As Vegeta kept flying north, he checked the radar again. Even when he zoomed it out, there was only the northern one that was closest. This puzzled him a bit. Apparently, the zoom feature only went out so far. It made sense, since you wanted to find the Dragonballs that were closest to you first...but Vegeta would have prefered to know where all 7 of them were right away. Then he could have planned where to go easier. Maybe he was just being impatient.

The air around him grew frigid, and he could feel ice forming on his skin and in his hair. He drew the zipper of his jacket up as far as it would go. Cold didn't really bother him as much as it did humans, but it was still unpleasant. He prefered heat over freezing. As he held the radar in his gloved hand, the signal continued to get stronger. He looked around, displeased. He was in the arctic now, and the entire place was covered in ice. There were mountains, but they were not much better than the ice, being coated with it. Rock or ice, it didn't matter. He would destroy it all to get to the Dragonball. When he was finally hovering over the glowing bleep on the radar, he realized that that was what he was going to have to do. It wouldn't usually be a problem, destroying things. The real challenge here was to keep the Dragonball intact. He knew that they were strong, though not unbreakable. They were made out of magical glass...but all in all, it was still glass. He would have to use enough power to break rock and melt ice, while still holding back enough to not harm the glass orb. He growled deep in his throat. This was supposed to be easy. It was only Dragonball hunting. His own children did this for fun. Apparently, they didn't have oceans and ice mountains standing in their way. This was only the second ball, too. He couldn't wait to see where the other ones would be. A volcano next? Or maybe one of the damn things landed on the moon?

As he gathered his energy, he realized that he had to protect the 6 star ball as well. Then there was the radar. How much could that handle before it fell apart? He vaguely remembered Bulma complaining about Goku's adventures, and how she had to keep repairing the radar, sometimes even making a new one. "He always kept it in his shirt," she said with a laugh. "Right where he was most likely to get punched by someone. Or he would fall from the sky and land on it." The radar he was holding now was a lot stronger than those first ones. Eventually, Bulma made them with the warriors in mind. Its casing was much thicker, and the insides were made with heavier, more solid parts. It did make it a little bulkier, but she had still managed to make it light enough to fit into a pocket without tearing a hole in it. He smiled to himself at her genius. The image of her face in his mind brought an extra burst of power in him.

When he was charged up enough, he held onto his ki tightly. This was going to be all about control. And he was very good at that. He focused on the spot where the Dragonball was, then slowly let his energy leave him. It burst from his right palm in a narrow purple light and hit the mountain like a laser. A drop of sweat formed on his forehead. Using ki was easy. Holding it back was the hard part. He gritted his teeth for more control. His plan wasn't to blow the ice mountain sky-high. It was to drill a hole into it. The Dragonball should be right behind that hole, and if his aim was precise, it would hit the rock wall inches above the ball, not into it. He was taking a serious gamble. If the Dragonball was going to be destroyed, this ki laser would be the perfect way to do it. When the hole was big enough for him to fit through, he stopped. He let out a breath and toned his ki down, like dowsing a flame. Then he flew closer, surveying the damage. The sudden blast in the mountain had caused an avalanche, but since the place was an ice wasteland, it didn't matter much. When he was almost to the hole, he noticed a change in his core temperature. He was starting to shiver. When a Saiyan started shivering, a human would be frost bitten unconscious. His core temperature was higher, (about 108 degrees fahrenheit) so the heat took longer to leave him. He guessed that now, since he was shivering, it had dropped to 104. That wasn't too dangerous yet. But if he let it get to the 90's, he would lose consciousness. His hands felt numb as he climbed into the oversized drill hole, into a dark cave of ice. He'd have to use more energy for light. Luckily, it wasn't the same scenario as the ocean, where he had to go Super Saiyan. This area was smaller, and would require only a ki orb. He gathered the energy quickly, but felt more heat sap out his body. Even forming a small ki ball cost him an extra degree in this climate. He stood for a moment, letting his eyes adjust. A tiny glimpse of orange stood out against the white ice. It was buried into the wall. About eight inches above it was the remains of his laser blast. The hole wasn't as big, since he had controlled it to only break through the ice and then dissipate. But there was still enough of a hole to let the cold air leak in. He knelt down next to the protruding Dragonball. He would have to melt the ice around it to get it out. If he tried to pry it, he could bring the whole mountain down on himself. Again, he had to be careful and precise. He scowled, getting the feeling that wherever Bulma was, she was laughing at him right now.

After a few minutes of slow melting, the ball came loose. It was the 2 star. When he touched it, he felt it work its magic on him again. He dropped it in his pocket like a hot coal. Now was not the time to be staring off into Bulma wonderland. He didn't want to freeze to death trying to bring her back to life. He gathered up his energy (noticing that it was a bit more difficult than usual) and blasted out of the hole. He wanted to get out of the area fast, but it also sapped more heat from him. Combined with the energy and the wind chill, his eyes were starting to feel heavy. He could feel ice forming all over his body. He put his numb hands in his pockets, and felt the 2 star ball through his glove. It was like a chunk of ice. Before he could fend it off, the memory came to him.

Darkness and warmth. His hands on her skin. The sounds of her breath. She seemed almost frightened at first, and he had slowed down. He was not the kind of man who connected fear and intimacy together. This had been his first time being this intimate with anyone. He had never so much as kissed a woman. However, the first time they were together hadn't involved that. Kissing came later on, after Trunks was born. For whatever reason, putting his mouth on her felt more personal than anything else.

He remembered vividly. Her body had been pressed against his, a silent plead. He had never known anyone to want him so much, and the idea spurred him on to higher levels of excitement. It was almost the feeling he got in battle, but much less violent. The act itself was a little violent, (you couldn't get much done if you weren't moving fast enough) but it still required much more control than anything he had ever done. Bulma was no wilting flower. She rose to the occasion, and it made him want to please someone other than himself for the first time in his life.

It had started when she found him in the shower. She was bold enough to walk right into the room, and bolder still when she took her clothes off and stepped in with him. At first, he had been too shocked to make her leave. Then, when she started touching him, he realized that he didn't want her to. They spent a while in there, exploring each other's bodies. When the passion got to where he could hardly stand it, he'd carried her into the dark bedroom and laid her on the bed. He could still recall how her body had curled into his. He hadn't really known what he was doing, but some animal instinct had driven him on. When they finally connected, he was amazed at how well they fit. It felt like puzzle pieces had snapped together. It terrified him. After they had finished, he didn't linger with her. They both separated, thinking their own thoughts. But they would be like magnets from now on. He wouldn't be able to resist her.

'Damn you, 2 star ball'. Vegeta thought. He hadn't wanted to think about that. However, it had served its purpose. He'd gotten his core temperature back. And the radar was beeping again, signaling a Dragonball that was far away from here. Somewhere much warmer.