Chapter Nine - Grief

"Hey, come check this out!" Bulma cheerfully called out to everyone. "Man, it's been so long since I've done something like this!"

After a moment of confused blinking, a large mass of assorted Namekian men gathered around her steadily. They all huddled together to get a closer look and peered in as she sat in the grass.

Bulma pointed at a small setup she had been making on the ground and grabbed some tiny leaves that had been peeking their way out of a patch of grass beside her.

Dende shuffled up to the front of the crowd in wonder.

"What is it, Ma'am?" He kindly asked her. "I've never seen something like this before, is it one of your powers?"

Bulma took a twig she had found in the grass and cheerily drew a small circle in the dirt with a giggle. Did every race have a superhuman ability out in space? She was no Saiyan or Namekian, that's for sure - the only thing that sprung to mind was her intelligence, and even then, that was somewhat standard among many people across the globe.

She gave Dende a bright smile.

"No no, nothing like that." She modestly explained as more curious Namekians came over to watch. "I don't have any powers, I'm just kinda normal, I guess. This is a way of fortune telling for travellers!"

She happily waved them down to encourage them all to come closer.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Come on over and have a gander! I have these three leaves, right? You put them in this circle here, facing away from each other, and light them on fire..."

Rosemary awoke once again and fussed around, tiredly opening an eye to see if she could catch a glimpse of whatever Bulma was doing. After a couple forced blinks, she could see clearly and spotted the crowd of green men tightly swarmed around the blue haired woman. She hadn't been able to sleep properly for ages, she doubted that she'd have any better luck with all the changes that were happening.

She closed her eyes again with disappointment and gently pressed her head back against the tree she was leaning against with a heavy exhale, listening attentively for any further information that may come.

Resentful of all the noise, Vegeta quietly sat at her side and gave her the occasional look out of the corner of his eye to check if she was truly asleep. She'd grown restless again - getting her to relax was a task in itself, but it was proving to be harder than he thought it'd be. He assumed it would be simple to wind down with her excessive need for rest, but she had been putting up a surprisingly good fight.

He scowled at the crowd in the distance. All he wanted to do was take a break from everything, and everyone was annoyingly making a commotion out of nothing.

'So much for her resting.' He complained to himself. 'Damn you, blue-haired woman.'

Bulma looked to the dozens of people around her. The whole thing was childish, but she hoped that doing an old wives' tale would help clear the air around them a little. She could only imagine what Goku was doing up on Namek at that moment - the planet was in a questionable state when she had left it, let alone now, several minutes later. While Gohan carried her back to the ship, the water had been going crazy with raging tides and torrents, it was unlike anything she'd ever seen on Earth.

"If all three leaves burn out at the same time, then it's said that the traveller will come home safely!" Bulma went on with a cheery smile. "Sounds cool, huh?"

The people from within the crowd gave her a variety of interested hums and intrigued sighs with perked antenna-like ears as she carried on with the ritual.

Rosemary huffed doubtfully, which easily catching Vegeta's attention.

"Oh?" Vegeta teased her with a playful smirk. "Not exactly your way of doing things, is it?"

Rosemary opened her eyes and shot him a tired but stern look.

"It's entirely flawed." Rosemary retorted flatly. "There's so many factors that affect how a fire behaves, it can't possibly be able to predict the future, as much as I wish it could."

Intrigued by her sudden pessimism, Vegeta snickered.

"Care to demonstrate?" He edged her on further.

Rosemary's eyes went from unamused to challenged with a glimmer of temptation. Her glare intensified as she internally debated. Did she really want to ruin everyone's fun?

"Enjoy yourself a little, show me."

Rosemary sighed. Maybe getting a laugh out of him wasn't a half bad idea, it would be a refreshing change from the intense, super serious nature he'd been showing as of late.

"Alright, fine, I'll indulge you. Wait until she's got some fire going."

From the eye of the crowd, Dende clasped his hands together over the circle Bulma had created, then opening them to reveal a small flame that he conjured up with ease. He carefully placed it in the centre of the leaves and waited patiently.

Rosemary wagged a finger in front of Vegeta and gestured for him to watch, and swiped it off to the side.

Vegeta felt a swift breeze run its course as it passed by and listened with anticipation to see if it impacted the large group from afar.

A few seconds later, there was a collective of sad moans among the Namekians, as if to confirm that her little stunt had succeeded.

Rosemary gave a firm nod and frowned. "I suppose I just predicted their future. I rest my case."

Vegeta wickedly chuckled with a grin.

"Well, that wasn't very nice of you to crush their spirit." He meanly taunted with a light nudge of his arm. "And here I thought you were kind."

Rosemary blushed heavily. She should have seen something like that from a mile away.

"I-I told you!" Rosemary quickly defended. "It was flawed! It had nothing to do with me, it could have been any random gust of wind that did it! I-I just happened to make that one..."

Vegeta was reduced to heavy laughter.

"Oh, relax, you're free now. You're allowed to have some cyanide in you." He teased further and continued with his endless cackling. "You want to hear something that's really evil? I'll tell you what's on my mind."

Rosemary's expression grew stiff. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear it at all.

"Yes, we're all sitting here waiting for some explosion to happen out in space, and once it does, I'll have both Frieza and Kakarot out of my way from now on!" Vegeta's laughter turned into a quieter, more devious chortle. "I can reclaim my birthright of being the strongest in the universe, and you're worried about making some smiles disappear. How harmless in comparison."

Rosemary listened to him with a skeptic gaze, but remained silent out of courtesy. Regardless of Vegeta's apparent hatred for the man, she truly wanted to thank Goku for saving her life - he was truly a remarkable being, along with the others that she encountered that made their way back as well. She wasn't sure if she could have survived with just Vegeta's help, even if he was as strong as they come.

A world without Frieza in it was unfathomable, yet the possibility that it may soon exist baffled her beyond her wildest dreams - and it was all thanks to a small group of Earth dwellers and the prince, her timeless confidant.

While their ongoing feud with Frieza was being handled off in space, she still couldn't justify Vegeta's cold shoulder during their first moments of peace. It was a fair assumption that his personality had been tainted by Frieza over the years and hoped that he'd explain everything to her soon now that they had the time. There was so much she wanted to ask him and pick his brain about, but for now, all she would do was listen.

Vegeta deduced that Rosemary's silence was her way of indicating that she expected him to say more.

"I don't expect you to reason with me right now, I can tell by your expression that you're impartial to my ideation." Vegeta went on in a dulled tone. "It really is unfathomable just how long I've waited for this day."

Rosemary nudged her head against the tree to get comfortable, allowing him to rant on, uninterrupted.

'Yes, it's about as long as I've waited for you to come along...' She sadly commented to herself.

"So many years under that tyrant's rule." He sneered. "Half our lives, honestly… It was humiliating, you know, having to follow his every word to the ends of the universe when you're raised to be the one in charge, as if he were some god… The things I've done for the sake of living, only for someone else's gain. Despicable."

He suddenly questioned if continuing would be healthy for Rosemary to hear at the moment - if she planned to be around, she needed to know. Yes, she needed to know everything. The way she carried herself since he found her again indicated that her moral compass hadn't changed one bit since they were teenagers. She was a woman of great generosity and intelligence among a population of fierce and ruthless warriors, and she was perfectly aware of it. There was a place for her kind even if she stood out among the rest, and she made good use of it among his ranks.

For the sake of being as close as she was with him, however, he would insist that she would learn the truth, eventually.

She still looked to him with as much effort as she could bring forth despite the dark undertones of their conversation and painfully growing fatigue, so he went on.

"Granted that we're of a race of warriors, it might not come as a shock to you that I've had to get my hands dirty." He miserably huffed. "I've done everything I've been commanded to and grown stronger with every planet I've conquered, for the day that I could finally be rid of Frieza and claim the throne that once sat atop this universe."

He bowed his head with a relieved smile of relief and began to laugh once again.

Rosemary managed a tiny smile for him. It was refreshing to see him happy, she had to reward it somehow.

He pumped a tightened fist.

"At last, that time has come, and I won't even need to see to it myself, it's just so perfect! Even Kakarot, that low-class Saiyan will be taken out for me, what delightful convenience after a long, hard day of work."

Just then, Rosemary heard a rustling of grass from behind. She turned her limp head to see what it was, to find Gohan angrily stomping over to them.

She slowly pivoted it back around along the tree and closed her eyes once again. For heaven's sake, why couldn't everyone just relax?

'Does there really need to be another fight right now?' She griped.

Gohan stopped in his tracks with furled brows and fists ready to go.

"Would you shut your face?!" He shouted over to Vegeta. "My dad's coming back alive, whether you like it or not!"

Annoyed, Vegeta looked over his shoulder to the kid and shot him a dirty smirk as he slid down the tree stump to lay on the ground and coolly keep his post. He stared up at the cloudless blue sky, unfazed by Gohan's laughable attempt of a threat.

The colour suddenly reminded him of Kakarot's insanely blue eyes that he'd managed to catch a glimpse of before he vanished away from Namek. The fool managed to become a Super Saiyan with such ease - it was unbelievably frustrating how hard he'd trained, how hard he'd fought for his life, yet the Prince of all Saiyans didn't get even as much as a power boost in return.

A jealous scowl formed across his now stone-cold expression.

"Keep dreaming, kid." He retorted. "It would take a miracle to get out of a catastrophic situation like that."

It took everything in Gohan's power not to lunge at Vegeta just then. This man was so arrogant and selfish, he'd never met someone so egocentric in his life.

Gohan's fierce glare shifted to the back of Rosemary's head as she remained impartial to their feud. She probably had no desire to butt in, nor the energy to do anything about it. He sympathized with her for a moment, then looked back over to Vegeta with bared teeth.

He marched over with a menacing stare and looked down to Vegeta as he casually lounged in the grass below. He could stomp on him with ease at any moment if he so pleased, yet Vegeta remained completely calm and collected. This man's strength and bravery was unlike anything he'd seen previously, but he wished that he wouldn't be as frustratingly imperious as he was.

"You better believe it!" Gohan fired back as he stood above the Saiyan and fought against the urge to cry. "He's gonna come back home and you'll be sorry for everything you're saying about him, just you wait!"

Vegeta's carefree eyes irksomely snapped over to the boy.

Conflicted, Rosemary watched the two of them bicker and noticed Gohan slump in fear with just a single stare. She forced her eyes closed once again - her eyes burned too much to waste energy on something so pointless.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a new but feigning energy. It dwindled familiarly to hers, but she remained doubtful. Everyone must have been growing tired to some degree.

She tried to dismiss the thought, but couldn't. She just needed to be sure that nothing was wrong.

She shot up from where she settled to look around at everyone in the area. No one looked to be hurt or in pain, but there was definitely a fading aura closeby, and it was substantial enough to pick it up with little effort.

She was going to get to the bottom of this.

Vegeta tilted his head back to watch her but remained unbothered to follow. As if to add to his vexation, she was noticeably troubled.

"You're getting too restless," He insisted and brushed Gohan off like some fly that wouldn't go away. Why wouldn't she just lay down and rest? She was too concerned about every little thing, it seemed, for her own good. "Seriously, I may have to knock you out myself if you keep this up."

Gohan rigidly froze on the spot. 'Well, that took a turn…'

Rosemary took a sharp stab to the side of her head with a strained whimper as she continued to push herself. Vegeta wasn't wrong - her fatigue was starting to overwhelm her, but her work wasn't done until she said it was, and it seemed that there was more to take care of.

"So be it, but something is wrong." She clapped back and focused further. "You can feel that, can't you? Something is fading."

Vegeta let out a short growl.

"Yes, you." He snapped and narrowed his eyes on her. "By the minute, at that! The fact that you're up and alert greatly confuses me, it's like you want to get hurt. Stop wasting your energy."

There was an accumulating chatter among the Namekians.

Rosemary ignored him and cautiously rushed over to everyone. They were all in some kind of disarray.

There was no doubt in her mind now, there was a growing panic in the air.

Countless people began to hoard around Lord Guru and looked to each other in a mortified frenzy.

Rosemary carefully shuffled through the crowd and kept note of her weakening state as she went. She swerved through civilians with quick but gentle strides in hope to see what all the fuss was about and prayed not to get shoved around too much.

Finally making her way into the clear, she found herself in front of Guru as he took harsh, staggered breaths.

"It's time, my children." Guru's bassy voice pierced the air as he spoke out to everyone.

Everyone in the area must have flocked towards him just then. "Death is merely the next step in any life, do not fear."

Rosemary's eyes widened as she took in his words. 'Death?! Now?!'

"Please, sir!" She begged and outstretched her arms to him. "I am capable of healing if you require it! Tell me what you need, it's the least I can do after everything that has happened!"

Vegeta sat up and shuffled back towards the tree to listen in more attentively. Things were about to get tense again - the atmosphere had grown heavy with grief and uncertainty at the very mention of death.

How trivial. The Elder was right - with life, came death.

He dismally eyed the crowd with care and wondering if his own business on Namek would surface somehow. 'Death, hmm? Well, this should be interesting...'

"They aren't here!" A tall but slim Namekian man called out from the pack. "No one from Guru's village is here to give him his medicine! Where could they be, wasn't everyone brought here?!"

Vegeta's eyes widened in realization. That didn't take long.

'Wonderful.' Vegeta grudgingly sighed. 'Looks like I get to be the bringer of bad news once again.'

"Medicine?" Rosemary confirmed and readied herself to provide aid. "This is a known issue, then?"

A shorter man frantically scurried over to her to assist in any way he could.

"Oh, yes, Ma'am!" He confirmed with hasty, panicked nods. "Of course, Lord Guru is the eldest Namek on our planet! He's been dealing with heart problems that came with age… There was a group in Guru's village that had been entrusted to his care, but none of them seem to have made it to this planet!"

Vegeta took a stand.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about the villagers that I made quick work of, would you?" Vegeta called over with an evil smirk.

The entire mass of people dreadfully turned their heads towards him.

Vegeta chuckled in amusement and bowed his head to avoid looking at anyone as he took pride in his work.

Rosemary looked towards the ground with shame as she pieced things together. Of course, Vegeta must have known that the village he brought her to on Namek was safe because he'd cleared it out himself...

She couldn't think of anything to say. 'Anything to finish a mission, I suppose…'

"Yes, the Dragon Balls brought back everyone that was killed by Frieza and his henchmen, correct?" He went on with a malevolent purr. "I chose a particularly good time to betray him, what a shame."

As the crowd started to grumble and growl, Rosemary kept her head down to mourn. Eradicating large masses of people was a normal part of life for Saiyans, most notably under Frieza's rule - naturally, she couldn't hold it against him. She remembered about the five Dragon Balls that he'd somehow hidden away on Namek before the Ginyu Force arrived - surely he must have had to put in some work to get a hold of them in the first place. But, to their fortune, it worked out in their favour in the end, and that superseded everything else in her book.

Such an opinion was likely in the minority. She simply sighed and let the conversation play out on its own.

Just then, seven large stones rained from the sky and slammed to the ground behind Guru. The earth shook gently from the fall and made Rosemary jump with a startle.

Guru smiled warmly from the center of the swarm with a gentle moan.

"Ah yes, the Dragon Balls have found me here." He spoke out again. His voice seemed less pained now but still short with quick breaths. "They, too, know that it's time for me to go."

Guru let out a harsh cough and Rosemary rushed to his side.

One of the villagers anxiously stepped out of the crowd towards him as well.

"But Guru, sir, we need you!"

Guru hummed peacefully, and his kind smile unwavered as he felt his life force dissipate.

"My children, you all have so much potential despite the difficult journey ahead of you." He assured them and reached out to everyone with his stubby arms. "We're all survivors here, you will make it through whatever challenges you may face."

He shifted slightly to get more comfortable. "Moori, my son, could you come closer?"

Another elderly Namekian, a mere fraction of Guru's size, obediently stepped forward.

Rosemary watched the man in suspense. 'This must be his next of kin...'

"Y-Yes, my lord?" The man shakily responded.

"Hold out your hand to me, son."

Perturbed, the one named Moori stumbled forward and extended a trembling hand out to Guru.

Rosemary winced. The thought of his master leaving must have been a hard bit to swallow. Was Guru truly planning to pass away now, right after they've been stranded on an unfamiliar planet?

She worried for the tribe's ability to progress through such a time. Where would they go? Could they sustain life on this planet? She didn't know enough about their species to tell.

Guru took his hand with a struggle, gathering the last remaining reserves of his life force and passed it along to the other elder. Then, there was a bright glow that vibrantly engulfed him as he accepted it and it became his own.

As the light dissipated, Moori retracted his hand and looked down at himself with wonder and confusion. Whatever it was, it left him feeling divine and heavenly... Was this Guru's true form?

"You are the Eldest Namek now." Guru declared. "Take good care of our people. Soon, our Dragon Balls will regain their shine now that they are in your care, use them wisely to create a new life for our kind. Watch over everyone, they are our children."

The crowd listened in heavily and began to cry, fearing the moment that Guru would turn into nothingness.

"My children…" Guru now struggled to say through sharp jabs at his chest. His lower half disintegrated and blew away with the wind. "You will do great things."

Rosemary teared up along with the rest of the tribe. Guru's words strongly tugged at her heart in a way that left her motivated and inspired despite the imminent pain of loss.

'Gosh, this is so moving… This must have been what it was like when our few survivors received the news that our King was killed…' She sobbed sadly while a brief recollection of her own master came to mind. A regal King Vegeta took to the forefront of her thoughts and stood before her with such powerful grace at the foot of his throne. His son, a young Prince Vegeta - the King's spitting image of a successor - stood proud at his side and exuded his own beautiful but mighty elegance as the two of them towered over her.

The two of them beamed down at her with dignified smiles and made her cheeks grow warm. As if it remembered perfectly, her body began to summon the same sorrow that she'd felt when she first discovered that she'd lost them both.

She desperately shook her head to dismiss the thought before it had a chance to latch on to the back of her mind. She didn't want to feel that same grief today.

'They've just been through so much, they've lost everything… I truly wish the best for their kind.'

The children began to cry and wail along with everyone else. Being children, Rosemary recognized that it would take them longer to understand the real weight of the situation, what it truly meant to lose something so dear, forever.

The sobs and heavy groans of mourning were upon her as the Namekians wept together as a legion. She revered them greatly, especially Guru, for doing everything he could to ensure that his people were safe and of sound mind.

In his honour, she took a moment to share in their sorrow and permitted herself to weep openly with them.

'I promise to discover the potential that you found in me, Eldest Namek Guru.' She vowed. 'Thank you, for having faith in me when I did not.'

She crossed her right arm over her chest and gave the dying elder a final Saiyan salute - an esteemed bow of gratitude - then dismissed herself from the crowd as the final remnants of Lord Guru were swept away.

She took a spot beside Bulma and Gohan and stayed quiet as everyone continued their lament out of respect.

Moori took post where Guru stood moments ago and dutifully looked out to his people, his expression scarred and firm.

"Everyone, please listen, if you would." He broke the silence with an initial croak that caught the crowd's attention in an instant.

They all looked over to him, teary-eyed and hopeful that their new elder would have some words of encouragement.

"We must work together, to achieve Lord Guru's everlasting dream of peace and solidarity."

Dende found himself beside Gohan and Rosemary as Moori spoke with finesse and influence. He was unsure of what Moori's new role would mean for the people of Namek.

Gohan dismally lowered his head.

"You know, Krillin would have loved to see all of this happen." He mentioned in a faint whisper. "There was nothing he wanted more than to make sure everyone was okay..."

Rosemary placed a shaky hand on Gohan's shoulder to console him.

Gohan could feel her energy fading, fast, but he appreciated that she was putting support and compassion above all. She really was a different kind of Saiyan.

She suddenly reminded him of his father, but was sidetracked by Vegeta's intense glare burning through the back of his head. He must have been able to tell that she was about to collapse as well.

"Krillin…" Rosemary poked in shyly. "The small man that was with us, yes?"

Gohan simply nodded.

Rosemary lowered her head once again. Her heart ached.

She uttered another sudden wince of pain. Her head ached even more, apparently.

"Yes, I'm sure he was a kind man." She replied softly.

Her head throbbed consistently now - between her fatigue and constant tears, she was likely starting to shut down. She was definitely on her final energy reserves now.

Gohan turned to face her out of concern and worriedly looked up her chin as she stood next to him. Her energy was almost insignificant, as if she was dying along with Guru and she looked like she could fall over at any moment. Did she not care?

He cupped the frail hand that was on his shoulder between his own and hardening his stare on her as her eyes cautiously fixed on his in return.

"Hey, Rosemary, you've done a lot for us, really," He pleaded. "I know you don't have a whole lot of experience with stuff like this yet, but you seriously don't look or feel good at all right now… As much as I hate to say it, I think you should listen to Vegeta and really consider taking it easy from here."

Rosemary gave him a miserable moan. If only it was so simple.

She shook her head, disappointed.

"I've already tried." She replied with a grim sigh. "There's too much change, I haven't been able to adjust." Her gaze dismissively drifted to the side. "I don't know how much longer it will be, but the only way to make it happen will be through natural cause."

Bulma stepped in front of the two of them.

"Look, I totally get it, there's a lot going on," She joined in with a motherly tone. "But we don't really know what's coming yet, so all of our fighters need to be in good shape! I kinda agree with Gohan here, take some time to chill out, okay? I can't sense energy or anything like these guys can, but Gohan's right, you look beat."

"...our fighters."

Rosemary's expression lit up in surprise, and more tears fought their way through the heavy lids of her eyes. Was this a dream?

Despite still being so far away from such a feat, to have this woman consider her in such a regard was massively flattering.

"F-Fighter?"

Bulma raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah!" She followed up with a good-natured laugh. "You fought to get us here, so you're a fighter, too!"

Rosemary's jaw pryed itself open as she fought the urge to cry once again.

"I- I don't know what to say…"

Vegeta appeared behind her in a flash.

"I do." He told her sternly. "Nothing. You've done enough."

He took hold of her shoulder to prevent her from escaping before she could respond and meticulously pinched a nerve under her ears.

Rosemary's sight went dark in a flash, and her consciousness finally faltered into delirium.

As her body grew limp, Vegeta caught her before she could droop towards the ground and scooped up her legs. Without another word, he carried her back to their tree and leaned her against the stump.

Bulma let out a dramatic huff as he took Rosemary's guard.

"Was that really necessary?!" She angrily yelled over to Vegeta. "Why would you hurt her like that?! What did she do to you?!"

Vegeta crossed his arms in retaliation.

"I've done her no harm." He shot back in a cool tone, and took a seat beside a sleeping Rosemary. "You didn't hear earlier? She consented to it, leave me alone."

. . .

Up on King Kai's planet, everything was uncomfortably silent. Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu all stood in growing suspense and stared the Kai down as he took the time to spectate Goku's ongoing battle with Frieza.

To everyone's surprise, King Kai finally let out a grumble as he felt Frieza's energy drop off. Despite Goku seemingly having the upper hand in the fight, the planet Namek continued to crumble and boil under insane amounts of pressure after a fast but fatal assault to it's planetary core.

The situation was looking pretty grim, and he didn't take to it lightly.

Without saying a word just yet, King Kai watched on. He wished he could assist Goku in his fight, but the Spirit Realm prevented him from interfering, and risking his own life in the process came with its own set of consequences for the universe.

"You know, it's a real bummer, Goku and Frieza have been on level ground this whole fight," He cheerlessly spoke out to the group behind him.

The three of them were fixed on him long enough to lose track of time and they all flinched as the Kai finally uttered a sound.

Yamcha took a step forward, confused.

"What do you mean, 'it's a bummer'?" He prodded apprehensively. His eyes threw daggers into the back of the Kai's head. "What's happening down there?!"

King Kai shook his head.

"Well, Frieza's a bit of a sore loser." King Kai squeaked in his nasal, nerd-like voice and quivered with worry. "Once Goku started to take the upper hand, he took a cheap shot at Namek's core, and now the planet's going to explode any minute!"

Tien's eyes widened, dumbfounded.

He angrily balled his hands while Chiaotzu started to whimper and cry.

"What a coward!" Tien snarled and pulled Chiaotzu towards him in hopes to settle him down. "Even if Namek explodes, wouldn't Frieza still die?! What good did that do?!"

King Kai remained still, pondering the situation.

"It would give him exactly what he wanted!" He shouted back. "He wanted to wipe out all life on Namek, and blowing up the planet would do just that."

He lifted his gaze from the cobblestone path. "Everyone else got off Namek safely, but Goku's gotta get out of there if he wants to do the same!"

Yamcha managed a small smile.

"So that means that Gohan, Bulma and Piccolo made it home?" He probed some more. "I suppose that's good news, at least."

King Kai gave him a firm nod.

"Yes, they all got to Earth in time before things got ugly." He answered dryly. "Everyone that was killed by Frieza including Vegeta was revived, and then Kami used Earth's Dragon Balls to wish everyone except for Goku and Frieza to be moved to Earth."

Yamcha exhaled in relief.

"Good to hear, maybe they have a plan..."

. . .

Rosemary's body twitched as she went on to effortlessly snooze. Choppy images of a dream began to form, and despite being unconscious, she strangely knew that she had been asleep. Such a phenomenon happened from time to time, but rarely enough that she dismissed the occasions as one-offs.

This dream, however, felt different.

From what she could tell, she was in the exact same place as she was in her conscious state - the same blue sky and green grass of the Planet Earth surrounded her among the wide open field that she'd found herself in after being moved from Namek. There was a gentle breeze, a tickling sensation that lightly stimulated her as it washed over her face on its way by.

The same group of people had been present in the scene - all of the Namekian men and children, along with Gohan, Bulma and Vegeta, all had their places in the image.

Oddly enough, she could see herself amongst them as well.

She continued to don her dark grey jumpsuit and lightly scratched armour, along with the white gloves and boots that had become ever so slightly dirty in their short time being worn.

Everything was exactly the same.

Strange, she couldn't remember the last time she was able to see herself in her dreams. Was it a hallucination instead? Why was this dream so peculiar?

As if on queue, the version of herself in the dream tensed up. She couldn't put a finger on it, but something was off. She looked around at the Namekian tribe suspiciously - they had all seemed to calm down after Guru's passing. The children were running and playing with cheerful laughter now, everyone was happy and at peace. Surely, everyone hadn't moved on from the passing of their leader in such a short time.

Had Frieza been defeated? Where was Goku?

Just then, the sky grew dark. Thick clouds began to swirl around up above, and the slow wafts of a breeze that wandered around the area had picked up to a noticeably strong torrent. Everyone fell still to look upwards as they shielded their faces from various leaves and blades of grass that had been worked up into the air.

Rosemary stepped out into the field and gazed upwards at the sky. It was like night had fallen upon them all of a sudden - the sky carried an ominous shade of dark grey.

Vegeta took to her side and did the same with a scowl. She questionably turned an eye to him.

"What... is this?" She asked him after a pause.

"He's found us." Vegeta flatly responded.

Vegeta slammed into the ground in front of her and a crashing thud forced Rosemary awake with a shrill yelp.

She blinked rapidly to ensure that she was actually conscious and took in his troubled expression.

She quickly crawled over to him, looked around in a frenzy, then up to the sky to see an infuriated Gohan up above.

"What- What is going on here?!" She shrieked, reaching out a hand to see if he was injured. His face had a smear of blood across his temple, but nothing else seemed too out of the ordinary. He'd clearly made himself rough around the edges over the years, but the rest of him showed no sign of injury that wasn't already there.

Gohan landed not far from them with an enraged scowl. He prayed that Rosemary could talk some sense into him before he did anything else, he was absolutely livid.

Vegeta growled up at her.

"You can't relax for anything, can you?!" He snarled and shoved her hand away. He bitterly sat up and locked a seething stare of hatred on the kid.

Rosemary wrinkled her nose in disgust, kneeling over him. 'Yes, well, I'm not the one that's causing an uproar.'

"Not with the amount of noise you're making!" She hissed back. She plopped herself down and placed her hands in her lap in an effort to remain calm. "Also, you're quite the hypocrite, being the insomniac that you are."

Vegeta sprung up from the ground in an instant. He would not take lightly to her backtalk right now.

"Would you shut it?!" Vegeta got up, spat off to the side and marched over to Gohan to continue where he had left off. He had better things to do than worry about her if she was going to be such a pain.

"Listen here! Namek's gone. Frieza and Kakarot are dead. You're up to speed, are you happy now?! Stay out of this!"

Rosemary's eyes burned as they forced themselves open in shock. He could have provided more information than he did, there was bound to be more context.

Stunned, she held her breath and watched Vegeta approach Gohan in fury. He'd been awfully arrogant since they'd been on Earth, he must have taken it upon himself to boast about the situation while she was asleep.

'Incredible...' She remarked. Her brain was spinning with wild theories. Frieza was dead? Was this just a new dream?

'So it's over, just like that?! How does he know?! This is so ludicrous...'

She hadn't been in much better condition then when she fell asleep, her head still pounded with a pain she couldn't locate the source of at this point.

Thinking about it further, she didn't remember going to sleep at all.

Everyone still seemed fairly calm, was there a plan? Had they figured out a workaround to Goku's death, at the very least? She had so many questions.

Bulma giggled loudly, cowering behind Gohan as she tried to hold it in, but was unsuccessful.

"Insomniac, huh?" She teased, catching everyone's attention with various shades of confusion. "Look at you, all flustered. You know, it's pretty normalto have a weakness to something, lighten up!"

Vegeta froze in his tracks, petrified, while Rosemary blinked blankly. It wasn't quite the detail she was expecting people to be focussed on at the moment, but she supposed it could be worse.

"We finally learned something about you!" Bulma giggled. "That only took forever. Thanks, Rosemary!"

Rosemary bit her lip with worry. She was in for it now - the last thing the prince wanted in the middle of battle was to be seen as weak. She hopelessly remembered countless nights where she would keep him company at his bedside, and a grouchy prince insisted that he wasn't tired even after a long and gruesome day of training. She missed those nights - the two of them would chat about such pointless things as they sipped some blissfully hot tea, still atop her list of favourite things in existence along with scalding hot baths, long informative books and beds as soft as the clouds in the sky.

Her face grew pink with delight as she grew to remember the taste of that menthas tea, the familiar breathtaking sensation of sweet coolness faintly lingered on her tongue. She took a deep breath and let it out with a dreamy sigh, wishing that her tongue would shiver as it used to as she would take the first sip.

A portion of the worry she had been weighed down with had been lifted as she continued to reminisce in the memories of life at the palace.

"Oh, uh, sure." Rosemary spoke out in a hesitant whisper. "It's true. He could be absolutely winded and the poor man wouldn't be able to get even a wink of sleep some nights."

Eyes aflame with ragefully but speechless, Vegeta whipped his head around. To his surprise, Rosemary had been looking back at him with a shy but guilty glance, blatantly aware of what she'd done. Had it been anyone else, such behaviour could have cost an arm or leg depending on his mood, but the both of them were growing quite aware that she was the one exception to his wrath.

Rosemary raised a provocative eyebrow as he continued to glare over without a word. She was dripping with remorse, putting him through the bit of torment that she was. The poor man's face must have been as red as the cape he wore back in the day.

Coming to terms with how homesick she had been was a relief - perhaps she should talk more after all. It seemed to diffuse the tension with Gohan, at least.

She even managed a smile.

"After learning that, can you believe that he has the nerve to demand that I sleep with such vitriol? Unbelievable, right?"

There were small laughs among the group that were enough to reduce Vegeta to a humiliated slump.

He crossed his arms in a stubborn fit to follow suit.

"Y-Yes, well," He blubbered. "I don't need sleep like you do, and I could have lived without being mocked for it. I've been properly seasoned for battle!"

He shot a ferocious look over to Gohan and tugged at his gloves to ready himself for another strike. "Speaking of, where was I…"

Rosemary's gaze hardened as Vegeta adamantly pressed on with whatever grudge he had going. She needed to act quickly if everyone was going to remain calm.

"Yes, about that." She followed with a struggle to get to her feet as her legs prickled with nerves.

She took a wobbly step forward.

"I think it's about time that you calmed down, don't you think?"

Vegeta looked towards the ground in consideration, his back turned to her out of spite.

Rosemary firmly held her focus on the back of his head. 'You're not going to ignore me.'

"Perhaps if you would stop picking fights with people, we could all finally have some peace. Take a hint."

Bulma threw up a finger as a matter of factly to break them up.

"Hey, you know, now would probably be a good time to discuss what you're all going to do now that you're here!" She stumbled in. "We're not really waiting on much to happen right now, I think it's time we start making a game plan."

Uninterested, Vegeta retreated to his tree of choice to linger on the mockery that refused to leave his thoughts.

He reluctantly gave Rosemary a look of disapproval.

Moori stepped forward out of the crowd.

"Erm, yes, I've been meaning to ask b-but was waiting for a good time." He intercepted the conversation. "We plan to use our Dragon Balls to relocate to a new planet, but it will take time to find one that suits us… Do you have any idea of a place we could stay in the meantime so we can get our bearings?"

Bulma lowered her head to think. There were a lot of people to find a place for.

"Well, I can't say you have a whole lot of options, green men in clothing like yours aren't exactly common around here…"

The Namekians all stiffened up and weirdly gave themselves a scan.

Bulma really wanted to go home, her spaceship hadn't done her family apartment justice at all. She could already imagine the hot water of her shower and the smell of her mother's freshly baked sweets…

That might just do the trick.

"Hey, I know!" She blurted out. "You guys can come stay with me at my place!"

The crowd filled itself with wide eyes and mumbles of uncertainty.

Moori's attention slid to the side, unsold.

"We mustn't impose on you, Ma'am!" He responded with an uneasy tone. "There is a good number of us, as you can see… You're sure about this?"

Bulma threw a confident fist to the sky. She imagined all the things they could do if they came with her, they would have so much to see and learn, the idea oddly resembled that of taking a vacation.

Still, she couldn't see anything wrong with the idea at face value.

"You bet, I am!" She reaffirmed with a gleeful smile. "Yeah, this is gonna be great! Listen, the company residence is massive, we could fit you all in, no problem. Don't worry too much about it, alright? I've got this!"

She turned around to address the more interesting of people among the pack, the grumpy prince and the shy but super sweet lady that took to his side. The more she watched the two of them interact, the more obvious it became that there was a serious bond between them, contrary to their obvious differences. Vegeta had been trying his damndest to act all high and mighty, but showed noticeable cracks when Rosemary hit him with something personal or offered him kindness. On the flip side, this gal had been surprisingly passive towards Vegeta's hot temper and arrogance - clearly she was used to it, or perhaps it was something even more exciting. She might be the one thing in the entire galaxy that Vegeta didn't completely hate.

'Oh-ho yeah, they've got some unsettled business for sure.' She told herself with a sly grin.

"And what about you two?" She called over to the Saiyans in a suggestive tone. She playfully raised an eyebrow and followed up with a smirk. "You guys are gonna need a place to crash too, I'm sure."

Vegeta dismissively turned his head away from the woman before Rosemary could get a word in. She nervously looked to Vegeta, to find that he didn't seem even the slightest bit interested in the offer. Was it the idea of living together that he didn't take well to?

Surely there was a solution to that if there needed to be.

As for her, she was already eternally grateful to the Earthlings for their help, yet they were giving her even more kindness? She couldn't think of a way that she'd ever be able to repay them for everything, the list of favors kept growing longer and longer...

"I… Um," Rosemary started, then paused. 'How do I want to say this…?'

Bulma gave her a wink.

"Oh, I've got you covered, don't worry!" Bulma assured her with a confident and firm smile. "You've been so nice to us and helpful through all of this, it's the least I could do from my end!"

She shot a quick look over to Vegeta. "But Vegeta here could afford to relax a bit more, too, y'know? It's pretty obvious you two are friends."

Vegeta sprung from where he stood at the sound of his name, squared his arms and gave Bulma an unimpressed glare.

Bulma's eyes met with his in an instant.

"Yeah, you." Bulma went on, a touch of annoyance in her voice. "Why don't you drop the 'high and mighty' act and chill out? You've got a pretty little lady with you now, I'm sure you've got some catching up to do, a nice place to settle in wouldn't be such a bad idea."

The both of them knew exactly what this woman was implying without either of them willing to admit it, and she wasn't entirely wrong. Settle? The term seemed so private, and intimate.

Humiliated, both Rosemary and Vegeta profusely flushed red. For the sake of their dignities, they refused to look at each other and their faces both warped with panic and vulnerability.

Bulma giggled at the sight. Watching such a cold soul like Vegeta's be reduced to smothering emotion was a sight to behold and the two of them together were just plain adorable.

"Yeah, you do." Bulma took it upon herself to confirm for the stubborn prince. "So it's settled, you guys are-"

"Now you listen here," Vegeta rushed in, sick with embarrassment. "I make my own decisions. I'll pass."

Knowing that Rosemary was going to immediately look over for an explanation, he took the initiative to beat her to it. Sure enough, she was gawking up at him with an immense confusion. She looked so distraught, no, heartbroken that he'd said such a thing.

Was she really hoping for something so intrusive?

"Don't look at me like that." He huffed. "I have my reasons, and quite simply, I need space."

Rosemary stood up to get close and personal with him. What was he thinking, acting like he had all the options in the world at his feet? His attitude was driving her to her wit's end.

"And what exactly do you plan to do as a living situation, Vegeta?" She bitterly prodded. "Like it or not, it's still my duty to take care of you, and your choice doesn't exactly reflect your best interest. Just like Bulma said to the Namekians, we don't exactly look the part, either."

Vegeta rolled his eyes, defeated. She was right about one thing - her role was never dismissed, nor could it be. He couldn't care less if he looked like a freak. He'd lived off the land of many planets in his time, adding another to the list was practically meaningless.

"Be that as it may," He went on to rebut rigidly, and slumped over again.

Something within him sank just then, and he struggled to form the words. Having her around again was starting to soften him up against his will.

"I ask that you take some time to get comfortable. You're free, now, Rosemary. Grow to enjoy that freedom, embrace it, then we'll talk."

He shook his head. Why was it becoming harder to speak?

"For now, I- I need to face some things I wasn't expecting I would have to."

It took everything in her not to cry, the very thought of tears already brought a prickling sensation to her face. They finally had the opportunity to reunite, to be together, and he wanted to be apart? She understood that it would be difficult to come to terms with losing everything, she had her own battle ahead of her, but wouldn't it have made more sense to figure it out together? It was her job to be his guide, why wasn't he letting her help him?

"V-Vegeta, I-" She pleaded further. "I don't understand…"

"You'll do as I say." He dryly commanded. "I'll ensure that you're settled, but you will stay there, wherever there is, on your own. That's the last order I will make today."

Being so close to her as he'd spoken, he could clearly see tears rising to claim her defeated face once more. He hated that she was upset, but he desperately needed time to himself. Everything that happened on Namek, from the shock of being reunited with someone he forcibly omitted from his life to the way Zarbon addressed her - Gods, even the way Jeice talked to her - he needed to come to terms with the fact that they were both heavily troubled. He needed time to think about what a life without Frieza truly meant to him, as well as what his purpose was now that he'd been without a home and a mission, among other things he'd put off having to consider.

The two of them had locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Rosemary's eyes yearned with the urge to break down and cry, but she refused to let Vegeta see it. She wouldn't let him have this victory, he cut deep this time.

The Vegeta that she knew wouldn't want her to hurt.

The Vegeta she knew wouldn't let her out of his sight for more than a day.

She was one of the few, perhaps now the only person he would trust. But now, his eyes were cold, dark, and emotionless, even for his best friend.

His heart had been numbed by tragedy, and the way he chose to carry himself now was lethal and dangerously attuned to neglecting hardship.

She supposed that she couldn't reason with him any further. He was completely serious, and his word, to her misfortune, was law, no matter the spirit behind it.

She took a breath so heavy that it could be heard from several feet away. While she may have been heartbroken, she was able to cut a loss, unlike her counterpart. Her once tense gaze on him lightened for a moment.

And then, she took the liberty to be the first to turn away. She marched over to Bulma, stonewalled.

For now, she was giving up.

She gave Bulma a single but firm nod.

"I accept your offer." She told Bulma flatly.

Bulma took a moment to process everything that had just happened. This wasn't how she planned for this to go at all.

Regardless of the outcome, she fully planned to stick to her word. What it meant, however, was that this wonderfully selfless woman was going to grow depressed and struggle to trust others, and perhaps even be a risk to herself. She didn't even want to begin to think about what this woman has been through, and she could tell that the one thing that she had to look forward to had just been ripped away from her and crushed under a merciless, soiled white boot.

Vegeta's emotions weren't one-sided, they couldn't be if she was reacting this strongly. Their feelings were mutual, and the both of them just broke each other's heart in their own way.

What a day this was turning out to be.

"Alright." Bulma managed to respond half-heartedly. "Let's go home."