Chapter 24 – Goodbye

Everyone was packing, boarding the ship and waiting to leave.

Bulma watched with a lump in her throat as Kakarot said goodbye to Chi-Chi. For the safety of the baby, Bulma had demanded that Chi-Chi stayed behind. The brunette hadn't been happy about it, but she knew it was what was best for her unborn child.

Chi-Chi wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "You better come back to me, Goku."

Kakarot smiled at the name his mate had given him. She had told him when they first got together that it meant saviour. When she had told him, he told her that he would always be her saviour and that he would always be there to protect her. "I promise I will come back Chi-Chi. Don't worry about me; worry about yourself and about our son."

Chi-Chi nodded and when she sobbed once, Kakarot pulled her as close to his chest as her bump would let him. Right now, Chi-Chi was four months pregnant and she looked as though she would pop any day now.

For precaution, Bardock, along with all of the Saiyan elders, children and most third classes were staying behind to protect the planet in case Frieza sent anyone to destroy it. Bardock was slightly miffed that he wouldn't be able to join his sons to battle against the Cold Empire, but he knew that since he could see the future, it would be best if he stayed behind to ensure their planet's safety. After all, what good would it do if he saw his planet being blown up when he was all the way across the Universe? It wouldn't do any good for he wouldn't be able to contact anyone on the planet because they would be too far away.

The Human Empire's warriors were meeting the Saiyan Empire's warriors halfway there. It wasn't only Saiyans and Humans that were fighting. No, it was almost every race in their Empires. Nobody was happy with what the Colds had done and they all wanted revenge.

Again, for precaution, some warriors had been left behind to protect the planet Earth.

There were well over eighty ships leaving the planet Vegeta-sei. The first one was for the Royals and their guards. The next thirty or so was for the Elites and so on. Each ship had been designed by Bulma and Bardock and was larger on the inside than they looked on the outside.

"Come on Kakarot," Bulma said quietly as she put her hand on his shoulder. "The ships are ready to go."

He nodded once as he pulled out of his hug with his mate. Bulma smiled at the girl as she too hugged her.

"Goodbye, Chi. Please be safe and keep out of trouble." Bulma said softly into her ear so only she could hear, "If there are any signs of danger, I want you to think about you and your baby and no one else got it? I've set up an emergency space ship that is hidden in Bardock's lab. He knows all about it and will help you escape if anything does happen."

"Got it. Don't let anything happen to the father of my child, B." Chi-Chi whispered into her ear, "And don't let anything happen to you either. I need you both to come back to me, okay?"

Bulma pulled out of the hug and nodded before walking onto the ship with Kakarot at her side. As she left, Chi-Chi walked back a few steps until she was side by side with Bardock and the other Saiyans who were saying goodbye to their families.

"Princess Bulma," A servant said as he approached the Princess and bowed. "The King would like me to inform you that we take off in five minutes and that he would like you to join him and the Princes' down in the control room."

She nodded once. "Thank you, I will go right away." Bulma turned around to see Kakarot looking as though he was in deep concentration. She smiled at the sight; it was a pretty rare thing to see. "Are you coming?"

Kakarot snapped out of his daze and nodded, "Sure."

The two of them walked in silence towards the control room. As soon as they arrived, they asked no questions as they took their seats and strapped in. Bulma sat next to Vegeta and Kakarot sat in one of the benches that held Raditz, Nappa and two other Saiyans. On the other bench across the room sat Krillin, 17 and 18.

Bulma was surprised at how normal it felt to be travelling through space. She never thought she would ever get used to the feeling. It was strange, she could feel the ship's movements and she felt a little lighter. However, having Vegeta sat beside her as they left Vegeta-sei's atmosphere, it felt comfortable. She felt like no matter where they were, she would always feel like she was at home.

"It is now safe to wander around." A robotic version of Bulma's voice said. Bulma smacked herself on the forehead at how weird her voice sounded.

At the side of her, she saw the King and everyone else raise an eyebrow at her. She chuckled nervously, "It was either my voice or Bardock's." She shrugged. They seemed to understand what she meant. Bardock wasn't exactly a soft speaker and his voice wouldn't keep them calm if there was an emergency.

There weren't many people on the Royal's ship. It was only the humans who had been sent with Bulma to Vegeta-sei, Kakarot, Raditz, Nappa and two of the King's guards. She wasn't sure what their names were, they were the silent type who would rather sit there and glare at nothing in particular.

"We must discuss strategy," King Vegeta said as he stood up out of his seat.

They all watched the King walk over to a large table silently as they too, stood up.

It was impossible not to feel the excitement in the air. Bulma rolled her eyes. She would never begin to understand how the Saiyans could get so excited about going into a to-the-death battle. Sure, it would be a great challenge but it was still scary and it was still sending shivers down her spine.

Her mind kept reaching out to the people around her. She wanted to extend her psychic power and push it as far as it can go before the battle. Bulma was still surprised at how powerful Chiatzou had managed to get. When he had left to return to Earth, he could barely keep himself and Tien under his cloak. But now, he had managed to keep not only Earth's population, but also the planet Earth itself under his psychic cloak for months! Who knew what Bulma could achieve if she pushed herself hard enough.

Bulma looked up when she felt something wrap around her waist. She smiled at the comfort Vegeta's tail gave her as she walked with him over to the table where King Vegeta started talking about a plan.

It had been decided that they would wait until they returned from battle before they bonded/got married. It just seemed that they had a lot more important things to focus on other than a wedding. Bulma inwardly sighed. She had really been looking forward to being Vegeta's wife and she was most definitely going to make Frieza pay for interrupting her wedding. But first, she was going to make him watch the deaths of his father and brother and then force him to watch as his Empire becomes hers and Vegeta's. Bulma would never forgive Frieza for killing her friends and family. Why should she? Sure, she didn't want to kill anybody but after what Frieza did, Bulma felt as though she had to avenge her fallen family, friends and people.

And she would.

A/N - Not a very exciting chapter, but ah well. The war will start in a couple of chapters.

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