Bulma held the crying baby Trunks in her arms, tears streaming quietly down her face. She had known him for so long, as the small, innocent boy he was, then as the soft-hearted, innocent man he became. She thought that he would stay forever, but yet, he was gone. She knew not of what to do.

Krillin made no movements. He watched his best friend fall limp and die. He bowed his head. He had no emotion. He was too shocked to cry. He bent down and softly patted Chi-Chi’s shoulder. The woman kept crying to the ground.

Suddenly, Gohan burst in. He had gone to fetch another doctor, but could not find one. He saw his dead father lying on the bed. His mother sobbing on the ground, Krillin with his head hung low, Bulma crying quietly. He walked out of the room. When he closed the door, he stood there and yelled, yelled as loud as his lungs to bear. “ FATHER!” He screamed to the sky.

Yamcha, who was leaning on the wall of the house, looked at him, now knowing the news. He walked out into the forest, no words being spoken.

Tien and Chiaotzu kneeled to the ground, Tien, with his eyes wide open, tears falling slowly to the ground. Chiaotzu, crying softly to himself.

And Vegeta. Vegeta just stood there. Too shocked that his rival for so long was gone. “K-K-Kakarot!” He said softly, still not believing the great Super Saiyan was dead.

Bulma sat near the hospital bed where Chi-Chi laid. She was her best friend. Her only friend. She loved her like a sister. Bulma watched as the now white-haired woman breathe slowly in and out. The heart monitor making slow beeping noises. Bulma felt such grief. Why did Chi-Chi have to be so sick?

“ How long does she have to live?” Bulma asked gravely to the doctor. He looked at her intently in the eye.

“ She is very ill. There is nothing else we can do for her. She has hours before she will pass on.” He said. Bulma nodded, a lone tear falling down her cheeks. She walked back over to the sleeping Chi-Chi. She looked so different now. With her white-hair and the mass of wrinkles. And she was still so young. Grief brought quick aging.

After what seemed like days, Chi-Chi finally opened her eyes and looked up at Bulma. “ Hey, Bulma” She said weakly. Bulma smiled, tears silently falling down her face.

“ Hey Chi-Chi.” Bulma said.

“ I feel it coming, Bulma.” Chi-Chi said, staring out the window and the cloudless sunlight.

“ What?”

“ I feel death coming. It’s reaching out to me, beckoning me. My spirit seems to be slipping away. My bodies failing me, Bulma.” She said, looking at Bulma again.

“ You don’t know what you’re saying. Remember the promise we made? We’re suppose to live and grow old and die together.” Bulma said, standing on her knees, eye and eye with Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi smiled.

“ I wish that was true.” She whispered softly.

“ It is true. We are all that is left that remembers, Chi-Chi. We still remember Goku, and Vegeta, and Krillin, and all the other Z fighters, Chi-Chi. We need to stick together. We need to preserve Goku’s memory. Trunks doesn’t know anything about our Goku. He doesn’t know his father. His real father. He only knows that Vegeta of the past. He doesn’t know how it was, only what it could have been.” Bulma said, tears falling like a stream down her face.

“ I know. I remember it just like it was yesterday. It was just me and Goku. I didn’t care about anything else in the world when we married.” Chi-Chi said, slowly closing her eyes.

“ No Chi-Chi, stay with me.” Bulma croaked through tears.

“ No, Bulma. Now I can finally see my husband and baby again.” Chi-Chi said faintly. And her last breathe escaped her. The heart monitor fell silent. Bulma stood up and shook Chi-Chi.

“ No, Chi-Chi, come back, come back! I need you Chi-Chi,” she fell down beside her best friend. Sobbing loudly. “ Please Chi-Chi, come back. Come back.” After a few moments, she wiped away her tears and kissed her friend on the forehead.

“ Say hi to Vegeta for me. Tell him… Tell him that I love him.” She whispered softly, a warm tear dropping onto the cold body of Chi-Chi.

While Bulma was driving home, she spotted Trunks flying towards the Capsule Corp. She sped her car towards him. Soon, they were speeding through the air, side by side. When he spotted her, he grinned and waved. Bulma waved back and rolled down the window. “ Hey, stranger. Wanna lift?” She asked him. He smiled and opened the door.

“ I didn’t know you weren’t at the Capsule Corp. Where’ve you gone?” He asked her, putting his boots on the air bag opener.

“ I’ll tell you if you put your dirty boots off my clean car.” She said. He put them back down.

“ I went over to Chi-Chi’s old house.” Bulma said. A sudden cold silence filled the car.

“ And why would you even be there? You haven’t gone there since Chi-Chi died.” Trunks said slowly.

“ I wanted to relive old memories. Anyway, back to you. Have you had any luck finding the lucky girl yet?” Bulma asked, nudging Trunks with her elbow. He laughed.

“ No, I think that’ll be a waste of time anyway. I might as well be a bachelor the rest of my life.” Trunks said.

“ No you can’t. So far, every good saiyan that’s been living here’s had a girl. Goku had Chi-Chi, and Vegeta…well Vegeta had me.” Bulma said, Trunks raised an eyebrow.

“ Oh. Wonder how that came out to be.” Trunks said quietly. Bulma stared off into space. It was just me and him. No one else in the world. I knew he would never really tell me that he loved me, or show it often, but I knew, that deep down, he cared for me a lot.

She was holding Trunks in her arms. She was standing on a cliff, overlooking the city where the dead body of Krillin laid. It was horrible. They were all dead. All of them. All because of the Androids. She still couldn’t believe it. They were all gone, Piccolo, Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, and now Krillin. All were destroyed. So soon after Goku’s death. It wasn’t fair.

She felt a hand lay on her shoulder. She turned around, facing Vegeta. His face lay expressionless. She looked into his eyes, speaking no words. She put Trunks down in his small crib-like basket to fall asleep. After she heard Trunks’ soft snoring, she looked at Vegeta again.

“ Well.” She said.

“ Well what, woman.” He said quietly.

“ Looks like you’ve found out too.” She said. He directed his eyes to all the smoke.

“ Yes I did.”

“ What are you going to do about it, Vegeta?” she asked him quietly as his arms encircled her.

“ It will be my turn to go and fight the Androids.” He said. She looked at him.

“ No, Vegeta, you can’t. You can’t do this to me. Or Trunks. All the Z-fighters are dead, gone, you’ll be next if you try to go up against those two.” she said angrily. He laughed.

“ It might be true, I may fall, but I need to try,” and with this, he looked at her straight in the eye. They both locked foreheads, he stroking her soft blue hair. “ for you and the brat.” He whispered, kissing her eye. She closed her eyes as his kisses traveled down her face, until they made lip-contact. Even then they kept on kissing, as he wrapped his arms around her. After awhile, she stopped and hugged him.

“ I don’t want you to go.” She said softly into his ear. He hugged her tighter.

“ I have to.” He said quietly, kissing her neck. “ Stay alive for me.” And with this, he walked off the cliff and flew towards the oncoming Androids. Bulma watched him go, tears falling down her face.

“ I love you.” She whispered softly to the shape of Vegeta growing steadily smaller.