With the hasty cue from these girls, Vegeta could have a quiet moment to continue with his training, something appreciated after the turmoil that was having them around, and take his time studying this new power in peace until they returned.
It will take some time before that happens. Vegeta was sure of that, deliberately letting the little girl and the princess burn a dangerous amount of their reserves just so he could keep them away for the time being. After all, this was the first time they had been through this kind of experience, so their bodies were still far from being able to handle the strain.
So, for the next few days, they wouldn't be able to train even if they wanted to, being under the severe effect of exhaustion, very similar to anemia.
Besides, I doubt that the blonde girl will let the little girl come back here without being fully recovered, if she doesn't try to forbid her to come back. Vegeta could still feel her red eyes trying to burn a hole through him as she carried her unconscious little sister along with the girl in black, who had the princess on her back. Now she hates me as much as she fears me.
Which was good, being much better than before, when she looked at him in the same provocative way Bulma used to.
While Vegeta would admit missing that, to some extent, it was a feeling tied to his wife and not something appreciated when it came from another woman.
At least, that's what he wanted to believe.
Inevitably, the almost ethereal form of that princess came to mind to make him uneasy for more than one reason.
Something changed after she unlocked my Aura. Vegeta vividly remembered the tears she had in her eyes as she looked at him and the uncomfortable feeling it brought, but which he preferred to ignore because it was the easiest answer. It always was.
Otherwise, he would have succumbed to despair long ago by letting himself believe in the impossibility of escaping Freeza's clutches.
Still, things have changed since he met the cursed Kakarot, especially when Bulma came into his life, and it got even worse after she left along with Trunks.
Trying to ignore and pretend he didn't have a heart was becoming an impossible task.
Fortunately, hatred and the desire for revenge were there to help him move on without caring about anything else.
Or so it should be.
The look in Weiss's eyes at that moment still bothered him to no end, for the fact that that wariness of hers was gone and replaced by something else reflected in those tears.
What exactly had happened?
While Vegeta wanted to believe that she saw the Oozaru inside him and got scared, that couldn't be it.
There was no fear in her, only...sadness?
Maybe...did she see something else? Vegeta felt his uneasiness escalating with the possibilities. Like my memories?
It couldn't be.
Otherwise, she would have gone mad or run screaming away while begging for her life.
Not to mention the unimaginable power he had for any being on this planet, his past as a slave, genocide, and destroyer of worlds was terrible like that.
Luckily, this reaction of hers wasn't something that lingered for long.
At least, not until he awoke her Ki alongside the little girl, where another significant change occurred, but one no less inconvenient.
Weiss Schnee had become a captivating figure to the eye that didn't even seem to belong in this world.
Vegeta hadn't even noticed that he was staring at her and not the changes resulting from having her Ki awake until she looked at him in a way that made his heart squeeze.
Once again, this princess who dared to scold him in that cafeteria had her blue eyes glowing in a way that made her image overlap with Bulma's in his mind.
Somehow, it was even worse than before, to the point of making him ignore the admiration bordering on adoration that the little girl had when she looked at him as if he were the most amazing person in the universe.
Understandably, though absurd, this was the result of her curiosity, childish imagination, and gratitude.
Something that unfortunately didn't make any of this any less complicated by reminding him more and more of Trunks.
These two girls were becoming an unexpected problem.
Still...Vegeta didn't want to push them away completely.
For some reason, I blame Whis for that. It was this mentor of his who convinced him to come to this peculiar planet, which, despite being shrouded in darkness, glowed with hope born from the souls of its inhabitants. The irony.
How many times had Vegeta extinguished such hope with his own hands and reveled in it?
Now, such a doomed world was trying to provide him with a shadow of what he had lost.
The mere notion of this was what gave life to his uneasiness, which resulted in the rippling of the lake on which he tried to meditate.
Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. At least, not now, Vegeta sighed and decided to stop drowning more and more in these thoughts that threatened to ruin his mental stability. I need to focus.
To figure out what the uses of his Soul power were, even more so when in conjunction with his other energy sources.
But first, Vegeta needed to balance his spirit by following Yardrat's teachings, and so he did throughout the night until dawn.
Not only because this had become a new standard that aided his training to keep progressing more noticeably, but also because of this new source of almost foreign power that also needed to get in sync with his body.
Luckily, doing so brought him inner peace, which was very welcome considering the day he had.
When the lake below him finally calmed down perfectly with the sunrise and the birds began to land on his body, Vegeta could finally open his eyes with the satisfaction of having a calm mind and a serene heart.
Now, he focused on his hands, and the Aura responded much more easily to his will, being the complete opposite of how it was the day before. Let's see what we can do with this power.
Thanks to his Scroll that was connected to the information network of this world, Vegeta already had a very good idea about the uses of Aura that included physical reinforcement, external protection in the form of a barrier, and a minor healing factor just like God Ki.
Except for the Semblance, a special ability usually awakened due to emotional stress or extremely dangerous situations, this Aura didn't differ much from normal Ki. In fact, it felt more like an inferior version than anything, Vegeta would say. Otherwise, this world wouldn't be plagued by these creatures of darkness.
Showing just how limited this Aura really was.
But what about when it is combined with another source of power? Vegeta already had a notion of the answer, having seen the result after awakening the Ki of those two the day before. Let's see if the same goes for me.
Opening his hands, two points of energy formed, shining in the golden color of his Ki and the red of his Aura.
The amount, density, and power were exactly the same in the two energies; if there was any difference, it would be in the greater difficulty to control the Aura that almost refused to leave his body.
Again, a curious power, for being stubborn in wanting to cling to life in such a desperate way.
That must be why what happened next was not a surprise.
The result, on the other hand...
By bringing together these two energies that, although distinct, originated from the same body, the Aura escaped his control and attached itself to the Ki on its own.
Vegeta could only watch these two energies resonate together and grow in power as one.
What was once nothing more than two points of light had become a sphere of yellow energy embroidered in red that barely fit in the palm of his hand.
In a direct comparison, what had just happened was reminiscent of the fusion dance, where the power of the two parts wasn't just added to each other but rather grew exponentially.
Interesting. Vegeta couldn't help but have the rare semblance of a satisfied smile adorning his lips; one that could still grow along with this power. In that case, what happens if I add my God Ki into the mix?
It wasn't long before his smile faded as it was replaced by shock and surprise, having a Déjà Vu of when he first used his Ki after balancing his spirit in Yardrat.
Except, this time it was much worse.
The small sphere of energy in his hand had grown to the point where it was larger than his body!
"Shit!" Vegeta felt control slip between his fingers from the sudden change, and what followed closely had a more than obvious result. "I need to...!"
There wasn't enough time to contain or stabilize that energy completely before an explosion happened, one capable of sending a shockwave strong enough to make the entire Kingdom shake a second time and nearly destroy everything on his property!
When the explosion finally died down, Vegeta appeared floating with his clothes destroyed but without so much as an apparent injury in the middle of a crater that was supposed to be a lake.
"So much power..." he couldn't help but be stunned in the same way as when Lord Beerus had made a Hakai display and focused on his scorched hands for the mere act of trying to prevent the possible destruction of this planet. "So that's the result of combining three different energies..."
Although it was unstable and clearly dangerous, it was far more than he could imagine, and not in a bad way.
If before the mere combination of his Aura and Ki had an effect similar to the fusion dance, carelessly adding the same amount of God Ki into the mix, which was the reason for breaking the balance, was the same as multiplying one energy by another.
"Absurd." Vegeta had his smile returning, and with a good reason, as he finally found what he so desperately wanted. If I could increase my Aura reserves to match my Ki and God Ki, plus find a way to balance these powers into one, it would make me so much stronger that I can't even see the end of it.
Proving Lord Beerus wrong in assuming that only one purely divine technique could defeat another.
Except that it wasn't without reason that he believed so, especially considering the ocean of normal and divine Ki that Vegeta had compared to this mere cup of Aura he got, something that could barely match a Saibaman.
An almost impossible task.
Still, it's already more than I had yesterday. It wasn't a very noticeable change, but it was continuous, and Vegeta could only theorize the reason behind it. In order to be able to contain this large amount of "life" that I have, my "soul" needs to grow, and a lot of power.
Which was good for him.
The only problem was time.
In a rough estimate, Vegeta would say that it would take at least seven years for his Aura to reach a level remotely similar to his Ki reserves.
It was absurd, in a sense, to be able to obtain the level of power he had built up over his entire life in a mere seven years, without having to do anything on top of that.
In the scenario that he found himself in, however, it was...
Too slow. Especially considering that his Ki would not remain stagnant, waiting for his soul power to grow. One year, Vegeta clenched his fists and defined. I need to find a way to balance my three levels of power in one year.
More than that would only give Kakarot time to perfect his Ultra Instinct, and that couldn't happen.
The way that clown was now felt like an almost impossible wall to overcome, not counting the power gains in the last year; he must have made since Bulma left, where Vegeta practically stagnated because of his depression.
I need to change that. Vegeta had an alternative now, but it was one that didn't invalidate the path of a God of Destruction. In order to erase that bastard from existence, body, and soul, Hakai is still necessary.
The road ahead was long and arduous, but fortunately, it had always been that way.
Before that, however, Vegeta looked around at the damage caused by his careless little experiment. Better fix this.
What was left.
At least the house and the gravity chamber were in one piece, and that was all he needed to continue training.
-----
At Beacon, Yang and Blake woke up in fright, certainly along with almost all of their classmates, because of the sudden tremor that was felt throughout the school, as if an earthquake had occurred, and they were in a cold sweat because of it.
While most were probably questioning if there was some major change occurring in the Kingdom of Vale, only Team RWBY knew about the real reason behind this possible disaster.
"Vegeta..." Yang was breathing heavily and covered in sweat from more than what happened, being plagued by nightmares of many types, even with the few hours of sleep she had last night. "What is that bastard doing now?"
The only thing that came to her mind was Vegeta transforming into that golden form and releasing so much power that it could make even the heavens tremble...
The same way he had done to her heart.
"You think it was him?" Blake didn't miss these accusation-filled whispers and asked as she stood up, also startled by the tremor that brought back the terrifying memory of the previous day with golden flames, yet definitely in a much better state than her partner. Not to mention the dreams I had...
Just thinking about this and that made her warm and feel kind of dirty, to the point that not even a bath could help her.
"Who else?" Yang had lived her entire life in this kingdom, and never before had something like this happened. After meeting that guy, it happened twice, and that couldn't be a mere coincidence. "I just hope he's not destroying anything out there."
For if he was, no one could stop him, and that was a scary fact to consider.
"Yang, I don't believe he is like that." Blake didn't know Vegeta, but she definitely felt on her skin what he was like, and there was no evil in him, only...anger, and that was something her frightened partner had plenty of. "I'm sure you know that too."
Otherwise, they wouldn't be there, and well, at least physically, to even talk about it.
Unfortunately for Blake, her partner, even in this state, still had a sharp tongue ready to strike.
"Hmph, easy for you to say, who spent the night moaning his name." Yang made this colleague of hers widen her eyes and blush to the limit; a reaction that almost improved her mood, even if very little. "You really like living in danger, huh?"
It wasn't for nothing that she used to be part of the White Fang.
That, or this girl was in heat.
"T-that's..." Blake didn't know what to say, not knowing if Yang was just teasing her or telling the truth, and she hated not knowing which! "W-what about Ruby and Weiss?"
Changing the subject was all that was left to escape this awkward situation, and she successfully, considering that Yang cared much more about her little sister than about continuing to tease her about her dirty dreams.
"Still sleeping." Yang didn't spend most of the entire night awake just because she was scared and embarrassed by the things coming out of her partner's mouth, but to monitor Ruby's condition and...Weiss's as well. "They both look doped up."
So much so that the school could collapse, and they would still be sleeping as if nothing had happened.
Fortunately, according to the Beacon nurse who checked on them, there was nothing wrong. They were just completely exhausted and needed plenty of rest, whereas sleeping for more than ten hours didn't seem to be enough.
"I suppose that was to be expected," Blake said after calming down a bit and understanding that Yang wouldn't keep picking on her, deciding to share a piece of her mind about this. "If Ki is life energy, then they were burning something dangerous."
The concept of Ki and what exactly it represented, whether that was mere stamina or, in the worst case scenario, life span, was still vague, and because of everything that happened, these important questions ended up being left unanswered.
But, considering that Vegeta depended solely on this power and seemed to be someone extremely healthy, it definitely wasn't something so extreme that it could kill the user...or so she wanted to believe.
"Still...those two have accomplished something amazing because of it." Blake couldn't help but envy her colleagues who were sleeping peacefully. "They looked so beautiful, too."
So much so that it was almost unreal, where each of them looked like they came straight out of a fairy tale, and not even Vegeta could help but look at Weiss like she was a goddess who had descended upon Remnant.
"Yeah..." Yang knelt down beside the bed where Ruby was lying to push away those strands of hair that had grown out of nowhere and agree with what was said. "Suddenly, my little sister had become an imposing woman, almost like..."
Their mother, Summer Rose.
"I wonder if the same will happen to us." Blake didn't ask Yang to elaborate on who she was talking about, because given her solemn expression, it could only be about someone important who was no longer around. "When Vegeta awakens our Ki."
It might be a nonsense theory, but Blake was pretty sure that the Semblance of her teammates also evolved at that moment.
A phenomenon so rare that it was even considered a myth by many was granted to them in a matter of seconds by the hands of that enigmatic prince.
That alone explained the resulting changes, where Weiss and Ruby seemed to be wielding something unreal, like magic.
"Heh," Yang stifled a laugh and smiled at her partner's confusion. "You're so optimistic you don't even sound like the Blake I know."
Much more than she herself was, especially now.
"Maybe," she wouldn't deny being a little different, but Blake felt different. "Vegeta has given me a lot to think about."
Like it or not, receiving a dose of that prince's brutal honesty, something no man had the courage to say to her face without caring about anything else, which ironically this partner of hers had in common with him, was a needed shock of reality to begin to change.
Hopefully, that change would be for the better.
"I know," Yang smiled even wider as she refused to accept the truth behind what Blake was saying. "I heard most of it last night~"
This perverted girl was having the dream of her life, to the point of making Yang imagine things that contributed to her nightmare later.
"This is serious, Yang." Somehow, Blake managed to avoid feeling embarrassed by this teasing and focus on the subject. "What he said about me in the cafeteria...it wasn't necessarily wrong."
About her fear and cowardice, the answer that always seemed to be easier than trying to face her problems.
"So what?" Yang wouldn't deny that Vegeta had seen through her in a matter of minutes, but what he did over a mere tease, which most men could only dream of receiving from her, was too much! "That doesn't change anything."
The helpless way she felt in that moment, for the second time at the hands of the same person, being so weak when her strength was all she ever had...it wasn't something she could forget that easily, much less forgive.
"I think it does, and you know it." Blake might not have known Yang for long, but she knew enough to see right through her. "You're just too stubborn to admit it."
Something they had in common.
"What's your point, Blake?" Yang hated to keep beating around the bush. "That we need to change to be accepted by that monster?" The disdain in her voice was inevitable; her defense mechanism was working at full throttle first thing in the morning, and she knew it. "I've got news for you then: we don't need to do shit!" Her eyes fell on the answers that were still sleeping right next door. "With Ruby and Weiss having access to that power, they can do the ritual for us themselves!"
They didn't need Vegeta anymore!
In fact, they didn't even need to see that man again if they didn't want to!
Unfortunately, her partner seemed intent on tormenting her this day.
The dream Blake had must have been really good for her to insist on continuing to stand by Vegeta's side, almost as if she were...
"Yang, I don't think it's that simple." While Blake would admit that the ritual looked similar to the one used to awaken someone else's Aura, the process and outcome were definitely different. "There's no telling what would happen to them if Vegeta hadn't interrupted their continuous flow of Ki."
In the worst-case scenario, if Ki really did drain someone's life, even death was an option, and Blake wouldn't risk such recklessness when the alternative only required her to become a better version of herself.
"Besides," she wasn't done yet, much to the dismay of her friend, who hated to be contradicted. "I doubt those two will miss the opportunity to learn everything he has to teach." Not when flying, of all things, was a possibility. "Maybe you can stop Ruby for a while, but I'm sure Weiss and I will still go see him."
After all, she wanted not only the power he had to offer, regardless of the risks that certainly existed, but also to learn more about Vegeta and his origins, shrouded in mystery.
"Blake..." Yang preferred to ignore the facts being thrown at her, not just out of stubbornness, and focus on the possible absurdity that she had just considered. "You don't really like that man, do you?"
Weiss was one thing, since the two had undeniable chemistry and were kind of alike in a lot of things, but Blake?
This girl literally fainted when Vegeta transformed!
Blake should have been more scared than Yang was!
Instead, there she was, defending that man after having dreamed about him all night!
While Yang knew that Vegeta was a piece of ass with that body ripped to the limit, that wasn't enough to make her ignore everything else that happened.
So why was Blake doing this?
"I can't say I do," a contradictory answer, Blake would admit, but for good reason. "I kind of like the seriousness as a man that he has, as well as the unexpected naive side of a teenager, plus his endless power." Inevitable, since faunus, in general, had a certain inclination toward strong people. "But most of all, I admire his dedication to keep training even when being so strong!" She was smiling at this point, imagining those shapely muscles in sweat that were part of her hottest dreams, and only then realizing the incredulous look Yang had on her face. "I-I mean..." Now she was blushing profusely for getting carried away! "It's not like that!"
Too late to try to take back her words.
"Like hell!" Yang wasn't buying any of it! "And since when are you a Tsundere like Weiss?!"
As if having one on the team wasn't enough!
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Blake had already put up with too much at the hands of this crazy blonde, especially when the day had barely started! "If you don't mind, I'm going to take a shower now!"
So she could cool her head, organize her thoughts, and try to understand these feelings.
However, her partner was outdoing herself on this day in how annoying she could be.
"Hot bath thinking about him?!" Yang accused, only to be ignored, and she was sure she had hit the nail on the head if the red in those cheeks meant that much! "Come back here, you kinky cat, we're not done yet!"
As the two left, which could end up turning into a fight later, silence returned to the room as two pairs of eyes finally opened.
"Weiss, can we stop pretending to be asleep already?" Ruby asked suddenly, somehow being sure her best friend was awake as well, and hearing her own stomach rumbling loudly. "I really want to eat all the cookies in the world right now."
It had actually been a while since she was agonizing with hunger, but Blake and Yang were having a very serious adult conversation, and Ruby didn't want to get in the way of that...as embarrassing as it was to be left listening to the whole thing.
What bothered her the most, however, was knowing how much her sister resented Vegeta for what had happened, and the problem that would come from this later.
If it were up to Yang, Ruby would never see that prince again, and she didn't want that.
"I suppose so, Ruby." Weiss wasn't much better off than her friend and had a distant look on her face as she answered, too busy being immersed in everything she heard to the point of almost ignoring how hungry she was, something she had never experienced before. "Unfortunately, I can barely move now."
The side effects of having her Ki awake, it seems.
"True." Ruby tried to get up, but she couldn't even get out of her spot. "This sucks."
Mainly because she felt her eyes heavy again as her stomach rumbled more and more.
If she weren't so tired, Ruby would be embarrassed to death.
"Yeah..." was all Weiss could say, feeling like she was going to pass out again at any moment. Then Blake thinks the same way...
What was she supposed to do about that?
In fact, should she even try to do anything?
After all, just because Blake was interested in Vegeta, that doesn't mean he was also interested in her.
Even more so when he had only looked at Weiss with that kind of look.
That's right. She ignored everything else, especially her partner's noisy stomach, which sounded more like a hungry lion than anything, and closed her eyes to return to her dreams that were much more likely to come true than Blake's. He is mine.
Of that, she would be sure.