A/N: Chapter 2! This story is so fun to write! I love writing from Vegeta's POV! Anywho. We get to see Bulma in her element this chapter. YAY!

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT.

The Powers of the Moon

Chapter 2

Finally, the last group of people were slowly shuffling through his door. It was late and he looked forward to sitting back and relaxing, maybe finishing off the bottle of bourbon that someone had neatly sat upon the dining room table. Sharon was hanging off of her husband, drunkenly, trying to quietly whisper about the prize he was going to receive on the way home. Vegeta crinkled his nose, stepping up behind the couple, silently hurrying them out. Sharon turned to look at him and smiled deviously.

"See you at work, Ouji. Tell that homely little girl I said hello." Vegeta rolled his eyes, but nodded, not wishing to speak with her any further. Sharon's husband grasped his hand, shaking it firmly, before he hauled his wife out to their car. A few others passed through the door, thanking him for hosting, and saying what a great time they had. As the last guest left he felt his shoulders sag and relief flood his body. He had never been so happy to be alone in his life. He scanned the open area before him and decided to clean up the atrocities left behind later. With that he swiftly moved to the dining room, grabbed the tall bottle and proceeded to the kitchen to grab a glass. He silently stood in the kitchen and contemplated moving upstairs to his bedroom, but decided against it. He heard a faint clatter out his back door and decided that the patio was a good a place as any. The back door swung open effortlessly and he stepped out with his drink in tow. The night had turned cool and Vegeta thought back to Bulma's earlier statement. It did appear that late August was quickly giving way to fall.

He pulled a black wrought iron chair away from the matching table and fell into it heavily. The bottle in his hand sloshed and he brought it to his lips, pulling the searing liquid into his mouth. It burned through his chest and he let out a small cough, unprepared for the intensity of it. He leaned back into the chair and propped his feet upon the table before him. Finally, some rest. A soft rustle drew his attention and he glanced over towards Bulma's back yard. In the light of the full moon he could make out her small figure pulling a heavy looking pot into the center of her yard. She seemed to be struggling with it, using all her might to heave the stout thing into its final place. He couldn't make out what it was exactly and the same curiosity that always came with the woman began to simmer deep within him.

Bulma stood from her bent position and walked quickly back into the house. She returned moments later with her arms filled with several items. When she returned to the center of her yard she gently placed her load on the ground before organizing them around the large pot. Once everything was in order she reached down and pulled up a small bowl, digging her hand into whatever it held. She walked in a wide circle, spreading the substance on the ground. He could barely make out the faint words that she spoke as she continued to take small steps around the objects that she had arranged. When she was done she reached into her pocket and fumbled for a moment before a match burned to life. She quickly lit a tall, while pillar candle before she shook the match out. He heard more soft murmurs come from her and she reached down again, picking up a thin, long stick that she held against the flame of the candle. A faint woodsy scent filled the night air. Vegeta pulled his legs from the table and set both the glass and bottle down in their place.

Bulma moved slowly around the circle once more, quietly whispering as she stopped and prepared another item. She finally kneeled down before the large pot and began dropping things into it. He squinted against the night and thought that he recognized the small pillow and gardening gloves fall from her hands. More ingredients were added and he watched as she crushed and poured several into the basin. Finally she ceased to move and he again heard more faint whispers float from her mouth. As a soft breeze blew past, causing the tall candle to flicker wildly, he heard the phrase 'let what is done be undone'. At that moment she lit another match and dropped it in with her other ingredients. A fire burst forth and he immediately recognized the pot as a cauldron. He blinked several times in confusion, watching the scene play out. The fire began to blaze hotter and suddenly a roaring, white flame danced high above the kneeling woman. Her soft, blue tendrils floated around her and she was wearing a strange, sky blue robe that was covered in embroidery. Her face was pulled taught in deep concentration. Her eyes pierced into the flame, as if willing it to spill a well hidden secret. As quickly as the flame has arisen, it blinked out.

All Vegeta could see was blackness. His eyes strain to adjust to the sudden darkness, wanting desperately to see what would happen next. He could faintly make out the woman as she continued to kneel in the soft grass. She seemed to be hunched over and as his vision became clearer he saw the rapid rise and fall of her shoulders. A loud sob escaped her and suddenly he felt intrusive. He turned away from the scene before him and stood quickly. His heart beat rapidly and he made an attempt to swallow but his mouth had run dry. What the hell was that? He quickly ushered himself back into his house and shut the door softly, not wanting to alert the woman to his presents.

His body hummed with electricity and he glanced back to the door he had just entered, wishing he hadn't left the bottle of liquor behind. The adrenaline that coursed through his body sent harsh tremors down his arms. Whatever he had just seen had affected him strongly. He could still feel the searing heat of the flame that had burned so brightly just moments ago. He pulled roughly on the tie around his neck, feeling as if it were suffocating him. The empty kitchen in which he stood now seemed too small. He hurriedly made his way to the open living area and sank into the chair that he had occupied earlier that night. Out the window Bulma's house was now completely dark and he found himself wondering if she had made it back inside. The curiosity mixed with his unease forced him out of the chair to pace the floor. Not an hour ago he had felt as if the world was placed upon his shoulder, weighing him down. Now, his body itched for action. There was no way that he could sit here in this empty house.

Moments later Vegeta was roughly pulling his front door shut. The night air had cooled even more and he, once again, glanced over to the woman's house. He forced his gaze forward, determined to get away from her for a while. He zipped the loose cotton jacket around him and cleared his front steps in one bound. His anxious body welcomed the pull and stretch of his muscles as he set off down the street. As he rounded the corner he took comfort in the familiar burn that eased its way through his legs. He didn't know where he was running, he just knew that he need to get as far away from that woman as he could. His concentration on the steady beat of his footsteps fell to the back ground as he rounded another corner. Images of the woman knelt before the giant flame flickered through his mind and he analyzed them in the most logical way he could. She had obviously burnt the small token to dismantle some perceived threat, but why the ritual? It seemed so natural to her, as if she had done it thousands of times. But that wasn't what had him so shook up.

The flame that had been birthed from the wide cauldron was unnatural. It hadn't burnt like a flame should. It was if it had been protesting, trying to roar forward and engulf the woman. But, it was as if it were trapped behind some sort of mystical wall. The woman's piercing eyes had been so full of contempt, yet so sorrowful. Streetlights blurred past him and he pushed harder, widening the distance between himself and the blue haired goddess. The tall trees that loomed overhead shrank into saplings, and the small streets gave way to busy cross sections. Random shops began to pop up and suddenly Vegeta stopped, feeling a familiar pull as he came up upon a small row of shops that sat back away from the main drags of town. They were quaint and charming, standing out from the more corporate scenery. The first business in the row seemed familiar to him. He studied the white letters that were painted on the door, trying to recall where he recognized them from. Suddenly an image of two young boys hoisting a faded, green couch through a narrow door came to his mind.

So this is where she found them. His breaths came out in short pants as he placed his hands against his back, trying to draw air into his lungs. His feet seemed to move on their own accord and he passed several more shops before he stopped again. The glass door that he stood before was covered in small white symbols he didn't recognize that were scattered around a white outline of a nude woman below a swollen moon. Her hands were thrown into the air and her hair was spread out wildly behind her. The words light and love were written in elegant script below the image. The words drew him closer and he felt a soft welcome mat at his feet. His eyes moved down to examine the small square and he jumped back in surprise. Blessed Be was scrawled across it and he looked up again, finally recognizing the image upon the door. This was the woman's shop.

Sweet aromas surrounded him and cupped his hands against the glass, attempting to peer inside. Rows upon rows of bookshelves made up a majority of the inventory. Small tables filled with crystals and stones were scattered randomly and a glass case was placed at the side, filled with items that he couldn't make out. He took a step back and stared at the door. Who was this woman? As he continued to stare a small symbol caught his attention and he focused in on it. It was a small five point star. It twinkled with familiarity but he couldn't recall where he had seen it before. Negative emotions crept up from somewhere unknown and his brow creased in confusion. He examined the other symbols briefly, committing them to memory before he turned and began his trek back home.

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As Vegeta entered his home he didn't bother to remove his sweat soaked clothes before he made a bee line for his office. The dark room was cool and quiet and he quickly pulled back his chair to fall into it before he grabbed a hold of a small mouse, shaking the screen before him to life. As the computer worked to life, Vegeta leaned over to pulled a blank sheet of white paper from the tray of the printer that sat beside him. He scribbled down several of the symbols he had seen, making sure to draw the strange five pointed star at the top. A sense of ease fell over him as the symbols were etched on to the paper. The computer screen blinked on and he immediately opened the internet browser, deciding to first focus of the five point star. Several links filled the white screen and he read over a few briefly, identifying the star as a pentagram. His calmness slowly dissipated and he opened a link that claimed to give the history of pentagrams.

As he read his confusion grew. The words upon the screen glowed brightly and he felt nauseated as the words Satanism and evil began to repeat themselves as he scrolled down the page. Images of blood rites and sacrifices began to appear and he immediately switched the screen off, not wishing to see anymore. The darkness around him felt heavy and he stood immediately, feeling uneasy in his own home. He proceeded to the kitchen and stopped at the site of his back door. Was the woman some Satan worshiper? He had never put much thought into the beast, assuming it to be some fable that decrepit old men had conjured up to scare their views into the simple minded. But, after tonight he didn't know. He knew that what he saw was real. He slowly approached the backdoor and reached for the handle. As the door opened a soft breeze rolled through and he took a deep calming breath. A chuckle fell from his lips and he slouched, feeling stupid about getting so worked up about some woman and a little fire. The bottle he had left upon the table glinted in the moonlight and walked out onto the patio, resolved to get drunk and forget anything had ever happened.

The glass was cool against his palm and as he turned to go back inside a small, stout pot caught his attention. He was frozen in place as his mind returned to the events of the evening. Before he could comprehend what he was doing he was across his patio, standing at the small, white fence that encompassed the woman's yard. He set the bottle on the ground and heaved himself over the barrier with ease. He landed gracefully in the dewy grass and stood there for a moment, contemplating on if he should cross the few feet to quench his curiosity. His contemplation didn't last long and he was before the cauldron in seconds. Inside the heavy vessel were small clumps of white ash. They seemed to still hold their form and he bent slowly to pick them up, curious as to if they had survived the blaze.

A light blinked on behind him and he stood up stiffly, turning to the source of the disturbance. Behind him, the woman was standing on her own patio, dressed in a pair of soft green sweatpants and an overly large grey sweatshirt. He shifted uncomfortably before her and her stature sagged in exhaustion. The hand that she held behind her back dropped to her side and he caught a glimpse of what looked like a dagger.

"What are you doing here, Vegeta?" She asked tiredly. His mouth opened to respond but the words died in his throat. What was he to say? 'I think you might be a devil worshipper so I just came to investigate'? She stood watching him patiently, her eyes never leaving him. "Well, come on in, I've just started brewing some tea." She turned around and made her way through the blackened doorway that led to her house. Vegeta stood in the yard for a few more moments before he made his way inside as well. It seemed if he wanted answers he was going to have to get them from her.

Inside, the house was lit with dozens of candles. The warm yellow light danced across the walls, transforming the sparse area into something magical. A loud clank drew his attention and he watched the woman pull two mugs down from a cabinet that sat above the stove. A shiny red tea kettle steamed aggressively beside her and she reached for it just as it began to whistle. As she filled the mugs the scent of rosebuds and strawberry filled the room.

"You can have a seat at the table if you'd like." She said while filling the second mug. He turned to the table before him and saw the same dagger that she held earlier lying at the corner. He sat in the nearest chair and pulled the sharp object into his hands. It seemed to pulse with energy and he immediately placed it back on the table, unsure of what he had just felt. "It's an athame*." She explained as she eased herself into the chair across from him. She slid a mug towards him before taking a small sip from her own.

"What's an athame?" He asked as he drew the small white cup towards him.

"It's a magickal instrument, meant to direct energy." The explanation seemed so normal coming from her. He glanced at the athame, examining it again. It was a simple, silver blade with an ornate handle. Strong braided brass wrapped around it, ending at a large emerald that gleamed in the candle light. He turned his attention back to her, studying her. She looked even more tired than she had earlier. There were dark purple circles under her clear eyes and he felt a wave of concern wash over him.

"Are you a Satanist?" He asked without preamble. Her laughter shocked him and he dropped against the back of his chair. Her face brightened in humor and he felt himself smirking.

"I'm sorry," She apologized. "I don't mean to laugh. No, I'm not a Satanist. I'm a Wiccan. Wiccan's don't believe in Satan." Vegeta stared at her blankly and she smiled behind her mug, taking another drink. "Why would you ask me that?" She questioned and he suddenly felt very stupid.

"I, uh, there was a pentagram on the door of your shop." Her eyes grew in surprise and he felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment.

"Oh, I wasn't aware you had been there." She said softly and placed her mug down gently. "Well, Pentagrams aren't just used for Satanism. It was first used in Wicca. It represents the union of the God and the Goddess for us. Satanists adopted it when they rebelled against the church. They usually have it upside down. That's where you can make the distinction." The small history lesson filled him with relief and he reached forward to grab his mug. "When were you at the shop?" She asked her intense stare seemingly piercing into his soul.

"I just kind of stumbled upon it tonight on my run." He muttered, gesturing to his clothes, as if they'd back his story up. Bulma nodded as if this was a good enough reason for her, not bothering to ask how he knew it was hers, before standing from her chair.

"Well, I think I'm going to try and get some rest." She glanced at the clock on the wall adjacent to her and he was shocked to see that it was four in the morning. But, his curiosity had not yet been satiated.

"What was that tonight?" He asked bluntly, not caring to use tact after the long evening.

"It was a purification ritual." She answered simply. He continued to stare at her and she sighed, falling back into the chair she had just risen from. "I found a hex bag in my garden today. It's a cheap, armature use of magick to try and scare me. I preformed the ritual to dispel any dark magick that was aimed at me." Her face fell in exhaustion as she spoke and he felt the need to reach out for her, but instead he crossed his arms over his chest, processing the information she had given him.

"And who would hex you?" He asked. "I thought Wiccan's didn't believe in the devil." The afterthought was tagged on quickly, his curiosity rearing up again.

"We don't, but that doesn't mean vicious intent doesn't exist." She pulled the ends of her sleeves over her hands and placed them in her lap, shivering slightly against the coolness of the room. "Many people want to hex me. I'm a very powerful witch who focuses on doing good, and the leader of a very powerful coven, I'm a prime target." Vegeta scoffed at her explanation.

"There is no such thing as witches." Bulma's brows drew down in frustration.

"Listen, I'm really very tired. It's been a long day and I really don't have it in me to play teacher to some skeptical asshole." Vegeta drew back in shock. Did she really just insult him?

"Fine, but next time you want to play make believe keep it inside." His voice was harsh and he was surprised to see her tired eyes light with rage.

"Get out of my house." She hissed and he continued to sit, enjoying the way the anger transformed her demure frame into that of a powerful force. The longer he sat before her the angrier she became. He laughed freely at her, unfolding his arms, placing them on the table before him, silently claiming that he wasn't leaving

"I'll leave when I'm ready." He tested, wishing to see how far he could push her.

"Caith solas ar*." As the words spilled from her mouth her arm snapped forward and a searing bolt of golden lightening crackled across the room, hitting the wall next to his head. He jumped back in self preservation, falling off his chair, landing on the floor with a heavy thump. He turned to look at the wall, a blackened, smoldering hole was burnt into it and he whipped his head back to Bulma, staring at her open mouthed.

Her body sagged and she slid to the floor, bringing her hands to her face. Sobs shook her body as he continued to stare. He stood from the carpeted ground and slowly made his way to her side.

"I'm so sorry." She sobbed, unable to remove her hands from her face. He kneeled beside her and awkwardly placed a hand on her back. She let her body fall into his as she continued to sob. "That was unforgivable. I'm so so sorry. There is no excuse for my behavior. I'm just so scared." The words were stuttered against her ragged breaths and he continued to pat her back, hoping to ease her tears.

When she finally stopped crying the sky outside was beginning to lighten with the coming sun. She pulled away from him and wiped her face on her sleeves before looking up at him.

"I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this, I just have a lot on my plate right now." He shrugged, at a loss for words and stood. She looked up at him before standing as well, taking a step back from him.

"Well, I can…lend you some help if you need it." The unreasonable need to aide this woman overwhelmed him and he didn't really care this time if he sounded soft. Bulma nodded in thanks, walking to the door, opening it for him to leave. As he walked outside he felt an ill breeze pass him and heard Bulma gasp from the door way.

"Something's on it's way." He turned back to her and her eyes were now closed as her lips moving silently into the early morning, her hands drawing invisible symbols in the air around her. When she finished she turned her attention to him and quickly approached him, stopping dangerously close to him. Her right hand rose to his forehead and he felt her trace what felt like a 'Y' with a small tail between the branch. "For protection." He blinked at her and she smiled at him warmly, lingering a beat too long before she stepped away and went back inside, closing the door gently behind her.

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*Athame – it's pronounced a-tham-ee, rhymes with whammy.

*Caith solas ar – Gaelic for light up.

A/N: WHOOT! Hmmmm, what will our dear sweet couple do now? I personally think Vegeta it's just too much of a curious cat to stay away from Bulma at this point ;). Welp! Read and review please and thank you! OH! And smalsa, you are the best! Seriously, you are an inspiration! I'm sorry for any errors that this chapter may or may not have. I've just written it tonight and am too excited to put it up before I get some fresh eyes on it in the morning! Thank you everyone for your kind reviews I really REALLY appreciate them!