Chapter 2 - Flying

As Bulma looked at the two former lovers at the edge of the garden she slowly walked over to her angel friend Whis. Very politely Whis put on a smile "you probably want to know more?" Bulma nodded yes. Whis took a large bite of sushi and laid his staff flat on the table. A small ball of light came forward; images were to be seen blurry.

The image showed big fields of grape vines, large white buildings and beautiful rivers. "It's beautiful there" whispered Bulma. A voice next to Bulma spoke to her "the energy on planet Wain was pure. But slowly everything was taken away from us. When the Pilsners came with terrible poison bombs we couldn't do anything". The blind girl next to Bulma stared straight into the ball of light, just as if she could see something.

Bulma stood up "I'm sorry for what happened. Did the war last long?" The girl reached out her hand to the energy ball near Whis's staff. She closed her eyes "Over thirty years, they waited until our god was asleep. The person assigned by God Beerus to watch over us weakened us, took our wine for himself."

Whis turned to Beerus "my lord, what will you do about that one?" The god was gorging himself on a sorbet. "About what?" he asked questioningly. Lilly walked up to the god and stood close "Frieza" the girl suddenly spoke sternly. Beerus looked from the girl to his angel and Bulma. "Oh that, yes when I see him I do whatever."

At that moment Bulma walked up to the girl "You must be hungry to after a long journey." The girl's expression softened. "Oh yes, sorry that's true" she stammered. Bulma smiled politely "come, I'll walk with you". Together they walked away. But Bulma didn't want to start talking about her mother, she looked at her husband. He stood alone, where was that Vino woman?

Meanwhile, Trunks had arrived at the ship with the squirrel Snipp. Trunks looked surprised "you guys are traveling with this scrap thing?" Snipp looked heavily offended "this baby is a beauty! She has always brought me where needed". Trunks looked suspicious

The ship's cargo door opened, creakingly and squeaking. Trunks was doubting hard for a moment whether he should get in at all, but well if the thing crashed he just flew out. As he walked behind Snipp he asked "how long have you been flying this?" Snipp tapped once against a wall in his ship. "Sweetie and I have been together for over fifteen years."

Together they took place in the cockpit. The seats were worn leather, there were missing buttons on the dash and a gauge or something. The little creature started the engine "Hold on kid, I'm not going to let everyone next to me. But your mom is cute". Shaking, the ship rose into the air. "Snipp can I ask you something? How long have you been traveling with Lilly and her mother?"

Snipp had to think deeply. "I think it's about two years now, I picked them up in a smuggling port. Captain Vino made me an offer I couldn't refuse. And with Lilly around, life is never boring anyway". Trunks kept silent as he held on to the seat of the flying wreck.

As Vegeta sat quietly under a tree eating a sandwich, Bulma came and sat next to him. The Saiyan prince looked at his wife and picked up a bottle of water next to him and pressed it into her hand. Bulma took it but kept looking at her husband "I don't think I'll get an answer if I ask how you're doing."

The prince chuckled for a moment and shook his head. "Bulma, you have no need to worry. You are thinking too much. You and that one loser are just getting along too you know." Bulma looked at Yamcha for a moment, and it was true that they were friends. Bulma sighed "why didn't you ever tell me about her?" she asked softly.

At first he said nothing then there came only a deep sigh. It was then that he slowly began "our history was peculiar. We were like magnets but with total different endgames. After I heard she was dead I exiled her from my memories ". Bulma put a hand on Vegeta`s upper arm "honey, that is" but Bulma was interrupted by a loud rocket engine sound.

At a steady pace, a ship flew over the grounds. It landed in front of the hangar Bulma had appointed. The blue-haired woman looked at the ship with a tilted head "what's that? A flying scrap heap?" Her husband stared for a moment but then said "that's a Needletail? Those were legendarily fast, but this one looks like a complete junkyard".

The group walked up to the ship, the cargo door opened. Trunks walked out, followed by a grinning Snipp. Trunks stopped at the height of his mother "mom, the ship might need some repairs". The blue haired woman walked over to the ship and tapped it a few times. Snipp leaned against a wheel with his arms crossed " baby, the door is already open you know". Behind him an angry looking Vegeta appeared.

The gray squirrel turned around "Lilly?" he yelped slightly in a state of panic. The blonde girl stood quietly licking an ice cream cone. "Easy Snipp, men don't like it when you call their wife baby. Say sorry and the angry prince will walk away, you hope" Snipp got an awkward grin on his face "Sorry?" Vegeta rolled his eyes and walked over to his wife, he whispered "I don't trust that one". Bulma gave him a squeeze on his upper arm.

Suddenly Vegeta felt something hanging from his arm; he looked down and saw Bulla. "Daddy, daddy, can I look inside the spaceship?" Vegeta briefly sought eye contact with his wife, who looked alarmed. Vegeta put on a sort of a smile "sweetie, that ship is not very safe. But when it's fixed I'm sure you'll be allowed to look inside". Trunks lifted his sister up and put her on his shoulders "trust dad, that ship is not safe". Together they walked away.

Bulma opened a hatch in the ship, Snipp ran towards her startled. "Woman what are you doing now?" Vegeta turned around and put his hands in his pockets "Calm down rodent, my wife is a genius. She's just being nosy. And if anyone can fix up your ship, it's Bulma". Vegeta walked away, Bulma looked into the ship in amazement "what's this?" she called out and grabbed a loose part. "That's a problem" said Snipp.

It was the beginning of the evening; Vegeta was sitting on a lounging chair with a sleeping little girl on his chest. She might have been five already, she was still his baby girl. As slowly as he could he got up, he didn't want to wake her. He saw the other fighters looking at him, but he didn't care much.

When Vegeta entered his daughter's bedroom he turned on a small nightlight. It was a small moon; Bulla sometimes asked when she would be able to become a big monkey. Each time Vegeta told another story. He didn't want her to suddenly think she wanted a tail and then look for the dragon balls to wish one.

The big tough Saiyan prince put his little girl to bed, gently waking her up for a moment. "Daddy? Do you want to say the verse again?" The tough man sat down on the bed with the pink covers and put his hand on her head. "Modice asinus lupum Hodie ludum est spissamentum. Ecce enim in tempore ire. Nullum mendacium veterascit nobis."

Slowly Vegeta got up from the bed. Carefully he walked out of the bedroom. For a moment he thought what he would walk to. He went to his wife, he didn't trust that Snipp. Although Bulma will stand her ground. His route to the hangar took him past the kitchen. When he looked inside he saw his son with Kakarot's offspring and Vino`s daughter. Quickly Trunks tucked a bottle behind his back. Vegeta rolled his eyes.

When Trunks saw his father walk away he sighed deeply. Lilly started laughing hard "what are you so afraid of? Aren't you allowed to drink alcohol or something?" At the same time Trunks and Goten shook their heads. Goten scratched his head for a moment "I already got a lecture from my mother". Trunks began to chuckle. Lilly grabbed the bottle from Trunks' hand "more for me" she teased.

After taking a sip Trunks grabbed it back "hey my dad just walked by". Then Goten grabbed the bottle from Trunks. "I'm dead anyway" and took a sip. Then he heard his name in the hallway. His mother was approaching. Goten quickly pushed the bottle back into Trunks' hands and flew out into the hallway "come already mother". He waved a quick goodbye to the two in the kitchen.

Goten disappeared into the hallway and Trunks looked aside for a moment. Quickly he took a sip from the bottle. Lilly started to smile "just ask". Trunks looked surprised "What?" he stammered. The girl grabbed the bottle "I'm blind, but I just grab the bottle. You want to know how". Trunks nodded yes but then he figured out she was blind, stuttering he said "yes".

The girl walked to the other side of Trunks as she pushed the bottle back in his hands "I was blessed at my birth". Trunks rose an eyebrow "blessed? You are blind, how is that blessed". Without looking Lilly grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl "I am blind, but see more than you. I may not see like you, but I see energy in all forms. Not only individuals but everything around us has energy. From grains of sand, to seeds in the ground".

Trunks threw the bottle up and Lilly grabbed it out of the air. The purple haired boy had a smile on his face "impressive". Lilly took a sip "you know what's impressive, that this is your first time drinking, how old are you? Eighteen?" Trunks growled "19". The girl laughed teasingly and stuck out her tongue.

The genius of family was half in the belly of the ship. She fumbled a bit through the cables and through the wiring. "What illogical engineering, original this could never have been built this way." She climbed further into the belly of the ship and sat between the engines. She pulled herself up and pushed something open, she opened a hatch of some sort and came into a messy cabin. It was dusty and there was a lot of stuff everywhere.

She hit a flashlight twice and it blinked on. The beam of light glided over crates, boxes and suitcases. Next to Bulma was a duffel bag; she looked into it curiously. It contained clothes, beautiful silk dresses and ribbons. Then her hand touched something hard, Bulma grabbed it and pulled it out of the duffel bag. Bulma stared with her flashlight at a small book with a worn red cover. There was a gold ribbon inside the booklet. She flipped it over and stared at some beautiful handwriting.

She flipped through the booklet; different inks had been used to write. Some pieces were short and some texts were long. It was like a diary. Bulma scanned the pages, and then suddenly she saw her husband's name. Was this Vino`s diary? Were these dresses ever hers? The flashlight shone into the bag and Bulma`s hand stroked the silk fabric. She began to read:

Today was a strange day. Lord Frieza had summoned General Malbec and me. Even now, this place still gives me the creeps. I know what we are doing is not right. But our god assigned this person as protector of our planet, there must be a reason. Arriving at the lord's room, we were given a sermon. We were not the warriors he had hoped for. Personally, I won't know what he had expected either. While the lord was talking about more loyalty, another team was let into the room. When Frieza addressed them I got a strange feeling in my stomach, Saiyans! With everything I had I tried to ignore the person who had come to stand next to me. The stories must be true; when I glanced at the man next to me I saw two deep black eyes. There was no love, no joy, just coldness and animal instinct. This was the infamous Prince Vegeta and he gave me Goosebumps.

Then Bulma was pulled out of the story by a familiar voice. Quickly she squeezed the booklet into the back of her overalls and slid back down the hatch, through the engines to the underside of the ship's belly. "Honey?" Bulma looked at her husband. "Bulla's in bed, she was exhausted." Bulma smiled "thank you, I was a little occupied with this wreck". Vegeta looked at the ship.

The warrior shook his head "and can you ever imagine that this was once the fastest ship in the Frieza Force? Only twenty-five of them were made". A tough high-pitched voice came from the cargo door of the ship "she's still very fast, this baby has just been through a lot". Vegeta turned around "Tell me, how did you get this ship?"

As Snipp caressed the doorway he grinned mischievously "won her during a gambling game". Then Snipp pressed against his ear and said "I'm coming". The squirrel walked away. Bulma looked puzzled "what was that now?" Vegeta crossed his arms "Vino, I think she is back. Come this might be something you emotional humans can find interesting".

Arriving in the garden, Vino and Lilly stood by the pond in their robes. Snipp was standing next to them; some of the Z fighters were standing a distance away watching. Vegeta walked to the pond, Vino handed him a candle. Bulma went to stand next to her parents and Piccolo "do you know what is happening here?" she asked softly. Trunks whispered "they are saying goodbye to a crew member; he had died a few days ago".

Everyone watched as, as many as a hundred flowers floated on the water in the pond. Bulma didn't want to know where they came from. A small urn was placed on a leaf and Vino pushed it up the pond. The most beautiful voice filled the garden, Vino sang a sad song and it was a strange language. Lilly brought her hands forward; all the flowers began to shine like little bright stars. It was like a night sky in the water.

The lights were swirling upward as the urn seemed to have disappeared. Vino, Snipp and Vegeta all three put a candle on a leaf which floated through the dead flowers left in the water. It was sinister and beautiful at the same time. At the end of the song everyone made a bow, Vegeta stayed upright but still showed his respect by making a small nod towards Vino. The three guests walked away together.

Bulma walked over to her husband "what was all this about?" Vegeta turned to her. "This is their crossing ritual, Waino`s believe that without this ritual they can`t go in to Walhalla". Bulma looked at her husband questioningly. Another woman`s voice came from a few feet away. "Prince, thank you. I know you dislike our rituals". Vino staggered on with her walking stick.

The tough warrior looked at his wife again and then at the guests that were still there "I think we're done here, party's over". Everyone said their goodbyes and Vegeta walked to the training room. Bulma called after him, but Vegeta wanted to be alone for a while. His head was full, full of memories from the past. He had repressed them; he had always felt fine without these past memories in his head.

The blue-haired woman walked into her bedroom alone. She unzipped her overall and a small book felt out. She picked up the old diary from the floor. She laid it on a desk and clicked on a reading lamp. She read on from where she had stopped:

Later in the corridor, the prince addressed me. He was standing far too close, his nose almost against my forehead. He might be a prince, but you stay out of a lady's personal space. He had seen my tail; he asked who my progenitor was. Who talks so coldly about a parent? He labeled my presence as interesting. Just before I wanted to step away, he ran a hand over my tail. I felt like thousands of lightning bolts were shooting through my body. The prince had a wicked grin. What was he doing? What does he want from me? And why is it that I can still feel that touch. Four hours after that! As I wrote, a strange day.

A door opened; quickly Bulma put the diary under a photo album of the children and turned around. Her husband looked at her, still her heart made a small jump when he looked at her with such intensity. Bulma got up and walked over to Vegeta. He grabbed his wife's face and pressed his lips to hers. They melted into an intensive kiss that she could only do with Vegeta. Clothes fell to the floor; together they made their way to the bed. God, how she loved this man.

Thank you for reading chapter 2
Xxx VL

The rhyme Vegeta said to Bulla is actually a Dutch children's verse translated into Latin. What he says is:

Behind a little dark cloud
The moon plays hide and seek.
Look, it's coming again.
And smiles at us.