Hoy. Thanks again or all the reviews and nice things.

Kalebxdd worked behind the scenes again as my beta-reader.

Chapter 20

Sitting on a couch apart from the crowd, Vegeta was gazing at the loud guests celebrating in the huge reception hall. They were all there. The little bald monk, the tall Namekian, the bearded pervert, the scarface. All of them were binging and having fun in a deafening, overheated atmosphere.

The only one missing was the one Vegeta had been truly waiting for. Goku was supposed to join them, or at least his wife had said so, but as usual he hadn't shown up and Vegeta realized it was late now. The bell had already announced the New Year for a while, and Goku's ki was nowhere nearby.

Vegeta sighed. He envied the other Saiyan's carelessness about the Earthling ritual. Chichi wouldn't even be able to nag at her husband for missing the party. Vegeta was wondering if Goku hadn't indeed chosen a better path than himself. The former Prince was still living in the outhouse as far away as possible from his freaky, exhausting family and he hadn't been able so far to make any definitive decision whether to leave the place once and for all or to return to his Earthling life. Goku wouldn't bother that much.

Vegeta was snatched out his meditation by a slight touch on his lap. He found out Bulla was standing in front of him with a large smile on her face. Bulma had dressed her in a red velvet dress with a lacy collar, and her hair was tied with silky ribbons. The kid looked quite like a doll that way but her father knew she liked it. She loved that outfit and had been very excited to wear it. That made Vegeta aware of the distance separating their worlds. Fighting would never excite her, nor flying, nor controlling her ki, nor beating any monsters that would scare her. What excited the girl was playing a fairy in a ballet or looking like a doll. She liked sweet, delicate things, regardless to their usefulness or the might they could provide to her. It sounded so unfamiliar to him that he was well-aware that he would somehow always be a stranger to her. Yet, there was that deep, strange feeling within him. He couldn't help but consider her like an unique treasure that had to be protected no matter the cost. At this thought, he gave her a weak smile.

"Make some room for me," she yawned while climbing on the sofa next to him. She nestled herself against him and rested her head in his lap.

Vegeta had noticed disgusting chocolate stains on her chin and even on her dress, so he had a backlash. "Fine, just don't mess up my shirt with your chocolate crap, you got stains all over your chin," he mumbled.

The girl blinked in surprise and wiped her face with her sleeves, leaving some marks on her skin, before putting her head down back on her father's laps.

He looked down at her. Her flawless hairstyle had turned into a mess of strands due to her running all around and crawling under tables. The ribbons had long given up to their duty to hold the locks in straight ponytails. Bulla seemed to be back to a more normal life lately. She hardly still had some nightmares. He patted her head gently. "Don't fall asleep on me, Princess, just go to bed."

"I'm so tired, would you carry me to my room?" she asked with a little pleading voice.

He grunted with annoyance as he understood her loving behaviour had only been a way to coax him to carry her to her bed.

"Hm. You don't like it much when there are too many people around, do you?" a voice stated all of sudden.

Vegeta got startled and needed some time before finding out that the pinkish-haired witch was standing in front of them. Bulla sat up on the go and frowned at the sight. Baba gave her her best toothless smile which caused the kid to press herself a little more against her father.

Then, the old woman turned her gaze to Vegeta. "In fact, you don't like the crowd either, but she's got a better reason than you to dislike people's company."

She winked at Bulla "Am I wrong, honey?"

"What do you mean?" Vegeta asked.

The witch's smile faded a bit. "Didn't you tell your parents about those intrusive voices and feelings in you, sweetheart? You should have by now, you're big enough," she scowled at Bulla.

The little girl grasped her father's shirt and buried her face in the fabric in order to hide from Baba's eyes.

"What are you talking about?" the Saiyan asked again, with a more demanding tone.

Baba had her hands clasped behind her back and her eyes glued to the little girl that still refused to look at her. The old witch sighed. "Honey, I have to tell them, don't you mind? Your mum's worried about you."

Bulla straightened all of a sudden. "I don't know what you're talking about," she exclaimed. Then, she jumped on her feet and ran away.

Vegeta watched her in bewilderment as she got lost in the crowd. "What the heck was that?"

Baba was still looking in the direction the girl had headed and gave another sigh. "Your wife told me your daughter was acting weird, she told me you were worried about some strange things the kid says and she asked me if I had any idea what could be wrong with her."

"So?" Vegeta mumbled, hardly able to hide his curiosity.

"Do you know what empathy is?" Baba asked. "I guess not. Empathy is the ability to feel other people's feelings and, to a larger extent, to guess their thoughts. In a way, it's the ability to slip in other people's shoes. Everyone got this ability more or less… Or at least, Earthlings do."

"And what does this have to do with Bulla?" Vegeta spat with irritation while crossing his arms and leaning toward the little woman in a threatening gesture. Baba lashed back a little. "Bulla suffers an excess of empathy, maybe she inherited that which you lack," she hissed with sarcasm.

The Saiyan merely frowned and the old woman seemed to enjoy his full attention. She cleared her throat. "Your daughter is hypersensitive. Her mind is unable to protect itself from others' minds wandering around, and she finds herself unwillingly connected to people's feelings. Sometimes, when people are close enough to her, this connection can even take an incredible extent."

Vegeta gave the old woman an incredulous glare. However, truth to be told, he was torn between the option of shrugging with disdain or asking for more. Baba was gazing back at him with cold, knowing eyes, still standing in silence right in front of him.

"What is supposed to happen then?" Vegeta mumbled.

"The connection is generally activated by great feelings. Then, both minds fuse somehow. If the host's mind is weaker than hers, Bulla will take the upper hand and her will and feelings will overwhelm the other person. Yet if the host's mind is stronger than hers, Bulla will submit to it. She will feel, know and think the exact same things as her host. In some extreme cases, she would even be able to see and hear the things her host does. Just like I said, she would walk in this host's shoes."

"You mean she would stuck in that person's head?"

"Exactly. Stuck is the right word, like an intangible ghost, able to understand what's going on but unable to affect the course of events."

"Huh. Very hard to believe," Vegeta stated.

"For a stubborn brain like yours, I guess it is, but think about it. How does she behave with you?"

"Are you hinting she could go into my head the way you described? What a joke," he mocked.

Baba shook her head. "No, that's not what I mean, your mind is much too impervious to allow her any deep connections with you but I'm sure she's sensitive enough to guess your main feelings."

Vegeta mulled about that statement. Truth to be told, he had always been surprised about the little girl keeping her distance from him. Sometimes she even ignored him while she liked to cuddle her mother a lot. Even her relationship with Trunks had always been much warmer. Vegeta had never complained about his daughter's behavior because he hated any Earthling displays of affection like kisses or hugs. He disliked any physical contact apart from some very particular circumstances. So, what the old witch was saying could make some sense, because the way Bulla acted with him looked more like the exact reflection of his own feelings than like her natural way of being with people. He frowned at this thought.

Baba smiled as if she could hear his mind agreeing with her theory. "I'm sure she's always a good girl, doing exactly what people expect from her."

Vegeta shrugged. "The way she acts with me doesn't mean anything. Furthermore, she hasn't been what you call a good girl lately, and she hasn't done what I expected from her either."

"Yeah, Bulma told me about that, that's a bit worrying. She told me about an imaginary friend."

"That's right, she won't admit it's all in her head and she's scared of it. I don't think there's much you can do about that."

Baba rubbed her chin in a thoughtful gesture. "Maybe this isn't about an imaginary friend but about someone she's connected to."

Vegeta huffed. "I don't think so, unless you have ever seen such a thing wandering around," he retorted while slipping Bulla's picture of the Jabberwocky out of his pocket.

The witch unfolded the paper and watched the drawing for a moment. She gave it back to the Saiyan and shook her head. "No. Never seen such a thing before. If this is supposed to be her imaginary friend, I can't say what it's all about. Nevertheless, I think Bulla might need some help to deal with that hypersensitivity. You should send her to me for a few days, I'll teach her some tricks to get along with it."

"Whatever," Vegeta sighed while running his hand in his mane.

"As you wish. I wanted to chat with your wife about that issue but I think… huh… She won't be very receptive by now. Tell her to call me."

Vegeta spotted Bulma on the dancefloor. She was laughing and wobbling in a manner that left little doubt about what she had to drink. He rolled his eyes. When he looked down, Baba was gone already. She had left him behind with that goddam drawing in his hand.

He couldn't prevent his eyes from locking themselves back on that fucking pathetic sketch. He thought back about the witch's theory.

All of sudden, some gears were triggered in his brain and he felt like a light had been turned on to give him complete view on the setting. A shiver ran up his spine and he gasped.

He jumped on his feet and made his way forcefully in the crowd. He had to see Trunks. Right now. Yet, the boy was nowhere to be found. The Saiyan was too impatient to go through the whole house and he ended up walking straight to a poker table where Goten was sitting with Krillin, Yamcha and that huge guy, Goku's father in law.

Their coarse laughs were interrupted by Vegeta's nervous voice. "Goten, where's Trunks?" he barked, causing everyone to startle.

Goku's son raised surprised eyes on the Saiyan. The boy had a second thought and scratched his head. "Huh… I haven't seen him in a while."

"I saw him flying off, maybe half an hour ago. Surely gone to join a girl, you should leave him alone," Krilin answered with a raspy voice and a wink.

"Shut up, drunkass," Goten hissed.

A general laugh bursted out but Vegeta wasn't listening anymore. Fuck. He strode away ignoring Yamcha's voice in his back. "Just, don't tell Bulma!"

After a few steps though, the Saiyan bumped into his daughter again. She bounced on him and hugged him forcefully. He felt her trembling against his body. He crouched down and returned a gentle embrace. "Dad, it's happening again," she whispered. He pressed her closer to him and rubbed her head in a soothing gesture. "I'm going to take care of that once and for all, Princess. Don't worry, I swear everything's gonna be fine," he answered with a low voice.

She looked up at him with hope shining in her eyes. "You won't hurt anyone, will you? I'm so scared," she murmured. He ran a finger along her soft cheek stained with a curious mix of chocolate and tears. She looked so innocent. "I said everything will be fine. Just promise me you won't tell anyone," he answered.

She nodded while sniffing. He took her in his arms and lifted her. Her light body was still shaking from sobs. Vegeta was in a hurry, though. He spotted Gohan's wife and walked to her. Videl had no time to protest as he thrusted his child in her arms. "Take care of her, she had a nightmare," he grunted. Videl's mouth opened but by the time she could form any sound, Vegeta was gone, ignoring his daughter's frantic calls.

He dashed out the house. When he closed the door, the humming of the party was muffled and he enjoyed the sudden quietness. However, he had no time to linger on that feeling. He shut his eyes and stood still in the frozen garden for a minute. His mouth was dry with a bitter taste in it, and his heart was beating up to his ear while praying that his son wouldn't have suppressed his ki this time.

Vegeta focused hard and his mind located Trunks's energy with a frightening accuracy. His blood froze and he had a deep frown of disbelief. That was bad.

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