I hear bells...

And not just for this long-due update. Sorry.

And thanks for the reviews I did get! Really helped, and I've been thinking alot about where I want this to go, so..

Here I am.

'-thinking

"-speaking

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A whirling breeze whispered through the many trees and leaves surrounding the solemn gardening of the cemetery grounds. Leaves that were once full, ripe with chlorophyll colour and veins of life spreading within them, now lay on the floor of grass as withered brown reminders of the cycle of life, that not every abundant moment can last. However it is the tree who is stripped bare, the wind being the evildoer who lifts these dying leaves into its thrashing arms, and embarking it into a journey where it is dependent on it to continue moving... until it is finally let go of, landing onto a trail where it lays in windless wait to be stepped on in the path of another, oblivious to the crunching of the leaf underneath him, determined to get to the desired location.

Bulma couldn't help but notice how much older everyone looked all of a sudden, or had everyone looked like this and it happened gradually? She couldn't tell anymore, but she did know the sadness that it invoked in her, and the presence of a coffin only made this worse. Suddenly, the comforting warmth of arms enveloped her, and the conclusion to her own story was standing right next to her.. she felt a little more content right then.

"Gosh... I hope everyone makes it. Everyone has pretty much forgotten about this since it's been so long..."

"Hmpf. You think your friends have anything truly exhilarating going on, even after all this time?"

"Well.. of course not, Vegeta. But.. I think we've had all the excitement we could handle in the past few decades. Don't you?"

"It's a short amount of time, woman. No matter how much as happened."

Nodding, she let the conversation rest. Finally, the outlines of Krillin and Piccolo, along with Goku and Chichi, announced themselves at the top of the hill. Bulma felt her lips lift, seeing her friends. The worn-out feeling of nostalgia returned, and suddenly she was hit with how long it had been since she last saw them. A few years, at the most. Her arms immediately flailed up, nearly hitting Vegeta, who took down his arms from her.

"Hey guys! Over here!"

"Bulma! Great to see you again," Krillin said warmly, hugging his oldest friend, who was still taller than him by a few inches. Then the shadow of the purpose for their meeting struck them, undoing the excitement over their reunion.

ChiChi sighed, "Gosh, I hope I never have to do this again. Poor girl."

"What I hope is that Gohan makes it. Last time we talked, we... didn't really end on good terms," Goku revealed, earning surprised glances. Piccolo grunted, which told them to leave it alone for another time.

A throat cleared itself, breaking the tense air around them. Everyone turned to see a figure cloaked in black, who was obviously the priest conducting the funeral,"Is everyone present for the event to begin?"

Goku shook his head, the priest nodding in response. His eyes reached up to the darkening, orange-red sky, violets swirling to warn of the coming nightfall, 'Gohan.. To miss your own wife's funeral? Come on, son. You know you're better than this.'

His head snapped up, a new Ki making itself known in their vicinity. Everyone looked to see a black-haired, semi-tall Goku staring back at all of them with a gloating smirk.

"Not the Son you expected, huh? Get it..?"

Only wide eyes and gasps were the replies he got.

"Hmpf. Tough crowd."

"Goten?! Y-You're really here?" Came ChiChi's inevitable screech of disbelief. He merely nodded in her direction, putting a hand up to keep her from clobbering him to the ground with hugs, kisses, and threats of bodily harm should he decide to ever leave her again.

"I'm not here to make pleasantries...," His eyes instantly snapped, cold and forlorn, to those of Trunks, who kept his own head high without even a glint of emotion in his teal stare.

"Oh? And what are you here for? Spit it out boy, we have a funeral to get to so we can go home," Vegeta barked.

Goten let his onyx eyes wander to Vegeta, a small smirk forming, "Patience, for once, Vegeta. All in due time. I have questions, and I want answers, before anything happens."

"Goten...," Goku started, his eyes sincere and blinking,"You know we'll answer whatever you need to know. Ask us."

A stoic shadow passed over Goten's features as he turned to Goku, nothing even close to resembling the welcome Goten had given his estranged father when he was merely a boy.

"No. I will ask you."

Goku was taken back, his eyebrows knitting slightly in confusion,"Me?"

"Yes."

"O-Okay... go ahead, son."

"Why is there even a FUNERAL being held if you were here the whole time?"

His eyebrows burrowed deeper, his hand making a fist in agitation,"Now, son. You know that isn't what this is-"

"Quiet. I want answers, not bullshit denials. There should be no one dead if you were here the whole time. Isn't that what you do?! Protector, defender of the universe? The reason why I was raised without a father for the first 6 years of my life..?"

"Goten-"

"Shut up. Maybe I'm wrong for asking any answers from you. Maybe I just want to throw it in all of your faces how fucked up everything REALLY is."

"Goten! Stop talking like that, I did not raise you to talk like that to us! Your parents! Goten.. please?" ChiChi went from yelling to pleading, tears in her eyes at the venomous sight that was her son.

"Heh... I can't stop. Just like none of THIS could be stopped," He turned and pointed at the coffin in front of them, the priest standing there aghast at the masculine display in front of him.

"There was nothing any of us could do for her," Bulma chided softly, her dress moving with the increasing wind as her palms faced up.

"Like hell. She had been down ever since Pan left, and of course I blame only one person for that...," He paused to glare at Trunks for a moment,"But hell, a phone call here and there would have made some difference, I'm sure."

"Phone call?! You think she would answer the phone, ever?!" ChiChi demanded back.

"Yeah, come on. You think we didn't try? You're talking about US, after all. We're a closely knitted group.. Or we were," Bulma sulked.

"Why aren't you beating up the half-breed for this nonsense? He was married to the demon girl, after all," Came Vegeta's inquiry.

Goten scoffed,"Trust me. I did. There is no excuse for me to come here and see all of this happening with no one stopping it. It's .. pathetic."

"Oh, I find it amusing."

All eyes turned to the source of the cool, sardonic voice, who happened to be clad in a ruthlessly low-cut, sequined dress, darker than the vibe that thrust from within her as she made her presence known, leaning casually on a tree. Another figure came from behind the tree, short blond hair and green eyes glowing through the haziness of the coming dusk.

"I, however, don't. I agree with Goten, but..." 18 then walked up to the coffin, flowers in hand and tears forming in her eyes. Everyone watched wordlessly, as emotion was never one of 18's quirks. She laid the flowers on the coffin, her hand freezing in place for a bit before twisting into a fist,"This, this is why she's gone! My own daughter is gone!"

Goten was taken back, as this was news to him,"M-Marron? What?"

18 immediately spun to face the surprised demi-saiyan,"Yes, you fool! She's dead, and all because of this petty drama between all of you teenagers. Is it really worth it? Is it?!"

He was silent, his mouth still gaping at the news. Marron, of all the cold people to get what was due, actually struck pity in him. But why so many casualties of people he had talked to, seen with his own eyes? How many would be dead before this was finally over, too?

"Don't look at me, I didn't kill anyone," Bra chided, turning her head so that her elegant curls swayed in the movement.

"Whoa! This is a funeral, not a courtroom, guys. Come on, and give some homage to Videl," Krillin interjected, his palms facing up with his sincere suggestion.

"Hmpf, the brat isn't even here for his own mate-"

"I am now, Vegeta."

Fixing his glasses, Gohan stalked up the hill close to the tree that Bra was still leaning on, his black suit shining in the setting sunlight, almost as much as his eyes were when they reached the sight of Bra.

"Hey... You made it."

She merely grunted, bowing her head towards the ground and closing her eyes, confident there were blinding glares being sent in her direction.

"Oh! Both my sons here, this is almost too good to be true...," ChiChi proclaimed dreamily, her hands lacing together as her eyes sparkling, oblivious to the tensions contaminating the air, malicious ones as well as sexual ones.

"Shall we finally begin?" The priest asked wearily. Gohan looked over at him, his eyebrows rose.

"Uh.. Yes," Came his gruff reply, soft with the sudden consternation that this funeral was actually happening. His wife, Videl, was actually dead. He felt his chest rise, and fall, exhaling through his nostrils with a glance over at Bra, whose cerulean tendrils literally glowed against the onyx of her dress. He felt that exhalation catch in the middle of his throat, turning it into a gulp before it could suffocate him.

The priest cleared his throat as the gang closed in around the coffin, solemn expressions glazing over their faces, memories and flashbacks intruding and being pushed away, while others cherished them. Wives held onto their husbands, and friend threw glances at each other once in a while during the sermon given by the short, aging priest. Goten himself couldn't believe he was standing here, and Videl was lying... in there.

'How much more is there for me to stumble upon in this strange time..? Do I even want to know, might be the real question, though...', He looked up at the faces of his parents, their oldest friends gathered around them with the same saddened gazes,'Yes. I do. This has to be fixed, it isn't right...'

Immediately, his eyes shot to Bra, whose cold stare at the coffin only convinced him what he had to do. It all centered around her, for some reason. Or maybe it didn't. All he knew was that she wasn't who he knew before he left. She changed, and not for the better. Maybe finding out why wasn't the answer anymore. Maybe helping her.. Was all he could do for her.

If only she'd let him...

"And now, please let the dearest husband, and friend, of this once lost soul, give his piece from the very love that he shared with this great woman."

Gohan took in a breath, his shoulders stiffening up immediately as he went up the small, two-step podium. He cleared his throat and fixed his glasses, causing Bra to notice just how much he did age in the past three years. There were a few lines that weren't there before, and the carefree spark in his onyx eyes was replaced by something darker, and yet it burned with more fervor than she had ever seen in him. Something told her she would find out soon, after all, there was always something to find out in this place.

"..not only an example of greatness, but just superb at everything she did! She was only a human, and she learned how to fly. She was so small and petite, but she could really pack a punch. She was the daughter of the world's most celebrated fighter, heh, rich and smart and way too ambitious for her own good... but she chose me. She became someone who I could love, and protect, but also someone with a will of her own. Independent, sassy... Hell, she could do everything. You could see it in her violet eyes, those wild sparks of life that was ready to swallow you into them sometimes, especially if you perked her temper..."

He sighed, hating this upcoming finale to his speech,"And slowly, that life was hindered by the death of her father. After losing her mother, I guess there was only so much loss she could take. And I'm definitely no stranger to loss. Losing Videl was like losing the world to yet another villain with an agenda. She was.. the world to me, and if she wasn't alive, then nothing was. But... I think there's a time to mourn, and then a time to rejoice. There's a time for loss, and a time for gain. And Bra, you are that gain."

Time seemed to freeze in place, not only for blue-haired seventeen year old, but for everyone else gathered there as well. Breaths were held as eyes watched on to see Gohan's lips slowly curve in her direction. Bra felt her eyes slowly widen up to him, the sparks of his verbalized passion evident in his obsidian orbs, the same dark and burning passion she had seen glowing in those eyes not even ten minutes before. She felt her own lips kick up, 'I called it... Heh. Maybe victory isn't lost after these few years..'

Gohan stepped down from the podium, strode the few feet to her, and then bent on one knee. Bulma cried out, her hand flying to her mouth as ChiChi gasped with her own mouth gaping. His eyes warmed at the displays of shock amongst their mothers, who hadn't expected this at all, but it was Bra's expression that made his heart beat faster, making every cell in his body spark alive, telling him that this was the right, the best thing to do. She was what was missing from his life, the last three years feeling like an empty gap, a coma-like period of life where he was merely existing like a zombie who had run out of breath.

She was the air he was gasping for all along.

Her lips trembled, shock written in every contour of her pale, smooth face. He indulged in the urge to run a hand down her cheek, which was soon greeted by a falling tear. She instantly grinned as he opened the case of the bulging diamond ring, the band sparkling in the fading sunlight.

"Bra.. My calm after the biggest storm of my life. Do me the utmost pleasure of having you as mine. Bra Ouji, will you marry me, Gohan Son, and make me the happiest I've ever been?"

Sheer pride run through her veins, her grin spreading wide across her face,"Yes.. My answer is yes."

There was a thud, and everyone turned to see Bulma in Vegeta's arms limp and unconscious as ChiChi's wails of joy echoed throughout the small area. Goku started to clap, his trademark grin painted on his face, but no one seemed to share his enthusiasm, so he let it die slowly. Piccolo stared on at his younger companion, disturbed at the recent event.

'Gohan.. What did I tell you about her? And yet you still find it in your heart to see her as the answer to everything... Well, we'll see. We shall see, Gohan.'

The exhilarated half-Saiyan took the much younger Bra into his arms, his fingers gently brushing the bottom of her chin as they leaded her mouth to his, the words "Forever, Bra..." whispering against her quivering lips before he claimed them with his own. She let herself get lost in his embrace, the long-dwelling reproach of losing his love finally fulfilled, like a wound healing for the first time in ages. She felt wrapped in bliss herself, oblivious to the stone cold glare she was getting from the very eyes of Goten himself.

'Something about this.. does not feel right. If Gohan thinks that he is the reason Bra went into hyperdrive... I think he's wrong. Dead wrong.'

"Well come on guys! Let's celebrate! Gohan's getting married... again," Krillin added slowly, trying not to get himself beaten on sight by those put off by Gohan's timing. After all, this WAS Videl's funeral that he was doing this at.

"I think it's so sweet... Oh Gohan, I'm happy that you're happy," ChiChi wailed, running to hug her oldest son as Goten watched on, his thoughts circling on the stubborn feeling of apprehension that settled in the pit of his stomach.

Vegeta decided to abandon the party, not a real shock to anyone, and carried Bulma home in his arms. Before he left, he cast Bra a curt nod with a hint of a smirk on his lips, and she sensed that he gave his approval only because of his recent reunion with her mother. She sighed, feeling better about ... everything all of a sudden. 18 narrowed her eyes on the two newly engaged demi-Saiyans and left without a word, still grieving her daughter's demise. Trunks chuckled sarcastically, reaching for his sister and throwing an arm around her.

"Wow, who didn't see this coming?"

"Haha, shush. You're just jealous this isn't you in my shoes."

"First, I don't think they'd fit. Second, I don't think I'd even be close to being able to walking in them. Third... Gohan isn't my type," Trunks joked back, his sister giving a light chuckle. Gohan looked on as the group went walking to their aircars, and then settled his eyes long and hard on his former wife's coffin. 'Videl...'

"I doubt she'd understand. But who cares? She's dead."

Gohan spun to see his little brother perched on a rock, his eyes boring holes into Gohan's silhouette.

"Whoa, Goten. You scared me."

"Good. I'm not going to make it any easier from here on out."

Gohan's eyes widened slightly in consternation at his brother's cryptic announcement,"W-What?"

Goten stood, his eyes narrowing in slits of resentment,"All I'm going to point out is... You didn't even ask about your daughter's whereabouts when I went to pay you a visit the first time..."

'What?! He knows where Pan is?!' Came the alarmed question.

"If I did know, I sure as hell wouldn't tell you now," Goten added as if on cue, "You seem.. occupied. Congratulations, brother. But you and I both know... this is more than wrong. This was the exact opposite of how it was supposed to be! Ah, fuck it. You won't listen until it's too late anyway."

"It already is too late! You said it yourself, Goten. 'Go get her! Make her yours! Now come on, I'm doing it and all you're doing is giving me crap-"

"Maybe I was wrong! Maybe I didn't realize just how much went on when I left! Marron's dead?! Hercule, and then Videl... It doesn't add up. Why didn't anyone do anything? Why does everything have to come down to this, a wedding that is NOT supposed to happen?!"

"Hey! Don't curse me for doing something you told me to do! This isn't fair! This is what will make me happy, and it will end Bra's suffering from me leaving her so long ago. I just... I love her. And nothing will get in the way of that."

"Yeah. I guess we'll find out soon, won't we?"

With that, his brother powered up and took for the skies, his haunting words twirling for a moment in Gohan's head until he finally shook it off, realizing the joy he should be thriving with over what had recently passed. And he did, with ease. A little too much of it.

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Voila!

This was the big bang that would've happened last chapter but alas, it's in chap.21. Chap. 22 should be to a screen near you... soon!

Thanks for all the reviews, again. Really helped pull me out of the "ohhh f this story!" funk I went into for a while.

My hiatus is over, be assured, so review to get me even more pumped to make the next installment offffffffffff Control!

Next time: It's anything but celebration as Vegeta re-trains his daughter. Not only as a fighter, but... as a Princess?! Turning 18 might also do the trick as Bra takes on a new role in the city as Gohan's new partner in the crime of their love, but it may be a little more than she, or even Goten (who also tries his hand at playing detective concerning the reasons for Bra's troubles), bargained for...