"Goku! Are you even paying attention?!"

The black-haired man (now that he towered over her, Bulma had to concede that the little runt she met in the woods was indeed a man now) rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as his head snapped back down to Bulma's exasperated gaze. "Geez, sorry Bulma… I want to understand what you're saying, but I really just don't."

Bulma clicked off the chirping signal and twisted a little violently as she got out of her chair. "Well, not listening isn't going to help you understand."

"I listened!" Goku gave her that hangdog look that suggested he was hurt by the accusation. "I tried to listen for a while. But honestly, Bulma, it's like you speak in a different language sometimes."

Bulma sighed, having anticipated this would happen, but having held out hope that maybe if she explained everything well enough, they could be a two-man team for her experiment. She couldn't ask Yamcha… not with the way they were lately. "What do you keep looking up at anyway? I know that it probably has nothing to do with what I was telling you about space travel."

"Nah," Goku shrugged. "I thought I was feeling something, I don't know…an energy."

"An energy?" This was part of the reason that she and Goku had remained friends for so long. The excitement of what went on around him was too much of a temptation for a mind like hers. Even if sometimes he was a real idiot and she had to take care of him (although, his wife Chi-Chi was now mostly responsible for that). "You mean like ki?" She had been around fighters for long enough in her life to speak a little bit of Goku's language.

"Yeah…" he squinted into the distance as if trying to read something from afar. "But…it's different from other ones. Less like you."

"Not human?" She had long figured that Goku, whatever he was, wasn't human. There were too many anomalies with his biological structure and constitution.

"Like me." He knew he wasn't explaining right, so he met her gaze trying to convey what he meant with his eyes, something he did that Bulma had only recently begun to recognize. "It's…like me more than like you or Krillin or Yamcha."

"Okay…" So not human? The idea that there was something that Goku was picking up on that he found similar to himself had her hands twitching for more information. But then…something else had her tickled at her mind.

"Goku, can you tell if they are good or bad?" More like him, he said. Goku could literally turn into a giant destructive APE. They couldn't take any chances if whatever Goku was sensing meant them harm.

He peered up at the ceiling thoughtfully again, and then for a split moment, she saw something cold pass over his face. She was grasping his arm, but he shook it off easily. "Sorry, Bulma. Stay here."

The air was displaced around her and as she blinked, he was gone, leaving her to curse after the buzz of air he left behind.

"Hey, Goku! You can't just leave me here! You can't just—"

There was a crack and then a deafening rumble as half of the far wall blew out and choked the air with dust and particles. Bulma found herself fallen back on instinct, trying to see through the haze. Thank Kami the lab had been cleared from work as she had been trying to give herself and Goku some privacy.

"What the HELL, Goku?!" Bulma coughed around her words, climbing to her feet in a fury. "I told you to come back and get me, not destroy my lab like a big orange wrecking ball! What's wrong with you?!"

It wasn't Goku who had burst through the wall. She realized that the moment she heard the footsteps, their menacing confidence had her swallowing back any more words. The dust still hadn't completely dissipated, but she could make out the firm, malicious face and a flame of jet-black hair. And blue armor.

When his black eyes fell upon her, her heart skipped a beat. The man looked carefully at her and she felt cold under his scrutiny. And she shrunk back with a squeal when something enormous and bald came up behind the man, his smile nasty.

The first man extended a hand out, stopping the second from advancing. Bulma took a slow breath, her head clearing as the moments ticked by and the man stared at her like she was the peculiarity. She needed to get a hold of herself. She had seen a thousand strange things before and if this was to be the last, she wasn't going to die sniveling in a corner.

"Woman," he said. His voice was rough…and hard as diamond. He tossed something to the ground and Bulma tore her eyes away from him to see what was at her feet.

"My signal…"

"Yours? You made this, woman?" He face was stone. "I traced it back to this location. It latched itself to my ship."

Her mouth was dry, but she managed to give him a shaky "yeah". And she wondered how much was riding on her answer.

The big bald one laughed. "My prince, you can't think that a female weakling could have put together anything so advanced!"

"Excuse me?!" Nobody challenged her genius, especially for the reason that she was a woman! She was the smartest person on this damn planet, except maybe her father, and even her father said that she was doing things with her brain that he wouldn't have dreamed of at her age. "Say that again, you stupid behemoth! You probably can't even figure out which side is right side up on that device, let alone how it works!"

There was some movement that was too fast for Bulma to track that resulted in black flame guy wrenching his large companion against the wall. And by that time, she realized what exactly had come out of her mouth out of anger and felt her heart begin to pound even faster. She took a few minute steps backward. These guys appeared to be Goku-level strong and maybe even stronger…and their tempers already had a sense of destruction that was deliberate enough to make her shiver, unlike Goku. What if they decided to kill her because of a couple choice words?

"You can't kill her yet," the first guy said, and Bulma did not appreciate his emphasis on the word 'yet'. But his hand was still pressing against the giant's throat, and he wasn't watching her anymore.

Her escape lasted all of three frantic steps before her hair was wrenched backward and she was hauled back on her knees by terrible, bruising strength. "Was I finished with you?" rumbled low in her ear. And she suddenly realized that she had never been truly scared of anything before this moment.

But it was only a moment.

Because aforementioned orange wrecking ball suddenly pelted them and Bulma found herself in Goku's muscular arms. "Hold on," he said to her terrified, breathless face. But the two men were right behind them…and a third with an incredible mane of black hair.

"Who?!" she screamed. "They're following us, Goku!"

They were more than following…they were faster. The one Bulma first encountered closed within a hair of them and Bulma shrieked before he tackled Goku and she was dropped. She landed in another set of arms that squeezed her hard enough that she was sure she would have bruises. At least it wasn't the bald one.

"Have you no Saiyan pride? You low-class imbecile! You were sent to destroy this planet, not live like one of them!"

Bulma had no idea what Goku might have said because the other guy was beating him bloody like it was nothing.

"You're lucky I'm loathe to spill Saiyan blood, Kakarot." Barely faster than Bulma could register, the creature (because Bulma was betting her life that he wasn't human) slammed his leg into Goku's back and he fell like an injured bird from the sky.

"No!" Bulma heard herself yelling, horrified. They all landed where Goku fell and Bulma wrestled from the constraining grip. "Get OFF! You hurt him!"

The man restraining her was actually laughing so hard at her hysterics that he let her out of his arms and she sprinted over to her downed friend. Her knees hit the grass and she heaved him over with a groan, slapping his cheeks lightly. "Goku! C'mon, wake up!"

"Ow, Bulma…" He didn't open his eyes and a shadow fell over them.

"His name isn't 'Goku', woman. It's Kakarot. And he was supposed to be the Saiyan warrior sent to destroy this mudball planet." She felt a pressure on the back of her lab coat and she was lifted off the ground and then she was face to face with those terrible obsidian eyes. "And if you did something to him…if you ran experiments or muddled the mind of a Saiyan warrior, I will destroy you."

"I didn't," Bulma gasped. "That's not…"

"Let her go!" Goku mumbled, trying and failing to sit up. From the corner of her eye, she saw the bald one crushing her poor friend's head with his boot.

"When you speak to the Prince of All Saiyans, you will show some respect!"

"What're Saiyans?!" Bulma wheezed. The so-called prince hadn't loosened his grip.

"That's none of your concern, Earthling female. But it is the concern of Kakarot. Raditz, enlighten your brother. And Nappa, get your foot off his head before you crush his worthless skull. He dies when I say he dies."

The bald one called Nappa immediately obeyed and Goku's brother (!) with the impressive hair stepped forward. "You've forgotten your pride, brother. We sent you to this planet as an infant to fulfill your mission. And here you are! Did you even try to figure out where you came from?"

"Did your eyes ever search for Planet Vegeta when you looked at the sky?" the prince demanded. The edges around Bulma's vision were fading and in an instant, the ground rose to meet her. The alien had let her go and air blessedly began filling her lungs. She didn't know why the vicious alien was keeping her alive…but she would find out.

They obviously found her to be no threat, because all eyes were on Goku now…the chiseled faces cruel and ironically accusing, as if he had betrayed them.

Goku blinked up at them in confusion. "Why are you here? What do you want from me?" He leaned over and, to Bulma's disgust, coughed up some blood and spit it on the ground.

"We want answers, Kakarot!" Raditz snarled. "We want to know if your life is worth sparing or if you are hopeless now that you've embraced this pathetic life as a weakling! If you continue to play these games, brother or not, you will be destroyed."

The prince was pinching his nose, apparently frustrated that beating Goku senseless didn't have the desired effect. "He's addled, Raditz. He's a disgrace, and I will not have this fool drawing breath and bringing such shame to our race." He waved his hand. "He's weak. Kill him."

"You don't have to follow me around, I'm not going to try anything."

Vegeta snorted, but didn't speak. He didn't have to. They both knew she was lying through her teeth. She headed for the stairway and his hand was immediately on her arm. She tugged at it futilely. "I just want to go down to the lab!"

"What for?"

Her eyes were cold. "If I'm going to help you reach your goals and conduct research, don't you think I'm going to need a few things?"

He had to concede that, but he didn't relinquish his grip and he looked hard into her eyes. "If I see you do anything that will jeopardize my mission, I will knock you unconscious and you will wake up in the storage hold of my ship with the boy."

"I'm not going to jeopardize anything, Your Highness." Bulma pulled free under his slackened hand. "But I can't just disappear! I have work. I have—I have a life! You can't do this, just come back here with your threats and—"

Vegeta leaned in very close so she could smell the sweat on him and wondered when was the last time he had showered…sometimes he would come back from training so disgusting that she could barely be in the room with him and would demand that he bathe. Of course, he had never heeded her unless he wanted to get up close and personal with her. She doubted complaining about it now would do much. His eyes were black flames. "You know I'm not stupid, Woman. I will be watching you very carefully. If you attempt to communicate with anyone when we are down in your pathetic lab, you will never see another one of your pathetic friends again."

"The lab wasn't so pathetic when it was making you stronger, Vegeta," Bulma said, backing away from him and his scent. But then she realized there was a concession in there. "You said 'when' I'm in the lab… does that mean you don't care if I send them a message from the ship?"

"Hn. By then it won't matter." You'll already be long gone and all mine.

"Fine."

She didn't want to admit that she didn't entirely recognize this version of Vegeta. Five years seemed to have made him more self-assured, less blustering than he had been. There was a darkness in the fire of his eyes that she either didn't remember or had been acquired when he was gone. Five years ago, they had grown to a place where he had begun to make concessions for her. Now, with everything between them: her having Trunks without him and his desire to use Trunks to achieve his ends…he might be the Saiyan that came within a hairsbreadth of killing her that day they met. She wondered if being Trunks' mother offered her any protection at all…or if he would just use her for her genius, like he said. It drove her crazy that she didn't know. Once upon a time, she could have told you more about the prince than any other person on Earth.

And then…he disappeared one night and suddenly, she realized that she hadn't anticipated that at all.

She gathered what she needed from the lab and then checked on Trunks, who was sitting in the middle of his room looking around. "Will my toys fit in space?"

"Toys…" Vegeta muttered incredulously under his breath. "What a foolish thing to be concerned about…"

Trunks frowned, likely because that half-Saiyan hearing was incredible. Bulma rubbed her forehead, trying to hide her uncertainty from her little boy. She was Trunks' mother and she wasn't going to let him think that she didn't know the plan, or that he should have any reason to be afraid.

"Baby, just pick three of your favorite toys and pack them, alright? I'll get the rest."

Trunks nodded. "Okay."

The little boy didn't speak a word to his father, nor his father to him. Trunks seemed to have taken a rather quick dislike to the Saiyan and Bulma really didn't blame him…but on a very basic level, she also didn't want Trunks to hate the man that had a part in creating him.

If it didn't affect Trunks, it would be entirely Vegeta's cross to bear. She would consider that later, when she didn't hate Vegeta quite so much.

"You coddle the brat," Vegeta said once he had steered her away from their son's room and back towards her own.

"What? Because I don't tell him that his father is forcing us to move to his planet without any idea whether we are returning to everything he knows? Would you prefer for me to tell him that?"

Vegeta clenched his jaw, because that was obviously not what he wanted her to tell the boy, but he also couldn't admit that he would care about such a thing.

"Look. I may understand that I have no choice to come with you. But Trunks is my kid, okay? It's my job to make things okayfor him. I have to do that…no matter what the situation. Because he's my son and that's what you do. And if anybody plans to interfere with that, I'll either kill them or die trying. I don't care if the problem is a human or a Saiyan." She gave him a pointed look and he stepped into her space.

"Think twice before you threaten me."

Bulma smiled bitterly. "I'm not threatening you, my prince. You've already said that Trunks and I are useful to you. But what about your cronies? From what I remember, your nanny-goat second-in-command hated me with a passion. What's to stop him from trying something? What's he going to do when he finds out that I had your baby?"

Vegeta scoffed. "You think I can't protect you from Nappa?"

Bulma spread an arm wide. "He won't be the only one! I'm sure there's a whole planet of Nappas waiting for me and Trunks when we get there. What are you going to do?"

"Get this straight, Woman. Nobody opposes me and lives. And besides," he said with a bitter laugh of his own, "you know nothing of my planet. All we honor is strength."

"And I'm not strong…" she reminded him, as if she had to.

He actually smirked. "Your strong in your way, little female. You just threatened to kill anyone who harmed your offspring. Sometimes…you sound very Saiyan."

She turned away to gather her things in her room, unimpressed with the remark though she knew damn well that it was a big compliment coming from Vegeta. "I don't want to be a Saiyan. I want to stay here." Her voice was quiet. "I wish you had never come back here."

She jumped back when he swiped one hand in front of her, easily taking down an entire shelf in her closet. When she turned back to look at him in shock, his face never wavered. "This is your future for now. Accept it. I don't have patience for your wishes and wants, Bulma. Finish this up, you have thirty minutes." He stalked away from her then, but didn't leave the room. And history hung in the air between them like an unwelcome stranger.

Boiling mad, she refused to speak to him the entire time she placed all of her essentials in a bag and then Trunks' things. Vegeta only paused to tell her not to pack too many clothes, he would provide what she needed for space. Defiantly, she shoved some more bras and panties into her pack. She doubted he would provide that.

And then she was standing before Vegeta's ship, well-hidden in the forest nearby. Trunks hovered curiously next to them before saying "wow, Mama, this looks like something you would make!"

Perhaps that brought her baby comfort, because he was more pliant when she handed him his bag and told him to put it on his back. Anything familiar would help, probably.

And then Nappa, the big bald Saiyan who despised her, came into view. "Your Highness! That was quick!"

"There was a change in the plan, Nappa." The big man's lips turned downward when Bulma shifted into his sight from behind Vegeta. And then his mouth dropped when he saw Trunks, his feet barely treading the ground as he floated beside her.

"What's this?"

"Who's that?" Trunks asked his mother, staring as openly as Nappa was. "He's as big as Mr. Piccolo!"

"He's your dad's…friend," Bulma said lamely. "He's always grumpy." She figured warning Trunks away from Nappa wasn't such a bad idea. Trunks scowled.

"Is everyone we meet from this place going to be mean?"

What a question. Bulma wisely chose not to answer and realized that Vegeta had put himself back in between Nappa and mother and son. "It appears that I won't need Kakarot's half-breed spawn. Obviously, something I hadn't anticipated came to pass."

Nappa leaned around Vegeta to eye Trunks again, he studied him for some long moments and Bulma watched him take in the child's expression, his age, the shape of his face, the pastel colors of his features, the fact that he was airborn. And then he snorted.

"With all due respect, Prince Vegeta, you sure that the child is yours? This woman could be tricking you."

Bulma was surprised that the insulting comment would cause Vegeta enough anger to put a dent in his ship, but the next thing she knew, Nappa was pulling himself out of a small crater along the side. Trunks laughed out loud in delight that also surprised Bulma. He had always loved to fight, and she had known for a long time that it was a trait from his father… but the pleasure reminded her a little too much of Vegeta. She frowned at her son and was relieved to see him rubbed the back of his head, abashed and once again her little boy.

"That guy said you were tricking my papa. You wouldn't do that!"

Vegeta didn't seem to have heard or appreciated the irony of the comment though, since he strode towards his comrade who was now back on his feet. "Read his power level, you idiot! The boy could likely pound you into the ground. Kakarot's spawn didn't even display this initial power. And tell me, Nappa…do you take me for a fool?"

"N-no…my prince. Of course not." The bald Saiyan did shoot a glare at Bulma as he said it, but his eyes were contrite when they fell upon Vegeta. "But why not kill the blue-haired wench? Take your offspring and leave her. She will bring nothing but trouble, just like she always has!"

"You forget yourself, Nappa," Vegeta said softly. It was a dangerous tone. "The woman is very useful to me. And so no one will lay a hand on her, lest they wish to end their life that day. Do you understand me? I owe you no explanation and I will tell you whatever I see fit, whenever I see fit. You follow orders! Nothing more."

Nappa was cowed by the harsh words and bowed his head. "Yes, my prince. I understand. I merely wonder what your father—"

"If my father objects to any of my activites, Nappa," Vegeta interrupted with a bored tone, "I will kill him and assume my place as King of All Saiyans. Now enough of this! Prepare the ship for takeoff."

"Of course."

When they were alone again and boarding Vegeta's ship, Bulma had to clamp down on the urge to tell him 'I told you so'. But she could see by his tenseness that he was thinking the same thing.

She also thought about Vegeta's father, someone that Vegeta had rarely spoken about, and never with love or affection. What would his father do if he saw a human come back with Vegeta to his planet? And would Vegeta be mad if he had to do as he said and kill his father for objecting to Bulma's presence, along with a half-blood son?

"You told him!" Trunks said with relish as he gave Vegeta the first semi-friendly look that she had seen all day. "Is everyone who is Saiyan a big jerk? Or just the bald guy?"

His father stiffened. "You will soon see that Saiyans don't care about being nice or having manners. That is an Earth custom that your mother has likely impressed upon you. But don't expect it to matter on my planet. If you are strong, you will be fine. That is the most important thing."

Trunks sank until his feet touched the ground and he was walking alongside his mother. She took the boy's hand and while Vegeta curled his lip in disgust, he didn't whine anymore about coddling. "Sounds like your planet doesn't have any mothers!"

Bulma had to give a small smile to her son. Sometimes, kids would say the funniest things.

Shockingly, Vegeta's lips turned upwards too. "Not quite. In fact, I'd say many of the women are like your mother."

"As you wish, Prince Vegeta."

It all happened so fast. Bulma's mouth opened at the horrible exchange, but the air for any scream came apart and Raditz was raising his hand and a little, vicious animal mauled the large alien with fervor.

"You leave my daddy and Miss Bulma alone!" Gohan cried. He landed punch after punch on a shell-shocked Raditz until his prince finally snarled.

"To be defeated by some half-human toddler, Raditz? Perhaps I should take Kakarot along and kill you."

Raditz finally moved to block the assailing blows, but Bulma still had to guess whether he was trying or if he actually had compunction in hurting a child. Gohan was still overtaking him and the boy's fists were too fast to track. And still, the other two Saiyans just watched while this happened. "I won't let you kill my daddy!"

With a cry of rage, Raditz finally grasped Gohan's wrist and kneed the boy in the stomach.

"Gohan!"

He was panting with exertion, but by this time, Goku had recovered enough to rush to his son's aid and take a stance between his brother and Gohan. "Leave him outta this!" Goku said. "Your problem is with me. Not Gohan, not Bulma. Me!"

"For a few moments, your own son appeared to have battle power that surpasses your own," Prince Vegeta said from the side. "If you won't join us, I suppose I'll settle for the boy taking your place."

"What?!" Bulma exclaimed.

"We'll see." Goku's eyes were challenging.

"I can see the fire in your eyes, brother. You should come with us! It's in your blood, you love to fight."

Bulma had to admit that was true. But she could already see the writing on the wall with this fight, the possible results leaving her cold. It was unthinkable… Goku and Gohan in danger? Who else stood a chance?

"Kill Kakarot. We'll take the boy," Vegeta ordered.

She didn't know what gave her the guts to do it, but before a thought entered her mind, she was rushing before Vegeta, grabbing his arm with such intense purpose, that he seemed struck into freezing, allowing her to hang on.

"No! No, you can't…" She cried out in pain when the prince wrenched her closer.

"Why can't I, weakling?"

"B-because!" She cast out for something. "Why—why do you think you couldn't break my honing device? I proofed it for Goku so he wouldn't break it! And I…I can make you stronger." In his clinch, under the pure heat of him, she didn't cringe away. She didn't break his gaze. And he didn't break hers.

"I can make you much stronger."

Strength. Bulma shook her head out of memories…strength was still the only language Saiyans spoke. She thought of Vegeta's smirk earlier, when he told her that she was strong… in her own way. And it was odd…from Day 1, she had had to prove herself to Vegeta to win the survival of herself and her friends. And though they had both changed, both evolved from that time years ago, she wondered if overcoming Vegeta was going to be as hard as she thought. Yes, he could surprise her, but he had also learned to depend on her years ago. And old habits, she realized with burgeoning hope, they died hard.

A/N: Review please! Tell me what you think of the plot. As you can probably tell, it's pretty AU. But I'm mapping out a fun ride. Thanks for reading!