Short chapter, but I haven't had a lot of time lately. Had a scare a couple weeks ago with a family member in the hospital but they made a recovery so everything is all fine now. There's only a handful of chapters left of this story and I'm hoping they'll be longer than this one. I'm sorry this took so long to get out, but real life always comes first. Anyway, enjoy!

VP

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Chapter 21

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Bulma looked down at her friend and eased the pendant from around his neck. She had a feeling it had been too long. It was a form of amnesia she suspected. Maybe even induced by his father so that he could have a better life. Either way, the pendant told Vegeta all he needed to know and now she had to work to put it back inside the tritan for battle. At least she knew that piece of tech worked. Three days wasn't a long time and she didn't like it that he had already decided to leave so soon.

It was inevitable, she suspected, just because that the longer that tyrant is alive the more destruction he would cause. All the family and people her mate had lost would die in vain if he didn't do something. With a heavy heart, she began putting the tritan back together. It helped ease her mind and her stress to work on something.

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Raditz grumbled under his breath as he took the steps up to his room two by two. Now that he was mated he hated the implications of leaving his newly formed bond. Tights was by far the most interesting female he'd ever known, even from his own kind. Sure, being the first son of Bardock, a patron of the royal family, he would've had his share of females to choose from. He had a feeling that he wouldn't have bonded to any of them since his true mate was on the shore.

Never did he think this would be the ultimate fate of his people. He hoped that where the others decided to hide would be enough to hopefully rekindle the population. It was a sad tale, indeed.

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Goku sat down at the table while Chi-Chi fed him the evening meal. He had decided that he wanted to stay in tonight instead of joining the others. His wife was beside herself, he could tell, but he really didn't know what else to do. All of a sudden he had been thrown into this life and, in a way, he really just wanted to be left out of it. Yet, he also wanted to help. He felt that he needed to help and it just made his head spin at the implications.

The next three days were going to be a long trial for them all, he knew, however, it didn't stop him from trying to enjoy them no matter what the outcome would be.

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Bulma looked down at her feet with a sigh. She was glad Vegeta had decided to train for the rest of the night since she had something to deal with on her own. Her concentration on the bond seemed to be holding and she hoped that it held for a little longer. She wished that they would've been more careful, but what was done was done. There was no stopping this now, and she let a tear fall down her cheek as the implications of their actions hit home.

Four white pieces of long plastic with pink caps sat atop the elegant sink in her bathroom. Four digital windows showed a plus sign on the face of them. Bulma wasn't ready for this. She had suspected the outcome when her period was a week late, suspected further when she felt tired and out of sorts another week later. Now, with her suspicions confirmed, in three days she would be saying goodbye to the man she loved and he might never return to see the child she had just begun to carry.

Feeling numb, she slipped down to the floor in tears. She was tired of being strong, tired of being okay with his decision to go. It wasn't just about her anymore.

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Vegeta stumbled through the water, dropping below its surface when he felt an overwhelming torrent of sadness break through the bond. His head ached and his vision swam. Bulma! Something was wrong. He fought the ocean of emotions and quickly muted them so he could focus. What could be causing her such distress? He shifted faster than he ever remembered doing before and rushed the steps two by two towards their room. Most of his journey was a blur and he knew he would probably be yelled at later for the wet footprints he'd left in the designer carpet.

He cared not as he pushed open the door to their room to hear great, gasping sobs coming from their shared bathroom. Inside the room, his mate sat on the tiled floor weeping, some strange plastic tubes on the sink beside her and he wondered what was going on.

"Woman?"

"I'm sorry." She cried openly. "I didn't mean ..."

"You've been blocking me?" He growled. "How?"

"I don't know!"

"That explains the huge blast of emotions. Don't ever do it again." He ordered. "Now, what has you so distraught?"

"I'm ..." She struggled, afraid. "I'm pregnant."