"If these aliens don't start answering my calls, there's going to be HELL to pay!"

Bulma was fuming as she continued to pace back and forth in her kitchen. When she awoke this morning, she didn't think she'd have to deal with the most important party guests going AWOL. Even though Goku's had his fair share of screwups, to miss Tarro's first birthday would be a huge step backwards.

Not only could she not get a hold of Goku; Vegeta, Lord Beerus, and Whis were actively ignoring her calls to the staff, and the other communication devices at her disposal. This type of thing happens when something's gone wrong. The bluenette was determined to find out what they were hiding from her.

"I didn't plan this entire party for the baby's father and uncle to NOT show up!" The scientist held the bridge of her nose and took several deep breaths. The party guests were due to arrive within the hour. How was she going to explain to Ellery that she couldn't get Goku to come back!?

Trunks was unsure of what to do. The teen hated seeing his mother so upset. If there was a way the half-Saiyan could get a hold of his father, he would.

"Uh, Mom?"

The bluenette was startled by her son's voice, thinking she was the only one in the kitchen. "Hey sweetie. Do you need something?"

"Are you okay?" The purple haired teen questioned.

Bulma took a deep breath, doing her best to calm down. "Yes… I'm sorry for the outburst. I'm just afraid that your father isn't going to be here, or Goku." Glancing down at her oldest, the mother wanted to be honest with him. "I have this strange feeling…"

Trunks nodded, sighing in disappointment. However, he was more concerned about her 'strange feeling'. Normally, that means something bad is about to happen. "Ellery's not going to take this well…Do you think they're in danger?"

"I'm not sure.." The scientist shrugged, watching as several of the caterers began walking through the house. "I just hope that everything's alright. Whis not answering my calls just has me on edge."

"I bet they're just doing some last minute training!" The purple haired Saiyan tried to reassure her.

"Let's hope you're right." Bulma chuckled, hearing a knock at the door in the distance. The bluenette froze, having the sinking suspicion that it was Ellery.

"Get the door on the way to get your sister ready for the party."

"Got it!" Trunks ran out of the room, heading to the front door. The purple haired Saiyan smiled at the first guests to arrive. "Goten!"

"Trunks!" The half-Saiyan ran into the Capsule Corp home.

"Good Afternoon." Chi-Chi smiled at the young teen. "Is your mother out back?"

"Kitchen!" Trunks ran away quickly, taking his best friend with him.

The grandmother raised a brow as the rest of them walked inside. Jean, Ellery, and Tarro follow in behind Chi-Chi. They make their way to the kitchen, finding the stressed bluenette pouring a cup of coffee.

"Bulma?" Ellery looks at her, concerned.

"I know that look…" The brunette sighed, walking over to her friend. Chi-Chi patted her back. "Haven't been able to get a hold of them?"

"I don't know what's going on…" Bulma sighed, clearly distressed.

Jean immediately noticed the tension in the room building. "How about I take the birthday boy to play with the other kids." Taking the little warrior from his mother, the blonde walked in the direction that Trunks and Goten ran off to.

Ellery took a seat across from Bulma. She felt her legs turn to jelly. All morning, the young mother has had a terrible feeling. Her stomach has been twisting and turning as her mind raced. Thoughts of her partner being in danger came to the forefront of her mind. Ellery had the occasional bout of paranoia during his absence.

However, it didn't compare to the feeling she had today.

The young mother didn't mention it to anyone, not wanting to cause a panic. Ellery could feel a strain on her bond with her mate. A very strange feeling came over the Saiyan woman just after breakfast this morning. A dull ache began at the base of her skull, and an overwhelming sense of dread threatened to take her body over.

Since that moment, Ellery's thoughts have been consumed with her partner's safety. Knowing her best friend was also worried helped.

"I've had this feeling that Kakarot's in danger… Not being able to get a hold of anyone in an emergency only heightens my suspicion."

"We're going to get to the bottom of this.." The bluenette was determined. "However, since I've been trying for hours to get a hold of them, I think we should take a break to enjoy the festivities."

"Since there's nothing we can do at the moment, I agree." Chi-Chi nodded.

"There's a little boy that's going to go crazy over all the presents Auntie Bulma got for him!" The bluenette gushed, an excited gleam on her face.

"Focusing on Tarro has been what's gotten me this far." Ellery chuckled, a sad smile on her features. "He's going to love the party. I can't thank you enough for planning this."

"It's the least I can do for my favorite nephew." Bulma smiled happily, hearing the doorbell once again. "More guests!" The bluenette cheered as she walked towards the front door.

All of the family and friends of Goku and Ellery were in attendance at Tarro's Birthday Party. The little warrior was more than happy to be the center of all the commotion. Several people he recognized have hugged him, congratulating him on his birthday. Although the baby Saiyan wasn't sure of what was going on, he was happy to be surrounded by people that loved him.

After the guests' bellies were full, Bulma decided it was time to move on to the present portion of the festivities! The bluenette walked over to the young mother, a smile on her face. "I'd like Tarro to open some of the presents. I have chairs for us stationed there."

"Sure thing." Ellery grinned, picking her son up from his highchair. The Saiyan woman also snagged a napkin, wiping Tarro's face. "Auntie Bulma wants us to open presents!"

"Yaaay!" The little warrior smiled. Seeing the boxes and bags, Tarro's cheeks began to hurt from the excessive grinning. The baby Saiyan reached down, falling from his mother's arms and catching himself on the ground. Once his feet hit the earth, he went into a full-on sprint. Tarro looked behind him, smiling as he watched his Mom chase after him.

The young mother couldn't help but laugh. She loved seeing her little boy so happy. Ellery did her best to keep up with him. However, he gained on her faster than she'd like to admit.

"Pick the one you'd like to open!" The Saiyan woman hollered at her son.

Seeing the way Bulma arranged the gifts made the young mother smile. She placed each of them on the ground a small but equal distance apart. This made it easy for the birthday boy to run up and pick a gift. The presents that were too large for him were right next to Ellery's chair.

Tarro stopped in front of the mountain of presents, staring in awe for a moment. There were gifts that were wrapped in every color, as well as different metallic and glittery ones. Each caught the birthday boy's eye.

"Dis one!" The little warrior reached for a bright red box.

Once the young mother caught up, she gently moved some boxes to help her son reach the desired one. Ellery set it down on the blanket laid out for him while she sat back. The Saiyan woman noticed her best friend take a seat next to her. Bulma had the biggest smile on her face.

"Psst." Bulma leaned to her right and whispered. "I might've gone a little overboard on the presents." The bluenette admitted with a giggle.

Ellery chuckled, leaning back and relaxing. After her stomach was full, the feelings of dread began to subside. The Saiyan woman began to wonder if it was just because she was hungry. Tarro was getting through the boxes without needing help. Although the cardboard is a little worse for wear, the things inside were still intact!

"I wouldn't expect anything less from his favorite aunt." The young mother chuckled. "He's going to love them. Thankfully we have a room for just his toys."

"Good! It's going to be full after I'm done with it." Bulma had a gleam in her eye, imagining all the shopping she could do for the little warrior.

After the baby Saiyan got through some of the presents on the ground, he turned around to see the shiny green box next to his mother. Standing up from the mess of cardboard and toys, the little warrior made his way towards the box. "Mommma!" Tarro patted the box with an open hand.

"Let me help you with that one." Ellery stood from her seat. She tore a small piece of the paper, allowing her son to rip the outside off, exposing the inside.

Suddenly, a bright light covered the north side of the property. While the light filled the sky, no one knew who appeared, as they teleported to the front of the home.

"What was that?!" Marron pointed, gasping.

"Dad's here!" Trunks yelled, sensing his father's energy. .

The moment it appeared, the Saiyan woman was able to feel her partner's aura once again. Instead of feeling relief, Ellery was only filled with concern as his energy was severely depleted from its normal level.

Did something bad happen to him after all?

Before anyone could stop her, the young mother flew inside the house where she could feel her partner's energy.

"Ellery!" Bulma screamed for her to come back, even though it was useless. The bluenette watched as her best friend flew into the house. Tarro began to follow her, but Auntie Bulma was quicker. She scooped the little Saiyan into her arms, attempting to hold him as he struggled.

"Momma! Daddy!" Tarro screamed, trying to escape the bluenette's grasp.

"Sweetheart, we need to make sure your Dad's okay." Bulma did her best to console the frustrated child. "When your Mom comes back, we'll go see your Dad."

"Nooo!"

The hallways of Capsule Corp were similar to a labyrinth. The young mother was growing increasingly frustrated trying to find the right way. She felt as if time were standing still as she took forever to find her mate.

Finally, the Saiyan woman felt all four energies behind a set of double doors. If memory serves, this was the same room that she stayed in while Tarro was born. Ellery burst into the room, nearly taking the doors off of their hinges. Lord Beerus jumped, a frightened look on his face. The young mother swore she heard the Attendant squeak as he covered his mouth. Vegeta was the only one to react quickly.

The Prince embraced his younger sister, holding her back from seeing her partner. "Ellery, you shouldn't be in here right now…"

"Vegeta… Get out of the way!" The Saiyan woman fought in Vegeta's arms, punching him and doing everything she could to escape his grasp. Ellery could see bandages covering up every surface of her mate's body. His aura was flickering, as if it was on the verge of going out completely.

"He's not in any condition to-"

The widow peaked Saiyan was knocked back by a brutal punch to the jaw. This caused him to let go of Ellery to make sure it wasn't broken.

Running to the side of the bed, the young mother fell to her knees. She immediately took her partner's hand, transferring her own energy to Goku.

"How could you let this happen?!" Rage continued to bubble inside the Saiyan woman. Ellery wanted revenge, and she wanted it now.

After he recovered from the punch, Vegeta paced as he took a few deep breaths. While he expected his sister to come unglued, never in his wildest dreams did he anticipate a suckerpunch. "The fucking idiot did it to himself." The Prince spat out.

"It's been an interesting couple of weeks…" The Attendant sighed. "Goku had the wild notion to hold my staff hostage, casting it and himself into another dimension. Since I wasn't in control of it when it happened, we didn't know exactly where he ended up."

"We tried the entire time to get his staff back." Vegeta continued, having calmed down a little. Until the Grand Minister showed up, we were at a loss. Thankfully Kakarot had enough sense to use that button the Omni Kings gave him."

"He was teleported there, where they began to heal him. When we got there, they'd barely started their process-." Whis continued.

"I knew how upset you'd be if he weren't here for Tarro's birthday…" The Prince interrupted. "I was hoping to sneak in and heal him before we met the rest of the party. We've given him a Senu Bean. However he doesn't seem to be affected by it at all."

"We don't know what kind of environment he was exposed to in that dimension." The Angel pointed out. "That is going to factor into his recovery."

Glancing back at her mate, the young mother's eyes filled with tears. "The same thing happened after he fought the man from Universe 12. Then, I thought it was just a strange coincidence. Do you think the battle is still affecting him?"

"It's possible…" The Attendant mused. "I think it's time to learn more about this warrior from Universe Twelve… Lord Beerus?"

"Yes, let's go Whis." The Destroyer nodded, the two disappearing from the room.

What possessed you to be so reckless… You have so many people that care about you. Are you willing to throw all of that away to obtain power?! What if you'd been killed?! Ellery's mind raced, only causing her to become more frustrated.

"Daddy!"

Everyone turned, seeing the little man flying through the air.

Tarro's eyes filled with tears as he saw the condition of his father's body. Immediately he rushed to him, laying by his side. The little warrior's hand went to Goku's chest, transferring his energy. The baby Saiyan has felt his mother and father do this to him on several occasions throughout his life. It always helped when he felt too weak.