Author's Note: Aaaand, I'm back.

The full title of this chapter is And Zarbon Lived Happily Ever After, but this website doesn't allow Chapter titles that long.

I have altered a few things since Froglady15 beta read this chapter, so hopefully I haven't screwed something up. I've done of a lot of, "Oh, shit, I forgot this had to happen!" and "Oh, no, they need to mention that other thing!"

Last time on Never Ever Land, Brolly finally leveraged his full Super Saiyan abilities and defeated Frieza in the most grizzly ways. Zarbon had the chance to confess his part in unleashing the Super Saiyan on Namek to Frieza, but Frieza's parting gift to Planet Namek and Earthling-Saiyan alliance was a time bomb in the form of an impending supernova. Tick, tick, tick...


The Grand Elder drew in a sharp breath, then let out a moan that grabbed the attention of Bulma and every Namekian in the cave. Then Tsuno cried out.

'What's happening?' Bulma asked, still gripping Vegeta's hand in her own. No one answered her aloud, but a series of images flashed through her mind - the trapped Frieza firing a bolt of energy at the sun, that shaft of deadly power needling through space, then piercing the sun, which shuddered, contracted, and then exploded and expanded, the green marble of Planet Namek swallowed in its death throw.

'No!' she screamed, in unison with the other Namekians. She shot to her feet. Namekians swarmed Guru, overwhelming him with questions. Even the healers abandoned Vegeta to join the panic.

'When did this happen?'

'How long do we have?'

'Can anything be done?

'Are we all to die?'

'Silence!' roared Tsuno. 'And let our Elder speak!'

Guru raised shaking hands, then lowered them to the throne again. He looked like he'd lost several shades of his olive green.

'It has only just happened, We have some minutes before the death-blow reaches the sun and triggers its death.'

Lomnenke, still sitting in Guru's lap, clung to his robe.

'We are all going to die?'

'No, child. We will leave the planet.'

'We have a ship!' Bulma volunteered. 'It will fit all of you on board!' She reached for her transponder, but Guru's reply forestalled her.

'This is not the only enclave of my children on the planet. I'm afraid that we don't have enough time to gather them all. We will use the wishing orbs to move us to another planet.'

'Leave our planet? After all we've done to regenerate it?' Kresoon said.

Guru looked like he might be ill. 'It cannot be helped. Lomnenke, Inkumba, Umneke, take the other sprouts with you and go out into the fields to gather some Ajisa saplings. We will take them with us and plant them where we find ourselves.'

'Yes, Grand Elder.'

Lomnenke slid out of his lap, and ran out through the crowd with the other children.

'Where are we going?' Tsuno asked.

Guru made a low rumble of anguish. 'My knowledge of the galaxy's planets is limited. I need the advice of King Kai of the Northern Galaxy.'

Caraco turned around, searching for Bulma through the crowd of green bodies. 'Bulma! What about Earth? Could we go to Earth?'

'Of course!'

'We need sun and water and clean air,' Tsuno said. 'And gravity similar to our planet. Does it have that?'

'Yes, mostly. Our Kami has lived there for hundreds of years, so I know it's possible for Namekians to live there.' And the Namekian warriors could help them eradicate Frieza's men still on Earth!

'No,' said Guru. 'Frieza's forces are on your planet, are they not?'

'Yes.' Bulma's heart fell. It was like he could read her mind. Well, he could read her mind.

'Earth is known to them, as are the wishing orbs. And Brolly knows of them, too. I cannot risk transplanting my people to the first place they would look for more wishes.'

Shit. She saw Guru's point right away, and realised that Earth's troubles were not going to end when the population was wished back to life. Not by a long shot.

'Where else is there?' asked another Namekian.

Caraco pushed his way over to her. 'Bulma, you've been to other places in the Galaxy, right? Where else is there?'

She was hardly a seasoned galactic traveller, but she considered her experiences. Baccanelli was too dry, and it was civilized (in a manner) with no squatters allowed. The Namekians might find themselves evicted. Grenouillea II might not be sunny enough, but the bigger problem was that it was full of Grenouilleans, and was ruled by capitalism. She doubted that was the life the Namekians were after. The deserted planet where they woke Brolly up on to put the diadem on him was unpopulated, but it was a fairly cold planet, and she couldn't recall if it had much water. Or…

She looked down at Vegeta. He wriggled, trying to get comfortable on the thin mat they'd placed him on. He looked more like someone on the verge of waking up than a dangerously wounded patient. She slipped through the crowd of Namekians to Guru, and stood on her tip-toes, resting against his knee so that she could talk quietly to him.

'There is a planet, I don't remember its name. RT something-or-other. But it has sun, a nice climate, water, and the populace has been decimated. There used to be cities and technology, but the people that are left live in simple villages like your own. There would be room for you - I'm sure they wouldn't even notice you were there.'

Guru leant forward, matching her quiet tone, though she was sure he couldn't know why she was trying to be discreet.

'How would we wish for that planet? How does Porunga identify it from the rest?'

'It's a month's travel from Earth, the place where Salda, the last female Saiyan lives.'

'Hmm.' He went silent, sitting upright again. Bulma looked around at the faces around her, feeling the anxiety of seconds passing. She needed to tell the others.

'King Kai agrees,' Guru said. 'We will go to Dhraca, and he will act as emissary between us and the Dhracians. And we will have the orbs. If it doesn't work out, we will move on. Shall we wish for your group to be transported to Dhraca also?'

Should they? Bulma tried to think what the best thing to do was. "Dhraca" was closer to Earth than Namek was.

'Can we wish our ships there? We can't get ourselves stranded on Dhraca. They don't have space technology.'

Guru's massive brows lowered. 'We can ask. And what of Brolly? Do we take him also?'

Bulma wasn't expecting that question. If they left Brolly it could be a death sentence for him. What a choice Guru was laying on her! It was as heavy as it came.

'I don't know. Look, I should tell the others what's happened and then we'll decide.'

'Of course. But hurry.'


The monster that ate Frieza's head plunged back below the churning surface of the muddy pond.

'What the hell was that?' Zarbon exclaimed, startled despite himself.

'P-polgati,' the tyke under his arm answered.

Zarbon chuckled at Frieza's unexpected send off.

'I was going to tell him to rot in hell, but the belly of some beast will do just as well.'

He looked down at the child, reconsidering the wish he was about to make. If Frieza was dead, or effectively sidelined, would he need to wish for Grenouillea II to be hidden from Frieza and the PTO? He'd seen Frieza shoot at the sun, and he knew his ex-master well enough to know what he'd set in motion. The entire solar system would likely cease to exist in a handful or two of minutes, including the pieces of Frieza.

'I've changed my mind about what I want to wish for. I want you to wish for me to restore my youth so that I may have a long and vigorous reign as King of the Grenouilleans, Got it? If you do it right, I'll take you off this planet before it's destroyed. You can be my Namekian page boy.'

The boy only wept ungrateful tears, but Zarbon was sure one day he'd look back and see his abduction as the luckiest moment of his life. He was saving him from annihilation, after all.

He leapt into the sky, flying in a helix around the dragon to arrive at its face. He didn't even bother addressing the dragon; he only brandished the boy in front of himself.

'T-Tenomora pa Zarbon e—'

'Whatever it is you're wishing for, you'd better stop!'

Zarbon looked up and round, not sure where the child-like voice had come from. He saw a fully grown Namek hurtling at him. He started to pull the child out of reach of those green, outstretched arms when pain exploded against his jaw. He went spinning, and the child was no longer in his grasp.

A small, furious person was attacking him. Spiky black hair and a tail. Zarbon flew clear and it stayed its assault, floating between him and the dragon. Dammit, he had no time to lose.

'I don't have time to tangle with one of Vegeta's lesser brats. Get lost!' he shouted, stalling while he gathered himself to transform.

'No. My name is Goku, and I don't belong to Vegeta or anyone!'

Zarbon let rip on his transformation and immediately attacked. Goku gasped - yes, it was shocking - and fumbled to repel Zarbon's combination of blows, but he did manage to repel them. Zarbon pushed him backward through the air, anticipating the blow that would get through and knock the brat over the horizon.

'Wow, can all Grenouilleans transform like that?' the Saiyan asked.

Zarbon lost track of his combo, wasting a fraction of a second to wonder why the child would ask a question at this moment. The next instant the Saiyan slipped under his strike, small foot connecting with devastating force to his middle. Zarbon was flung backwards, and was falling back towards the ground before he managed to stop himself.

He clutched his middle, then realised he was doing so and forced his hands down. What the actual fuck was going on with these Saiyans? A few months ago, even Vegeta had been no match for him, and now this unknown was keeping him down in his transformed state? He'd been right to use sedative on the motely crew rather than force.

'You'd better run away!' the kid cried, coming after him. 'I can't let you use that last wish, and I'll stop you, no sweat!' Then he smiled. 'Actually, I'd be happy if you wanna stay and fight, but you'll lose. This is more of a friendly warning.'

Zarbon reluctantly believed him. He looked around. Where was the Namekian child? He couldn't make a wish without it anyway and he didn't have time to get his ass handed to him by a monkey. Below was the pod he had taken from his ship when he'd left it to meet Frieza hours ago. He could take it and leave immediately, and live to fight off the signs of aging the old fashioned ways.

'In answer to your question, no, not all Grenouilleans can transform. Only those of the royal bloodline can. And I'm not going to oblige you in a fight - I have a busy schedule.'

'Bummer.'

'See you in hell, brat.'

He dropped to the ground and found he was still smiling. He was finally free, and what's more, he had destroyed Frieza just like Yolona said he could, but not with poison. The long-shot scheme he had formulated after he first debriefed Nappa had worked, and he barely believed his luck and cunning! All he had needed to do was judiciously censor the reports he'd sent to Frieza about the intelligence Nappa had given, and make sure that Frieza crossed paths with the Super Saiyan he didn't know existed. The Saiyans had taken care of the rest for him.


Still in the air, high above the dragon, Brolly was wearing more of Frieza's blood than actual clothing. His hands were so slippery with it he nearly dropped the scouter he held. He'd taken it from Frieza's face before dropping the pieces of him to the ground.

How did it work? He'd seen Vegeta, Raditz and Nappa wear and use scouters back when they still had them, so he saw no reason why he shouldn't be able to.

He hooked it over his ear, wiggling it to get it comfortable, until it suddenly seemed to clamp itself in place. The world buzzed green and red as his vision tried to get used to one eye seeing everything filtered through ruby glass. Some words and figures showed on the perimeter of the screen. A tiny compass rotated as he swung his head, pointing to something called "base-sh01". It was in the general direction he knew Frieza's ship to be in, so perhaps base-sh01 was that? There was also a mic symbol next to the word "dispatch."

'How do you speak to people with this?' he asked aloud. A tiny message flashed up. He struggled through the syllables.

'Dee-vie-ss is mut-ed? Device is muted. How do I unmute it then?'

Message flashed again, but then as Brolly stared at it, it changed to "Device unmuted."

'Hello?'

'Yes, my Lord?'

Brolly smiled a little. 'Do you think I am Frieza?'

'You aren't? Who is this then? Why do you have Lord Frieza's scouter?'

'I killed him, or as good as, and took it from him. But you can still call me my Lord. I'm Lord Brolly. Or maybe King?'

'I… I don't believe you! That's impossible!'

'No, it's possible. Did I hear that Frieza told you to get the ship ready for take off? He won't be coming, but still get ready for when I get there.'

There was dead silence from the person on the other end.

'Hey, where did you go? Answer me!'

When they still didn't answer it finally occurred to Brolly that Frieza's soldiers might not want a new master, and might be about to take the ship away without him.

'Dammit!'

He took off with all the speed he could muster, heading in that direction, following the compass.

Urgh, hold up! I almost forgot about Bulma.


Bulma was about to tap her transponder to tell the others what had happened, when Brolly's voice rang out in her ear, shouting against the rush of wind on his end.

'Hey, guess what? I defeated Frieza!'

A wave of confusing emotions rolled over her. Was this good news?

'Thanks goodness!' Puar exclaimed.

'T-that's great, Brolly!' Bulma choked out.

'I know,' said Goku. 'I saw what you did.'

Brolly growled. 'Is that as excited as you're going to get? This is what you all wanted, right? You practically threw me at him to make me fight him, and I did! He's as good as dead now. He's got no legs, tail or head, so I don't think he's going anywhere. You should all be way more grateful.'

Bulma grimaced. They didn't have time for this! 'Brolly, I'm sorry we can't celebrate your win, but something terrible has happened - Guru says Frieza fired an energy wave into one of the suns, and it's going to explode and destroy everything in a matter of minutes!'

Puar and Goku both cried out.

Brolly replied in a huffy tone, 'I already know that! That's what I was calling you about. I'm getting out of here on Frieza's ship. Bulma, can you get to Frieza's ship in the next few minutes, or do I have to pick you up?'

Bulma could barely keep herself from screaming. 'I'm not going with you on Frieza's ship!'

'But you promised you'd come with me! We made a bargain!'

This was nuts! He was nuts, and they didn't have time for this!

'I only said that because you were going to let the others die!'

'Then why did you say you agreed?'

'How could you hold their lives over my head like that? What did you think I was going to say?'

'You're such a fucking liar, Bulma! Always lying to get what you want!'

'You were GOING TO LET THEM DIE!'

'Fine. If they mean so much to you, you can bring them with you. Except Vegeta. No, wait! Bring Vegeta, too.'

A chill went down Bulma's spine. 'I'm not bringing Vegeta anywhere near you.'

'Is he still injured?'

She didn't reply.

'Maybe you won't have to bring him to me. I know you're at Guru's. I could head there. I think I can sense that evil green turd even at this distance. I can see how many birds I can kill with one stone.'

Oh shit! She looked wildly around at the assembled and already panicky Namekians. Oh shit! She and Vegeta were sitting ducks! Neither he, she or any of the Namekians could do anything about Brolly if he showed up. She squatted down and patted Vegeta's face.

'Wake up! Vegeta, wake up!'

He groaned and opened his eyes a crack. 'What is it?' he slurred, his eyelids fluttering.

Goku took up the argument over comms.

'Brolly, you're crazy! You can't blackmail people over keeping their friends alive!'

'You can join us, too, Goku. Then it'd be four birds!'

'Why are you like this? Can't you remember who you were?'

'I can remember, and why do you think I would want to be like that again? In fact, why am I bothering to speak to you? I don't care what some hanger-on wannabe like you thinks. I'm the King of the Galaxy, now.'

'No, you're not!'

'Watch me.'

Vegeta's eyes slid closed again, and Bulma pulled on his hand, dragging him inches across the mat.

'Whaaat?'

'Vegeta, we're in some real shit now! We've got to go!'

'Huh?' He made a real effort to keep his eyes open, and struggled to sit up. Bulma doubted he could stand. 'What's happening?'

Rather than answering, she looked around at the concerned faces of the Namekians.

'All of us need to get out of here! Brolly is on his way here and he has a bone to pick with Vegeta, and with you, too, Guru!'

Guru gasped. Some of the Namekians looked like they were about to bolt and run this second.

'We will make the wish immediately,' Guru said. 'And though it grieves me, we will not bring Brolly. He has discarded my gift. If I could think of a way to heal him again, I would, but there is no time.'

'Wait! Before you do!' Bulma cried. 'Can someone help me bring Vegeta out to the pod? I can't carry him by myself!'

Kressoon ran forward and scooped Vegeta from the floor. Vegeta scowled and shoved sloppily at Kressoon's arms, causing the warrior to struggle to contain him.

'Don't fight him, Vegeta! We need his help!'


Melk had that far-away look in his eyes again. Goku waited, on edge. But when seconds seemed like hours, he didn't wait long.

'What is it?'

'I need to make a wish,' Melk said. He zoned out again, then snapped to alertness, floating backwards off Porunga's snout to stop a more respectful distance in front of the dragon.

'What wish?' Goku demanded.

'To transport all the Namekians, the Earthlings, and all the Saiyans except Brolly and their spaceships to a planet called Dhraca.'

Goku barely had time to feel hopeful about that wish before Porunga poured cold water on it.

'I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, THAT IS BEYOND MY POWER, AS IT IS MORE THAN ONE WISH.'.

'What would qualify as one wish?' Melk asked.

'TO RELOCATE ALL THE NAMEKIANS, EARTHLINGS AND SAIYANS TO DHRACA, BUT NOT INCLUDING THEIR SHIPS OR EXCLUDING BROLLY. OR TO RELOCATE ALL THE EARTHLINGS AND SAIYANS AND THEIR SHIPS TO DHRACA, BUT NOT INCLUDING THE NAMEKIANS OR EXCLUDING BROLLY.'

Goku looked at Melk. 'What do we do?'

'If that wish didn't work, I was told to make this one. Tenomora pa tou Namek-gu menamou na Porunga emel te Dhraca Dem, Porunga, ma.'

Porunga breathed in deep and out again buffeting Goku and Melk with his sigh. His eyes flashed red.

'IT IS DONE."

And then suddenly the massive dragon was gone, and Goku felt a wind pushing him forward into the space Porunga had been occupying. Goku looked at Melk, but Melk had vanished too.


Caraco followed them out to the pod.

'If you don't end up on Dhraca with us, I hope I get to see you again one day, Bulma,' he was saying.

'Are you a glutton for punishment?' she said, too terrified for sentimental goodbyes. 'It seems like all I do is wreck your lives.'

'No. I'm hoping that next time you won't bring disaster with you.'

The pod stank of the blood it was drenched in. It made Bulma feel close to retching again as she settled herself in its cold, soggy upholstery. She had to breathe through her mouth. Kressoon laid Vegeta in the seat next to her. His head was lolling; he was out cold again.

'I hope you like Dhraca,' she said, but Kressoon and Caraco were no longer there! She looked around the grassy slope, afraid she was losing her mind, but they had simply vanished from one second to the next with no warning or fanfare.

'Jeez!'

'Bulma!' Goku shouted over comms.

'I know!' She double-tapped her transponder. 'Use the Team Earth channel from now on! We can't have Brolly listening in!'

'The Namekians are all gone,' Goku said.

Bulma slammed the pod door and directed it into the sky in a random direction, too intent on getting away at that moment to consider where they were going. As soon as they were moving she double tapped her transponder.

'What happened to the Namekians?' Puar asked.

'They wished themselves away,' Goku blurted. 'They were going to take us and the ships, too, and leave Brolly behind, but Porunga said that was two wishes worth.'

'We need to get off this planet the non-magical way,' Bulma told them. 'Puar, is there anyone onboard that can pilot Zarbon's ship? Can Raditz?'

'No, he's too injured, but Tarble is already figuring out how to work it. We've already lifted off, but we won't go anywhere until you guys show up.'

'I'm already on my way,' Goku said, shouting against the wind of his flight. 'Bulma, how are you getting there?'

'The pod.'

Bulma looked around, taking in the scenery for the first time. The clouds were churning, being shredded by wind, and bright shafts of sunlight were lighting the ground in patches, twin god rays coming from two different suns. When she'd arrived at Guru's cave it had been deeply overcast, and she'd come from the direction of the dragon who was not even there anymore. She had no idea which direction Zarbon's ship was in.

Shit.

She took her hand off the joystick, bringing the pod to a halt. What point was there in going forward if she didn't know which direction it was in? How long would it take her to find it by blindly searching? How many minutes were left until the sun exploded?

She grabbed Vegeta by the shoulder, shaking him roughly.

'Wake up! Vegeta I need your help, RIGHT NOW!'

His head came up from the headrest and he blinked rapidly. 'What? What is it?'

'I need you to find the others - ANY of the others except Brolly - by chi sense, and right now!'

This woke him up a bit more and he frowned, staring out of the pod window. How fucking close had he come to death? It seemed like he was still struggling out of the grave.

'I can only sense Brolly.' His eyes crossed, and his head flopped back again.

'No!' Bulma grasped his face between her hands. 'Vegeta, we need to find Zarbon's ship!'

'The ship?'

'Yes.'

'Pod, take us to the last designated ship of origin.'

The pod's computer responded. 'Returning to last designated ship of origin.'

That made sense. If Zarbon had landed in this pod on Bachanelli while his ship was in orbit, the pod must have been from his ship.

The pod orientated itself and then took off, throwing them both back in the seat. Vegeta seemed to fall unconscious again.

'Did something happen to Guru?' Brolly asked on the main channel. 'I was on the way over and he just seemed to…poof.'

'The Namekians are all gone,' Bulma said sharply. 'Off planet, for good.'

'And where are you?'

She didn't reply.

'Bulma? Buuuuul-ma! Fine, I'm not sure there's enough time to meet up anyway. I'll meet you back on Earth.'

Ice struck Bulma's heart. What had they done? She was in a nightmare and had dragged the whole of Earth into it with her.

'I don't understand why you even want me, Brolly,' she asked. Her voice trembled. 'I don't want you, so what's the point?'

'I think...you just don't know that you want me yet. I think you think that I'm the same old Brolly, but I'm better now. I'm everything you want. If you think you like Vegeta, he's nothing next to me. I'm stronger, more powerful and nothing scares me. I can protect you better than he ever did. I'm taller, more handsome! I can give you more than he ever could. And I'll make you queen of the Galaxy!'

'That's not how it works!'

'Those are the only reasons I can see for you wanting to be with that loser. But I'm offering you the chance to upgrade. You'll love me from now on.'

'You're an utter child!'

'Child?' he snarled. 'I might not be completely fully grown, but I'm man enough for you already. You'll admit it soon enough! Ah, gotta go, my ride is trying to take off without me!'

I hope they succeed, she thought, then hated herself for it. The memory of Brolly dancing like a goofball in her capsule house living room flashed through her mind bringing a wave of crushing grief. It was like her sweet, sad Brolly had died and been replaced by this monster.

The pod slowed and lowered sharply. When it was nearly at ground level she could finally see where it was headed.

'Fuck!'

There was a ship alright, but it was the cruiser! Had Vegeta married the pod to this ship and forgotten he'd done it? There wasn't going to be time to find Zarbon's ship now! This was bad! Maybe she should fly the pod into space? But she didn't know how to pilot one of these things other than manually at low speed - they needed to be going faster than light speed to beat the supernova, not put-put atmospheric speeds - and there wouldn't be much time to work it out before they were less than toast!

'Calm down, calm down,' she hissed to herself, churning her legs and wringing her hands, almost coming out of her skin as the pod made the final approach. This could work. This could be fine. The cruiser was in working order, according to Puar, and she and Vegeta had come the entire way here without a problem. And it had a regen tank.

'Automatic docking sequence initiated,' the pod announced. It began some small, precise maneuvers, slowly lining itself up with the circular airlock door as if there was all the time in the world. At least it could automatically dock itself, unlike the civilian escape pods they had lost on Namek last time. She didn't have the nerve, patience or time to manually dock with this piece of junk.

She double tapped her transponder.

'Guys, don't wait for me and Vegeta. We'll take the cruiser and meet back up on Earth.'

'Where?' Puar asked.

She was tempted to say Kame House, but that's not where the "operational control centre" was likely to be.

'Kami's Lookout, where the Saiyans fought with Dodoria, remember?'

'Got it.'

'How are you going with Zarbon's ship?'

'Tarble is figuring out the navigation program. We're just waiting for Goku.'

'I'm coming as fast as I can!' Goku shouted over his comm link.

Bulma felt like she might faint. What if Goku didn't make it in time? What if she didn't take it in time?'

There was hiss as the pressure seal was made, and then the door popped itself open. To her surprise, Vegeta stirred and leaned forward to pull himself out. She pushed past him, saying, 'Wait here a minute, okay?'

She burst from the airlock and hauled ass across the lounge and up the spiral staircase. The flight deck looked as if she'd never left, with her laptop open, sitting in the cradle she'd made for it on the console next to the bolt-on control panel for the wormhole generator she'd never got around to removing. She threw herself into the nearest pilot chair and readied the ship for take off. Every second as the ship powered up felt like it could be her last.

When the dashboard display flashed that the ship was ready for take off, Bulma shoved the control yoke, taking them up so fast the G-Force threatened to tear her hands from the yoke, and the edges of her vision dimmed.

'I'm on board,' she heard Goku announce, his voice breaking up over comms.

'Closing the ramway,' Puar replied. 'We're heading out now.'

The cruiser burst through the tattered remains of the cloud cover, and the strange green sky darkened to emerald above her, then finally black. Intense yellow light blazed through the dome, almost directly overhead. It dimmed as the dome adjusted its filters to the sunlight. Bulma was afraid to look, as if doing so might cause the sun to choose that moment to explode.

Once clear of the atmosphere she didn't even pause to engage the artificial gravity; she just wrapped her legs around the base of the chair to hang on as she guided the ship around the planet, accelerating the whole way, aiming to put the sun at their back. As soon as they cleared the planet she opened the navigation program, letting the ship coast for a moment. She couldn't pilot the ship to faster-than-light speeds manually; the ship wouldn't allow it for obvious safety reasons. It needed a flightpath so it could handle the navigation.

'Plot course for Planet Earth' she told it.

The program flashed up an image of her home with some basic information, like its sector, size and status. Owned by the Planet Trade Organisation. Unauthorised landing prohibited. Click here to make a viewing appointment.

'Confirm destination is Planet Earth?' the computer asked.

'Confirmed!' she yelled, slapping the confirm button at the same time.

The ship did nothing.

'Warp drive unavailable at present.'

'What? What do you mean?'

'The warp drive cannot be engaged under the present conditions,' the ship uselessly elucidated.

'What conditions?'

'Refer to diagnostics from lower hull envelope.'

Fucking damnation, they were going to die at this rate! She began to search for the diagnostics, then changed tact. What condition was there now that they didn't usually have when using the warp drive? The gravity field wasn't on. Maybe it was a safety feature that it could only operate when the gravity was on?

She turned the gravity back on, and there was a loud thump on the deck behind her.

'Oof!'

Bulma turned, shocked to see Vegeta crumpled at the top of the stairs.

'A little warning,' he hissed quietly, pushing up to his hands and knees.

Bulma turned back to the navigation panel and entered Planet Earth again.

'Warp drive unavailable at present.'

'Oh my god!' She was screaming, but she couldn't help it. 'Vegeta! This useless lemon is going to get us killed!'

'What is going on?' he groaned, pulling himself up to the other pilot's chair.

The light pouring in behind them flashed brighter before the dome compensated again, and the stars ahead disappeared into darkness. They both turned to look, and Bulma moaned, seeing the small circle of the sun swell before their eyes.

'That sun is going supernova and this ship's warp drive won't work!' she cried.

Vegeta came properly alert for the first time at those words. He looked back at the stairs, probably calculating, like Bulma was doing, the time it would take to go back to the pod, disengage, get it up to speed and navigate it to safety. Maybe too fucking long. Then he turned back to the console and spied the wormhole generator control panel.

'Can we use this? Does it work?'

Really? But yes. 'Theoretically!'

He stood and used the console to help himself over to the panel and shoved his hands in. Bulma rushed over to flip the power switch on.

'Can you make enough power for us to actually jump?' she asked. She had a powerful urge to just give in to hysterical tears. She had hit her stress limits some time ago, and just wanted someone else to take over and save her. But this was no time to be a passenger - it was going to take both of them to survive the next few moments.

'What happens if I don't?'

'Nothing. We sit here and get fried!'

'Then I guess I will have to.'

Bulma looked out down the arc of the ship and saw the telescopic arm reach its full extent and wobble there, the equipment in place at the end. The control panel told her that the quantum foam was ready for expansion. .They were already going quite fast - about a tenth of the speed of light - which was fast enough for them to pass through a wormhole with only a microsecond's lifespan. She flipped the program from test mode to jump mode.

'Get ready, Vegeta.'

The flash that came from behind them was nuclear bright. Bulma dumbly looked over her shoulder and saw pain.

'NOW! DO IT NOW!'

Vegeta grunted, and there was a slight lurching sensation, and then the light was gone, replaced by blackness that was alive with the swirling colours of the back of her retinas and a bright spot in the middle.

'Crap, I can't see!'

'I… I can't…'

She heard Vegeta hit the floor.

'Are you okay?'

He didn't answer.

'No, no, no!'

She got down on her hands and knees and felt around his body for his neck. She found his pulse - fast and light and not very steady. He must have put his all into that energy wave. Did they jump through the wormhole? Was the blast of gamma radiation and intensely heated gas yet to roll over them? She couldn't tell for sure without being able to see, but they weren't dead yet.

'I have to get you down to the tank!' But how was she supposed to do that? She couldn't carry him down those stairs even under normal circumstances, and she couldn't see! Was the ship's power even on? She waved her hands in front of her face. She detected a hint of movement. She tried not to panic.

'Computer, is the power on?'

'Yes.'

'Computer, are the lights on the flight deck on?'

'Yes.'

So it was her. Was she blinded for life? Even as she thought that, she made out the shape of the underseat lighting on the far side of the deck and the darker area of the dome above.

She hooked her hands under Vegeta's arms, and shuffling on her knees, dragged him across the deck to the stairs, feeling for the door with her feet.

'Computer, can you turn off the gravity by voice command?'

'I can.'

'Computer, turn off the gravity.'

Weightless again, she felt too sick already to notice the extra nausea. She wrapped one arm around Vegeta's shoulder and chest, pulling him against her like she was a lifesaver, and worked them down the staircase by touch. He was going to have extra bruises, but they'd be gone again before he ever woke up. She was also going to have some bruises, too, but she would have to live with them.

In the lounge she could definitely make out some shapes - the pale oblongs of the couches, the glow of the holographic flames, and most importantly, the faint, pale blue glow of the regen tank.

Ever so gently, she pushed off the lower steps of the staircase and floated them both across the lounge to the tank. Her hand bumped against it, and then, thanks to their inertia, so did her face and the top of Vegeta's head. When they bounced off she scrabbled wildly around the side of the tank with her free hand, fingers finding purchase at the last moment in the intake slot for nanobot refill canisters, and stopped them flying off across the lounge again. Moving slowly, she felt about for the door release button.

'Why did you look at the supernova, dumbass!'

When she found the release, the door hit her in the face, but she didn't care; she was too desperate to get Vegeta in the tank. She stuffed him inside, one handed, sobbing with urgency, and attached the electrodes to his bare chest and back by touch. She didn't know if she got the electrodes the right way around because she couldn't make out the colours except the black one against Vegeta's pale skin. The tank didn't beep an alert, like they would if she got them backward, but that might just mean she'd placed them so badly they weren't even monitoring his heart. The tank would still work, but if his heart stopped, the tank wouldn't be able to defibrillate him.

Closing the tank, she flew back to the stairs and collided with the railing sheo couldn't see. She yelled up at the flight deck.

'Computer, turn the gravity back on!'

There was a huge thump as the regen tank fell back to the floor. She must have knocked it off the floor when it was weighless. Bulma fell, too, taking her weight on her knees on the edge of the lowest step, her teeth snapping together and her spine jarring.

Grimacing, she made her way back along the edge of the parquet floor on her hands and feet. She could see the edge of the steps and the rounds of the portals now - her sight was definitely returning. The backlit control panel of the regen tank glowed blue and blurry. Her fingers sound it easily. She couldn't make out the button labels, but she had set the tank for a standard healing cycle enough times that she knew where to press by memory.

The tank hummed and rumbled; the muffled sound of regen fluid being pumping in to fill it.

Done.

She collapsed to her knees, then lay back on the hard parquet floor.

'Oh my god.'

She started to cry, and she wasn't sure if it was from relief, or delayed terror, or just because this was all too much. The feeling that there was something else she must do, another decision, another impossible task, wouldn't let up, and her mind rushed from one thought to another, second guessing itself. Images from the day flashed through her mind. Some she doubted she would ever get out of her mind.

The truth was, there was lots left to do and more impossible tasks to go. But she couldn't do any of it at that moment. When had she last slept? Ate? She'd had nothing but water at Guru's cave. She thought about getting up and looking for food in her capsules, but her body didn't respond to the command to rise. What was the use? She couldn't see what was in the capsules anyway. She wanted to just lie there and not move for a while. That was okay, wasn't it?

I'm safe now. Vegeta and I are safe for now. And the others, too.

But her heart felt like lead. They were all safe except for Brolly. Whether he'd made it onto Frieza's ship or not, he was lost to them, and that was by his choice.

Her Brolly was dead.