A/N: Holidays leave so little room for anything else! Hopefully, I'm done Christmas shopping (I never like to say for sure, because I've probably forgotten something). Anyway, lots of POVs in this chapter. Back to Namek after forever, which meant Vegeta didn't get to accomplish everything he wanted to in this chapter! But I'll stop going on about it and just let you read ;). Thanks to all who reviewed, specifically NNP, SoggyXWaffles, and Thomasthetmc! Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 24:

Gohan watched Trunks collapse bonelessly when the dragon granted Bulma's life again. He actually looked more like a child than he had yet. But he only allowed it for a moment before his lavender mop craned up again and his bones reawakened. This was far from over, and Trunks knew it. He looked to Dende, who watched the half-Saiyan with anticipation.

"The next one is to get rid of the rest of the Ginyu Force, and to make sure their scouters—"

Gohan ears narrowed their scope as he felt his stomach twist only a second before he realized why. His mouth fell open and he staggered to his feet, waving his hands. "No, no, no! Wait!"

Trunks stopped and Dende turned to look at him. Nappa sighed, his breathing still labored from the flight. "What's your problem now, brat?"

"Y-you can't send them away! My dad, he…" Gohan couldn't describe it, having never experienced a sensation like that before, but he had felt their ki displace. Switched.

Surprisingly, Nappa seemed to understand what Gohan couldn't say rather quickly. "He's fighting Captain Ginyu and they changed bodies, right?" Nappa growled in a strain.

Gohan nodded, but then his gratitude dissipated with Nappa's next words: "Well, that's the price of losing. I say you make the wish anyway." Trunks closed his jaw in irritation at Nappa's advisement and crossed his arms.

"Damnit, no."

Gohan gulped reflexively, reminded strongly of Vegeta once again, even though Trunks was taking his side. Nappa, on the other hand, wasn't backing down without an argument.

"How many more are you going to kill, brat?" Nappa sneered. "I thought you were going to tidy this up by sending the fight away. Well, this is the cost!"

"A cost I'm not taking!" Trunks snarled back angrily. "Just shut up and let me think!"

"Uh… Trunks?" Gohan said nervously. "Krillin isn't doing so well either… actually—I'm going back!" Krillin was unconscious, and his opponent was most definitely going to finish him off if someone didn't help. Gohan felt a pull toward his father as well, but he had to make a choice, and both guilt and urgency propelled him. Trunks nodded passively, but Gohan had already started back at what would have been an exhausting pace if he had been at full power, let alone as tired as he was.

Trunks stared after Gohan, running a hand through his hair. He felt Dende's eyes on him, and even Porunga. "Okay …okay…" He needed to go help, but they needed to use the wishes before he did. "How about using the wish we talked about? That way, your people will be protected. We …we can't move the Ginyu Force now…"

"We'll have to kill them then," Nappa said relentlessly. "All the other three. Unless you want this getting back to Frieza. And see how your mother survives then."

"You say another word about my mom." Trunks bit down so hard in self-control that his jaw ached instantly. They needed fighters, and Nappa was loyal to his father and therefore, had to be loyal to him. That was what Trunks kept telling himself.

Nappa clearly restrained himself from rolling his eyes. "I'm not insulting the King's Woman, boy. I'm giving you the facts. If you aren't going to strand the Ginyu Force on a deserted planet, you'd better be prepared to wipe them off this universe for good!"

"I KNOW!" Trunks screamed, clenching his fists. "I get it! And we will, but in the meantime, just—go help Goku!" He looked the towering Saiyan dead in the eye, craning his neck to do it. "And that's an ORDER."

He ignored Nappa then, and rounded on Dende and the waiting Porunga. "Second wish: get rid of the Ginyu Force's scouters and their ship. That way—that way, we can protect you guys without worrying about them sending reinforcements."

Nappa was already a dot in the sky when Dende lifted his arms and spoke rapidly to the dragon. Trunks didn't understand the exchange, but he took it as a good sign that Dende nodded. "It's done."

"Now…" Trunks, even in his hurry, hesitated. "I don't know if you wanna do this, but it's the only way I can think of to make sure that no one finds you."

Dende was rubbing his hands together nervously, having taken Trunks' meaning. "I wish Guru was here with me."

Man, did Trunks know that feeling… And he would have felt sorry for Dende if he hadn't known what you needed to do in this situation when it happened, and it was some of the few words of experience he could offer. Trunks squared off with the small Namekian.

"You decide, Dende. The wish is yours, and you have to do the best that you can with it. So just make a choice."

Dende's eyes brightened momentarily with fear, at Trunks, at his confidence, at the weight of deciding for his people. And he took a long breath and his head lifted. "I …I will send them away. But-but if you agree …I will stay here."

Trunks felt himself jolt at that and Dende's mouth quirked into a tremble of a frown, slightly unsure, but pressing forward. "Guru said that my journey was with you. And I think that means that …I have to see this through to the end."

"But Dende…" Trunks absolutely appreciated Dende's thought process and even admired his courage. But he couldn't take the little Namekian on without him realizing what he was saying.

"If you come with us, I don't know if I'll be able to get you back to your people …like, ever."

Who knew how far away there was a planet where the Namekians could survive and live on? Trunks couldn't go searching the galaxy for one, that was for sure.

Dende nodded and looked braver in the face of Trunks' honesty. "I think I know what Guru was training me for all along. I think I have to go with you."

"Okay," Trunks said, and he briefly shook hands with Dende in the manly gesture of Earthlings, even though Dende was bewildered by the gesture. "Listen, I'd stay, but… you'll be safe here, and I need to make sure my friends are all still alive. I'll be back!"

Trunks cast his sense out for both sets of fighters, trying to determine where he was needed. Gohan was headed for Krillin, and out of them all, Trunks probably trusted Gohan the most. It was Nappa that he worried about. The situation was far more confusing, and if it meant taking out the Ginyu guy, Trunks had no doubt that Nappa would destroy Goku's body. Plus, two of the Ginyu Force were with Goku, so he was already outnumbered and against the more powerful opponent.

He jetted toward those beacons of ki, praying that it would soon all be over and he could get back to his mom!

VBVBVBVBVBVBVBVB

Loid was just gaping and gaping at Bulma while she tried to talk science with him, and as nice as it was to see him again, she was getting positively annoyed that his focus wasn't on the work. She waved in front of his face. "Hell-OOO! I know it's a shocker, but can we move past all that and on to this?" She tapped the paper twice.

"Heh."

Bulma twisted around in her chair and eyed the huge figure hovering over her. "Got a problem, Bok?"

The Saiyan guard rolled his eyes. "Not if I value my life. But I have a question."

Bulma knew she was beaming, but she couldn't help herself. Saiyans were usually disparaging of her abilities, at best. "Well, that's new! And you've even been listening?! What's your question?"

Bok opened his mouth, and then snapped it closed to look behind him. Bulma knew what that meant. A second later, Vegeta had burst through the wide doors and the entire lab screeched to a halt.

Anyone who had been sitting came to their feet, some bowed their heads, others were frozen in fear, but Vegeta paid them no attention, making for her. Bulma, the only one in the lab unaffected by his presence, crossed her arms, heading off an inevitable argument. "You didn't tell me to stay in the room."

"When was I supposed to tell you that?! You were unconscious!" Vegeta barked. His gaze snapped to the enormous guard, who hid a flinch and stared straight ahead. "Did I not tell you to keep things as they were?"

Bulma waved a hand. "Don't you go blaming Bok, it wasn't his idea."

"You think I don't know that?" Vegeta sneered. "That's beside the point! I don't have time to be chasing you all over the planet! I have business to conduct! And you—you are the Saiyan Queen now, you can't just go wherever you damn well please!"

The same hand Bulma had waved moments before lunged madly to Vegeta's lips, but it was too late. Now everyone had frozen around them, turning to look at Bulma with a greater deal of awe and stunned silence. Loid made a choking sound that sputtered into a cough.

"Ex-excuse me, Your Majesty… Q-queen?"

But Vegeta ignored him, his eyes only for Bulma, who was visibly fuming. "Why did you do that?" she complained. Vegeta was astonished at her audacity and her visible annoyance. He had made her a Queen! Didn't she realize what that meant?

Bok had dropped casually to one knee, head bent, and the tech slaves hastened to do the same, practically laying prostrate before them. They were only slaves, creatures of little account on this planet, but the effect was still moving—or at least, he could tell Bulma was moved by the hitch of her breath. She looked around at them all, and her hand traveled up to his shoulder instead of his mouth as she steadied herself.

He was riveted to her as she drank it in; she had to understand the gravity of this now. Even a Saiyan had bowed to her. Did she see it? The decision had been dangerous (like all of his potential decisions and options, it seemed), but if nothing else, he wished for her to be gratified by it.

But then her eyes sparked with contempt after a moment. She didn't speak a word, but he saw the change. It wasn't shock that had caused her to complain. It was a more enduring problem.

"Give us a minute, guys…" She announced to the suspended room with a forced cheer and casualness.

Vegeta's body was rigid as she towed him toward her private space in the Tech Department. The guard (named Bok, apparently) wavered for a moment before following them as far as the threshold to hold his post. The indignation that Vegeta felt only held its peace until she closed the door on the rest of them.

"What. Are you doing?" he asked her in a dangerously low voice as she put some space between them in a way that he found he didn't like one bit.

"I should be asking you that," Bulma answered. "You keep—keep going around and telling people that!"

"Because it's the truth!" Vegeta snapped, wondering if she just mistook his intentions. "I'm serious. From this day forward, you are the Queen of All Saiyans."

He saw it: he saw her tremble with a chill at his pronouncement. But her gaze then was as haughty as ever. "Because you say it."

"That's right."

"Because whatever you say on this planet is true." She flourished a hand, spotted with ink once more. "And if you want to ban me from taking a ship to see my son, then that's what you'll do. Boy, I'll tell ya, Vegeta …if I had wanted to see any deeper into your ego, then getting your own planet to run would do it!"

Her eyes were as hard as sapphires and that was what she was sore about. He'd forgotten what had precipitated the whole situation in the pre-madness. There was just too much to worry about.

"I've told you," Vegeta answered calmly. "He's returning here, Woman. Why in this blasted universe would you leave when he's coming back?!"

While he spoke the truth, it was far more the fact that he didn't want her to leave, and they both knew it, and they both wouldn't say it. She broke eye contact. "And so now what, Vegeta? We rule your planet together?"

He heard the dismissive laughter in her voice and he watched her silently until she looked back at him, so she would see how serious he was. He could envision that world she laughed about; the world where they ruled together and nothing could touch them and not one being in the universe posed a threat. And when he imagined it, Trunks was there at their side: proud and powerful. It was a terrible dream, because it didn't feel possible. He took some deliberate steps toward her and she didn't move. So obstinate and fierce and lovely.

"You are," he murmured, "my Consort."

"Yeah, so my purpose is to warm your bed," Bulma snarked, tilting her chin up at him. "Just like they all say already. Well, big difference."

Ah, he had missed that biting tone. Without thought, his hand came up to lightly grip the pulse at her neck, stroking along its smoothness with his thumb. Her eyes sparkled with defiance, but her mouth closed at his touch. "If I wanted a bed-warmer," he informed her, "I'd have taken a woman a lot less troublesome, and ideally a Saiyan. Or a slave of no consequence. But you know why I did not?"

"You don't want anyone else," she answered perfectly. "That doesn't tell me why I'm suddenly Queen."

"I couldn't give you what I didn't have. I am King now."

"No, that's not why." Her soft throat moved under his hand when she talked and he withdrew it. She didn't react at all, because she trusted him with her physical life and nothing else. He was plagued with thoughts of that cursed clone. And all the things that could do her harm.

Meanwhile, her posture shifted into that of confrontation. "I know you, Vegeta. I don't even have to know what's going on around here. It's easier for you to give me a title than to tell me that you care about me, or that you want me to stay. I'd bet Trunks—"

"Trunks is a prince now," Vegeta interrupted. "He is …what I was."

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "And does he want to be?"

Vegeta was certain he didn't, at this point in time. He was certain that his son despised him for being unable to keep his mother safe. He despised him for his weakness. And if Trunks had his way, they'd both be gone as fast as he could gather up his mother from Vegeta-sei, his new royal rank inconsequential to him.

Bulma watched the changes in his face. "…that's what I figured."

"I told you, he took it hard."

"'It' being my demise, of course," she said caustically, then she waved a hand. "Forget it. Your relationship with our son gets to be your problem from now on. But I've thought about this whole thing, and as for me…for now, I'm staying."

He refused to allow his entire body to relax at that pronouncement, because though he didn't say what he thought often …he wasn't unobservant. They were past the point where he could threaten her into remaining if she had a mind to go. It was the truth that if she had tried hard enough before, he probably couldn't have stopped her.

And he had known her for too long. It was likely that she had guessed all the reasons why he had made her his Queen. All the reasons he would never breathe a word aloud. Nor was she flattered by those reasons, it seemed.

It made him angry, that she would be so aware and fling it away with disgust. But she couldn't have known what he was thinking here, so she went on.

"And not because you decided to make me a Queen after six years like a jerk," she tossed at him carelessly, "but because Frieza happens to be everybody's problem until the PTO is dealt with. I'm not naïve enough to think that Earth is far enough to hide."

Vegeta scoffed. He should have been pleased that their aims were aligned, but he found he couldn't be. She had spoiled it for him, and how like her to do so!

His eyes were locked to her lips and she smiled widely with them.

"And besides that …I got a brilliant idea earlier. One that we can maybe use to stop the Cold Empire in its tracks."

He couldn't help but perk up at that. His eyes narrowed and he came closer, daring to hope. "What do you mean?"

She was hardly containing her excitement, now that they had moved to this subject (by her own instigation, of course). "I know this is going to sound crazy."

He groaned, and she stayed his complaints by waving both hands.

"But let me explain this, okay?" Now she stepped closer to him, her fingers fluttering to rest on his arms like an excited child. "Do you remember when you took me to that lake?"

Lake? It was never what he thought it would be. "What the fuck are you talking about?" he said. "I'm supposed to remember all the bodies of water we've been on this planet?!"

"The one with the story!" she insisted with aggravation, like he was the one being dense. "The one with that mineral at the bottom, the one that drains Saiyans!"

Oh… he did remember that. He remembered their desperate coupling at the water's edge and vaguely, telling her the tale. It happened long enough ago that he wasn't sure what sparked this recollection. "What of it?"

"Well, is it true?" she pressed, leaning further into him. "What you told me?"

He had to get some distance from her in order to think, so he did so. "Of course, it's true! But why would you be interested in that? And all of the sudden?"

"I…" her brow furrowed defiantly, as if she expected him to find her reasons stupid. "I had a …a dream about it."

"What?" he exhaled, scowling. His patience was running thin and he still had to return to the Elites and deal with the treachery. "Woman…"

"Don't you dare tell me I'm wasting your time!" she warned him, scowling back. "You never examined the stuff down there, did you? Of course not, because it could have killed you. But what if it's not Saiyans that it hurts, but that it drains ki! And if it does, then anything with a high power level would fall victim!"

"What you're talking about is all questions and speculation," he responded. But already, he understood where she was going with it. "And say that your theory is correct, you would still need to find a way to identify, study, and mine the blasted substance without depleting whoever goes to retrieve it."

"That's what I was working on before you barged in here, making official declarations," she said snootily, planting her hands back on her hips. "And for the record, I don't want to have that fight again. I just came back to life, I'm trying to keep my mind off the fact that I kind of hate you right now, for a few reasons, not the least was you letting our son rocket off to a potentially dangerous, unknown planet with only freaking Nappa for guidance, and the fact that now that you've taken me to the top of the food chain, all your little Saiyan buddies are probably going to want to murder me even more than they already had."

"I don't want you to ever worry about that again," Vegeta cut across her. In truth, he didn't want her to continue with that line because it filled him with unspeakable rage. And it reminded him of the matter he still needed to deal with. Feeling a strain of fondness, he tucked an escaped strand of her hair back behind her ear. He might have imagined that she shivered when she allowed him to do it without protest. He so dearly wanted to be able to touch her, but he was on a knife's edge with his diplomatic responsibilities and her feelings for him. He had no qualms about his own.

"I'll bear your hatred. Stay, and play in your little lab. Present me with something more than just a theory."

That was as good as tacit approval, and she took it as such, bouncing on her feet. "Where are you going?"

He turned back to her briefly. "I have to plug a leak, and settle other Kingly matters."

Her eyebrows quirked at the euphemism and vague terms. "Oh, so what? You think that I'll just sit here like a good little girl and be distracted while you serve Saiyan justice?"

He couldn't help but smirk. "That's some of it."

"Only some of it?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "Woman, with your success rate in this field, I doubt you need me to pamper your enormous ego."

"And what if I want it?" she queried.

At any other moment, he would have taken the words as flirtation. Cautiously, Vegeta raised his eyebrows. "Then as my Queen, I'll deprive you of very little. I believe in what you're doing. And I trust you to figure out how to do it."

She took a shaky breath and rubbed her arms. "Coming from you, that's…"

"True."

It was a rare moment when she couldn't bring herself to look at him, but this was one of those times. And she paused too long before speaking again, but he waited. "You know …if our son comes back intact …I could see a world where I'd …forgive you."

His heart was doing something in his chest that was unpleasant and he wanted it to stop. The concession was better than he had expected, and yet still not enough. She had to forgive him. He couldn't see another way forward for himself, or his people, no matter what they thought about it. Patience was not something he came by easily, but he had been forced to learn. And in wanting her, he was given no choice.

He laughed softly and mimicked her errant gaze when he spoke next, sure she expected him to leave without a word.

"The boy …Trunks will be fine. He already conquered his mission, and more importantly …he takes after his mother."

A soft little gasp was his reward, but no further. He quit the room and closed the door behind him.

The guard accompanying Bulma pushed a fist to his breastplate and lowered his head at the King's sudden appearance. Vegeta brought to mind the scene he had walked in on; this guard seemed at ease with Bulma. He would allow him to continue his charge with only a few words of warning.

"Watch the Queen at every moment. And do not allow her to roam the palace freely until I return. I don't care what she says or how hard she bats her infernal eyes. I do not care if you must physically restrain her. For her own safety, do not let her go anywhere except this lab and the Royal Chambers."

"You have my word, King Vegeta."

"Make your word mean something then. You will regret anything else."

"Of course, Sire."

His instructions to the guard were a useful prompt toward his next, necessary action. He had to deal with the Elites, and with that, he would begin to shape a Saiyan race he could lead with pride. And then, and only then, would he deal with Frieza.

VBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVB

"Krillin!" Gohan called out when he caught sight of his bloodied friend. He scanned for the Ginyu nearby and found nothing. He was so focused on Krillin, and making sure his energy didn't suddenly disappear, that he hadn't spared any notice for the threat!

"Krillin…" Gohan put his arm under Krillin's neck and lifted him into a sitting position, checking for any fatal injuries. He could barely push out his words for lack of breath, but they came out in an urgent rush. "Wake up if you can! C'mon…"

It took a minute, but Krillin moaned, twisting nearly out of Gohan's grip and back onto the pale grass. "Dun shoot…"

"It's Gohan, Krillin! You were in a fight, but you need to tell me if you're hurt badly. Like, internal bleeding or something. I can't tell!"

When the words registered, Krillin spit blood as his mouth twisted into a gruesome smile. "'m alive?"

Gohan laughed wearily, his legs shaking even as he sat there. "Yeah, you're alive. But where is the guy you were fighting? Why would he leave when you were down?" It didn't make any sense.

His bald friend screwed up his eyes at the sky, as if he was trying to remember. "Oh," he sighed. "S-solar …flare. Been working …on it."

Gohan tried to piece the words together into an explanation in a haze of exhaustion. "So… you blinded him before he knocked you out …but then he left?"

"Dunno." Krillin closed his eyes again and coughed softly. "Can't be-believe I'm not dead."

"I should have never let you be the one to stay back," Gohan lamented, mostly to himself. "It was too big a chance and now I'm gonna make up for it!"

"Wishes?"

That was right. Krillin probably assumed that the dragon got rid of the fighters. "Trunks couldn't make the wish, because Dad got in trouble." Gohan explained in simplest terms, but Krillin's palm landed on the ground at that, struggling upwards and sounding significantly more alert.

"Goku's hurt?"

"I don't know, but the Captain guy with the switching power did his trick. So we couldn't send them away, we didn't know what would happen."

"W-where's the guy then?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out …how did you 'work on' Solar Flare?"

Krillin's chuckle rasped out of his lungs. "Gotta have some useful secrets to keep up with you Saiyans… lasts longer, he probably couldn't see for a while. Maybe he got lost. Don't know how long I've been—" He bowed over a little grabbing one side of his ribs. "Ow…"

Gohan steadied him. "Don't move so much, okay? I can get you help…" He was partially distracted, searching for the enemy that had gone missing. "…with Dende."

Krillin grabbed his hand and laid back. He was definitely getting more 'with it'. "No, first …go find that guy I fought. Make sure he isn't killing anybody else."

"What about you?"

"I'll live, I just got knocked in the head before my Solar Flare." His voice was strained, but Gohan didn't think he was lying. "We can't let that guy loose."

It was another choice—another 'out' for Gohan. He could insist on getting Krillin healed, and excuse himself from the fighting. Gohan had already made up his mind and he wasn't going to back down again.

VBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVB

The Cold Emperor hadn't expected Zarbon to run his errand so quickly. And when that occurred, it was typically troublesome news. Frieza waited for his lieutenant with an increasingly foul mood.

"My Lord Frieza…" Zarbon murmured as he entered, bowing low. Oh, this was going to be good.

"Well?"

"I have …odd news. There is no contact from the Ginyu Force scouters. I tried contacting their ship, but still nothing."

"What?!" Frieza hissed. "That's impossible. Their equipment was flawless, what could have caused such a thing? When? When did we last make communication with them?!"

Zarbon was ready with an answer, as expected. "I traced their last signal coming from a planet we haven't visited and have little information. The coordinates are right here!" His hand finely trembling, he produced it for his lord, who snatched it roughly.

"Zarbon," Frieza said warningly. "I don't know what is going on here, but I tell you now that when I find whatever it is, I will end it."

The dictator knew no more than he had before, but something deep and instinctive told him that this was connected to that loathsome monkey race. More and more, the pull to utterly destroy them all beckoned, until not even the smallest chimp of their kind was left alive! But he needed the satisfaction of uncovering their plans and their deceit. And the disappearance of the Ginyu Force needed to be addressed. He thought quickly.

"Send Cui and Dodoria to that planet where they were last traced. And ensure that they have new equipment, working and top-of-the-line!"

Zarbon nodded. "Will you send the Saiyan prince as well?"

Given his thoughts about the Saiyans, Frieza wielded his response like a knife. "And why would I do that?!"

Zarbon reared back in alarm. "I just thought that since the boy has been under their tutelage …I wasn't sure—"

"The monkey stays with me," Frieza announced preemptively. But yes, he did want the brat with him. He had to decide what hell to unleash upon the arrogant King Vegeta. The younger brought more opportunities with him, one way or the other.

"We might be paying a visit to Vegeta-sei. If he's lucky, he might get a family reunion! If he's lucky…"

Zarbon shivered slightly, but Frieza hardly noticed. "When was our last contact with the Saiyan informant?"

"The elder Vegeta is at least as clever as we credit him for …or the Saiyan is a coward, and given their brutality, I doubt it. The informant won't communicate unless he can get off-planet, and he hasn't been able to do so in weeks."

Vegeta was quickly becoming more than a thorn in his side. And one beam …just one beam was more tantalizing than it had been just a moment ago, though Frieza had always been one to play with his food. He stopped turning the notion over in his mind while Zarbon stood there, waiting.

"Give Cui and Dodoria their mission. Then return to me, and we will discuss our next move."

A/N: I'm not sure how the POVs will be yet, but there will definitely be some jumping around. And just a thought, but this site is making it difficult to post and alert readers (I personally think I'm seeing much less interest in these later chapters), so I'm considering posting only to ao3. I'm not sure yet, but if you have any thoughts about this or only read here, let me know! And of course, let me know if you have other thoughts about the chapter too! I enjoy reading them!