Sorry it has taken so long for me to get this chapter out. Between finishing "Introspective" and my getting a promotion into management at work which now gives me long hours on the job, I have had little time to plug away at this. Thank you for your continued patience.

Gohan remained seemingly senseless as the two full-blood royal saiyans prepared for mortal combat. But, Veleet knew the danger of getting herself injured or killed. If either happened, the last full chance for the saiyan race would dwindle swiftly away. The other problem was that she had to stand her ground and reveal no obvious weakness to her half-brother. If she did, he'd strike and grind her to a pulp for her insubordination.

"Leave this world." Vegeta softly but sternly commanded. His eyes steadfast on her own.

"It is not a saiyan's way." Veleet replied returning his stare.

Vegeta smirked evilly. This bothered Veleet terribly, but she couldn't reveal that little fact.

"I do not wish to maim or kill you. Our race has seen enough blood spilled for its namesake. But, I cannot allow you to continue this course of action. You have been warned. I will not repeat it."

Veleet broke eye contact to scan the sky. Vegeta's smirk grew ever wider and he couldn't resist informing her of her mistake. "Looking for something? A moon perhaps? It's gone from this world."

Veleet hissed but she knew there was another way to trigger the transformation. Unfortunately, Vegeta knew it too.

"Ah yes, the artificial light. You could, but then you'd lose control and forget your intention perhaps stomping Kakarrot's brat into a thin pancake. He'd be of no use to you as such."

Vegeta was right. Transforming into a giant ape would mean losing one's control over one's mind. It would be too risky. Meanwhile, Vegeta strengthened his own position by powering up and transforming into a super saiyan right before her very eyes.

"Still want to challenge me?" Vegeta taunted as he cockily waved a hand towards himself, urging her to try and attack.

Veleet remained frozen unsure what her next course of action should be.

Meanwhile Videl was watching the entire ordeal. She couldn't believe Vegeta was actually defending Gohan! Or was he? She knew enough from Gohan to know that Vegeta didn't do anything unless he got something out of it. What was Vegeta's main motive? Was it the mixing of bloodline or something more? She remained to the side and slowly sidled up to her boyfriend. Trying various methods, she tried to snap Gohan out of his stupor but to no avail. It was like Gohan was entranced by a spell.

"Move!" was Vegeta's only warning to Videl as he sent a ki blast directly into Gohan. Videl barely escaped it as it impacted her boyfriend firmly on the chest, sending him backward to the ground. Obviously it was a low powered blast, carefully calculated by the saiyan prince.

Slowly, groggily, Gohan snapped to and tried to shake the cobwebs out of his head.
"Wha, wha...how did...?"

Videl returned to his side and shut him up with a finger to his lips. She pointed to Veleet and Vegeta.

"Get him out of here!" Vegeta suddenly ordered.

Videl didn't try to protest. She encouraged Gohan up. "Don't ask, let's just do what he says for now. I don't want to have to deal with his pissed attitude aimed directly at me." Videl whispered to Gohan.

Gohan stood but wobbled, uncertain of his own footing.

"Can you fly?" Videl asked worriedly.

"What the hell hit me? My equilibrium is off and my chest feels like someone shoved a cannonball into it."

"Nevermind. Answer me. Can you fly?"

Gohan tried to summon his inner energy but to no avail. "No."

"Well, guess we do this the normal way then." Videl commented as she dug into her pocket and pulled out a capsule. With a poof her copter was revealed. Once Gohan was aboard, she throttled the vehicle skyward, away from the two royal saiyans below.

Vegeta heard the copter leave and then Veleet's hissing curse of profanity as her prey escaped once again. The saiyan prince smirked the grandest of smirks. He loved when victory partnered with him. "Awww, did your little prize get away?" he taunted.

"You haven't seen the last of me Vegeta. I won't give up. Quitting isn't in my blood."

"Nor mine. Last chance. Leave this planet and Kakarrot's brat alone."

"You'll have to kill me first."

"Fine with me. Just say when."

"Don't toy with me Vegeta."

"It's no game, I assure you that." Vegeta remarked as he suddenly raised an eyebrow. An idea came into his scheming mind. "I'll let you live for now however. Play your little game if you like. Perhaps Kakarrot's brat with give you a worse sting than my bite." Vegeta sneered as he suddenly launched into the air and was nothing more than a speck against the clouds.

*What did he mean by that?* Veleet thought as she was now left alone to contemplate the situation.

Meanwhile, at the riverside near Mount Paozu...

Gohan slapped some of the chilling water from the stream onto his face. "I bet he'd been wanting an opportunity to ki blast me like that, the snake."

"Gohan, it was for your own good. You were in a trance or something. It was freaky."

"I can't remember it."

"Perhaps that's a good thing."

"Videl!"

"Well, I was there and I wasn't liking what I saw. That saiyan female is out to get you and she hates my guts."

"Get me? Why? I've done nothing to her."

"Procreate. Make more saiyans or whatever it was she was babbling about."

"Eeeeeeehhh!?" Gohan gasped as he suddenly stumbled backward and fell onto his rump.

"Guess you should've taken that sitting down." Videl muttered, unimpressed by his reaction to her news.

"I know that. She mentioned something like that to me before, but I didn't think she was serious. I mean, I've had girls come up to me in the halls at school and--"

Suddenly Videl was in his face, anger plastered all over her own. "And--"

Gohan raked a hand through his hair nervously. He just realized he'd stepped into a hornet's nest named Videl once again. "I mean, uh, well, heheh, it's just hormones."

"Hormones? Gohan, don't play dumb. Who asked you to sleep with them? Who?Who?"

"You sound like an owl Videl. Just some girls. I don't know who they were. Not from our homeroom."

"How many is 'some'?"

"Why does it matter. I shrugged them off. I'm not into that kind of stuff."

"You said the same thing about fighting back when I asked you to join that Tenkaichi Boudokai a while back."

"Honest Videl. I'm not interested in sleeping with anyone."

"You do know what sleeping means right?"

"Videl, I have learned slang from you and Sharpener. I'm not the naive boy I was when I started at OSH."

"Then say what it means."

"Sex, intercourse, not a slumber party."

"Good boy. Now, answer the other question."

"Which one?"

"You ARE as bad as your father. Your mother was right."

"I dunno why."

"UUUUgggghhhh! Again, how many is some? And to think your mother wants you to be a great scholar."

"Hey, I'm smart. I just play dumb. Gets me out of trouble."

"Well it just put you into some too so I guess it isn't foolproof. Now answer the question."

"Why is it so important to you anyway? Jealous?"

"I AM NOT JEALOUS! JUST ANSWER THE STUPID QUESTION!!!"

"Okay, okay, you don't have to yell Videl. I'm sitting right here."

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm better off dealing with one of Goten's tantrums."

"Same results."

"Eh? What do you mean by that Gohan?"

Gohan looked about as innocently as he could. "Oh nothing."

Fumes developed above Videl's head as she charged her now annoying boyfriend. With the full force of her weight and forward motion, (and Gohan allowing her), she managed to push him further onto the ground so that he now rested flatly with his back on the soft cool grass. She landed sitting atop his chest.

"I'm on your center of gravity. Lets see you try and escape." Videl cheered thinking she had successfully pinned her boyfriend into submission. But what was this? Gohan was laughing!?

"It's not funny!"

Gohan continued to laugh. Then his brows indicated seriousness. While he was keeping Videl preoccupied by his laughing, he had managed to adjust one of his legs and arms enough to get a firm ability to lift himself. With a quick push, he lurched upward, toppling the surprised Videl off him and onto the neighboring grass. Before she could recover, Gohan had pinned her to the ground by her shoulders and was practically sitting atop her. She blushed. When he noticed her face's redness, he suddenly realized its meaning. With a deep flush of embarrassment, he quickly removed himself and paddled backwards, putting some distance between her body and his.

"Gohan!" a disappointed Videl yelled. She was hoping he'd dip down lower and meet his lips with her own. Instead, the eldest son of Goku opted to ruin the moment by hastily escaping.

"What? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"

Videl growled. "Gohan, you are an idiot sometimes."

"I said I'm sorry."

"I don't know if you're denser than a black hole or lighter than a rising air current."

"???"

"Yeah, I know. It's a foreign language to you. Just forget it. At least I know you're still a virgin."

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? My mother told me that--"

"Oh geez, your mother gave you the talk?!"

"The talk?"

"The facts about life. You know, sex, love, and the like."

"Not my mother."

"Then who?"

"Books, and maybe a little tv. Then there's Master Roshi's magazine collection in his upstairs bathr--"

Videl plugged her ears. "I don't wanna know Gohan. Let's just go see if you mother needs help making dinner or whatever."

"You serious?! Help my mom!?"

"Gohan!"

"I'm just teasing. Let's go. "

"One of these days though, I need to get you to go to one of our group's weekend study sessions."

"Why?"

"Because you naive boy, you need to be more informed and educated."

"But that's why my mother made me go to OSH, to study and be educated properly."

"Oh man, you're still clueless! I can't believe how you can be so smart in some subjects and so dumb in others. What an irony!"

Elsewhere...

Vegeta stormed back to the Briefs residence, slamming the door. Naturally Bulma was there to bitch him out for his rudeness. Already pissed Vegeta and his mate got into a bitch fest, which of course, made them both feel much better. Bulma needed to vent from her everyday stresses of running Capsule Corporation, trying to come up with new and better inventions, and being a mother to a son who was every bit a stubborn brat when he wanted to be (which was rather frequently). For Vegeta, it was a chance to let down his guard a bit. He didn't have to put on an 'act' around her. She knew his behaviors and mannerisms and he wasn't afraid to spew them in front of her.

Meanwhile, Veleet sat skulking in a dark, dank swamp, gnawing on the grizzle of a freshly killed croc and pondering her next scheme. Time was of the essence and yet there were so many obstacles to overcome. She also couldn't understand why her half brother was so opposed to the idea of furthering their great species. What had this Kakarrot done to change him so much? And how could she convince the young half saiyan of his importance and the grandness of the task she asked of him?

to be continued...