5

Take Off!

"As you can see from these satellite images, our solar system is yet again another planet shy of complete. Scientists in Bahai City have shocking evidence that a black hole could very well be the cause of these occurrences-"

Bluma lifted her hand and snapped off the television. Black hole indeed. Sometimes she was embarrassed by the Earth's ignorance. Holding the sofa pillow tighter to her waist, Bulma Briefs inhaled the scent of her husband, who had only moments ago excused himself. Since breakfast, the two had sat cozily on the couch, watching a documentary on Polar Bears while Bulla dozed in her pretty pink princess bed. Vegeta hadn't been the least bit interested in the movie. Truthfully, Bulma found it hard to be interested on much of anything these days, either.

It had been a month since Dende's grand reveal. To his word, Vegeta had spent all most every moment with Bulma, Bulla, and Trunks. She hadn't seen him enter the gravity room once. Which was why she knew life was over. He'd given up. And if Vegeta had lost hope, then Bulma knew nothing would change the Earth's fate.

She closed her eyes against the pillow and sighed. It was bittersweet finally having Vegeta all to herself. Having him around the house and not off training ninety percent of the time. Though she suspected he slipped away at night and she had woken up alone often, only to be greeted during breakfast and have the day continue as usual. Vegeta suddenly the picture perfect husband and father. Frankly, it was suspicious.

"Hey, Vegeta!" Bulma called, lifting her face from the pillow and staring down the hallway. "You fall in?" The couch shifted beneath her. She stared at the coffee table, her glass of water vibrating. Humming curiously, she held tightly to the couch and watched the house begin to rumble. It dawned on her then what was happening. They were being sucked away! Screaming, she called out again for her husband, only this time, terrified. "No!" she screamed. "I'm too young! This can't be happening! It's too soon!" She called, diving beneath the furniture for cover.

The loudest bang Bulma believed she'd ever heard resonated through the entire Capsule Corp complex just before the house stilled. Silence filled the tense air as Bulma crawled from beneath the sofa. She looked around, her hair a mess and a dust bunny tucked near her ear. "Vegeta?" she chirped, trembling, still holding tightly to the pillow.

It was then that the kitchen door slammed open and she heard footsteps accompanied by Vegeta's booming voice. "Blast that boy!" he harped, yelling at the rooftop with his fists raised, glowing yellow. "Do you hear me? Trunks, you deliberately disobeyed me! You will pay dearly for this! I am your father, God damn it!"

At a loss, Bulma slinked from the floor to the kitchen, pillow still in hand. She stared at Vegeta's tense back. He was covered in oil and had cuts on his arms and face. His clothes were ripped. He'd been fighting!

"What's going on?" Bulma demanded. "If the planet isn't vanishing," she pleaded, frowning in anger, "then what the hell was all that noise and shaking? And where have you been for the last twenty minutes? Answer me, Vegeta!"

Stunned back to reality, Vegeta gripped the counter top and looked over his shoulder at his wife. Her hands were on her hips, one holding a decorative pillow. She stood firm and demanding. His heart raced at what he was about to confess. She'd be furious with him for withholding information. For somewhat lying to her during the past four weeks. But Vegeta had known this time would come. Surely he had not thought his genius wife would remain oblivious.

"Woman, you may want to sit down," he told her, steeling his nerves and features. Truly, his wife was his most formidable opponent to date.

Elsewhere, the ship which Trunks and Vegeta had been working on in secret landed smoothly in the middle of a desert. Inside it, Trunks sat, battered and bruised from his tangle with his father only seconds ago. He breathed heavily and looked out at his surroundings. Vegeta's last power attack had scuffed up the glass, but Trunks could see enough to know he was no longer on Earth. Whether or not he had actually traveled through time rather than merely space was still in question. Trepidatious, he pushed the switch to release the hatch. Possibly it hadn't worked. His calculations could have been off. For all Trunks knew, he was on a distant planet where the air was poison. A risk he took as the glass lifted then sunk into the rim around his machine.

Eyes wide, he took a deep breath and laughed nervously as he looked out at the sand and tall, slender, grey trees. He was alive and able to breathe, wherever he'd ended up.