Lockdown

Bulma woke up drenched in sweat, yawning as she sat up in bed. As had happened so many other times, Vegeta stayed with her through the night, but he was up by the crack of dawn to go train before breakfast, leaving her to wake up alone. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stretched, several joints popping and cracking with the movement. Not once had Vegeta gone farther than intense make-out sessions and touching, but every time she woke up after such a night she felt as if she may as well have had sex a dozen times over. She really had no idea how he showed such restraint when he obviously wanted more, but she learned early that he had control in the relationship. More than once she told him he could take it to the next step, but every time he told her she wasn't ready yet. She still had no idea what he meant by that. It was a new experience for her, not being able to wrap him around her finger as she had done with Yamcha. But, in a way, she liked that she wasn't the dominant one. If anything, it made it more enjoyable when he held her in his arms at night, knowing that he was there to protect and care for her.

Slowly, Bulma stood up and shuffled to her bathroom, peeling off her shorts and tank top as she went. Today she had to go in to headquarters, which she really wasn't excited about, but at least it would get her out of the compound for a while. Since she finally hooked up with Vegeta, she hadn't been willing to leave very often, and definitely not for extended periods. It wasn't that Vegeta took more time off training, but she wanted to be around to see him whenever he might take a short break for a drink or a snack or to see her – if only for a few minutes.

She stepped into the shower, enjoying it as it cooled her heated flesh. If it wasn't bad enough that Vegeta didn't like the air conditioning being on in the middle of July, his body was like a burning furnace in bed with her. She showered quickly and dried off, knowing that if she was late for breakfast Vegeta would hunt her down and drag her to the kitchen to eat. Wrapping her towel around her, she hurried over to her dresser and picked out a bra and panties, then carried them to her closet to find a suit to wear to work. A few minutes later she emerged wearing a matching gray skirt and jacket with a white blouse. Drab, but professional. She stopped at her vanity on the way out of her room, primping her hair, and picked up a pair of black heels before running downstairs for breakfast.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs she nearly collided into Vegeta as he was heading to the kitchen from his early morning training. But he caught her, spinning her around to pin her against the wall. "You should watch where you're going, woman."

"Oh yeah? And what if I don't?" With her arms pinned at her sides, she could only move her legs, so she wrapped her right leg around Vegeta's waist and pulled him closer, her skirt inching up her leg.

He leaned closer until his lips brushed against hers as he spoke. "Then I will not reward your lewd behavior."

She smirked. "As if you could resist this." Grinding her hips against him, she captured his lip between her teeth.

"You underestimate me, woman." He pressed closer until she could feel the stirrings of his arousal, then abruptly moved away from her, continuing on to the kitchen to get breakfast. Bulma sighed, straightening her skirt before following after him. Seducing the saiyan prince wasn't easy.

When Bulma was finished eating, she stood up and kissed Vegeta's cheek, earning a soft growl. She knew he didn't like any affection being shown in front of others, but she thought his reaction was cute so she did it anyway. "I'm going to headquarters. Not sure when I'll be home this afternoon."

"Okay, sweetie," Mrs. Brief chirped.

Bulma walked out of the kitchen, grabbing her briefcase from the table in the hall on her way to the front door, and walked outside to the driveway. She threw her car capsule on the ground and climbed into the driver's seat once the puff of smoke cleared. Not looking forward to the business negotiations she had to take part in, she sighed as she backed out of the driveway and started toward headquarters. Meetings bored her to tears, but as vice president she was required to attend at least the more important ones. It would be much worse once she stepped up to president. Hopefully that wouldn't happen anytime soon.

The drive to headquarters only took fifteen minutes. Bulma got out of her car and capsulated it, tucking it in her pocket as she went up the front walk to the main doors of the building. It was a good thing she did so much work at headquarters before her relationship with Vegeta started or she would be extremely behind in her vice presidential duties. She was at headquarters so little of late that she almost felt like a stranger walking into the lobby area, nodding greetings to those she saw and smiling at the receptionist as she passed by on her way to the elevators.

Only a few minutes after reaching her office, the phone on her desk rang. Bulma groaned as she reached across a tall stack of files to reach it; whenever someone called it was always with 'urgent' reports that were almost never that pertinent. She rested the receiver on her shoulder to free up her hands so she could keep typing. "This is vice president Brief."

"Miss Brief, this is Henrietta Sagan. We've found some rather interesting information we would like you and President Brief to take a look at. There's unusual activity on the outer edge of the solar system."

Bulma froze. The director of the Capsule Corporation space exploration program was calling to tell her there was unusual activity? Not bothering to ask for details, she replied, "Thanks, we'll be there soon. I want to see all your reports as soon as I arrive."

"Yes, Miss Brief."

The blue-haired heiress hung up the phone and jumped out of her chair to run over to the elevator. She clenched her fists as she waited for the door to open, more impatient than usual. There was no way to be sure, at least not yet, but she had a sneaking suspicion that whatever the astronomers found had something to do with Frieza. Finally, the door opened and she pushed the button to take her up to the next floor. As soon as the door reopened, Bulma stepped off the elevator and called out, "Dad? You here?"

"Over here, sweetie."

Bulma turned around the corner to find Dr. Brief in his kitchenette preparing a cup of tea. "Dad, come on, we've got to go check something out."

The urgency in her voice was enough to make him look up, setting aside his mug. "What is it? Is something the matter?"

"I don't know, maybe. Henrietta called me and said they've found something weird going on. Damnit, I don't have time to explain, come on!" She grabbed her father's sleeve and dragged him over to the elevator and pushed the button. A second later the door opened and they stepped on, pushing the button to take them down to the astronomy floor.

"What's all the fuss about?" Dr. Brief mumbled, scratching his cat behind the ears.

Bulma rolled her eyes as she stepped off the elevator and headed toward Henrietta's office. "Did you ever think maybe it had something to do with Frieza?"

Dr. Brief's eyes widened. "Oh dear."

"I know it's earlier than expected," Bulma continued, "But we never knew for sure how long it would be before he would get here. It was all estimates. If this is him, we need to find out and tell Vegeta and the others so they can be ready for him."

"You're right." Dr. Brief had a difficult time keeping up with his daughter, though she was wearing high heels. She was obviously in a hurry and was practically running through the halls to get to Mrs. Sagan's office.

The Briefs turned left down another hallway and went through the first door on the right. Inside was a large desk in the middle, bookcases all around the walls, a small telescope in the far corner, extra chairs in front of the desk, and star maps laid out across the desk. Henrietta was sitting there studying images on her computer. She was an older woman with a square jaw, dull gray eyes, and short, strawberry blonde hair that was fading to gray. She turned when she heard the Briefs come in and motioned for them to sit down across from her, turning her computer monitor so they could see what she was looking at.

Bulma took the seat closer to the monitor and leaned forward, studying the image, but she was no astronomer and didn't know what she was supposed to be looking for. "What is it?"

Henrietta pointed to a larger object on the screen. "This is Neptune. Out here," she explained, circling around an area with dozens of small objects, almost invisible, "are the objects we've never seen before. We've looked at pictures taken days earlier, and they weren't there."

"That's weird."

The astronomer opened a different window, this time a sort of radar. "This shows movement of objects over the past few days. What's really astonishing is how fast these things came." She played the recorded radar. One second there was nothing, and the next there were dozens of objects already a fair distance inside the radar's range. "It's as if they materialized out of nothing."

"Or moved so fast the radio waves didn't pick up the movement." Bulma glanced over at her father, brows furrowed with worry. "But why did they stop there?"

Henrietta shrugged. "We have no idea. We can't even tell what these things are."

"I think your hunch may be correct, Bulma." Dr. Brief stood up, leaning over the desk for a better look. "Whatever they are, they're extremely small. They hardly show up here."

Bulma pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. "I want Vegeta to see this."

"Good idea, dear."

"Who's Vegeta?"

"One of the few men who might be able to identify these," Dr. Brief muttered.

It only took two rings before someone answered the phone at the compound. "Hello?"

"Mom! I need you to send Vegeta to headquarters, now. Tell him to find me on the sixteenth floor. We might have some information about Frieza."

"Okay, sweetie, I'll go talk to him."

"Thanks, Mom. Bye."

"Bye." Mrs. Brief hung up the phone and dashed out of the kitchen. She made record time getting out to the back yard and, though she was out of breath, kept running until she reached the gravity room and started banging on the door until Vegeta finally opened it for her.

"What?" he asked, somewhat concerned when he saw her almost frantic state.

"Vegeta! Bulma said – Bulma said you need to go…" Mrs. Brief paused, trying to catch her breath long enough to relay the message. She inhaled deeply and pressed on, "to headquarters. Sixteenth floor. Information about Frieza. Go!"

"Frieza?" Vegeta quickly overcame his shock and gently pushed past Mrs. Brief, blasting off toward Capsule Corporation headquarters as fast as he could go. As soon as he landed he ran into the building and went to the elevator, but when it didn't open right away, he lost patience and forced the door open. Ignoring the cries of surprise from around him, he jumped into the elevator shaft and flew up, meeting the elevator halfway there by flying straight through it. At the sixteenth floor he yanked the door open and started searching for Bulma's ki, which led him to Henrietta's office.

"Vegeta!" Bulma gasped when she saw him. "That was fast."

"What about Frieza?" he demanded.

Bulma pointed to the computer screen, standing up so he would have room to come over and look at the radar images. She pointed to the unidentified objects. "See these? They weren't there a few days ago. Looks like they came out of nowhere, but then they just stopped. Do you have any idea what they are?"

Vegeta flipped through the images, deathly silent. But Bulma could practically feel the tension growing in his body and she saw his tail starting to bristle around his waist. She took a small step back from him, swallowing hard. For once she hoped she hadn't been right. It was one thing to talk about Frieza coming, but to actually see the evidence was another matter. It terrified her. "Vegeta?"

"It's his army. They're gathering from nearby bases." Vegeta sighed, dragging his hand down across his face. "Frieza will be here within a few days, maybe a couple weeks tops. He's getting his army ready for invasion. Some of the soldiers are being stationed around the solar system to stop anyone who might try to escape the planet."

"Oh shit," Bulma murmured, sinking back down into the chair. "Shit. We're not ready for him!"

"What are you talking about?" Henrietta asked.

Bulma almost cracked a smile at the seeming absurdity of her answer. "Evil space tyrant's coming to Earth to kill everyone and blow up the planet."

Vegeta turned to leave, determined to get back and train as hard as he possibly could over the next few days before the invasion, but Bulma jumped up from her chair and grabbed his arm to hold him back for a minute. "Vegeta, wait. I want you to check something out here before you go. I've been working on a little side project that might help against Frieza."

"Like what?"

"Come with me." Bulma looked over her shoulder at her father, forcing a smile. "Keep watch on those things, yeah?"

"Of course, dear."

Bulma nodded and led Vegeta out of the office and back to the elevator, skidding to a halt when she saw the door ripped open. "Did – did you do that?"

"Hn."

She shook her head, slightly irritated with his tendency to destroy things, before shrugging it off. "Well, whatever. We'll fix it later. We need to go to the weapons division, which is below the main floor."

Vegeta picked Bulma up and jumped down the shaft, falling through the hole he created in the elevator, which startled its passengers, and continued down until he reached the bottom. He landed softly and set Bulma down on her feet, then tore the door open for her to lead the way. This floor was different, more like a huge open warehouse with targets scattered around for weapons testing. She punched in the code to open a large door on the side and led him through.

"I know these guys are super strong and all, but I've been working on designs for weapons that might, if nothing else, stun them," Bulma explained as she ran down a long, barren hall with no doors on the sides. At the end of the hall, she turned left, finally reaching an area with rooms off to the sides, mostly laboratories.

She turned into one of the larger laboratories and paused, looking for someone in the crowd of scientists. Having spotted the man she wanted to talk to, she took Vegeta's hand and ran over to the lead scientist. "Hey, Sherman!"

A tall man with black hair and thick glasses turned around when he heard Bulma calling. "Miss Brief! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"The weapon designs I sent you, have you built the prototypes yet?"

Sherman nodded, gesturing for her to follow him over to a quieter area of the lab. On a large workstation rested a series of large guns. "These are the prototypes. We've already tested models 76EAR, 78EAR, and 82EAR. They work exceptionally well, though I don't imagine we would ever need that much firepower."

"We'll need them," Bulma assured him. She picked up one of the guns and handed it to Vegeta, then gave one to Sherman, and picked up the last one and carried it herself. "We're going to go do some testing right now. This is important, come on!"

If Vegeta was skeptical about the usefulness of weapons in the fight against Frieza's army, he didn't say anything. The gun, though it was large, was surprisingly light. Then again, he may have been strong enough that it didn't seem heavy. Brushing that thought aside, he followed Bulma as she led the way back to the weapons testing area. She disappeared into a booth along the wall and came out wearing goggles and earplugs, handing extras to Sherman and Vegeta.

"You might want to put these on," she said as she thrust them into the saiyan's free hand. "I know you've got sensitive hearing."

"Hn." Vegeta put the earplugs in, but he didn't bother with the goggles.

"Okay," she yelled so both men could hear her, "Vegeta, I want you to be the target. You'll know better than anyone if these are strong enough to do any damage. I don't think they'll be able to hurt you."

Snorting, he walked over to the area she was pointing and crossed his arms over his chest to wait. Obviously no weapon could hurt him, but now he was curious to see just what the woman had created. If it would give the humans some advantage in fighting the invading army, that would be a help. Killing more soldiers would mean less fighters he would have to worry about going up against him and less distraction for the others so they could focus on the real warriors.

Sherman looked at Bulma incredulously as she hefted her gun onto her shoulder and aimed at the saiyan. "Are you crazy?" he yelled. "You'll kill him!"

She shook her head. "Don't worry about him." Once he stepped back, she pulled the trigger. A beam of energy shot out and made a direct hit on Vegeta's chest, the kickback nearly knocking Bulma onto her backside. After the smoke cleared, Bulma saw Vegeta standing still as a statue, totally unfazed by the blast. "How was it?"

Vegeta shrugged. "Probably enough to kill some of the weaker soldiers."

"What would it do to the stronger ones?"

"Piss them off."

"Oh." Bulma set the gun down and picked up the next largest one. "Well, let's try this one then. Ready?" When he nodded, she aimed and fired.

"That would kill anyone up to a power level of 2000," Vegeta told her.

"Getting better," she mumbled. Setting that gun aside, she picked up the largest one and aimed at her mate. "Ready for it?" His smirk told her yes, so she fired, this time falling over from the kick. Once she picked herself up from the floor and dusted herself off, she looked over to where Vegeta had been standing and gasped when she didn't see him. "V-Vegeta?"

"What, woman?"

Bulma whirled around when she heard him behind her, pressing her hand over her thumping heart. "Kami, you scared me!"

"Did you really think that little toy could hurt me?"

"Well, no, it's just – never mind. How strong was it?"

"Power levels up to 2500 would be dead."

"Good." Bulma turned to Sherman, who was gaping openly at Vegeta, and snapped her fingers in front of his face to bring him back to reality. "Sherman, I need you to start mass production of these weapons immediately. Distribute them to the military with orders to begin training with them as soon as they arrive. And keep testing the other prototypes."

"Yes, Miss Brief." Sherman shook his head as he picked up two of the guns and hurried back to his laboratory to begin production.

"Is that all, woman?" Vegeta asked, stepping closer to her.

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "That's all. Now go train. I'll get the pathetic humans ready, but I need you to be ready. You're going to kill him, 'Geta. I know it."

Vegeta smirked, pulling her body closer. "Of course I will." He kissed her, more forcefully, then pulled back and turned to leave. As much as he appreciated her confidence, he was still uncertain about his chances against the lizard. It didn't matter how strong he became, he doubted he would ever be strong enough. And now that he only had a few days left to train, he was going to do nothing but train. Day in, day out, no meals, no sleep, just training. Then he would eat one of those beans and kill Frieza.

With that plan in mind, Vegeta flew back to the Capsule Corporation compound. Before going into the gravity room, he stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a large snack from the refrigerator. "I'm not going shopping with you until Frieza's been killed," he told Mrs. Brief on his way out of the kitchen. He didn't like refusing to help her, but she managed before without him and she would manage again. Besides, it was just a few days. A few short days.

Vegeta shoved the food into a compartment in the gravity console for storage and cranked the gravity up to 500Gs. Bulma and her father finally managed to figure out the logistics to make the upgrade possible, and he had been training at that level since he could. It still put an incredible amount of strain on his body, but it was what he wanted. The effort it took to move forced his mind to stay focused, to stop wandering thoughts of his blue-haired mate, his old tormentor, the upcoming battle, and life afterward. All he could think about was his training. At least, until he got used to the higher gravity.

The panic rising in his chest was nearly enough to make him pass out from lack of oxygen as he pushed himself harder in his training. 'Damn it all, he shouldn't be here yet! Just three more months! That's all I need! Then I can make my wish with the dragon balls.'

He groaned as he was hit by a ricocheted energy blast, flooring him. 'I'm not strong enough yet. Hell, I'll never be strong enough.' He rose to his hands and knees, and, ignoring the burning pain in his muscles, forced himself back to his feet to start his training routine again. Already he had been training for eleven hours straight, ignoring the knocking on the door when Mrs. Brief came to get him for lunch, and then dinner. He had no time for meals, he had to keep training, to push himself to ascend – if possible – before the lizard reached Earth. That was his only goal, to get stronger, to be able to protect his pack.

But what if he couldn't? What if he really wasn't strong enough? He tried to shake his doubts, but they were persistent. He hated to admit it, even if it was only to himself, that he was truly afraid of Frieza. His blood ran cold thinking about fighting him. How many years had he suffered at the lizard's hands? How many times had he tried to defend himself and failed? How could he stand against a being so impossibly powerful? Prince of all Saiyans or not, he still felt weak by comparison. He might not make it through the fight alive, and if he didn't, there was no telling what Frieza would do to the Briefs.

He could send them away in the pods Dr. Brief built. That was the whole reason he had the old scientist build them in the first place, as a last resort to keep them safe. Of course they wouldn't go willingly, but maybe he could send one of his comrades with them as a bodyguard. Bodyguard, yes. Nappa could do it. He was the weakest saiyan anyway, but he would be more than enough to take on the lackey soldiers stationed around the edge of the solar system.

"Nappa!"

"What, Vegeta?"

"Practice erecting a ki barrier around yourself. If Frieza is too strong, I want you to take the Briefs off planet, and you'll need to protect them from the lizard's men. Got it?"

"Uh…sure, Vegeta. Whatever you say."

Trusting Nappa to know what to do, Vegeta again threw himself into his training, disregarding his dry mouth and growling stomach. No breaks. He didn't have time for breaks. He had to keep training. During the night he lost track of time, but time was no longer relevant to him. As long as he could keep training, forcing his body to its limit to grow stronger, he would. Until he felt the energy of Frieza and his men on the planet, he wasn't going to come out of the gravity room for anything, not even Bulma. No, he had to keep training for her sake. Everything he did, he did for her, for his pack. It was his duty to protect them, and he wasn't about to fail them because he was a little tired.

Probably sometime in the morning, maybe afternoon – he really had no idea and didn't care either way – someone started knocking on the door to the gravity room. He growled, irritated by the interruption, but he didn't power down the simulator and didn't open the door, willing his visitor to go away. He didn't have time to talk to anyone.

"Vegeta!" Bulma screeched through the door. "Open the door this minute! Did you disable the emergency override again? It's there for a reason! How do I know you're alive in there? Vegeta!"

"Go away, woman!" he roared. He fired a ki blast at the door, knowing the sound would surprise her enough to get her to back away, at least for a while.

Bulma shrieked as she flew back from the door, surprised by the explosion. Undeterred, she marched back to the door and resumed pounding on it with fists and feet. "Vegeta, you have to take a break! I know you're tough, but you're not going to get any stronger if you just wear yourself out. Come on, get out here!"

"Leave me alone!"

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the unopened door. "At least eat something! I know you're hungry."

"Go away!"

"Fine, you jerk!" Bulma kicked the door one last time for good measure before turning and stomping back to the compound. "I hope he starves! That idiot, does he really think this crazy training is going to help?"

When Bulma reached the kitchen to eat lunch, she found her mother and Nappa already sitting at the table eating. Sighing, she took her seat and started heaping food onto her plate. Honestly she didn't have much of an appetite, but she wanted to force herself to eat enough, as if hoping that by eating more than she needed she could somehow transfer some of her energy to Vegeta since he wouldn't come out of the gravity room.

"Where's Vegeta, honey?" Mrs. Brief asked after finishing telling a story about planting flowers to Nappa. He sighed with relief once her attention was diverted from him.

Bulma shrugged. "He won't come out. Guess he plans on keeping himself locked in the gravity room until Frieza gets here. It's not going to help him, I hope he knows that."

Mrs. Brief frowned a little. "I do hope he doesn't overwork himself."

"He will." Bulma took a bite of food and chewed slowly, forcing it down. It tasted good, but she really didn't want to eat. "Would it be so much to ask for him to come out for just a few minutes? Long enough to eat something or get a drink?"

"You know how dedicated he is to his training," Mrs. Brief said, not entirely able to even reassure herself.

"How obsessive he is, you mean." Bulma picked at her food for a few minutes. "You know, I think the real issue is that he's scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Frieza."

"Oh, that miserable creature who hurt him?" Mrs. Brief scowled at her plate, dropping her fork. "I hope he gets what's coming! How dare he hurt Vegeta like he did? It's – it's just criminal!"

"Understatement."

Mrs. Brief rose from her chair and went over to the sink to start washing dishes, the sink, the counter, the stove, anything. Now far too upset to eat, she needed to calm herself, and cleaning was the next best thing to cooking. Bulma watched her for a while before shaking her head, resuming picking at her food with her fork. She could understand her mother's hatred for Frieza, surprising as it was for Mrs. Brief to hate anyone.

The rest of the day passed with the constant humming of the gravity simulator in the background. Soon all the residents of the Capsule Corporation compound were so used to the sound they didn't even hear it anymore, even when it ran all night long. There was obviously no stopping Vegeta in his quest to suddenly become strong enough to kill Frieza in a few days' time, but it was still frustrating for those who cared about him, especially Bulma. After seeing him so often and sharing a bed with him regularly for the past couple of months, it was hard to accept the fact that he had himself locked in the gravity room for an unknown length of time.

After three full days of his constant training, Bulma was more than a little worried about her saiyan lover. She sat on the back step of the compound, her gaze fixed on the door of the gravity room, hoping that just maybe Vegeta would come out for a short break. Long enough to eat, maybe to kiss her, just once. Off to the side she could hear Nappa's grunts as he moved through his kata, trying at the same time to maintain a ki barrier around himself. She didn't know why he was doing that, but figured it was some kind of plan for the fight against Frieza's men. All she knew was that the barrier kept growing around him until it engulfed half the yard.

Bulma sighed and stood up. She had been staring at the gravity room for over an hour and obviously Vegeta wasn't going to come outside anytime soon. Well, whether or not the world was going to end soon, she still had work to do. Already the weapons she had developed were being manufactured and delivered to Earth's military, so at least the world would be somewhat prepared for the arrival of Frieza's army. She felt mostly useless in the whole ordeal. Though her power level was now cresting over 1000, Vegeta had expressed more than once that he didn't want her fighting unless she absolutely had to. He didn't tell her it was because he didn't want blood spilled on her hands, so she had no idea why he wanted her to stay away from the fighting aside from wanting to keep her safe. Reluctantly she had agreed, but she still wanted to help her friends in any way she could. Apparently the best way to help was to stay out of the way, somewhere safe, where she wouldn't be a distraction to them. With one last glance over her shoulder, she went inside the compound to go work in her laboratory.

Two more days passed with Vegeta locked away in the gravity room, training every hour of every day without food, water, or rest. He felt himself growing weary after only the second day, but he forced himself to keep going, to push his endurance on. There was no time to waste. His power was over five million and it wasn't enough. Frieza was reputed to have a strength of over 100 million. How could he beat that, ever? There was just no way, he was too far behind. But if there was a chance, he was going to take it. He would not relent in his training. As much as his body urged him to rest, he screamed at himself to keep going, remembering that he wasn't just doing this for himself, not just for his dead race, but for his pack and his mate. They needed him and he was not going to let them down, not after he already let his kingdom down.

All his training bots were long since destroyed, so really he was training by himself. Not the best for making progress, but he didn't want to take any time away from his training to tell the woman to build him new bots. After five days of running constantly, the gravity simulator was making an irritating grinding noise, probably reaching the end of its limits. Soon enough that would break too, and when it did then he would really be out of luck. So, he kept going, knowing that his training might be cut short and that he needed to get as much work done before then as possible.

'I have just about had it!' Bulma thought as she trained with Nappa out in the yard. She was tired of waiting for Vegeta to come out of the gravity room, tired of feeling abandoned. Despite knowing why he was in there, she found it hard not to resent his disappearance. She wanted to see him, especially if Frieza was as close as they thought. What if she died? What if he died? Was it so wrong to want to spend as much time with him as she could before then?

By the time she finished her training with Nappa, she had formulated a plan to get Vegeta out of there. If people he cared about couldn't get him out, then maybe someone he hated could. She went inside and, after taking a fast shower, picked up her cell phone and dialed a familiar number. A few rings later, someone picked up on the other end.

"Hello, Son residence."

"Hey, Chi-Chi," Bulma said. "This is Bulma. Is Goku around?"

"He's training with Raditz. Do you want me to go get him?"

"That would be great."

"Hold on."

Bulma had to wait a few minutes, so she took the time to get dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a yellow blouse. Finally, someone picked up the phone again.

"Hey, Bulma," Goku said, "What's up?"

"Nothing much. I was wondering if you'd like to come over for a while?"

"But I'm training…"

"Goku, honestly. What difference is a few hours going to make? Frieza's coming soon and who knows if we'll ever have the chance to hang out again? Please come."

Goku sighed. "Sure, I guess. But only for a little while, okay?"

"That's fine. See you soon?"

"Sure, B. Bye."

Bulma snapped her phone shut and grinned. If Goku's presence couldn't get Vegeta out of the gravity room, she was sure nothing could, not even Frieza. Thoroughly pleased with herself, she pulled her damp hair into a ponytail and went downstairs to watch TV in the living room until Goku arrived.

When the doorbell rang an hour later, Bulma shot up from the couch and ran to the front door, hugging Goku when he stepped inside. "Hey buddy, haven't seen you in a while. How're you?"

Goku grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm fine, B. How's things here with Vegeta and Nappa?"

Holding his wrist, she pulled him through the hall toward the back of the compound. "Things are fine with Nappa. I have no idea how Vegeta's doing. He's locked himself in the gravity room for five days and no one can get him to come out."

"Five days straight?" Goku exclaimed. "You mean he doesn't even come out to eat?"

Bulma chuckled at her friend's predictable surprise as she stepped outside into the blistering hot July sun. "I'm serious. He won't come out for anything. I don't think he's slept at all since he went in there."

"Man, no wonder he's so much stronger."

The blue-haired woman stopped and rested her hands on her hips, cocking her head to the side. "How strong are you anyway?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Not as strong as Vegeta, I don't think. Stronger than Raditz."

Bulma nodded and backed a few steps away from him. "Well, you saiyans aren't the only ones who have gotten stronger. Check it out." She held her hands out in front of her and gathered orbs of ki in her palms.

Goku's eyes widened comically. "Wow! That's really good, B!"

She laughed. "Don't patronize me. I know I'm still weak compared to you guys, but at least I can defend myself if Frieza's soldiers go after me, right?"

"Right." His grin faltered, thinking about the danger everyone was going to be in.

Bulma threw one of the ki balls at him, making a direct hit since he wasn't expecting it. "Don't worry, Goku. Everything is going to be fine. It always works out."

Goku waved away the smoke from the small explosion, coughing a little. "Yeah, I know, but I can't help it."

She peeked over at the gravity room, half hoping to see Vegeta standing there with the door open, utterly furious with her for allowing the "tailless third-class scum" on his territory. But, as it had been for five days, the door was locked and barred and the gravity simulator was still running. Couldn't he sense Goku's energy? Maybe he did and just didn't care. That wouldn't be normal for him. Bulma bit her lip, turning back to Goku.

There was an unusual mix of confusion and concern in the cheerful saiyan's expression as he looked at the gravity room. Bulma glanced over her shoulder again, but nothing had changed. "What, Goku?"

"It's Vegeta's energy. It flared really high and then…dropped. Now I can barely feel it."

"What? Are you sure?" Bulma turned around and ran over to the gravity room, banging on the door with her fists. "Vegeta! Open the damn door! I'm serious!"

Unlike before when she tried to get him to come out, he didn't growl any biting comment, didn't yell at her to go away, and didn't shout any threats. More worried than ever, she kept pounding on the door, trying to force it open if she could. "Goku, help me!"

Goku was right behind her, gently pushing her aside to try his hand at knocking on the door. When Vegeta didn't yell at him either, Bulma assumed the worst, thinking perhaps Vegeta really had pushed too far and killed himself. Frantically she banged and scratched the door, desperate to get in and make sure the saiyan prince wasn't injured or worse.

"Bulma, step back." Goku raised his ki and put all of his power into a single kick, blowing the door off its hinges. He was about to go inside when Bulma grabbed his arm to hold him back.

"Wait, be careful. The simulator is still running so it's probably 500Gs in there."

"Five hundred!" Goku rolled his eyes with exasperation. Of course it would be something ridiculous like that. Raising his ki even higher, he took the first step inside and almost crashed to the floor. He groaned as he forced himself to take another step. Once inside, he looked around and saw Vegeta's body lying near the gravity console. Why wouldn't he be way over there? Goku sighed before taking a deep breath and venturing further into the room.

'Man, this is intense.' Goku took several minutes reaching the gravity console, but as soon as he got there he slammed his hand down on the disengage button. Soon the gravity started to let up and he felt like he could move freely again.

Hearing the simulator powering down, Bulma ran into the room and knelt down next to Vegeta's prone form. "Oh Kami, is he okay? I hope he didn't hurt himself." She turned him over onto his back and ran her hands over his body, but she didn't feel any broken bones or blood. Sighing with relief, she hooked her hands under Vegeta's arms and pulled him out of the room into the sunlight where she could see better.

By the time she had him out in the yard, Nappa had come over to see what was going on. He hastened his pace when he saw Vegeta was unconscious. "What happened to him?"

Bulma shrugged helplessly after gently laying him in the grass. "I don't know. Goku said his energy just dropped."

Nappa nodded as he knelt down next to his prince. He felt for Vegeta's pulse on his neck to be sure he wasn't worse than he looked, releasing a long breath when he felt the steady throbbing. "He's fine, probably passed out from exhaustion. Wouldn't be the first time."

"What do you mean?" Goku asked. "This happened before?"

The large saiyan grunted as he picked Vegeta up to carry him inside to rest. "He did it all the time when he was younger. Ignores his own limits, won't stop 'til he nearly kills himself."

"Stupid, arrogant jerk," Bulma muttered, affectionately running her hand through his flame of hair.

Goku rubbed his neck, lost in his own thoughts. "No kidding. Guess that's why I can never catch up to him."

Nappa snorted. "That and you're a third-class." He smirked at the younger saiyan as he went inside the compound. Bulma followed close behind, fussing over the prince, leaving Goku alone in the yard, still marveling at Vegeta's compulsive training habits.

"I knew something like this would happen," Bulma grumbled as she sat on the edge of Vegeta's bed, wiping his brow with a cool, damp cloth. "Now what if Frieza comes? He'll be too tired to be any use in a fight."

Nappa leaned against the wall, chuckling. "Give him a few hours and he'll be fine and stronger than ever. His methods seem self-destructive, but they're surprisingly effective."

Bulma frowned. "I don't care how much stronger it makes him. I don't like him doing this to himself."

"You can take that up with him when he wakes up," Nappa said, pushing away from the wall. "I'm going to get back to training. Let me know if he needs anything."

"Thanks, Nappa."

Goku passed Nappa in the hall going the opposite direction. He stopped in the doorway to Vegeta's room and watched Bulma for a minute before a goofy smile spread across his face. Without invitation he walked in and sat backwards in the chair at the desk, resting his elbows on the back. "So's he going to be okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine. He just needs some rest. And food. And water. Idiot's been killing himself for almost a week." She smiled fondly, stroking his bruised cheek.

"You really care about him, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." She leaned over and kissed the sleeping saiyan's forehead. "I guess it's okay to tell you now. Vegeta and I… I guess you could say we're dating. Or engaged. Or something. He told me he wants me to be his mate."

Goku's jaw went slack. "For real?"

Bulma laughed as she stood up and pulled Goku out of the chair to leave the room. "Yeah, for real. I don't really know how it happened, but it did. I know you don't know him very well, and maybe you still don't trust him, but I love him, and in his own way he loves me. And I don't have any doubts about staying with him forever. Not like I had with Yamcha."

Finally overcoming his shock, Goku smiled and hugged his old friend. "Then I'm happy for you and I wish you the best."

"Thanks, Goku." She hugged him back and ruffled his hair.

"Well, I better get back to training. Better see how Gohan's been holding up against Raditz and Piccolo." He grinned, waving as he ran downstairs to leave.

Bulma watched him go before going back into Vegeta's room. She went to his bathroom and filled a cup with water, then went in to sit on the edge of his bed again. Tilting his head up, she held the cup to his lips and poured some water in. Though he was unconscious, he drank the water quickly, so she went back to the bathroom and filled it again to give him more. Most likely his body was totally dehydrated. But Nappa said he would be okay, and she believed him. She just hoped Vegeta would be back up to speed before Frieza came, however long that might take. A few hours wasn't long. If Vegeta were to wake up in a few hours good as new, there was nothing to worry about. He'd be upset when he found out what happened to the gravity room, but she could endure his tantrum. At least he wasn't stuck in there on the floor being crushed to death. Having him safe was all that mattered to her. That was why she felt such pangs of fear whenever she thought about Frieza, the monster she had never seen. He struck terror into her heart because she was afraid of what he would do to Vegeta.

'Please, Vegeta,' she begged him silently, 'be okay. You have to be strong enough. You have to defeat him. I wouldn't be able to live without you. I love you more than anything."

A/N: I didn't have time to proofread this one last time before posting because I've had my hands busy with an extremely mischievous bulldog puppy. I'm so happy. :D But yeah, I'll go over it again later, I just wanted to get this chapter up for you before I head off to my last wedding of the summer (that I'm not in, thank goodness!). I guess this chapter answers your questions about Frieza, and yeah the ending of the last chapter was rushed in that it was purposely nonchalant. Well, I guess that's all for now. I haven't gotten any writing done since the coming of Wynston (my puppy), but hopefully I can get a little done on the five-hour car ride today.

Beta'd by lilpumpkingirl

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