With the exception of Ruby, who managed to swallow her tears and find some enthusiasm for the idea of a sudden outing to take everyone's minds off this depressing topic, the other girls hesitated to hold Vegeta's hand, especially Blake, who hated this teleportation technique.
Their reaction, however, was not without a deeper reason, being influenced by the seed of doubt that had been planted in their minds.
What if Vegeta wasn't lying about being an alien?
The mere chance of this being real would turn their world upside down even more!
"What's the problem?" Vegeta made these three girls jump at the sound of his voice, and that alone was reason enough for him to tease them even more. "Afraid of the truth?"
Weiss and Blake were annoyed by this, but not as much as Yang, who was beginning to lose her patience.
"Fine then!" She joined her little sister, but instead of holding his outstretched hand, she hugged Vegeta directly, making sure to press her breasts against his defined body and watch him lose his stupid smile. "What's the problem?" Yang was blushing, but not as much as the man in her arms. "Afraid of a little physical contact?"
Two could play this game!
"Vulgar woman..." Vegeta muttered amid all this exuberant softness, but he couldn't find the willpower to push her away, much less admit defeat. "You'll regret this."
Forget the almost uninhabited planet he had initially selected; now he was going to a much worse one!
"I doubt that~" Yang couldn't help but smile even more at the fact that she wasn't being rejected as expected. But damn! She was blushing even more as she felt what was in direct contact with her body. These muscles are incredible!
His wife must have been a very happy woman!
Thinking about it reminded Yang of Vegeta's losses and the memories she was surely bringing back with her thoughtless actions.
Good one, Xiao Long. Her smile faltered, and she even moved away from Vegeta a little, feeling guilty for her abrasive behavior. Acting like an insensitive bitch... again.
Yang might have changed for the better recently, but she still had a long way to go to overcome some of her bad habits.
That must be why the temperature in the room had dropped, especially with the way Weiss and Blake were looking at her, promising pain if she didn't stop this nonsense immediately.
If it were before, Yang would have ignored this weak attempt at intimidation and even taunted back. Now, considering how much more powerful Weiss was, Yang was risking being turned into a popsicle.
That's if Vegeta didn't lose his patience first and do something worse.
"We'll have a talk about boundaries later," Weiss warned this reckless girl, doing her best to keep her emotions from getting the better of her and holding Vegeta's hand. "For now, let's get this over with."
Then, with...whatever this was out of the way, they could address the issue that really mattered.
Until then, Weiss would also direct some of her cold attitude and disappointment toward Vegeta, still unable to believe that he had so little regard for his own life, even when he claimed to have a reason to live.
Apparently, Vegeta's hatred for this Kakarot was much greater, and for good reason. With that in mind, for the first time, Weiss found herself hating someone she had never even met from the bottom of her heart.
At the same time, she couldn't help but be disappointed in herself for being unable to perceive the depths of Vegeta's suffering even after connecting with his soul.
Weiss knew about his loss, his grief, and his desire for revenge, but not how far he was willing to go.
Perhaps this was the result of her lack of empathy, and in that regard, Weiss had to admit that Ruby was much better than her and the one who was more likely to actually make Vegeta listen to the voice of reason.
"A very long conversation, I must say." Reluctantly, Blake joined the group shortly thereafter, holding Vegeta's hand along with her two teammates while shooting a glance in the direction of her clueless partner. "Until then, try not to do anything stupid... again."
Like bringing back precious memories in someone who needed to overcome such a loss, instead of diving even deeper into the bottomless pit that was his past.
Blake knew this better than anyone, having spent years watching Adam drown in hatred and never letting go of his past.
The last thing she wanted was to see Vegeta going down the same path of no return because of his desire for revenge.
That must be why she was determined to open his eyes, refusing to make the same mistake a second time.
"Right..." Yang just nodded, looking away for more than just guilt and shame. "I'll keep that in mind."
Proving that she had, in fact, changed for the better.
As for Vegeta, he said nothing, but he could feel the judgment, disapproval, and concern these girls had towards him, especially with the revelation about his suicidal tendencies.
If only they knew... Vegeta still remembered the time he blew himself up in an attempt to destroy Majin Buu, his smile, and the way he let go of everything in that rare moment of selflessness, including his pride, in order to protect what mattered most. Bulma and Trunks.
His family, which was now gone, and all because of Kakarot.
The reason why nothing would change his decision.
The only way for Vegeta not to end up dead in his fight against Kakarot would be if he completely surpassed that clown by a wide margin.
Unfortunately, Vegeta knew better, and that was virtually impossible.
Not only did Kakarot already have a huge advantage over him, but even now, he was training and growing stronger, consolidating his title as the most powerful mortal in the universe. In that case, all Vegeta could do was try to close the gap between them and hope to kill him, even if it cost him his own life in the process.
For that reason, he was teleporting with these girls to another world. Not only to prove the truth behind his words, but so that they would understand that Vegeta was nothing more than a dead man walking.
With that in mind, the surrounding scenery changed completely, and immediately, he could feel the girls' grip on his body intensifying, but not as much as the fluctuation of their Auras that reflected their emotional states and confusion.
Understandable, considering they were in a completely different world for the first time in their lives.
"No fucking way…" Yang found herself breaking her promise in just a few seconds as she hugged Vegeta again. "This…can't be real."
That's because, in the night sky above, there were three full moons, each of them intact and shining in different shades of white, yellow, and pink to illuminate a bio completely different from that found on Remnant.
At first, they thought they were in some kind of illusion, but not only could they feel the freezing temperature kissing their skin slightly exposed by their casual clothes, but the very air they breathed was different, thin even.
In addition, their bodies felt heavier, as if they were under the effect of Gravity Dust when no such thing was being used.
Then, above all else, there was this strangely reddish and unique vegetation, surrounded by what appeared to be tree-sized mushrooms.
Which means...
"Another world..." Weiss murmured, her blue eyes shining with a combination of fascination and fear. "It really exists."
One capable of sustaining living organisms, if those things walking in the distance meant that much. Frighteningly, one of these creatures resembled a spider the size of a small mountain with four legs and a body covered in a type of armor, almost as if it were made of pure rock.
With each step of this colossal thing, the girls could feel the ground shake all the way to where they were, at the top of a hill.
As if that monster weren't enough, there were other giant insects walking around, most of them capable of making a Ursa look small in comparison.
Blake said nothing, just ignored her own criticism of Yang's intrusive behavior, and joined in her embrace of Vegeta. However, she wasn't doing this without good reason or even consciously. Not only was she disoriented by the teleportation, but her instincts were screaming danger in a way that made her feel like a fish out of water.
No matter how unreal and revealing it all was, Blake hated every second of it.
Unexpectedly, Vegeta said nothing or even reacted to being in the tight embrace of these two extremely feminine girls, his attention being on something else as he cursed his bad luck.
"Wow..." Ruby was the only one having a different reaction, almost jumping with excitement as she forgot everything that had been tormenting her mind and heart, even if only temporarily. "This is so cool!" She then smiled, grabbing the arm of her shocked best friend and pointing into the distance. "Weiss, look! They're real aliens!"
Just like in the movies!
Hopefully not the scary kind... even though everything around them suggested that's exactly what they were.
"I-I can see them, Ruby." Weiss snapped out of her momentary trance, this being one of the rare occasions where she was grateful for her partner's childish behavior in being able to see something positive even amid this madness. "This is all very... fascinating."
To say the least.
Ironically, the person who brought her to this world in the first place seemed to be the only one who shared her conflicting opinion.
"Another planet full of insects and worms..." Vegeta really hated this kind of grotesque creature, still able to remember the countless times he was covered in goo during various missions since he was a child. "This one seems to be even worse than the last one I destroyed."
One of the few he didn't regret sending straight to hell.
Guilt be damned.
Such an outburst, however, did not go unnoticed, and despite all the madness that surrounded them, the girls found themselves focusing on the prince and the absurdity he had just uttered.
"Wh-what?" Weiss ignored the fact that Blake had joined Yang in her grip on Vegeta and focused on what had just been said, believing that perhaps she had heard wrong, but after everything that had happened, doubting this man seemed foolish. "You... destroyed a planet?"
While it was true that he was able to shock all of Remnant with his golden power, to destroy something of that magnitude...
Who in the world or universe was Vegeta?!
Slowly, the girls were beginning to believe that he was some kind of deity trying to live as a mortal, but whose love ended in tragedy.
While they weren't necessarily wrong, the truth was something else.
"Exactly as you heard." Vegeta broke free from Blake and Yang's weakened embrace, walked a little to the edge of this hill, and looked up at the moons above. "Before I met Bulma and started a family, I used to venture through the stars, conquering and destroying planets."
The Saiyan way of doing things, as he foolishly believed to be his birthright and destiny, even before he was enslaved by Freeza.
In the end, Vegeta was just another monster that needed to be defeated, and thinking about the one who had put him on the path of change left a bad taste in his mouth.
"That... should be impossible." Yang felt as if she were going mad, especially with the weight of her actions and possibilities tormenting her. "Because if not, then..."
That meant she could have caused the destruction of Remnant, her family, and all its inhabitants!
All for provoking, even if unknowingly, a powerful being from beyond the stars!
Unfortunately, Yang just made another mistake with her choice of words.
"After all this, you still doubt me?" That was all Vegeta needed to hear to have a chance to vent some of his own frustration. "Allow me to change that."
Before any of them could understand what he was talking about, Weiss and Ruby felt a chill arise along with Vegeta's power.
It was momentary, almost imperceptible, but it surpassed everything they had by dozens of times before being released in the form of a small golden Ki sphere toward the sky above.
It happened so fast that Ruby and Weiss didn't even have time to try and stop Vegeta!
Suddenly, night turned into day under the influence of an explosion of power so great that it made the Red Calamity look like a spark in front of a star!
It didn't take long for the shockwave from the explosion to reach where they were, drowning out their screams, and the only reason they weren't carried away by the wind was because of a Ki barrier that appeared to protect them.
Then, after this foreign world finally stopped shaking, there was silence amid the darkness and fear born of pure confusion.
Weiss and Ruby could hardly believe how casual and indifferent Vegeta was in unleashing so much power!
If it weren't for that barrier, who knows what would have happened to them?!
Whether they liked it or not, the instinctive fear they felt when exposed to Vegeta's golden transformation was returning to haunt them, and for good reason.
When the dust finally settled and they regained some of their composure, their colored eyes widened to the limit once again as they looked up at the sky and saw only two of the three moons. As if that weren't enough, the other two moons that remained looked like the one back in Remnant, both broken into pieces!
"Was that proof enough?" Vegeta asked and received no answer, only fear, and even though it bothered him more than he would ever admit, it didn't matter. "Or do I need to blow up this planet, too?"
That being said, his hand was pointed at the ground below where those creatures had been just seconds ago, before being swept away by the wind resulting from the shockwave, along with much of the local flora, and the girls' hearts sank completely.
This time, none of them doubted Vegeta's words or his ability to destroy everything, including them!
"No!" Ruby and Weiss shouted in unison, both unleashing their powers as they used everything they had to hold Vegeta back and prevent him from causing a catastrophe!
Unfortunately for them, this man was like an immovable object, and there was nothing they could do if he really wanted to destroy the planet.
Once again, Weiss and Ruby were reminded of their own weakness.
Even after rising to the top of Remnant, on a universal scale, they were nothing! Especially when compared to Vegeta, the one who gave them power!
For a moment, Ruby and Weiss braced themselves for the worst and even closed their eyes, but unexpectedly, the power spike resulting from the release of Ki and the planetary-scale explosion never came.
Opening their eyes and looking up, they saw Vegeta expressing a small smile, very reminiscent of that shown by Yang after a successful prank.
Except that this wasn't funny.
Weiss and Ruby didn't know how to feel about this sick sense of humor, only that they never wanted to go through anything like this again as long as they lived, and there were only two ways to ensure that would happen.
Either they cut ties with Vegeta, which they couldn't see themselves doing, or they became powerful enough that even he could no longer be a threat.
After all, now that they knew there were more powerful beings out there, with that Kakarot being even more powerful than Vegeta, there was no guarantee that Remnant was safe from something that made the Grimm seem cute in comparison.
Ruby and Weiss needed to become stronger. Not only them, but Blake and Yang had also come to a similar conclusion even before things had escalated to this point.
"So, now you believe me?" Vegeta dispersed the ki barrier and crossed his arms, satisfied with their reaction. "Took you long enough."
This made each of the girls' eyes widen for a completely different reason, finally understanding what this was all about.
Vegeta wasn't being an irresponsible idiot for no reason and was just trying to prove the truth behind his words.
If they hadn't doubted him from the start, none of this would have happened.
Such realization was all they needed to feel an invisible hand release their hearts, and each of them fell to their knees, almost collapsing in tears.
Honestly, this seemed to be a common occurrence since this man had entered their lives.
"You... didn't have to do all that," Ruby murmured, doing her best to stop crying like a child. "I-I really thought you were going to blow up the planet..."
And that almost scared the soul out of her body!
To Ruby's surprise and disbelief, however, Vegeta did not try to comfort her as expected. Quite the contrary, he was making a point of giving her a reality check.
For the first time, someone was treating her like an adult, and Ruby hated every second of it.
"If you hadn't tried to stop me, I would have destroyed everything." Vegeta saw no point in lying about it, especially when the truth served his purpose. "Of course, I would have teleported us into the vacuum of space, where we would have watched the explosion safely from inside my barrier."
It might sound like he was returning to his old self, but it was simply his distaste for the creatures inhabiting this world and frustration speaking louder.
Not only that, but Vegeta also wanted these girls to have a small glimpse of the man he used to be.
"Why?" Weiss was kneeling on the ground, crushing the reddish soil of this foreign planet between her fingers as tears fell from her blue eyes. "What's the point of all this?"
She knew and could understand the reason, but not the need to go so far, and that hurt.
Weiss didn't want to feel afraid of the man she liked... because it reminded her of her mother.
The answer he had for her, however, was one that no one there could even remotely imagine.
"Because... I need you to give up on me." Vegeta had his fists clenched, showing a different kind of emotion as he made his intention as clear as possible. "I don't know what you three see in me." He was looking directly into the tearful eyes of Weiss, Blake, and Yang, each of them more surprised than the other. "But I suggest you look for another potential partner."
One whose days weren't numbered.