He waited till dawn to see if she would return. She did not and Goku felt as if he was left with more questions than answers. Regardless it was time for him to return. Perhaps Vegeta might be able to shed some light in this Turles thing. Although Goku did not have high hopes regarding that. But still, he had to try. As he flew back towards the palace he wondered if it would be wise to ask Vegeta. He obviously was not comfortable with either of his parents and the idea that any of them had an affair might not be well received by him. He wasn't taking it well. As the mountain approached Goku felt a burning curiosity to know more but was at a loss to know how. It was than that an epiphany hit him. Mithral was also the guardian of Vegitasei, or suppose to be anyway. Given that he was a big shot god the chances of him actually being at the Vegitasei lookout was slim to none. But it was the only shot he had at getting some real answer.

Goku changed his direction of flight from horizontal to vertical, going straight up as far as he could safely go and began to look around. Even with his Saiyain eyes it was difficult to pick up the narrow heavens platform. Something glittered and Goku thought that he saw something glitter artificially in the distance. He could not be sure but powering up he flew towards it at full speed.

He was avoiding her. He didn't come to dinner, he didn't speak a word to her since that wedding alter incident, unable to see him she could not exactly go look for him either. She spent nearly two hours sitting next to the cat hoping it would go to its master but the cat did not stir. Despite being afraid of the large frill neck type lizard that was Vegeta's reptilian companion Bulma even dared spend an hour with it in hopes that it would betray were its master was. She knew they could see him. So she wait for them to show her were he was. But they did not as if knowing that their master did not desire it. Vegeta of course was never really that far away from her.

He watched her silently as she went about trying to find him. Fighting hard from bursting into laughter when she passed within centimetres of him all the while thinking he was on some distant part of the palace. At last exhausted Bulma sat down near a fountain in the palace garden. 'Where the hell are you Vegeta?' she asked annoyed, 'Why don't you come to me?' she asked as she watched the sunset in the distance.

'And what would you do once I did come to you?' wondered Vegeta.

'Vegeta,' she screamed in joy as she began to look around expecting to see him but then remembered that she could not. 'Why are you avoiding me?' she demanded facing one way.

'I am not avoiding you.' He said from behind her. She turned around, 'Just because I haven't spoken doesn't mean I am not in the room.'

'Yes, well if you don't speak that as far as I am concerned you are not in the room.' She said as she crossed her arms in mild anger.

'Well remind me to continuously make noise when I am around you then.' He brawled.

Bulma's anger seemed to increase but than her face fell, 'I do wish I had a way of knowing where you were.' She said, silence, 'I've got it.' she said with joy as an idea came to her. Without another word she ran towards the engineering department. She went straight for the modified scouter and putted on. Turning it on she saw numbers began to flickers and arrows start to point. Bulma followed the arrows till she began to get a reading of twenty two thousand seeming nothingness in front of the door, 'Now I know where you are.' She said with a bright smile.

Vegeta snorted, 'Clever. It seems I have under estimated your intelligence. Can you understand anything?' he asked.

'Everything.' she assured him, 'I modified it to display things in my language.'

'I see.' Said Vegeta, 'Well I guess you won't be bugging my pets any more.'

'I wasn't bugging them.' Bulma protested, 'Besides I didn't hear them complaining.'

'That's because you can't hear them. They grumbled to me.' Teased Vegeta.

'Well fine.' She said her tone sounding hurt. 'Be mean.' So saying she was about to go past him when a soft hand gripped her gently.

'Don't be dense.' he said, 'They like you.' Bulma smiled one of her bright smiles. This time Vegeta's stomach grumbled, 'Are you hungry?'

'I already ate as much as I could.' Assured Bulma, 'But I might have some desert.'

'I thought the master hated Vegitasei.' Said the green lizard faced biped alien with mucus dripping from his mouth, 'So why is he returned?' he wondered.

'Who knows?' replied the blue tinted alien of similar construct, 'But its good to just relax for a while. I mean what we raided close to a hundred ships in the last hundred days before the master suddenly developed homesickness. I am tired.'

'Feh, you never were cut out for the marauding life.' Replied his companion. 'The more ships we raid the more money we earn and the soon we can find an honest line of trade.' He pointed out.

The other shrugged, 'I have found in my many years as a pirate that those who don't leave after a given period of time have no intention of ever being anything other than pirates. I mean you have more than enough money saved up now to go do whatever else you want to do. But you are still here, have been here for the last fifteen years, craving for the next raid, the next excitement, you will not leave till you cannot fight anymore and the master forces you to stay behind at some port of another. Than only than will you try to use the money you have hoarded away to find an "honest" line of trade.'

'Feh, what would you know.' replied the green alien refusing to acknowledge how true what he said was.

Whatever the blue alien would have said in response to that was put to a halt by the entrance of Zarbon, 'What news of the solar flare?' he asked.

'I am afraid it is taking place.' Replied the green alien, 'However it is not all bad news. I have calculated a way that we can use the solar flare to our advantage. If my idea works we should be there within a week.'

'And if your idea doesn't work?' demanded Zarbon.

'Well, we get flung into the sun and die a horrible, horrible death.' He conceded. 'The probability of success is about 35 percent. I personally think that it will work but I can understand the master saying no.'

Zarbon opened his mouth to say no but from behind him Turles spoke up, 'Do it.'

'Turles.' Said Zarbon a faint hint of reproach in his voice.

'We are all dying Zarbon.' Replied Turles indifferently, 'Some sooner than others. If your time is up than nothing can save us, if it is not that we should be able to reach Vegitasei in time.' he looked towards the navigation officer, 'Do it.'

High above the surface of Vegitasei stood a platform that was like and unlike Kami's lookout on earth. In the minds of the red marble paved floor surrounded by the native flora of Vegitasei stood the form of a tall well built but not bulky Saiyain male with short spiky hair. His eyes were closed in concentration after a moment he said softly, 'Well, that was unexpected.'

'Those are not the first words I expected to hear from the great god Mithral.' Said Goku as he landed on the platform behind him.

Mithral smiled as his lashing tail wound itself around his waist slowly he turned. Goku went down on his knees, 'Well every now and again I underestimate the desperation of mortals. Freewill can be a bitch.' He informed him, 'But no matter, it really didn't matter whether Turles came today or a year from now things would play out the same. Get up.' He ordered. Goku complied, 'You are here about Turles.' It was not a question but a statement. 'You want to know how he is related to both you and the Prince.' Again a statement, 'It's quiet simple, overwhelmed by the destiny that had been pretty much forced upon them your father and Vegeta's mother soothe a moment of comfort in each others arms. He was a lowly guard ordered to protect the future queen and do whatever she bid. She bid him come to her bed, Bardock was in no humour to argue so he complied. They… cared for each other but love was not present in their brief relationship. It ended when the future Queen, than only a daughter of a noble fell pregnant. The boy was taken from her shortly after birth and like you shipped off to a distant planet. Although the king was aware of the transgression he did nothing but ensure that Bardock was pretty much always off world and had little or no contact with the palace. Bardock gave up his destiny and married your mother and they all lived happily ever after till your mother died giving birth to you and the queen was accidentally killed in a shuttle accident.' He concluded and showed no interest in saying anything further.

'What about Turles?' Goku prompted.

'He returned and was raised like any other warrior who was judged of limited potential. He was sent to the training bases and was being prepared for life as a purging squad member. But Turles was ambitious to the extreme and had power lust breed in his bone. During one of the purging missions he disappeared and was never heard from again.' Said Mithral. 'Had the Saiyain been aware of his activities they would have known that he was the captain of the most dreaded band of space pirates ever known and had taken a Cilirian, a race of were bears, for a mate. He has great fits to his name, he robbed from Freeza, hijacked the ship of Cooler and played tricks on King Cold himself and when he had nothing better to do raided Saiyain outposts and somehow managed to manage to allude capture by them all. He also became powerful, very, very powerful.' A tiny shake of the head, 'But the more powerful he became the more power he soothe, it was only time before his lust of power led him to do something truly foolish.' He turned to Kakarott, 'That is all I can tell you. Now leave your little blue haired friend is getting worried about you.'

'But I still have so many questions.' Insisted Kakarott.

'No you do not. The questions you have, have already been answered. You just don't know that they have.' Said he sternly, 'I tire of this form.' He said looking down at his Saiyain body, 'Which is an indication that somebody somewhere else requires my assistance. But before I go…' he placed his hand on Goku head. The next instance Goku felt power, unbelievable power began to course through his body, '…there, now you are a match for the Prince. Train with him and keep a vigilant eye towards Turles. Know also that the key to lifting this curse you already posses.' With that he vanished. Leaving Goku more powerful but confused. He had some more answers but Goku felt as if he was no nearer figuring out how to lift the spell. Shaking his head at his apparent failure he look to the sky. It was time he returned.

She tried to wait up for him but as the night wore on exhaustion got the better of her and Bulma fell asleep on the chair that she had had Vegeta drag out of her room into the veranda for her. Her lasts thoughts, 'Where are you Son-kun?'

It was an hour or so more before Vegeta came to check on her. It surprised him greatly to find that she had gone to sleep on what was even by Saiyain standards a very, very uncomfortable chair. He stared at her for sometime wondering what to do. It occurred to him that the proper Saiyain Prince thing to do would be to leave her where she was. But what he did do was gently lift her up into his arms and take her to her bed. Once there he gently laid her down and would have pulled away till he realised that her soft, fragile hands were wound gently but tightly around his neck. In vain he tried to extract himself from the hold but realised that he could not do much without waking her. So he kicked off his boots and slid into bed with her, being careful not to put an ounce of weight on her. Hoping that she will let go off him ere long. She did not and the Saiyain Prince Vegeta went to sleep wrapped up in her arms.

Turles could almost remember the time when he himself went to sleep night after night wrapped in arms so soft and gentle and it could melt the hardest heart. He used the word almost because the memories were fading. Not due to any natural cause of time or anything like that but from the most unnatural cause that he no longer had a soul and there for could no longer hold on to memories of a mate who was bound to his soul. He started writing things down. Memories of her, memories of what they had done together, but the words written as they were, full of description and rich with emotions, felt cold to him when he began to read it back.

It felt like a romance novel written by an author he had never met and will never meet. Though he could feel for the characters and almost believe himself sharing their joy, their sadness in the end it felt like just another story, a very, very good story but just a story. It was not his life, it was not his love. Both were fading, both were becoming just a dream like wisp that vanished just as he extended his hand to touch it. Turles flung the journal he had been keeping faithfully for the last five years to the other side of the room. Shadows, just shadows that is what his life was becoming, nothing more, nothing less. Slowly he got up from his bed and walked across to the only other furniture in the room. A large writing table equipped with one computer and one hologram generator. Gently he turned it on. Whirled into view the image of a beautiful woman with raven black hair and turquoise blue eyes. The image still produced a reaction in him.

He kneeled on the ground so that he was eye level with the image and gently touched the face of the holo-image. The image fluttered slightly, not that noticeably but it fluttered anyway. His throat constricted and his vision clouded as tears formed in his eyes. He missed her, he really, really missed her. Why? Why? Why did he choose the blasted tree instead of her? Why could he not let the tree burn instead of letting her burn? Why did it feel to him that even after everything if he relived that day again he would have still chosen the tree? He growled and snapped the hologram shut, wondering how long it was going to be before even her image ceases to have an effect on him.

They say that everyone is born with a twin somewhere in the universe. Given the vastness of the universe it is almost improbable that two such twins can ever meet up or anyone who knows either of the twins can meet the other. But as it happens if some on was to take the holo-image of Turles wife and replace her raven blue hair with sky blue locks one would have a hard time believing it was not the image one Bulma Briefs of earth they were looking at. Despite the vastness of the universe, certain encounters can't be avoided.

She woke with the strange sensation that she was lying on someone. As her eyes adjusted to the dim morning light she saw to her wonder that though she could feel something hard underneath her she could see nobody. 'Ve… Vegeta?' she asked uncertainly.

'You are finally awake, woman.' He snapped, 'I was beginning to think you would never get your accursed hand off my neck.' Realising that her arms were indeed wrapped around his invisible she quickly withdrew.

'How did they… I thought I went to sleep… don't call me woman.' Her anger flaring despite her confusion.

'You fell asleep in the chair, I was bringing to your bed when you wrapped your arms around my neck. I couldn't get them off without waking you so I did not. I can call you whatever I wish.' He said.

'No you can not.' Bulma informed him, 'If you call me woman, I'll call you man and see how you like it.'

'You may not address the Prince of Saiyain's as 'man', your highness will be just fine.' Said Vegeta in his most regal tone.

'Dream on.' said Bulma angrily as she got out of bed. Grabbing the scouter from the near by table she flicked it on. 'Now out, I need to change.' Vegeta hmphed but complied. He wasn't feeling all that well anyway and really needed some fresh air. He however did not fail to note that he felt far better and far more rested than he had… he could not remember the last time he felt so good.

'I guess it's true.' He thought as he watched his eagle sour high up in the sky, 'A night with a beautiful girl can do wonders for your health.' It helps when you are half way in love with the beautiful girl as well.

He returned in good time for breakfast. Bulma prodded him about his trip, he told her as little as he could get away with saying. He told her that he had gone an ancient temple to the planet itself and had found out that the curse was meant to remind the Saiyain of what it meant to be a true Saiyain and not designed to cause pain. He informed both of Turles and Turles' relation to himself. He however did not reveal Turles' relation to Vegeta, nor did he reveal the precious details of who he met. He was forced to tell of Turles' soul less status and how he lost his soul and concluded his tale by informing Vegeta that he was now as strong as him and of Mithral's cryptic parting words about the key to lifting this spell being already on the planet. A silence fell over the room as the Goku's two attentive listeners tried to digest all the information.

At last the silence was broken. 'So you think you are as strong as me now.' Said Vegeta, 'Care to prove it.'

Goku smiled, 'If you want to train Vegeta I am always looking to spar.'

'As a true Saiyain should be.' replied Vegeta.

Bulma rolled her eyes, 'Boys aren't you forgetting something? The curse, I am confused.' She owned, 'What did who ever you spoke to Goku mean by "the key to lifting this curse is already on the planet"?' she asked, 'Did he mean Vegeta? But we already knew that. Or did he mean some sort of magic item or something like that.'

Goku shrugged, 'I don't know Bulma, to tell the truth I feel as if I have gained nothing from this trip. Some information about the curse of course and about Turles but not how to lift it. So in a sense we are back at square one.'

A short exhale of air, 'You should leave Bulma. This is place is not safe for you. I meant what I said before hand. Sooner or later the shadows are going to reach out to you and than you will be dragged into this curse with the rest of us.'

Bulma's eyes brightened as they did just as they tended to do when anger took over, 'Now listen here both of you. I am not abandoning the two of you. We will find a way to lift this curse or we will die trying and the next one of you who tells me that I should leave we feel the full force of my woman's wrath. Have I made myself clear?' She demanded.

'Yes.' They said in unison, a slight tint of fear in their voice.

'Great.' She said with a smile, 'Now if either of you need me, I'll be in the engineering department.' So saying she left, humming a nice little tune.

'Want to spar now Vegeta?' asked Goku.

'Yes.' Replied Vegeta. The chair was pushed back and footsteps heard. Goku followed, mentally preparing himself to fight against an invisible opponent.

'Did you have to take his soul?' asked Vegitasei as Mithral circled her little temple pond.

'He turned his back on his mate.' He reminded her. 'He didn't deserve a Saiyain soul.'

'But… he hurts so much.' She insisted.

'What do you care if he does hurt?' Mithral demanded, 'Without his Saiyain soul he has no link to you. You cannot begin to tell what he is thinking or feeling any more than you can tell what the human girl Bulma is thinking or feeling. Feh, you couldn't even feel him when he had a soul.'

'You are both correct and incorrect in that Mithral.' Replied Vegitasei, 'My range of sense is limited and without his soul I can not feel his pain or joy or anything like that. However when he is this near to me I can pick up his thoughts.'

'But you can block them out. So block them out.' Said Mithral indifferently.

'But he keeps calling me.' She informed him, 'He keeps asking me to help his restore his soul.'

'You cannot undo what I have done. So don't bother listening to his cries. He deserves all that he got.' Said Mithral coldly. 'This is discussion is at an end. Do not bother me again about Turles.' He told her.

He was about to leave when her voice stopped him, 'How can you be so cold?' she wondered.

'I am not cold.' Protested Mithral, 'I just don't worry about creatures who are not worth worrying about.'

She looked away, 'Maybe, maybe they weren't really soul-mates. Maybe that's why he was able to turn his back on her.' she reasoned.

Mithral laughed, 'Don't delude yourself. They were soul-mates and you will soon see that they were.' Vegitasei looked at him concerned. He laughed again and vanished.

She touched her head slowly, 'I just know I am going to get a massive headache before this is over.'

* * * * *