We've got a doozy of a chapter, this week. It's on the longer side, but there's a lot of story to get through.

Once everything was sorted with the hunt for Gero, it was time for Bulma to start trying to contact the Saiyans. In all of her time on Planet Vegeta, she never had the chance to figure out what kind of communications system they used - she never needed to. So she had to somehow figure out what kind of system they used, what kind of security blocks that they used, and a way to get around them. She knew that Earth had adopted a similar system when they came into the alliance, so maybe she could use that to test things out. But she couldn't be certain that it would work on the Saiyan's system. She was effectively flying blind, trying to find a solution to this.

She put her hand on her forehead, as she started to feel lightheaded. The last few weeks of pregnancy had been interesting, to say the very least. Some days, she'd feel perfectly fine. Others, she couldn't even get out of bed. She knew it was normal for some women to feel that way this far along, but this seemed a little extreme. Raditz told her that pregnancies were rough at this stage, even on Saiyan women, so she supposed that was the reason.

She recently learned that it was going to be a boy. She would have been happy, no matter the gender, but she was glad that she could finally call her child her son. She only wished that he could have come at a better time - when she could relax and fully be there for her pregnancy.

And when his father was at her side.

Guilt overcame her anytime she thought about Vegeta. She had the perfect chance to tell him about their child, but chickened out at the last second. And now, she couldn't tell him at all. Even if he did get stressed over it, he'd at least know. Maybe they could have worked something out, if they knew that the heir to the Saiyan throne was on Earth, too. But they didn't, and it was all because of her bad decisions.

She sighed, rubbing her temples. Sitting around and feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to make this go any faster. She sat up at her desk and continued with her note-taking.

The lab door opened, and her mother walked in. Bulma glanced at her for a moment, before she went back to her notes.

"Bulma, sweetie," her mother said, walking up behind her, "you've been down here for hours. Isn't it time for a break?"

She slammed her pen down on the table, running her hand down her face. "Mom, I can't stop. Gero could be anywhere and planning anything right now. For all we know, he's working on more androids."

"Didn't those two nice young men say they were going to go look for him together?"

She sighed, biting the tip of her pen. "Yeah, but there's no guarantee that he's gonna be there. Which is why I need to figure out how to contact the Saiyans as fast as I can."

Her mother put her hand on her shoulder. "Bulma, you need to rest. Have you even eaten anything, today? You need to, so Trunks can grow big and strong. I know you want to help, but you're not going to be able to if you burn yourself out, like this. So come upstairs and rest just for a little while. Then, you can get back to work."

After sitting silently for several moments, she sighed and pushed her chair back. "Okay. I'll take a break."

"Good," her mother said, smiling. "I fixed up some grilled cheese sandwiches earlier - they should still be warm!"

Bulma made her way back upstairs - she was feeling winded as she made it up the last few steps. When she got to the dining room, Yamcha was sitting down at the table, looking like he was thinking about something. His elbow was propped up on the table, leaning his cheek against his hand. She hadn't gotten the chance to talk to him much, since this whole thing began. Maybe she could help him with whatever he was thinking of.

"Hey," she said, smiling at him.

He looked up at her. "Oh. Hey, Bulma. What's happening?"

"Nothing much. Just getting something to eat." She saw the sandwiches sitting on top of a food-warming plate. She carefully grabbed one, putting on a paper plate, before sitting down across from him. "What's up with you?"

He shook his head. "Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about everything."

"You can talk to me about it, if you want." She took a bite out of her sandwich. It was gouda and havarti - her favorite.

"Nah, it's not a big deal. It's just… being here and doing this whole rotation thing - it feels off. I mean, your family's been great and I'm grateful that you've let us stay here, but… I dunno, it just feels weird."

"I understand. It's a big change. I'm sure the others are feeling the same way." She ate a bit more of her sandwich, chewing and swallowing it. "Does this have anything to do with Raditz?"

His eyes widened and he shook his head. "N-no! Not at all! What makes you say that?!" He put his hand behind his head and laughed. She just blinked at him, with a knowing look on her face. His laughter slowly stopped, and he cleared his throat, looking down at the table.

Bulma had her suspicions about Yamcha and Raditz, ever since they came to Capsule Corp together. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Raditz was obviously attracted to him. Anytime they were so much as next to each other, he was boldly hitting on him. It also didn't take a genius to figure out that Yamcha was really uncomfortable with it. Raditz had always had a funny way of showing he was interested in someone, aggressively pursuing them. While that worked well for Saiyans, who lived for any kind of challenge, Earthlings preferred a more gentle courtship. There was clearly some value dissonance at work.

"It's okay, Yamcha. Raditz is a good guy, but Saiyans can be a little forward with their wants, if you know what I mean. Have you told him that you don't like the way he talks to you?"

He sighed. "I tried, but I couldn't get it out. I feel like I just freeze up, whenever he gets like that. Like, I don't like it, but… I also kind of do." His face was flushing, as he admitted that last bit.

She smiled. Raditz wasn't the only interested party, after all. Maybe he'd be able to figure it out, if he wasn't so aggressively persistent. "I'll talk to him about it, later."

"Oh no Bulma, you don't have to do that. I can handle it. Honest."

"But I want to. Raditz is one of my closest friends. And you're the one who saved me from Tao. I think I owe you a couple of favors for that." She winked at him.

He ran his fingers through his hair, with a shy smile on his face. "Y-yeah, don't mention it."

She laughed, as she took another bite of her sandwich. All of the Earth warriors were decent people, and Yamcha wasn't an exception. He was kind of cute, too. Had Vegeta not been in the picture, maybe she would have gone after him, herself.

Krillin and Tien Shinhan were continuing their search for Gero's lab. The first location turned out to be a bust - there was nothing there except an empty cave - so now they were heading for the second one all the way on the other side of the planet. It took days of flying, but they were finally drawing near the coordinate on the radar.

"I think it's down here," Tien told Krillin, while he held it. "Let's land and look around."

Krillin nodded. "Sounds good." So, they landed onto the ground with both feet.

They were somewhere in the Bamboo Forest several kilometers away from East City. Krillin remembered going through here on his way to Kame House when he was a kid - the first time he trained with Master Roshi.

"Man, this really takes me back," Krillin said, putting his hands behind his head. "The old temple I used to train at isn't far from here."

"We can reminisce on that more once we've found this base." Tien looked down at the radar, then pointed in front of him. "It's a few paces that way."

The two went off in that direction. The forest was quiet. The animals either watched them as they passed or scurried away. There wasn't a human soul for miles. The perfect place for a disgraced scientist to live.

Krillin blinked, as a thought came to his head. "Tien, there's something I forgot to mention earlier. When we were fighting Tao, he recognized us, and he asked if we were your friends. I didn't think he'd still remember us, after all this time."

"Doesn't surprise me. If there's one thing he always knew how to do, it's hold a grudge."

He could hear the discontent in Tien's voice. "So… how do you feel about him being back? If you don't mind me asking."

Tien stopped walking, looking at the ground in front of him. "To be honest, I don't know. I used to respect him- he taught me so much about fighting. Even after I fell out with Master Shen, I still respected Tao. But after what happened at the tournament, I can't do that anymore. He promised he'd get even, but still: I don't know how to feel about fighting him, again."

"Hey, look on the bright side: if you do, you'll at least get a chance to stop him for good."

"I guess that's true."

After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached the coordinates on the radar. When they looked up, they saw a small bunker. The metal sidings were old and rusting, dented in different places. The door's hinges were practically rusting away. It looked like it hadn't been touched in years. A perfect place to look for a defunct military base.

Krillin carefully pushed on the door and it opened on its own. He and Tien looked at each other and nodded before walking in together. The room was dark, with the only light coming from the open door. It seemed mostly empty, with only a few desks and some trash lying on the floor. However, much of it was covered in darkness.

Krillin moved his hand agains th wall, looking for a light switch. Tien put his hand on his shoulder. "Wait," he whispered. "I think I hear something." When he listened carefully, something scuttered around on the floor. And though it was faint, they could feel someone's energy right in front of them. They each got into guarded stances.

"On my mark," Tien explained, "close the door. Once I find whatever's here, I'll tell you to turn on the lights."

"Do you think you can take it on your own?"

"Only one way to find out."

After a few tense sections, Tien signed for Krillin to close the door - moving his pointer finger in a horizontal line. When he slammed it shut, the room was plunged into darkness. Scuffling could be heard, along with some shrill screaming.

"Now, Krillin!"

Krillin flicked the lights back on. Tien was unharmed, holding two people by the backs of their shirts. They were both short - one was an impy-looking fellow with blue skin and pointy ears, while the other was a dog dressed like a ninja.

"Unhand me," the short imp shrieked, as he tried to wriggle out of his grasp. "You're manhandling the emperor of the world!"

"Some palace you've got, here," Tien said, sarcastically.

Krillin crossed his arms. "What are you even doing here? Don't you know this is an old military base?"

"It's mine now! I worked years to get this place, so I've earned it! And I won't let some tough guys take it away from me!"

Both of them took note of that statement. Tien lifted him up so that he was at eye-level with him. He gave him a deadly serious glare. "Then you wouldn't happen to know a guy named Dr. Gero, would you?"

All of his boldness withered away in seconds. "Dr. Gero? No, I've never heard of him! What makes you say that?" He closed his eyes and laughed awkwardly. When he saw Tien's glare, he cleared his throat and stopped.

Krillin walked up to them. He pointed at the dog. "Do you know anything about them?"

His ire was shifted to the dog. "SHU! IF YOU SAY A WORD, I'M GONNA RIP YOU TO PIECES!"

The dog went pale. "Y-yes, Emperor Pilaf, sire!"

As far as they were concerned, they were onto something. Krillin took Shu and put him back onto the ground. Tien walked to the wall and hung the collar of Pilaf's shirt on the wall, leaving him hanging like a jacket. He got even angrier - it was almost comical at that point.

"Hey, you don't need to worry about him," Krillin told Shu. "You can tell us anything. We won't judge." By the look of things, Shu was only doing what Pilaf asked out of fear.

Shu balked. "I-I don't know! we just thought that this would be a good base of operations! Honest!"

It was becoming increasingly clear that neither of them were going to cooperate. They knew something, but just wouldn't fess up to it. At least, Shu wasn't going to, so long as Pilaf was around. He was still shouting obsenities at him and demanding he not talk.

"If you ever get away from that guy," Tien said, pointing his thumb at Pilaf, "come find us. It'll make a big difference."

Shu looked even more freaked out than before. He gulped and nodded his head.

Pilaf thrashed around on the hook, as he continued to scream. "I FORBID YOU FROM DOING SO AS YOUR EMPEROR! YOU WILL SHOW LOYALTY!"

He turned around and yelled right back at him. "How can you talk about loyalty after everything you did?!"

All of them were stunned. They didn't expect Shu to talk back to him. Pilaf, red with anger, started screaming at him, to which Shu responded in kind. The argument was almost incomprehensible. Krillin and Tien glanced at each other. Silently, they decided to go out the door they came, leaving the quarrelers to themselves.

"Well that could have gone better," said Krillin.

Tien shrugged. "At least we have a lead, if worse comes to worse."

Just then, the cellphone rang. Krillin took it out of his pocket and flipped it open, holding it to his ear. "Yo!" When the caller spoke, he moved the phone between him and Tien, so he could listen in, as well. "Hey Bulma, what's up?"

"Hey! Any luck?"

Krillin shook his head. "Not yet. We've checked two of the points on the radar and he wasn't in either of them."

"Oh, that's too bad. Anyways, apparently it's your guys' turn to be on guard duty, so you can start heading back to Capsule Corp. If you could also tell Yamcha and Raditz about everything you've found and where they should go next, that'd be great."

"Can do," Tien said.

"Alright. Head back when you're ready, boys. Thanks!" With that, she hung up, and Krillin tucked the phone back into his pocket.

After she touched base with Krillin and Tien, Bulma went to look for Raditz, finding him in the garden with her father. They were standing over the goldfish pond, feeding them pellets. She wanted to talk to him before he left, remembering her promise to Yamcha. It was better she lay it out there before they were looking for Gero by themselves.

Her father glanced back at her. "Ah, there you are, Bulma. We were just talking about you. Glad to see you out of the lab, again."

She wanted to laugh. Even with Gero out and about, he was still so calm and relaxed. "Sure, dad. Raditz, I wanted to talk to you. Do you got a minute?"

Raditz threw the food in his hands into the pond, before standing up. She rolled her eyes, when she saw he was back in those short-shorts. "What's up," he asked.

She nodded her head to one side and they went around the corner of the house to talk. She crossed her arms and leaned up against the wall. "So, you're done with guard duty. Tien and Krillin are gonna be coming down and you'll be looking for Gero. They're gonna tell you everything you need to know before you head out."

"Is that all you pulled me aside for?"

She sighed. He knew her too well. "No. I wanted to talk about you and Yamcha."

He put his hands on his hips. "What's there to talk about?"

"Oh, I dunno, how about the aggressive flirting?"

He shrugged. "And what's the matter with that? I'm hot. He's hot. It's perfect." A teasing smile came onto his face. "Bulma, are you jealous? I know Vegeta's not here, but that doesn't give you the right to have a wandering eye."

She scoffed. Saiyans really had a one track mind. "For the record, no I'm not. I just wanted to ask if you've considered that might not be what Yamcha wants."

He frowned. "Of course it is. How could he not?"

"But do you really know that for certain? Do you even know anything about him, in the first place?"

He tried to respond, but stopped. He blinked and lifted a finger to his chin. As if he hadn't even considered that to be a possibility.

Bulma sighed. A culture clash like this was bound to happen, eventually. "Look. I know the super aggressive pursuit is what Saiyans are into. But here on Earth, we don't do that. Can you imagine how it would feel to be propositioned by a total stranger? Because that's how Yamcha feels. Maybe he'd be more receptive to flirting if you weren't so overeager about it."

A look of bewilderment came onto his face. "But in all of those books you have, the rest of your kind are all into it."

She nearly fell over. No wonder he was so clueless - his only impression of Earth romances were her mother's bodice ripper novels. "That's fiction, Raditz - it's not real. We here on Earth prefer to take things more slowly and try not to rush into things. If you're really serious about being with Yamcha, you're gonna need some better moves."

He looked dumbfounded. "So… what are they? What are the better moves?"

"Be gentler. Ask him questions about himself. Make an effort to get to know him. And once he's more comfortable with you, then you can up the flirtation. You're a good guy, Raditz, and I'm sure he'll think the same way, eventually. But you gotta go at it a different way."

He stared at her for a moment, before nodding. "I think I see what you mean."

She smiled. It might take him a little bit to fully grasp that, but at least he knew the truth. Hopefully, their search would go much smoother.