/>
<br />
At that moment the will of the dragon seemed to manifest itself, for astonished shouts could be heard from the corridors.<br />
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“Bantor! Bulma!” A young humanoid, apparently of the same race as this barbarian, stormed in. He saw the two of them standing in front of Vegeta and paused.
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<br />
"Don't worry, Querl," laughed Bulma, overjoyed that the boy was alive again, "this is ...", she hesitated briefly, "... this is Vegeta. He is a Saiyan prince who is with me lives together on earth. He has come to take me home. "
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<br />
Querl's face, which was still beaming with joy, grew long and longer. "So you're leaving us? What should we do without you?"
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<br />
Bulma saw his desperate face and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm not going without you. The sky, the clouds, the trees and the flowers, I'll show you!"
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<br />
Querl gave Bulma an impulsive hug and pressed his face to her shoulder. The fabric of her overalls got damp and you could hardly understand what the boy was sobbing: "As ... when they met me.The pain, I can still feel it in my chest, I was so ashamed that I wasn't strong enough until the end ... "
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"Shh," said Bulma and patted him lightly on the back. "It's good. Everything will be fine now."
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"Why?", Querl asked haltingly when he let go of Bulma and wiped the tears from his face, "why am I alive and unharmed?"
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<br />
"That is the power of the dragon balls," said Bulma and told in a few words how it came about. "Now we just need Igeras and then we can go."
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<br />
"I'll go get him," Bantor offered. The magic of the Dragonballs had also healed his injuries, just as Bulma had wished. Without giving Vegeta another look, he stepped through the door and had to fight off the curious questions of all those outside in the corridor who couldn't explain why they were suddenly alive again.<br />
Querl, sensing the tension between Bulma and Vegeta, gave the stranger a cautious look. This Vegeta was smaller than Bantor, but his dangerousness could not be denied. Querl really wanted to run after Bantor, but he was reluctant to leave Bulma alone with this dangerous guy.
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"Follow him!" Said Bulma and gave Querl a push towards the door. "You can't wait to see Igera's face, can you?"
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<br />
She nodded at Vegeta. "He's a ... a good friend."
<br />
Actually Vegeta should be glad that Bulma didn't introduce him as a lover or something, because he didn't want anything to do with her anymore. Still, the lame "good friend" gave him a pang. At least she could have mentioned his rank, right?
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<br />
As soon as Querl was outside and pushed through the crowd of happy winners, who searched the dead Antiss for anything useful and discussed who would play which role on the ship in the future, Bulma turned back to Vegeta.<br />
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"Thank you for helping me keep my promise," she said seriously. "I know that you don't believe me, but between me and Bantor there has never been more than friendship and a little care. He may think he loves me, but I haven't opened my heart to him." * It's already yours *, she read in her eyes, but Vegeta had turned away from her during the sentence.
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<br />
He would like to believe what she said, but it was her own fault, since she had left him behind like an annoying piece of luggage before her tour to Alt-Namek. Apparently that one night in the spaceship had been all she wanted from him, a short interlude after Yamcha and before ... before this Bantor. But not with him, not with the prince of the Saiyan!
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"Should that make me happy?" He replied coldly. "I don't care who you roll on the pillows with."
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"But ... but we don't ...", she burst out."You and me..."
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"Is that what you mean in the spaceship? Those few hours? It was nice, but it wasn't that earth-shattering either. I guess there are quite a few girls on earth who are not only younger and prettier than you, but me can give a lot more. Once I've cleared up with the cyborgs and Kakerott ... "Without paying attention to Bulma's frozen face, he strolled down the corridor. "I'll turn on the drive, tell your lap dog and his two buddies that I won't wait forever for them ..."
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<br />
Bulma was as if her insides had frozen to ice, only to be filled with burning anger immediately afterwards. That damn fool. If he wanted total war, then he should have it. She would have and raise the baby by herself, too.
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"Don't worry," she hissed angrily after Vegeta, "Bantor is not as unreliable as a certain, conceited, stubborn, stupid ...", now she had to take a breath, "Saiyan, whom I don't want to name here."<br />
A few steps in front of her, Vegeta winced briefly, but he didn't turn to her. If that unfaithful goose wanted to be stubborn, he could do better. Much better. Not that he felt particularly comfortable with it, but he wouldn't let this double offense sit on him.
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It was not an easy path for Bulma through the crush of her former followers.
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<br />
She was constantly bombarded with questions about how things should go on, whether she could fly the ship, whether she knew where the storage rooms and the water reservoirs were. After the third bend, Bulma leaned against the wall, exhausted. It wasn't enough. It just wasn't enough to save just these three. She had to ... she had to somehow open a future for everyone who relied on her, followed her blindly, and died for her. But how should she do it? There were hundreds of them and there wasn't enough space in her father's spaceship, not to mention supplies and breathing air.<br />
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Vegeta had paused and glanced back over his shoulder. What was it that was holding Bulma up for so long? Her ash-gray face didn't look good at all. Was the pregnancy taking her with it? Only now did Vegeta notice that her face looked much narrower and that her hands also appeared much more delicate. Apparently she hadn't lived here like in paradise.
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"Should I carry you?" Vegeta growled and actually made to grab her waist.
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Bulma shook her head. “No need, I can manage on my own.” She would show him that she didn't need him. Resolutely, she pushed away from the wall. "Go ahead so we can get out of here."
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“Still the same dictatorial snipe!” A fleeting grin crossed Vegeta's stiff face and Bulma felt her defenses weaken. Her emaciated hand felt for Vegeta's shoulder, for the support and warmth that she had missed so much.<br />
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“Here you are!” Querl came panting around the corner and Bulma quickly withdrew her hand. “Look what I took with me!” Beaming with pride, Querl presented the arm-length chest. "You sure didn't want to leave her behind, did you?"
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Suddenly Bulma knew what to do. "You did great!", Bulma smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Will you carry them to the reeds for me?” Querl nodded eagerly. "Bantor and Igeras will be there soon. The old man cried for joy when we told him that we had won and that you wanted to bring us into your world."
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Querl hadn't promised too much. The Jennhyr met them on the way down. Igeras still seemed hard to believe. "Bulma, is it true?" He asked with a trembling voice and careful joy in his old eyes.
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She nodded and hugged him gently. "Yes, Vegeta came on my father's ship and we are all saved."<br />
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Igeras broke away from her and bowed to the sullenly standing Vegeta. "We thank you from the bottom of our hearts that we can travel with you, noble Saiyan."
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Vegeta and Bantor listened up. "You know my people?", Vegeta asked eagerly.
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"I heard about the Saiyans when I was a kid," Igeras replied. "My father's father told me that they are a very strong and proud people and that you can recognize them by their auras."
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"Not bad, old man," Vegeta nodded, satisfied that the Saiyans' reputation had penetrated this far. "You can feel auras and apparently you have more sense than the other two." ... which are just useless ballast ... read his eyes, even if he didn't say it. Querl was too busy carrying the chest to notice the allusion. Bantor, however, pressed his lips together and clenched his fists. Only when Bulma put her hand on his arm and shook his head did he relax and swallow the insult.<br />
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Vegeta's gaze grew cold again and he trudged forward without a word. Strength and pride were the only values ​​a Saiyan could rely on. Love and Trust - Pah!
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<br />
The four were amazed when they entered Bulma's Hope. Tiny compared to the collector, compared to the older ships of the Capsule Corps it was a luxury cruiser in a class of its own. There were even three large passenger cabins. The first was clearly occupied by Vegeta, the second definitely had a feminine touch, which was not only due to the delicate lingerie that Bulma discovered with delight in some of the drawers. The third and largest cabin offered space for several and so the three Jennyhrs were quartered here. Bulma searched the closets and found enough clothes that could fit the three and how the spacious bathroom worked was also quickly explained. While Vegeta withdrew into the practice room and the three argued about who was allowed to soak first, Bulma took over the wheel.<br />
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But instead of entering the earth as the destination, she used the opportunity to access the collector's computer to trace the ship's track. The journey to their new destination would not take five months, but two days at most.
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<br />
When Bulma's Hope broke away from the collector, Bulma took one last look back before moving the monitor forward.
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<br />
The two days were marked by constant tension between Vegeta and Bantor. The Jennyhr tried its