Hey guys, the next chapter is finally here. Thanks for the positive reviews and know that things are winding down now. I wont keep you any longer from this next chapter, so go ahead and read.…...

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Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of the DragonBallZ characters used in this fanfic.

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Sacrifices

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"It can be either of the girls," Kakarot continued. "I mean, Chi and I have been taking the precautions necessary, but accidents can happen."

Vegeta looked at him in disgust. "I am not interested in knowing details about you procreating. Bulma and I have used precautions, too," he said with a shrug.

Kakarot and Vegeta turned to look at Raditz. The tall man raised his hands and took a few steps back, his mouth dropping open. "Don't look at me guys. Maron is on the pill and we even take that second step to preventing any accidents."

Vegeta turned to Kakarot. "Has your woman been acting peculiar? I mean, more than usual?" he asked.

"Hey!" Kakarot said in a warning tone. Then he thought about it. "Well, she's always been a neat-freak and all, but she has been sleeping more than usual. Wait a minute-..........." he trailed off and shook his head. "Bulma has been really emotional these past two weeks, too!"

Raditz nodded. "It's my understanding that pregnant women are really emotional," he quipped.

Vegeta glared at him. "And Maron was complaining about not fitting into her favorite skirt anymore," he said with a smirk.

The big man's eyes widened like saucers, Kakarot looked pale, and Vegeta was frowning. "We don't have time for this," Kakarot said as he snapped out of his trance and looked at his watch. "We'll resolve this when we are safe."

Vegeta and Raditz nodded and they began to walk out of the building towards the truck they were going to drive in. The three girls were standing outside, trying to look bored, but weren't really succeeding in the task.

Bulma sighed and walked over to Vegeta, while Chichi and Maron spoke with their boyfriend's. He looked up at her and kept quiet, getting ready for her to finally yell at him for leaving her to do something dangerous. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Please be careful. I want you back Vegeta. I want my father to meet you, and I want us to be happy," she whispered against his throat.

Vegeta wrapped his arms around her slim frame and buried his nose behind her ear to smell the scent of her perfume mixed with the scent of her hair, but underneath it all, he could smell her. He had spent the evening and part of the night before making love to her and showing her just how much she meant to him. He would always remember the scent of her skin, had grown used to it mingling with his own on his body. She was a part of him that he would cherish forever.

"I will. I want us to be..... happy. I want to be with you permanently. And I will come back because there is still a race pending between us," he whispered back.

Bulma smiled and nodded, squeezing her body to his as much as possible. "I love you," she said in an even more quiet voice. Barely enough for him to hear.

Vegeta smiled inwardly and leaned his head over to kiss her. He kissed her with so much feeling and passion, that she knew without him voicing it that he loved her just the same as she did him.

"I'll be waiting for you at the rendezvous point. Remember that you have to be there at noon or else the jet will leave with or without you guys," Bulma said as she walked with him towards the truck.

"If something goes wrong, I will contact you-..... don't argue with me. Something may go wrong and we have to take precautions for it. If it does happen, I want you to go. Don't come back for me. You are all taking the phones so that there will be no way to trace you, but I will have a walkie-talkie with me set to channel five."

"If you don't make it to the jet, promise that you will hide and then try to contact me later on so that I can help you get out of the country to go home with me," she said.

"I will," Vegeta said as he got into the truck with the other two men. "Get going now, and you also be careful. I don't want to find out that we will have to bust your asses out of jail for getting picked up by the cops."

Bulma laughed. "I'd say the same thing. All of you be careful."

They revved the engine of the car. "We will, B," Kakarot said as he waved.

"See ya later, doll," Raditz said before they drove off.

Bulma walked over to Chichi, and Maron, and 18 who had just arrived from giving her goodbye's to her brother and her little flame, Krillin. "We should get going," 18 said as she popped the capsule to the car they would be going in.

"Alright, lets pack things and get ready to go," Bulma said as she ran into the building to get the last things they needed.

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"How long before we get to the truck?" Vegeta asked through the walkie-talkie.

Raditz answered, "We should be coming up on it in three minutes. But we have a problem," he said slowly. "I am getting reports of a road block that is exactly two miles away on this interstate," Raditz said.

"Then we need to get this done before our two mile point is up. That way we can make a U-turn and go back to find a new route to get the truck to the boss," Vegeta said as he changed the velocity and took off faster.

Raditz followed behind them, but he had a really bad feeling. Bulma had been right when she had told that to Vegeta. "Don't you guys feel like something is kinda off?" Kakarot asked through the line.

"Don't start Kakarot. There is nothing wrong and we are gonna get out of this," Vegeta snapped. But something did feel off. Something wasn't right, but he didn't want to voice his thoughts. Bulma had been right.

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"Something's wrong," Bulma said as she looked at her watch and they waited at the airstrip. In thirty minutes they were scheduled to leave, and there was still no sign of the guys.

"Did you try using the walkie-talkie?" 18 asked.

Bulma shook her head. "We're too out of range for the signal. Do any of you know the route in which the truck was going?"

Chichi walked over with a map and placed it on top of the hood so that they could look at it. She pointed to a red line. "This is where they were supposed to boost the truck. Then they had to take this off road route to get to their boss."

"I'm going to see what's wrong," Bulma said as she strapped holster into her belt to hold her guns at her back. She was wearing a leather jump-suit made specially for riding bikes. She grabbed her helmet, popped a capsule she had had in her pocket and when the smoke cleared, there was a spiffy looking motorcycle standing there.

"Nice crotch-rocket," 18 said as she walked around it, surveying it. "Did you make your world famous adjustments to it?"

Bulma nodded. "Hell yeah. It can reach 150 in ten seconds with the little tweaks I gave it. I also installed some small NOS tanks. But it's a pretty small bike so I can't add too many things to it."

"Are you sure this is safe for you?" Chichi asked.

"It's safe for me, but I'm going alone. Chi it's best for you to just stay, and Maron you can't come because you're in a delicate state. Unbelievable; I thought you were on the pill," Bulma said with a shake of her head.

"What?" Maron asked, blinking her eyes wide. "I am so not pregnant!"

"Yes you are! I saw the pregnancy test in the bath room after you walked out," Bulma said with a frown.

"I'm telling you, I'm not pregnant! That test wasn't mine!" Maron shook her head.

"Then who is?" Bulma asked as she looked at her other two friends. "We don't have time for this right now, I have to go. Juu, you have to stay to take care of the explosives in case we need to use them. I will go alone because it'll be quicker and I can get away easier."

Chichi frowned. "Fine. We'll tell the pilot to be ready in case we have to take off in a hurry. And B?" Bulma looked at her. "We're not leaving without you. Now take care and be careful," Chichi said.

18 nodded in agreement. "Cells have longer signal ranges so we'll monitor the highways through Maron's lap-top and keep you updated."

Bulma fixed her hair into a tight bun and put on her helmet and got onto the motorcycle. "Alright, if the guys arrive and I've missed them, two-way me and I'll come back as soon as I can," she said as she revved the engine and sped off towards the highway.

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"Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Raditz yelled.

"What the hell is happening?" Vegeta asked as he took control of the truck and almost ran into the opposite lane. The driver was out cold and they were speeding at and incredible velocity.

"I have a shit-load of cop cars approaching us. I just don't know yet if they're after us or just going down to some other call. But the fact is that they are going to pass us in a matter of minutes," Raditz called back.

"Kakarot, get your ass off of the cargo and get in here now!" Vegeta yelled. Before they had gotten onto the truck, they had stopped and all trooped into one car and that had made things easier. Now Kakarot was outside on the cargo checking for any tracking devices.

"I'm getting some readings inside with the cargo. Vegeta, we never stopped to think that maybe this was all a trap set for us," Kakarot said through the phone.

"Mother fuc-.........." Vegeta let out a long string of curses and slammed his fist on the steering wheel. "Dump the cargo and let's go!" he yelled. "Just shoot it off, we can't risk stopping!"

Kakarot nodded and jumped down onto the space between the cabin and the cargo. It was virtually impossible to remove the cargo while the truck was in motion, but if they were caught, then he'd be sharing a cell with either Raditz, Vegeta, or some weirdo that would want to meet him in the shower.

"Bro, get away from the cargo hold, I'm about to dump it off the truck!" Kakarot yelled.

His brother sped the car and moved to drive in front of the truck. "Alright little bro, let it go and let's get the hell out of here!"

Kakarot removed the holds and had to shoot off the wires that held the cargo in place. He even burned his hand and a section of his arm because of the heated steel. The cargo fell of and tumbled down onto it's side, creating a huge road-block.

"I can hear fucking sirens!" Vegeta yelled.

"Yeah, I hear 'em too," Raditz called.

Kakarot maneuvered himself and jumped into the passenger seat of the truck. "What the hell are we gonna do?" he roared.

"We let it all go to hell and get out of here," Vegeta said. "Let's go to the airfield and get out of this country," he said as he changed gears and sped up.

"We're fucked," Raditz said over the phone.

"What's wrong?" Kakarot asked.

"We have been spotted and they're closing in on us. The fucking cops are waiting for us at every exit, even the one that leads to the airstrip," Raditz said.

"Kakarot, check the driver," Vegeta said.

The tall man did as told and they found his wallet in his jeans. Behind the wallet, there was a badge. "He's a cop. He's a fucking cop," Kakarot said.

"Then that means that they're still tracing this truck," Vegeta said.

"Vegeta!"

He grabbed the walkie-talkie at the sound of Bulma's voice. "What is it? Where are you?"

"I'm heading towards you right now. What the hell happened?" she asked.

"Go back! Get the hell to the airstrip and do it now! There are cops everywhere," he yelled at her.

"I know, but I'm not leaving without you guys. Dump the truck and lets go!" Bulma yelled back. She was approaching the huge truck quickly. When she arrived, she passed them and hit a U-turn. Then she sped up and caught up to the slowing truck.

Vegeta jumped off and Raditz stopped behind her. Vegeta glared at her. "Why the hell wont you ever listen to me?"

She took off her helmet. "You should know by now that I do what ever the hell I want," Bulma said saucily. Then she jumped into his arms. "I told you that there was something fishy going on," she whispered against his neck.

"We need to leave now," Raditz called from his car.

"Kakarot follow us with your brother. Get on," Vegeta told her as he got onto her bike. She got on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. They took off at top speed and Bulma told Vegeta of the back road she had taken to not get pulled off by the cops.

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Maron was typing furiously into her lap-top while Chichi paced the hanger. 18 was lounging on a chair, drinking iced tea, and she was looking at her watch impatiently.

"Shit," Maron cursed.

18's eyes narrowed. Maron rarely cursed, so it must have been something extreme. "What happened?" she asked.

"I broke a nail!" Maron whined.

Chichi and 18 looked at her incredulously and Chichi went back to pacing. "What is taking them so long?" she whispered.

"Oh my gosh," Maron whispered.

"What, another nail?" 18 asked flatly.

Maron jumped up and ran to get her phone. "No! The cops are near here. I'm getting at least ten cop cars and two choppers nearing the airstrip! I have to call Bulma and the guys to tell them."

"I'm gonna go talk to the pilot," 18 said as she ran towards the next hanger.

"Bulma," Maron said as she pushed a button on her cell.

It took a few seconds but Bulma finally answered. "Yeah?"

Maron let out a small breath. "There are cops closing in on the airstrip. If we're going to get out of the country we need to leave now. Have you gotten to the guys?"

"Yeah, I'm with them right now. We're going through that back road that leads to the strip. We'll be there in about five minutes. Get the jet ready, but don't give yourselves away," Bulma called through a bit of static.

"Okay, but please hurry!"

"We will," Bulma said before she cut the connection.

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"What is going on?" Vegeta asked Bulma.

"Cops are closing in on the airstrip. We need to get there now or we don't go at all," she yelled over the rushing air.

"How long do we have?"

"The most is five minutes," Bulma said. They were coming up on the airstrip and as they pulled into it, the sirens could be heard in the distance. Bulma jumped off the bike and ran into the hanger where the jet was already being warmed up.

"Open the doors!" Chichi called to Kakarot and Raditz. They pushed the huge doors open and moved aside so that the jet could move to position for take-off.

18 ran over to them. "I have explosives wired into the strip, but we have a problem. I didn't have time to wire them properly to a remote. If we want it to blow we have to do it by hand," she said in exasperation.

Vegeta looked at Bulma, and she watched that look in his eyes. That look that she had come to know too well. He was going to do something and she wouldn't be able to stop him from doing it. It would probably be something stupid too.

"What are you thinking?" Bulma asked him seriously.

"We don't have time to argue. Get to the plane and do it now. You need a diversion to get away, and it's my fault in the first place. If........." he started, but noticed that there were quite a few people with them. He wanted to say goodbye to her. Vegeta grabbed her hand and pulled her away from them.

"Please don't do this to me," Bulma's voice cracked.

"If I had listened to you in the first place, we wouldn't be in this fucking mess now," he whispered. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you," he whispered quietly. "And I will see you again, but I want you to go. Just listen to me for once. I want you to be safe."

Bulma sniffled. "You can't leave me. Not now," she cried.

"I need you to answer me a question before you go," he said urgently. She nodded. "Was that pregnancy test in the bath room yours?"

She blinked at him and shook her head. "No. And Maron said it wasn't hers either. So it probably belongs to 18 or Chichi. Would you have liked me to be pregnant of you?" she asked quietly.

"I really wouldn't know how to reply to that. But it would have been a big change in our lives. Maybe we do need that change," he looked up when he saw that the plane was ready and that the girls were running to get in.

Kakarot ran over to them. "Bulma you need to go now, the cops are here and we have to detonate the explosives so that you girls can go. I'm staying," he told the last to Vegeta.

Vegeta nodded and looked at Kakarot's brother. "Raditz go with them. I need you to find out who set us up, and I want you to take care of these women, god knows what will happen to them if they are left to their own devices. Keep them out of trouble," he said as he looked at Bulma.

A few tears ran down her face and she jumped into his arms again. She kissed him. Kissed him as if she would drink him in. One last kiss in case she never saw him again. Then someone was pulling her away from him.

"We have to go, Bulma!" Raditz yelled as he pulled her struggling away from Vegeta.

"No! Let me go. Vegeta!" Bulma yelled in despair.

"I'll see you again!" he called back as he watched Raditz pick her struggling form up and run towards the jet.

Kakarot looked at him and extended his hand. "In case we die, it was great knowing you and being your friend." Vegeta took his hand and shook it. "I hope we get to share a cell."

"Shut up, Kakarot," Vegeta chuckled. They watched as the jet began to drive down the runway, but there were helicopters closing in on them. "Come on, let's go detonate the charge!"

Both men ran off towards the place where 18 had pointed them to and lit the fuse that went to the explosives. "Run Kakarot, and lets hope we see each other again."

"We will," Kakarot said as they started to run.

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Bulma pressed her face to a window and watched as the jet took off into the air. Vegeta and Kakarot were running as far away from the hangars as they could. Then a few seconds later, there was an explosion so strong that it rocked the jet.

She fell back into her seat and screamed. When she looked back out the window there were nothing but smoke and flames on the airstrip and she couldn't see Vegeta or Kakarot anywhere.

She sat back and sobbed quietly. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and she smiled slightly as Raditz sat next to her. "When we get to your home, I'll do my best to find out what happened to them," he whispered.

Bulma nodded, she really didn't want to talk about the situation right now. "How's Chi?" she asked as she looked at her friend. When Kakarot had told her that he was staying with Vegeta, she had fainted. So far, she hadn't come to.

"She's still out, and it's a good thing that she wasn't awake to see that explosion. But she'll be okay. She and my nephew will be okay," Raditz said with a grin.

"She's the one who's pregnant?" Bulma whispered with a smile.

"She told my little brother before she fainted. But he sacrificed his freedom for them. So that we could all be free. You have no idea how guilty I feel because they are paying for something that I was supposed to pay for too," he said quietly.

Bulma nodded. "You'll owe them one when we see them again," she forced a smile.

He caressed her face. "You don't have to pretend that you are alright. There's no need for you to be strong now. You can cry if it makes you feel better."

"If I break down now, I wont stop. I need to be strong and I need to think of a way to get Vegeta out of the country. I feel it in my heart, Raditz. Nothing happened to him in that explosion, but if the cops catch them, then they'll be tried for all the crimes they have committed," she said sadly.

"Or at least the ones that they can prove. We got rid of the cars and we never made the mistake to show our faces when we made those heists," Raditz said. "The most time they'd get would be-.........." he trailed off when he noticed the look of horror on her face.

"It doesn't matter. I'll have my father pull strings and I'll have them out in no time," she said with conviction.

"I know you will. The same way I know that I have never seen a woman love Vegeta the way you have," he said with a smile. Bulma let out a shaking sob and leaned her head on his chest. He gave the comfort that she wished she'd had from Vegeta.

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The Next Day............

"Bulma-chan!"

"Poppa!" Bulma cried as she ran into the arms of her father and her mother. "I missed you guys so much!"

"We missed you too pumpkin," Dr. Briefs said with a warm smile.

"I want you to meet my best friends. This is Chichi, 18, Raditz, and I think you already know Maron," she said as she waved a hand to each person.

"And where is that nice boy you were going out with? The one in the picture. You said you were going to bring him with you," Mrs. Briefs said with a wistful smile.

"I-...... Well, he stayed behind. Poppa, I really need to talk to you about something," Bulma said as she wrapped her arm around his and began to walk him into the Capsule Corp. compound.

"Well, I'll get all of you settled in, come along boy and girls," Mrs. Briefs said as she led the small group into the building.

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"Bulma!"

Bulma looked up from the engine of her car and looked at Raditz. He had come running from down the block and into the garage of her father's company. "What is it?" she asked as she cleaned her hands on a smudged cloth.

Raditz took a few deep breaths and looked at her grimly. "My brother and Vegeta are okay," he said slowly.

"But-........?" Bulma asked expectantly.

"They were a bit hurt after the explosion, so they're just now getting out of the hospital. My little brother had a broken arm and a hurt neck, and Vegeta had a dislocated shoulder, a broken wrist,and he hurt his leg, so he'll be limping for a few weeks. Aside from that they have cuts, bruises, and a few burns."

Bulma's eyes watered, and she wished that she didn't feel so emotional when she thought of Vegeta. "Where are they now?" she asked. She was somewhat afraid to know what was going to happen to Vegeta and Kakarot.

"They're in jail, and they will both be going to prison soon. They are going to be tried for three of the jobs, including this last one. The most they'll get is ten-........"

"Please don't tell me that!" Bulma cried.

Raditz shook his head. "But you have to know! And I have to tell Chichi too, she'll probably tear my head off while I tell her all this. You handled this better than I expected. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news," he said softly.

"I think that it's time that I tell my father all that has been going on in my life," she said slowly. Raditz gave her a questioning look. "I'm telling him today, and hopefully we wont be mad enough to not want to help me. Thanks for all the info," she said as she began to walk into her home. She searched for her father and found him.

Bulma took the rest of the afternoon to tell her father everything that had been going on in her life the past year. She had to come clear about her hidden life as a street racer and as a truck thief.

"Oh sweety," Dr. Briefs said with a shake of his head.

"I'm sorry, poppa. I know that this has to be the biggest disappointment to you in your whole life. And I'm sorry, but please help me with this. Help me get Vegeta out of there, I know you can!" Bulma pleaded.

"You are aware that after all you have done, I shouldn't help you do anything to save that young man from prison," he said patiently.

"I know, poppa. And I wish I could take it all back. But I love Vegeta and I want him to be here with me, so that we can have a life together. We deserve a new start. Vegeta had a rough childhood and he could have been a better person if he would've had a set of caring parents."

"Oh, Bulma-chan. You had two caring parents that gave you love and everything that you ever wanted, and look at all the things that you did. I see now that you were too spoiled. I don't know if I should help you," he said softly.

Bulma's eyes watered but she forced herself to keep quiet as her father spoke those words to her. She understood completely that she deserved all that she had gotten, but she had promised to help Vegeta. To bring him home with her.

Dr. Briefs watched her face and noticed that she was biting her lip, keeping quiet as he broke her heart. But that look on her face was breaking his heart, and had never been able to say no to her. Maybe that had been the problem.

"Alright Bulma-chan, I will help you. But I can't guarantee you anything, okay?" He asked slowly.

"Oh, thank you daddy!" she said as she hugged him tightly. 'Please wait Vegeta. I'll have you out soon,' she thought as she walked with her father to his office.

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Okay, there are two more chapters left and then this is all over. I know that I didn't leave much of an ending here, so I decided to make one more chapter. This chapter had to be split in two because it was getting too long. So next time we will know what is going on with Vegeta and Kakarot, and what Bulma will do to help them.

I hope you have a good week, and everyone take care!

Byebye

!Joey!