A/N:  I'm so sorry it took so long for this chapter!  My birthday party was one week, and then prom the next, so I spent all my time on the phone making plans with friends and both weekends driving around to hair and make-up appointments.  But the story line is getting easier as it winds up, so I'm finding that in two days I can get down about 10 pages of text.  Not bad, if I do say so myself! ^^ And thanks for all the great reviews, it's nice to know people don't hate me...yet.  *giggles*

Chapter 28:  Everything Loved Can be Lost

Their gleam was malicious now.  Instead of the warm, honeyed glow that had once possessed them, the child's eyes glittered like cold lumps of gold.  Greedily, they absorbed the quaint scene...

Bulma remained stoic by the Saiyan's side, stroking and smoothing his wiry black hair as though he were a disquieted child.  The dog-face was crouched over the controls, her attention completely diverted from the woman behind her.  It was the perfect chance, the perfect opportunity to see that all went as planned...

"Ty-io failed, but I shall not!" growled the being, closing her vicious yellow orbs and melting away into the stars.

* * * * *

It took a moment for the human to notice the strange chill that crept up her back.  She glanced up instinctively, her cerulean pools casting about nervously.  There was nothing, of course, but that didn't stop the worry nagging her mind.

"About how long before we return to Earth, Torpae?" asked Bulma with a quaver to her voice.

"Probably less than a day or so, provided we don't encounter any trouble," replied the Yangh.  Her phrase held deeper meaning, however, and Bulma was swift to pick up the strange note to the alien's tone.

"Trouble?  What kind of trouble are you expecting?" she demanded, swallowing past the lump of her throat.

"I'm not expecting any, though that's not to say there will be none," answered Torpae vaguely.

The human turned back to her charge, sighing quietly as her eyes welled up with new tears.

"We'll be home in a little bit, Vegeta," she murmured, tracing her fingers lightly over his features.  "We'll get back to Earth and everything will be alright...you'll see."

"Do not hurt yourself like this, Hime," crooned a delicate, lovely voice.

The blue-haired woman jumped, choking back a shriek and shifting her eyes over the small ship.  She saw nothing, save Torpae's back.

"D-Did you say something?" she asked the canine.

Torpae shook her gray head, not turning around as she replied, "Nope.  Why?"

"N-No reason..." Bulma stuttered, severely shaken by the soft whisper.

"Hime..." it was the same strange, detached voice.  Why was it calling her 'Princess?'

"Who's there?" demanded the woman quietly, still crouched protectively over the Saiyan.

"A friend," answered the person, slowly materializing to a wavering form before Bulma.  It was a pretty young girl, her face so gentle and sympathetic that the Earthling immediately felt all fear and worry dissipate.

"A friend?" she echoed faintly, lifting a hand and brushing it through the intangible form.  "Why can't I touch you?"

"I am not really here, I have never existed on this plane," answered the child, smiling tenderly.  "But it has an advantage...I've been speaking to Him."

The creature motioned to Vegeta's body, and Bulma lifted a hand to her lips, eyes widening in shock.

"V-Vegeta?  You know where he is?" she breathed, hardly daring to believe it.  "Where is he?  Can I talk to him?  Please!"

The soft marigold spheres dropped in apparent sadness, and the girl shook her wavy violet locks.

"I am afraid not," she replied, sighing deeply.

"Please!  I'll do anything just to see him again...hold him again..." begged the woman, wrapping her arms around the Saiyan and burying her tears in his chest.

A sparkle of delight caught the mirage's eye, though she was quick to place upon her face a considering expression.

"There are...rules...for such a request," she began slowly, seeming to be hesitant at speaking on it.

"I'd do anything," repeated the woman, her voice choked and desperate.

"Do not claim such when it is not true," chided the apparition gently.

"But it is!  Anything!  I swear it!" Bulma insisted, lifting herself back up.

Again, the figure appeared to be considering, and it was with great reluctance that she nodded.

"His spirit can be replaced into its shell-" she began.

"How?" Bulma quickly interrupted.

"-If you exchange it for another," the child finished.

The woman blinked in confusion.  Her fingers fluttered up to her heart, and her voice was a hesitant whisper, "Mine?"

The being looked amused, despite the grave situation.  She shook her head, much to Bulma's relief.

"No.  His," she clarified, pointing down at something.

Bulma followed her finger, falling backwards slightly as she realized the price.  Her arms wound protectively around her belly, at the small life only just beginning to grow within.

"My baby?" she whispered.

This time, the girl nodded solemnly.

Her child...it couldn't be so, could it?  Would she really sacrifice this precious little life, a final gift from Vegeta, just to have him back?  Was it fair to even consider such a heinous request?

Bulma's mind was working a mile a minute.  If they returned to Earth...then what?  Vegeta had been revived by the Eternal Dragon once already; he could probably not be returned another time.  But if she did give up the child's life...maybe there was a possibility of bringing it back?  Then again, since it had never actually lived in the first place, Shen-Ron might simply rebuke the request...

Ultimately, it came down to the question of whether or not she could knowingly abort her own baby's birth.  Logically speaking, being a single parent on Earth was not a very promising idea.  Her absence would have been noted by all of the serpentine paparazzi by now, and if she came back looking three months pregnant, the press would have a field day.  Abducted for months and then returning out of the blue, carrying some mystery-man's baby – it might be too much for she and her family to handle.  And life without Vegeta, that would definitely be too much.

But what would Vegeta think if she gave up the last link he'd left with her, knowingly or not?  She knew well the pride the prince suffered under, and understood it for the most part.  He would be angry if he learned that she had killed his 'heir.'  Or would he be happy to not have any link to her?  Without a child to burden him, he would be free to train and get killed, leaving her alone yet again.  Could she bring herself to sacrifice one uncertainty for another?

As the woman spent her time considering her options, Sariah was prodding through her own plans, already knowing what Bulma would inevitably choose.  The Saiyan and his mate had grown increasingly close, the bond maintained even after his death was proof enough.  He loved the woman more than even he could ever realize, and thus was why his own soul, somehow realizing what the demon had been devising, quickly transfused its life and energy into the developing spirit of their son.  Survival was a Saiyan's top priority...even as it lay dying. 

The race was truly complicated and fascinating to the girl.  They had infinite outlets for power, and infinite ways to keep that power growing and developing through generations.  Vegeta's desperate action was only one among thousands she had witnessed.  Though, certainly, it was the most unique.  Then again, few Saiyan females became pregnant in their prime, meaning that transfer of a life's bond between a dying warrior and his inborn child was rare, if even plausible.  The level of power a being achieved also had much to do with his capability of displacing himself from the bond.  A lower-class fighter with a miniscule level could never summon enough dramatic energy in the last moments of his life to sever or substitute the bond, thereby sparing his connected mate his own fate.  So what Vegeta had done was all the more miraculous, and aggravating.

Bulma was to have died with the prince.  Their unborn son would never grow and flourish, and the future would be all the more easily conquered.  But instead, the wretched vegetable-head had thwarted her and Ty-io's plans and destroyed the possibility of a quick end to his line.  Now, Sariah actually had to trick the Earthling into sacrificing her child, before her begging and pleading for the Saiyan's revival finally reached that cavity deep inside where he lay sleeping.  If she could do such, Bulma would die almost immediately, and all would be as it should.

"I need a decision now, Hime," the girl persisted.

Bulma jerked herself from her musings, looking Sariah straight into the eye.  Her own were slowly blossoming with tears, and she knuckled them away doggedly.

"I always thought the hardest thing I'd ever have to do was just to accept the man I loved," she admitted.  "I never even considered that I might, within the same time-frame, also have to choose between having him or my own baby."

"I know it is hard, but you were the one to request another chance with the prince," soothed the fuzzy image.

"Yes...yes, I did, didn't I?" Bulma laughed, her voice strained with the words.

Sariah nodded, her features all regret and understanding as the Earthling opened her mouth to make her choice.

* * * * *

"You have an uncanny ability of dodging my questions," growled the Saiyan dangerously.

"I wish there was something I could do to help," began the giant sarcastically.  "But unfortunately, this screw-up had nothing to do with me, and therefore there is nothing I can do to correct it.  Right now, you'll need to work off of luck."

"But I told you who was fucking responsible for this!  How can you not do anything, Baka?!" Vegeta demanded, a tell-tale vein popping out of his temple.

"You claim that some little 'angel girl' you met while unconscious is accountable," corrected the clerk.  "That is hardly enough to go on for an investigation.  There are thousands of species from this quadrant that could fit the description you gave.  I could make a line-up of recent HFIL acquisitions if you like, but that's about all I'm capable of."

Vegeta grit his sharp canines together, his patience seriously losing its value.  What good would a fucking line-up do him?  Bulma was just as oblivious as he had been, and for all he knew, Sariah could be screwing with the onna's perception as well.  There was nothing he could do to protect her, or even reach her.  That thought was the one to drive him over the edge.

Reaching across the desk, Vegeta snatched hold of the giant's tie, yanking him into close-proximity.

"Listen here, you fucking asshole," hissed the prince.  "I know for a fact that there are ways people in Other World can contact those below.  Now, TELL ME HOW!"

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, the secretary pulled himself out of the Saiyan's grip, straightening the polka-dotted fabric and glowering.

"I have no authorization to make such a decision," he said blandly.  "If you want to make a request like that, go to the Being Resources Department.  They might be able to pull some strings.  Other than that, you're screwed."

"I'm not the one who's screwed," Vegeta snarled as he spun around.  "It's you who will pay if anything happens to them."

This time, the giant did gulp nervously.  He'd dealt with very few Saiyans since being appointed this desk-job, but he knew very clearly how vindictive they could be...couple that with an elephant's classic memory and he might as well start writing out his will.

Just in case, the clerk unraveled a blank scroll and began scribbling furiously onto it.  He paused momentarily, wondering just who to give his porcelain cat collection to...

* * * * *

"It's just that I'm really worried about her, Caboodle," rumbled Dr. Briefs, his head pressed down in the gaping hole as he stared at the floor.

His wife glanced over at him from her own massage table, resting the side of her temple upon her forearms as the skilled therapist worked her lower back.

"Don't fret about Bulma, Darling.  She's a big girl now, she can take care of herself...and that scrumptious little Vegeta of hers," giggled the blonde, her voice high and squealing with the laughter.

Dr. Briefs glanced up, blinking in confusion, his brow furrowed.

"Bulma?  Why would I be bothered about her?" he asked, twitching his mustache.  "It's Scratch whom I'm concerned for.  The poor gal hasn't been the same since I completed the GX-221 device.  I think she might have felt left out because I finished it when she was sleeping..."

"Tea?" gushed Mrs. Briefs, holding out a saucer and cup that were opportunely filled.

"Don't mind if I do..." accepted the professor, sipping the liquid.  "Um...it's a bit bland, don't you think, Kitten?"

"Oh, you like three lumps, don't you, Dear?" cooed the woman, reaching down on her other side.

Dr. Briefs nodded, extending his cup for the sweetener.  He was surprised when his wife immediately began pelting him with sugar cubes.

"HOW-COULD-YOU-NOT-BE-WORRIED-ABOUT-BULMA!" shrieked the woman between gasps, propelling handful after handful of pointy, hard little squares at the poor man.

"Lovey!  What's wrong?" the doctor yelped, falling off of his table and crouching beneath it to shelter himself from the onslaught.

Screaming like a banshee, Mrs. Briefs picked up an entire sack of sugar cubes (conveniently located next to her) and hurled it at her husband, sending the poor masseuses scrambling out of the room for their own safety.

"FORGET THE STUPID CAT, WHAT ABOUT OUR BULMA?!" wailed the blonde missus, wrapping a towel about her midriff and running out of the house to (inevitably) scream at her garden.

Sighing in relief, Dr. Briefs climbed back upon the padded board and called one of the therapists back into the apartment.

"She'll come back inside when she realizes she's about to miss the hot-oil treatment," he reassured the girl.

Sure enough, a few minutes later he heard the gentle squeak of table wheels as his wife eased back down to finish the session.  Once more, all was as it should be.

* * * * *

"What makes you think you can get away with such trickery twice, Makai?" interrupted a new voice, drowning out Bulma's answer.

Sariah looked up in shock, watching the Yangh slowly turn around, a meaningful twitch vibrating her lips.

Bulma glanced behind herself as well, confused as to why Torpae suddenly sounded so different.  The creature she saw standing there, however, was no longer the Yangh lady.  Instead, a strange cat-like creature had replaced the other alien.  Squinting at the new visitor, Bulma felt a tickle of remembrance pester the back of her mind.

"Leitiisa?" breathed the human, uncertain as to why she recalled the name, yet not the face.

Even the Ceqirian looked surprised that the blue-haired wench had remembered, her yellow eyes glowing with new appreciation.  This one really was different.

"Yes, Bulma, it's me," Leitiisa said with a nod.

"But...but how?  Who are you?" demanded Bulma, feeling seriously unsettled.

"It'll all come back to you in a moment," the cat reassured her, turning her attention back to Sariah.  "You've gone too far this time, Makai.  Your punishment won't be simple banishment again."

"Stop calling me that," hissed the girl, her face contorting angrily.

"So you fear your own name now, do you?" Leitiisa purred.  "Makai and Joukai...you and he used to be the balance of this plane.  My mate never could understand how you corrupted Joukai so easily, but I suppose it takes only a small tainting to turn even Heaven against himself, right?"

"Ty-io, his true name was Ty-io," snarled Sariah.  "I showed him who he was destined to be.  You and Gawl were jealous; you had hoped to be the next great pair."

"Names mean nothing, nor do my lord's petty ambitions," Leitiisa countered smoothly.  "We did not act upon those desires, but you did.  You sought what you did not deserve.  You wished dominion where none was required.  And now...now you want to try it all over once more.  Have you learned nothing in the past three hundred years?"

"Leitiisa...you said we would face challenges:  fear, doubt, pain, anger...futility and death," whispered Bulma, a betrayed tone to her words as she slowly began remembering.  "But you promised there would be more...fifteen years; it was supposed to happen over a span of fifteen years.  You said fifteen years, dammit!  Not fifteen minutes!"

The human collapsed to the floor, curling around Vegeta and hugging him tightly.  Sariah looked delighted at this new development.

"You are too late, Ceqirian," she hissed triumphantly.  "The princess has already made her choice, and I can feel it strengthening me."

Leitiisa bent down next to Bulma, lightly brushing away the aquaria locks covering her face and absorbing her tears.


"You're right, I did give you fifteen years...and until Makai showed up, such was how it was to be," she said quietly.  "I'm sorry, Hime.  My own foolish oversight wrought this, and for all the distaste I harbored towards you for the honor you are to deserve, I despise myself far more.  But don't give up...don't give her what she wants.  You're stronger; you can make it without him..."

Bulma shook her head adamantly, whimpering, "No...no, I can't.  I don't want to be without Vegeta.  I don't want a child without him..."

Leitiisa's eyes grew soft and hard all at once, and she did not need to glance back at Sariah to know that the demon's form was gaining the power it had at one time possessed.  Makai was becoming solid, returning to this plane of existence.

And Bulma was dying.  Leitiisa watched the woman's eyes grow wide and pained, saw the warm glow that enveloped her abdomen detach from the mother and sweep towards Sariah.  The Earthling's lips parted in a silent cry into the ear of her lover, and a last breath of life escaped from her husk of a body.

* * * * *

Vegeta stopped dead in his tracks, suddenly feeling an odd sensation tingle along the edges of his nerves.  He glanced down at his hand, surprised to see the transparency of his gloved palm.  Something was happening down there, he could feel it.  But dammit, he didn't know what the hell it was!

"BULMA!" screamed the Saiyan as he dropped into a well of ebony stars.

The clerk heard the scream and groaned, knowing that he was definitely going to be written up for this one.

* * * * *

A/N:  Whoo...nothing better than leaving a cliffy where both main charries are dead, eh? ^^; Don't worry, I honestly know what's going to happen...even wrote it all out before posting this one so I didn't get too excited and forget!  R&R quickly peeps, we're almost done! *munches happily on gummy worms* The food of inspiration!  And oh yeah, wasn't the stint about Dr. and Mrs. Briefs great?  I realized I hadn't had a whole lot to do with them as of late, and wanted to make a nice little over-reaction scene to spice things up...*giggles*  *easily amused*