Vegeta missed the point in which Bulma joined him that night, but she was beside him by the time he woke up the very next morning. Clearly it had been a long night for her and the others she'd gone out with yesterday. She was quite unresponsive when he made all the noise in the world getting up. He didn't expect Bunny to be up either which meant no large cooked breakfast would be waiting for him downstairs.

Just as Vegeta was making his way out the room after his usual morning routine, Jensen came running down the hall from his room. The kid was entirely too awake for someone who was probably up all night.

"Vegeta!" the boy shouted loudly—Vegeta cringed at all the noise he was already making—"I can't find him! I can't find Daddy!"

"You will lower your voice," Vegeta ordered the other.

Jensen who currently donned a nightgown covered in cat print looked down at his feet once, gulped and then looked back up at him. "Sorry," he said quietly. At closer inspection, Vegeta noticed the telltale signs of someone who was ready to start crying, his eyes were brimming with moisture. "I can't find Daddy anywhere—he's not in his room."

"He's downstairs," Vegeta said simply before making his way around the trembling boy.

"Okay," Jensen said as he followed the other closely behind.

Vegeta took his sweet time traversing the steps marveling at how concerned Jensen was right then. It seemed almost unnatural. As far as he knew, Jensen hadn't known Malachi for very long and he doubted in that time they'd actually bonded as much as Jensen made it seem. In fact, Vegeta could scarcely remember a time when Malachi had anything nice to say about him. He sensed an overall air of utter annoyance from Malachi concerning Jensen. It was something Vegeta didn't quite understand, but he supposed an overly clingy child could be a bit trying for someone who wasn't used to it and Jensen had come to him under strange circumstances.

When they made it downstairs and he led the boy to the living room, Vegeta noticed immediately that Malachi was not there.

"Well, he's not where I left him last night," Vegeta commented looking down at the empty couch. His tumbler from last night was still there.

"Do you think he's been kidnapped?" Jensen asked worriedly.

Vegeta looked over at the child with a raised eyebrow genuinely curious as to why he would jump to such conclusions. "What would make you think that?"

Jensen looked at him for a moment and then walked over to the same table that held the glass. Beside it was Malachi's cellphone which Jensen picked up. "He never goes anywhere without this," he insisted, "And he's always around in the morning—and I don't think he likes getting up early to do things."

"Sure, I suppose that's good deduction, but who would do that in the middle of the night? No alarms were set off and there doesn't appear to be a struggle. Even if someone has their habits, that doesn't mean it's impossible for one to deviate from it. And if anyone is wont to do that, it would be Malachi," Vegeta said carefully.

Jensen looked at the other thoughtfully. "So…he'll be back?"

"I wouldn't worry about it," Vegeta said as he turned. "In the meantime, I'm getting some breakfast."

Vegeta heard the other following behind him as he made his way to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and examined the well-stocked shelves. It put him at ease, but he knew he could hardly do much with anything. Eggs were appropriate for breakfast, but he'd never been good at cooking them and he did not want to be responsible for cleaning up a mess. There was a glass container of milk that sat deliciously cold in the front and a large pack of thick sliced bacon that lay in the clear bottom trays. Sometimes his inability to make anything vaguely serviceable as food was quite annoying. He secretly admired all those who had a talent for it—it certainly required the kind of skill he could never fully acquire.

"I can make us some scrambled eggs and bacon if you want," Jensen volunteered. He'd stepped in close beside him to see the contents of the refrigerator.

"You can do that without burning down the kitchen?" Vegeta asked quizzically.

"Yep. Daddy showed me," he answered confidently.

Vegeta moved aside so that the other could grab the necessary ingredients. He even grabbed some others like green onions and cheddar cheese likely for the scrambled eggs. Jensen was just tall enough to reach the cutting board which he used to cut up the green onions. He couldn't reach the black pepper and salt set further back; Vegeta silently moved them closer when he saw the other struggling. He was just able to reach the stove knobs that controlled the temperature. Then he grabbed the necessary pans. Three eyes were for the pans that would have bacon and one for all the scrambled eggs. Vegeta took a bowl down knowing the other couldn't. With another word of thanks from Jensen, he slowly cracked a few eggs into it and stirred them up. He'd seen Bulma do these steps quite a few times so he knew the boy's stirring technique wasn't exactly seasoned but he got the job done. He threw in some salt and pepper before tossing the cut green onions into the pan. He took out the bacon and laid them carefully into the first pan. Seeing that the other would have some trouble with the two back ones, Vegeta copied the same procedure in the other ones.

In this way, the two were able to put together a decent breakfast. The bacon was cooked perfectly the way he liked it and the eggs were light and fluffy. However inexperienced Jensen might have been, he understood the underlying technique. Of course, Vegeta took the lion's share of what was made, but Jensen wasn't exactly hungry as he seemed to pick over his plate.

"What if he doesn't come back?" Jensen asked in a quiet voice.

Vegeta was virtually done with his food when the other said this. He watched the other with Malachi's cellphone in his hand absently switching screens back and forth. "You have that, don't you," Vegeta said referring to the phone. Jensen looked up and nodded at him. "And you told me he doesn't go anywhere without it. I'm sure he'll be back for it soon if nothing else."

His eyes seemed to brighten a little. "You're right. If I keep this, then he's sure to come looking for it." He used his other hand to sweep a bit of the egg onto his fork. "Hey…" Jensen said slowly, "You're not really as bad as they say."

"You caught me at a good time," Vegeta said back.

"So…you're a morning person?"

"Once upon a time, I used to always get up at the crack of dawn to start training. Not anymore, I guess. And the gravitron needs some "major" repairs."

"The crack of dawn? Yuck," Jensen said.

"Sometimes even that didn't keep the day from slipping away from me," Vegeta said distantly. "Now, however, a day could go on forever."

Jensen shoveled more egg into his mouth. Vegeta supposed the other wasn't too concerned about manners if no one was there to correct him and he certainly wasn't, not after scarfing down his plate in almost the same manner.

"Guess everyone's asleep," Jensen said.

"It was a late night for everyone. That didn't seem to stop you though."

"Or you," Jensen replied. "We went shopping everywhere and I don't think I'll be able to fit all those clothes in my closet. I'll have to wear something different every day for a long time if I want to wear all of them," he finished enthusiastically.

"Sounds like you enjoyed yourself," Vegeta said as he noticed the other's tone.

"I did. It was really fun."

"Little boys who like clothes shopping—I guess there's a first for everyone," Vegeta said referring to himself. It wasn't as if he had a vast knowledge of how typical boys acted. He simply remembered Bra being the same way around the age Jensen at least appeared. The girl was spoiled through and through and now it seemed Jensen was getting there too.

When Jensen finished his food, he left the plate on the table and disappeared from the room promptly leaving Vegeta with the dishes. With a sigh, he placed Jensen's plate on his.

"What has the world come to," Vegeta said to himself, "Cleaning up after others—me, the Prince of…a few half/quarter-Saiyans, I guess."

Not having anything better to do and no one else of consequence being around was the reasoning he always gave himself when he found himself doing something out of the norm. This, however, was not the first time he'd done chores and likely not the last. It didn't take him long and just as it had always been like in the past, he drew genuine satisfaction from having returned the area back to its previous gleaming condition.

Vegeta found Jensen on the couch where he'd told him he'd last seen Malachi. Jensen laid across it with his head propped up against the armrest as he continued to tinker with the cellphone. Vegeta sat down beside him at the other end of the couch.

"Is this what you plan to do all day?" Vegeta asked, "Waiting for who knows how long."

Vegeta didn't get an immediate reply. He looked over at the boy and noticed the same despondent eyes that looked about to start bawling.

"What if…he's not coming back?" Jensen said blinking back tears. "Daddy told me," he started to say, but then paused as he blinked back more tears. "Daddy told me he didn't think he would die of old age."

Brilliant things one should be telling impressionable children, Vegeta thought to himself, make them aware of your mortality along with their own. Then again, Vegeta doubted Malachi knew exactly what he should or shouldn't be telling kids. He wondered sometimes if he was any better.

"I'm not surprised he would say that," Vegeta said after a moment. "I wouldn't take what he said to—

He was interrupted when Jensen abruptly moved towards him and started crying into his shirt. Usually, when he found himself in similar situations he'd pull the person off of him and order that person to stop crying at once—it was what he'd done with Trunks when he was younger. Jensen was different, however. He seemed more emotionally fragile and he was Malachi's boy not his. Or maybe he was just growing soft. He allowed Jensen to cry just as he would Bra whenever something like this happened.

"Alright," Vegeta said after a few minutes of listening to the pitiful child. "Alright, kid, that's not going to change anything."

On his own accord, Jensen pulled away from him and looked up at him with teary eyes.

"You should do something to take your mind off of this—it's not good sitting around wallowing. You're just making it seem far worse than it really is. For all we know, he just went out for some joyriding and forgot to take his phone."

"You really think so?" Jensen asked in a small, shaky voice.

"It's too soon to make any concrete conclusions."

"Then, what should we do instead?"

"We?" Vegeta said noticing his choice of words. He sat back thoughtfully on the couch deciding it probably would be better if he found something that could occupy both of their time. Then it came to him, but it wasn't exactly a novel idea. "Want to know what I used to do at the crack of dawn every day?"

Jensen nodded clearly interested.

"Good. Meet me outside in the back."

There were many questions he still had about Jensen. Bulma hadn't been specific about her findings. Today, it seemed, would be a long day. All in the name of not having a little boy sitting around for hours worried about his father who hadn't bothered to tell anyone where he was going and left his phone in his apparent rush to leave.

The end of the week was upon him quickly and by that time, everyone knew that Malachi was missing. Vegeta hadn't seen him at all the entire time and Bra continued to claim that maybe he was busy with preparations. She didn't expound on this until Sunday evening as they all sat around the dinner table. She was in a dreary mood—yet another victim of Malachi's strange absence except Vegeta doubted there was anything he could do to cheer her up.

"He promised me," Bra said interrupting the conversation he was having with Bulma at the moment. They both grew silent as she spoke. "He said he'd propose to me by the end of the week. And now…he's just left. He decided to just run away," Bra said in a near monotone.

"Oh, honey, is that what you meant before when you said he was probably busy?" Bulma asked looking at the saddened woman.

"Yes," Bra said hoarsely. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I have great taste in men as you can see. Only this time I was left with his kids, that clever son of a—

"Bra," Bulma said cutting her off and indicating Jensen with a head tilt.

"Oh, cursing isn't anything new to him—Malachi does it in front of him all the time. You know not to say bad words, right, Jensen?"

The boy nodded obediently. At the moment, he seemed in better spirits than Bra. "I don't think he left," he finally said.

"And what do you think?" Bra asked.

"I think he was kidnapped."

Bra threw her hands up. "If only I could be as naïve as you. Who's going to kidnap him from our home? Nothing was out of order. You really think some expert, covert team went out of their way to 'steal' him. If that's the case, where's the ransom? And why wouldn't he be able to get his own self out of that situation ages ago?"

"I don't know," Jensen said honestly, "It just doesn't sound right that he would just leave."

Bra sighed. "I know him better than you do, Jensen. Your daddy is someone who's never once planted roots anywhere. Were it not for his career in music he'd likely drift around aimlessly without a reason or cause. I don't even know if he's capable of trusting someone other than himself. Proposing to me would have been the answer I was hoping for, but clearly he thought differently. Him leaving his cellphone?—he could buy a million more all filled with the pertinent information he would need. He backs up everything. He's always prepared. It wouldn't even surprise me if he'd actually planned for it to be this way so that he'd avoid having to explain himself."

Jensen stood up abruptly causing the chair to slide back noisily, "Well, I don't care if you've given up on him. I haven't!"

"Jensen," Bra said sternly, but it was to no avail as the boy ran out of the dining room. With this, she sighed heavily. "I don't know what to do with him anymore."

"Give it some time," Bulma said, "You two are both stressed."

To Machi's credit, she'd remained remarkably quiet since dinner began. For the most part, she'd been far more manageable this whole week, but her quietness was odd for someone who was known for crying. Vegeta watched Bra feed Machi, probably an activity that helped to calm her. He and Bulma agreed that it was better if Jensen was left alone for the time being to cool off. Jensen and Bra in the same room didn't seem like the best thing to do right now.

"I'll make some calls," Bulma said, "I know people in the local police—they'll be able to help."

Bulma tended to know people everywhere so it came as no surprise to Vegeta when she said this. Somehow he knew that this wouldn't help matters overly much. Vegeta wasn't sure what to think about Malachi, but he wanted to believe that there was a good explanation for his absence whether he left of his own accord or was kidnapped. None of it sat well with him. Just like Laputa, Malachi was unreachable.

Vegeta awoke the next day far later than usual, yet it still felt jarring as if something had interrupted him as opposed to waking naturally. Something was off. He looked around the room and nothing looked out of place. Then his heart skipped a beat and his eyes grew wide with horror. Where was Bulma and why couldn't he sense her?

He threw on some clothes and ripped through the house at a startling speed looking in all the usual places for her. Jensen was on the same couch still occupying himself with Malachi's phone. Bra was with Machi currently watching a kid's show and trying to get the other to interact with it.

"Have you seen your mother?" Vegeta asked Bra after stepping into the room.

Bra looked up from her happy antics. "She went to the headquarters to check on things—I think she got a little jealous you got to spend so much time with Trunks before," she said with a grin. "You look really worried though—is something up?"

"No," he said stepping back, "Maybe it's nothing." Bra was in a good mood, a far cry from yesterday, he didn't want to upset her with unsubstantiated worry. "I'm going to go check on her," he finished just so the other could know where he was headed.

"Alright," Bra said, "Call me if it's serious."

She returned her attentions to the laughing Machi and Vegeta left abruptly, hightailing it over to Trunks' place of work. He went first to the window where he knew his office was behind, but at the moment, it was unoccupied. Vegeta waited for over ten minutes before trying a different route and going in through the front doors. He made his way to the busy elevator and went all the way to the top floor where he eventually came into contact with a blonde lady who sat boredly clicking through something on the nearby computer screen—Trunks' secretary Kiah who was admittedly easy on the eyes. She knew who he was along with everyone else in the Briefs family as they'd all stopped by at some point since Trunks had started working there.

"Oh, Vegeta! Nice to see you again," she said with a bright smile. She sat up a little straighter in her seat seeing someone to attend to.

"I'm looking for Bulma. Have you seen her here lately?"

"In fact, I have," she said cheerfully, "Just this morning, she came in to see Trunks and they left to have lunch together. I didn't see her after that, but Trunks came back. Then he had some meetings scheduled that was outside the office so he's out at the moment."

"I see," Vegeta said. "And do you know when he'll be back?"

"Probably after five," she said as she likely pulled up his schedule, "But it's been like this all week. It'll be better next week though."

"Alright, thanks," Vegeta said turning from her.

"Have a great day, Vegeta," she said brightly.

Vegeta gave her a brief wave goodbye for all her cheerfulness. Besides, she'd been helpful and not asked a lot of annoying questions. However, he didn't want to wait almost four hours worrying about Bulma's whereabouts the whole time. It didn't make sense to him in the first place that he couldn't sense her. Had she suddenly learned how to hide her ki signature? For now, Trunks was his only lead and probably the last to have seen her. He was considering bursting in on whatever trivial meeting Trunks was having, but then thought a little better of this. He pulled out his cellphone and called his son. Eventually he was sent to voicemail—this time, he would leave a message.

"Trunks, this is your father. Call me back as soon as you can."

That was all he said. He didn't expound on just what he wanted to talk about—it seemed redundant if he was planning to eventually be able to speak with him. With this done, there was nothing else he could do but wait. He'd give Trunks an hour, then he was going to go directly to him, meeting or no. Not being able to feel Bulma's presence was jarring enough to cause him to slowly lose whatever patience he'd developed over the years and perhaps much more.

He took off into the air and flew about in high speeds though not traveling too far away from where he sensed Trunks. At the very least, his son's presence was still there. In that time, Vegeta thoroughly examined it once again. He felt only slightly stressed but largely at ease—clearly, he wasn't panicked about anything. Vegeta had to keep reminding himself of this fact. Surely, Trunks would have called him if he thought Bulma was in danger. This was all just a misunderstanding, but he couldn't come up with any good explanations. It was difficult to keep his darker thoughts at bay and stop himself from drawing connections between Malachi and Bulma. They were both at the moment inexplicably lost.

Vegeta stopped abruptly in the sky when his cellphone started vibrating. He answered it after noting Trunks on the Caller ID.

"Good thing you called—I was just about to come see you myself," Vegeta said as a greeting.

"Good afternoon to you too, Dad. I was flicking through my voicemail and saw your name—I seriously thought I was seeing things. Think I might just store this for safekeeping; who knows when you'll ever do something like that again," he said in teasing tones.

"This is not a laughing matter," Vegeta said haughtily.

"I can tell from the tone of the message. What's wrong?" Trunks asked, his voice becoming serious.

"Have you seen Bulma? I can't sense her at all. It's like she's hiding her ki signature. I spoke to your secretary and she said she had lunch with you today."

"We did," Trunks said, "I had to cut it short though unfortunately. Another call that couldn't wait. Mom said she'd probably stop by Hobby Town to get something for Jensen."

"Hobby Town? Alright."

"Wait, before you hang up abruptly. Call me if you can't find her. Now that you mention it—I can't sense her either. We'll just have to retrace her steps."

"Let me worry about her, you've already told me all that you know."

"Yeah, I know, but you don't have to go it alone all the time. I'm offering my help so just take it."

"Fine," Vegeta said not feeling up for arguing, "I'll call you later."

He hung up right after not planning to call either Bra or Trunks. He would be better suited dealing with this. More people meant more personalities to contend with and he didn't want to miss important details.

Vegeta flew off to Hobby Town and landed directly in front of the store disregarding all stares of amazement. Slowly, he made his way through the store, his eyes taking everyone in. He walked through several times realizing before then that Bulma was not here. She hadn't been here at all, Vegeta concluded. Her scent was nonexistent and she'd supposedly been here at the most a couple hours ago. He asked all the cashiers and other working staff about Bulma for good measure and he came up negative. No one had seen the blue haired woman.

Maybe she hadn't made it to Hobby Town. He'd narrowed down the time in which she must have disappeared between the end of lunch and her driving to the store. He called up Trunks once again.

"Yes, Dad," Trunks answered much to his surprise.

"Where did you have lunch with her?"

"You still haven't found her?" Trunks asked in concerned tones.

"I will find her," Vegeta said stolidly, "Just tell me where you had lunch."

"Café Río," Trunks told him without hesitation. "We got there around noon time. I didn't actually see her leave. I left before she did. Now I wish I'd—

"It probably wouldn't have changed anything," Vegeta said before the other could finish. "Did anything seem out of the ordinary? Think hard."

"She was worried about Jensen—she was telling me about how Malachi was missing in action and how the kid wasn't taking it so well. But other than that, nothing was wrong. We were talking about some applications for the prototype she's been working on for months now right before I got that call about forty minutes in."

"I see," Vegeta said. "I'll look into it."

He hung up again and then sped off to the café that Trunks had mentioned. It was a Mexican café that was known for serving good tacos—not a place that Bulma would decide to go to on her own, ever concerned about her precious figure. It was likely something Trunks had suggested and she'd given in. It wouldn't surprise him at all if she still managed to order a salad despite being surrounded with the smell of fresh tacos.

Once there, Vegeta knew Bulma had been there. He could smell her lingering scent beneath the smell of chicken and pork. From there he began to follow it out into the parking lot and then just like that it disappeared.

"Here," Vegeta said to himself.

This must have been where she got into her car and drove off. It would have been a ten-minute trip to Hobby Town. In that time, she vanished into thin air. Vegeta, on foot, followed the path she most likely took, but found no other signs of Bulma. None of it was making sense.

Hours went by of him tracing and retracing his steps until the sun began to set and he'd gotten no closer to finding her. As time continued to pass the more his heart began to sink, the more difficult it became to keep his composure. A calm mind could accomplish more than a frantic or emotional one. He'd known that fact for a good part of his life, but that never stopped him from letting his emotions takeover be it anger or despondency.

He was forced to come home when he realized he was banging his head up against a wall. He felt empty. All he could do was stand in the large expansive front yard staring up at the sky completely lost. He was already questioning the point of continuing with life in general…But it was too soon for such things. She could turn up tomorrow and everything would be right in the world.

He couldn't bring himself to calling anyone so he just stayed outside at first standing, then sitting, and finally lying sprawled on the freshly cut grass. The weekly people who came out to keep up the yard had come and gone that morning and he'd slept right through it. He wasn't sure how long he'd laid out there as his eyes became glazed over, but at some point, Jensen interrupted his solace. He felt someone beside him and his senses told him that it was the kid.

"Bulma's gone too, isn't she?" Jensen said in a quiet voice.

Vegeta didn't dignify the other with an answer. He didn't want to say "yes" or else it would become real.

"Do you think it's Laputa?" he asked.

Vegeta's eyes came back into focus at the mention of that name. "I know it's him," he said as much to Jensen as to himself. "He's just the person to stoop to these cowardly levels instead of just facing me. He doesn't know how much more worse he's made it for himself. Once I find that bastard, I'll let him beg for mercy before killing him outright."

"I'm…sorry," Jensen said.

"What are you apologizing for? Do you have something to do with this?" Vegeta said looking directly at the boy now as he sat up from the ground.

Jensen shook his head. "It's just…well, I know he's also my father."

"And what do you think of him?" Vegeta asked.

"I don't…know him so I don't really think anything of him. One time he asked me to come with him, but I couldn't. There's something he's missing. I can't explain it, but I didn't want to learn from someone like that."

"I think I know what that is," Vegeta said closing his eyes. "Stay near me. I have a feeling that he'll be coming for you next."

It was quite dark outside so far away from the house and the backyard spread out for miles with sparse lighting in between. Though his eyes were closed, he wasn't asleep and he was not expecting to do this at all as his anticipation grew. Malachi claimed that they'd angered the creature, surely kidnapping a couple people he knew wasn't enough for him. He was hoping it was not nearly enough.

He felt something in that moment coming towards him and when he opened his eyes a split second later, it was already too late to move out of the way. He felt a string of energy tearing through his chest and out the other side and for a moment he couldn't breathe. Jensen jumped to his feet with a shout. Vegeta's eyes struggled to see just as he heard footsteps.

"Trunks?" Vegeta managed to say as he got his breath back.

Out of the shadows, he saw his son not in his business clothing, but something more befitting of fighting. "Hello, father, were you waiting for me?"

"Quit playing games!" Vegeta spat as he climbed to his feet. His chest was throbbing in a way that wasn't usual for the kind of attack he just received. He resisted the urge to press his hand against it.

Trunks laughed at this. "You're right, I'm tired of playing—it gets a little boring when you keep winning every time."

"How long have you—"

"Long enough. It's much easier to take someone while they're asleep I've learned. For humans, their minds are still very active during that time, but they can't defend themselves. It took no time at all really with no fuss. Learning the ins and outs of one earthling mind allowed me to learn his with far less trouble. But enough explanation, I've come to finish you off once and for all, Saiyan."

"What have you done with Bulma and Malachi?"

"I've had some fun with them. Malachi was my personal pleasure and I had him all to myself for days," Laputa said with a grin.

"You sick bastard," Vegeta declared.

"Hm, you defeat me and I'll tell you where I stored them. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like you want to die painfully." Vegeta looked to Jensen who was now hiding behind him. "Go inside with your mom, kid."

Jensen mutely nodded before he started running off.

"You poor lost Saiyan—the last of a once proud and thriving race. I'm sure these earthlings owe a great debt to your protection. You've become one of them, haven't you? Mellow and civilized—a far cry from what Saiyans are known for. Show me your true strength, Vegeta, and I shall crush you."

AN: Looks like Laputa's made his move.

WildHeart44: Ah, man, I thought everybody knew about the review responses down here, but I guess I don't draw a lot of attention to it and it's at the very bottom where it's easy to skip. I'll answer one of those questions you have: Trunks has not met his niece. And also another one: Bra does whatever the heck she feels like on a whim. She's spoiled rotten and has access to the family bank account that is never without money. Right now she's occupied with Machi.