Quick Note: Ok, just for those of you who do not know, this is the conclusion of the Surviving Together trilogy. I will try to be much more diligent will posting than I was with the last fic! So, without further ado, I hope you all enjoy!!

Surviving Together: Retribution

Chapter 1 - Resurrection

"Morning, beautiful," the burly man purred as he gently awoke his blue beauty with a tender caress of her cheek.

As her eyes slowly fluttered open, the younger woman felt a relaxing smile cross her lips as she gazed upon her lover. "Good morning to you as well," she greeted while gently pushing herself onto her elbows. "What time is it?" she questioned with a heavy yawn.

"Early," he whispered, while gently nipping her nose. "I would have let you sleep longer, but we will soon be landing on planet Frost. So you must begin to ready yourself, I want you to look your best."

With a sigh, his attractive mate frowned in confusion. "I still do not understand why," she pouted, "I doubt this emperor friend of yours will care whether or not I am with you. He most likely will not even notice me."

"Now there you are gravely mistaken, my dear." He repressed a knowing smirk, "I doubt his 'magnificence' will be able to take his eyes off of you. I know I barely can."

She blushed feverishly at the compliment, before finally agreeing, "If you insist." Rising from their bed, she then began heading towards their bathroom to do as her mate asked, but she did not make it far before two powerful arms encircling her waist stopped her abruptly. "Radditz," she protested weakly as he began caressing her neck with his hungry lips. "Come on, if you do not let me go, I will never be ready in time."

Nipping her neck, he finally released her with a disappointed groan. "Very well, Atae, but do not be too long."

"I won't," she promised before walking into their washroom and closing the door behind her.

Radditz exhaled as soon as she had left the room, and then allowed his body to collapse roughly atop of their bed. Closing his eyes he allowed his mind to consider all that was finally happening. His long awaited plans were finally coming to fruition, thanks to his breathtaking mate. Atae; the blessing he never in his most exotic dreams could have augured.

It still seemed like yesterday that he had stepped off of his ship, after a three-month voyage to the planet Namek, to collect the dragonballs to make his three wishes. Three wishes that had changed his life in a manner he had never expected.

She was supposed to be a means to manipulate his former prince. Vegeta's mate, the slave girl he was never allowed to touch. She was the Saiya-jin no Ouji's only weakness, and gods did he want to exploit it. After surreptitiously convincing the Nameks to summon their dragon, he had made his wish to bring the beauty to him, and then restore her life once more. In accordance with his demand, she had appeared before him, just as stunning as the last time he recalled seeing her. From her long flowing blue tresses to her milky white skin, her supple figure was perfectly intact. It took much of his strength to stop himself from taking her right then and there. But, he had restrained himself long enough to secure the completion of the third and most important wish that needed to be granted. Her memory had to be eliminated. It was the only way to ensure her bending to his will.

So it was then done, within seconds of his third wish being asked, the dragon had disappeared, and those bottomless blue eyes opened, shining with confusion. Radditz, of course, had been more than contented to help her better understand what had been happening to her. He spun lies about her being his mate, and after having been caught in a dangerous crossfire with his enemies, he had brought her to the peaceful planet Namek to recover. Why she failed to remember that which he was telling her, was a result of the amnesia she had suffered from head trauma received during the attack. She seemed skeptical at first, but having no basis for disbelief, she soon learned to trust in his lies.

And he had told many of them. Everything from the ever so romantic story of how he had saved her from an oppressive dictatorial prince who had used her body for only his own selfish pleasures, to her name, Atae, his gift, his godsend. The title had come so easily to him. It was truly a more worthy name than that which Vegeta recognized her by; Bulma. The change had been a marked improvement, though perhaps no change he could have made to her would have even been as astounding as that which she had altered within him.

It was amazing to think how his plan had gone so astray, how his intentions changed so quickly, so drastically. He wanted to use her, to ravage her night after pleasurable night, just for the satisfaction of bringing her desecrated body back to his undeserving prince in retaliation for all of the humiliations he had long ago faced. But, his plan had never come to pass. Everything had changed the moment those blue eyes swallowed him alive.

Perhaps it was these last ten years of solitude that had made him crave something more than a useless fuck, but the desire to have her completely willing was abundantly clear the first time she hugged him. Hugged him! No one had ever dared hug him in all of his life, but she did. Her fearful confusion compounded with the relief in having her consciousness back, had made her want to share her excitement with him after her awakening-after he had vowed his false promises of love and devotion.

It was as if she crumbled his rough exterior with minimal effort and brought him to a lust more possessive than any he had ever felt for a woman. He understood the presage at that moment; he would never let her go. It was only then Radditz could finally understand Vegeta's obsession with the little female. Though he could not pinpoint exactly what it was that made her so damn irresistible, he turned out to be just as susceptible as the ouji himself. Her soft touch, affectionate glances, and innocent words melted his icy heart to the point of irrationality. Those first few days aboard his ship, he had lavished her with all the necessities a being could ever want. He went out of his way to please her, though he had not the faintest idea why. He originally told himself this was the best way to earn her trust, to gain her loyalty, but gradually he found himself wanting so much more.

He had refrained from taking her to bed those following nights, or at least, taking her to bed in the sense of mating with her. She had slept by his side every night since her revival. He saw it as a protective measure, a beautiful woman as she should not be left alone for a moment aboard a ship of lustful unmated men. But, unlike with other women, something about the thought of her coming to him willingly was so much more enthralling than his simply seducing her. So he waited, and then finally, nearly one month after her restoration to life, she submitted to him. It was early morning when she had awakened him with the blissful news. In the middle of their enormous bed she knelt, dropping her long silken robe to unveil all he had waited to see.

"I am your mate, and I have unfairly denied you for too long. If you still desire me, you may have me."

Her words had sounded so prepared, as if she had long wanted to say them, but was unsure when the right time would be. He was more than pleased that the time was then. He had wanted her for so long, even years after the last time he had seen her on Freeza's ship, he could still feel all of the repressed desire he had held for her. He was more than ready to release it, which was exactly what he intended as he rose to his knees; and towering over her, he had begun to explore her body.

She seemed very nervous at first, most likely because along with her memories went any recollect of the feel of another being against her body. He had been looking forward to helping her relearn the art of mating, when their coupling was stopped abruptly by her. She had placed one hand against his chest, and swiftly twisted her head as she leaned over the side of the bed. He had tried to ask her what was wrong, but before he could, her ailment was made obvious as bile was released from her throat.

Any normal man would have taken the reaction personally, but he had known better. A few times prior he had caught her suffering from similar symptoms. She had insisted that they were merely the result of motion sickness, but he would accept the lie no longer. After cleaning her up, he brought her to the sickbay of the ship. It was then he learned that though her memory of her former lover was eliminated; she still carried a very real part of him inside of her.

Pregnant! Of all the contingencies to arise, that one was certainly the most detestable. Had he had any idea that by wishing back to life the woman, he was also wishing back Vegeta's offspring, he would have thought twice about his options. Radditz's first instinct was to have the child terminated, but after seeing the joy in the woman's eyes as she heard the news, he knew he would lose any future chance at her offering herself to him if he ordered the brat's death. Fortunately, however, he was never faced with the decision after the sound of six joyously whispered words tickled his ears.

"We are going to be parents!"

We; how soon he had forgotten that she believed he was her mate prior to her memory loss, so her natural assumption would be that he was the father of her child. And to make matters even more convenient, his crew believed the same lie since all were acting under the assumption that he had been mating with the beautiful woman since the night he had taken her aboard. Even when the child was born less than eight months later, no one questioned her paternity, the soft brown tail on the blue-eyed, blue haired female all but proved she was of his Saiya-jin descent.

She; now there was another shock. Only one in five successful Saiya-jin pregnancies would traditionally bear female offspring. He could hardly believe that she had, though he quickly determined it had been for the best. The girl was practically an exact replica of her mother, save for the tail of course. Virtually no trace of Vegeta in her appearance; it was better than he could have hoped.

"I am not sure why, but I think we should call her Bra. I feel very partial to the name, Radditz."

If he had been of a weaker race, he would have experienced a heart attack when she made that suggestion. Radditz was no fool; he had researched the events following her departure from Freeza's ship, to her arrival on Frost. Bra had been an alias she had used while on Merigh, he worried that perhaps the dragon had not been as successful in completely removing her memories as he had originally hoped. But being too fearful of arising suspicion, along with being unable to deny her anything, he agreed to the name. And, in a moment of insanity, he agreed to allow the cub a spot in their bedroom, a room that had seen no activity since before her arrival.

Once she had discovered she was pregnant, she rejected any further idea of coupling with him; afraid it would in some way harm the child. He had been reluctant, but a part of him experienced some sense of repulsion, knowing inside of her was the spawn of his enemy. He decided he could wait until the being was purged from her body.

Her pregnancy had been particularly difficult, he had expected as much once he learned the gender. There was a reason only twenty percent of Saiya-jins were females. So, her recovery time had of course taken longer than typical. It was just a few weeks ago the ship's physician informed him that she was once more physically able to couple with him. He was enthralled to be given the 'go ahead,' as it was, to finally have her. After so many long months of merely laying beside her, able to touch, but not mate, it was a torture unlike any other he had ever experienced, save for a few minor benefits.

Their time of celibacy had rather ironically fostered a more intimate relationship to grow between them. As bizarre is it would be for him to admit, he began to enjoy the late nights they stayed up talking. How absurd it seemed that he would grow to know the pleasure of a simple dialogue. Being able to express his feelings freely and openly had never been an option for the cold-hearted warrior. It went against everything he had ever believed in, everything his Saiya-jin heritage had taught him. But she made it feel right. She made him feel comfortable. And after a while, he began to believe she was learning to feel the same for him. And then when the night would finally come, when he could finally have her, he knew their coupling would be more intense than any casual sex experience he had ever had. But he was not yet to know, as fate had kept them apart once more.

After Bra's birth, Atae had refused to separate herself from her child until she was fast asleep. And then night after night, by the point 'their' child was finally put to rest, Atae would be too physically exhausted to mate with him. At first, though he was disappointed, he had accepted the excuse and her continued apologizing for her inability to have the strength to join with him. She had made it clear to him that her first priority had to be for 'their' brat. But what was once understandable had now become a nuisance. Who would have thought that a baby could cry for hours on end? Need to be fed so frequently? And permeate such a repugnant stench?

It was then Radditz had begun to hate the little inconvenience. The child was completely disrupting his life, and thoughts of ending its existence were once again itching his consciousness. But he of course refrained. No forgiveness would await him after killing his woman's child, so he was left with no other option than to wait, and wait, and wait. And so pitifully, to this day, the most he has had the privilege of, is feeling her perfect curves against his. Though they had basked in gentle caresses and passionate wars with their tongues from time to time, they had never completely joined.

But that, Radditz soon planned to change; for in mere hours they will be landing on her once home for a short time. Planet Frost; his rival's sanctuary and his soon to be resting place.

His fate was vastly changing, Radditz was certain. Soon he would blissfully witness his former prince's jealousy as he strolls in with his mate and cub-not, or course, that he would know them as such. 'Poor Vegeta still has no idea his lover is alive… and in my bed,' he thought with zeal, knowing the avarice would eat the bastard alive. Radditz knew because he was there before, he had once been the one denied the prize, but no more. He had the woman; and the strength now to reclaim his honor. He finally has the chance to out match his once better, in the arena of battle; man-to-man, warrior-to-warrior, Saiya-jin to Saiya-jin-correction Super Saiya-jin to Super Saiya-jin.

Rising from his bed, Radditz walked to the side of the room where 'his' sleeping daughter lay. Reaching out a gentle finger to stroke her cheek, he smirked. 'Soon little one, I will have all that belongs to your father, and so much more.'

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"How was that, Dad?" Trunks asked hopefully after he finished demonstrating a fighting technique he had just learned.

"It looked like shit," Vegeta responded bluntly, very much to the distress of his son. Plastering a smirk across his face, Vegeta placed a hand upon his heir's head as he added, "but then again, it looked like shit the first time I tried it as well."

Trunks sunken expression shifted to that of a smile as he listened to his father's rather awkward version of praise. "I will keep working at it; I know I will get it in no time!"

"Well, you had better. A member of the royal bloodline should produce nothing less than perfection," Vegeta reminded notably. "Now go get yourself cleaned up. Dinner shall be ready in one hour."

"Great, I am starving!" Trunks gave his stomach a quick rub before bidding his father adieu until dinner.

Once Vegeta was finally alone, he allowed himself a heavy seat upon the training room floor. Running his fingers through his unruly hair, he slowly closed is eyes anticipating the sentiment he was about to receive.

"You are doing well by that boy, he seems happier with everyday that passes," Garock offered quietly as he walked over to the hollow form of his emperor.

Vegeta slowly raised his head to acknowledge the elder man before him. "Well, that makes one of us."

The advisor sighed while taking a seat across from the disheartened man. "It has been a very long year, I know, but perhaps it is time for you to release your grief, Vegeta. You are still a fairly young man; you can not spend the rest of your life wallowing in misery-"

"And just what the hell do you expect me to do!?" Vegeta snapped irritably, "I have lost my mate, Garock. Do not expect me to move on. I could not eleven years ago when I first lost her; I sure as hell cannot now. So, save your concern for the boy, he still has hope."

"I believe you do as well," Garock suggested, "come now, sire. How would you feel if the situation was reversed? If you had given your life the day of Cooler's attack and she had only survived to die a little everyday in grief? You know that is not what you would have wanted for her, and this certainly is not what she would have wanted for you. By closing yourself off to the world, you dishonor her memory."

A low-pitched growl came from the younger man as he considered his elder's words. Yes, his mate had given her life in place of his. Yes, she no doubtedly would be angered to see the broken shell of a man he has become. But she would be selfish to expect more from him. He should have been the one to die that day, not her. Even though he knew her sacrifice was more logical than his, the sting was not subdued. The fact remained that if he had taken better care of her, protected her when he should have, her death would have never been the denouement. He would still have his mate, and his son would still have his mother, not merely a mediocre father.

Perhaps mediocre was a generous word. Vegeta had been for the most part useless the weeks and earlier months following Bulma's funeral. Her body had been placed in a mausoleum on the top level of the castle in a private room adjoining his. Garock had advised him that her vault should be embedded in the underground of the palace, not left as a shrine for the emotionally unstable man to cling to. But Vegeta had scoffed at the idea. His mate was as a cherub to him, she deserved to be raised on high for her eternal rest, not locked away in the underground of a cold drafty castle.

He had many times taken refuge in her new home. Many nights he had slept next to the marble tomb, as if she would be lonely without his warm body next to her cold grave. Many nights he had dreamed of her rising from her heavy tomb and coming to him, forgiving his failure to protect her, and then giving herself to him to mend his broken heart. But as with every night since that fated day, any vision of her was just that, a figment of his imagination.

Trunks had been the stronger of the two. He had helped Vegeta come back to reality as time moved on, distracting him with training, and political matters. Vegeta had been forced to at the very least continue going through the motions of life. But the compulsory experiences would have eventually become stale had he not had a strange moment of divinity almost three months after his lover's death.

To this very day, he had no clue what had happened to him, but in the dead of the night, he felt her. For a split second, he felt her existence. Moments later the feeling vanished, leaving him empty once more. But, a part of him seemed to regenerate after the experience, whether imagined or not, some deep part of him realized that what he had felt was some sort of sign that his once mate was still with him, wanting him to do exactly what Garock was suggesting. Not that he had any clue as to how to fulfill such a demand. "I still do not know what you expect of me," he said finally.

Garock took a long breath before offering a suggestion that he knew would anger his leader. "You could try to find someone who may be able to take your pain away as Bulma did."

Vegeta's eyes immediately widened as he realized what the elder man was suggesting. "I can not, will not replace her!" Vegeta jumped to his feet, his tone and mannerisms oozing resentment.

"I was not suggesting that at all," Garock explained as he rose to his feet. "I was merely trying to bring to your attention that even though you have lost a loved one, you do not need to continue through life without any companionship. There are many beautiful women in this universe, Vegeta, and even more with gentle hearts that are full of compassion. I know you do not want another mate, I would never suggest that you replace Bulma, but… But boys need mother figures in their lives, and men need the physical and emotional care that only the fairer sex can offer. It would not kill you to at least be open to the possibility of actively pursuing your own happiness."

Taking several moments to contemplate an answer, Vegeta finally offered calmly, "I will consider what you have said."

"Excellent," Garock nodded, thankful the younger man had at least agreed to regard his words of advice.

"Sire," a voice interrupted the pair as both turned to look at the short purple creature that carried a piece of paper in his hand.

"What is it, Keldor?" Vegeta raised a curious brow as he observed the nervous looking man.

"A ship has just landed on platform H16 without permission from the control room." The creature breathed heavily, clearly having run all the way from his station to tell him.

Vegeta raised a brow, not certain why he had been consulted for such a pointless matter. "So have a squadron arrest the violator; that is protocol."

"I know sire, and we attempted to do that, but he was too strong for us. He defeated three squads of twenty men in a matter of seconds."

"Impossible, no one besides the emperor and his son is strong enough to achieve such a feat," Garock reminded.

Vegeta, enticed by such a development, questioned, "Have you any idea who this being that has made such an entrance is?"

"Well," Keldor gulped nervously. "All he would tell us is that he was an old friend of yours and he would not leave until you came to speak with him personally."

The emperor chuckled; he could almost smell the impending battle in the air. "I doubt he is an old friend of mine, considering next to me is the only one I have," he gestured to Garock, "but if it is me he wants to see then so be it." Grabbing his cape, gloves, and armor, Vegeta quickly neatened himself up before ordering the smaller creature to lead him to docking bay H16, with Garock following closely behind.

It seemed he had a guest he did not want to keep waiting.

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Author's Note: Hm, so you all have a little idea as to what has been going on for the last several months. What will happen when Emperor comes face to face with a man he believes dead? And what about Bulma? Will seeing Vegeta ignite the forgotten flame within her? Find out next time…