Life Happens: Ch.15- Nightmare

Bulma woke to the sound of her alarm going off. She quickly reached over and turned the blaring sound off before looking at the time. Groaning slightly, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. The reason why her alarm had been set so early was because she hadn't wanted to miss Vegeta's departure, and since she hadn't been woken before her alarm she was hoping that was a positive sign.

Pushing herself from the bed, she walked over to the window and looked down to find the ship still in the yard. Her mother was standing down on the grass at the end of the ramp, her shoulders shaking lightly. Bulma rolled her eyes at the sight, knowing her mother was probably having a good cry over Vegeta leaving. She sighed before yanking herself away from the window and to her closet, quickly tossing on some comfy and warm clothes before heading downstairs.

She slipped on her shoes and headed outside. Upon opening the door, she stopped to take in the scene. Her mother was there, handkerchief in hand, sobbing her eyes. Bulma's eyes glanced up the ramp where her father was talking to Vegeta. The black cat on her father's shoulder was sticking its paw out towards Vegeta before quickly pulling it back as if the alien would attack it. She smirked when Vegeta's gaze shifted in her direction for a quick glance before turning back to her father.

She took in Vegeta's form. He was leaning against the entranceway, arms crossed over his chest plate as his legs were crossed at the ankles. His features set in the normal position of boredom and generally non-caring of anything her father was telling him. What had her smiling brightly was the fact that he was wearing her newly designed battle suit. The under suit was a bit lighter and richer than the one he'd had while working for Frieza, but she liked the royal shade of blue on him. His white gloves covered his hands, where they folded against her newly modeled chest plate. She had to admit that her hormones were already reacting to the sight of him, but she pushed them back down as she approached her mother.

"Oh, Bulma, honey, can you believe that Mister Vegeta is leaving us?" she sobbed, and blotted her eyes with the handkerchief. "It's just not fair."

"Mom, he'll be coming back," she said soothingly, although the smile was still on her face. "Besides, I'm sure Vegeta couldn't stay away from your cooking for too long." She shot a glance at the alien man. 'No matter how much you creep him out,' she laughed to herself.

"It's a shame, too, since the two of you were finally getting along," Mrs. Briefs snuffled again.

Bulma felt her body stiffen for a second before brushing her mother's comment off. "Oh, Mom, just because we weren't yelling at each other all the time doesn't mean we were getting along." Her mother only continued to cry into the handkerchief, so Bulma rolled her eyes in the direction of the two men. Not much had changed since she exited the house. Her father was still chatting away while Vegeta had shifted positions and now had his right foot up against the entryway as his left was angled out to support his weight.

After a few more seconds of her mother's sniffling, Bulma finally decided to head up the ramp. She greeted her father as she reached the top, catching the older man off guard—he'd apparently not noticed her coming out of the house. As her father greeted her, she shot a coy smile towards Vegeta.

"I was telling Vegeta about all the new devices I could easily have installed if he'd just wait a few more hours to leave," Dr. Briefs told his daughter before turning his attention back towards the Saiyan. "Are you sure you don't want to wait around?"

Vegeta scoffed, his arms uncrossing and his foot landing back on the floor so he could stand properly. "I already told you I didn't want any of your crazy Earth devices installed. What makes you think I'd change my mind in just a matter of minutes?"

The doctor shrugged then looked at Bulma. "Is there anything you need to tell him, dear?"

"Yes." The woman pointed at the chest plate he was wearing.  "How's that working out? Does it feel okay? Is it too tight, too loose?" She stopped her rapid-fire questioning when Vegeta smirked.

"I still need to put it through a test run," he told her honestly before tugging at the collar of the chest plate.

Bulma huffed. "And what's that supposed to mean? Can you not just say that I did an amazing job and that it fits perfectly?" she argued, her voice raising a notch as her hands landed on her hips.

Vegeta snorted, leaning back against the entryway again. "I told you I've yet to test it. I can't give a proper answer until then." A low growl emitted from his throat as he watched her throw her hands in the air as her face came a bit closer—their noses almost touching.

"Fine, you can tell me how it all works out later, after you've completely annihilated all the prototypes! I just want to know how it fits!" she emphasized the last word, a bit of spit flying from her mouth.

A gloved hand rose to wipe the spittle from his skin. "It fits fine!" he spit back.

"Oh, honey, would you look at that," Mrs. Briefs started, her face now a bit more cheerful even though she was still blotting tears away with the handkerchief. "They're having a lover's quarrel because they're going to miss each other."

Dr. Briefs only chuckled as both Bulma and Vegeta crossed their arms and turned their heads in the opposite direction. The action only made the doctor laugh louder, and his wife finally stopped crying.

Vegeta was the first to recover. His arms uncrossed as his hands fisted next to his side. "If there's nothing else of importance I need to know, I think I'm quite ready to leave this planet."

Dr. Briefs regained his composure, sticking the cigarette that was being held between his fingers back between his lips only long enough to inhale quickly. "There is just one last thing." A bit of smoke exhaled from the doctor's mouth. "If anything goes wrong: I've programmed Bulma's and my own lab's personal numbers into the computer's com-link."

Bulma shot a haughty and disbelieving look at her father. The old man wasn't even aware of the look he was being giving, and a corner of Vegeta's lip turned up.

"And be sure to keep an eye on the fuel gage," the older Briefs warned the Saiyan for good measure, earning him a scoff. Dr. Briefs turned to finally look at his daughter again. "Anything else, dear?"

Bulma's features had turned serious by the time her father finally turned toward her, and she only gave a shake of her head. Her lips pressed thinly together before she turned to look at Vegeta. "Just," she started slowly, "you better come back and beat those androids!" The first response she received was a scowl before he finally opened his mouth.

"Tell your friends to not slack off, either."

She wanted to smile at that moment. She wanted to throw her body over his, to kiss him deeply. However, Bulma only gave a sharp nod. "Would you like me to report to you with their progress?" A slight smirk turned the corner of her lips up.

Vegeta only rolled his eyes at her statement. After a few seconds of silence, Dr. Briefs cleared his throat and reached over to give a few good pats on Vegeta's shoulder.

"Well, it seems that everything is in order. As long as you're sure you don't want me to install a better stereo system or a faster coffee maker," the doctor rambled on.

"No!" the Saiyan bellowed, scaring the cat that was perched on the older man's shoulder. "I won't even be using those devices, why would I want them upgraded?"

Dr. Briefs shrugged, as if to say 'your loss', then turned to walk down the ramp to stand next to his wife.

Bulma quickly sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, teetering a bit on the heels of her feet. "Have a safe journey, and try not to kill yourself 'cause we'll be needing your help to fight off those androids when they show up." A small smile turned her lips up as Vegeta only turned his nose in the air. Not wanting to waste anymore of the Saiyan's precious time, she turned on her heels and headed down the ramp to join her parents.

Without a second glance, Vegeta turned to walk inside the ship. He was more than ready to depart and get started on his training—on a different planet, with different elements to battle through, with no interruptions.

                                      ~S~

With Vegeta gone, life went back to normal at Capsule Corp, or what would've been considered normal if the family hadn't gotten used to having their alien houseguest around. Dr. Briefs didn't even seem to notice the change of pace as he continued to spend most of his days locked away in the lab inventing—now that he wasn't hindered by having to fix things or having to constantly upgrade systems. The doctor now had time to perfect certain training equipment for more conventional human uses.

It took almost an entire week for Mrs. Briefs to realize that she didn't have to cook for Vegeta. Therefore the refrigerator was stocked with plenty of leftovers every day. Not wanting the food to spoil, Bulma decided to take the majority of it over to the Son's house. Besides, it'd been how long since she'd visited Goku? It would be a good time to see how much training Goku was doing and possibly how much stronger the younger Saiyan had gotten.

Her mother helped pack all the food into a capsule-able container, all the while yammering away about what a great idea it was and how that handsome young Goku would appreciate the free meal. Bulma kept her eyes from rolling at her mother's comment; instead she smiled brightly and nodded in agreement. Then of course her mother easily transitioned into the topic of Vegeta. The reason all this food was now being stored into a mini capsule fridge.

"Yes, Mother, I'm sure he's doing fine. Probably eating lots even if it isn't your cooking," Bulma sighed as she replied mindlessly to her mother's concerns. Luckily, for Bulma, the packing was almost done. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep grinning and bearing her mother's chatter.

Upon finishing stocking the fridge, Bulma encapsulated it and popped it back into its case. She gave her mother a short nod, promising the older woman that she'd relay the message of a warm greeting and something along the lines of 'hope you enjoy the food' to the Son family.

When she finally reached the Son house, though, she was only greeted by Chi-chi. It wasn't that she didn't like the woman, but that the two were very different women—their attitudes the only thing they really had in common. Bulma gave the younger woman a curt smile as she inquired about Goku and Gohan's where-abouts, and of course wasn't too surprised by the response.

"They're out with Piccolo, training," the dark-haired woman's statement came out just a bit strained with annoyance. "What brings you all the way out here?" the woman's demeanor almost instantly changing into a relaxed state.

"Oh, nothing much," Bulma started, reaching into her pocket for the capsule case. "It's just that Vegeta took off into space last week, and Mom's still been cooking up a storm."

Chi-chi took the offered case from Bulma, a small sigh passing her lips. "He took off again?" she questioned indifferently.

"Well, he didn't just steal the ship this time," Bulma huffed out, crossing her arms over her chest. "But he's been living with us for how long now?" The older woman tapped her forefinger against her bottom lip in thought. "Anyway, it's just that Mom's been so used to cooking for the Saiyan Prince that she still thinks she needs to feed a small army. So I suggested that since we wouldn't be able to eat it all before it spoiled that we could at least give you a break from cooking all the time." Bulma gave out a wide smile as her hands hooked together behind her back.

Chi-chi gave out a small snort. "If I knew where those boys were training, I'd tell you just take it to them. Nonetheless, I thank you for thinking of us and Goku's ever-empty stomach."

Bulma laughed as she watched the dark-haired woman set the case on the kitchen table. "It's no problem at all." She unclasped her hands and brought them back to her side. "But, I gotta get back to work. Dad's been busy trying to down-grade all Vegeta's equipment for human usage, which leaves me in charge of all the regular projects going on." A small sigh escaped her lips at the thought. "Tell Goku and Gohan I said 'hi'? Oh, and Mom says 'hi' and she hopes you all enjoy the food."

"Well, if you ever get a free moment, you should come over for dinner one night. Goku always makes sure to come home for at least one meal," Chi-chi offered.

"Sure, I'd love to come over once things calm down. In any case, I've got to get going, and I'll let Mom know that the food was appreciated." A bright smile graced the older woman's face before she turned to leave, Chi-chi not too far behind her.

                                              ~S~

Another week later, Bulma stumbled into her room and fell face first into her pillow. Her body hung half-off the bed as she stared at the bedside clock. "Only ten," she mumbled irritably. Although she couldn't blame her body since she hadn't been sleeping well, even though she'd been going to bed earlier a lot more. She had blamed it on boredom at first, but now she was suspecting something else. "Vegeta," she mumbled again, turning her face fully into the pillow.

Her mind wasn't stimulated by all these mundane tasks. She wanted to help her father with his project, but he had refused saying she needed to handle the everyday tasks since he was so busy with the side project. Bulma had snorted at that and crossed her arms. Her father was still more than capable of handling everything at once, so why couldn't she help him?

She growled into the pillow, finally pulling her lower half onto the bed. At that moment her stomach let out a whimper and she rolled her eyes. "You can shut up, too," she grumbled, not wanting to move.

A small smile pulled at her lips as she thought of the reason she had skipped dinner. If her father could have a side project, so could she! Except while her father was down-grading the Gravity Room's functions and its bots to handle human capacity, Bulma had decided to fiddle with the blueprints to see what she could do to upgrade it. She knew Vegeta was likely to be gone for at least a year, but she was hoping that he would at least return before the androids attacked. If not, it was his loss. Of course, she could always call him up on the ships phone and taunt him to no end about new equipment.

Her smile widened and she turned her head to stare at the empty side of her bed. Yes, if Vegeta wasn't back within a year she'd definitely call and annoy him. Hell, maybe she could start at it now! Her stomach let out a louder rumble. Yep, she could definitely start now. With her newly found energy, Bulma pushed herself from the bed and went downstairs.

She would call Vegeta first since she figured it wouldn't take long, and then get herself some food, and then she could finally get some sleep. Once inside the lab, Bulma sat down in front of the video phone, pressing the button that would connect with Vegeta's ship. The video feed finally connected, showing an empty training room.

Her eyes narrowed slightly before calling out, "Vegeta!" After a few seconds of no response, she let out a heavy sigh and ended the call. It wasn't worth going through the headache of coercing Vegeta out into the open and starting an argument this late in the night. She'd just have to remember to call him again when she wasn't about to collapse; and her stomach wasn't trying to eat itself.

                                         ~S~

Two more weeks had come and gone. Bulma had managed to get out of her slump, with the help of brainstorming on new ideas for the gravity room—a new design, better materials, more ki resistant bots. Her mind was dizzy with all the ideas that had started out as small clusters and had exploded onto paper, old blue prints, computer screens, napkins at the dinner table, the back of her hand and arm. The smile on her face had been a permanent fixture since the ideas had flown free and it carried over to her emotional state. She'd happily done the busy-body work of the company, met with some potential clients, went to boring meetings that she usually had trouble staying awake through, and all on a few hours of sleep each night because she'd push through exhaustion to perfect her ideas.

With the ideas buzzing loudly in her head she'd not heard some of her employers mention how she had a motherly glow or the glow of someone in love. If she had, she would have been happy to put them in their place by telling them that she was in love with her projects, and that she was a mother to her ideas. However, the world around her was just a screen. She had no interest in taking part in it at the moment.

Of course the Capsule Corp employees weren't the only ones that noticed the change in her mood. Her mother and father weren't as blind or distracted as she thought they were most of the time. Her mother chittered away like always, something Bulma was used to pushing aside. Her father only took an interest on just it was she was working on, and upon seeing it was more equipment for Vegeta the old man had only given her a few heavy pats on the shoulder.

On this particular day, it was early afternoon and Bulma had just finished her lunch, ready to go back to work, when she realized she hadn't heard back from Vegeta. She wondered briefly if he was still on Earth's time schedule or if he was on an alien planet's time. Maybe last time she had called he'd been out of the ship or in bed. She could try again now and hope he would answer. A hand came up to cup her chin in thought before she decided to call him again. She went to the video phone once again, connecting with Vegeta's ship and waited for the feed to come through on her end. Once again the training room was empty and for the first time in a while she frowned.

"Vegeta, if you're there answer me," she called into the speaker. She was really starting to get worried over the stupid Saiyan. She knew he was just avoiding her, but she couldn't help wonder if something had happened. "Vegeta!" she shouted this time, her voice full of anger. "Get your ass out here!" Still nothing as a palm slammed done on the edge of the console. "Arrogant little prick," she muttered a bit more loudly, hoping to catch his attention. However, after a few more moments of silence Bulma finally gave up. She leaned back in the chair with a heavy sigh. "The least he could do is call me back," she grumbled to herself as she finally pushed herself up so she could get back to work.

                                      ~S~

Her body felt sore and heavy as she pushed up on one arm. She groaned, her eyes refusing to open even though she was already sitting up. Her fingers clenched and she's suddenly aware that she's not in her bed. The realization has her eyes popping open in alarm, only to find more darkness. She panics a bit, her heart beating just a bit faster as her breath catches and becomes erratic. She blinks, her fingers clawing at the solid ground beneath her. She's on concrete or some sort of hard, rocky surface. Her legs pull up as her hand pushes up, putting her in a standing position. She wobbles a bit, her balance being thrown off by the complete darkness of the world she's in.

"Hello?" she calls out, a little nervously. Her hands unconsciously clench and she feels her short nails dig into the skin of her hand.

'This has to be a dream' her mind tells her, but it has no effect.

She remains stuck in the darkness, but as she blinks her eyes a few times it seems as if a slant of light is trying to break through the blackness. Bulma notices there is a landscape--a city that's in ruins. The buildings are dilapidated, big chunks missing out of some of them. Some look like they have been cut in half as part of the buildings frame is now sitting on a pile of rubble. A hand rises to rest against her beating heart as her mind thinks of only one thing: Androids.

She knows that's what it has to be. The androids have woken early and have already destroyed the world. Why is she left, though? Is it because she's a scientist? Did she just manage to get lucky? Did somebody save her from death?

That's when she hears it—a fight is going on off to the side. She turns, her eyes widening at the three battling bodies. "Vegeta?" she breaths the question, not sure what to think of seeing him. Her eyes scan the rest of the area, not seeing any other bodies. Was everyone already dead? "Vegeta!" she screams the name this time as she witnesses one of the gray bodies sweep a leg-like appendage at the Saiyan.

Vegeta easily ducks it, and she lets out a breath of relief as his fist connects with the body's stomach. The human-like body doubles over, but in a flash there is a second body behind Vegeta. She screams his name again, but it has no effect. Can they not hear her? She reaches out as the second body locks an arm around the Saiyan's neck. Her feet move quickly, her long strides turning into a sprint but she never gets any closer.

Her vision starts to blur as tears form in her eyes. Suddenly, Vegeta drops free of the android's hold and collapses onto his hands and knees. He's panting heavily and she tries to move forward again but it still gets her nowhere. The two androids seem to back off as if waiting for Vegeta to regain his strength, and that's exactly what they do. Once the Saiyan is back on his feet, they come at him again. This time he's blocking attacks left and right. All three bodies lift into the air as the battle intensifies and for a brief moment it looks like Vegeta might gain the upper hand.

Disbelief covers her face as the bodies disappear and both of Vegeta's hands rise to cover his neck. His eyes go wide as his mouth opens and closes. Bulma can't place what's happening, and she can only watch as Vegeta drops from the air and onto the concrete below. His body writhers, his feet kicking as his hands continue to clasp around his throat and his mouth gasp for breath. She realizes he's choking, but on what? And what happened to the androids' bodies? She can feel her vision blurring horribly again and her feet move again. The action still doesn't bring her any closer to the dying man.

Her breath catches in her throat; she feels the air in her lungs expand as it has nowhere to escape. She suddenly gasps and a sob wrenches from her sore throat. Blue eyes open as her body is pushed up from the bed. Her free hand reaches up to wipe the tears from her eyes, but they won't stop. The only thing her mind can see is the image of Vegeta lying lifeless on the cracked pavement. Another sob crawls up her throat and her other hand rises to join the first. She can't control the panic and tears from breaking loose as she shakes and tries to gather her bearings.

Bulma finally manages to get her breathing under control and with it comes the damming of her tears. She gives a few more quick swipes before she lowers her hands to the bed and a heavy, shaky breath releases from her lungs. With her nerves finally calmed, she throws the covers from her body and shifts out of bed. She can feel the sweat covering her skin and she rubs her arms as she heads to the bathroom. Upon flipping the light on, her eyes squint and burn from the brightness. Her hands rise to rub them once again, her fingers pressing against her eyelids.

"Stupid," she mutters to herself as she starts the shower. "Why did I dream about that?" She feels the water to make sure it's comfortable and steps out of her bed clothes.

She lets the water soothe her tensed muscles, not too concerned with washing. All she really wants is for the stickiness of the sweat to be washed off. Besides, her mind is too busy shuffling through her dream and wondering why she'd had it, and more importantly why it had affected her so badly.

A clenched hand raised in the air at chest level. "It's been another week and Vegeta still hasn't called back!" She'd not thought anything of it until now because she'd been busy working, sleeping, and eating enough to keep her energy levels up. So her subconscious mind must've been keeping track and worrying about the things she hadn't been able to during the day. With the disturbing thoughts now erased with the anger coursing through her body, she reached behind her to turn the water off. "If he won't call me back then I'll just have to keep bugging him." She grabbed the towel from its rack and patted down her body. "He's bound to be in that training room at some point."

After drying and refreshing herself, Bulma marched to her room to get a new pair of pajamas. As she threw the tank top over her head, she turned to look at the clock—just now realizing that she hadn't been worried about the time. She glared at the red numbers. If she hadn't managed to catch Vegeta during the early evening or afternoon hours, perhaps she'd get a hold of him during the early, early hours of morning.

"If he's not up at 3am, he's at least gotta be sleeping," she muttered before storming from her room.