Chapter 10- Departure

Collifla looked around her room. All her uniforms had been packed and all her personal things had been stowed. She pushed a button on her new scouter.
"11:00 already?" She asked herself softly. Her ship was scheduled to leave in an hour. She couldn't believe she was doing this. She had never been apart from Vegeta for very long. And now…? Five years.

Time, sometimes the time just slips away
And your left with yesterday
Left with the memories


She walked through the open door and stared into her room one last time as the door shut behind her. She sighed when the familiar click of the lock she had barely noticed since she had lived in the palace with the prince. Her prince. Her Vegeta. Her foster brother. She hoped their children would marry someday. It would keep the royal bloodline pure and perfect. In their opinions, of course. She thought, smirking.

I, I'll always think of you and smile
And be happy for the time
I had you with me


She dragged her bag down the corridor to the docking bay. As she rounded the corner, a hand reached out to grab her shoulder. She turned to look into the face of her brother's best friend. His square face was tight with repression and he ran a hand over his short brown hair.
"Hey, kid," he said roughly.
"Hey Oiono," she replied. He fidgeted for a moment, then clapped her on the shoulder. He grinned down at her.
"Good luck, squirt," he said finally. She smirked back at him.
"Like I need it," she said, more or less convincing herself. Ono saw it in a second and smirked right back. They parted and walked down either hallway. She reached the loading dock and punched in the access code.

Though we go our separate ways
I won't forget so don't forget
The memories we made


The door hissed open to the huge glass dome. Vegeta stood waiting for her. His hands were behind his back, and he looked pensively up into the day-lit sky. Collifla approached him and stood next to him in front of her pod, being busily prepared and loaded by grunts and slaves. They were only 10. It was strange how much higher a maturity level they possessed than other races. The prince looked at her.

Please remember, please remember
I was there for you
And you were there for me

"I don't think I shall ever marry," He said suddenly.
"Why not?" Asked Collifla curiously.
"All the females here are idiots. None suit me. Except you that is," He said, looking at her. Collifla gave him a friendly hit.
"I'm flattered highness," She said. He looked at her seriously. He took her hand and opened it. He put a pair of gold earrings in her hand.
"For you. It means we'll always be friends (if there is such a thing). Whether you die or not," He said.

Please remember, our time together
The time was yours and mine
While we were wild and free
Please remember, please remember me


Then he gave her a large velvet box, "This is for when you get back. I'd like you to hold on to it so some female doesn't trick me into giving it to them while you're gone." Collifla opened the box. Inside was a necklace that had a chain of black pearls with a black diamond pendant.
"The Queen's Necklace," She whispered, "I can't take this. We could never be like that…." Vegeta smirked.

Goodbye, there's just no sadder word to say
And it's sad to walk away
With just the memories


"I'm not planning on it," he snorted, then turned thoughtful with an almost (but not quite) mischievous expression on his face, "Maybe I'll just knock up some Saiyan female to have my child and you can run the planet with me. You're the only female here smart enough to be Queen, and tolerable enough for me to live with for the rest of my life. It's the perfect plan." Any earthling girl would have slapped Vegeta and run off crying, but not Collifla. She thought it was the perfect plan too. If she wanted to, she could get knocked up by any guy she wanted. She was only 10, and already the object of some young warriors' affections (even though she beat the crap out of all of them). She never had to get pregnant (Saiyanesses were only fertile every eight years with the full moon) and she could be queen. It WAS perfect.

Who's to know what might have been?

"I think you'll find someone to marry, Veggie."
"No I won't, baka onna!" He said smugly, his arms crossed.
"Would you stop calling me that?!" Collifla growled.
"What about onna?"
"NO! What is it with you and that phrase?!"
"I like it and I'm not going to marry."
"You'll find someone who'll be able to push you around as well as I can, but she'll be prettier and more feminine and you'll just fall head over heels!" Collifla cried, growing uncharacteristically starry-eyed. Vegeta stared for a moment. Collifla glanced at his shock impression and straightened abruptly.
"Well you will," she said simply.

We'll leave behind a life and time
I'll never know again


"You Collifla? Time to go," Said a Saiyan grunt. With a bow to the prince, he gestured towards the pod. Vegeta and Collifla clasped wrists.
"Never give up, alright? You'll make it and we'll see each other again. If I find out that you've given up, I'll find you and beat those ridiculous thoughts out of your head. If I find out you've died, I'll kill myself, find you, and beat the crap out of you for letting it happen. We will see each other again."

Please remember, please remember
I was there for you
And you were there for me
And remember, please remember me


"I know."
"You always know, Lili."
"Well, I'm always right aren't I?"
"Not always."
"You're fighting a losing battle Veggie."
"Shut up and get in the pod. I'll see you in five years when the challenge is over."
"Hai, wagakimi." They pulled each other into a hug, not caring whether anyone saw. She walked through the airlock and climbed into the pod. She gave one last wave to her friend. The door shut slowly until… The lights flickered on in her pod and she had to press her nose against the glass to see the purple-tinted figure of the prince.

Please remember, please remember
I was there for you
And you were there for me


Smoke curled around the spherical ship. The grips were removed and the hovering mechanisms worked automatically. Collifla barely noticed any of the activity going on around her. She was focused on the silhouette of her best friend. Standing motionless behind the glass in front of her ship. The ship pulled away from the docking bay and drifted lazily upward to the gaping mouth of the port. As Vegeta slowly walked up the spiral staircase with the ship while it floated slowly, memories swirled through each of their minds.

Please remember, our time together
The time was yours and mine
While we were wild and free
Please remember, please remember me


How can I possibly get through this? I'll be assigned to a planet without her… Thought Vegeta. He'd be receiving an assignment soon enough. He would take it and smirk, announcing to everyone how he would conquer it in barely a day, and whisk off to destroy. How boring… He'd turn into a jerk without her. Nobody would be there to make him laugh or anything. Everything they did was a game. Their hot tempers would flare, and they'd always end up laughing. She was to funny when she was mad, especially when her hair was wet…

And how we laughed and how we smiled

How am I supposed to get through this? I'll be all alone without him… Though Collifla. She was worried about him. How would he change without her there to keep him in line? He'd better not cop an attitude… Collifla laughed when she listened to the thoughts that raced through her mind. She was a Saiyan. Why should she care? It's his life to do with as he pleases. If he wants to let his ego to take over, it'll be his own weakness. Why should you care? I'll tell you why, Collifla. Because you let yourself. Letting yourself care is a weakness in your world! But answer me this, Collifla; would you have it any other way?
"No," whispered Collifla to the voice in her mind.

And how this heart was yours and mine

He would become a Super Saiyan. That's how he would repay her. He knew that nothing would please her more than to see him become a legend. Just as nothing would please him more to see her become just as powerful. Nothing was impossible when she was around. Everything was merely a hurdle, and if you couldn't jump over it, you'd blow it to pieces and walk over it.

And how a dream was out of reach

Collifla wondered how she would have managed her years on Vegeta-sei without the prince at her side. She would have gotten along, to be sure, but… There would have been a lot more pain than she cared to face. Physical pain she could deal with, but not the kind she would have had to face without him. There was a bond. It wasn't love, it would never be love. It was something above it. Something they convinced themselves was allowed in their culture.

I stood by you, you stood by me

What kind of person would he have been without her to keep his ego in check? She was always there to smack him upside the head when he got too full of himself and got him out of trouble every single time. It was so strange the way he changed when he was around her. His ego was non-existent and he was flexible to ideas other than his own. Occasionally it took a bit of force to get him that flexible, but it worked. Very few people could rough him up and get away with it. She showed him how to see life. He never saw flowers as a colorful annoyance before she had dragged him into Hanafusa Fields and forced him to look at the thousands of beautiful varieties.

We took each day and made it shine

*Remember Veggie, whenever we think of each other on another planet, we look at the Saiyan Nebula. You remember, the Saiyan people's first conquest?* *Of course I know, baka onna! I'm the one who told you about it!* *Would you stop calling me baka onna?!* *No, I told you I like that phrase. I like onna too. I'm going to use it only on the females I like, in this case, you.* *The ones you like? What about the ones you don't like?* *Something much nastier* *Figures.* *You're leaving in a few seconds and all we're doing is arguing telepathically. Is there something wrong with this picture?!?!* *Nah. This is how I want to remember you.* Collifla stated in her mind with a smile. Vegeta laughed softly.

We wrote our names across the sky

Collifla remembered Vegeta's extreme ki blasts and uppercut. Vegeta remembered her dazzling technique and roundhouse. It baffled him how any being could lift their leg so high… Life was beautiful when they were around each other. It had no direct purpose, but it had meaning.

We ride so fast, we ride so free

No matter what happens, Collifla thought, We'll still have each other. Even if we never see each other again. She clutched the earrings in her fist. Vegeta reached the top of the steps and fingered the pouch he secretly stashed all the dried flowers she had given him that he'd pretended to throw away.

And I had you and you had me

I won't miss his arrogance…I won't miss her bossiness…Or his ignorance…Or her being such a know-it-all…He's a royal pain in the ass…She's just a manipulative bitch …He's my prince…She's my sparring partner…My Veggie…My Lili…My best friend…My best friend…

Please remember

Collifla stared through the glass at Vegeta. The capsule flew through the exit and prepared the engines. Collifla waved down. Vegeta waved back from below, staring straight into her eyes through the purple tinted window. The space pod had gotten through the door. It slowly closed behind the ship. Vegeta waved furiously at her. She waved right back until… The large metal door below her had shut and her prince had disappeared from view.

Please remember…

"Vegeta?" "Leave me alone, onna!" "Are you… crying?" "NO! Get the hell away from me!" "You ARE!!! OH!!! Veggie-chan!!!" "NO! Fuck you! Get away!" "Yeah, I suppose it was incredibly sappy." "Damn right it was!" "The next saga is definitely much more dramatic and less happy." "I know that. Those years were the worst of my fucking life!"