It Falls On Me

by Bellaniza

Bulma's wedding to Yamcha is a week away, yet her fears and doubts are increasing as the fateful day approaches. Torn between what she should do, and what she wants to do, is never an easy decision. And what about Vegeta, who has become an unexpected factor in her equation? The battle between the mind and the heart can be won, as long as you can see through both of their illusions.

18. It Falls On Me

Hello my amazing readers! Yes, this is an update, and apparently a much anticipated one at that! I'm very excited and happy (and nervous) about this next chapter that you're about to read.

I was overwhelmed by all the reviews I received for my last chapter. Thank you! There were lots of positive reviews, and some that were not as positive. I feel I need to address some issues that some readers are having with what's going on in my story so far. I do understand the frustration many of you have with Bulma, believe me, I do. If anyone does, it's me! After all, I'm the one writing her, and I know what a strong-willed person she really is. I completely agree with you that she is out of character right now….but of course she is. If you haven't been through a emotionally traumatic event when it comes to romance, you might not understand why she is behaving the way she is right now. When it comes down to it, I don't think she is being unreasonable in how she is feeling at all. I am sure those of us who have experienced heartbreak can relate to how she is feeling. You can't think straight, things don't make sense….and you're not quite yourself, and all you want to do is hide away from the world and not think of the one person who has somehow become your everything. You don't want to deal with real life…and that's what's going on with Bulma. She's not herself right now, not at all. How can she be? She is distraught, she is torn, she is emotional while trying to suppress her inner torment by ignoring it and shoving it down to the point that it's beginning to choke her. I know that in the anime she is different…much different than how she is being portrayed in my story right now, but please, please remember that this story is an AU, and she will not remain like this for the rest of the story.

What is going on between Vegeta and Bulma is mainly in loose reference to what happened between my husband and myself when we first broke up. As many of you know, the Vegeta in my story is based very much on my husband. My husband (who was my boyfriend at the time) and I had broken up. I'm the one who called it off because I was torn between him and someone else. I had feelings for both, and my loyalties were unbelievably torn because they both disliked each other and were constantly at odds over me. At the time, my boyfriend gave me an ultimatum…I had to choose him or the other guy…and when I couldn't chose between the two, I called it off. I crushed and stomped over his heart, and the moment I broke it off with him, I immediately regretted it. I was in a lot of hurt over the mistake I made, and for a whole week we did not talk to each other or see each other. I realized only after I was separated from him that he was the one I wanted to be with and I was so tormented in my decision, thinking I had burned the bridge so deeply with him that I thought there was NO WAY he would ever forgive me and take me back.

It was only a week we were apart, but it really did feel like time was never-ending. I know it sounds cliché, but it wasn't until I was severed from him that I realized that my husband was the one I loved and couldn't be without. Only through the separation I could then see things as they really were….I saw the other guys' manipulation of me….I could finally see how he tried to keep me away from my husband…I could see that I didn't really love him, that it was just infatuation and this illogical sense that we had to be with each other because we invested all this time together already.

Eventually the pain of separation was too much for both my husband and I, and we ended up getting back together, and we pretty much got engaged the moment we did, because we knew that we could not be apart from each other ever again. We never wanted to experience the horrible heartbreak again. Over time he told me how much hurt and heartache he was in, how angry he was, and how the week we split up seemed like a damned eternity to him, and that no matter what he did, he could not shake me off. It was exactly how I had felt over him also. And if any of you have had such heartbreak when you are split from your soul mate, you will understand how you are not quite yourself….how you try to shut down and keep numb from the emotions that threaten to overwhelm you….how your mind will not think straight because all you can think about is the horrible separation from the one you love. Believe me, love is wonderful, but it is also a frightening thing when you have never experienced it before. Sometimes love is not so obvious to you, even when it might be to others.

Sometimes love goes beyond reason, and sometimes you don't realize what you had with someone until it is gone. We all are DBZ fans, and those of us reading this story do love Vegeta and Bulma, so of course we are biased in our opinions of them. I know many of you are unhappy with Bulma right now because to us, as the outside looking in, we know they are meant to be together. But in my story, in this AU, she does not know that, and it is terrifying for her to choose between someone she has known for so long and did not have any feelings for until recently (Vegeta), and someone who she was romantically involved with for a third of her life and until recently began to feel doubts and fears (Yamcha).

So which path would you choose? Which path will she choose?

Like I said from the beginning, this wasn't going to be a typical wedding story where Vegeta confesses his love and breaks up her wedding. I said it would be different, and it will be. The conflict within her, and between her and Vegeta, is based on a real-life experience of heartbreak and realization. I hope my earlier explanations and reflections will help you better understand the basis for how Bulma's character is acting right now. I hope now you can understand why she is still so indecisive after everything. I hope now you can understand why time (and the story) seems to keep dragging on, because it's simply a reflection of how she and Vegeta are feeling.

As I said in the last chapter…this is where the end starts. With that being said, here's the next installment of my story. There is a very big twist in it. Something that I mentioned in a previous chapter turns out not to be true.

Secondly, as I'm sure you've already noticed, the title of this chapter is my story's namesake. We have reached the pinnacle. For better or for worse….love it or hate it….this is where it falls on her.

I truly hope you enjoy this chapter. It has certainly been a labor of love.

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Step back.

Stop the world.

Stop the time… it's always running.

Just trying to catch my breath.

Just trying to take it in. Unfold and calculate…concentrate…and reach for something….

Here's to the good times. The bad times. The times that could have been.

To the wrong times. The right times. I know we'll breathe again.

Until then...

Chapter 18- It Falls On Me

The beautiful, blue-haired genius repressed a whimper of misery as she took a moment to collect herself from the tremendous feelings of suffocation that had struck her upon arrival. It took an effort for Bulma to catch her breath as the ache that coursed through her seemed to have increased twofold. What in the hell was she feeling? Highly concerned over the unbelievable sensations, she managed an unsteady breath. After a few moments the unwelcome sensations that had hit her so strongly now began to subside and fade away.

Well, for the moment, at least.

Bulma felt as though she could actually breathe again as Goku's firm hold on her shoulder helped steady her for those few moments. Whatever it was that was wrong with her…the pain and discomfort and aches she had been feeling the past couple of days….it was nothing compared to what she had just felt right then. She looked up at Goku, unsure if maybe he had somehow felt or sensed whatever it was….but his face betrayed nothing as he nodded at her, silently reassuring her of something. She then caught Bardock out of the corner of her eye as he walked over to them and she turned to him, not missing the look of worry that reflected in his dark eyes, nor the concern deeply etched onto his face. She wasn't sure what was going on with her, but the look on their faces told her much more than she really wanted to know.

Bardock managed a very difficult swallow as he sensed Bulma and Vegeta's energy signals spike drastically and simultaneously in response to each other upon her simple arrival. "Bulma…" he trailed off in utter shock, alarmed over what he was currently sensing from her. He could not believe it. Her life energy….it was different also! The same disturbance flowed through her ki as with Vegeta's! The same heightened level of distress!

It couldn't be….could it?!

Was this what was wrong with Vegeta?! And apparently with her now also?!

This…this wasn't possible! How did this happen?! This whole time he thought it was something physically wrong with Vegeta that was causing the odd readings, but if he had known that Bulma was in the same condition as him also….

The chill of realization settled in, and all Bardock could do was stand in front of Bulma. His keen, expert eyes studying her and searching for something they simply and physically could not see.

The look on Bardock's face was unnerving, and his reaction to her unannounced arrival tipped her off that she definitely made the mistake of coming here in the first place. Bulma tensed in apprehension and nervousness, feeling rightfully on edge and borderline panicked as she realized that maybe she was not wanted there. If Vegeta had told anyone about what had happened between them that fateful night…it would have probably been Bardock. Did he know what happened between her and Vegeta?! Oh Kami, he did, didn't he?! How was she going to talk about this? What would she say? What could she say?! She swore to herself that she wouldn't break down over it! She hastily looked away from Bardock's intense gaze, feeling suddenly exposed and very nervous as he studied her with an intense look that she could not describe.

A mild panic hit her as her overactive mind began to run wild and rampant with her fears. She was sure that Bardock was angry with her. If not, then at the very least he was horribly disappointed with her. And who else knew about what happened between her and Vegeta?! The king? The queen? Tarble? Nappa? Raditz? The whole planet? Dear Kami, what in the hell was she thinking coming here in the first place?! She was sure that Vegeta did not want her there at all, not after what happened between them, and honestly she did NOT want to be there anymore. For all she knew, she could be banned from being there. And what if Vegeta burst into the medical bay right now and ordered her back to Earth forever? After all, she didn't know where he was at, and the very thought of possibly seeing him at any moment sent her into panic mode.

She wasn't ready to see him. She wasn't ready to talk to him. She wasn't ready to face him.

She couldn't do this!

"Goku, take me home." Bulma demanded out of nowhere. Screw how she was feeling! She would go home, down a ton of extra-strength pain killers, and focus on anything else but being here at this moment!

"But…we just got here!" Goku reasoned in slight exasperation, confused as to where this sudden change of heart came from. He didn't get it. She had asked him to bring her to his father to see what was wrong with her, and now she wanted to go back home? He looked at Bulma in concern, sensing her ki fluctuate in heightened nervousness. Coincidentally he then felt Vegeta's energy spike up sharply again…and Goku narrowed his eyes as he began to catch an odd connection. He looked over to his father, seeing the concern on his face also as he turned back to his blue-haired best friend, wondering exactly what in the world was going on.

Bulma grimaced in frustration, bringing her arm up and placing it over her chest again as the familiar pangs of unease and pain coursed through her once again. She tried her hardest to ignore the discomfort, silently kicking herself for not staying on Earth and taking those damn pain pills. "I know, Goku, but I don't care! I can't do this right now." she pleaded in veiled desperation. "Just take me home…."

"Bulma, you need to stay here." Bardock strongly interrupted as he made the decision for her, giving her a very serious look. His command was final and there was little room for contestation as he placed his hands gently but firmly on her arms, forcing her to look up at him. "You need to stay here." he repeated sternly with emphasis.

Feeling as though she was being backed into a corner, Bulma turned defensive. She misinterpreted this as a threat, and she would be damned if anyone told her what to do, let alone be forced to remain there against her will. She refused to talk about what happened between her and Vegeta…nor risk the possibility of having the angered prince make an appearance. She would not be able to handle it, not right now. "Let go of me, Bardock. You can't make me do anything. You can't make me stay here! In fact, I'm leaving right now." she defied him, beginning to make an effort to free herself from his hold.

Bardock felt her energy fluctuate in anger and distress, and as if almost on cue, he noted how Vegeta's ki was behaving similarly. The influence and effect they had on each other…it was nothing short of amazing, the medic mused inwardly as he continued to look down at Bulma, thinking of ways to try to diffuse the situation and get her to calm down and stay there. He had to run some tests on her. He had to know if they were….

Bardock narrowed his eyes a bit at her, wondering what type of response he would get from the next words he was about to say to her. He rationalized that now would be as good of a time as any to get a preemptive strike in. "Amazing. You are just like Vegeta, aren't you, Bulma? I swear that you both are one in the same person…you have to be, because sometimes I can't tell the damn difference between you and him."

"I'm…He's…" Bulma was caught off-guard by Bardock's words as she stammered in response, wanting to say something that counteracted his claim, but talking about Vegeta still proved to be a difficult and painful feat for her. She snapped her mouth shut, momentarily stunned into bitter silence. She looked down to the floor, away from Bardock's analytical look as she tried her best to will the wave of emotions away and lock them back down deep within her. The reminder that her and Vegeta were so much alike brought much heartache to her, and if she wasn't careful, it threatened to overpower her. She forced herself to try to become numb to everything, even if it was only while she was on Vegetasei. There was no room for weakness, and the last thing she needed to do was break down into tears in front of Bardock. She already managed to avoid breaking down in front of her own mother, and her father, and Goku.

She forbid herself to cry her heart out to anyone.

His words did it, he knew as Bardock sensed her ki waver in distress…and just as he hypothesized, Vegeta's ki responded very similarly in answer to hers. "Bulma, I can see you are in pain. As I said, you are staying here." he said matter-of-factly, and he watched as she frowned in irritation. He sensed her suffering, as he had also observed from Vegeta lately also, and his heart ached for the both of them. He could only imagine what they were going through, but he kept his strong Saiyan composure as he continued to give her a stern look. He then gave Bulma's arms a gentle, fatherly squeeze and soon after she unwillingly relented to his demand. Satisfied, he let go of her, reasonably sure that she would stick around for the time being, and he glanced over at his son. "I will take it from here Kakarot. Bulma and I need some privacy."

"What? No. I want Goku to stay here." Bulma said adamantly, not wanting her best friend to leave her alone. She gave Goku a look, expecting him to stay by her side like they had agreed.

Goku sighed heavily, looking at her then back at his father. The look on his face overrode Bulma's request by a long shot. He nodded at his father before looking back at Bulma, giving her an apologetic shrug. "Sorry Bulma. Doctor's orders. But I won't go too far, I promise." he reassured her. "I'll be waiting outside the main entrance, okay?"

Bulma didn't like that at all. She placed her hands on her hips in frustration. "Fine. But as soon as I'm done here, I'm going straight back to Earth, okay? I don't want to be here any longer than I have to be."

Goku nodded. "Sure." he gently confirmed, looking at her thoughtfully for a moment. He wasn't sure what compelled him, but he leaned in and planted a friendly kiss on Bulma's forehead, despite the agitated vibe she was giving off. He loved her, very much like a sister, and whatever was wrong with her he hoped his father could figure it out…and soon. There was something very different with her and Vegeta's energy signals, and he knew his father had sensed it also. Goku didn't know if it was bad or not, but the look on his father's face was not reassuring at all. "I'll see you in a little bit."

Bulma was somewhat taken aback from Goku's kindness, feeling bad for giving him attitude now. Standing firm, all she could do was simply nod at him in response, feeling momentarily calmed down by his actions as she watched him walk out of the room and out of her sight. She reluctantly turned her attention back to Bardock, seeing him continue to study her. She was apprehensive as he did so, not knowing why it was making her uncomfortable. A few tense, quiet moments remained between them. She wasn't sure what to say that wouldn't lead down that ominous path that she did not want to travel. She resolved that she would have to keep her mouth shut about what happened between her and Vegeta, and just stick to the facts.

"Well?" Bardock began.

"Well, what?" Bulma replied, trying to play aloof, but they both knew it wasn't going to work.

"Do you think that I am going to slice you open?" he asked off-handedly, raising an eyebrow up at her and feigning offense before turning around and walking toward a rejuvenation tank, expecting Bulma to follow after him.

"What?" she blurted in confusion, not sure what he was talking about as she watched him walk away from her.

"You're in such a rush to leave here and get back to Earth." Bardock stated simply. "I don't remember you ever being so eager to go back to your home planet. Normally you have to be dragged back. The irony…with Vegeta it's the same way." he quipped. "Well, almost. He never wants to stay here. He seems to always want be on Earth, and we have to drag him back over here." he continued, beginning to tread the uneasy path he was now faced with Bulma. The strategy he had used with Vegeta to get answers from him had gotten him absolutely nowhere, so he learned a lesson from that and decided to use a different approach with her.

The comparisons made Bulma uneasy as she shifted her weight from one leg to another, removing her hands from her hips and crossing them over her chest in a defensive, protective manner. "Well that shouldn't be a problem anymore." she muttered, her beautiful face frowning in aggravation.

"So I've heard." Bardock stated cryptically, turning to look at her for a moment, searching her face for some sort of hint on what happened, but she remained closed off and sheltered. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Thinking of Vegeta's promise to never come back to Earth was a mistake as the painful ache twisted in Bulma's chest. Her ki surged for a moment, then as Bardock anticipated, he felt Vegeta's life energy flicker in response to her own. She watched as he turned to look at her for a moment, giving her a look she could not interpret before he turned his attention away from her again and heard his question. She paused for a moment, thinking strategically. Was he trying to hear her side of the story, or did he really not know what happened? Bulma gave him a suspicious look, not knowing where Bardock was going with this, but in fact feared that maybe she did know. She sighed in frustration and began to walk after him, refusing to play along with whatever game he was trying to use on her. "Look, I've got things to do, Bardock. I'm very busy, and I have deadlines, and I don't have time for this." she stubbornly responded, irritated with herself that she came here to begin with.

"Interesting…Vegeta said something very similar to me this morning also." Bardock murmured, taking careful note of how this conversation with her seemed eerily familiar to the one he had with the volatile prince earlier that morning. The medic shook his head as he continued on, seeming to ignore her complaints as he began to press buttons on the panel to one of the rejuvenation tanks, beginning to program something into it.

Bulma kept silent, growing increasingly irritated at how he kept bringing Vegeta up, not appreciating these not-so-subtle comparisons. She growled in audible frustration, knowing that she should have just sucked it up and downed those damn pain pills. She had better things to do than waste her time here and continue to be distracted from her work. She had better things to do than to find herself on her beautiful, beloved red planet that currently held somewhere within its grasp a Saiyan prince that probably hated her and never wanted to see her again. She didn't know where Vegeta was, or what he was doing, or how he was feeling. The fact that he could burst into the medical ward at any moment and confront her was a reality that she was now facing. She tensed, feeling apprehensive at prospect of seeing him. What if he did burst in there? What would he do when he saw her? What would he say? What would she say?

"Bulma?" Bardock asked in concern, hearing her remain silent for awhile and sensing her unease as it rolled off of her in waves.

Bulma huffed, trying to take her mind off of 'what-ifs'. They were going to drive her insane. She sighed irritably. Being stubborn wasn't going to help her. She was here for Bardock to take a look at her, and she needed to feel better as soon as possible. She needed to get off of Vegetasei, and the sooner the better. "My dad sent me to see you." she began in a tense tone. "I haven't been feeling well. He ran some tests, but everything came back normal. That's why I'm here. He thinks maybe you can figure it out."

"I see." he commented, seeing the tank beep in acceptance of his program as the light blinked on the panel, awaiting. Maybe he was just going through the motions with her, but still, Bardock figured it wouldn't hurt to have some factual, concrete data to back up his theory. It would be interesting to see if the same anomaly that has been showing up in Vegeta's reports would show up in hers also. But he already knew the answer to that. He could sense it, and he was reasonably sure that Kakarot sensed it also, even though he may not know exactly what it was that he was feeling from them. The medic realized it had been his turn to be lost deeply in thought, and he looked at Bulma meaningfully for a moment, curious for more data. "What are your symptoms?"

Bulma hesitated, trying to decide on how to word this and not make it sound worse than it really was. Too much was resting heavily on her shoulders and weighing down her heart. She couldn't afford having something bad wrong with her right now...not now of all times. "Chest pains. Ranging from dull to sharp. No discernable pattern, they come and they go. Pain in my heart every now and then. My dad couldn't find anything, no irregular beats or murmurs though. An increasing ache throughout my chest and body."

Bardock took a serious moment to listen to her. So, was this what Vegeta was feeling also? He remained silent for a few short moments, attempting to analyze and try to read something more between the lines but Bulma was a smart one, and like the intelligent human woman she was, she was being strictly factual with him, giving him only symptoms from a medical standpoint. Still, this was much more information than he had gotten from Vegeta, considering the temperamental prince refused to admit anything to him about how he was feeling. "And how have you been sleeping lately?"

Bulma was caught off-guard at the seemingly off-handed question. She gave an indifferent shrug. "Like crap. But you know that I've never been able to sleep much anyway…and when I do, half the time I can't sleep very well." she finished cautiously, not understanding what that had to do with how she was feeling.

"I know." Bardock agreed. "You and Vegeta…you both have always been that way, I suppose." his comment laced with affection, his tone of voice softening a bit as he fondly recalled times when they were much younger. "You two have always had trouble sleeping, you know. Ever since I can remember. Always wandering throughout the palace late at night together. Neither one of you ever seemed to be able to sleep for very long either."

Hearing another comparison of her and Vegeta made her uncomfortable. Of course she knew that. They both always had too much work to do, and not enough time to do it in. They rarely got any good sleep, and most of the time when they couldn't sleep they would find each other and figure out something to do until they were tired enough to try to sleep again. The heartache began to rise again as she thought of Vegeta, and Bulma crossed her arms across her chest tightly, a scowl on her face forming. Whatever the hell was wrong with her was really beginning to piss her off. She was not in the mood to deal with all of this, and she was not wanting to get into the subject of Vegeta again if she could help it. "What does this have to do with how I'm feeling?" she asked in frustration, not understanding what their sleep behavior had to do with anything.

"Makes sense that you haven't been able to sleep well lately either." Bardock commented as nonchalantly as he could, wondering if she would catch on to the hint he was dropping about Vegeta's current state of being also.

"Are you going to run some tests on me or not, Bardock?" she asked impatiently, ignoring his last words as she knew the clock continued ticking and valuable time was being lost. She needed to feel better fast and get herself the hell out of there.

"Of course. I just need to ask a couple of more questions in order to form a proper diagnosis." Bardock said, unfazed by her growing agitation and apprehension. He was a seasoned veteran, after all. He had been dealing with her and Vegeta since they had been born, and was more than accustomed to their mood swings. He looked at her thoughtfully again, wondering if he should try the couple of questions he had tried getting Vegeta to answer. "How long have you been feeling like this, Bulma?"

She tensed at the question, her energy signal wavering in response. She knew he was going to ask this, and although she was loath to answer it, she couldn't lie to him…not if he might be able to figure out what in the hell was wrong with her. All she had to do was simply answer the question, and show no emotion behind it. This was strictly a doctor's visit, and nothing more. "For about two days now."

"I was worried you were going to say that." Bardock murmured, his face frowning in seriousness. He already knew that was going to be her answer; two days ago was the same exact time Vegeta came back from Earth with that disturbance in his life force also. At first he had not been sure what was the matter with him, since Vegeta was as distraught and disturbed and angry as he had ever seen him before…but now here was Bulma, with that same disturbance in her life force. So far all the signs were pointing to what he initially thought happened.

Bulma was caught off-guard at his statement. She frowned a bit, eyeing Bardock uneasily, feeling a small chill of panic hit her. "Why?" she asked, suspecting that maybe Vegeta in fact had actually told him what happened between them.

"What happened two days ago?" Bardock asked, ignoring her question as he crossed his arms over his broad chest, giving her an expectant look. He was feeling antsy about finding out the final part of the equation, hoping she would give him the answer he had been seeking from Vegeta for two days now.

Bulma managed a difficult swallow, not sure what to think about his question. Did this mean that Vegeta didn't tell him what happened? Or did Bardock know, but was just trying to get her to talk about it? Like she could even tell him about it. How could she tell him that everything had changed between her and Vegeta after they kissed? How could she tell him that she hurt Vegeta and that she would probably spend the rest of her life regretting it? How could she tell him that the fact that Vegeta was never coming back to Earth was unbelievably final and without contestation? How could she tell him that Vegeta never wanted her to talk to him again, unless it was about business? How could she tell him that the pain and the heartache over him was consuming her, and that she had been feeling like this since the moment they fell apart from each other? Bulma forced herself to ignore the almost unbearable ache within her chest that clawed at her heart. "Nothing happened." Bulma responded as coldly as she could, feeling her resolve begin to wane slightly as she rode through the wave of pain and discomfort that hit her.

Bardock sighed inwardly, having already expected that answer from her. After all, it was the same damn answer that Vegeta kept giving him for the past two days also. "I figured as much." he said, giving her a displeased look. She was just as damn stubborn as Vegeta. "I swear, you both will be the death of me." he muttered, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He knew they were both hiding the truth because he felt her ki flare out in distress, and Vegeta's energy responded to hers shortly after, only proving that something very big did happen between them. He saw Bulma give him a quizzical look and he shook his head a bit, resolving that he needed to stop trying to being a therapist and focus mainly on being a medic. He needed to somehow find a way to heal the both of them. "C'mon, let's get you into a tank and get some readings." he said, motioning over to the empty rejuvenation tank that awaited her.

"But, I'm going to get my clothes wet." Bulma complained as she stared at the tank for a moment.

"So? You practically have an entire room full of clothes here. You can change into something else." Bardock replied, seeing her hesitation and wondering why she was so uneasy about entering inside of it. But before he could ask her what the matter was, his scouter had beeped, alerting him of an incoming transmission. Bulma watched as he held up a hand to her, silently asking her to wait a moment as he lowered the red eye piece and pressed a button, receiving the call.

"Yes, your majesty?" Bardock answered, listening to what he was being asked. He abruptly gave Bulma an odd look before he answered. "Yes…she's here."

A chill of trepidation traveled through her, immediately coming to the conclusion that it was Vegeta on the other end of the conversation. She took a shaky breath, trying to tell herself that if he demanded for her to leave, then she would not argue with him over it. As it was, she expected him to show up at any moment and yell at her.

"She's stepping into the rejuvenation tank as we speak…She will be out in approximately two hours…Yes, of course. I will send her to you after I review her test results." Bardock then ended the transmission, turning to Bulma again, seeing the anxious look on her face. "Well, in you go. We don't have much time."

Bulma wanted to ask who he had been talking to, but she didn't really want to hear the answer. She figured it was Vegeta demanding to see her. It was probably over his damn gravity room, if anything. He was probably pissed off at her for mouthing off to him and blatantly refusing his demand to finish the machine in six weeks. Well, she wasn't at his damn beck and call! If he wanted to confront her, then could damn well come find her! But as the idea of possibly seeing him after she got out of the tank began to sink in, she became highly tense. The painful ache pulsed through her again, twisting in her chest and around her heart. She inwardly cursed, deciding to avoid the topic all together as she simply wanted some relief from her unrelenting discomfort. "Two hours? That long?!" she grumbled unhappily, not knowing these tests were going to take that much time.

"I'm afraid so. I need enough time to get adequate readings and data from you."

"But can't you just draw my blood and run a quick analysis? I don't have time to spare. I have to get back home, I've got too many things to do…"

"Bulma, you know it's not that simple." Bardock warmly scolded, giving her a serious look as he motioned once again for her enter the rejuvenation tank. "If you want to feel better, you know this is the best way to go about it."

"Fine." she muttered unhappily, knowing he was right as she huffed her bangs away from her eyes. "You're not going to sedate me, are you?" she asked suspiciously as she reluctantly stepped up to the tank, still hesitant about getting inside. "You know I hate being sedated."

"Yes, yes, I know." the medic replied, and couldn't help but be reminded yet again of the uncanny parallels between her and Vegeta. "I'm not sedating you. I want you to sit in the tank with the sensors on while the equipment gets some readings from you. I'm not going to activate the healing fluid, so do not worry about your clothes. Besides, the healing fluid won't help you."

"How do you know that? Are you sure?" she asked, puzzled as she stepped into the tank and reached for the breathing mask. Since she was having physical pain she figured the fluid would be able to heal her in no time and didn't understand why Bardock wouldn't use it on her.

"Believe me, I'm sure." Bardock replied, already knowing that it did not help Vegeta, so it wouldn't help her either. He watched as Bulma seemed to accept his answer, fully trusting him to know what he was doing as she began to hook up the breathing mask to her face and he helped her place the diodes on. "Now, try to relax, Bulma. This will take awhile."

---

He hadn't expected her arrival. Not so soon. He believed she wouldn't dare show her presence on Vegetasei until she was ready to build his gravity room. She couldn't possibly be ready for its construction yet, but as he sensed her all-too-familiar ki signal arrive, a surge of emotions flooded Vegeta all at once. The prince tensed up, clenching his gloved hands into fists as he slammed them down on the large oval-shaped table, effectively cracking it and bringing those inside the conceference room to a sudden and uneasy silence at his outburst. Vegeta snarled, inwardly reprimanding himself for temporarily losing control and showing any emotion to her arrival at all. He sat forcefully back into his throne, gripping the arm rests in barely-restrained fury as he glared darkly at everyone, silently ordering that they ignore him and continue on…which the alien ambassadors quickly did without falter.

What was she doing here?!

The indescribable deep, painful ache had returned to him with a vengeance, suffocating as it twisted within his chest again. The sensation almost took the air from his lungs as his anger, mixed with unrelenting heartache, threatened to drown him as he sat on his throne. Vegeta felt trapped, caged inside this room more so now than ever. He needed to be anywhere else but there at that moment as he used his immense willpower to push and shove down the emotions that coursed through him upon Bulma's arrival. He had felt her energy signal flare up, not realizing that his had done the same also.

What the hell was going on? Why was she here?! She couldn't be ready to build his machine! Kakarot had said she couldn't have it completed any sooner, so she couldn't possibly be there to start on it already. Wasn't she too damn fucking busy to be there wasting her precious time when she had a million things to do?! One of them specifically being to get married to that piece of shit human scar-faced weakling tomorrow?! Vegeta winced, grimacing in for a moment as he shifted his position, the familiar ache hitting him painfully as his ki signal surged in response. He no longer was paying attention to what anyone was saying as he brought a hand to his forehead, supporting his head for a few moments as he closed his eyes and suffered through the wave of pain that continued to twist within his chest. He was no stranger to physical pain, but this….whatever this was, it was excruciating and almost unbearable to him. It lasted for only a few moments then began to fade away, and feeling like he had a grip back on himself, he opened his dark eyes, a stern look gracing his handsome face as he stubbornly told himself that this would go away in time.

Vegeta noticed movement from his peripheral vision, and he turned, seeing the serious and threatening glares coming from his father and mother. He glared at them darkly, scoffing in disdain before turning his attention away from them. He knew his parents must have sensed his distress, because they were silently warning him to not leave the room. He growled deeply within his chest, quickly standing up from his throne, his tail uncurling and snapping back and forth a few times in aggrivation as he felt he could not remain seated any longer. His actions began to unnerve the alien ambassadors who kept a weary eye on the volatile prince, watching as he paced tensely, wondering if they were saying something that was angering him. They had believed they were treading carefully with the Saiyan Empire, but when their crown prince…who had a notorious record for his short temper and the blood of many on his hands…was noticeably increasing in his foul mood, they were rightfully cautious as they proceeded with the negotiations.

Vegeta could care less at the moment over the disturbance he was causing within the conference room as he continued his pacing. He continued to receive warning looks from his parents, but he brushed the glares aside, knowing that he gave his word to them that he would not leave the room during a conference, nor leave the planet, no matter how much he wanted to at that current moment. He was unbelievably frustrated knowing he was stuck inside this room, unable to concentrate on anything except the blue-haired woman, sensing her ki remaining unsteady. He made an effort to ignore the fact that she was there, yet he couldn't fucking help it, he couldn't damn well fight it…her infuriating presence called out to him, her familiar life force flickering in distress and standing out to him. He couldn't describe the sensation he was feeling as he continued his angered pacing, feeling like he was going crazy.

What was wrong with him? And why was she there?! That was the real question that was running wild in his mind as he tried to think of answers to it. He had already ruled out that she was there to work on his gravity machine. It was impossible, even for her, to have the schematics and blueprints done already and have all her calculations ready. Even if by some astronomical chance she did have everything ready, she was getting married and going on some blasted honeymoon, and she would be unable to work on it for awhile. Vegeta snarled in disgust, not wanting to think of Bulma being mated to that pathetic excuse of a failed man as he tried to redirect his train of thoughts to something else.

Vegeta continued to sense Bulma's ki wavering, and he continued to try to ignore her presence but was failing horribly at it. He then took a moment to reach his senses out and feel for other ki signals around her…and found Bardock's and Kakarot's nearby. Knowing this put him on edge as he tried to concentrate on their signals also. Kakarot's was steady and calm, while Bardock's seemed slightly heightened. He frowned, wondering if she dared to tell either of them what happened between them. She wouldn't have, would she?! Did they already know that he gave into his weakness for her and kissed her? Did they know that she blatantly rejected him? Did they now know that she is the reason why he banned himself from ever returning to Earth? Vegeta's aura flared around him in a brilliant display of purple, his energy crackling momentarily in fury at the idea that she would have the audacity to tell Kakarot or Bardock what happened between them. It was none of their damn business…it wasn't anyone's damn business! This was between them and no one else! After his efforts to conceal what happened from everyone, it was all beginning to unravel now, wasn't it?! She was probably laughing about it also, wasn't she?! She probably didn't care what she was doing to him, even if she knew it or not! This is what he got for putting himself out there…for allowing himself to feel anything for her to begin with!

A smaller gloved hand firmly gripping his forearm snapped Vegeta out of seeing red as he turned his head and saw Tarble looking up at him in concern and worry. He felt his younger brother give his arm another squeeze in an effort to calm him down, as Vegeta looked around and saw that all attention was on him. His parents and the royal guards seemed tense at his unstable actions, and saw as well the alien ambassadors shrinking back and almost cowering in fear of him as the meeting had come to such an abrupt halt.

"Brother?" Tarble asked hesitantly, letting go of his arm, wondering what in the world had just happened with him as he looked in awe of his brother's powerful aura.

"I'm okay, Tarble." Vegeta grumbled low enough for only his brother to hear as he let out an irritable sigh, powering down, not realizing how worked up he had gotten himself. He nodded in reassurance to his sibling as he collectively gathered himself. Tarble seemed to let out an uneasy breath as he turned to look back at their parents, nodding at them. Vegeta wrapped his tail firmly around his waist and walked back over to his throne to sit down, hating the deathly silence that pervaded the room and hating how everyone was so tense around him all the time. Did they think he was going to kill them all? Did they think he had no self-control over his actions and his temper?

"Vegeta…" the king began sternly, watching his powerful son take his seat alongside his own at the head of the table. "What…" but before he could continue, he was cut off.

"My patience is growing dangerously thin." Vegeta said in a deceptively calm, dark tone as he chose to ignore his father. "I don't have all day to spend in here, is that perfectly understood?" he demanded with authority to the alien ambassadors in the room. He wasn't sure how much more longer he could stand being caged up in that room. The sooner he could get out of there, the sooner he could breathe and get his anger and frustration out on someone….probably Kakarot. What he needed was to purge all thoughts and feelings about Bulma and drown himself in blood, sweat, and broken bones. He ignored the ache within his chest, refusing to let his emotions about her overtake him again. The sooner he could get this out of his system, the better. He was determined to keep growing stronger, despite the way he was feeling right now, only wishing the Icejins were in front of him right now so that he could kill them and not blink an eye at doing so.

That would take care of at least one of his lingering problems.

At seeing the alien visitors nod their heads in fear of him, Vegeta began to drum his fingers on the table that he had cracked earlier. "It would be in your best interests to continue on." The foreign dignataries clumsily and hastily bowed and went back to their presentations, trying to quell the nervousness they had as they tried to refocus on the task at hand. It was a difficult feat to remain calm in front of the royal Saiyan family in the first place…let alone in front of the infamously temperamental prince.

---

As soon as Bulma was in the tank and the machine began to run its tests and begin to gather data, Bardock went back to his main desk and pulled up past medical history on her. If he had known that her life force had changed also, he would have done this days ago! As it was, for the past couple of days he had already been researching over Vegeta's data. There was plenty of it; he had vital stats and measurements of his life force and his energy levels throughout his life, but with Bulma there wasn't nearly as much data. After all, she was not a Saiyan; she did not fight and get herself injured and was never in need of constant healing, so her times in the tank were very few in comparison. But still, he pulled what data he had for her in what little time he had, going back to readings from when she was a baby. He programmed the computer to gather her data together and process them. He had noticed the anomaly in Vegeta's printouts from the tank right away when he had returned two days ago, so he was sure he would be able to notice any if they showed up in Bulma's printouts also.

It was one thing to sense a change in someone's life energy, but to see it on paper was an entirely different story. And if her ki readings today were different than her past ones….then it only confirmed what he already knew had happened between them.

As the time continued to pass, Bardock impatiently paced back and forth between his desk and the tank Bulma was currently in. The rejuvenation room was quiet, save for the beeps and small whirling, mechanical sounds from a few other tanks that were currently being used by other injured soldiers. Periodically he left Bulma's tank to tend to the others, but for the most part he remained hovered around hers since she was his main priority right now. As time passed, his computer had finished gathering what data on Bulma it had and compiled them it into reports and graphical data. He spent the time he had going over her previous readings, his experienced eyes studying her data, along with studying the numerous reports on Vegeta that also littered his desk. After almost an hour and a half he put their paperwork down, feeling uneasy about what he was noticing, as well as sensing from Bulma as the disturbance in her life energy kept fluctuating. Taking a small break, Bardock walked up to the tank, seeing Bulma's beautiful blue eyes look into his, patiently waiting for the tests to be over. He checked the panel on the machine, seeing she had about 20 minutes left. He mouthed the word 'almost' to her, and saw her nod her head in understanding as she closed her eyes again.

Bulma had been trying her best to remain calm and relaxed as Bardock had instructed her. Easier said than done, she knew, when she had a hundred things running through her mind. Most of her thoughts were on Vegeta, thinking about him…everything from what happened between them that night, to their past as she recalled random memories. Throughout the time she was in the tank her ki wavered in stress, sometimes enough to trip off the sensors that alerted the medics in the room. She tried her best to not think of Vegeta, and think of Yamcha, which was not any better for her. She thought about their relationship, and about the ups and downs they went through also, and recalled that for the most part, her and Yamcha had a good relationship. It wasn't until the more recent years that things started to turn worse between them, whether Vegeta had been a factor between them or not. And as she stressed over Yamcha, she continued to trip off the sensors, and watched from the inside looking out as Bardock checked on her and pressed buttons on the tank's panel. And so this was how Bulma had spent her last hour and a half, trying hard not to think of anything, and only thinking of the two men in her life that affected her so greatly.

After seeing Bardock check on her again and silently letting her know she was almost done, she tried to clear her mind and concentrate on her ongoing issues with the gravity room. Thinking of the machine only reminded her of her stress and frustration over the construction of it, as well as that damn gravity formula that was not computing. Thinking of this only served to remind her of her impending deadline, which in turn reminded her of Vegeta who would be absolutely angered with her if she didn't give him his gravity room when agreed. This only reminded her of how angry he already was at her, knowing he did not want her there, let alone want to see her or talk to her again. Then again, she thought maybe he did want to…maybe it was him who had paged Bardock. She didn't doubt that Vegeta probably still had some few, choice words to say to her, and still worried he might burst into the medical ward at any minute and demand to know why the hell she was there. She didn't know how she would handle having to speak to him again when the time came. As it was, she was already panicked just thinking about it. She wished she knew instant transmission so that way she could run away whenever she wanted. Well, teleport away, if one wanted to be technical about it. What if Vegeta didn't burst into the medical bay? What if he just appeared in front of her out of thin air so that he could confront her?! There was no way for her to prepare for that!

Bardock sensed a high level of distress coming from Bulma as that disturbance in her life force spiked, and almost simultaneously felt Vegeta's ki answer in response. Shortly after, he heard her tank alarm go off, alerting him that she needed immediate attention. He hurried over to the tank, looking inside and seeing her eyes remained closed. Physically she looked okay, and confused he looked at the panel screen, seeing a certain aspect of her ki spike up abnormally. Her life energy was reacting drastically to Vegeta's own, and he scrolled through some of the data, seeing overall from the readings that her ki signal was anything but normal. He managed a difficult swallow, pressing a button on the machine to speak to her. "You're almost done, Bulma. Just a few minutes more."

She nodded her head, hearing him. She inhaled deeply and let her breath out heavily, trying to relax for the remainder of the tests, but now that they were almost done, she was apprehensive about the results. What if something was very wrong with her? Would Bardock be able to figure out what was going on with her? What if he couldn't? What if she had to stay there for more testing? Or would he just give her some pain pills or a shot and tell her that it was something that would simply go away in time? How much time would it take? It had already been two days, and it seemed to be getting worse over time, not better. Maybe she just needed a vacation. A much overdue vacation…preferably off-planet, where she could try to find some peace and relaxation.

That was what a honeymoon was for, she supposed.

The door to her tank opened suddenly and she was startled by it, having been lost in her disturbed thoughts. She gladly pulled off her breathing mask and tore off the diodes from her skin, stepping out of the tank and trying to fix her hair as best she could. She forgot how suffocating and claustrophobic the tanks could be. She resolved that was going to have to build a larger, updated model someday.

"All done." Bardock said, pressing a few buttons on the panel and watching the machine begin to print her readouts and various reports. Although he was calm on the outside, he was very anxious and apprehensive on the inside. "After this is done printing, I should be able to look over the results and see how things are looking."

"How long is that going to take?" Bulma asked, feeling rather impatient herself. She hoped it wouldn't take too long, because she wanted to get off Vegetasei as soon as possible. She had a lot of work to do at home, as well as a wedding she needed to get done and over with. Plus, avoiding a certain prince would be optimal also.

Bardock gathered the printouts in his hands and glanced over them quickly, focused on finding what he needed to know. His breath hitched in his throat as he saw the same exact anomaly in her life force, in the same position and level as Vegeta's. He swallowed with difficulty, his hands beginning to tremble slightly as he turned away from Bulma, walking over to his desk and placing her paperwork down on it.

"Bardock?" she asked in curiosity, following him to his desk. "How long until you know something?"

"Not too long…" the medic trailed off numbly, looking at her after a long moment. He refused to portray any emotion. The data did not lie. The results were conclusive. They confirmed what he initially thought. How could this have happened? He had known it though…he had sensed something very wrong with Vegeta, but it wasn't until he sensed it from Bulma that the pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place. He just needed the data to validate his metaphysical diagnosis.

"Okay, well I need to get back to Earth then. Let Goku know if you find out anything?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could, intending to go find her best friend and have him teleport her back home as soon as possible.

"Oh no you don't. The queen wants to see you." Bardock told her, giving Bulma a scolding look, knowing that she was going to try to leave the planet as soon as possible.

"The queen? What? Why?" she asked apprehensively. She had it in her mind that it had been Vegeta that had paged him over the scouter….not his mother.

"I don't know. Now stay put. I need to let her know you're out of the tank." Bardock said, eyeing her for a moment, making she would stay there as he lowered the red eye piece and pressed a few buttons on his scouter, beginning to walk away from his desk as he contacted the queen.

Huffing in annoyance, Bulma took a seat at Bardock's station and saw her paperwork on it. Curious by nature, she grabbed the top report that Bardock had been looking at, and she glanced over the long roll of graph paper, seeing her data splayed out. She looked over the data, and didn't really see anything too out of the ordinary at first. She began to wonder if maybe there wasn't anything wrong with her. Perhaps it was all in her mind? She then noticed the computer had marked a certain line in her readings, signifying it as 'unknown'. This caught her interest. That was strange. She laid the long steam of paper over the desk, intent on looking at it from beginning to end until she glanced around his desk and saw a similar roll of paper near her paperwork. She assumed Bardock had printed a double copy of her chart, and she grabbed it with her other hand, glancing over it to make sure it was a copy of her own.

Quickly, she realized that the second roll of paper was not a copy of her own readout, although it looked very similar. It even had that same odd line in it, the one the computer had marked as 'unknown' also. She noticed that whoever this printout belonged to, it wasn't hers. The ki reading was insane compared to hers, and her power level was nothing compared to whoever this was. The vital stats were very different, everything from heartbeats per minute to core internal body temperature. She continued to compare the readings, wondering which Saiyan soldier this reading belonged to, especially since they had this same 'unknown' reading in their data. Maybe they used the same rejuvenation tank and it was malfunctioning? Maybe this odd line was just a technical glitch? Bulma began to scroll through both reports, comparing them side by side as she almost reached the end where it had their names. But before she could see the name of who the other printout belonged to, both papers were snatched out of her hand quickly, and startled she turned and looked up.

"The queen wants to see you in her personal chambers. Now." Bardock told her, not realizing that Bulma had Vegeta's latest printout in her grasp also. He gave her a scolding look, knowing that she was going to try to self-diagnose herself.

"But…I…" Bulma stammered, unhappy about having even more time being taken out of her day. She was supposed to be going home right now. "Ugh…why?" she asked again, visibly frustrated as she got up out of his chair.

"She didn't say. But I would listen to her, if I were you." was all that Bardock said, placing the paperwork back down on his desk. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "You don't want to keep her waiting." he said, giving her an encouraging nod as he began to turn her around and kick her out of the medical ward.

She shook her head dejectedly as she relented to the queen's request. "Fine, I'm going. By the way I'm taking Goku with me…." she called out to Bardock as she began to leave the medical ward. The last thing she needed was to walk through the palace and inadvertently run into Vegeta. At least with Goku by her side, she felt she could handle it if she did end up crossing paths with him.

"Tell him I need to see him after he escorts you." Bardock called back out to her, watching her raise her hand with a thumbs-up, letting him know she heard him as she walked out of the medical bay. The medic plopped down heavily onto his chair, leaning back and running his hands over his face and through his hair, taking a much needed minute to grasp everything and come to terms with it. As he waited for Kakarot to show up, Bardock grabbed Bulma's long printout, as well as Vegeta's, and compared them.

The same anomaly in their readouts…reflecting the altered ki they both now had.

He let out a heavy-hearted sigh. He still did not know how this happened, because both Vegeta and Bulma were being extremely silent on the matter, but he at least knew for sure when this happened…and what exactly was wrong with them.

---

After a handful of minutes, Goku appeared instantly in front of Bardock.

"What's going on, Dad?" Goku asked, lowering his fingers from his forehead, seeing his father going through tons of paperwork. "Tell me you're sensing what I'm sensing from them."

"I am. Felt it the moment she arrived." Bardock began, continuing to shuffle through the papers.

"Good. Then I'm not just imagining things. So what's going on with them? Are they sick?"

"No, they are not sick. Not exactly."

A look of confusion fell upon Goku's face as he leaned against the desk, wondering what it was about both Bulma and Vegeta's life energies that was so different. "So…you don't know what's wrong with them then?"

"Oh, I do."

"What is it?" Goku asked, obviously very concerned for his prince and his best female friend.

"I want you to take a look at these, Kakarot." his father said, sidestepping the question as he handed over two sheets of paper to him.

Goku took the papers and glanced them over. "I don't know what I'm looking at."

"One page has Vegeta's base vital signs, along with the base readings of his life force. Measurements of his ki signal, such as the wavelength and the strength of it, and so on. The other page is Bulma's. Notice anything?"

Goku took a moment to study the lines between the two pages. "Not really…."

"That is because this is how their life energy has always been. Now look at these…" Bardock said, handing Goku two different pages. He watched as his son put down the initial paperwork and took the ones he now was handing him. "Notice something now?"

Goku looked at the new pages, and glanced back down at the first ones he had set down, trying to make the connection between the pages. The newer papers matched each other, but looked different from the first ones. "Well, these ones look the same….but different from the first ones you showed me."

"You're right, Kakarot." Bardock said, standing up from his seat and went to stand next to his son. "The papers you're holding…they are Vegeta's. One is from two days ago, when we first noticed a difference in his ki signal. The other page is the most up to date printout from when he was in the tank earlier this morning. See this line?" he said, pointing to an odd line on both graphs. "This line showed up two days ago, and it keeps showing up each time Vegeta emerges from his tank. It doesn't change…it hasn't gone away. Now look at this." Bardock said, handing Goku yet another piece of paper. "And this…this one is Bulma's printout that I just got from her tank right now. She has that same line. A line that wasn't there before either."

"So…something did change…" Goku murmured softly, looking at the updated reports he had in his hands and then glanced down, seeing that the first ones his father had handed him did not have that odd line.

"Yes." Bardock said somberly, watching Goku glance back and forth between the graphs, trying to figure out what it all meant.

"So what does this line mean, Dad? Is it good, or bad?"

"That line means their ki has changed." Bardock began, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "Kakarot….they were bonded."

"Bonded?!" Goku blurted in surprise, shocked as he looked at the paperwork. The biggest smile plastered on his face, genuinely overjoyed at hearing this. "They're bonded?! Wow, this is fantastic!" he laughed in glee, thrilled for the both of them.

"No. I said they were bonded…not that they are."

Goku's joyful smile quickly faded from his face as he turned to look at his father worriedly. "But…that doesn't make any sense! How do you know…."

"You can sense the difference in them, just as I can, Kakarot. You know Vegeta's ki, you know Bulma's ki. Their signals have never been different before, have never changed like this. Their life energy, their ki signals…the wavelengths, if you will….they had been the same until a couple of days ago, and now they've been…altered." Bardock explained further, taking off his long-sleeved medical jacket and placing it over his desk. He felt like he was suffocating in it. "That's the oddity we've been feeling from Vegeta, and now from Bulma. That's the uncharted data marked on their most recent reports."

"But, this can't be right." Goku said, alarmed at what he was hearing. "It can't be. Are you sure?! What if you're wrong, Dad? I mean, wouldn't we have known if they were bonded to begin with?"

Bardock sighed with a heavy heart. "Kakarot….up until the moment you brought Bulma here, I was not exactly sure what this disturbance with Vegeta was. I thought he was sick somehow at first. It didn't seem likely, but I kept it as a possibility because I could feel it, and so could you….and I'm sure many others can sense it also. But when Bulma arrived, and it was that exact same disturbance happening with her also…it was then I knew. I've checked their records, back to the very days they were born. Their life energy, the wavelength of their ki signals….despite the vast difference in their power levels and physical strength …has always been the same."

"Until now…" Goku trailed off, his voice heavy in realization and understanding as he took a last look at the paperwork and set it down on his father's desk. "I just….I can't believe it." he gushed in heartbroken astonishment as he ran his hands over his face and up through his wild, dark hair. "So this whole time…."

Bardock nodded numbly, placing his hands on the table and lowering his head down, looking like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. "They were bonded." he finished his son's sentence. "My best educated guess is that her and Vegeta bonded since before she was even born…while she was still in the womb…or sometime shortly after she was born. Somehow her life force and Vegeta's formed a bond. And at such an extremely young age…" Bardock let out a chuckle that was half-amused and half-heartbroken. "It makes sense, you know. Why they've always been attached to each other since the beginning. Why they are so alike in many aspects…and why they are so opposite in others. Why he lets her get away with so many things…and why she lets him get away with things also. How easily they can ignite each other's tempers…and how they can easily calm each other down. Why they bend over backwards for each other..." He looked up at Goku sadly. "All these years, Kakarot, and I never suspected they were bonded. No one suspected. How could we have been able to tell? They always simply were the way they were, and no one ever really questioned it. Not even me. Bonding is so rare amongst our race…let alone between two different races. To put it into perspective, you and Chi-Chi aren't bonded. Even the King and Queen aren't bonded."

His fathers words weighed just as heavily on Goku's shoulders as he listened carefully. He hadn't been expecting such a serious matter at hand. Now he almost wished Vegeta and Bulma had simply caught a virus and were sick, compared to what his father was saying. "They've been bonded this whole time…and now…now you're saying their bond is what? Gone?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. The data does not lie. Their ki signals are not lying. The events in the timetable match up. Something very traumatizing happened between them two nights ago, Kakarot. Enough to have disrupted their bond, causing their ki signals to change. Enough to cause Vegeta to sedate himself. Enough for him to say he was never going back to Earth. Enough for Bulma to not be feeling well. Enough for Bulma to want to leave Vegeatasei as soon as possible. They are broken, Kakarot. They must be suffering in immense physical and emotional pain, yet they are both too damn stubborn to admit it. I don't believe they realize what is going on within themselves…or even with each other. They are broken…and I don't know how to heal them."

---

The queen pressed a button on her scouter, ending the transmission and placing the device down on the table. She glanced over at the king and gave him a slight nod before looking out over the room, hearing various conversations between their royal party and the alien visitors. She knew now was as good a time as any. She abruptly stood up from her throne chair, garnering the attention of the majority of people in the room as a small hush gathered over the crowd upon seeing her rise. "I will return. There is a more important matter at hand that I must attend to."

She offered no apology, nor further explanation on the subject as everyone in the room stood from their seats and quickly bowed to her. She was the Saiyan queen, after all, and did not have to give any reason for her departure. She purposely ignored the ferocious glare of anger directed at her by her eldest son as she began to walk out of the conference room, with Turles walking behind her, guarding her as she left.

Vegeta's hands clenched in fury as he watched his mother leave the room. He was so infuriated that he felt he could destroy the place at any moment in a fit of rage. After all the goddamn lectures and reprimanding he got from her about 'royal obligations', and the 'importance of intergalactic meetings and negotiations'…after all the bullshit his parents gave him about not being there and how this took priority above all else, even his training, even to go so far as to threaten to cut off his tail if he was not present….she had the fucking audacity to just simply get up and leave the conference for no good damn reason?! The hypocrisy burned and seethed deeply and Vegeta collapsed angrily back down onto his throne, gripping the arm rests in barely restrained fury.

Where the hell was she going?! Who the hell was she talking to on the scouter?! And what the fuck was so damn important that it took precedence over these intense negotiations?!

---

Silence.

Silence so deafening, it was almost hurting Bulma's ears as she awaited patiently inside the queen's chambers. Seconds continued to tick, and minutes continued to roll as her nerves began to get the best of her. She wasn't sure what the queen wanted to talk to her about.

Well….she had an idea of what it could be about.

Bulma fidgeted, hoping it didn't have anything to do with Vegeta. From what she gathered so far, no one seemed to know what happened between them, not even Bardock, which was surprising in and of itself. Goku hadn't said anything to her either, so she was reasonably sure that maybe the queen just wanted to talk with her about something important, like business. Maybe trade agreements, or a particular treaty? Maybe it had something to do with the home planet, like building equipment or something she needed her genius scientific and engineering mind to take a look at? Or maybe she just wanted to see her and visit with her. It had been awhile since she had seen the king and queen.

Her mind ran though handfuls of scenarios, all the while silently wishing that the queen would just appear already, so that she could hurry and get going home. Time stopped for no one, not even for her. So while Bulma waited, she kept her mind as occupied as she could. She still kicked herself, because in hindsight she just should have stayed home after the wedding rehearsal and kept working on the new gravity room. How was she supposed to complete it in less than 6 weeks? Vegeta and his damn nerve, upping the due date for whatever damn reason. He was probably doing it just to spite her! She huffed in frustration, restlessly walking around the gorgeous royal chamber as she berated herself for not just staying home and continuing her work. Her dad couldn't figure out what was the matter with her, and Bardock didn't seem to put out any hints on whether or not he had an idea of what might be the problem with her. Well, she figured, at least while the queen was talking with her, he would be going over her results. Hopefully he would find something out and let her know before she went back to Earth. She hoped it was something as simple as just taking medication, even if she hated doing so. If it was going to make her feel better, then she would do it. But, what if it wasn't that simple? What if she had to stick around for further testing? She simply could not do that. She had to get back home. She had too many things to do, and staying on Vegetasei any longer that was necessary was something that she was trying to avoid doing. She already had too much on her plate, besides worrying about a Saiyan prince who might not react well to her if they somehow came into contact.

The abrupt opening of the chamber doors startled Bulma, turning and watching the queen walk in, shutting and locking the door behind her. The queen continued to stand facing the door for a couple of moments, and it was unnerving. Bulma managed a tiny gulp, trying to get a quick read on her to see what type of mood she was in, but she couldn't tell.

The queen took a moment to gather her thoughts. She turned around, the air around her full of purpose as she eyed Bulma, studying her for a moment. The queen's beautiful face betrayed no hint of anything as she walked over to her, standing only a few feet in front of her. "Bulma." she said, her voice even and deceptively calm.

"My queen." she replied, placing her right hand over her heart and bowing down to her. She watched as the queen growled in frustration, waving her hand in the air in dismissal.

"Do not bow to me. There is no need." the queen commanded of her, watching as Bulma quickly righted herself. "Understand what is spoken in this room between us stays here, and will not go beyond these doors." she demanded with authority.

Bulma gulped nervously, visibly tense. "Y-yes, understood."

Satisfied with their agreement, she let some of her anger show. "I need answers from you, Bulma, and I need them now."

Bulma kept eerily silent, feeling panic start to set in as the queen cut straight to the chase. She tried to keep her nerves calm as she gulped again. "Answers?"

The queen observed that she was apprehensive as she narrowed her eyes at Bulma, crossing her arms under her bosom and gave her a fiery look. "About Vegeta."

Bulma felt a tremor on unease travel through her. Of course it had to be about him. A few excuses ran lightening speed through her mind, trying to think of how she was going to get out of this. She knew he kissed her! She knew what happened between them!

At hearing her continued silence, the queen decided to continue. "He has been deliberately disobedient and insubordinate. Recently, more so than ever before. He has not been here. He has been blatantly disregarding his royal obligations and duties, constantly going against us as he teleports off-planet, going to who knows where. If anyone knows where he has been going, it is you." she demanded in agitation, giving her an angered, expectant look.

At hearing this, Bulma felt a fleeting sense of relief. So it wasn't about what happened between them! She could only be relieved for a couple of seconds, realizing that somehow she was the one in trouble over Vegeta. She had no clue what had been going on! He had never told her any of this! All of this was news to Bulma and she was stunned into continued silence. It wasn't like Vegeta to not work and help run his empire. She knew he had been spending time on Earth with her, but that much? "He's…he's been on Earth, with me at Capsule Corp, for the most part, at least." she offered the explanation as calmly as she could manage. "He's been there a lot, mostly training in the gravity room." she said, looking into the queen's angry eyes.

The queen took her angered gaze off of Bulma, beginning to pace around the room in irritation. Her tail uncurled from around her waist as it fuzzed up. "So that is where he's been teleporting to?! Earth?! Bulma, I nearly had his tail cut off!" she informed her, enraged at the very thought.

"What?!" Bulma couldn't help but exclaim in alarm, not expecting this turn of conversation. All thoughts of what happened between her and Vegeta, and her fears of being confronted about it had disappeared as her protectiveness of him surged through her.

"We were going to cut his tail off!" the queen repeated in bitter anger, giving Bulma a glare as if it had been her fault the entire time.

"Why?!" Bulma demanded. "What could Vegeta have possibly done that would warrant such an extreme punishment?!" she said, highly angered over hearing this. "You were going to disgrace him forever because of WHY?! Because he was with me on Earth?! You can't be serious!"

"No, NOT because he was on Earth with you! Because he provoked our anger to that very point! His continued defiance and refusal to answer to us could not be tolerated any longer. There is no excuse for his frequent absences and lack of responsibility to our empire! He ignores his duties here and continually takes off without telling anyone where he was going or what he was doing!"

"So you were going to cut off his tail simply because you did not take the time to find out where he was, and who he was with?! You assumed he had no good reason?!" Bulma yelled, clenching her small fists in anger, frightened for him.

"We continued to warn him, but he refused to listen! Vegeta has constantly been taking off for the last few months or so, always without his bodyguards, always without telling anyone where he was going or why! If we had known he was just on Earth training, or with you, then we would not have considered such drastic measures! Especially since Kakarot is on Earth often with his own mate and son, so he would be around to guard Vegeta if necessary!"

"Vegeta is fully capable of taking care of himself!" Bulma replied back. "He does not need Nappa or Raditz around to protect him, not even Goku! He's one of the strongest Saiyans alive, if not the strongest!"

"I know his strength all too well." she said, recalling his earlier displays of power that he easily wielded in the throne room, and the conversation they had with him. "That does not negate the fact that there are many out there, Bulma, many who would gladly jump at the opportunity to kill him!" the queen replied back angrily.

"They couldn't, even if they tried!" she said, only to quickly snap her mouth shut, forced to recall Goku's words about Yamcha's threat against Vegeta. If there was one person on Earth that would take an opportunity to kill Vegeta, it was probably him. After all, Yamcha did not seem to hesitate in wanting to badly hurt and try to kill Vegeta when they had fought those handful of days ago. The irony. They were worried about him being somewhere out in the universe and getting killed, when the reality was that even on Earth he was in danger. Bulma could only remain silent, managing a difficult swallow at the realization.

The queen studied Bulma for a moment, seeing her deathly quiet. Their tempers were getting the best of them, and perhaps she was taking her frustration unfairly out on her. After a few more tense, quiet moments between them, the queen walked up to her, earning her attention and she looked into her blue eyes. "I said nothing we speak of will leave this room." she reiterated, and watched as Bulma nodded in agreement at the simple reminder. Seeing her confirmation, she took a deep breath and let it out. "I am a Saiyan woman. I am a strong Saiyan woman. I am the Queen of Vegetasei, but I am also a mother, Bulma. It is looked down upon for me to show concern and worry over my children, but when I see my eldest son behaving so rebelliously and recklessly, I am forced to do what I can to keep him focused and safe." The queen relented her confession, at least knowing now that Vegeta wasn't rebelling simply for the hell of it. His disappearances seemed to have some purpose, but what, she did not know yet to the reasoning behind them.

"I understand." Bulma said as she sighed heavily at this sudden heart-to-heart they were having.

"Keeping that in mind, I have another issue." the queen began, with some bite left to her tone. "I told Vegeta a few days ago that he needed to stay here on-planet and attend a very important meeting, and if he did not, I would personally cut off his tail." The queen looked at Bulma sternly. "And he listened. He attended the conference for once without much resistance. We were pleased, until something else began to take his attention away from the negotiations. And of course, before we knew it, he disappears, disobeying our orders. At first we had believed it was out of pure rebellion…until we discovered later that day that he had left off-planet with you."

Bulma immediately knew what day she was talking about, but she didn't have time to think over anything though as the queen's accusing glare pierced through her, feeling as though she was the one under suspicion. Either way, she had to come to Vegeta's defense. "I didn't know! You know I wouldn't have taken him away from the meetings if I had known he was supposed to be there! He never told me anything about what you told him!" she began, irritated at Vegeta for not telling her anything about what was going on.

"That sounds like him." the queen reluctantly agreed, but didn't have to be happy about it. "Not to mention he did not tell us you were here. If we had known, we would have brought you into the negotiations. We do value your input greatly."

"He needed his gravity room here fixed, and I that's why I was here. He didn't want me there in the conference room." Bulma began to explain. "I wouldn't have minded going either, and after I fixed it, I was going to join in, until I saw how damaged his gravity room was. It was beyond repair. I needed to build a new one, and I told him. I didn't have enough funds to buy the materials, so he took me to Capital World to get the credits. That's why we left off-planet."

Well, that explained that then, the queen thought, finally finding out where their wayward son had taken off to, abandoning his meetings and risking their wrath. It still was not a valid excuse, but the reasoning behind his disappearance was somewhat legitimate. "It took all day to go to Capital World to get the credits?"

"No, of course not. After we got the funds, we went to Xyneon to buy the materials he needed for the new machine." Bulma offered a basic explanation, purposely leaving out their other non-business details of their day. It made sense now though, why Goku was looking for them. Vegeta had told her it was because he was wanted back on Vegetasei, but he never told her why. She frowned, kicking herself as it started to come together. She had even told him to go back and that her and Goku could buy the materials, but he refused. "It took Riko and I a few hours to go through all the raw materials and decide on what to purchase and discuss cost."

"And what was Vegeta doing the entire time?"

"I don't know." Bulma shrugged. "Following us around. Checking things out. He was probably bored as hell." she said, thinking back on it. She had been too excited and wrapped up with the prospect of building an amazing new gravity room with Riko that she hadn't paid much thought about how incredibly boring it must have been for him to stand around and wait the entire time for her to be done. He was not known for being a patient man, except when it came to her. The thought rang deep in her heart as she pushed it aside. "He pretty much just stood there and watched us."

"Interesting." the queen began matter-of-factly. "At least the time spent off-planet was productive and important." she continued in a deceptively calm tone as she walked away from Bulma and made her way over to her elegant dresser. Bulma's line of sight was blocked, the queens' back to her as she watched her get an object off of it, but was unsure of what it was. "Word travels quickly, you know, particularly when it comes to Vegeta. Even more so when it involves him and you together….which brings me to my next question that needs answering."

Bulma bit her lip, aware of the turn their conversation was suddenly taking again. She fidgeted uncomfortably as she stood there, a tremor of apprehension twisting in her chest as she tried not to show her nervousness of the subject. She thought she had escaped the interrogations about her and Vegeta from everyone, but she should have known better. "What is it?" she asked coolly, maintaining her calm reserve on the outside. She watched as the queen hesitated for a moment before turning back around to face her. She could not decipher the look on the queen's face as she walked back over to her and stood in front of her.

"Demesor is a beautiful planet, wouldn't you agree, Bulma?"

Her breath hitched in her throat for a moment, caught off-guard at her sudden statement. She saw the queen was awaiting her answer, and she quickly gathered her thoughts together. "Yes, it is. One of the most beautiful planets I've ever been to."

"That it is." the queen commented as she noted the confusion on the beautiful human's face, wondering what she was getting at. She studied Bulma for a moment, watching her shift her stance uncomfortably under her dark-eyed gaze. "What were you both doing there?"

Bulma took a moment to steady her nerves as she took a calming breath. She rode the wave of discomfort, feeling it fade away as she turned defensive, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, glaring off to the side. "There was a meteor shower occurring. I wanted to see it, but that wasn't the only reason why we went. Many high-profile and elite-ranked politicians and ambassadors were attending the event also. It was an opportunity to further strengthen the alliances we have within the empire and converse with others who are interested in aligning themselves with us." she kept her explanation as neutral and business-oriented as possible.

"I see." the queen began in a deceptively calm, understanding tone. "I can understand why the both of you still did not return back to Vegetasei after you left Xyneon. After all, why would you want to? A political opportunity such as the one on Demesor is something you could not pass up." she reasoned, seeing Bulma nod her head in confirmation.

"We spent the majority of the night there as we discussed trade and policy, as well as checking on the health of the economies of our allies and potential future allies." Bulma reaffirmed, hoping that the queen hearing about Vegeta's involvement with politics and his empire would help get him off the proverbial hook, considering her grievances against him that she was now aware of.

"And your time on Demesor, it was all business, correct?"

"Yes, of course." Bulma said, knowing it wasn't the complete truth as she attempted to ignore the rest of how that night went.

The queen tilted her head slightly as she raised her arm and held out a closed fist in front of Bulma. She then opened her hand, letting the crimson and gold-trimmed cloth unravel from underneath her palm and dangle down in front of her. "I am sure Vegeta was in no rush to come back home, as I'm sure you weren't either."

Seeing the familiar piece of fabric brought back heart wrenching memories of a night she tried desperately not to think of. The painful ache coursed through her as she thought of their beautiful, dreamlike night together that turned into the worst night of her life. She had walked herself right into a damn trap, and she tore her eyes away from the gorgeous arm band and looked into the queen's knowing eyes. "Where did you get that from?" she couldn't help but ask.

"That is of no importance." the queen said matter-of-factly, dismissing her question. "Now answer me. What else happened that night?"

"I…I don't know what you're talking about." Bulma stammered at first, going into full defensive mode as she began to shut down, needing all the strength she had to get past this emotional event. "Nothing happened. We arrived there, we conversed with our allies and future possible allies, and watched the meteor shower. Then we came home, and that's it."

The queen was not buying it, not by a long shot. She continued to stand in front of the beautiful blue-haired woman, still holding up the crimson and gold fabric. "Bulma, do you know what this signifies?"

She bit her lip for a moment, and nodded her head slightly. "I was told that it identifies Saiyan royalty."

"That is correct. Now, Vegeta was wearing this when he arrived back that night. Tell me….who was wearing the other one?"

"Me." Bulma murmured softly, unsure of what the queen was trying to get at. Was she going to be in trouble for wearing the band when she wasn't royalty? She didn't know she wasn't supposed to wear it. Maybe they were taking it as a great insult? Would this be taken as treason? Sure, she had grown up half her life with them on Vegetasei, but that did not make her Saiyan, least of all royalty. Her heart sank at these thoughts.

The queen nodded slowly at her answer, almost as if she was in contemplation of something as she lowered her hand down. "Nothing leaves this room, Bulma." she stated as a firm reminder, seeing her nod her head once in understanding. She reached for Bulma's hand and placed the crimson and gold fabric into her palm, gently closing her fingers around it before continuing. "Vegeta came back that night…and ever since then he has not been himself at all. Bardock stopped us from cutting off his tail, if only for the simple fact that he informed us he was not well. He arrived back, unbelievably angry, all reason almost non-existent as any small gesture, any misconstrued words set him off in a fit of rage. He refuses to eat, he will not sleep unless forced to, demanding to be left alone. He has been training relentlessly, almost to his death each night, sedating himself each time he goes into the tanks, and refuses to talk to anyone about anything otherwise. He now obeys us, and has not left Vegetasei ever since his return. He has been attending the conferences without argument, and any mention of you or the Earth brings out a force within him that is frightening and almost uncontrollable, even for him. Now…" the queen concluded, looking sympathetically into her blue eyes as she reached up and placed both her hands gently on the sides of Bulma's face, very much in a tender, motherly way, "….tell me what really happened between you and him."

Bulma's lower lip began to tremble, as the simple but profound gestures seemed to crack some invisible barrier within her. Hot tears began to gather in her eyes as a wave of heat spread from her chest to her throat, constricting and choking her with some intense emotion that she could not name as she listened to her words. The tears began to fall from her beautiful sapphire eyes as she clenched the band in her fist, pulling herself away from the queen as she cried and started to break down. It was overwhelming to finally let go of the unbelievable strength it had taken her to hold back emotions she had forced down the past couple of days. The struggle had been exhausting as she finally gave in to the heartbreak over her and Vegeta as she looked down at the crimson and gold band through her blurry vision.

She had been able to hide this from her mother, and Goku, and from Yamcha, and her father….and even Bardock. But not the queen. For whatever reason, the gentle touch from the powerful, ruthless Saiyan queen, along with the concern that exuded from her was enough to make Bulma break down. She continued to cry in anguish, overtaken by her sorrow and regret as she grasped how much she had hurt Vegeta, and how much it truly hurt to be torn apart from him. "I'm sorry…" she said shakily, trying her best to compose herself and wipe away the relentless tears from her eyes. "…this is very unlike me. Forgive me, I don't mean to display such human weakness."

"Do not apologize for what you are, Bulma. I have always considered you to be Saiyan, and I know my sentiments are reflected throughout the planet. I do not pretend to know the various emotions that your race feels and displays, but do not be ashamed of who and what you are. It is unbecoming of you." the queen replied, her face reflecting concern. This disturbed her very much, almost to the point of alarming her. It was true, Bulma was never one to cry. Never. Not since she was but a very small child had she cried like this. They had raised her to be strong, and tough, and to keep control of emotions that could make one distracted and lose focus.

Such honor, such acceptance bestowed upon her, even though Bulma felt she did not deserve it. Not right at that moment. She sniffled as she nodded, reluctantly accepting the queen's words as she continued to wipe her tears away, looking up at the beautiful, regal face of the queen. Everything Bulma had thought, everything that she had believed was supposed to be right….just wasn't. It was wrong, it was all horribly wrong. "I'm making the biggest mistake of my existence." Her shaky confession was raw with realization and desperation, her azure eyes reflecting deep torment within their depths as her affliction poured from them.

"Then stop making it." the queen encouraged simply, her own dark eyes reflecting understanding as she proceeded to place her hands on the sides of Bulma's arms, observing her emotional display. "We have helped raise you, always teaching you to rely on your own strength and resolve. We have always taught you to follow your instincts, Bulma. Why have you not done so? You are not bound by expectations. You are not bound by the orders of anyone. You never have been." she said, letting go of her arms before crossing her own across her chest as she continued to watch her cry. "Do not let others determine your destiny. This is not Earth."

"But I….." Bulma trailed off, utterly lost for words as she listened to the queen's meaningful reminders. Her chest heaved with emotion as she was forced all at once to come to terms with the decision she was making.

How could she marry Yamcha?

It had felt wrong when she first said yes to him, but she had been so worried and pressured about getting older and needing to get married and start a family soon that she was willing to overlook her rocky relationship with Yamcha and marry him. She ignored her doubts and fears at first, for they had been fleeting, but as time grew closer, they became harder and harder to deny. It was stupid, she knew, but she had felt that if she didn't marry Yamcha, then who? She'd feared being alone forever. Vegeta had not been a realistic option during the time she got engaged, because the possibility of them being together had not crossed her mind…it hadn't for many years…until her mother had that late-night talk with her earlier that week and it helped snowball her doubts and fears tenfold. It wasn't until recently had she started to finally feel the weight of reality on her shoulders. It had been too easy to ignore her doubts about Yamcha, to rationalize them and push them aside. It had been too easy to overlook his very real faults and make excuses for them. It had been too easy for her to ignore her late-night dreams and play referee between her fiancée and a Saiyan prince. It had been too easy to simply push her instincts aside and let her mind override her heart.

She couldn't marry Yamcha. She wouldn't.

It had been too easy for her to give in and settle for a man she could live with, rather than opt for the man that she could not live without.

And Vegeta was the man she did not want to live without.

The tears were relentless, continuing to glide down her face as she finally admitted the feelings that her heart was dying to get her to say. "I….I have to go." Bulma said, her hands shaking as she hastily tried to stop her crying, rubbing her eyes and her nose with the edge of her sleeve. She hurried past the queen to the chamber door, unlocking and opening it, wanting leave the room-and the planet-as fast as possible as she ran toward Goku who remained outside the royal quarters' doors.

---

Goku made no effort to conceal his worry as she rushed through the hallway doors and came up to him. "Bulma!" he said in alarm, placing his strong hands on the sides of her shoulders, looking her over to see what she was crying about, immediately checking to see if there was any physical trauma as she felt her body trembling.

Bulma could say nothing, shaking her head as she continued crying under Goku's intense scrutiny before she threw her arms around him and held him strongly, desperately needing him to be her foundation. She continued to pour her heart out, dampening part of his orange gi in her unyielding tears as she tried her best to muffle the sounds of her cries.

The frown refused to leave Goku's face as he put an arm around her, holding her and comforting her as felt her life energy pulsate strongly in distress. He had kept his senses on her ki while she was with the queen, studying how her altered life force was reacting, noticing at certain times how it would waver and fluctuate. At the same time he was keeping tabs on Vegeta's ki, feeling his disturbance and the heightened stress in his, as both their life energy signals seemed to push and pull at each other and react. But when he had felt Bulma's ki spike alarmingly high in distress only a minute ago, he was ready to teleport in there to see what was going on with her, only to have her run up to him in tears moments later.

Goku sighed heavy-heartedly, placing his hand on Bulma's head, cradling it against his chest as he let her get whatever was bringing her such sorrow out of her system. He could feel Vegeta's ki in distress also, sensing his suffering also in response to hers. Now that he was aware of what was the matter with them and what the disturbance in their ki was, he tried to think of ways he could heal them, or even better, help complete their bond again. "Bulma, tell me what's going on."

"Nothing, Goku. Nothing. Take me home, please. Now." Bulma pleaded, her voice somewhat raspy as she attempted to stifle her crying, trying to get a grip on herself as she bore the painful sensations that were currently suffocating and choking her.

Goku hesitated, knowing that she should probably go back to his father so that he could tell her what was the matter with her and with Vegeta, but she didn't seem to remember or care about any of that at this moment. His heart felt heavy, feeling such compassion for his best female friend, wanting nothing more but for her to be at peace. He nodded. "Okay Bulma, okay, we're going." he relented, reaching up and helping her wipe some of her tears away. She held onto him tightly, pressing her face against his chest as she closed her eyes, letting his orange gi absorb her anguished tears. Goku put his arm around her, giving her a comforting hug as he raised his other hand to his forehead, focusing on Bunny's ki as he instantly teleported them back to Earth.

---

In the blink of a moment they appeared inside a familiar, dimly-lit kitchen as they arrived back at Capsule Corp. "We're back." Bulma heard him assure her as she held onto Goku for a few minutes longer. She tried drawing strength from her best friend's presence as she cried on his shoulder, his touch comforting and calming as he helped her through this. As the minutes passed, the intense, twisting sensations in her chest began to fade, and her meltdown was ending as she finally steadied her breathing. Reluctantly she pulled away from Goku after a long moment, squinting in the dimness as she took a quick look around, recognizing her kitchen. Thankful to be back in her house and even more thankful there seemed to be no one around at the moment, she used the back of her hands to try to clear the rest the remaining tears that fell from her eyes as she composed herself as best she could.

Kami, she was a mess. She must have looked horrible. "Thank you, Goku." she murmured ever so softly, rubbing her hands over her face as she tried to clear the rest of the haze that clouded her mind.

"What are best friends for?" Goku said, a hint of lightheartedness in his voice. "I'm always here for you."

"You're the best." Bulma said thankfully, moving her long bangs away from her face and tucking them behind her ear.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked sincerely, not knowing what he could do for her, but would do whatever he could if it made her feel even a little bit better.

"I don't know. Reverse time?" Bulma half laughed and half cried as she took a deep breath and let it out, wiping the last remnants of her tears away.

"I would if I could." Goku smiled sadly. "Are you sure? Nothing?" At seeing Bulma shake her head no, he gave a heavy sigh. "Listen, I hate to leave you like this, I really do, but I have to get back over there. Are you going to be okay for right now?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." she nodded. "I don't want to keep you. Get going Goku, I'll be alright." she reassured, feeling a little better now after having finally let go of some of the burdens that plagued her heart and mind for so long.

"Everything's going to be alright, Bulma." he said assertively as he raised his fingers to his forehead, getting ready to teleport back to Vegetasei.

Bulma looked at Goku thoughtfully for a moment, unsure if his last words were even possible at this point. "I'm not so sure about that. But, see you soon, I guess?"

He nodded. "I'll be back here in a couple of hours to check on you."

"Ok. Love ya."

"Love ya too." Goku responded automatically, concentrating on his father's ki as he teleported off of Earth.

Bulma took a deep breath and let it out heavily, feeling like she almost had herself under control again. Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she walked out of the dim kitchen and into the brightly lit living room where a multitude of people were just standing and sitting around, chatting. She wasn't sure what to think of at first until her entrance drew attention right away.

"Bulma! Finally!" her mother exclaimed, swiftly gliding over to her as the people who were in their living room burst out into ten different conversations at once upon her arrival. "Talk about last minute!" Bunny said, grabbing Bulma's hand and quickly whisking her up the stairs as the people swarmed behind her, each of them trying to talk to her at the same time. She was startled, overwhelmed by whatever was going on. She could barely get any words out of her mouth as they all collectively talked to her.

"What's going on?" Bulma asked, recognizing the members of her wedding design team.

"A last minute wedding dress fitting! Literally!" the female Italian designer complained in a huff. "Bulma, darling, you've been driving us mad lately! You were supposed to have tried on your dress weeks ago!" Her dressmaking team murmured in agreement as they burst into her room and each of them went to their makeshift stations, ready for whatever last minute alterations were needed. Bulma watched as some of her assistants pulled over a round pedestal for her to stand up on. "Come my dear, off with the clothes." she ordered at Bulma as she snapped her fingers at her. A couple of her workers quickly and carefully brought over her custom and very expensive wedding dress and held it out in front of her.

"But I…" Bulma began, trying to get a grip on the whirlwind of activity as her dressmaker team scurried around her room in a frenzy, while some of them helped her take off her top and her pants, leaving her simply in her underwear.

"Don't just stand there, help her into the dress!" the designer demanded as the workers removed the dress from the protective bag and carefully held it over her head. "Arms up over your head, Bulma." she ordered.

She complied automatically, raising her arms up and was quickly shrouded in white lace and fabric as the workers hurriedly put the dress on her. They guided her arms through, then her head, and she felt like she could breathe again as they finished pulling the dress over her. "Karelina, this isn't necessary…."

"Of course it is! Just because this gorgeous dress of mine fit you three months ago, doesn't mean that it still does!" she scolded as she grabbed Bulma's hand and guided her to stand upon the pedestal. Karelina then zipped up the back, and to her dismay noticed a decent amount of slack and looseness in the dress. "Bulma! It does not fit anymore! Do you see what I mean?!"

"No, I can't see anything!" she said, since she did not have a mirror in front of her to know what she was talking about.

"This!" the dress designer exclaimed as she hooked her hand into the back of Bulma's wedding dress and tugged. She watched as Bulma tried to look down at herself. She was right, it was much looser than it had been before. "It's loose! You've lost too much weight, Bulma! Usually I have to bring in a dress just a little bit, but THIS…." she grumbled off in complaint, quickly clapping her hands sharply twice as she stepped back and she let her assistants begin fussing over the dress as they tried to decide what the best way was to take the dress in.

"Karelina…" Bulma tried to begin again, and was quickly interrupted.

"There's no time, Bulma. We need to have your dress fitted now. You are getting married tomorrow. Tomorrow ! I adore you Bulma, you're my best client, but you're really making my blood pressure skyrocket!"

Bulma huffed in annoyance as her room full of dressmakers and tailors ran around feverishly, watching the measuring tapes and needles and pins and pieces of cloth and beads and pearls begin to take over the room as it was absolute chaos. She kept her balance as best she could as they jostled her around a bit, pulling and tugging at the fabric of her dress as they stuck pins in certain areas, and she hoped they wouldn't prick her with any. She would be pretty angry, plus she wasn't sure Karelina would be very forgiving if they broke skin and put blood stains on her beautiful dress.

"Oh Bulma, you look so beautiful!" she heard her mother's voice coo over the hubbub as she tried to turn around to look at her.

"I can't even see myself!" Bulma blurted as she threw her arms up in the air in frustration, only to have some of the workers keep her arms up as they tugged at the dress under her arms and pinned the excess fabric.

"You're gorgeous, honey." Karelina reassured her, her voice mumbled a bit since she had a few pins in her mouth and she reached around Bulma's waist with the measuring tape. She shook her head, seeing her new size as she pulled the pins out of her mouth and stuck them on a pin pillow. "For Kami's sake Bulma, you've dropped an entire size! Don't you eat anything?"

"I eat! Sometimes…." Bulma trailed off as they lowered her arms as tried to stay as still as she could while they worked on her measurements and her dress. Okay, so she hadn't been eating much lately. She had too much work to do all the time, and stress always took her appetite away.

"Well, maybe you will eat lots of food on your honeymoon, hm?" Karelina said, winking at Bulma slyly. "That Yamcha is a handsome man, and so tall also! The scars add a sense of danger to him, don't you think?"

Bulma let out a nervous half-smile. "Karelina, all these alterations really aren't needed…." she tried a second time, only to be interrupted once again.

"Of course they are! We can't have you walking down the aisle tomorrow with your dress hanging off of you! You need to look like a million zeni! Or more like a 100 million zeni!" she laughed at her own joke as she snapped her fingers in the air again. "Loliana and Valentina, the mirror! Place in front of Bulma. I want her to see how beautiful she is!" At her command, Bulma watched as the ladies each picked up the stand-up mirror and carried it over, gently placing it down. Karelina tilted and swiveled the mirror until Bulma could see herself from head to toe. "See my dear? You're absolutely stunning! But of course you would be….you are wearing my dress after all!"

Bulma gazed into the mirror, seeing quite a different reflection than she had anticipated or expected. Her eyes were still tinged with red from her crying….but it didn't seem that anyone there had noticed. It was all for the better, she figured, as she looked at herself in the wedding dress. Karelina was right…she had lost some weight. She tilted her head to the side a bit, her lips in a slight frown as she studied herself. The dress was beautiful, of this there was no doubt, but looking into the mirror, she did not feel beautiful in it.

This wedding dress…it was not meant for her.

And as the dressmaking crew continued on with their fretting, trying to get the Capsule Corporation heiress ready for her massive, multi-zeni wedding tomorrow, Bulma continued to stare at herself in the mirror. The image she was looking at…it simply wasn't her anymore. None of it was, and wondered if any of it had been to begin with.

No joy sparkled in her blue eyes, no smile graced her lips, no happiness could be found in her voice. This was wrong. Everything was wrong. Getting married was supposed to be a thrilling time her life, but it had been a very long time since she had felt any happiness at all over it. She groaned miserably, bringing her hands to her face and rubbing it.

What in the world convinced her to think that marrying Yamcha would make her happy?

She lowered her hands from her face for a moment and looked back into the mirror, her eyes seeing something familiar in the reflection. "Karelina, would you hand me that?" Bulma asked, pointing to it.

"What? This?" the designer asked, grabbing the piece of fabric and feeling it between her fingers before handing it to Bulma. "This is lovely. What is it?"

"An arm wrap." Bulma answered simply, holding the crimson and gold-laced fabric that held the royal seal of Vegetasei on it. She tilted her head down, tears brimming to the surface of her eyes as she kept her emotions in check. She held the band in her hands and brought it to her chest, close over her heart. She closed her eyes, and felt the ache in her chest begin to rise as she thought of Vegeta. He was so infuriated with her. She had hurt him. He would probably never forgive her. Hell, he didn't want to talk to her unless it was about business. He was never coming back to Earth. It looked hopeless. She thought he would yell at her while she had been on Vegetasei. Sure, she hadn't been ready for that, but if he had, there was nothing she could have done to stop him. But he didn't show up after all. He had to know she was there. He didn't care to deal with her.

The heartache twisted in her chest. She knew, deep down, that there was no way her and Vegeta would ever be okay again.

Even if she realized much too late that she loved him.

Even if she realized too late that she had always loved him more than Yamcha.

Even if she realized too late that he had given her one last chance to be with him, and she rejected the offer out of fright and misguided anger.

Too late, her thoughts haunted her. It was too late.

She had already made one mistake with Vegeta she regretted, and she'd be damned if she made another one by marrying Yamcha. If she was doomed to live the rest of her life without a husband, or a mate, then she figured that was what she deserved for being so fucking blind and stubborn.

Bulma opened her eyes, looking at herself in the mirror as she clutched the band, the crimson and gold a stark contrast against the traditional white dress she was wearing. "My dress should have been crimson." Bulma said, catching the ears of the workers. They looked over at her confused for a moment before beginning to laugh it off.

Karelina laughed right along with them. "That's ridiculous! Oh Bulma, always one to kid! That's so low class! Who on Earth would want a crimson wedding dress?" she responded as the rest of the ladies continued to laugh along with her also, finding it quite amusing amongst themselves.

Instantly, Bulma's demeanor darkened as she crossed her arms over her chest, displeased by their mockery of her revelation. "Obviously you heard what I just said, now get this damn dress off of me."

Karelina's laughter died down into an uneasy chuckle. "You…can't be serious, Bulma! Do you really not want this dress?!" The dark look on the beautiful heiress' face was unnerving, seeing that she was very much serious indeed. "I can dye it crimson!" the designer began to backtrack. "After all, you're in command, it's your dress….it's your money. Who am I to say no, especially to you?"

"No. Don't dye it. In fact, this dress is exactly the way it was meant to be." and with that, Bulma stepped down from the pedestal. The collective murmurs and questions immediately began as the crew began to panic, only to be silenced by Karelina's hand in the air.

"Bulma, it's late. You must not be thinking straight…"

"Oh, believe me. I'm thinking perfectly straight. Now, get this dress off of me." she said sternly, giving the ladies a commanding look as they obeyed her, quickly taking out the pins from her dress and helping her take it off.

"But Bulma…" Karelina began, only to be silenced by Bulma's authoritative hand raised in the air to silence her.

"I have a big day tomorrow. Get out."

---

This is the end.

Hold your breath and count to ten.

Feel the Earth move, and then…hear my heart burst again.

For this is the end.

I've drowned and dreamt this moment…so overdue, I owed them.

Swept away, I'm stolen.

Wow, over 21,000 words in this chapter! I swear, they just keep getting longer and longer! So much happened in it, and I tried my best to take my time with it and draw you in. I tried my best to have you feel her emotions. I tried my best to make the chapter flow smoothly and make it so that you couldn't stop reading!

Nice twist I threw in there, about Vegeta and Bulma not being bonded anymore, don't you think? *evil smile* I'm very proud of it. I thought it was a good shake up, considering you all thought that they became bonded that fateful night. I believe a bond doesn't always have to be a romantic bond, even though in many V/B fanfics, it's almost always portrayed as such. In mine, I wanted all of you to see and feel what a close connection Vegeta and Bulma had with each other, even though it was not a romantic bond until recently. Crossing that last boundary with each other when they kissed proved to be so intense, so emotional, so overwhelming that their abrupt and painful falling out caused their bond to change. Hence their heartache, physical pain, and emotional distress derives from two soulmates who have been separated from each other.

I tried not to leave you worried about that for long, as Bulma finally cleared her heart and her mind. I know some of you were worried I was going to have her leave Yamcha at the altar at the last minute, but no way was I going to do that! That have been horribly cliché. Then again I told you this wasn't going to be a typical story, and I flirted with the idea of having her marry Yamcha as a major twist and end the story there, but I'm sure all of you would have raged and try to kill me through the computer lol! Nah, I would have never done that to you. But don't blame me for trying to add so much suspense. After all, I did categorize my story as a romance and a drama!

Anyway, as I had said earlier, sometimes love goes beyond reason, and sometimes you don't realize what you had with someone until it is gone. True story, I went through it myself. Let's see…I loved the conversation between the queen and Bulma. Her arrival back on Vegetasei truly was where the end started. Who would have known that the queen would be the one to help Bulma come to terms with how she felt about the path in life she was taking? I loved how Bulma came back to Earth and was more herself toward the end. She put a stop to her wedding dress fitting and started to take back control like the Bulma we all know and love. I don't know about you, but I'm still jumping for joy that she is stopping herself from making the biggest mistake of her life. After all, Vegeta is the one for her. We all know the truth of this, and now she does also.

Still, their bond remains broken…and they are the only ones who can heal each other.

So, please tell me what you thought of this chapter! I really hope you loved it and that it took you on an emotional rollercoaster ride, like it did to me as I was writing it. I hope you'll leave me a review and tell me what you thought!

The next chapter is under construction.

Let the fallout begin.

(Lyrics at the beginning of the chapter are from the song "Breathing" by Prime Circle & the ending lyrics are from "Skyfall" by Adele.)