Disclaimer: I wish I owned DBZ and/or the Dark Jewels. However that wish has been denied by the great dragon. And they say those balls will grant you anything. *sigh*

Priceless Jewels
Chapter 10-The Gathering

Vegeta was already sitting at the table when Bulma came downstairs. She had been disappointed to find herself alone in bed; right up until she remembered whom she had expected to find upon waking up. The glaring man seated at the table looked as if he had already been training that morning. If only he would just go Super so we could all have a little rest for a change.

"I heard that! And where's my breakfast Woman?" the angry prince demanded. Bulma stared at him for a minute before baring her teeth in a smile.

"Uncooked. I'm going to pack some of my stuff and then I have to get the GR ready to capsulate so that a certain someone doesn't get bitchier than usual while when he's in Kaeleer. You can either order something on this nifty little device called a phone or fix something for yourself, but either way we are leaving in an hour. Now get packed!" She stalked out leaving the saiyan prince sputtering angrily in her wake.

Bulma walked into her lab and started to sort through her stuff. She capsulated half of her technical equipment, including her laptop, before going to the tiny room that none of her lab assistants had ever been into, or even seemed to have noticed before. As she was in there she started to gather all of her old equipment: fresh herbs, frames for the tangled webs and healing webs, small vials filled with various colored substances. These should come in handy later. After gathering all of the frames and samples she needed she vanished all of it, sending it to the place that she had learned to think of as her own invisible cupboard, that only she could get into and that was maintained by a small flow of her power.

She smiled at the thought. That was how her grandfather had convinced her to think of it when she had balked at learning to use her powers, her wonderful warm grandfather. She'd heard stories that once, long ago he had been very cold before he had moved to Kaeleer but she just couldn't see it. All she could see whenever she thought of him was that gorgeous sculpted face, the loving gold eyes that were the color of melted butter, eyes framed by thick black hair she had loved to touch as a child. The gentle slim fingered hands with the long tinted black nails that had always seemed to be there to pick her up whenever she had fallen down. Grandpa Daemon was so sophisticated, totally different from Uncle Lucivar.

Lucivar. She smiled in memory. Arrogant, prickly Uncle Lucivar. She thought of his lazy arrogant smile when he told you that you were going to do something whether you wanted to or not. The same irritating smile he had been wearing the day he had forced her reluctant small fingers around an Eyrien fighting stick. She had loved playing with his hair too when she was younger. He had defiantly long black hair and he'd snap his bat like wings in annoyance at her when she tried to float up and grab it.

I got so much from them, all of them. Khardeen, with his curly reddish hair and bright blue eyes, shared with her his love of horses made her learn to ride, learn how to communicate with even non-Blood animals. And Chaosti. The pale silvery haired and pale blue-eyed warlord prince had taught her how to use a knife. That reminds me. She summoned the Dea al Mon hunting knife from her 'cabinet' and slid it out of the sheath, checking the edges carefully to make sure that it was as sharp as it was meant to be. Not much different from the stiletto Surreal had given her for her twelfth birthday. And Surreal had quietly taken me aside and taught me how to be an effective assassin if my life in Terreille demanded that I be able to take care of myself, and that little talk she sat down and gave me about sex when I only a couple of years older than that. Boy, that was an eye opener. And Karla with her wicked sense of humor had always been there to cheer me up. I miss them all so much.

Bulma, smiling at the bittersweet memories, didn't notice the tears that welled up in her eyes as she thought of each of her friends. Friends that she could never see again, because they had all returned to the Darkness. They were all gone, beyond her reach; just like Jaenelle. Whoever did this is going to learn that everything has a price, and the one I demand is high. She slammed the knife back home, comfortable enough with the knife not to watch her hands as she did so. A dangerous look entered her eyes, a look that would have left anyone seeing it cold, bitterly cold.

Vegeta stood outside of the small room, his arms braced against the frame of the door as he felt the pain that cut away at her heart, saw the images of all the people she had loved and had lost to the still unknown enemy force, felt the slowly building rage that tore at her self control, wanted to strike out with all of the force of her suffering. The saiyan felt a white-hot anger begin to burn in his stomach, matching that of his mate's. His breathing deepened. Everything was held in the balance, the war drum that sounded the beats of his heart was loud in his ears. And time slowed as an instant grew into eternity, an eternity in which anything moving would have died.

He slowly pulled away from the edge when Bulma suddenly opened the door, quickly stepping back before she could run into him. He saw her eyes stare at him. Not with fear but with fascination. He didn't understand the thoughtful look that entered her eyes, didn't know why she looked so intensely at him, as if she could see into his very soul. Which with the bond he knew she could, at least once she learned how to at any rate. He realized what she had been staring about when she reached out a hand and cupped a flame of yellow energy that had entered his ki when he had unknowingly began to power up. A small black dome appeared, capturing the energy, holding it there rather than allowing it to distinguish when he slipped completely from the inner edge he had just been riding on.

"Looks like you almost went super Vegeta," she observed. "Would you mind if I keep this? There's something bothering me and I think this might be part of the answer." She stared at the small flicker held prisoner in the energy she had produced. Vegeta watched his ki dancing less than an inch from her palm.

"Take it then Woman. I came to check on you since you were so adamant that we leave in an hour. You're late by the way," he grumbled at her as if he was annoyed, but he was watching her closely. She had managed to hide her grief quickly, but he felt it, muted as if it was hidden behind a wall, but it was there. His next thought brought him a surprising rush of pride. She's strong, my mate.

"Oh, you have everything you'll need packed already? Where is it at?"

"Outside Woman, now hurry before we're any later than we already are. Besides I still have some questions that you're going to answer."

"Oh yeah, like?" she asked him absently staring at the tiny ball she held.

"Like why you've never used the powers you obviously have? Do the others have one of those marks of safe passage and is that why we need them? What happened to you last night? There's more to the Terreille and Kaeleer story also isn't there? Who is the danger to you? Why do you need to go back to this Kaeleer place so quickly? Why-?" his question was cut off when Bulma waved a hand and grumbled, "Alright, all right already. I get the point. I'll go ahead and give you the quick version. We'll need to stop somewhere and get you something to eat on the way anyway. Let's go." They walked out of the house as Bulma continued the explanation that had been cut short the night before.

~The Altar~

"Um, 18? Why are we here?"

"Because Bulma needs us and we are going to be here for her, aren't we love?" her voice took on an edge as she answered the same question she had been asked five minutes ago…and five minutes before that…and on the flight… and when she had roused him from bed before usual…

"Well yeah of course." Krillin was quiet for a moment looking around at the heavy dark stone temple that stood towering over them. "But why does Bulma need to meet us in such a spooky place when she can talk to you on the phone from anyplace?"

"Listen Krillin, this is important. There are some things you guys don't know about us, and you're going to be a bit surprised when you do. You might even-" she cut herself off abruptly, "but it's necessary so now we're here okay?"

"What? I might even what?" Krillin asked his gorgeous blonde wife. She looked at him sadly and walked away to sit down on a rock staring pensively at the building herself now. Krillin was upset to see his wife looking so withdrawn so he cast about for a subject to distract them. He noticed the bracelet she was wearing and he realized that aside from the simple wedding ring he had given her she never wore jewelry.

"Hey, that's a pretty bracelet honey. Where'd you get it?"

"It's been mine since I was 17. Think of it as a part of me I don't bring out very often," she replied quietly, lightly toughing the dark stone.

Before Krillin could think of a way to respond to the strange mix of sadness and pleasure in her voice he sensed some really powerful ki approaching. Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan. He squinted at the sky. Hm, looks like ChiChi too. Well the gang's just about all here. Wonder where Bulma and Yamcha and Vegeta are?

When the others landed they all greeted each other, the women watched their exchange withdrawing slightly so that they stood somewhat separate from the group of males. ChiChi saw Krillin's concern for his wife in his eyes and his frustration at being unable to do anything about it.

*You haven't told him. *

*You've told Goku? He's taking it very well I must say. Of course he's a simple man, he might not understand the potential complications that might result from this. *

*Actually… *

*I see. ChiChi, we need to tell them. If Bulma arrives and they don't know what's going on she'll have to tell them herself. She doesn't need the strain of dealing with distressed males. She's just lost her grandmother. *

*You're right 18. Of course you're right. But I wanted… *

*I know. *

ChiChi cleared her throat, wincing when 4 sets of male eyes swiveled to her.


A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a little slow. I'm setting the groundwork for the upcoming action, and the next couple of chapters are going to be used mainly to establish everything you guys'll need to be aware of. If you have any questtions let me know and I'll try to clarify the answer in the story for you. Kissing Bloody Roses is still getting updated, as frequently as mine is, since that's what we've been using sixth period for. ^_^ Also, I have another story I've written. It'd be in the original section, but does anyone think I should post it or should I just finish this one first? If I post it, this one will get updated less frequently, but my other story is good too. *shrugs* Let's take a vote!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for Reviews~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Empress Sarah-sama: Um, that's a good thing right? Thanks for reviewing.

nattie: I'm sorry your brain is fried, I hope it gets better.Lol, Thanks for reviewing.

kappies: I'm sorry it upset you that I had to kill Jaenelle. If it will help you feel better a)Jaenelle had a full life until she died happily in the arms of Daemon b) the 'presence' is in for it now! But I'm glad you liked that part. I was going to leave it out, but I realized I wanted her to not be normal till she woke up the next day. Then i realized how uncomfortable sleeping with someone with a horn could be. @_# *ouch*lol

Roya: If you beg you shall recieve. ^_^ Hope you like this chapter. As I mentioned earlier it's a bit slow, but it'll be important later.

manga: Thanks for catching my typo. I don't know what I was thinking T_T. And thanks as always for your imput.

saiyangirl16: Yes, I've read the series and it was great! You should check them out too. I appreciate the reviewing.

Kiarener: Sorry if it seems confusing. Reading the trilogy would help, but probably not much, except for the references to people in this chapter. So you should just read the series anyway just cause it's good. ^_^

Raksha: I'm glad you liked it. And no Yamcha will not find solace in the source of his downfa... I mean, alcohol and women for very long. I'm glad you like Kissing Bloody Roses. You want to check that one like everyday. Unlike this story Icia's already has that one written out and she's just breaking it into chapters for posting. Therefore it bears as close if not closer watching than this fic does. The Darkness embrace you as always dark sister.