"Good morning, Mr. Roshi."

A white-bearded, elderly man nodded to the cheery couple. "Hello, Mr. Son. Hello, Miss King."

Strolling arm in arm into the general store manned by the wiry old man behind the counter, the couple lost their happy countenance as they exchanged a wary glance. The odd hint of distress they noted in the air, not just from Mr. Roshi, but the other patron standing in the store as well, slightly alarmed them.

Chi-Chi shrugged it off to smile at the others. "That was a fine party last night, wasn't it?"

"Well, I suppose..." Mr. Roshi frowned as he removed his hat and held it snug against his chest, before meeting Goku's eyes with a solemn expression. "It's too bad about the Brief girl, though."

"Bulma?" Goku asked.

Chi-Chi squeezed Goku's hand tightly as she gasped. "What's wrong with Bulma?"

"Ah." Roshi shook his head with a downcast gaze, "so you haven't heard."

Goku knit his brows tightly. "Heard what?"

"Goku," the other store patron stepped forward, bowing his bald head somberly, "Yamcha was just here. He told us that Bulma...well she..."

"Out with it, Krillin!" Chi-Chi yelled at the short, reluctant man.

"I'm afraid Bulma Brief is in bad shape." Mr. Roshi finally said. "When she failed to wake this morning, the Briefs let her sleep at first."

Krillin nodded. "The party was late last night, after all."

Mr. Roshi's frown deepened. "But then-"

"When Mrs. Brief went to wake her," Krillin said, "she was extremely pale and wouldn't wake up."

Chi-Chi and Goku looked at one another with suspicious concern.

"Pale?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Krillin," Goku said as he placed a hand on Chi-Chi's shoulder, "what do you mean she wouldn't wake up?"

"Yamcha says she's in a bad way, Goku." Krillin grimaced remorsefully. "It doesn't look good."

Chi-Chi clutched Goku's arm. "Goku!"

"We need to go." Goku told the other two with a hurried nod before he raced to follow his panicked fiancé, who was already out the door to see her ailing friend.

At the Briefs residence, Mrs. Brief sat vigil by her daughter's bedside. The usually beautiful young woman was unconscious, barely breathing, and aside from the vibrancy of her blue hair, had turned nearly colorless.

The man who was both her father and doctor took special care to diagnose her, but Dr. Brief could find no reasonable cause for her ailment. The one thing he did find, aside from a gross loss of blood, was a strange set of puncture marks on her neck. As he puzzled over those wounds, a knock at the bedroom door alerted the concerned parents.

When Dr. Brief grumbled a response to the knock, the reply from the other side of the door was, "Dr. Brief, more visitors asking about Miss Bulma."

Dr. Brief never removed his eyes from Bulma as he hollowly called through the door, "Tell them we are doing everything we can."

"They are asking to see her, Sir." The servant paused. "It is Miss King…with Mr. Son."

Mrs. Brief's head whipped towards the door. "Well, send them in!"

"Yes," Dr. Brief muttered as he briefly met his wife's gaze, "yes, send them in."

Mrs. Brief sighed as the thumping of retreating footsteps could be heard outside the door. She looked forlornly at her sick daughter as she reached a hand to stroke a cascading lock of Bulma's hair from her face. "Oh, Bulma."

The door thudded open with a loud bang. "What's wrong with Bulma?"

"Chi-Chi!" Mrs. Brief called as she stood to greet the incoming woman, who was followed closely by her fiancé.

Chi-Chi grasped both of Mrs. Brief's hands in hers. "How is she?"

Mrs. Brief looked to her husband, who shook his head sadly.

"Does this have anything to do," Chi-Chi asked, "with her looking unwell yesterday?"

"I think so." Mrs. Brief answered sadly.

Dr. Brief nodded. "The cause of her ailment escapes me, but these strange punctures," he indicated Bulma's bite mark with his hand, "seem to be at the root of all this."

Chi-Chi followed his gaze and cupped her hand around her mouth. "I'm so sorry. I should have said something."

Goku rubbed a soothing hand up and down Chi-Chi's back. "What are you talking about, Chi-Chi?" He shook his head. "You couldn't have known this would happen. We all saw Bulma yesterday. She was perfectly fine last night!"

"Not yesterday morning, though." Dr. Brief argued.

As Mrs. Brief's tears readily flowed, Chi-Chi teared and turned to bury her face in Goku's chest.

Dr. Brief sighed. "I should have had a look at her yesterday morning." He glanced sadly at his despondent wife. "Maybe then-"

"But what's wrong with her?" Goku asked with frustration.

"I-I don't know." Dr. Brief admitted. He opened his mouth to speak further, but stopped as the words caught in his throat and his wife picked up where he left off.

"My husband says she might not make it through the night."

"What?!" Goku and Chi-Chi simultaneously cried.

"I've given her a transfusion," Dr. Brief said, "but she's lost so much blood. There's just not enough-"

"Dear," Mrs. Brief sniffled, "why don't we let Goku and Chi-Chi have a moment alone with Bulma?" She looked sadly at said couple, who breathed in awe at the request. "She shouldn't have guests here for long, but they've been such good friends to her that I think we should give them a moment before we leave Bulma to recover undisturbed."

Dr. Brief grimaced dubiously, but nodded. "Alright, Dear."

"Please," Mrs. Brief said as she stood from her seat and faced the young couple, "take your time. I know Bulma would be happy to know you came to see her." Mrs. Brief hiccupped a sob before heading towards the door to join her consoling husband.

When the older couple closed the door, Chi-Chi and Goku both stared speechlessly at their pale, deathly-looking friend. Bulma had always been a beauty, and strangely, even with the pallor of her skin and the sunken blackness surrounding her eyes, she almost looked more beautiful. Chi-Chi was the first to approach the bedside. She took the seat Mrs. Brief had occupied earlier, gently placing a hand on Bulma's shoulder.

Goku swallowed nervously as he watched his fiancé address her dying friend.

"Bulma, you have to pull through this. You have to!" Chi-Chi inhaled sharply as she stifled a sob, "whatever happened to you, I know you know something about this. You know what happened to your neck. Whatever your secret is, it's not worth dying over."

Bulma inhaled a deep, wheezing breath, filling her lungs as soon as Chi-Chi stopped speaking. "Ch-Chi-Chi…"

Goku's eyes shot wide open in alarm. "Bulma!"

"Bulma?" Chi-Chi smiled hesitantly as her eyes brimmed with tears.

Bulma's eyelids slowly pulled back to open just enough to peer sidelong at her teary-eyed friend as she addressed her in a hoarse, yet confident voice. "I think it is."

Chi-Chi furrowed her brows in confusion, before looking to Goku, who shrugged back at her with the same look on his face. "What, Bulma? What is?" She asked.

Goku moved swiftly towards the door with the intentions of alerting her parents. "Chi-Chi, keep her talking!"

As he flew through the door without awaiting an answer, Bulma's eyes remained fixed on Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi frowned attentively at her frail friend.

Bulma smiled wryly. "You said my secret…isn't worth dying over."

Chi-Chi contorted her brows in confusion, before balking incredulously at Bulma as realization struck her. "What?! Bulma-"

"No one but you can know about this, Chi-Chi," Bulma warned with a glower, "but after the party…I slipped away into the gardens…to see Prince Vegeta."

As Chi-Chi processed Bulma's implication, Bulma smirked to prove that Chi-Chi was thinking along the correct lines.

"Bulma! You didn't!" Chi-Chi gasped, slapping the mattress a little harder than intended.

Bulma winced in pain from the disturbance as Chi-Chi grimaced apologetically.

"I did. That's my secret. I am happy to keep it." Bulma narrowed her eyes. "I am only trusting you with this, no one else. Don't even tell Goku."

Chi-Chi frowned as Bulma's eyes slid closed and head pressed deeper into the pillow. Chi-Chi averted her gaze from Bulma as she gnawed the inside of her cheek. She couldn't keep a secret like that, could she? Bulma could be dying. But if she did die, would Chi-Chi be able to live with knowing her last act as a friend was betraying her friend's confidence? Then again, Chi-Chi pondered, what relevance could a single sexual encounter have with a mortal loss of blood? Bulma had to be delusional in her suffering to be making a connection between her tryst with the prince and her odd wound which seemed connected to her condition. She wished Bulma had truly given her something that could help her get better, though.

Chi-Chi shook her head decidedly as she looked at Bulma again. "I won't tell anyone, Bulma." As her friend opened her eyes with an appreciative smile, Chi-Chi glared. "But you better pull through this."

Before Bulma could respond, Goku came barging into the room with her parents.

Dr. Brief immediately fell to his knees by the bedside. "Bulma!"

"Bulma, you're awake, sweetheart!" Mrs. Brief clasped her hands together.

"Mom, Dad." Bulma smiled weakly. "Sorry to have worried you. I'll be fine."

"So you say." Goku said in a light-hearted, yet scolding tone.

Bulma narrowed her eyes at Goku as she noted the way he was looking at her. It was as if he knew that she was not as fine as she let on, though no one else seemed to be seeing through her act. Maybe that was just her imagination.

Dr. Brief checked Bulma's pulse with two fingers against her neck. "You won't be fine yet, young lady." He scolded, "You're going to need another transfusion."

When Bulma groaned at the news, Mrs. Brief sat on the bed. "Don't worry, Dear," She patted a hand over Bulma's hand laid limp atop the covers, "I won't leave your side tonight. We'll make sure nothing happens to you and you fully recover from this."

"That's right." Chi-Chi crossed her arms and nodded indicatively towards Dr. Brief. "Don't you even think of disobeying your doctor's orders."

"I won't," Bulma laughed hoarsely, "alright?"

"Alright." Mrs. Brief patted Bulma's hand with a fond smile. "We'll let you get some rest now."

Everyone watched Bulma as her eyes slid closed again, the exhaustion clearly still overwhelming her as she fell into another sleep. Mrs. Brief rose from the bed slowly as Chi-Chi and Goku reluctantly headed for the door. Dr. Brief stayed by Bulma's bedside, monitoring her condition as she slept.

"Thank you both," Mrs. Brief said, "for coming. Truly. Thank you." She clasped both Goku's and Chi-Chi's hands in hers before allowing them to depart through the opened door.

Goku sighed as he met Chi-Chi's gaze just outside Bulma's room. "I don't like this."

"What?" Chi-Chi asked in confusion. "Bulma's going to heal, Goku. Whatever this is, she's recovering. You saw it."

Goku bit his lip as his eyes clouded with doubt. "I don't know. I have a bad feeling."

Chi-Chi scoffed dismissively as she looped her arm through Goku's and led him towards the stairs. "Bulma is going to be fine." She said confidently as they descended. "Besides, she has the best doctor by her side and the wealthiest parents a girl could ask for. Anything she needs is at her disposal. There is no reason she shouldn't be able to pull through some mystery ailment."

Goku sighed in defeat before gazing sadly up the stairs, towards the closed door where Bulma slept. "I guess you're right, Chi-Chi. Dr. Brief must know what he's doing and Mrs. Brief is looking out for her."

Goku frowned deeply to himself as they continued to exit the Brief residence in silence. As reasonable as it seemed to believe that Bulma would survive the near-fatal illness, he knew something far more sinister than an illness was at play. He just had no idea what that was, and no way to warn anyone or do anything about it. Somehow, though, he just knew.

Bulma was not going to survive. She would be dead by morning.

The castle was again cloaked in darkness. The night hour had arrived. Vegeta sighed as he stepped out of the cover of cool soil, already noting the presence of his servant at the top of the stairs.

He brushed himself off and turned to his wardrobe, which was now furnished with his extravagant attire from Vegetasei. "What news tonight, Nappa?"

Nappa slowly padded down the stairs as he spoke. "There was a buzz, Master, of the Brief girl being struck ill."

Vegeta lowered his chin and smiled to himself. When he looked up to meet Nappa's gaze as his servant arrived at the landing, Nappa's eyes met his with a look of understanding. Vegeta huffed and proceeded to pull a set of attire from the wardrobe to dress for the night.

"Master, what will become of the Briefs girl?"

Vegeta disrobed and tossed his discarded clothing on a nearby table, before reaching for his new clothes. "What is it to you, Nappa?" He raised his brows curiously. "You have some affection for the woman?"

"N-no! I just-"

"Then you'd serve me better by asking less questions."

Nappa opened his mouth to respond, but when Vegeta turned a warning glare on him, he snapped his lips shut, only opening them again to utter, "yes, Prince Vegeta."

"Good," Vegeta groaned as he pulled his arm through a sleeve and wrapped the rest of the shirt around himself, "because tonight, she will die."

Nappa's eyes widened in fear. "Die?"

"Yes," Vegeta's lip stretched across his face into a wicked smile, "to be reborn again."

"Re-reborn, Master?"

"Humanity is overrated, Nappa." Vegeta said as he finished dressing by finally pulling a pair of boots over his feet. "Be thankful you're not one of them anymore."

As Nappa furrowed his brows in puzzlement, Vegeta proceeded for the stairs. It was time for him to venture from the basement once again, and claim his prize. The woman would make a nice addition to his collection. He was tiring of the band of lowly vampiresses that followed him around, who no doubt would be arriving to join him in this city shortly. He would tolerate their presence when they did arrive, but he had a strict set of rules for them to follow. Like with Nappa, their interference with his plans would not be tolerated. If they broke even a single rule, he wouldn't hesitate a second to destroy them, especially now that he had Bulma as a replacement option.

With those thoughts, Vegeta launched into the night sky, like he had done two nights ago. This time, he would be returning to the woman's bedroom, to finally finish what he had started. He flew through the night sky, morphing into a form in the night which no humans would recognize or even see coming.

Approaching the exterior of the fortress-like Brief home after a short flight, Vegeta shifted into something resembling a black cloud when he descended onto Bulma's balcony. As expected, she was asleep inside, with a woman sitting vigil over her. They always were, unless they had no one to care for them. Those lone humans were even easier targets. This was no challenge, though.

With a mental assertion of his intentions, Vegeta was able to telekinetically unlatch the interior lock of Bulma's balcony doors from outside. He assumed his human form as he recognized the older woman stirring from sleep at the sound of the opening, creaking doors. When the woman lifted her head, with a blond mass of hair lifting to expose her attractive, though aged face, Vegeta gracefully approached the bed, meeting her gaze with a smile.

Mrs. Brief incoherently cocked her head. "P-prince Vegeta?"

Vegeta maintained his smile and lowered himself to hover over her unconscious daughter. "Good evening, Mrs. Brief."

"Wh-wh-"

Vegeta looked up to lock his eyes with hers. "Sleep."

Before her mouth fell open and her eyelids fell shut, there was a momentary shiver of fear from Mrs. Brief. She could not resist his will, though, and despite her fear, she had to obey. When her head collapsed back onto the bed beside Bulma's lax fingers, Vegeta refocused his gaze on the pale, blue-haired woman who seemed to be surrounded by an ethereal glow from his perspective.

He could see her soul waiting for its release, calling to him, and it was all he could do to resist taking it right that second. But like every kill, he wanted to savor this one. So he absorbed those pouty lips as they slightly parted, those twitching eyelids framed by full lashes, and that pale, supple skin with now only a minute flow of blood pumping below the surface. His breathing hastened as he locked onto that last detail, the scent finally overwhelming his instincts to the point that he could no longer resist.

Ravenously, Vegeta sunk his fangs into the thin skin of Bulma's neck, rolling his eyes in pleasure when the delicious liquid soothed his throat. He sucked it down greedily, running his hands along the curves of Bulma's chest and waist as he feasted on her blood. When his thirst was finally satisfied, and Bulma's blood seemed to barely seep from her wounds any longer, Vegeta released his lips from her neck. He smiled with satisfaction when he pulled away to see the lifeless state of the woman before him. The slow pulse that had been throbbing in the veins of her neck had settled to absolute stillness.

When footsteps sounded in the hall, just outside Bulma's door, Vegeta turned hastily to leave through those balcony doors again. He took a second to re-lock the doors once he was out, just as Bulma's bedroom door was opening with a concerned doctor peeking into the room. Vegeta smirked as he dove off the balcony to return home for his rest before daylight would break, leaving the Briefs to their morbid discovery. He was satisfied with his accomplishment thus far, though he had a greater goal to accomplish here before he would return to Vegetasei.

The fun was only beginning.