Vegeta awoke from his stasis, when an alarm blared. A robotic voice repeated that the pod would land on Namek in 10 minutes. He stretched his neck from side to side and sighed. He had forgotten how hellish space travel was in those tiny pods, especially after being crammed in there for three days. There was another thing he needed to relearn, when this was all over.

In a matter of minutes, the pod landed on Planet Namek. The familiar green skies and blue grasslands greeted him, as he stepped out of the cramped vessel. He stretched his limbs, rolling his shoulders back and flexing his arms, before bending his legs behind him. He took a deep breath of that crisp Namekian air and exhaled.

A roaring wind sound echoed from above, before someone landed in front of him. It was Nail - Vegeta remembered him from the fight with Frieza. He bowed his head. "Prince Vegeta," he addressed. "It's good to see you well. Elder Moori is waiting for you. He will explain everything when we get there."

Vegeta nodded. "You lead."

Vegeta and Nail quickly flew across Namek, reaching Moori's village in a matter of minutes. Once there, the three of them convened in his home. Moori had discussed this already with the other Namekian elders, and Nail was present on behalf of the Grand Elder.

"Am I safe to assume that the urgent matter had nothing to do with your people," Vegeta asked. Since he arrived, he hadn't sensed any chaos or disorder - things seemed perfectly normal.

Moori chuckled. "I may have neglected to tell the whole truth. There is an urgent matter, but it has nothing to do with Namek. I couldn't say so when we last spoke, but the Earth is facing a crisis of their own. And they need your help."

"What?! What's happened?!"

"I don't know. But our friends there are on their way to discuss everything with us. We should find out soon enough."

So, his fears weren't unfounded. He could only hope that the circumstances weren't very dire. "Who will be here?"

"The Earth's guardian and Bulma," Nail explained. "If what the Grand Elder told me is correct, then they should be here at any moment."

Vegeta sighed. He could take comfort in her being safe, at the very least. Though, he still couldn't help but feel anxious. Bulma never asked for help. She always wanted to do everything on her own, and he always respected that about her. If the situation had gotten so bad that she called on Namek for help… he shook his head. It did no good to ponder that. Bulma was safe and he'd finally get to see her, again. He had missed her more than he could comprehend.

After six days of space travel, the spaceship from Earth arrived at its destination. Once it made landfall, Bulma began gathering everything they needed, sticking it into a backpack. She hadn't been sure about which documents to bring, so she brought all of them. Most of them were archived on a tablet, but there were many physical documents, as well.

When she finished packing things, she looked up - Kami was staring out of the window of the ship, holding onto his staff with both hands. He hadn't said a word since they landed. Bulma carefully stood back up, leaning herself against the walls of the ship, before walking next to him. He had a wistful look in his eyes - his brow was furrowed and the corners of his mouth were turned down.

"Kami," she asked. "Are you okay?"

He closed his eyes. "All of my life, I wondered where I came from. Perhaps I created the Dragon Balls out of a yearning for my home. Even when I finally learned, I never thought I'd get the chance to visit it, myself. And yet, I always wondered."

She smiled. She knew this was going to be an emotional trip. She had only been away from Earth for a few years, yet she was nearly crying when she made it back there, again. Being away for hundreds of years must have felt even more intense. "But now you can stop wondering. Because here it is!" She gestured towards the window.

A smile came onto his face. "Indeed, it is."

When Bulma and Kami left the ship, Moori was already there to greet them. "Good to see you again, Bulma. And welcome home, Kami. I'm Moori, one of the Elders of Planet Namek, and it's an honor to finally meet you."

Kami bowed his head. "Thank you." Even if he was staying composed, it was clear that he was touched by his words.

Moori gestured for them to follow. "Come. Everyone is waiting back at the village - it isn't very far." The two of them followed him across the glassy plains. His village was just over the hill.

"So, Moori," Bulma began, "who's all there? The Grand Elder said that Nail would be there."

"That he is. I spoke with the rest of the Namekian elders a few days ago, so the only one of us you'll have to speak to is me. Forgive me for doing so, but we assumed this had something to do with your planet's alliance with the Saiyans."

She nodded. "That's right. If you don't mind me cutting to the chase, would it be possible for you to help us talk to one of them? I'd hate to get your planet tangled up in our business but could you act as, like, a middleman for us?"

Moori just smiled at her. "Oh, I don't think that'll be necessary. At least for the time being."

Bulma's steps slowed to a halt, as confusion from his statement set in. She glanced at Kami, but he looked as confused as she was. "What do you mean?"

He stopped and turned around. "Not very long ago, Vegeta called us and asked if we'd be willing to help him contact the Earth. Once we found out you two were coming, we asked him to come here, as well. After all, I think both of your goals can be easily accomplished if you were to talk about it together. He's actually waiting back in the village for us right now."

Her heart jumped and her eyes widened. "Vegeta's here?!"

Moori nodded. "He seemed rather excited to see you, again. And with him here, we can easily get to the bottom of all of this."

As they kept walking towards the village, Bulma's anxiety was through the roof. She had anticipated speaking to Vegeta, again, but not in person. She put her hand on her stomach. There was no way to hide it now: she was too far along. As soon as he saw her, he'd figure out she was pregnant. What would he think? Would he be angry that she kept it from him? If she explained why, would he understand? She hoped to ease into things, but that option was out of the window. The best she could hope for now was that he wouldn't blow up at her for doing what she did.

They finally reached Moori's village - it looked the same as always. And, sure enough, she felt Vegeta's energy nearby. A feeling of dread filled her gut. As the other Namekians waved at her, she could only smile and wave back. She was too focused on her anxiety to do anything else. She felt Kami's eyes on her, who was giving her a look of concern. She shook her head, insisting she was fine. Whether she was trying to convince Kami or herself more was up for questioning.

"Here we are," Moori said. His home was near the center of the village. He gestured inside of it. "Come right in, and we can discuss everything."

She took a deep breath, steeling herself. Knowing there'd be no turning back now, she walked through the opening archway.

The moment she made it inside, she saw Vegeta. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, discussing something with Nail. Seeing his face made her forget her anxiety, and she smiled. Even in such terrible circumstances, she was so happy to see him again. He was even wearing the armor she had made.

Their eyes met. She nearly gasped, feeling his intense dark eyes on her. Even as he tried to seem passive, it was clear that he was happy to see her. Then, he gave her a once-over. His eyes were drawn right to her rounded stomach, becoming as wide as saucers. His jaw dropped and he looked at her in the eyes.

She smiled awkwardly and put her hands up. "Surprise."