Disclaimer : Don't own it, don't sue me.
Rating : R - Of course that could change, for the better. ^_~


Chapter One : A Space Odyssey

Bulma looked up and scanned the midnight sky, her azure eyes filled with excited emotion, 'Space...' she thought. Suddenly the still night churned and cold winds blew from behind, making her porcelain skin break out into goose bumps. She let herself shiver. Her heart was beating rapidly and although it was freezing outside she felt none of it. Tomorrow she would leave in a space shuttle she created herself, and in that ship she was to travel wherever she felt.

She had been building up this day for months in her mind, and she was finally past the fear of leaving home, she was ready to jump in that ship and take herself wherever she wanted.

Bulma was young, around eight-teen and her search for the perfect boyfriend (that had been going on for the past five years) had been so far fruitless.

When she pitched the idea of traveling alone in open space ...her father absolutely refused. 'Of course...' she thought. Not that her father was over-protective or anything, Bulma could go anywhere she pleased.... on earth.

But now, after those five long years, earth just wasn't enough. She then made her father a deal, if she could create a shuttle that he'd approve of he'd have to let her travel. Mr.Briefs thought this a very good plan, at the time he had no idea of Bulma's brilliance with technology. He knew she was a genius, but he really had no idea what she was capable of, poor Mr.Briefs. It only took Bulma 9 months to create her shuttle.

Of course she told her father this little "trip" was just a way to stretch her growing legs and learn more about space and other cultures and civilizations, she would NOT mention her find-a-boyfriend ulterior motive.

A smug grin broke on her face, "If there's no good men on earth, I'll have to find one somewhere else..." she spoke in a whisper to herself.

She retired to her room, which was pretty much bare. She had put all of her fall, winter, and summer clothes in capsules. She left out the spring ones, as she was to wear those on board for the most part. She had also constructed special space suits prepared to take on everything from a changing gravity, to harsh climates, to acid-spitting aliens.

Her make-up and other must have accessories were also packed up in capsules. It was true that most of her belongings were in storage on board her ship, but she hated leaving home without the perfect shade of lipstick or glittering pump - made her feel so unprepared.

She smiled again, and she WOULD be prepared for this amazing Mr.right she'd find.

There would be no sleep that night, she was so far from dreamland. She wanted to get up and dance around like a maniac.

She sighed to herself and started to blush, her mind was clouded with fantasies of a strange yet handsome alien, taking her in his well-muscled arms and kissing her passionately. She wondered how exotic his planet would be, who he'd be... What if he was a prince?

Didn't THAT top-off the fantasy? Not only would he be a handsome alien from an exotic other world, but he was to be royalty as well! Bulma laughed beside herself, this trip was looking better and better.

Elsewhere, in another part of the universe...

"You're getting better, Kakkarot..." Prince Vegeta grunted and laid a hard punch across his sparring partner's face.

Kakkarot swung back and staggered, but not as much as he usually did. Of course Vegeta still took this as the perfect opportunity to swoop in and get the larger Saiyan on his back, then deliver relentless hard punches to his face and chest.

Crying out in pain and turning to his side, Kakkarot gagged a bit then coughed, sending a large amount of blood flying out of his mouth.

Vegeta smirked and stood, looking down he watched as the red substance spattered across the flawless ivory floor. "Had enough?" The form below him only coughed more. "You've got internal bleeding, Kakkarot." Vegeta looked up and nodded to two medics who were watching the fight, they were always on the side-lines of a match with Vegeta. They came and gently took Kakkarot away, he was to be put in the rejuvenation tanks, just like countless others who fought Prince Vegeta. Of course this person was his best friend, so his highness had gone easy on him, Kakkarot would only be in the tank for six hours (at the most).

With no new fighters available Vegeta headed out of the royal fighting chamber and off to his bed. He had been fighting since five in the morning, and it was now midnight. He hadn't meant to go so long, but lots of things were on his mind and he wished nothing more than to forget them.

Vegetasei was in trouble, (or used to be) the infamous Frieza monster had been wrecking havoc on the universe. The mad man was picking out planets and destroying them, keeping around only the ones he could use. No one knew when he would strike, but all planets had prepared for the invasion. Some of the weaker races collected rare items and anything else that might please Frieza enough to keep them spared. This had been the worst plan to have, as it was common knowledge that Frieza had (pretty much) everything he wanted. The stronger races were preparing for the attack by bulking up, and gearing every citizen for war. This is was what was happening on Vegetasei, until the call came in three months ago.

Word was received that Frieza had been defeated in a far away quarter of the universe, he had been blasted (along with an entire galaxy) into the other dimension. This should have been good news to the royal family of Vegetasei, and it was to Vegeta himself, for about a second. That was until he saw his father, or more like, didn't. During those past months the man was locked in seclusion, and had been training only with himself. The king was the strongest saiyan on Vegetasei, and so it's not like training with anyone else would make him stronger.

Then even after this news of Frieza's defeat the king still stayed in seclusion. This only confirmed to Vegeta that his father still felt the threat of Frieza's attack.

The monster still being alive didn't surprise the prince either, for years on end they heard nothing but how strong this Frieza was, how totally invincible his powers were. The whole universe heard outstanding tales about Frieza blasting whole galaxies to pieces with just his pointed finger. Then months later they hear Frieza had been destroyed in some remote corner of the universe? Some remote corner known for nothing more but having a few dead suns and some albino farming communities? No, Frieza was still around. Even if he had now gone into seclusion, the danger was still there.

Prince Vegeta hadn't seen his father in so long, which wasn't altogether unusual, but it did unnerve him, the man wasn't even present at meals!

As Vegeta showered and moved into bed he remembered that he himself had forgotten to eat that day. He sighed, and hoped no one would notice his odd behavior. It wouldn't look good if all the royals suddenly acted bizarre, especially after all this good news. The whole rest of the planet was in rejoice, there were parties almost every night with the common people. Vegeta could hear their shouting and crackling fires (probably complimented with huge feasts), through his open balcony door. The parties never kept him up, he usually wore himself out during the day, and as a ruler he was happy to see his people content, so sleep came easily.

He sighed again, if they only knew... He felt his stomach grumble, their feasts tonight were particularly sweet scented. He could smell honey roasted things, delicious fruit, and meat... He growled and sat up in his bed, he'd have to get something to eat.

"Honey!" Mrs.Briefs called, "I have enough food for you on board for the next 6 months! As soon as you need more come home okay?" The poor, flustered blond woman looked on the verge of tears and she stood out front, with her husband at her side, preparing to see off their only daughter.

"It's okay mom, I'm sure I can find food on other planets if I need it." Bulma smiled brightly, Mrs.Briefs only looked disappointed.

Bulma had created a myriad of ingenious devices to aid her in her travels, one being a paper and coin copier, for those more civilized planets that used a currency.

Bulma looked somberly at her father, who hadn't spoken barely a word to her at all yesterday.

Mr.Briefs was staring at the ship, even after Bulma had constructed it he checked it over about a million times himself. He found no problems, the engine, if it should fail, was backed up by about 50 other propulsion units. Then if anything SERIOUS were to occur the ship's job was then to turn and head straight back to earth (at hyper speed, of course). He hadn't told Bulma of this new feature he installed, she would be angry at him for not trusting her. His gazed shifted when he noticed his daughter staring at him, "Well..." he barely got out as his throat tightened. He quickly looked to his feet, trying his best not to cry.

Suddenly, Bulma launched herself forward into her father's arms and hugged him tightly, Mrs.Briefs crowded around her daughter and joined the group hug. Pretty soon all three of them were sobbing and shaking without control. "I'll miss you!" each yelled at different intervals.

A few seconds later...

A cough was heard in the background that broke the trio a part. Mrs.Briefs squealed in delight when she turned. Standing behind them with her face down turned but eyes staring straight ahead was Chi Chi.

Bulma smiled, "You came to wish me-," she stopped in mid-sentence. At either side of Chi Chi's feet Bulma noticed two large bags, her gaze quickly sharpened, "Dad!? Mother!?"

Mr and Mrs.Briefs laughed nervously and Chi Chi only blushed. Turns out Bulma's mother had invited Chi Chi on her daughter's little space adventure without telling her.

"No. Way." Bulma spoke low and dangerously through gritted teeth.

"But Bulma, honey!" Mr.Briefs spoke up, "I...We NEED someone there you protect you-"

"I can protect myself!"

"Chi Chi is much stronger than you dear, she could protect you a lot more than you could yourself!" At this Bulma scoffed and Chi Chi turned away, daring not to invoke Bulma's murderous temper any more.

"And she can cook!" Mrs.Briefs piped up cheerfully, to which she received another glare.

"What!? I can cook MOTHER!" Bulma snapped. At that everyone stood silent.

"Yes," Chi Chi finally stepped up, "You can cook, ...just not well."

Next Chapter : Bulma and now Chi Chi begin their space adventure, let's see how that works shall we? Meanwhile on Vegetasei, the prince is less than thrilled to learn he's about to take on all the roles and responsibilities of being a king - without actually BEING the king! King Vs. Prince!

Yep, I'm gonna take me precious time in getting Bulma and Vegeta together, and ohhhh, you can expect angst as I slowly toy with their hearts! ^_^ Hoi, I just had a big change in plot actually...a twist, if you will. LMAO. Seriously though, I'm growing more and more disappointed in this story...ugh, don't you hate it when you think you write something *so* good then the next time you read it you feel ...it's the worst thing ever written? That's my perspective...oh and ff.net hates me.