She stalked along behind her alien thugs, eyes traveling along each and every one of them. Her tail flicked in a manner not unlike a large cat, Sapphire thought. It reminded her of when she'd stopped Brolly's death grip on her. When she'd said something enough to make him think. Yet, while the thrill of his kill brought that predatory gleam to his eyes, his tail flicking just as this woman's did now, he'd stared her down with contemplative pause. She figured she probably wouldn't have that kind of luck here and now. Bulma shifted uneasily, looking over to Vegeta. Sapphire followed her gaze, and saw that the man looked positively livid. This Saiyan woman stopped in front of Bulma, then followed her gaze as well.

"Ah..." she said quietly, and it made Sapphire jump. It was the first sound she'd made. The alien in front of her shifted uneasily, wavering the nose of its rifle in her face. It reminded her she should probably hold very still. Swallowing thickly, she looked back to the Saiyan woman. "You look familiar," the woman said, and Sapphire wasn't sure if she intended the croon in her tones or not. There was a lot she didn't know about Saiyans. The woman could simply naturally be catty for all Sapphire knew. Regardless, it still made Bulma and Sapphire swallow nervously. The woman stalked slowly over to stand before Vegeta. She raised her hand, slowly pushing the alien's gun down until the nose pointed to the ground. Her posture tall and imperious, she stared the former prince straight in the eye.

"Prince Vegeta," she said finally. Not once did she remove her gaze from his, and an intense stare down ensued. He didn't deny her assumption, and didn't honor her with a response. "I am Raisna. Though, of course... you wouldn't know anything about me." She angled her shoulder toward him, stalking away even as she continued to speak. "I was sent here... as all Saiyan children used to be. Raised... by aliens." She stopped, turning around to face him again. He didn't make a move, though his eyes followed her. "Never was sent back home though." Slowly, she turned to face him again and squared her feet beneath her shoulders, crossing her arms. Everything about this woman was extremely deliberate, Sapphire decided. She was dangerous.

"Transmissions spoke of its destruction," she said simply, inclining her chin. Her tail gave a cursory little flick. "Where were you, I wonder."

"He was just a child, same as you!" Bulma exclaimed, and she moved to bluff the alien waving a gun in her face. As she broke toward the catty Saiyan female, the alien shoved the butt of his rifle into her head. The scientist let out a grunt and fell to the ground, knocked out cold. Blood oozed from a wound to the side of her head. Raisna stared at the scene with an impassive and cold expression, ignoring the Saiyan prince charging toward her.

"Would you really kill the last Saiyan female?" She asked, her voice not rising above a conversational tone. Her words stopped him inches from grabbing her face. His expression was torn, contorted with rage over what they'd done to his wife. Yet, her words rang sense in his mind. Sapphire realized that whether this woman was strong or not didn't matter. She had the greatest power of all. She knew how to twist people.

"What are you going to do with us?" Sapphire asked, her voice no more than a horrified whisper. Raisna looked down at her, wholly unconcerned with the male balling his fists up in rage before her.

"Oh, I have plenty of ideas," she crooned, turning away from them as she did. "Take them prisoner." The order rang out clear as day, and the aliens around them didn't hesitate in restraining all of them.

He awoke slowly, curled into the back of the couch. From the lack of blinding light he could only assume that night had fallen. Something warm was curled up between himself and the couch. When he opened his eyes, he saw the little half Saiyan curled into a ball on his chest. His left arm was casually slung over her, and the child was deep in a comfortable sleep. Her tiny cheek was tucked up against one large pectoral muscle, and she snored quietly. He looked down at her, frozen in place as he studied the tiny curls that fell into her face. They were dark like his own, but soft and relaxed.

For the first time in his life he stepped outside himself. He was aware of what he'd done, and all too suddenly it felt like a past life. The people he'd killed. The planets he'd destroyed. The civilizations he'd helped his father enslave. Women, children, fathers, daughters. It had all been easy and done without a second of remorse. Who was he to pity them? The day he'd been born he'd been ordered to be slain. The only man that could teach him empathy and caring had used him to his own ends as soon as he'd found a way to control him. Yes, he'd been a terror as a child. Yet, was that any different from any other Saiyan child? He couldn't answer that. He'd never been raised with any other Saiyan than his father. Outside himself, gazing inwardly at this life that he'd lived, he saw the monster that everyone else saw. He saw the inherent fear in Sapphire, and all the others, and saw what they saw. Tucked in his arms was this child who, though she'd been given simple reasons to fear him, had felt safe enough to crawl into his lap and fall asleep. Something caved within him. An emotional realization dawned and curled up in his gut. He didn't know what to call it; didn't know how to respond to it. Gently, he brushed her hair out of her face, and Rosie stirred. The child yawned widely, stretching out an arm and flopping it across his chest.

She was so tiny.

So weak.

Her power level was not even that significant. Yet, and he slowly began to realize, he'd do anything for this child. All those things in his life that had ever held the most vast importance suddenly seemed worthless. All the strength, power, and ability to prove one's self through force flew out the window in this new enlightenment. He laid his head back on the arm of the couch, sighing as he did and casting his gaze to the ceiling. The headache was there, as it always was. The constant inner battle of smothering that strength was relentless. It was a battle that he would never win.

The prisoners were led by the strange hued aliens through a copse of trees. Their trek took them through thick forest that was rich with life. Much of the land had remained untouched. Sapphire noticed that there was something very tribal about the aliens that held them captive. Much of this planet must still be in its early ages, she figured. When they broke into a clearing there were huts aligned in a circle of sorts. In the center was what appeared to be a fire pit, yet over the top of the large pit was a construction. It looked as though it were for cooking for the entirety of the village. Sapphire's conclusions about the tribal, early age nature, of the aliens was drawing closer together. These were very primal people, she assumed. Raisna directed the aliens in their native tongue, pointing to accentuate her directions. They were all led off to a hut on the right. One of the aliens led the way, pulling up a trap door that was dug into the very ground itself. They were led down a crudely dug tunnel and beneath the surface. It was dank and damp from the water that collected underground, and there weren't any lights. A silence hung heavy around all the prisoners and their alien captors. Everyone was too shell shocked to speak. They were tossed to the ground when they reached a circular room. It appeared to be the only room that had been dug out of this underground tunnel. When Sapphire peered through the dark, she realized that Vegeta was not among them. Their alien captors left them, shutting out their only source of light.

"Bulma?" She whispered, and crawled around looking for the woman. The aliens had left their hands shackled in front of them, and the ropes dug into her skin painfully. Her friend must have still been knocked out, because the woman didn't answer.

"Think she's still out," Trunks echoed her thoughts in a strained voice. She bumped into him, accidentally falling unceremoniously into the teen's lap. Gasping an apology, he laughed awkwardly. The sound was strained, but he reached out to help prop her against the dirt wall anyway. "I have her right here," he whispered, guiding her hands over him to touch the woman's hair. His mother's head was resting in his lap, and Sapphire swallowed hard. She realized how difficult it must have been for him to stand by and watch his mother clobbered. Even harder to see that his father didn't really do anything about it.

"Why do you think they took Vegeta?" Sapphire whispered. Even though they were below ground and their captors were gone, she still felt the need to keep her voice low. She felt Trunks shrug beside her, but he didn't speak. He was taking even breaths, and she realized he was probably trying to keep from embarrassing himself. She sighed, leaning back against the rocky wall. Goten remained silent, slouched somewhere in the circular room.

They certainly hadn't been expecting this.

"Probably because he used to be a prince," Goten spoke up after a long moment of silence. Sapphire looked up toward where the source of sound had come from. It wasn't far from her, but certainly on the other side of the room.

"Yeah but... the Saiyan race is pretty much extinct isn't it?" Sapphire asked. She didn't hope to glean answers from those that knew as little as she did, but she didn't want to go crazy in the silence and dark either.

"I dunno... this isn't unlike when Paragus lured us all to New Vegeta." The teen said the name of the planet in a mocking fashion, pointing out the fact that it had been a trap.

"Wait... who?" Sapphire asked, blinking and squinting through the dark.

"Paragus... Broly's dad," Trunks finally spoke up. His voice was slightly hoarse. The change of topic seemed to bring words out of him though, and Sapphire was grateful for that. If they could all keep talking then maybe they could all keep calm.

"I didn't... why did he lure you guys to some new planet?" She directed her question to Trunks.

"Wanted revenge against the royal bloodline I guess. The planet was in line to be destroyed by a comet anyway. Wanted it to take Vegeta down with it." Trunks' voice was tired as he spoke, and she was close enough to him to see the vague outline of him laying his head against the wall.

"He fell for that?" Sapphire asked in disbelief.

"Pride's always been a weakness for my father," Trunks said dryly, though there was no humor in his voice. They fell into a long and contemplative silence before Sapphire offered hesitant words.

"Pride... is a weakness for a lot of people that have power Trunks."

Raisna left the petty ropes around his wrists, and he entertained her by leaving them there. Two of those strange alien guards stood on either side of the tent she led him into. Inside, it was only the two of them. She stalked inside, and as he followed, ducking his head to clear the entrance way, he peered around the small dwelling. It was very tribal in nature and not unlike the early days of the Saiyans. Furs piled up in one corner where the woman obviously slept. A crude, very short table, stood beside those furs. There were candles, a worn book, and other small stones and keepsakes. He immediately decided she must be the sentimental sort. Under all the bravado she was still just a woman, he mused.

That woman turned around sharply, and when she did, he brought his gaze back up to meet hers. He stood up straighter, squaring his feet and rolling back his shoulders with a sigh. When she didn't say anything he chose to be the first to speak.

"We can have a staring contest, or you can say what it is you want to say." She sneered at his words, her hand flying out wide to connect with his face. Without much effort, he tightened his back muscles and craned backward just enough for her hand not to connect. Rolling his eyes toward the ceiling, he shook his head mockingly and straightened.

"I've been dodging those for over a decade. You'll have to do better than that." When he brought his eyes back to her, he could see that she had returned to staring him down. Her fists were clenched at her sides, but she remained otherwise poised. She took a few calming breaths, her voice shaking when she spoke.

"Why did you leave us."

"As my mate said, I was a child," he stated flatly. Then he tilted his head, giving her a flat stare. "What do you intend to do with us?" It was barely a question and more of a demand for information.

"Your mate." She stated in denial, ignoring his question. They returned each others domineering gazes, neither willing to relent further information on either topics. "You're telling me... the last prince of Saiyans is with... a futhar." She spat the word, and the corners of Vegeta's lips twitched into a frown. That was a word used for the lowest forms of life to a Saiyan. Infidels, outsiders, those unworthy. His arms twitched with the desire to hit her, but he remained otherwise still.

"Won't even defend that pitiful woman, will you. Leave her defenseless as you did your home world. You're a pitiful excuse for a Sai-" She found her insults halted when his roped fists collided with her chin. The shock of the hit sent her head flying back, and her entire upper body balancing onto her heels. With a feral snarl, he brought his fingers to her neck and pushed his thumbs into the indent of her windpipe. She gasped in a breath and reeled onto her back. His grasp on her neck pulled them downward, and he strangled her as he fell straddling her.

"I- am the... last!" She gasped out, her eyes fighting to stay on him.

"That excuse won't work for you again," he growled, squeezing harder. Her fingers were digging into his hands fruitlessly. Bucking upward beneath him, she writhed and fought. "Call your guards," he growled. "Call your pathetic alien guards. I dare you." Her eyes were wild as she writhed, widening as she realized he was truly going to kill her.

"Pl...ease," she croaked out in her failing breaths, an expression of desperation rising into her eyes. He inclined his chin, gazing down at her imperiously, before slowly withdrawing his grasp on his neck. She drew in hurried breaths, struggling to get enough air and choking as she did. He stood slowly, walking away from her and crossing the small dwelling before turning to face the choking Saiyan female.

"You will release us," he said, letting his roped hands rest in front of him. The woman rolled over and struggled to push herself up, tail curling defensively as she eyed him. She made it clear in her expression that she wouldn't give up so easily.

"There's... something I need first," she said hoarsely, and her tones were more bargaining than before. Vegeta frowned, but remained silent. He'd humor her if he had to.

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