Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Danger in the horizon ❯ confirmation ( Chapter 41 )

Chapter 41 - Confirmation

Note: I don't own DBZ.

Special thanks to: Destiny, Tazy and Jadedbest. Thank you for your patience with my updating, I have only just been able to get back into MMO today!!!

Radditz was attempting without success to inform Goku and Piccolo of the vastness of Freeza's armies, his normal battle strategy and ostensibly to get them to wait for Vegeta before starting on a strategy of their own. His newfound brother and teacher were at odds with each other, both trying to override each other's ideas for a plan of attack. Radditz sighed internally as he very well knew that the best idea would be to wait for confirmation of Bulma's condition and Vegeta's ascension before making any solid plans.

Amanda watched in mute fascination as Radditz, Goku and Piccolo discussed possible strategies for their imminent battle, despite the fact that Vegeta was not present nor were the rest of the Z warriors. Even with sharing a mind link with Radditz did not make it any easier for Amanda, in fact, it seemed to make it more confusing partly due to her limited mental power and the fact that all of the men in front of her were aliens. That was one fact that would take some getting used to. With a small sigh escaping her mouth, Amanda turned her attention away from the men who were by now busy arguing with each other and gesticulating with wild hands and focussed on the other woman in the room, Chi Chi. During the meal which the other woman had so graciously provided for them all, Chi Chi had remained for the most part, silent, only occasionally scolding her naïve husband for his lack of table manners or to quietly ask a question, which appeared to be out of character for her. Amanda could tell that Chi Chi was not a woman who liked to be on the sidelines, but she hid her inner fire behind her sense of duty as a wife and mother denying herself the opportunity to be directly involved. Chi Chi had sent her young son and father away from the house, not wanting to have Gohan attempt to and try to join his father in the battle ahead. It was inevitable that one day Gohan would fight like his father, the instincts of his newly discovered alien race flowing through his young blood. Chi Chi just wanted to delay that day for as long as possible, as Gohan was still only three years old and had shown that he had a sharp intelligence, which Chi Chi did not want to go to waste.

Nervously, Amanda approached Chi Chi with the intention of helping her clean up, also to try and discover more about these strange men, whose lives seemed to revolve around battles of some sort or another. Well, that was the brief snippets Amanda had managed to pick up anyway.

"Can I give you a hand, Chi Chi?" Amanda asked Chi Chi quietly, looking at the huge mound of crockery, which needed attending to with some trepidation.

Chi Chi raised a hand to her brow to wipe away the sweat and nodded, almost glad of the interruption in her worrying about the future. "Thanks." She murmured, casting an eye over at the warriors. "I doubt whether any of them know how to clean up."

"Well they're men, what do you expect?" Amanda replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders, grabbing a towel to dry off the dishes that Chi Chi handed her.

Chi Chi let out a small noise of amusement and smiled at the tall blonde woman. "How did you end up with Radditz?" She asked bluntly, unable to keep her curiosity at bay any longer.

Amanda wrinkled her forehead trying to find the best way of explaining it all not at all taken aback by Chi Chi's directness. "Well, I first met him in the scientific wing at Capsule Corporation. Radditz was with Dr Briefs, I guess the Dr was trying to avoid his wife again." She giggled, knowing the true reason that Jock Briefs hid in the scientific wing. "Radditz helped me with a box, shook my hand in greeting and then he was gone." Amanda stopped drying the dish she was holding as her eyes glazed over momentarily as she stared into space. "It was strange to say the least. He unnerved me so much." Amanda turned back to Chi Chi. "Then we 'bumped' into each other a couple of days later, after the funeral of that poor man who died on the estate."

"Poor Yamcha…" murmured Chi Chi softly, "That was a real waste of a life." She turned back to Amanda. "And then?"

" We spoke, and he revealed his intentions, and left the decision up to me." Amanda recounted the cold night in the garden and the shock of Radditz's confession. Even now she could feel herself melt. "I could not resist him." She turned back and gazed at Radditz, once again not quite understanding how on Earth she had come to such a point in her life. Amanda had known Radditz for barely a week, but it felt like much longer.

"And now you are stuck with him, huh?" Chi Chi retorted, not without humour. Now that she knew that Goku was not human, it explained a few things to her, and she suspected that Radditz acted somewhat like his younger brother in some ways. And she knew exactly what kind of ways they were. Oh, it's been too long since we…..

"I suppose so." Amanda replied, throwing another glance at Radditz, breaking Chi Chi's train of lustful thoughts about her husband. Radditz grinned wolfishly at Amanda, his eyes visibly displaying a degree of impatience to drag her away. She flushed prettily, seeing his hunger for her. "So, what about Goku? What happened with you two?" Amanda continued, dragging her eyes from the muscular form of her mate and returned to the job at hand, eager to make some sort of connection with Chi Chi and discover more.

Zarbon twitched as he heard the crackle of static, signifying that someone was trying to make contact with him. Zarbon shivered, knowing in his gut that it was most likely Freeza himself, calling to taunt him, torture him a little more, feeding like a vampire on his irrational fear.
Zarbon reached out with a shaky hand, ready to switch the comms unit to the off position, not willing to hear whatever disgusting thing that Freeza intended to do with him once he got hold of him.

"My dear Zarbon…." Freeza hissed malevolently at his former employee, and Zarbon's intestines knotted violently at the sound. Freeza was quite alone in his private chambers, relaxing next to the large window with a glass of his favourite alcoholic beverage, watching the stars speed by as he advanced ever closer to Earth. He was beginning to enjoy the long trip into a galaxy he had never seen before and vaguely supposed that the planet Earth would be worthwhile to purge and sell to the highest bidder. Freeza was as Zarbon had guessed; quite unable to resist further terrorising his former right hand man as the temptation was just too much for his somewhat puerile mind. "I see that you are still hopelessly trying to evade me." Zarbon shivered once more as Freeza cackled maniacally before continuing. "It just makes the game more exciting, hmmmm?"

Fuck off fuck off fuck off…..! Zarbon's mind screamed, his vocal chords seemingly unable to forcing the words out physically.

"No reply?" Freeza continued, "Well, never mind. I'll be seeing you soon, Zarbon. I have always wanted to hear your voice screaming out in pain, it's like sweet music to my ears when I hear another being in pain. After I've taken care of you, I will then be taking care of my other little pet, Vegeta." Freeza's black lips curled in amusement at the prospect. "I believe his pain will be just as exquisite." The communication was then cut abruptly and Zarbon let his hand fall, breathing a sigh of relief. He did not know how far ahead of Freeza he really was, but it seemed that he had been able to put some distance between them. Zarbon raised a fist to the communications unit to get ready to smash it in frustration at his unsavoury fate, unwilling to have any further contact with Freeza or anyone else for that matter. Collecting his shaken emotions, Zarbon lowered his hand once again, knowing that it was a stupid thing to do; he may need it again later.

The search for a hospitable planet had proved fruitless and now he is only option was Earth. He had no allies there, not that he ever had any in the first place deep in the ranks of Freeza's army and he would have to first return to Station Delta to find a way to break through the shielding. Luckily his ship was a generic type, commonly used by many space faring species and would arouse no suspicion among the technicians there. In the back of his mind he knew that his murder of Lisa had complicated things and that if he had been able to keep her under better control then she would have been quite useful in breaking the codes for the Earth shield. All he would have to do would be to remain in his transformed lizard like state which would take a lot of energy to ensure he stayed in that state constantly and assume a new identity until he had the means to land on Earth. There were of course, several problems with his plan. Firstly, he had to break through the shielding around the planet without arousing suspicions, secondly, if he managed that mean feat, he would have to convince Vegeta that he was no longer in Freeza's employ. Thirdly, the luscious Bulma Briefs would be there. But she was not a problem, more of a goal to attain. Zarbon relaxed and sat back, lacing his fingers behind his head in contemplation, feeling his groin tighten with the thought of running his hands over her curvaceous body, desiring to hear her moans of ecstasy as he thrust himself into her, his mind no longer focussed on his tenuous situation, his hormones taking over.

Ahhhh, Bulma. How I have missed you. I will make sure that Vegeta doesn't have you for very long. After all, he is just a mere monkey.

Jock and Sarah Briefs wearily entered their immense home, somewhat pleased to be in familiar surroundings once more. The short break they had taken together had been pleasant and had been the perfect distraction from the crisis that was looming and from the tragic death of Yamcha. Sarah handed the vast array of luggage to a passing domestic bot for it to take care of the laundry, while she prepared to immerse herself in a bath to soothe her tired muscles, not noticing the still quietness of the house with only the hum of robots going about their business.

Jock took his cue to hurriedly remove himself from the house and locate Bulma to find out how business had been while he was away, slipping silently into the scientific wing of Capsule Corporation as Sarah ascended to their quarters. He had noticed the lack of human or alien entities in the main house and supposed that Bulma was tinkering away on some device or other on a spare bench. As he shuffled through the workspace still clad in his holiday clothing of shorts and a disgustingly loud tropical shirt, Jock couldn't see Bulma as he had assumed he would and made haste to Victor's office to find out where she was. It was not in Bulma's personality to just drop everything and take off without informing at least one person of her intentions and the lack of her presence worried him slightly.

Victor was startled by the abrupt appearance of his long time mentor and boss in his office and he dropped the crystal glass of whiskey on the floor in surprise.

Jock's nose wrinkled at the aroma of alcohol in the office, but said nothing to his vice president and instead patiently waited as Victor haphazardly soaked up the spilt liquid with a couple of pages of the local newspaper.

"Jock!" Victor finally spoke after composing himself and settling back into his chair behind his large antique oak desk, regarding the bizarrely dressed Dr Briefs with a hint of amusement. "Good to have you back. Was it a good break from business?"

Jock huffed, rolling his eyes humorously behind his thick glasses as he replied, sitting in a chair. "If you can call a constant shopping spree with your wife good." He rubbed his head, looking quite weary. "She must have dragged me to every damn sale on clothing in Hawaii." Jock shook his head to bring his mind back to the point of why he was in Victor's office. "I can't find Bulma anywhere at the moment, do you know where she is?"

Victor wrinkled his forehead momentarily. "Bulma came in just after you and Sarah left, something about going away herself for about a week. She didn't say where she was going to be, just that the staff here should be aware of your two new guests." He pursed his lips into a tight line for a few seconds before continuing, remembering that one of the "guests" had stolen his ex wife from a possible reconciliation with him. "We haven't seen them around either, so I assumed that Bulma had taken them with her." It was a lie, but Victor did not need Jock Briefs to discover his scheming where one of them was concerned.

Jock seemed to relax at Victors statement and rose, making his way to the door, wanting to divest himself of the revolting shirt he was wearing and get some real food to eat, but he was barred from leaving by Victor asking a question of him.

"Jock, those two guests that you have at the house, are they from around here?" Victor asked, an innocent look on his face.

Jock dropped his hand from the door handle and turned to his right hand man, a small glimmer of paranoia in his eyes. The last thing he needed now was more people knowing of Vegeta and Radditz's true origins. "You must promise to keep this to yourself, Victor." He warned quietly.

Victor nodded his assent and Jock returned to his seat, his face grim with the memory, those hours that he had believed that Bulma was in danger were among the worst in his life. "Bulma was not supposed to return to Earth from Station Delta for some time, a fact you are fully aware of. What happened is that these two 'guests' were at the station and needed to gain entrance quickly to Earth, bypassing the normal protocols in place, for reasons not yet known to me. They took Bulma 'hostage' and forced their way in."

Victor made sure that he displayed the right amount of shock in the statement, cleverly hiding his joy at such a discovery. "And then?" He asked eagerly.

"Well, with my influence they got through and then arrived here with Bulma who was looking worse for wear. Apparently she had been part of the plot and had entered into some sort of relationship with the more senior man, Vegeta." Jocks face took on a slightly disgusted expression at Vegeta's name passing his lips. He still did not trust the surly prince and his intentions towards Bulma. "I think that they will be here for a while at least." He fixed his glassy gaze on Victor once again. "As I said, Victor keep all this information to yourself otherwise there could be far reaching ramifications for Bulma and this company, okay?"

"Agreed. You look like you need to take the weight off your feet, Jock. Will you be in tomorrow?" Victor asked lightly, his excitement at such facts being laid at his feet barely suppressed.

"Of course." Jock replied, raising himself stiffly from the chair and exiting the office, eager to get into the shower. As he entered the house, a small shadow of a doubt about Victor's reliability in keeping his mouth shut fluttered in his mind, but he brushed it off, putting it down to tiredness.

In his office, Victor poured a celebratory glass of whiskey and downed it in one gulp, the liquid burning his throat, a slightly deranged smile on his face.

Now he had something to work with to get Amanda back.

Bulma had continued to cling to Vegeta's warm body for several more moments after her startling confession before finally releasing him and rifling through her bag to locate some clothing for herself. Not only was she feeling chilled from being quite nude, Bulma was also feeling extremely self conscious and vulnerable. The words that she had promised herself not to utter aloud had slipped out in the heat of passion, and she could sense that Vegeta was confused and bewildered about her confessing of her deep feelings for him. Bulma turned her back on Vegeta momentarily to dress and to avoid his piercing gaze, which was locked on her eyes, forcing fear of rejection into her very being, reminding her all to sharply of her failed love affair with Yamcha.

"Don't turn your back on me Bulma." He gruffly muttered as he stepped forward and somewhat roughly turned her back to face him, his strong hands gripping her upper arms almost painfully, her body still a little weak from the harrowing ordeal, his normally impassive proud face displaying raw emotion, tail lashing urgently behind him showing his outward frustration. "Do you not believe what I said to you?"

Bulma wanted to drag her eyes away from Vegeta's, but found that it was impossible. She closed her eyes for a moment before replying, for once in her life finding it hard to speak her mind. "I do believe you Vegeta." She replied softly, the words almost inaudible. She opened her mouth to continue, but Vegeta stalled her, firmly but gently placing a single finger on her lips.

"Did you think that my bond to you is just one of convenience, for sating my lust?" Vegeta whispered hoarsely. "Like that of your former mate? Is that it?" He moved his finger to allow Bulma to speak noting with hidden relief that some of the tension had faded from her body. Bulma fixed her blue eyes on him, tears sparkling in their depths. "He burned me, Vegeta. I professed my love for him and he discarded me like a cheap whore. I was afraid that you would do likewise."

Vegeta pulled Bulma closer, burying his hands in her hair and resting his face against her cheek as he replied, his warm breath caressing her neck deliciously. "The bond between us is strong, Bulma, never doubt that. My people never displayed affection as your race does so freely, but I understand the importance of your need to do so. I will leave you only if I die." Bulma fiercely gripped his shoulders, knowing that such a statement from Vegeta was a very rare occurrence. "As I will you." She whispered back, knowing that it was a possibility with Freeza on the warpath.

Vegeta nuzzled her neck, feeling the by now familiar rush of warmth envelope his entire body and he suppressed his base urges. He murmured hoarsely as he felt Bulma's own desire rise to take his mind of his growing arousal. "We go now. Speak with your Kami if you must. There is much to be planned." Bulma nodded mutely, faintly feeling bereft when Vegeta's warmth left her neck.

Once they were dressed, Vegeta and Bulma decided it was time to leave the confines of Kami's palace, Vegeta for one made the vow that he would never return, no longer trusting the Guardian of Earth to not place Bulma in the way of danger ever again. He grudgingly allowed Bulma to speak with the aged deity for several moments, waiting next to her small jet impatiently, not knowing if Bulma was planning to return to her home or go in search of Goku.

Bulma bowed low before her teacher, reverently displaying her respect for all he had done for her. "Thank you for everything, Kami. I am only sorry that I will not be able at this time to continue following your instruction."

Kami extended a wrinkled bare arm and rested it on her shoulder for an instant, squeezing almost affectionately, pleased at her almost full recovery, which would take a few more days as long as she rested up. "You have been an excellent student, full of promise. I regret your leaving also, but must accede to Prince Vegeta's wishes in this matter." He smiled at Bulma's confused face at his statement. "He has achieved much and now the Earth has more hope than before. Keep practicing and you will master your powers in time. But remember, be cautious. Your mind would not be able to take such strain again if you were to push yourself too far." Bulma flushed, remembering her eagerness to push herself to the very brink, placing herself in great danger with her overriding stubbornness.

" I must tell you this one thing, Bulma. Prince Vegeta is not defeating Freeza for the Earth or just for purely selfish vengeful reasons. He is doing this for you."

Bulma gasped, barely able to believe that Vegeta would reveal that, to Kami of all people.

Kami slightly misinterpreted her gasp, thinking that she was not aware of Vegetas feelings and the power of their bond. "Yes, for you." His black eyes fixed on Bulma's increasingly agitated mate and dipped his head in respect to Vegeta before turning back to Bulma. "Prince Vegeta's connection to you is very strong, and he will do anything within his power for you, as I am sure you would for him."

Bulma glanced at the scowling Prince, waiting by her jet, a small smile gracing her fine features momentarily. "I would." She replied simply. "We must leave now. Vegeta will need time to adjust to his new powers and I have a feeling that Goku will want to be the first to benefit from how he ascended." She bowed once again. As Bulma was bent over, Kami slipped a necklace around her slender neck, surprising her.

Kami smiled as Bulma fingered the necklace, studying the small gold pendant with curiosity, it's fine workmanship fully on display in the early afternoon sun. "You, Prince Vegeta and the others have a great weight resting on your collective shoulders. Much needs to be accomplished to meet Freeza head on and I grudgingly agree with Prince Vegeta in that you should leave." He looked at Bulma's puzzlement at the pendant he had so graciously given her and told her what its symbolism was, his pride at being her teacher shining through in his face. "It's a small symbol showing what you have inside, Bulma, fighting spirit. Never doubt your abilities, ever." With that, Kami turned and walked away, back into his palace, the goodbyes now over.

"Thank you." Bulma whispered to Kami's retreating back "For having faith in me and Vegeta." She slowly walked over to her small jet, blatantly ignoring Vegeta's annoyed countenance and climbing in. Vegeta snapped his eyes to her neck where the pendant was swinging, vaguely wondering about it's significance.

"Well?" Bulma queried, raising a fine eyebrow at Vegeta's lack of movement. "Or do you want to stay here?"

Vegeta scowled back with a disgusted look at the craft Bulma had crawled into. The limited space inside reminded him of his pod that he had been forced to use during his time in Freeza's employ. "Feh, as if I would get inside that thing." He grunted back, not wanting to be sucked into being embarrassed by her teasing manner. "It's barely adequate for use." Bulma snaked out a hand and roughly grabbed one of Vegeta's muscled arms and tried to pull his resisting body in by force. Vegeta pulled back slightly, loosening her grip so Bulma just let go. "Fine. I hope that you have enough energy to follow me, this jet is fast. I don't want you to lose your way now." She smirked, closing the door in his face and powering up the engine, watching his expression like a hawk. She was not bluffing when she said that the jet was fast. This was no craft straight off the production line, Bulma had modified it personally. Vegeta merely looked back at her, a bored look on his face, confident that Bulma would not be able to outstrip him in such a primitive contraption.

"See ya!" Bulma yelled above the high keening scream, a playful look on her face as the jet shot forward, disappearing quickly in the sky. Vegeta chuckled to himself as he powered up, locking his senses on Bulma's faint energy trail, eager to play her little game and also start testing his new found power. He concentrated for a moment, his power rising until the golden flames surrounded him; he then levitated into the sky and surged forward, hot on her trail, a predatory grin on his face. Because when he caught up with her, there would be no mercy.

Amanda and Chi Chi were by now lying outside the Ox Kings vast home on Mt Paozu enjoying the warm rays of sun caressing their faces as they were finally able to take a breather from the big clean up. Amanda had learned so much from her long conversation with Chi Chi, she had never realised that the Earth had been under threat so many times, mostly due to her up till now sheltered lifestyle or that the Briefs family was so closely connected to the Son family. She stretched out like a cat basking in the warmth, eyes closed just enjoying her self imposed time out from work.

Chi Chi sat up and locked her eyes on her husband, no longer discussing battle plans but rather playfully sparring with his older brother, with Piccolo looking on with a bare hint of amusement himself, her full red lips curling with a grin at Goku's playfulness. Such times would be few and far between soon and they needed to soak up the opportunities as they came about. Squinting into the distance, Chi Chi could see Gohan and her father return from their walk, Gohan running excitedly towards the wrestling Goku, somehow aware that he too needed to spend as much time as possible with his father, just in case.

Radditz struggled to release himself from the powerful head lock Goku had trapped him into, elbowing Goku in the gut several times before realising the futility of such an action, and feeling embarrassed that his little third class brother was stronger than he. Snapping his eyes up, Radditz spied Amanda lazily stretched out on the thick grass next to Chi Chi, his concentration on breaking the headlock hampered by the sight of her long tanned bare legs now devoid of her stockings, a faint sheen of sweat making them shine in the sun. With a grunt of impatience at his lack of progress, Radditz stood, rising to his full 7 feet and flipping Goku over his head, finally breaking the strangle hold. Goku landed with a loud thump in the grass and rolled away from Radditz who was now on the attack, nimbly getting onto his feet and then sweeping a leg towards Radditz's legs, knocking his brother to the ground. "Enough!" Growled Radditz, now no longer interested in his current activity, eager to indulge in sparring of a different kind with the so far oblivious Amanda, shaking dust from his long hair.

"Fine." Grinned Goku, helping Radditz to his feet, seeming to know full well what Radditz had on his mind despite his outward naivety. With their discussion about tactics well and truly on hold until Vegeta returned from Kami's lookout, there really wasn't anything else they could do but wait and besides, Gohan and the Ox King had returned. Piccolo had by this time moved well away from the house and was as usual hovering in meditation in a quiet spot, hoping to avoid any contact for a while, waiting to see if Vegeta would come. Gohan had raced past him, recognising his teachers need to be alone and barrelled into his fathers waiting arms, his hair ruffled affectionately by Goku's strong fingers.

Radditz looked on in slight disbelief at the affection between father and son, a faint memory of Bardock coming to him. Bardock had not been the most outwardly caring of fathers like many Saiyan men, but Radditz had always known that his father was proud of him, even if he never said it. Something within Radditz bubbled up, and he was feeling the sudden atavistic desire to have a brood of his own brats and soon. If he managed by some miracle to live through the impending clash with Freeza, then Radditz had every intention of staying on the blue and green planet known as Earth, living out the rest of his days with his mate and any children they had. His daydream of being enveloped by children of his own blood; was broken by the soft sound of Chi Chi's clothing rustling as she got up from the ground wearily and walked towards Goku, a sly smile on her face. Gohan yawned as Goku lifted him into his arms and strode towards the house, to put Gohan to bed for a quick sleep before dinner-time, one arm snaking around Chi Chi's trim waist and drawing her close, then letting his fingers tangle into her shining raven hair, seemingly oblivious to anyone around them.

Radditz took his cue to stealthily move towards an unaware Amanda whose eyes were still closed against the sun, her hands laced behind her head, which pulled her blouse up slightly and exposed her flat stomach to the sun. She tensed slightly as she felt a warm hand gently graze her bare skin, before relaxing again knowing it was Radditz perpetrating one of his gentle 'attacks' on her person. "Bored, hmmmm?" She mumbled as his lips replaced his fingers on her belly, dropping tiny kisses as he went. "How could you tell?" He purred back, Amanda's long fingers reaching out to tangle in his hair, bringing him closer.

"Mmmm, can't tell you that." She whispered back as Radditz's lips captured her own in a soft tender kiss.

"I suppose I'll have to torture you for the information then." He smirked in trademark Saiyan fashion, breaking from the kiss and looking down upon her, pleased to see the desire grow in her eyes. Amanda aggressively grasped at Radditz's neck and pulled him down for another kiss, this time forcing her hot tongue into his mouth, moaning with pleasure as he reciprocated, running his hands up her body, delving quickly under her blouse to cup her breasts, which were to his mind anyway annoyingly encased in satin, preventing skin to skin contact.

"Radditz?" Amanda asked, a question she needed the answer to on her lips as she looked into Radditz's lustful eyes.

"Yes?" He murmured, taking her earlobe between his teeth and nipping lightly with his sharp teeth, while continuing to stroke her breasts.

"What will happen when you finish your mission here?" She asked, almost not daring to hear an answer. "Will you leave here, go back into space?"

Radditz stiffened at her query, and ceased his erotic torture abruptly, making Amanda feel as if she had done something terribly wrong by asking. He shifted slightly and lay next to Amanda, taking her into his arms gently, stroking her hair. "I had not thought of that when I first arrived here, on this planet." He whispered. "In any other circumstance I would be leaving on the successful completion of my mission." Amanda tensed at his softly spoken words and attempted to pull away, now believing that all they meant to each other was nothing but a lie, not trusting her instincts and not able to sort through the jumble of thoughts in Radditz's mind. Radditz countered by using his strength to pull her back, and cupping her chin so that she would look at him. "Let me finish first," He growled as he looked deep within her teary jade eyes and stroked her tensed jaw. "But after joining with you and today, after meeting my new family, the situation has changed. I don't want to leave here, I could not without you. I have no home to call my own and this planet, this Earth, is now where I want to remain living out the rest of my days with you by my side."

Amanda could not answer after hearing such an impassioned outburst, instead letting her joyful tears talk for her. "Don't cry, little one." Crooned Radditz, taken aback by her change in emotional state, "I said I would stay for you."

"I, I know." She stammered, kissing his worried face feverishly. "That is the most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me, ever."

Radditz let a smile break out on his face, a genuine smile. "That's not the only wonderful thing I can do for you." He purred as he rolled himself on top of Amanda and began to kiss her neck, his large gentle hands busying themselves with removing her clothing, oblivious to the expression of revulsion from the disgusted Namek meditating nearby.

By now well ahead of Vegeta, Bulma swooped and rolled her jet, blowing away the cobwebs; happy to be alive, happy to be in love, even if the one she loved could not express the words. It didn't matter to Bulma whether he ever uttered those words, it was more than enough that Vegeta had cried for her and would never leave her. Bulma fingered the pendant given to her by Kami, proud that he, the Guardian of Earth felt that she had a fighting spirit deep inside herself.

Still, there was the little matter of what would happen next if Vegeta was successful in his endeavour, that of defeating his former master, Freeza and the very thought made Bulma furrow her brow in consternation. The same question plagued her once again as she sighted Mt Paozu in the distance.

Would Vegeta want to explore the stars above and conquer with his newfound power, or would he want to stay right there on Earth, living out a peaceful existence?

Privately, Bulma fervently hoped that it was the former, of course without the conquering part. Her life had been altogether too boring on Earth, which had been the precise reason for leaving in the first place. Her teenage adventures with Goku and the gang had awakened a thirst for new experiences in her blood and she was damned if her and Vegeta's life together would become banal by too much soft living and doing mundane things.

That is not what I want for my life….

Behind Bulma and coasting along in the jet stream, Vegeta was testing his new Super Saiyan speed, finding it child's play to keep up, enjoying the feel of raw, unadulterated power at his fingertips. He couldn't wait to see the look on Radditz and Goku's faces when he flexed his power in front of them, reminding them both of his undoubted position as Prince of all Saiyans.

Vegeta's mind drifted back to Bulma and her fear of rejection. He was in no way like her former mate, the scarred man, Yamcha. The bond was everything, ensuring his fidelity and protection. She was strong in her own way, outwardly looking like a fragile angel but with a spine of pure steel. It was these very qualities that attracted him, making Vegeta desire Bulma more everytime he looked upon her.

When she had flared her ki and the dark dragon manifested itself behind her in Kami's palace it intrigued and in some small way frightened him, not knowing of her full potential until that moment. Vegeta was very much looking forward to some time alone with Bulma to fill in the gaps in her memory that her short coma had induced. He had overcome so much and defeated his inner demons with her help, laying to rest the torments of his mind, one by one, achieving one of his goals and preparing himself for the next.

Vegeta was hearing Bulma's every thought; they were after all connected by the mind. He was well aware that Bulma had yet more questions to pose to him about his plans, even though he had not thought any further than his battle with Freeza, but it pleased him immeasurably that she would give up her life on her home planet to be with him, a self- confessed murderer of worlds. A decision would have to be made about their future together and he knew that it was a distinct possibility that he might not survive.

I can't allow that to happen, no matter what.