"You're right. I should not expose the emotions of others. Can we please go back now?"

"Well, uh, I had more insults, but I guess that's fine." She kissed him and as he walked away, she said, "Tell everyone I'll have food out soon."

"Got it."

"Alright everyone, time to get down to business."

Goku stood up, surrounded by empty bowls of food. Everyone sat waiting for him to begin, and Krillin turned off the TV.

"Vegeta, tell us everything you know."

Vegeta stood up and walked to the front of the room.

"Alright, here's what we know. Today, the city was attacked by a new threat to the Earth. A creature, like a shadow, destroyed a city block to get our attention. This shadow seemed to be a courier of sorts, they made a dramatic speech about someone named 'Rogash.' It sounds like this Rogash wants to attack the Earth and see if someone can stop him. Minions were mentioned, meaning this won't be a single fight. However, we've fought worse, and I don't think they'll be a problem. We have no way of knowing how powerful Rogash is, so we should be careful. Above all else, these people undoubtedly have the power to destroy the world, meaning we should try and move the fight if we can. If you want to fight, train. I won't be carrying dead weight."

He glared all around at the people gathered.

"That being said, I appreciate all of you coming. I hope to see you all there. You're welcome to stay a little longer if you like. Thank you for… being my friends."

Everyone stared, confused by his seemingly genuine compassion.

"I don't often show emotion, but in this case…" He looked around at everyone gathered. "We almost lost everything when that pink blob arrived. My home planet is gone, and I won't allow some misfit with a superiority complex to ruin my new home. Like I said, I'm going to fight, and I hope many of you will too. Thank you." Vegeta sat down in a chair, not daring to look at anyone, feeling his cheeks reddening and believing that everyone was prepared to burst into laughter at him. But no one did. The TV turned back on, and for once, Vegeta was grateful for the existence of cable television. With his report done, his mind wandered to better things, like the training he was going to put the boys through. Hell, he might even invite Goku. He was good at at least one thing: training.