1

Sea Monkeys

To the outside observer, the clearing was peaceful. The sun was rising above the trees in the distance, there were a few silver clouds rolling overhead, and the birds in the branches were singing their first songs of the day.

However, below the surface of the glistening lake, Vegito was beating a fish to death.

Then, he burst out from the pool, landing on the bank - a huge fish in his grasp. The boy hummed, looking over his catch. "Yeah, you'll do," he decided, grabbing his blue gi from the grassy floor and throwing it on over his orange shirt. Then, he reaffirmed his grip on the fish's fins and tore off through the forest.

Halfway home, he skidded to a halt, his grey shoes kicking up dust as he slid across the dirt path. Leaving his catch on a nearby tree stump, he cracked his knuckles, then leapt towards a nearby oak. He kicked the trunk in half, catching the bark before it hit the ground. Hearing a distinct yelling, he glanced up at a set of branches to his left, spotting a small monkey glaring back at him.

"Don't worry," Vegito said, "I'm not gonna cut down every tree. Just this one for firewood. Mmkay?"

When the animal kept yelling, Vegito uncurled his tail from around his waist. "Hey, I'm like you. See?" he grinned. Upon seeing Vegito's standout feature, the monkey calmed a little, ceasing its screaming. "See you around," Vegito hoisted his accumulated wood over his shoulder, reclaimed his lunch-to-be, then continued at a blinding pace through the trees.

Home wasn't too far from there. Vegito sped past the small cabin, dropping his fish by the front door. He bundled his firewood by the stove that sat adjacent to the house's left wall, then turned to grab his catch. As he was reaching down, a roar sounded behind him and he snapped to attention. There was some kind of mechanical monster charging him.

Curling his fists, Vegito charged back. The two met in the middle, with Vegito punching his attacker and sending it spiralling through the air. It landed in a heap down the road, billowing smoke. "Are you gonna get up?" the boy demanded, "'Cause I could do with a workout. Uh... hello?"

"What the Hell?" a high-pitched voice squealed. A figure clambered out of the wreckage. Vegito folded his arms at the sight of a teenage girl. "Do you just go around flipping people's cars like that? Are you some kinda monster?" she demanded.

The girl clambered to her feet, letting the dawn light shine on her - giving Vegito a better look at her. She had violet hair, which she wore in a pony tail. Her eyes matched that colour, and might've looked quite nice if she wasn't using them to glare at Vegito. "Was that some kinda shell you were hiding in?" Vegito was in her face in a second, which made her foul look fade, "Were you gonna try and eat me?"

"What? No! I wasn't w-watching the road! Sorry!"

Unimpressed, Vegito began circling her. "Hey, where's your tail?" he asked, looking her up and down, "And what are you wearing? Those trousers looks way too tight. Why are you up in the mountains anyway?"

"Tail? Huh?" the girl gave a perplexed look at Vegito stopped in front of her.

Pointing to his own tail, Vegito said, "Like mine."

"H-Huh?"

"Well, nevermind - I guess. What're you doing around here, speeding about in a metal shell? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you wanted to scare someone!"

The girl shook her head. "I'm looking for the Dragon Balls," she said, "And that was my car. Have you not ever seen a car before?"

"Don't think so," Vegito said, turning on his heels and heading back to his cabin, "See you around, weirdo."

"Hey, h-hang on!" the girl hurried after him, "Do you have a Dragon Ball?"

"Probably not. I don't even know what that is, but if it's anything like your car, I'd rather not know."

"Well, it's a small orb like this," the stranger rummaged through her bag, pulling out a pair of orange spheres with crimson star-shapes etched into them, "See?"

Vegito slumped his shoulders and eyed the artifact. Then, he tilted his head and he hummed. "Yeah, I got one of those," he said.

The girl's eyes seemed to light up and she yelled, "Really?"

"No need to shout, I'm right here."

"Do you think I could have it?"

"First you hit me with your car, then you start shouting at me, and now you're asking for my stuff? I don't even know your name, lady. Err, you are a girl, aren't you?"

"Do I look like a boy to you?"

Vegito shrugged.

"Yes, I'm a girl. And my name is Bulma."

"And I'm Vegito," Vegito introduced himself, grabbing his fish and throwing open the door to his cabin.

Bulma fought a laugh. "What kind of name is Vegito?" she covered her mouth.

"What kinda name is Bulma?" Vegito retorted, dropping his food on a diminutive dining table in the corner. "Anyways, here's my - uh - Dragon Ball," he pointed to the amber sphere sitting atop the pedestal that overlooked the rest of the house, "What exactly do you need it for? It's not really good for anything other than collecting dust, but my grandpa liked it."

"Well, if you get all seven, you're supposed to get to make a wish," Bulma explained, "I just wanna see if the legend is true or not."

"Sounds like a fairytale to me. What would you even wish for? A better name?"

"A boyfriend," Bulma swooned.

"That's even worse than what I said," Vegito stuck his tongue out in disgust, "A boyfriend? Yuck!"

Ignoring Vegito's mockery, Bulma reached for the ball. "So, I'll just take this and be on my way," she said.

"Hey!" Vegito stopped her, "You can't just wander in and steal my Dragon Ball! I'll give it to you on one condition!"

Bulma looked disheartened. "What?" she frowned.

"I get to come with you to find the others."

"I could do without some brat tagging along, thank you very much!" Bulma snapped.

Vegito folded his arms, "That's the deal, lady."

Bulma looked like she was about to boil over, but then all the rage building inside her seemed to dissipate. "Okay, Bulma," she said, "Think this through. This guy who totalled your car is offering to come with you."

"Are you talking to me, or..."

"And there are a bunch of monsters everywhere these days, so you could do with the extra protection. Okay, you've got yourself a deal, Vegito!"

Bulma extended her hand. "Are you talking to me now?" the boy asked.

"Yes."

"Cool," Vegito shook Bulma's hand, "Let's go after lunch. I'm starved!"

. . .

"What'd you do to it?" Vegito circled the capsule (which had once been Bulma's wrecked car) curiously, his tail waving freely.

Bulma retrieved a rectangular case from her bag and pulled down a pair of goggles. "Good ol' capsule tech. You can fit just about anything in these babies," Bulma stood proudly, throwing down another capsule. It exploded against the grass, leaving an explosion of smoke in its wake. When the grey cloud faded, leaving a new vehicle in its place.

"Huh. That's pretty sweet, I guess."

"Yeah, it is," Bulma agreed, kneeling down and picking up the cracked capsule that she'd compressed her car into. "This is a motorbike. Can you say moh-terr-bike?" she smirked.

"I'm not a baby, yunno. Anyway, how much food could'ja cram into one of those?" Vegito asked, watching as Bulma climbed onto the seat of her bike.

Signing, Bulma hang her head. "Probably a lot," she shrugged, "You getting on or what?"

"I guess," Vegito leapt behind Bulma, "Does this thingy have anything on it to stop us flying off?"

"You're supposed to hold onto me."

"You wish," Vegito muttered. Rolling her eyes behind her thick goggles, Bulma brought the bike to life with the tap of a button, then took off down the mountain.

"So," Bulma wracked her brain for conversation topics, "You live on that mountain alone?"

"Uh-huh. Ever since Gramps died."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that, kid."

"Don't worry about it. He was super old anyway," Vegito said. Despite his dismissal, Bulma managed to pick up on a slight tinge of sadness in his otherwise-jovial tone.

Deciding to change the subject, she said, "How old are you?"

"What's the number after the number after ten?" Vegito asked.

"Twelve?"

"That's the one. I'm that."

"You're a little tall for a twelve-year-old," Bulma observed.

"And you're a little short for an old woman!"

"Excuse me?" Bulma almost stopped her bike, "I'm only sixteen, thank you very much!"

"Is that old?"

"I'm four years older than you," Bulma practically snarled.

"Well, you don't look it," Vegito teased.

Tightening her grip on her handlebars, Bulma retorted, "Would you just shut up back there?"

"Can do, lady."

"And would you stop calling me that?"

"Whatever you say."

The bike continued along the winding path that lead down from Mount Paozu, with Vegito occasionally sputtering as the lashing wind sent strands of Bulma's lilac hair into his mouth. "Why can't you have normal hair like me?" he'd commented at one point, to which Bulma had almost retorted by pointing out the absurdity of his gravity-defying hairstyle.

Bulma rode onwards, through the forest at the base of the great mountain and onwards towards an open plateau beneath the afternoon sun. It was only now that Vegito asked, "So where exactly are we goin'? You got a map for these things or something?"

"Yeah, actually," Bulma reached into the dashboard, grabbing a circular radar from beyond her handlebars, "Take a look."

Vegito took the device and held it up to his face. The emerald-coloured screen blinked and flashed, with three blinking dots in the very centre. "Oh. I guess that's us," he deciphered. Then, he started mashing the buttons. "On, off, on, off, on, off, on, o-- Hey!" he frowned as Bulma snatched the machine back.

"Be careful with that!" she snapped, "This is very delicate equipment!"

"Okay, okay. I solemnly swear to never again touch your stupid toys. Hey, what's that?"

"What's what?"

"Up ahead on the side of the road. You see that?" Vegito pointed. Sure enough, Vegito's dark eyes were focused on a shape in the distance. "Let's go get a closer look," he reccomend.

Bulma slowed her vehicle, pulling up beside the shape. "Hey," she removed her goggles, glancing down at the creature below, "It's a turtle. What're you doing out here, little guy?"

Gradually, the sea creature turned his head to face the girl. "Oh hiya," he spoke at a snail's pace, "I didn't expect to see anyone else out here. You two headed to the ocean too?"

"Are we?"

Bulma examined the Dragon Radar. "We're going in that direction," she confirmed, "Why?"

"If it's no trouble," the turtle said, "I could use some help. I went to the store for some magazines and got lost, so now I'm all the way out here."

"We'd love to help, but we're on a tight schedule," Bulma shrugged.

"No we aren't," Vegito hopped down from the bike, "We could help this guy out. What's your name?"

"Turtle," the turtle introduced himself with a lazy smile.

"Nice to meet'cha," Vegito said, "I'm Vegito and the old bag up there is Bulma. We'll walk with you to the ocean."

"We will?" Bulma looked flabbergasted.

"Yep! Put that moh-terr-bike away."