The funeral seemed more like a procession of ragged souls grieving the end of a story they knew would one day be their own rather than Lettuce. No one there knew the woman very well except little Arugula who stood beside Bulma at the freshly dug grave while a man they'd only just met days ago spoke last words over it.

Goku had his arms crossed next to them, looking grim but not with the gravestone or the wildflowers bundled at its base, his eyes were on the sky. Bulma caught herself wondering what he was thinking about, Lettuce? The Androids? The lab? Chi Chi? That thought stabbed a little arrow in her heart and she quickly pulled away from it and became angry with him suddenly. Angry because he'd let that thought cross her mind after all they'd been through and angry that she should feel that way about him.

Then a more grievous thought trickled into her mind. Their friends were not given the chance for a real funeral, perhaps because somehow she and Goku had believed they could recover the balls and wish them back. She supposed the real reason was the idea that they were truly gone had been too painful to bare at the time. Bulma found herself staring at the grave thinking not of Lettuce but of her parents, her friends, Vegeta, her lost son and then suddenly the words Lettuce had spoken before dying.

Live. All of them had certainly done that. Did that mean they died happy and calm like Lettuce? She couldn't imagine that was possible, especially not for Vegeta.

Arugula stood outside the back door of the warehouse for some time after the funeral had ended and the others went back to their preparations. The door was open so that Bulma could see her from the cement block where the old woman's things were still sprawled in heaps along the wall. She was going through them while the others packed their things in preparation to move out again in a few hours.

The plan was to take the survivors to headquarters where they'd be safe and then Bulma and Goku would go immediately to Dr. Gero's lab. No one but them knew this yet, but she doubted anyone would protest if they knew why they needed to do it.

The possible threat of another android was terrifying and they were obviously the only ones capable of completely a mission of such importance.

She sighed wearily and scooped up a scarf from the ground. Lettuce had had endless bundles of blankets, burlap sacks, knitting needles and knitted things and a few basic rations all the survivors they found were given whether they agreed to join them or not.

Not everyone decided to come with Bulma and Goku when they were discovered. Some were unfit to allow within their group, even just to bring back to headquarters, as they were too belligerent or volatile to trust. Those that did come, however, were given a portion of food and whatever else they needed and travelled with them. Most of the survivors that came with them made it to headquarters, which was located in the forest beneath Kami's lookout. This was because none of them could actually make it up or down it. It would have been tedious work to bring them each individually up and impossible to bring them down whenever they needed provisions.

Besides, Goku trained on Kami's lookout when they were at headquarters, it was the only place he could do so safely and without concern of hurting someone or straying too far out of reach.

Bulma and Goku went on trips every few weeks to look for other survivors. They'd been gone now for three weeks, it was time they went home. But of course, there was no such thing anymore, not really.

"Goku?" Bulma alerted him when he passed her by. She was staring thoughtfully out the open door at Arugula still kneeling by her grandmother's grave.

"Hm? What is it Bulma?" He asked curiously.

Her heart swelled. How did he seem so relaxed? So himself suddenly? Why did she feel so severe when in truth her burden was so much less than his own? The hand which clenched to a knitted scarf now hung loosely at her side as if defeated by her wayward thoughts.

"Do you miss her?" It was barely more than a whisper.

He frowned, clearly at a loss and she sighed, "Chi Chi."

It almost hurt to watch the realization hit his face. Those wide, innocent eyes fell a bit shamefully and he looked down. She didn't need to hear him answer, that was enough of an indication but he did so anyways. "Everyday."

Almost immediately the heart which had surged seconds before, fell with that answer and then plummeted with the guilt she felt for letting it upset her. It wasn't fair to feel that way and she knew it but she didn't try to stop herself from feeling it.

"You said her name."

He looked up.

"Last night. You said her name, not mine." Then when he still seemed lost, "When you swore to fight the androids."

Again there was an awful moment of clarity on his face and he held up his hands to her. She stepped back from them, though she really had no reason to.

"Bulma, I love you. I'm so sorry." He told her so convicted she didn't doubt it but still felt angry.

"I want to go home." Bulma sighed wretchedly in response. Admittedly it wasn't a very good way to return his affection but she didn't care. She also had no idea why she wanted to go home so badly so suddenly or why the mention of his old wife surfaced so much guilt and anger.

"But I thought you wanted to go to Dr. Gero's lab." He responded.

She glowered at him and shouted, "I want both of those things you lughead!" Because there was solace in blind anger as much as there was guilt.

"I haven't been home in almost 12 years! It's been too dangerous, which is preposterous because everywhere is too dangerous right now! So why haven't I been back? Why haven't we had a funeral for our friends? Do you realize the impossibility of our situation Goku? What if there's more than two androids? You'd probably try fighting them too! Don't you care that you could die and leave me here all alone? Or do you miss her that bad that you'd leave me to go to her?" She was just spitting things out like darts at a dartboard, hoping something hit and whacked that smile she loved so much right off his face.

Goku stared at her wide and innocent eyed but didn't stop smiling so that she was forced clench both her fists and growl. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? What is wrong with you? Answer me!"

"It's just that. I haven't seen you this angry in a long time and...it's actually sort of relieving."

That stopped her in tracks so that it was her that stared at him in a daze now, lost. "What?" She asked again, a bit deflated.

Goku came towards her and put his hands on her shoulders and then slowly, as if testing the waters, pulled her against him. Bulma let him with hesitation that broke only when she felt the warmth of his hands on her body.

"You're an angry person, Bulma." He told her softly.

"And saying that's not helping your case." She huffed, but didn't push away.

She felt his arm shift and assumed he was scratching his head in that apologetic manner of his. "I just mean that you were passionate about everything before all this happened. I haven't seen you like that in a long time. It's good to have the old you back, even for a short time."

Bulma drowned in shame for behaving like a child while Goku remained so infinitely innocent and goodhearted. She pulled back just enough so that she could look into his dark eyes and see that he'd meant what he said. Of course he did, Goku didn't lie and he was loyal. So loyal that he would still miss his former wife every day 12 years after she'd passed.

King Kai had contacted them once. After everything happened.. He'd told Goku that everyone had made it safely to Otherworld, including Chi Chi and Gohan. Bulma nearly cried out as it occurred to her that he'd also lost a son in this ordeal, how could she be so selfish?

How was Goku managing all of this?

Bulma reached her hand under his orange gi top and fingered the flesh of his scar running over his torso beneath it. The memory of how he'd got it pained her too much though and she stopped nearly as soon as she'd started to remember it.

"I love you too." She finally answered him, cornered by her own guilt.

Then he did something they didn't often do around the others because it was distracting and they lived in a world where there was little room to be distracted. He leaned down and kissed her, not on the cheek or the forehead but on the lips and so gentle she felt her heart beating wildly in her chest.

The dreary room and it's dozen onlookers melted away and she closed her eyes, transported by the feelings he gave her. There was no more androids, no more travelling, no more dead grandmothers or their strange not-secrets. She drifted completely carefree for a moment, content to let him hold her up until finally they had to separate because a desperate voice had called for Bulma.

It was a woman by the name of Mint, one of the younger adults who accompanied their most recent group of survivors. She was standing in the doorway to the back of the warehouse, her eyes large and alarmed, a sack in her hands.

Bulma pulled her arms away from Goku's waist, annoyed but became accutely aware of the horrified expression in Mint's face and grew concerned herself. "What is it?" She asked and started to walk, then run towards her.

"It's Arugula!" The woman moaned, "she's gone missing!"

"What!?" Bulma and Goku said at the same time. Something dark and mysterious shadowed Goku's eyes as the others had joined her and Mint at the door. Everyone was staring disbelievingly at the empty lot behind the warehouse which was, most assuredly, empty of green haired little girls.

"Goku!" Bulma cried, but he was already pushing passed everyone and slipping out the door. "She's not far." He said.

This was one thing that made them such a good team. Bulma and Goku had known each other so long it was as though they had some sort of silent communication in which they needed little words to relay a message. The last one had told Goku to extend his ability to sense people's power levels to see if he could locate her.

She sighed in relief that he could and ran out after him as he suddenly jumped and flew north in a streak of yellow. It was pointless to try and see him, he'd already disappeared, but she kept her eyes to the sky anyways and tried not to be angry with herself again for being so useless in this matter.

Arugula was her responsibility and already she'd lost herr. Would this have happened with her own son? Was she just not meant to be a mother?

"I should have been out here with her." Bulma muttered, miserably. "She was angry with Goku and I for not saving her grandma, she told me so before I went back inside." Bulma muttered, distraught. "I should have known she'd try to run."

"It's not your fault, you couldn't have known." Mint, who had followed her outside, said meekly.

Bulma faced her and frowned, "Don't tell me that. It is my fault! I took my eyes off her for just a second and that was all it took." She felt tears well in the corners of her eyes and closed them against the dizziness threatening to drag her to the ground. "Will this world ever be safe again?"

"I don't know..."

For some reason Mint's vague response irked her, why didn't she have the answer? She turned on the girl, eyes gleaming. "Just do me a favor and go away, would you?" It wasn't fair turning her anger on the young woman but she had no patience for her anymore.

Mint frowned deeply and turned to leave. That's when it happened.

The sky was clear and blue that day, clouds lazily drifted by. There was a warm breeze from the west which contested against another cooler one from the east. It was altogether far too pleasant for the sudden chill that crawled up her spine.

An instant after the chill the air seemed to ripple and then came the voice -that silky, condescending voice.

"Yo. It's Bulma, isn't it? Who's your friend?"

Mint screamed, but bulma's own scream caught in her throat. Mint ran for the open door in a flash of pale green garments but all Bulma could seem to do was blanch and shutter.

Slowly, incredulously, she peered over her shoulder and right into the face of Android 17. He smirked.

The door slammed shut and clicked, betraying her to the android for the false safety of a locked deadbolt and flimsy cement walls.

Bulma felt rage beneath her understanding and fear of what was transpiring.

She was going to die and then she thought despairingly that she'd yet to live and all at once Lettuce's words crashed into her with cruel clarity.