Authoress' Note: Well, this challenge ended up being a bit harder than I thought. I wrote a fight that lasted all but two pages before it turned into something else. Half romance, half what in the world was I writing at 1 in the morning?

As a result, I ended up revisiting it and rewrote most of this before adding to it.

This takes place sometime after the battle with Broly, before the Cell Games, and around the time where the others are going through the time chamber training to prepare for the coming storm.

In other words, sometime after Chapter 19 if it makes it easier to follow.

Some British slang may or may not work in full context, so I apologize to the Brits out there! I'm just a Midwestern gal writing whatever sounds good and just writing out a crazy fantasy.

A Prince's Brawl

Vegeta stood there with his arms crossed, glaring coldly at Tarble as he came out of the lab. The younger Saiyan paused, knowing full-well that the elder royal was displeased with him for inviting Broly to join them.

"You should have just done as I requested and sent him away," Vegeta began with his complaints. It was a risk to keep such a powerhouse under their roof. More so with only a few days until Cell's horrific tournament is scheduled to begin.

"Just like father sent me away?" Tarble spat coldly, already feeling a headache forming. He did not wish to be reminded of this conversation that they had days ago. "You know he cocked up when he tried to have Broly executed back then, right?"

"What my father did was better than what you're planning to do with Broly." Tarble noted how he had claimed King Vegeta as his father alone, which made the fur on his tail ruffle up slightly.

"Alright, humor me." Tarble spoke in a deadpan tone. "About a fortnight and a half ago, Kakarot returned after being held captive for three years all because you exiled him. Because of this, he is a wanker now and you truly think that banishing him for that amount of time would make him a better Saiyan?"

"Kakarot was better off dying actually after all of that rubbish he brought back," Vegeta countered, clearly annoyed at his brother for suggesting that they never banished the youngest of the group. "As he is, he is more of a liability now than a warrior."

"That's because of what Chille and the others had done to him to put him in this state," Tarble argued, his teeth clenched. "All of the actions that you have done lately, intentional or not, is why we are in this mess."

"What you're saying is tosh, it isn't worth continuing this conversation if you're going to just do your own thing." Vegeta started to turn and walk away.

Just like he always does.

Just because he does not want to own up to his mistakes. Just like the king. A king that he was trying to be without the proper support or conditioning growing up. Tarble knew that a real king would never go to such lengths to prove himself, and what reckless behavior he had exhibited as of late is proof that he would never claim the crown for himself.

"Not this time," Tarble's eyes narrowed. Even though he could not see, emotionally, he was conveying how he truly felt about the prince trying to brush him off yet again.

"Pardon?" Vegeta turned, feeling the aggression and power rising from his younger brother. If it was not for the blood in his veins, he would have been just another commoner, another weed to trample underfoot. Instead, Tarble was trying to assert himself, trying to ensure that he was not ignored yet again.

"I said not this time. You always walk away from me," Tarble snarled. "You don't want to admit that Kakarot had almost lost the plot because of you. That you allowed Cell to throw you into the muck after he was done bashing you into the ground. I should have just killed you back then, but I had to listen to everyone else and spare your pathetic life."

"Maybe I should have killed you when I had the chance," Vegeta was highly irritated at his brother as he transformed. Tarble responded the same and lunged directly at the elder brother, punching him across the face as the elder warrior's body slammed through the wall of the ship. The wall easily buckled, surrendering to the force of a Super Saiyan's body being impaled by the fist of another.

The others who were still at the ship rushed to see Tarble lunge outside through the gaping hole, ignoring the fact that once again, the ship he had struggled to maintain had sustained damage by his own hand. Usually, he would have complained that everyone was damaging and not helping in their contributions to repair, but at the moment, the younger royal was clearly angry at the elder. So angry that he did not acknowledge the others that rushed out to watch him pummel Vegeta.

"Take it back!" Tarble yelled as he slammed his fist directly across Vegeta's face.

"Why? Did I throw the wobbly and made you feel inferior again?" Vegeta snarled as he caught Tarble's fist. Both royals snarl at one another, almost sizing each other up despite there being a very narrow gap between their strength.

"Sometimes, I wonder if you lost the plot more than Kakarot," Tarble sneered.

"As I would lose my sanity far worse than the lower-class who let himself get captured by Chille."

Both royals were so into their fight that they did not realize that Kakarot and Kauli had returned. The former happened to overhear what Vegeta had said senselessly without any regard to those watching their grudge match. He just silently clenched his fists at his sides, trying to rein in the anger of what Vegeta said without thinking. Chille had tricked him when he confronted the general shortly after being exiled. Kauli on the other hand knew that what the elder prince had said went over the line, but he was too involved in their fight to notice the angry Saiyan standing next to her, trying his hardest not to interrupt this battle.

"I'm knackered at how everything that happened lately is being blamed on me!" Vegeta headbutts Tarble, forcing the younger brother back a few strides.

"You're knackered?! I'm sure everyone else is knackered at how much your piss poor leadership has gotten into this mess!" Tarble lunged forward again as he attempted to smack his older brother, but Vegeta easily evades and strikes his younger brother's back as he hits the ground.

"Do you question my authority?" Vegeta questioned while standing over Tarble and was about to strike him down with an energy blast. Tarble flared his aura and the blast collided into a temporary shield, protecting the younger prince as he used the smoky cover to escape.

"I do because I believe that you have gone quite mad! Why should the others follow you blindly?" Tarble's voice echoed throughout the area. Vegeta was furious at how the younger one managed to use his surroundings to his advantage.

"You're one to talk when you can't even see the whole damn know picture!" Vegeta countered, knowing full well that Tarble only saw so much of what was going on. The elder prince thought that Tarble was clearly delusional if he thought that he could make a better leader.

"I don't need to see how much you cocked up!" Tarble yelled, suddenly coming down from above Vegeta and using his body to tackle the older prince into the ground. The younger Saiyan's knee pressed down on the older one's tail, temporarily paralyzing Vegeta.

"Get the hell off of me!" Vegeta demanded. If he were a lower class Saiyan, he would have tried biting at Tarble, but he had so much more class to give into such tactics.

"Not until you accept that you cocked up more than once," Tarble raised his hand over his shoulder, preparing to take advantage of his position over Vegeta.

However, the blow did not come from Tarble as a hand grabbed his shoulder from behind. Tarble turned, completely angry at the thought of someone interrupting his moment of glory when a harsh slap was felt, enough that it caused stinging to his cheek. Laughter erupted from Vegeta's throat, but before he could retort, it seemed someone had beaten him to the punch.

"Y'all need to stop this shit right now!" Kauli yelled at both royals. Tarble blinked, clearly surprised by the sudden strength difference of the female Saiyan. What he did not see was the bruise already developing on her hand from such a blow. She did technically slap a Super Saiyan without thinking of the repercussions, and now, she was clearly agitated. "Y'all can kill yourselves after we deal with Cell! Otherwise, we won't need his damn help finishing the job!"

"Stay out of this woman!" Vegeta grunted, still feeling the weight of Tarble's knee on his tail. However, the pressure was soon removed as Nappa pushed Tarble away and grabbed Vegeta's worn body.

"She has a point, Vegeta," Nappa lifts Vegeta into his arms. He was making sure that neither prince tried to go at each other's throat again. "This isn't the time to fight. With what time we have left, we need to use our time wisely."

"I don't need you lecturing me," Vegeta frowns at the general.

"You're right, you're going to be confined to your quarters until you calm the hell down," Nappa firmly stated before carrying the elder prince away, much to his disappointment.

Tarble was preparing to leave as well, knowing full well that he would have to do repairs later, but a soft hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Let go," Tarble warned.

"Only if ya don't go tearing after your brother," Kauli firmly responded. Her hand shook slightly. She did grab his shoulder with the same one that she had slapped him with after all, and she was trying to be tough.

"You're hurt," Tarble noted, his anger starting to fade. His reasoning made him aware that the female Saiyan had delivered a strong enough blow to knock some sense into him. He reverted back to normal and he gently took her hand into his. A soft hiss was his only indication that yes, she would have a bruised hand that would last for a time. Compared to how she was 24 hours ago, a bruised hand was better than a broken one. "Let's get that treated."

Kauli just remains quiet as she lets Tarble take her into his lab. Nearby, Kakarot was just standing there, trying to rein in his anger. If it had not been for Kauli, he would have torn into Vegeta after Tarble was done with him.

"Let it go Kakarot," Raditz's voice called out.

"He... he..." Kakarot wanted to yell out his frustrations. To go after Vegeta despite Nappa dragging him away. He was so angry that he had no idea what he endured for three years in Chille's grasp. If the prince knew of his plight, maybe he would have never banished him. As usual, pride blinded the fool, making him blind of the struggle he has with not only himself, but towards the others around him.

"I know, but it's not worth it. Let him find out the hard way what his actions will bring," Raditz told his baby brother. "Besides, your wife needs you."

The very thought of ChiChi waiting for Kakarot after spending a whole year away from her side made his heart flutter slightly. He truly did miss his wife, wanting nothing more than to ensure that she was still here, that she was alright. Keeping her waiting was not an option as he finally managed to move away from where the fight had taken place.

Fin

Heh, this was a bit better written than my weekend attempt. Even if it was shorter than I had imagined, it was nice to have someone else stop this senseless battle other than Nappa.

You might be wondering why it had to be Kauli. Considering that she had spent a year in a time chamber with Kakarot, she had gotten stronger, so her slapping some sense into Tarble would be unexpected since he would not think she was that strong.

As promised, here is a glossary of all of the words I used in the brother's fight. Yeah, I only used some of these words only one time, but there are a few others I knew would just keep the fight going if I used it a bit more.

Glossary

Cocked up-made a mistake

Fortnight-a group of two weeks

Knackered-tired

Lost the plot-gone insane

Muck-dirt

Pardon-if you all don't know, excuse me

Rubbish-trash or waste

Throw the wobbly-getting annoyed

Tosh-nonsense

Wanker-a jerk or... well, you get the idea