Well guys...

This is it! Thank you for bringing me all the way to the end of this story! I couldn't have completed it without all of the support that I received from my lovely fans. :) So, once more, for the last time, thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I hope you enjoy the conclusion to "Love, Hate and Magic," a Bulma and Vegeta story.

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Chapter Forty-Seven: Magic

Bulma's head turned so fast that the skin on her neck felt as if it were about to tear open. She quickly spun her body on the floor so that the pain would go away, and nervously flicked her eyes back and forth between Frieza, Vegeta and Goku. The first thing her eyes were drawn to was Vegeta, and the unexpected look of surprise on his face. She then followed his gaze over to Frieza, who was standing with his hand on his hips and a devilish smile plastered on his face. Bulma followed Frieza's red-eyed glare to the floor, where Goku was sprawled out on the floor.

"Goku!" Bulma screamed, but Frieza's nasty glare shot to her, and before she could draw a single breath, Vegeta raced to stand between her and his hateful gaze. "Vegeta, what happened?!" she cried, unable to stop herself when she grabbed at his arm and tried to turn him to face her. Of course, it had no effect, but she felt, in that moment when they touched, the heat of his power. It made the hairs on her arms curl up, and she felt hotter than she had ever felt. The sun seemed weak in comparison.

Vegeta yanked his arm away from her and Bulma's eyes widened. "What are you doing? You have to help him!" she yelled, pounding her small fist against his back. But he didn't respond to her.

"Kakarot!" he shouted, "Get up, Kakarot!" He sounded commanding and forceful, but Bulma knew he had to be worried, even if he didn't want to reveal it in his voice while Frieza was listening. "Kakarot, you fool, this isn't a game! Stand up!"

But Goku stayed on the floor. He didn't even lift a hand to tell them that he was all right.

"What did you do to him?!" Bulma screamed, deafening her own ears. She took a step forward, but Vegeta held out his arm and pushed her back with more force than was necessary. She stumbled, but didn't fall.

"I have a proposition to make, young prince," Frieza said with a sly grin. He took one step so that he was standing above Goku, and then he lifted his foot and placed it on his head. Bulma noticed that Goku moved ever so slightly. "You hand over the Earthling female to me, and I will allow you and your friend here, to leave without a single fight."

Bulma froze. Could Vegeta actually consider such a thing? No, she knew he would never, but then they didn't have a plan to help Goku, and Bulma didn't even know what had happened to him. She hadn't been watching their fight after Frieza ordered his men to kill her. The last thing she remembered seeing was Frieza matching Goku's speed, and then he hit him in the side with his tail. Maybe he had a broken rib. Maybe that was why he had screamed.

But then what chance did Vegeta stand against Frieza? If that slimy murderer managed to take down Goku in that short amount of time, and he was said to be stronger than Vegeta, then what chance did her dream boy stand. Sure, he was a Super Saiyan and the prince of the planet, but he was injured. She could see his gashes clearly now that she was so close to his. His back looked as if he had taken a punishment of several lashes from a thick whip. And the knife wounds were unmistakable on his arms. Thankfully he was no longer bleeding, but it didn't make her feel any less comfortable about him fighting in his injured state.

"You can go to hell," Vegeta spat, but Bulma grabbed Vegeta's arm and maneuvered herself around it. Then, with nothing more than a foolish hope, she tried to dart past him, towards Frieza. But, as if she hadn't expected anything less, Vegeta grabbed her from around the waist and lifted her up and brought her back down in front of him, her back pressed against his chest. She could feel his heartbeat, and it was speeding up and pulsating rapidly.

"Let me go!" Bulma yelled, "Vegeta, let go of me!"

"Not if you don't tell me what you're planning on doing once you're free. And even then, I can't guarantee anything," he said, and she silently thanked him for trying to lighten the mood, but it wasn't working very well for either of them.

"Oh, how adorable!" Frieza said with a smile, clasping his hands together in front of his face, "The lovebirds are fighting. It's a battle and a show. How about we make things more interesting, then? You, Bulma, was it? Let's say that instead of Vegeta handing you over to me, you have to come to me willingly. If you do that, then not only will I let your friends go, but I will provide Vegeta with the necessary medical supplies to heal this weakling." He pointed a sharp-nailed finger down at Goku. "How does that sound? I know I don't have much to offer them, but their lives for yours seems fair enough, doesn't it?"

Bulma looked up at Vegeta, but he just narrowed his eyes. "You're chances for me letting go of you just went from one percent to nothing."

"You can come back for me," she pressed under her breath, but Frieza's hearing seemed as excellent as the Saiyans, because he let out a disgustingly high-pitched laugh.

"And what makes you think you'll still be alive by the time they figure out their plan to do such a thing? First of all, Kakarot here is injured. It will take him two days at the least to heal back to perfect health, and I'm stronger than both of your little golden friends combined. Then they would have to locate you, and fight my men and possibly me to get to you. That's too many chances for them to fail, so I doubt you would be free anytime soon after you've given yourself over to me, body and all." He laughed again, but he was cut short by Vegeta.

"You're wrong," he said simply.

"There were a lot of things I said just now, and although I'm not wrong about anything concerning this matter, please enlighten me as to what you are referring to, little prince."

"Vegeta, just let me go," Bulma pleaded, trying in vain to pry his arms off of her. Both of his arms encircled her around the waist, and she could barely move to begin with. "If you don't, we'll all die. Can't you see that? If we refuse, he'll kill Goku, and then he'll kill you, and I'll be here alone anyway. Why would you want that? Why would you want me to have to watch you die? At least this way I'll know that you're okay. And Goku. Chichi would kill me if I let anything happen to him."

"Stop squirming, will you?" was his only reply, and Bulma groaned in annoyance. She let out a heavy breath, and then pulled on his arms again, but she couldn't even budge them a quarter of a centimeter. She quickly sucked in her stomach and twisted, so that he was holding her on her side. She had to break free, otherwise Goku would be killed.

"Oww!" she screamed, doing her best to fake being in a serious amount of pain. "Vegeta, you're hurting me!" she squirmed and lifted her left leg, pushing her foot against his thigh. She pressed her palms against his chest and tried to push away from him, but as soon as Vegeta loosened his grip, he held her again, this time flattening her chest against his and pressing her face against his collarbone. She felt her feet being lifted off the ground as he bent his back a bit. She felt almost as if he was giving her a hug, but she knew better.

"Will you give it a rest already?!" he shouted, right next to her ear.

"Now, now, little prince," Frieza said, a tisked edge to his tone. "If she wants to save you, why don't you let her? I mean, if you're going to die anyway, why not let her save you. You could easily save yourself if you weren't so hostile and self-centered."

"Me?" Vegeta asked sarcastically, positioning himself so that he had a better grip on Bulma. "You're kidding, right?"

Bulma decided not to talk, but instead tilt her head so that she could look into his eyes. She knew hers were pleading, and she figured that saying anything to him would just make things worse. But Vegeta's eyes were full of something else. It was almost a tinge of enjoyment. Was he enjoying this? Was there something she wasn't getting? Was there something he wasn't telling her?

And then a shout from across the room made her dart her gaze to Frieza. His disgusting shout was unmistakable, and what came as a surprise was that he was lying on his back, a good three or four yards away from where he had been previously standing, making threats and shouting orders at her and Vegeta.

"I guess I don't get to enlighten him after all," Vegeta muttered, half to himself and half to everyone else in the room. Bulma heard another familiar shriek before her eyes found Goku, dropping to his knees on the floor. He was clutching his left side with his right hand, and his left hand was keeping him from falling over and smashing his face against the floor. And Bulma finally saw the reason he had been on the floor. A sharp, white bone jutted out of his side, splitting the skin. A small flow of blood was coming out of the wound, but she assumed that the bone was clogging some of the blood flow. She watched his protruding rib move up and down as he heavily breathed, and she could only guess that Goku had head-butted Frieza. He didn't look like he was in any position to attack him any other way.

"What happened?" Bulma shouted as Vegeta's hold on her loosened again, enough that she was placed back down on the ground and she could take a step forward. His hand was still on her shoulder and his other hand was in the crook of her elbow, holding her back and in a position where he could move her if necessary. But she didn't see the point. Goku was no longer being threatened, but how could two injured Super Saiyans hope to defeat a monster like Frieza when he was at full power? She still didn't see any better option than giving herself up, but she knew that wouldn't be possible with Vegeta holding her back.

Goku didn't answer Bulma's question, but Vegeta pulled her alongside of him as they made their way over to his side.

"It looks like the bastard forced the bone to poke through after it had been broken," Vegeta said, clarifying some of what had happened. "Painful, Kakarot?" he asked.

"Yeah, why don't you try tackling a moving target with a bone sticking out of your side," he said with a forced laugh. And then his expression became serious. "How are we going to get him, Vegeta?"

"I think you just got careless," Vegeta said, "I think he got a lucky shot on you, and he's overconfident because of it. That's our advantage."

"And if you're wrong, and he is more powerful than me?"

"Then we're all going to die, Kakarot. What else is there?"

"Wait, what?" Bulma said, panic evident in her voice. But the two of them just looked at her and smirked. She guessed that they might actually be enjoying themselves. Saiyans, as Vegeta had said to her a while ago, back on Earth, were a warrior species, and lived for fights like these. But she wasn't sure whether or not to be happy about their optimism, or deathly afraid for her own sake.

"You should be careful, Vegeta," Goku said, pointing to Bulma, who looked down at herself as a natural reaction. "Holding her that tight already could give her bruises. She still has the serum in her bloodstream, so I'd be extra careful."

"I know," he said, rolling his eyes, as if even a child would know such a thing. Bulma couldn't help but smirk, but it was short-lived as Frieza's grunt broke the silence between the three of them. "I can't believe you decided to get up," Vegeta commented mockingly. "You were rammed by an injured man with a bloody rib sticking out of his side. I think I might have just about died if I'd been in your position."

Frieza just growled and shuffled himself into a low crouch, as if stalking his prey. But there were three of them and only one of him. She wondered if those odds even counted in their favor, seeing as Goku didn't look like he would enjoy moving all that much, and a single hit to her could easily kill her. Vegeta was the only able fighter out of all of them, and he now had two people he had to worry about protecting.

"Can't you do anything to help?" she asked Goku, and lowered her gaze when she saw the pitiful expression on his face from her question. She just hadn't expected him to be taken down so easily. But maybe Vegeta had been right. Maybe Frieza just got a lucky shot, and he wasn't that much stronger than Goku. She certainly hoped so, or they were really all going to die. But she mentally apologized to Goku for asking. She knew that if he could help in the upcoming and inevitable fight, he would. And she didn't even know if he'd decided not to yet. The fight hadn't even started yet.

"Is that a challenge?" Vegeta asked, and Bulma lifted an eyebrow at his obvious excitement at the concept of being challenged. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He mirrored Frieza's crouch and snarled.

"I don't think you truly know what it is you're getting into, little prince," Frieza said mockingly, but his tone then changed to a more serious one. "Really. You can't win." And then there was a moment of silence, a calm tranquility in the middle of a raging storm.

The first person to move was Vegeta, which Bulma was thankful for considering that if Frieza had charged, the battle would have taken place nearly a few feet in front of her and Goku, who was now leaning back to rest on the floor. He seemed pretty confident in Vegeta, to say the least. Bulma just hoped he was right to think that Vegeta could handle the battle on his own.

As Vegeta charged, he screamed, the golden aura around his enlarging by almost one hundred percent. Bulma felt a whip of wind blow her hair back and stared after him in awe. And after less than a second of watching him, he vanished. Frieza jumped, and Bulma watched as he reappeared behind his enemy, elbowing Frieza in the back of the neck and tossing his forward like a sack of flour.

Frieza stumbled, but he didn't fall, and when he whipped his head around, a look of pure rage was on his face. "Why you little—" But Vegeta disappeared and reappeared again, smashing his fist into Frieza's face. And after the first blow made contact, Frieza began dodging his punches, kicks, knees and elbows, but the more Frieza dodged, the faster Vegeta attacked. Bulma had never seen such a fight. This was nothing compared to the fights she witnessed on television, and they were even made up to make the fights more interesting. Her eyes could barely follow Vegeta and Frieza's movements. It was very alien of them, and fitting nevertheless.

Both of them stopped and Bulma saw that Vegeta had landed another punch to Frieza's face, but the tiled floor behind his heels was bunched up like a carpet, and it looked like Vegeta had just punched a brick wall.

Frieza grabbed Vegeta's wrist and pushed it aside, a bloody smirk on his face. Vegeta's eyes widened only a fraction of a second before a knee collided with his stomach, throwing him into the air. Bulma repressed her shriek.

Vegeta straightened himself out as he flew across the room, landing both his feet against the far wall and pushing off of it. His aura burst outward once more and Bulma guessed that he was using his ability to fly to assist him in charging back at Frieza through the air.

And then they disappeared. A flash of light appeared to her right, and another to her left, and a third above her. She glanced at Goku, who seemed to still be watching a fight, but both the fighters were invisible to her. But then she saw them, throwing a multitude of attacks at each other as the other dodged them or caught the attack. And they were fighting in midair, near the top of the tall glass ceiling.

And then, in another flash of light, they were on opposite sides of the room, charging at one another again. And when they met, Bulma could see Vegeta throw a punch and Frieza dodge it and kick him in the same movement. His foot landed on Vegeta's chest, knocking the wind out of him.

And then Frieza disappeared.

"Get back here, you coward!" Vegeta yelled, flying down towards the floor, but Bulma couldn't see where Frieza was. "Kakarot!" Vegeta shouted urgently, and the next thing she knew, Goku was hitting her in the back, knocking her forward. She felt a breeze go over her back before she sat up again and realized that Frieza must have targeted her instead of focusing on his fight with Vegeta. She forced down saliva. It wouldn't be very good if he continued on that tactic, seeing as she couldn't always see where Frieza was coming from.

Five more flashes of light blinded Bulma like camera flashes, while both Vegeta and Frieza were invisible to her limited Earthling sight. But when Vegeta appeared, and Frieza appeared behind him, Vegeta just disappeared again, causing Frieza's attacks to be futile.

And then Frieza reappeared to Bulma's eyes near the ceiling, and looked as if he was lost. He glanced around as he floated in the air, but apparently, he could find Vegeta as much as she could. And then she saw him, before Frieza did, which was a surprise. He came from above and elbowed Frieza in the back, driving him all the way to the floor, and shattering the tiles where he landed.

As soon as Frieza stood, Vegeta landed a solid kick to the left side of his face, forcing him back down to the ground as his body skidded along the floor. He skipped like a flat rock on water before coming to a stop and staying there.

Vegeta landed, his back to Frieza, in front of Bulma and Goku.

"I-Is it over?" Bulma stammered, glancing over at Frieza's still and quiet form. For once, he wasn't insulting anyone or barking orders at them.

"I doubt it," Goku said, and then smiled up at Vegeta, almost like a proud father would smile at his son. "I didn't know you Ascended, Vegeta. But I never thought you would have neglected to tell me."

"Ascended?" Bulma asked, and then looked to Vegeta. "What does that mean?"

"It means he's an Ascended Saiyan," Goku replied, gathering Bulma's attention. "It's what comes after a Super Saiyan. It's the next stage in power, you could say." Goku looked back to Vegeta. "When did it happen?" he asked curiously.

"Before you arrived. When we first got here."

Bulma froze. Did he mean when he realized that she wasn't dead, just captured by Frieza's henchmen?

"I…" Frieza mumbled, and Vegeta turned around to face his opponent. "I… dislike… being ignored," he said mockingly, repeating what Vegeta had said before. But Vegeta didn't take the bait. His golden aura lowered until it was no longer visible, and his hair looked more like it had been bleached white rather than a beautiful shade of gold.

Vegeta arrogantly swaggered over to Frieza, who was trying to lift himself off the ground, but shaking as he did so.

"How?" he whispered, and then raised his voice, "Just how could a lowlife Saiyan idiot like you beat me?! I… must have… miscalculated something." He stammered as he lifted himself and eventually got to one knee.

"Stay down!" Vegeta shouted, opening his palm and facing it towards Frieza. His aura shot right back up again, too, brightening the room. But Frieza didn't listen. Instead, he stood, holding his left elbow with his right hand as blood tricked down his arm. Bulma wrinkled her nose when she saw that his blood was purple instead of red. It hit the broken floor with a loud splattering noise.

Vegeta roared as a bright blue light formed in the palm of his outward-facing hand. And when it was fired, the room turned white, doused in the light of the energy coming from his attack. Bulma yelped and turned her head away. It was like looking directly at the sun, and her eyes were watering even when she looked away from it. She enviously noticed Goku's wide eyes watch every move Vegeta made.

When the light dissipated, Bulma opened her eyes to a cloud of smoke. Pieces of the floor had turned to ash and were now raining down on her and Goku. She waited patiently for the smoke to clear so she could see what had happened.

But when it cleared, Vegeta was standing on the ground, his aura still flared up around his golden form. Frieza was nowhere to be found.

"Was that it?" she asked, her eyes combing the floor for a skull, or something to tell her that it was finally over.

"No," was Goku's simple reply, "He's up there." He pointed to the ceiling, and Bulma followed his finger to find that the glass at the top of the room had been shattered, and Frieza was hovering just outside of the broken glass. And both he and Vegeta were just staring at each other, without a sound or a movement.

And then Bulma saw Frieza smirk. And in the next second, he was gone. Vegeta snarled as his aura became bigger, and he shot into the air after him. Bulma saw four flashes in different places before she found them both, off to the left. Frieza threw a punch, but Vegeta disappeared and he was left hovering in the air, off-balance. But as Vegeta reappeared behind him to deliver a kick to the skull, Frieza disappeared and reappeared up above them, hanging upside down as he mocked Vegeta with crossed arms.

"You have some nice tricks, little prince," he said, a sweet and sour tone in his voice. "But, although they were impressive, I find myself getting bored with you. So, if you have any other tricks you'd like to perform for me, feel free to do so before I finish you." He concluded with a nail check, scanning over his hand and flipping it over a few times to get his point across.

"You want to see my tricks?" Vegeta shouted. "Then I'm happy to accommodate you!"

Vegeta soared up to the top of the room and slammed the bottom of his palm into Frieza's jaw with such speed that even Frieza hadn't seen it coming. He tried to retaliate with a punch, but Vegeta ducked out of the way as he took his swing. He then landed a solid fist in Frieza's stomach, and Bulma saw him cough up more purple blood. Vegeta took his opportunity and flew up, elbowing his father's murderer in the back of the neck. Frieza barely had the time to stop himself before coming in contact with a painful hit to the tiled floor below. But less than a second later, Vegeta came down on top of him, landing both feet on his back and slamming him into the floor not a foot away from his body from his previous fall.

Vegeta flipped backwards in the air and lightly tapped back down to the floor as a cloud of dust and debris from the smashed and shattered floor shrouded Frieza. He wasn't moving.

And as if to say that he wasn't getting back up anytime soon, Vegeta let go of his flowing gold aura, and put his back to Frieza. He walked over to the two of them and knelt down.

"Is it over now?" Bulma asked again, hoping for a simple yes as the response. Vegeta turned around to look at his opponent while he answered her.

"He's still alive, but it would be foolish and stupid to get up after that. Even for Frieza. If he gets up, I'll kill him. If not… I'll kill him later."

Goku chuckled. "Wow. Remind me to have a fight with you when this is all over— Vegeta, look out!—"

A blast from behind hit Vegeta in the back and he let out a scream of pain. And when he whipped back around in fury,, his aura coming back stronger than before, Bulma saw that one of the lager gashes on his back had been opened. And it was already starting to bleed heavily down his back, staining the top of his blue spandex training pants.

"I dislike being ignored!" Frieza gurgled, choking on his own saliva and blood as he tried to force out a laugh. But the joke didn't go over well with Vegeta. He straightened his posture, and placed both his hands together, palms facing Frieza.

"Well now you have all of my attention, you fucking bastard! Enjoy it!" And he let out a stream of blue light and energy. It soared across the chamber and sounding like a boom of thunder as the entire room filled up with another thick cloud of dust from the blast. And when it cleared a few moments later, Bulma looked away from Frieza's mangled form. His purple blood had splattered over the wall behind him and his face was torn, his teeth showing from what looked to be a broken jaw. His skull had caved in on the left side, leaving a large dent filled with bubbled, purple blood. His ruby red eyes were glazed over with a light blue hue and he seemed to be staring at the ceiling.

Bulma couldn't help but bury her face in her hands, but a second later, she felt Vegeta's arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him. They stayed like that for only a few seconds before Bulma's side became wet and slippery. She looked at her clothes and found them stained and dripping with Vegeta's blood. The sight of red blood made her finally feel like it was truly over, but it also made her heart race.

"We have to get you some help," she said quickly, and turned to Goku, "You, too, Goku… Goku?" But he was unconscious, lying on his back on the floor behind her. "Vegeta, we have to help…" But he was breathing heavily, and now his comforting arm around her shoulders was being used to hold him upright as he leaned against her for support. "Vegeta…" He grunted as he tried to sit up, but he ended up knocking them both over. Bulma spat when his blood dripped into her mouth when she gasped as they hit the floor. "Please. You have to get up," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking him. "Goku's out. You have to get him out of here, Vegeta. Please, try and get up."

She didn't know what fighting could have done to Vegeta when he was injured like he was, but she knew that his bleeding, reopened gash certainly wasn't good for him at all.

"Goku?" she said softly, reaching for the other Saiyan. His hair was back to its originally spikey, black style, but his eyes were closed, so she couldn't see if they were still teal or not. "Goku, wake up," she said, raising her voice as she used her free hand to shake him back and forth. "Vegeta," she pleaded, looking back at him, but his eyes had closed. "Guys! Wake up! We can't stay here. We have to leave now. Do you hear me? Vegeta? You have to get up!"

But just as she finished shouting, the large doors to the main chambers squeaked as they were pushed against, and Bulma's head whipped around in fright and panic. She couldn't count them, but she guessed that there must have been at least fifteen henchmen entering the room. Her breath caught in her throat and she coughed, almost choking on it.

"Please," she whispered desperately, "Get up. Please, you have to get up."

The henchmen glanced at her, and she saw the way they looked at her, like she was a piece of meat, a rare cut that they didn't get to enjoy very often. But one of them noticed Frieza's mangled corpse stuck against the far wall, and he pointed it out to the others, who locked their gazes on the bloody body. It was as if Bulma was no longer in the room to them. And when they turned back to face her, they didn't even see her. All they saw was Vegeta, and the way he was leaning on her, the blood draining from his body.

And that was when Bulma understood. Frieza was dead, and Vegeta, the rightful heir to the throne of Planet Vegeta, was lying unconscious, bleeding as he used her for support. Two things clicked in her mind. The first was that they now recognized Vegeta as their leader. The second was that, even though neither Goku nor Vegeta was coherent enough to help her if need be, the lowly henchmen wouldn't dare harm her if she was close to Vegeta, their new king. She was safe, and she was strangely sure of it.

"Well?!" she shouted at them. "Don't just stand there! He needs medical attention, immediately! And so does he!" She pointed to Goku to make sure they wouldn't forget him in their rush to assist Vegeta.

And in the next second, a throng of henchmen was surrounding the three of them. And Bulma couldn't help but laugh as two stretchers were brought out to them. She understood now. They were going to be okay. All three of them. They were all going to be okay. It was over. It was finally over…

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Bulma sat in a room by herself, on a long bench that looked like it could have seated six or seven people without crowding them. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, but she guessed it had probably been quite some time. Her butt was numb, and she no longer had the strength to cross her legs. Instead, they just sprawled out in front of her.

Her eyes were dry, and her eyelids felt heavy. She needed to rest. She hadn't slept in over a day or two. She wasn't even sure how much time had passed since she was captured back at Broly's house. But she couldn't fall asleep. Not until she knew that Vegeta was going to be okay. She worried about Chichi, wherever she was. Goku's recovery went well, but he was still resting. And he was the only one who knew where Chichi was, and he refused to tell the henchmen so that they could go get her. She assumed that he was still weary, and probably thought that the henchmen were a danger.

Bulma was quite surprised at how easily the henchmen had come to her and her Saiyan friends' aid when they saw that Freiza was dead. She thanked them in her head for being so quick about their decision, but she had also learned how easy it was for them to turn around and follow someone else's orders. She mentally shrugged. That was probably why they were only henchmen instead of anything greater than that. They were soldiers, bent on following orders. They were probably very confused when they had no one around to tell them what to do. Bulma guessed that that was the reason they had so eagerly listened to her when she told them to help Goku and Vegeta.

But now that Frieza was gone, and Vegeta could take his rightful place on the throne as the planet's king, she couldn't help but realize that this was where they would part. Not forever, of course, but he planned to stay here and rule, like he should. And Bulma would have to go home to her parents and explain everything to them. She would probably be punished for a very long time, because she knew that they wouldn't understand. And Vegeta wouldn't be there with her.

She felt her eyes slowly closing, even thought she was fighting against it. She didn't want to sleep. Not until she got word of Vegeta's condition. Goku's rib was fixed in less than an hour. He was instructed not to train or fight for a while, but he was going to be just fine.

Bulma didn't understand what could be taking so long. He had wounds all over him, so they probably gave him a few stitches, and he lost a lot of blood, so they probably stuck a needle in him. She didn't know how it could be taking so long to get a single word about him.

Her eyes bolted open when she heard the door open, and a lady dressed in a white uniform stepped out. Bulma jumped up, almost forgetting about how tired she was, but she became slightly dizzy, and was forced to sit back down.

"How is he?" she urgently asked the woman.

"The King will be just fine." The woman said, and it took a fraction of a second that felt like ten minutes for Bulma to recognize that the lady meant Vegeta when she said the King. And she felt like jumping for joy. But instead, her dry eyes just stung a bit when she felt a tear trickle down the side of her face.

And then a loud bang came from inside the adjacent room, and the woman in the white uniform jumped uncontrollably. "Oh, no," she said, stepping back towards the door.

"What is it?" Bulma quickly asked.

"He's at it again. Broke the table and everything," she murmured nervously.

Bulma stood up slowly and walked toward to door, but the woman held out her hand to block her path.

"What do you think you're doing?" she reprimanded, as if Bulma was her daughter.

"I can make him stop breaking things, if that's what he's doing," she said simply, pursing her lips and smacking the woman's hand out of her way. Luckily, she obviously wasn't a Saiyan, because Bulma easily moved her out of the way.

"Please. You aren't allowed in there," the woman said, but Bulma ignored her and reached for the door. And just as she went to push on it, it opened, and Vegeta was standing right in front of her, and angry and prideful look on his face. Bulma caught a glimpse of a man lying on the floor and shattered glass around him before Vegeta stepped out and shut the door.

"You!" he shouted, pointing a finger at the woman, "Ready a shuttle-pod! I want it ready for launch in five minutes!" Bulma sighed, but then realized that the space pod was probably for her. She hadn't realized that she would be leaving so soon.

Vegeta stomped out of the exit and into a hallway. "Get this place cleaned up!" he shouted to someone, "It looks like a garbage dump in here! Do you think I want this place to look like a dump?! This is my palace now! I doubt you would let it get this disgusting if my father was here! Would you?!"

"Vegeta," Bulma called, chasing after him and grabbing at the back of his thin white shirt. She thought he looked funny in a white t-shirt and black pants, neither of which hugged his form at all. He still looked as handsome as ever, but the new look made Bulma have to control the way she stared at him from behind.

"You should get some rest," he said without turning to her, and Bulma sighed at the reminder. Her eyelids seemed to gain an extra ten pounds just from him mentioning it.

A man trotted up beside her and held out something in his palm to Vegeta, his head bowed low. In his other hand was a small paper cup filled to the rim with crystal-clear water. "Sir, you have to take the medicine, or your wounds could become infected," the man pleaded, but Vegeta ignored him, folding his arms across his chest and purposefully avoiding looking at the man.

"Here," Bulma said, taking the cup from the man as he looked at her, surprised as if he hadn't noticed her there before. "I'll give it to him." He cautiously gave her the medicine, which was nothing more than a small pink pill, and then hurried off, probably anxious to get away from Vegeta after the mess he just caused and his angry rampage from being treated by physicians.

When the man was gone, Vegeta began walking down the corridor. Bulma stayed with him, and held out the paper cup. She didn't know how long the inside layer could prevent the water from soaking into the cup, but she wasn't planning on finding out.

"Will you please take this?" she asked politely, trying not to press. "The last thing you need is an infection, too."

And then he stopped walking, and he turned to her. "Do you want to leave now?" he asked, his gaze locked on her, and for the first time in a while, she knew that all he saw was her. He didn't pay any heed to where they were, or the people that skittered by, aware of their new king's presence.

"That depends," she replied. "I would love to go back to Earth and see my parents before they have a heart attack. But I don't want to leave because…" She paused, not sure if bringing up the topic of separation would cause anything sudden to happen. She didn't want him to send her on her way. But he asked for the pod to be ready in five minutes, half of which were probably already gone by now.

"Why?" he asked, but Bulma was sure he knew the answer. Maybe he just wanted to hear her say it, but she didn't appreciate it.

"You know the reason why I'd rather stay," she replied.

"Me," he said. It wasn't a question. And Bulma nodded sarcastically, feeling the need to insult his intelligence because of it, but keeping her mouth shut. Instead, she just pushed his shoulder and began walking again. "Do you want to stay?" he asked, and she turned back to him. He hadn't moved to follow after her.

"I would love to, but you know I can't. My parents, and school, and all of this…"

"What?" He lifted an eyebrow.

"Everyone on this planet is stronger than me. Didn't we go over this already? It wouldn't be very safe for me here. You said it yourself. And I need to see my parents, too. It doesn't feel right just leaving them there without knowing anything about where I've gone. They probably blame you, you know," she giggled. "Well, my father definitely does. I think my mom was starting to warm up to you a bit, though." She smiled at him and titled her head. He wasn't smiling back. He looked more like he was thinking about something offhandedly.

"Do you… want me to come back with you?" he asked, and Bulma jumped.

"What did you just say?" she asked, stopping her jaw from dropping. "After everything you told me about it being almost impossible for you to leave here after you ascended the throne, you're asking me if I want you to come back to Earth?"

"Obviously," he replied, rolling his eyes arrogantly as he unfolded his arms to place them at his sides. "This planet is boring me already anyway…"

Bulma couldn't help but laugh as she smiled. She ran up to him and tackled him with a hug, which didn't move him at all, but she felt his hand move to the small of her back in response, and his lips touched down on top of her head. She felt him breath in the scent of her hair, which she hoped didn't smell all that bad from her lack of a shower for a good four or five days. But after only a few seconds, he placed a hand on her shoulder and pried her off of him.

"But you're forgetting something," he said, placing the tip of his pointer finger on her forehead and lightly trailing it down her nose, over her lips, and under her chin. He lifted her face and kissed her forcefully, instantly parting her lips with his and breathing her in. Bulma moved her lips in time with his, feeling the familiarly cool breath hit her. It was like the first kiss all over again, hot and passionate. But, again, after a few seconds, he separated them. "Kakarot has informed me of where we will find his raven, and I'm sure he doesn't want her to stay out much longer."

"So we have to go find her?" Bulma breathed, cursing herself for losing her breath so easily. Vegeta seemed to be fine after their kiss, but all she could think about was doing it again. They hadn't kissed in so long, and now that the fighting was over, she felt her raging hormones attack her brain once more, clouding her judgment and making her thoughts focus on what they could do once they were out of the public's eye.

"No. I ordered a few lowlifes back there to find her about an hour ago. They should be back any minute now. Kakarot will find his own way out, and I'm sure the raven will want to stay with him. So, they can follow after us later. They already said that they both plan on going back to Earth anyway, so what fun could I possibly have here without those two to entertain me?"

Bulma shook her head and laughed. "So, we can leave right away?"

"Once you pack your things," he replied.

"That's convenient. I didn't bring anything with me. Well, nothing that I can salvage now," she shrugged. "So we can leave... Unless you want to pack anything?"

He shook his head and began walking again, passing her and taking her hand, intertwining their fingers as he pulled her along. Bulma smiled at the floor.

"Next stop… home," she whispered, closing her hand tightly over his.

"Home it is," he said.