The man gulped and tugged nervously at his collar. He was a nobody. Easily replaced. Expendable. Worthless.

And the bringer of bad news.

He knocked on the giant door, and waited for what seemed like centuries before it opened. "Um, Lord Gero, sir, I have General Blue's overdue report from last month." The room was very elegantly decorated, with misplaced screws, hammers, and other tools strewn about on the work table. A man, fierce and insane, sat in a plush leather chair, his back to the messenger.

"Ah, yes. He was stationed off of the coast in Taiwan, correct?"

"Uh, yes, Sir."

"And what exactly did his report entail? He'd better have a good excuse for a month's tardiness." He was tinkering with some small device, metal parts clinking together at random times.

The man swallowed. "General Blue reported a resistance force taking out the base, looking for information concerning the ki blocking network. He sent footage of the incident, as well as his apologies for letting such a thing happen. It seems he's been trying to make repairs." The man's chair swiveled ever so slightly.

"Mr. Tao." There was a gunshot, and the messenger was dead. "Thank you. Such an ignorant, stupid man. Bring me the tapes Blue sent immediately."

"Right away."

The security tapes began to play on the monitor in front of him. Two of his soldiers dragged a woman into the building. They took her through the halls towards the holding cells. Just before they tossed her in the tiny room, he saw her smirk. She had blue hair, and Gero knew her to be the daughter of his enemy, Dr. Brief.

About an hour later, after fast-forwarding, of course, the west side of the base exploded. The scene switched to find a man of average height (leaning more toward the short side) with a flame of coal black hair, stabbing the guards through their chests with his silver blade. He killed them with ease, running them through with the sword, slashing their stomachs open, slitting their throats. Gero could not help the look of surprise and shock that crawled over his bearded face.

"It can't be…"

Then, the east side detonated; and that side held the prison. The view changed again to see the daughter of Dr. Brief, Bulma, dashing through the halls, shooting everyone in sight dead. She made sure there was no soul left standing, as did her more saiyan partner. She turned to the camera and shot it.

A few minutes later, the north side collapsed in another explosion, where the archives were. Soldiers were running everywhere at this point. Gunshots were fired, people were screaming, and the entire building was in chaos. Two figures could be seen back to back in the breeze way, shooting and cutting up everyone in sight.

One had blue hair. The other had spiky black.

When they were surrounded by dead bodies, the alarm was still screaming. Reinforcements were on their way. The pair smirked. Running across the courtyard that was soaked with blood, they jumped at the wall, and started using throwing knives to scale it. When they reached the top, the man took a small device from his pocket, leaned over, and threw it into the window directly below him. There was a puff of smoke in the background, and soon the rebels were riding on sky bikes away from the fortress.

The screen turned to static.

Gero snarled as he crushed his glass of liquor. "Prince Vegeta," he seethed. "And the Brief bastard's blue-haired bitch of a daughter." He held his hand out. Nineteen dried it promptly, and handed him a letter.

Lord Gero,

What occurred at Taiwan was unforgivable, and I take full responsibility, I assure you. As for the files that were stolen, we are uncertain. They thought to disable the security cameras in the archives. However, our experts have used evidence from the crime scene (or what little there was left of it) and suspect that they stole information on the Lunar Project. The agents that raided were confirmed as Bulma Brief and Prince Vegeta, as I am sure you are well aware.

The rest of the report consisted of specific damage, artillery use, soldiers lost, etc. Details Gero left to his lesser in command.

General Blue

His scowl slowly lifted into a grin. "The Lunar Project, huh? And the prince himself I thought to be long since dead. My, my, Brief, you're just full of surprises. Of course, it seems you weren't thorough enough. I have a brilliant idea. Mr. Tao," he addressed.

"Yes, Sir?"

"I have a job for you."

"Take that, asshole!"

"Yeah!"

The three women shrieked as they ducked behind the rocks as a huge wave came rolling in. It splashed over their already soaked bodies, clad in bikinis. The two brothers smirked with mischief as they cornered the women. They grabbed Chichi and Launch (in her blonde form), Bulma having sacrificed them to the ferocity of the more heavily saiyan bred men to escape herself.

As she scampered off, leaving a trail of water behind, she giggled at the cries of protest. "Bulma, you traitor! Get back here!"

She laughed outright. "I promise to avenge you!"

"Damnit!" they wailed. Seeing Raditz and Goku more than occupied, she ducked behind a large boulder. They'd been playing this game for about an hour now in the pool at the base of the waterfall. Sort of a mock battle type thing. The guys versus girls. Krillin and Juu rested on the shore, content to watch. The group did this whenever they all had leave at the same time, which wasn't that often. Of course, it never hurt that the guys decided not to wear shirts, and vice versa that the females were in bathing suits.

Yes, it was quite fun.

There was only one problem with Bulma's recent escape.

Vegeta was nowhere in sight.

That probably meant that he was stalking her like prey. She knew he was stronger, faster than her, but she was a fucking genius and clever enough to outsmart him. Of course, she knew her self-assurances would prove to be false since he was a brilliant tactical thinker, and could probably smell her with his saiyan nose. Still, she stood a slight chance. She just had to figure out where he was.

"You know it is dishonorable to abandon one's comrades in battle." She shrieked again as he popped out of thin air, hanging by his knees from a tree branch. She took off running, laughing along the way, and began to climb up the waterfall. It was a tall thing to climb. The hybrid prince smirked as he took off after her.

He had a lovely view from below her.

She hoisted herself over the edge and dashed to the edge of the rushing river. Jumping in, she let herself be carried to the end of the cliff. Just in time too, for her lover was fast approaching. She went over, waving at him smugly as she disappeared. He growled playfully as he swam to catch up with the crafty woman. Raditz and Goku whooped, catcalled, whistled, and hollered as they saw two bodies freefalling towards the water. The first hit, followed shortly by the other. Not even thirty seconds later, Vegeta emerged from the water with Bulma slung over his shoulder, her slender hands balled into fists as she pounded on his back for the most undignified manner he was transporting her. Her wails fell on deaf ears as the brothers laughed.

Vegeta grinned manically as he tried in vain to shake the spiky bangs that fell in front of his face. It was the only part of his hair that could ever be weighed down by water. He blamed it on his slight human breeding.

They stood in the shallows. "I have caught my woman. I believe that means our team has won, yet again." The Sons cheered. "I think we should take our rewards now." Hauling their grumbling captives with them, they swam back to deeper waters and the pairs split off. They dove under water, and remained there for about half a minute before emerging, panting heavily. Raditz and Launch, as per usual, came up, still locked at the lips.

The rest of them groaned with mild annoyance. Vegeta gagged.

As everyone else went back inside to dry off and eat lunch, the prince and Bulma remained, simply lounging under the shade of a tree near the shore. They listened to the rushing water as their skin slowly dried. He had an arm around her waist as she rested her head on his chest.

They both knew that it could be years before the war was over and things got back on the right track. They knew they could get hurt or killed in their line of work. They knew they could lose everything. But nonetheless, they were able to sit in peace and not worry about the future, however uncertain it may be.

Of course, one would never have suspected that they would ever be a couple at first. They hated each other right off the bat. To him, she was an annoying, loud-mouthed girl that didn't know her place. To her, he was a foolish and arrogant boy that was just full of himself.

They fought constantly. They would fling insults, mockeries, curses, and anything else they could think of as children. Over time, their arguments became like a game to them, though they weren't really aware of it. In actuality, it wasn't until they physically fought one another under some absurd circumstance that they realized they liked one another. After that, they decided to become a team, and four years later, they were making astounding progress against the Red Ribbon Army

It was about two hours later that Bulma and the surly prince made their way to the briefing room, already dressed for a mission with their weapons concealed. "Wonder what it's going to be this time."

"Hn."

She knocked thrice before the door slid open to reveal her father. "'Sup, Dad?" It was then she noticed his expression was quite serious.

When her father took up the position at the head of the resistance force, he knew he would not live an easy life. His once lavender hair turned white quickly from the stress. He took up smoking. If he wasn't in a meeting or organizing a strike, he was in his lab, slaving away at some advantageous machine. And despite all of his work and diligence, he somehow managed to make time for being a father to Bulma.

"I have a rescue mission for you two." He pointed to the holographic map. "There's an underground prison in the Sahara desert. An old friend of mine has recently been discovered alive there. I would split Goku and Raditz and put them into a team for this, but I fear they may be hindered by their connection to this."

"Who is it?"

"You remember how our resistance came to be?" She nodded. Vegeta blinked.

"It's their father isn't it? Bardock." There was no question in his voice.

"Yes, my boy."

Bulma waved at Krillin and Juu as they took off from the drop off point. Vegeta was already pulling out the sky bikes. They got on and rode off to find the hidden prison.

Bulma frowned.

Something was very, very wrong.

Nothing bad had happened. They were more than a capable duo. But she could not get rid of the sinking feeling that something horrible was going to occur that night.

She turned her head slightly to find him looking at her. He was funny that way. Always knowing when something was bothering her. He would just stare until she told him and reassure her that everything was okay without ever saying a word. But he wasn't reassuring her this time. In fact, just looking at him made her heart clench, and she realized how dangerous their work was. How easily they could lose one another…

When they reached the entryway to the prison after ten miles on foot, she hesitated hacking the lock that would bring the door up.

"What?" He'd noticed she was abnormally on edge since they left the check point. To be honest, he was unsure of this mission as well. His saiyan heritage flowed strongly through him, and his instincts never led him astray. That was proven enough by his choice to be with the blue-haired woman at his side.

Still, he would not allow her to feed off of his worries and have them potentially screw the entire mission up.

Bulma furrowed her brows in thought for a moment. "You know I love you, right? More than anything?"

Usually, he would scoff and insist that she stop being sentimental, but she needed a support. Whatever she was concerned with was eating away at her confidence. "I know."

She nodded and worked her magic. The door slid upward, random weeds and sand rolling off of it as it opened to reveal a dark stairwell. They walked down side by side, weapons drawn and at the ready, though if everything went without a hitch, no one would even know they'd been there until they were long gone. They reached the bottom of the steps and Vegeta crept down the hall to his left with Bulma following close behind.

He began to tense up when there were so few guards to knockout/ and or kill stationed at a level A-2 holding facility. It was more than setting him on edge. They eventually reached the holding cells, and when they found the right number, 17G, Bulma hacked the lock. The door slid open to reveal a tall man with a rogue looking scar across his cheek and a muscular frame. Bulma's first thought was, 'Kami, Goku looks just like him.'

But this man's eyes were far more serious, calculating, logical, and mature. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm Bulma Brief and this is Vegeta Ouji. We're breaking you out." She removed his handcuffs. As she did so, Bardock looked her over. Yes, she was his old friend's daughter all grown up. And he didn't need to bother checking Vegeta. The flame of hair was more than enough to give it away.

As the three ran down the halls, Bulma handed Bardock one of her guns. They skidded to a stop when they saw a great number of guards blocking their path. More were fast coming on behind them. They were trapped.

"We were set up." Bardock and Bulma could only nod.

The soldiers leveled their weapons at them and moved closer. Vegeta glanced around him. There was a weak point in their formation that they wouldn't be able to cover in time. They could get through there. Pulling Bulma close in a display that looked like a dramatic and protective move one would find in the movies, he whispered, "I'll clear an opening. Then we run." She could barely hear him, but nodded almost imperceptibly. Bardock caught it too.

Suddenly, the prince dashed forward, and swiped at the guards. Within a matter of seconds, four had lost one or more limbs, and at least seven crumpled dead. Shots went off and the three criminals dashed for their only chance at escape.

Bulma and Bardock made it through without a problem. However, there was a surprised gasp as a loud band echoed, and then a deafening thump as a body fell to the floor. She turned just to see Vegeta on the ground, a dart sticking from the back of his neck as he slowly lost consciousness.

She shrieked and started running to help him. His eyes were unhurriedly closing, but he could still make her form out. He heard the soldiers surrounding him, and knew she would be captured if she came any closer. "Go…foolish woman," he choked out.

Bulma's sprinting came to a halt as she felt Bardock grab her from behind and start running. Before she could react, her prince had disappeared around the bend of the corner. When she realized her feet were scrambling to stay upright, and that Bardock was dragging her away, she tried to slap him away.

"No! Stop! We have to go back! We can't leave him behind!" Bardock only tugged her more forcefully.

"We won't be any help to him if we are taken as well! The best way to help is to get out of here while we still can!" Sure enough, thundering footsteps were chasing them. Alarms were screeching. Everything was in chaos, but she could only see him lying there helpless. He was not helpless. Vegeta didn't do helpless. It wasn't right.

She needed him.

She choked back a sob as she decided he was right, and started running with him to the exit. She felt the air shift as bullets whizzed past, but ignored them as she kept her pace.

They burst out the door to the underground prison, hopped on the air bikes, and sped away. Bardock was surprised when no further chase was given, but simply followed the blue haired woman to the checkpoint. As he rode behind her, he felt a wetness hit his cheek. He looked up, and saw her furious and determined tears trailing behind them.

"I'm going to get him back."

"I have no doubt."

The entire ride back, she made no sound, holding everything in. Bardock saw the whites of her knuckles as they gripped the handle bars tightly, and sympathized with her. He'd felt something similar when he'd lost his mate. But, she had a chance to get him back, something he didn't. He decided that there wasn't going to be another romantic tragedy like that because of him.

When they stepped into the helicopter, Juu turned around to greet them, only to stop the witty insult she'd prepared for the Hybrid prince. She looked at her friend, then back to their ally that they'd come to rescue. She saw the tear stains and red cheeks, and knew she would regret asking what came next.

"Where's Vegeta?"

Bulma fell to the floor, the blonde woman barely having time to catch her as she began sobbing fresh and furious tears.

She would get him back.

She would get him back if it was the last thing she ever did.

A/N: Noo! Veggie! I know it's unexpected, sort of, but it will eventually make sense. I'm trying to make the pace for this one pretty fast since I know R&F dragged on like, forever!

Review my lovely and insane internet friends! Review!