Chapter 2; The Curse Gets Worse - The Voodoo Priestess

"Oh no!" Vegeta gasped. "Bulma!" He bit his bottom lip. "She's not going to be happy about this." While he was there, he took a moment to look around. Behind him hung a banner which held a text which he couldn't read from the distance, so he walked over. "The Long John Silver Center for the Performing Arts presents 'Speare'." Beside it was a sign that said 'Welcome to Puorto Pollo, from the Plunder Island Poultry Brotherhood.

Above the sign stood an anchor with a chicken on it. Vegeta quirked an eyebrow and looked behind him. Yep. A dozen of chickens were roaming about. Vegeta then noticed a glowing ember, and picked it up, putting it in his pants, but not before saying: "OUCH!"

Instead of going to Puorto Pollo, he took a different direction, toward what appeared to be a swamp of some kind. On one of the trees, some carvings were made, which Vegeta gave one glance, and said: "Mysterious," before walking on again.

Once he arrived, he sweat-dropped. There was a ship, up in a tree, and the hold was opened as if it was the door. The was a bridge in front of him that was made out of bones and there were skulls with candles on them standing on spikes beside the bridge, and two on a giant wooden like doorpost, but without the door. Above it was a bovine skull. "Hmmm…" Once Vegeta made a move to cross the bridge---

"BOOOOOOO!!!!"

Vegeta nearly jumped out of his skin, but when a certain laughing made it to his ears, he scowled angrily at the laughing skull atop a spike who was laughing his head off (lot literally of course!). He gave a sigh and said: "Oh, it's just you again." Yamcha smirked, and said: "Just your most terrifying image of evil revisited!" "Yeah, right." "I bring you warning from the infernal realms… do not go farther into the swamp! Turn back! Turn back! Darkness will envelop you!" Yamcha laughed maniacally again. Vegeta had never thought of seeing him again, and now, he was up there, but how the hell did he get up there in the first place?

"How'd you get all the way up there?" Vegeta asked. "Through sheer force of will," Yamcha answered. "Uh huh." "All right, it was a bunch of those weird voodoo kids. They found me on shore and put me on top of this spike, all the time thinking they were SO funny!!!"

"Do you need me to help you down?" "Help?!" Yamcha hissed. "I need no help from you foolish mortals! I am Yamcha! The all-powerful demonic skull!!" "Okay! Man, I just thought I'd ask." "Don't get me wrong; I do appreciate the offer."

"What are you doing up there?" "I am standing as a testament…" Vegeta looked the skull up and down and repeated: "Standing?" "…hanging as a testament to the power of the forces of Evil that will one day claim victory over the entire earth!"

"How long are you going to keep doing that?" "As long as it takes!" "Must get pretty dull up there, I suppose." "NEVER! The powers of darkness are never dull! We will one day prove that…" Yamcha stopped and sighed. "Oh, who am I trying to fool? I'm bored out of my skull! Figuratively speaking, of course."

"You seem restless." "Oh, I don't know. It's just that not many people come through this swamp." "What would you rather be doing?" "I need to be out among the lesser people, terrifying them and causing pain and misery!" "…That would make you happy?" "Yes, happy in a dark, demonic way."

"Do you know anything about lifting curses?" "Oh, right. I know a lot about lifting curses. That's why I'm a disembodied talking skull sitting on top of a spike in the middle of a swamp!!" "You seem bitter." "I'm sorry. It's been a rough day."

"Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but… uh… I've got to go!" Vegeta said, ending the conversation and running toward the ship before Yamcha could say anything else.

As he walked in, he instantly smelled all kinds of herbs and the sight of a real mess! Paper dolls were scattered all over the ground with pins in them, above him hung a steering wheel with candles, on his left hand was a big alligator with a pretty long tongue, for an alligator, and on his right was a gumball machine. Vegeta smirked and got the bag of wooden nickels from his pants. He chose his pack after throwing a nickel in, and indeed, a pack of gum came out. "WOW! I got a whole pack of gum!" he said, taking one out and began to chew.

"Hmmm… Vanilla!"

After blowing a few bubbles, he spit it out and looked at one special doll with a rather large pin in it. He picked it out of the doll, and somewhere, an old man said: "What a relief!" Vegeta looked around for something peculiar, and finally came back to the alligator's tongue. He examined it, before giving it a good pull, making a gong sound which made him jump back in surprise.

Before he knew it, he was face to face with a raven haired woman around his own age with beautiful brown eyes, and dressed in a white and red silken dress, who sat in a chair surrounded by candles. On her right hand was a strange pot of some kind.

Vegeta looked at her in confusion, before asking: "Who are you and how did you just appear like that?" With a clear and firm voice she said: "I am one gifted with the Second Sight, adept at manipulating the forces of nature for the benefit of all who enter my door." Vegeta thought about this and said: "You're a fashion consultant?" "Well, yes, but that was not what I was referring to," the lady asked, gaining an exasperated expression on her face. "I am a Voodoo Priestess."

She tossed something in the fire, making a poof of smoke appear, and Vegeta said but one word. "Neat!" "You're an 'autumn', by the way." Vegeta whistled. "You're good." "Thanks."

Vegeta studied her more carefully. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" he asked. "We have known each other for a very long time, Vegeta Threepwood," she said, and Vegeta gasped. "You've been through much, so it is understandable that you have forgotten me. We met on Mêlée Island, when you were first trying to become a pirate."

Vegeta halted her by saying: "Hang on a second! Are we going to do one of those flashback things? They always make me nauseous." "No, I'll make this quick. I twice helped you defeat the evil pirate LeCold, first by preparing the voodoo anti-root…" Vegeta recognized this. "I'm starting to remember…" "And then again by helping you prepare a voodoo doll of his zombie form." Vegeta smiled as he remembered. "That's right!"

Vegeta's face turned serious as he said: "You've helped so much and I still don't know your name." The Priestess threw another thing in the fire before saying: "I am known by many names on many different islands. But names have little importance. You should know this better than anyone Vegeta Threepwood." "Yes you're right…" Something suddenly clicked in his mind. "…Hey! Are you making fun of me?" "I wouldn't dream of it," she said with a devilish glint in her eyes.

Vegeta looked around the room again and said: "Nice place. I love what you've done with it." "Why thank you. You'll have to excuse the mess. The kids came over to play with their paper voodoo dolls. They're adorable children. Would you like to see some pictures?" she asked kindly, and Vegeta cringed. He didn't want to see them. He wanted to scream one of the following things;

NO!

No, please, no.

For the love of all that is good and holy, NO!

I can't think of anything I would hate more!

Vegeta cleared his throat and said:

"Perhaps later."

"Yes, there's no time for that now. I sense that something terrible has happened." Vegeta gaped and said: "Hey, you're good! Something terrible HAS happened! I finally proposed to Bulma!" "Well, congratulations! That doesn't sound so terr…" she was cut off. "And when I placed the engagement ring on her hand she was placed under a horrible pirate curse and trapped for an eternity as a solid gold statue!"

"Ah," the Priestess said, throwing another boll in the pot. "THAT explains it. I was struck with a wave of overwhelming hatred and anger." "Yeah, that LeCold was a pretty mean guy!" "I was talking about Bulma." Vegeta rolled his eyes. "There's no time to worry about that now! We have to worry!" As he wanted to run away, the Priestess raised a hand and said: "Do not panic, Vegeta. She will be safe until we can break the curse…" This calmed him down, but what she then said certainly didn't.

"You only have to worry about her being stolen. Where did you hide her?" Vegeta's eyes went wide with horror. In all his hurry, he had totally forgotten that his fiancée was now a solid gold statue and that probably every pirate on the island was looking for something like her to sell. "OOOOH SHIT!!!!!" Without a warning, he ran out of the ship, and off to the beach where he had left Bulma.

The second he reached the beach, he gasped and hit the breaks. Bulma was nowhere to be found, and a ship was sailing away over the sea. "OH NOOOO!!! BULMA!!!!!" As expected, he got no answer. He growled low in his throat. "I've got to get her back! This is so embarrassing! Looks like I'm going to need some more help!" He watched the ship as it disappeared from his view, before silently walking back to the swamp.

When he got back, he didn't even acknowledge Yamcha. He pulled on the alligator's tongue, after which he faced the Voodoo Priestess again. "Someone's stolen Bulma!" he said sadly and desperately. The Priestess rolled her eyes. "That is unfortunate. It will be difficult to get her back. "Do you know who kidnapped her?" "Not for certain. But I suspect that it's the mangy pirates anchored in Danjer Cove." "Can you give me something to lift the curse?" "No, LeCold's curse is a very powerful one fueled by his anger and his intense frustration in dealing with the opposite sex. I have nothing here to lift so powerful a curse, but there is one way."

"GREAT! Tell me!" Vegeta said. "You have to replace the cursed ring with a pure one of greater or equal value. A good guideline is two months' salary," she finished with a sly grin. Vegeta was gaping. "I had no idea this curse stuff was so complicated," he muttered. "That's nothing," the Priestess chuckled, using her hand to muffle it. "Just be glad she wasn't turned into a magic swan!" Vegeta looked at her strangely. "What would I have to do then?" "You don't want to know. Believe me!"

He heaved a sigh and said: "Where am I going to find a huge, uncursed diamond ring?" "Legends speak of a whopping, big diamond ring on Blood Island." "Blood Island?? I've never heard of it." "You will soon become quite familiar with it. But you must be careful, Vegeta! I have foreseen that your journey will be filled with peril and deception. I have also seen that Blood Island will be the place… where you will die."

Vegeta gaped at her as if she was crazy. "And you're saying this is a place I should go?!!? What are you, nuts?!?!" "No. The value of the ring on Blood Island comes from its emotional significance. It represents a pure, true love, a power greater than any other." "Oh, that's sweet. I… I think I have something in my eye," Vegeta said a little mockingly. The Priestess instantly growled and hissed: "Do not mock the Voodoo Priestess!"

Vegeta was a little taken back, but he kept at it. "How do I get to Blood Island?" "You will need three things: a map to Blood Island, for the journey is a long and dangerous one… a seaworthy ship to take you there… and an experienced crew." Vegeta ticked on his fingers. "Map, ship and crew! Got it! Blood Island, here I come! Thanks for your help! Gotta go!"

TO BE CONTINUED