Chapter 3 - A Life Less Ordinary
"Come on Oolong, we're gonna be late for the wedding!"
Master Roshi was looking in the mirror, fixing his tie. Oolong was behind him, hopping on one foot, trying to get his dress slacks on.
"I can't believe Vegeta and Bulma are getting married. I bechya they wind- up killing each other," Oolong uttered as he attempted to button his slacks.
"I didn't think it would happen myself. But you know those two, the weirdest people on earth."
"But I thought the saying was 'Opposites attract'?"
"Yeah? He has a penis and she has a vagina."
"So you're saying it's all for sex?"
"Now that I think about it, maybe not. They were getting enough of that before."
The two finished getting dressed, went outside, and waited for Gohan to pick them up. They were waiting near the beach in front of Master Roshi's residence dubbed The Kame House, on their excruciatingly small island out in the middle of nowhere.
"This just isn't right." Master Roshi announced out of the clear blue sky.
"Huh?"
"Goku should be here. Why couldn't those two airheads wait until the dragon balls were revised so that we could resurrect him?"
"Well, Bulma always wanted a June wedding, and she probably wanted to do it before Vegeta changed his mind."
"I heard that he asked her.Oh well, you're probably right."
"Why did you guys use the dragon balls in the first place?"
"When Vegeta was still away, Yamcha thought he was Superman or something. He went around catching people falling out of buildings, stopping bank robbers and all. As luck would have it, one day a plane was about to crash, so Yamcha thought he could save it. He saved it alright, but the plane kinda landed on him. Poor boy was in a coma for days. The doctor didn't think he would make it, so they wished him back to good health."
"Why didn't Dende fix him up?"
"Poor boy went brain dead. Dende can only fix the body, not the mind."
"Well, what did you use for the other wish?"
"You know how impatient Shenlong is. When he started throwing a fit, Krillin panicked and wished that they would stop showing that gay Birds of Prey show."
"Why the hell did they bring that show back anyway?"
"I dunno."
They both saw Gohan approaching in the distance.
"Ok, lets get this over with," Master Roshi said.
* * *
"I can't believe my little girl is getting married," said Mrs. Briefs as she was fixing the wrinkles out of Bulma's dress. Bulma couldn't think of a word to say. She was so happy she had been blushing all day with a closed smile from ear to ear. Her mind was flying with images of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. She was lost in wonder.about Vegeta. Her true love. Powerful words that she herself had trouble saying. That phrase "true love" was just so defining for her. She had no problem knowing Vegeta was her true love, but she felt weird thinking about it. It felt too much like a Disney movie. The feeling, the emotion, the happiness, all feeling that she always thought only existed in fairy tales.
She thought again how it's always the one that you least expect. She remembered how her and Vegeta started off completely on the wrong foot. Constantly cussing each other off, always getting into fights, always getting pissed off, always at each other's throats. Who would have thought they would be here. She sure didn't.
"Is something wrong Bulma?" Her mother's New York City accent jerked her back into reality.
"Just nervous that's all."
"Well that's perfectly understandable. This is a turning point in your life and."
*KNOCK*KNOCK*
"Mrs. Briefs, you are wanted in the reception hall. A Mr. Roshi is harassing the bride's maids."
"Sorry honey, I'll be back in a minute." With that, Mrs. Briefs left the dressing room and closed the door behind her. Before the door clicked shut, a hand appeared, grabbed the door and gently pulled it open. Vegeta! What was he doing? Bulma told him this was wrong. Bulma quickly turned around so he couldn't see her face. The she saw a mirror in front of her. She closed her eyes and faced the ground.
"Bulma, there is something I neglected to tell you."
"I know I told you that you can't see me until you lift the veil."
"I know, I can't see you, but I have to tell you this."
Bulma cracked open her eye and looked at the mirror. Vegeta was doing the same thing as her. She picked her head up and stared at the image of Vegeta keeping his eyes closed and facing the ground. She couldn't believe he had this much respect for her. He really did love her. What he had to say must have been very important. She turned to face him.
"I was doing a lot of thinking last night. In fact I didn't sleep at all. But, I need to tell you of one of my marriage traditions."
Bulma all the sudden remembered that Vegeta was an alien on this planet. It was hard to remember though because of how she felt about him. To her, he wasn't human, he wasn't a Sayian, he was the one.
"Alright," It was kind of weird for her to look at him and him not too look back, but she understood.
Vegeta took a small jewel case out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Bulma. "These are similar to wedding rings," he started as Bulma opened the case up. Inside were two brilliant looking ear rings. "These were given to my mother when she married my father, and my grandmother from my grandfather. These have been in the Sayain Royal family for more than a millennium. Even though my planet is gone, I won't let its traditions die."
"I understand." Vegeta closed her hands around the ear rings, tipped her head down slightly, and kissed her on the forehead. He walked past her and inconspicuously left the room through the window. She looked at the window, holding the rings close to her breast. She didn't know what to think about that. She understood exactly what happened, but she was just so startled that he would even care about traditions and care for her as much to do what he just did. She shook her head and looked down at them. They were gold with some sort of diamond markings. Both were about the size of a silver dollar. She didn't know what the markings meant. For all she knew, they meant "Fords are rust buckets". Maybe she would find out someday.
As she began to take her old rings out and put the new ones in, her mother reentered the room.
"That Mr. Roshi. Do you know what he tried to do?"
"Naw, what?"
"He was telling Videl that he had a thing for belly buttons and tried to get her to lift her skirt!"
Bulma pretended not to her. She was a little embarrassed to her that he was still using that old line. He used it on her once many years ago, except it worked!
There was a knock on the door.
"Mrs. Briefs, the ceremony will begin in 10 minutes." A cold wind passed the back of Bulma's neck as her skin drew tight with goose bumps. This was it.
* * *
What a silly religion, Vegeta thought to himself. The belief in an all powerful, invisible man who uses written words and scary stories of obedience, sacrifice, and punishment from thousands of years ago to make people behave was all.ludicrous. Vegeta saw no point in Christianity. The whole thing was just intangible to him. The belief in things that you couldn't see or feel or have any proof of existence in seemed foolish to him. There were similar religions like it in the universe. Actually, they were all almost the same, just that the names of that one center figure, or "god", was always different. And apparently on this planet, there were 3 different monotheistic religions. The thing that made the absolute least amount of sense to him was that more people on this planet were killed in the name of this "god" than any other cause of death put together ever in it's history when this all powerful sentient being is supposed to stand for peace and good will towards your fellow man. It made him embarrassed that he was being wed in a church that stood for hypocrisy.
He never discussed this with Bulma. He felt that she knew the facts and made her own decision. In fact, it was because of her that he knew so much about Christianity, and he made his own decision based upon what she told him. Vegeta never fallowed a specific religion, but he did have his own beliefs, and one of those beliefs was to respect another's beliefs and not tell them that he is right and they are wrong. This was the only time he would not say he was right over someone. What someone believed was spiritually correct was their own business, and Vegeta would not try to change their opinion. Though he did admit, their holy book's view of death, from what he saw the 2 time he was there, was surprisingly accurate; they just got the names wrong. Heaven, hell, and person who says "You go up, you go down", it's all there. He didn't know what was beyond their "St. Peter" though, he never got that far. He was always brought back before he could go any further. They could be right, but he didn't care. By any accounts, his beliefs, their beliefs, he was going to hell anyway. He led a morally and emotionally bad life up until he met her. It didn't matter that he had changed, what he had done before her was enough to eternally damn him. At this point, he was just trying to make the best out of what time he had left.
Vegeta, also, did not particularly care for his tuxedo either. He felt stiff in it.
Looking around the chapel as he stood by the alter, he realized that really there were only two people there for him, his son and her. He wasn't that much of a socializer, even before he came to this planet. He didn't care though. He enjoyed his relative solitude, really the first he had ever had. But this was the first time it hit him, he only had his son and her. Next to them, there was Goku, but he was gone, for now. The only other people he really interacted with were the other Z fighters. He didn't really know them to well: Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Piccolo, Gohan.he knew their faces and that was it. Every once in a while, they got together for poker and beer in Bulma's rec room at the mansion. Those were the most social he attended up until now. He didn't mind that. It added a little variety to his life, and got him a little extra spending money.
Then the cued "Here Comes The bride." Vegeta was through the rehearsals a million times before. Bulma made sure he knew exactly what he was doing by ramming it into his head like a jackhammer. He even went through the practice sessions flawlessly. But now, as he saw her down the isle in that huge white dress, her face barely visible, knowing that these next few moments meant the rest of his life, he felt some what gitty inside.he forgot what to do.
He started to cuss himself in his mind. How could he forget after he went through it 50 MILLION FUCKING TIMES!!!! When Bulma came up beside him, he choked. He looked into her veil and saw the faint silhouette of Bulma smiling back at him, which only made things worse. Then her eyes grew wide as she realized that he forgot. She began to nod her head downward. Still clueless, Vegeta did it again. She repeated the gesture. Vegeta looked down, and grabbed at his pant zipper, checking if it was down. Bulma finally rolled her eyes and wrapped her right arm around his left and faced the priest as if nothing had happened. Vegeta hoped no one had noticed what he had just done.
"Are we ready to begin?", the priest asked. Bulma and Vegeta both nodded. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered."
* * * As the wedding progressed, a shadowy figure appeared at The Kame House, carrying two clear glass cases. Each had an organic looking orb in it. The figure went around the back of the house and walked over to the flower bushes. It placed the cases within the bushed. It slid its hand down to the bottom of the case, flipped open a plastic cover and pressed a red button concealed inside. Gas hissed out of the bottom of the case. It lifted the case off, leaving the base under the orb, exposing it to the world. The figure repeated the process with the second case. It pulled branches in front and threw leaves on it. It then left the island just as inconspicuously as it came.
* * * Bulma had given up trying to get Vegeta to dance at the reception. He and Piccolo were such wallflowers. They never wanted to have any fun. She sat down next to him and put her hand on his thigh.
"Why don't you want to dance?"
"I don't particularly care for your taste in dance music."
Bulma had always had a nostalgia for 1980's dance music, hair band power ballads, and high publicity pop rock such as Madonna and Michael Jackson. But these weren't the only things she liked. They were back at the mansion in the backyard, having a huge ball. Bulma constructed a dance floor, hired a DJ and live entertainment. Everyone was having the time of their life, except for Vegeta it seemed, who seemed to be lost in thought.
"You." She always, for some reason took Vegeta's pessimism as a turn on. She smiled, shook her head, and kissed him on the cheek. Everyone that Bulma ever knew was there, except Goku and Yamcha. She had an incomplete feeling about the wedding just because those two weren't there. She had known them both for more than half of her life, and missed them both dearly. Stupid Goku had to go off and get himself killed, and she guessed it was too painful for Yamcha to see her getting married to someone other than him. He probably still hadn't gotten over it, but that didn't change anything. She still missed him greatly.
In the background, Master Roshi was still hitting on the younger girls in attendance as Chi-Chi came up and sat at the newly weds' just opposite of them. The three were the only ones at the table.
"Congratz you two." Chi-Chi said.
"Thanx," Bulma told her. Vegeta gave a reluctant smile and a thanking nod, keeping his eye to the floor.
"I'm sorry Goku couldn't be here. He really wanted to see the day that this would finally happen."
"Don't be sorry! You talk like it's your fault!"
"Oh, I know, sorry," She flashed Vegeta the evil eye. Bulma picked up on it and quickly changed the subject.
"So, where are the kids?"
"Out on the front lawn, playing as usual."
Bulma saw Gohan and Videl coming off the dance floor and flagged them over, attempting to create a diversion before tension infused between Chi-Chi and Vegeta.
Vegeta realized what she was doing and whispered into Bulma's ear ,"I think I need some fresh air", and he started to get up.
Not realizing he was doing her a favor, Bulma said ,"But we're outside."
He got frustrated and said in a slightly louder voice, loud enough for a few people to her him ,"Well away from all this noise then." With that, he slowly walked toward the front lawn.
Bulma's mind finally clicked. She wanted to go with him, but figured it best if she stayed.
Vegeta went around toe the front of the mansion, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes.
Chi-Chi still blamed him for Goku's death. He didn't know if she thought he did it, or if she though he was inadvertently responsible, or what not. Vegeta tried not to blame her, she never was entirely stable. He didn't really care how she felt, however. He tried to tell her the truth about what happened, but she wouldn't listen, thinking it was too made up. Her being a human he didn't blame her, it would sound far fetched to someone who hasn't seen half of what he has. He told no one else, not even Bulma. He saw no real reason n telling people. They didn't need to knew, but he felt she did. All he could do for her was lead the jackass to the water. He couldn't make it drink.
Vegeta looked up and saw his son playing with his best friend. He cracked a smile and chuckled slightly to himself. For that moment, he was at peace.
* * *
"Do you guys need anything?", Gohan asked before he left the Kame House.
"No, but thank you for the ride," Master Roshi said as Oolong walked into the house.
"No problem, and thanx for coming." And with that, Gohan flew away, waving goodbye. Master Roshi went inside the house, took off his turtle shell, laid down on the couch, and turned on the TV. He must have gotten four or five phone numbers at the wedding. He was about to call one of them when he remembered."Oolong, can you do me a favor and water my geraniums?"
"Now why the fuck would I do that?"
"Coz I let you watch That Crime Scene Thingy show when my exercise show was on last night. You said you would pay me back, remember?"
"Aw damnit." He knew he was right, and for once didn't feel much like arguing. He went outside.
Good, that little pig is gone, Master Roshi thought to himself. Now he had some time to himself. He went through his pocket and pulled out the first number: a girl named Rebecca. She had some sort of cute nickname, but he couldn't remember it. She said no one ever calls her Rebecca, except her brother. He got half way through dialing the first number when Oolong called for him from the back yard.
"Ugh, Master Roshi, I think you should see this."
Master Roshi slammed the phone on the receiver ,"Damnit Oolong!! I was doing something important!!!!" He stomped outside to where Oolong was. "Now what was so important that you had to" Oolong pointed at the objects hidden in the flower bushes. "Oh my gosh."
"What are they? Some sort of fungus?" Oolong asked. Before them were two oval shaped growths coming out of the ground.
"I don't know, probably." They both stared at them in amassment. Master Roshi broke the silence. "Ok.kick it."
"I'm not gonna kick it, you kick it."
"No you kick it."
"No you kick it."
"Ok, fine, I'll kick it you big wuss!" Master Roshi yelled. He kicked it just hard enough to shake it a little bit.
"Nothing happened." Oolong said.
"I CAN SEE THAT!!!" Master Roshi screamed.
The two started shouting and arguing when the pod that got kicked top's peeled open like a banana. The two stopped and looked over at it. Then they looked at each other, looked back, and Oolong said "What the hell..?"
Master Roshi pushed him aside a little bit and looked inside the pod. There was something in it, though he couldn't quite make it out. He went in for a closer look.
Almost immediately, something sprang onto his face and enveloped him in darkness. He fell to his back and thrashed around violently to try to get it off. He felt something being forced down his throat. He heard Oolong yell his name, then he heard him scream. His screams soon became muffled and were mixed with a loud thud and the sound of leaves rustling and twigs snapping. The sounds the started to fade off as Master Roshi faded out of consciousness.
"Come on Oolong, we're gonna be late for the wedding!"
Master Roshi was looking in the mirror, fixing his tie. Oolong was behind him, hopping on one foot, trying to get his dress slacks on.
"I can't believe Vegeta and Bulma are getting married. I bechya they wind- up killing each other," Oolong uttered as he attempted to button his slacks.
"I didn't think it would happen myself. But you know those two, the weirdest people on earth."
"But I thought the saying was 'Opposites attract'?"
"Yeah? He has a penis and she has a vagina."
"So you're saying it's all for sex?"
"Now that I think about it, maybe not. They were getting enough of that before."
The two finished getting dressed, went outside, and waited for Gohan to pick them up. They were waiting near the beach in front of Master Roshi's residence dubbed The Kame House, on their excruciatingly small island out in the middle of nowhere.
"This just isn't right." Master Roshi announced out of the clear blue sky.
"Huh?"
"Goku should be here. Why couldn't those two airheads wait until the dragon balls were revised so that we could resurrect him?"
"Well, Bulma always wanted a June wedding, and she probably wanted to do it before Vegeta changed his mind."
"I heard that he asked her.Oh well, you're probably right."
"Why did you guys use the dragon balls in the first place?"
"When Vegeta was still away, Yamcha thought he was Superman or something. He went around catching people falling out of buildings, stopping bank robbers and all. As luck would have it, one day a plane was about to crash, so Yamcha thought he could save it. He saved it alright, but the plane kinda landed on him. Poor boy was in a coma for days. The doctor didn't think he would make it, so they wished him back to good health."
"Why didn't Dende fix him up?"
"Poor boy went brain dead. Dende can only fix the body, not the mind."
"Well, what did you use for the other wish?"
"You know how impatient Shenlong is. When he started throwing a fit, Krillin panicked and wished that they would stop showing that gay Birds of Prey show."
"Why the hell did they bring that show back anyway?"
"I dunno."
They both saw Gohan approaching in the distance.
"Ok, lets get this over with," Master Roshi said.
* * *
"I can't believe my little girl is getting married," said Mrs. Briefs as she was fixing the wrinkles out of Bulma's dress. Bulma couldn't think of a word to say. She was so happy she had been blushing all day with a closed smile from ear to ear. Her mind was flying with images of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. She was lost in wonder.about Vegeta. Her true love. Powerful words that she herself had trouble saying. That phrase "true love" was just so defining for her. She had no problem knowing Vegeta was her true love, but she felt weird thinking about it. It felt too much like a Disney movie. The feeling, the emotion, the happiness, all feeling that she always thought only existed in fairy tales.
She thought again how it's always the one that you least expect. She remembered how her and Vegeta started off completely on the wrong foot. Constantly cussing each other off, always getting into fights, always getting pissed off, always at each other's throats. Who would have thought they would be here. She sure didn't.
"Is something wrong Bulma?" Her mother's New York City accent jerked her back into reality.
"Just nervous that's all."
"Well that's perfectly understandable. This is a turning point in your life and."
*KNOCK*KNOCK*
"Mrs. Briefs, you are wanted in the reception hall. A Mr. Roshi is harassing the bride's maids."
"Sorry honey, I'll be back in a minute." With that, Mrs. Briefs left the dressing room and closed the door behind her. Before the door clicked shut, a hand appeared, grabbed the door and gently pulled it open. Vegeta! What was he doing? Bulma told him this was wrong. Bulma quickly turned around so he couldn't see her face. The she saw a mirror in front of her. She closed her eyes and faced the ground.
"Bulma, there is something I neglected to tell you."
"I know I told you that you can't see me until you lift the veil."
"I know, I can't see you, but I have to tell you this."
Bulma cracked open her eye and looked at the mirror. Vegeta was doing the same thing as her. She picked her head up and stared at the image of Vegeta keeping his eyes closed and facing the ground. She couldn't believe he had this much respect for her. He really did love her. What he had to say must have been very important. She turned to face him.
"I was doing a lot of thinking last night. In fact I didn't sleep at all. But, I need to tell you of one of my marriage traditions."
Bulma all the sudden remembered that Vegeta was an alien on this planet. It was hard to remember though because of how she felt about him. To her, he wasn't human, he wasn't a Sayian, he was the one.
"Alright," It was kind of weird for her to look at him and him not too look back, but she understood.
Vegeta took a small jewel case out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Bulma. "These are similar to wedding rings," he started as Bulma opened the case up. Inside were two brilliant looking ear rings. "These were given to my mother when she married my father, and my grandmother from my grandfather. These have been in the Sayain Royal family for more than a millennium. Even though my planet is gone, I won't let its traditions die."
"I understand." Vegeta closed her hands around the ear rings, tipped her head down slightly, and kissed her on the forehead. He walked past her and inconspicuously left the room through the window. She looked at the window, holding the rings close to her breast. She didn't know what to think about that. She understood exactly what happened, but she was just so startled that he would even care about traditions and care for her as much to do what he just did. She shook her head and looked down at them. They were gold with some sort of diamond markings. Both were about the size of a silver dollar. She didn't know what the markings meant. For all she knew, they meant "Fords are rust buckets". Maybe she would find out someday.
As she began to take her old rings out and put the new ones in, her mother reentered the room.
"That Mr. Roshi. Do you know what he tried to do?"
"Naw, what?"
"He was telling Videl that he had a thing for belly buttons and tried to get her to lift her skirt!"
Bulma pretended not to her. She was a little embarrassed to her that he was still using that old line. He used it on her once many years ago, except it worked!
There was a knock on the door.
"Mrs. Briefs, the ceremony will begin in 10 minutes." A cold wind passed the back of Bulma's neck as her skin drew tight with goose bumps. This was it.
* * *
What a silly religion, Vegeta thought to himself. The belief in an all powerful, invisible man who uses written words and scary stories of obedience, sacrifice, and punishment from thousands of years ago to make people behave was all.ludicrous. Vegeta saw no point in Christianity. The whole thing was just intangible to him. The belief in things that you couldn't see or feel or have any proof of existence in seemed foolish to him. There were similar religions like it in the universe. Actually, they were all almost the same, just that the names of that one center figure, or "god", was always different. And apparently on this planet, there were 3 different monotheistic religions. The thing that made the absolute least amount of sense to him was that more people on this planet were killed in the name of this "god" than any other cause of death put together ever in it's history when this all powerful sentient being is supposed to stand for peace and good will towards your fellow man. It made him embarrassed that he was being wed in a church that stood for hypocrisy.
He never discussed this with Bulma. He felt that she knew the facts and made her own decision. In fact, it was because of her that he knew so much about Christianity, and he made his own decision based upon what she told him. Vegeta never fallowed a specific religion, but he did have his own beliefs, and one of those beliefs was to respect another's beliefs and not tell them that he is right and they are wrong. This was the only time he would not say he was right over someone. What someone believed was spiritually correct was their own business, and Vegeta would not try to change their opinion. Though he did admit, their holy book's view of death, from what he saw the 2 time he was there, was surprisingly accurate; they just got the names wrong. Heaven, hell, and person who says "You go up, you go down", it's all there. He didn't know what was beyond their "St. Peter" though, he never got that far. He was always brought back before he could go any further. They could be right, but he didn't care. By any accounts, his beliefs, their beliefs, he was going to hell anyway. He led a morally and emotionally bad life up until he met her. It didn't matter that he had changed, what he had done before her was enough to eternally damn him. At this point, he was just trying to make the best out of what time he had left.
Vegeta, also, did not particularly care for his tuxedo either. He felt stiff in it.
Looking around the chapel as he stood by the alter, he realized that really there were only two people there for him, his son and her. He wasn't that much of a socializer, even before he came to this planet. He didn't care though. He enjoyed his relative solitude, really the first he had ever had. But this was the first time it hit him, he only had his son and her. Next to them, there was Goku, but he was gone, for now. The only other people he really interacted with were the other Z fighters. He didn't really know them to well: Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Piccolo, Gohan.he knew their faces and that was it. Every once in a while, they got together for poker and beer in Bulma's rec room at the mansion. Those were the most social he attended up until now. He didn't mind that. It added a little variety to his life, and got him a little extra spending money.
Then the cued "Here Comes The bride." Vegeta was through the rehearsals a million times before. Bulma made sure he knew exactly what he was doing by ramming it into his head like a jackhammer. He even went through the practice sessions flawlessly. But now, as he saw her down the isle in that huge white dress, her face barely visible, knowing that these next few moments meant the rest of his life, he felt some what gitty inside.he forgot what to do.
He started to cuss himself in his mind. How could he forget after he went through it 50 MILLION FUCKING TIMES!!!! When Bulma came up beside him, he choked. He looked into her veil and saw the faint silhouette of Bulma smiling back at him, which only made things worse. Then her eyes grew wide as she realized that he forgot. She began to nod her head downward. Still clueless, Vegeta did it again. She repeated the gesture. Vegeta looked down, and grabbed at his pant zipper, checking if it was down. Bulma finally rolled her eyes and wrapped her right arm around his left and faced the priest as if nothing had happened. Vegeta hoped no one had noticed what he had just done.
"Are we ready to begin?", the priest asked. Bulma and Vegeta both nodded. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered."
* * * As the wedding progressed, a shadowy figure appeared at The Kame House, carrying two clear glass cases. Each had an organic looking orb in it. The figure went around the back of the house and walked over to the flower bushes. It placed the cases within the bushed. It slid its hand down to the bottom of the case, flipped open a plastic cover and pressed a red button concealed inside. Gas hissed out of the bottom of the case. It lifted the case off, leaving the base under the orb, exposing it to the world. The figure repeated the process with the second case. It pulled branches in front and threw leaves on it. It then left the island just as inconspicuously as it came.
* * * Bulma had given up trying to get Vegeta to dance at the reception. He and Piccolo were such wallflowers. They never wanted to have any fun. She sat down next to him and put her hand on his thigh.
"Why don't you want to dance?"
"I don't particularly care for your taste in dance music."
Bulma had always had a nostalgia for 1980's dance music, hair band power ballads, and high publicity pop rock such as Madonna and Michael Jackson. But these weren't the only things she liked. They were back at the mansion in the backyard, having a huge ball. Bulma constructed a dance floor, hired a DJ and live entertainment. Everyone was having the time of their life, except for Vegeta it seemed, who seemed to be lost in thought.
"You." She always, for some reason took Vegeta's pessimism as a turn on. She smiled, shook her head, and kissed him on the cheek. Everyone that Bulma ever knew was there, except Goku and Yamcha. She had an incomplete feeling about the wedding just because those two weren't there. She had known them both for more than half of her life, and missed them both dearly. Stupid Goku had to go off and get himself killed, and she guessed it was too painful for Yamcha to see her getting married to someone other than him. He probably still hadn't gotten over it, but that didn't change anything. She still missed him greatly.
In the background, Master Roshi was still hitting on the younger girls in attendance as Chi-Chi came up and sat at the newly weds' just opposite of them. The three were the only ones at the table.
"Congratz you two." Chi-Chi said.
"Thanx," Bulma told her. Vegeta gave a reluctant smile and a thanking nod, keeping his eye to the floor.
"I'm sorry Goku couldn't be here. He really wanted to see the day that this would finally happen."
"Don't be sorry! You talk like it's your fault!"
"Oh, I know, sorry," She flashed Vegeta the evil eye. Bulma picked up on it and quickly changed the subject.
"So, where are the kids?"
"Out on the front lawn, playing as usual."
Bulma saw Gohan and Videl coming off the dance floor and flagged them over, attempting to create a diversion before tension infused between Chi-Chi and Vegeta.
Vegeta realized what she was doing and whispered into Bulma's ear ,"I think I need some fresh air", and he started to get up.
Not realizing he was doing her a favor, Bulma said ,"But we're outside."
He got frustrated and said in a slightly louder voice, loud enough for a few people to her him ,"Well away from all this noise then." With that, he slowly walked toward the front lawn.
Bulma's mind finally clicked. She wanted to go with him, but figured it best if she stayed.
Vegeta went around toe the front of the mansion, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes.
Chi-Chi still blamed him for Goku's death. He didn't know if she thought he did it, or if she though he was inadvertently responsible, or what not. Vegeta tried not to blame her, she never was entirely stable. He didn't really care how she felt, however. He tried to tell her the truth about what happened, but she wouldn't listen, thinking it was too made up. Her being a human he didn't blame her, it would sound far fetched to someone who hasn't seen half of what he has. He told no one else, not even Bulma. He saw no real reason n telling people. They didn't need to knew, but he felt she did. All he could do for her was lead the jackass to the water. He couldn't make it drink.
Vegeta looked up and saw his son playing with his best friend. He cracked a smile and chuckled slightly to himself. For that moment, he was at peace.
* * *
"Do you guys need anything?", Gohan asked before he left the Kame House.
"No, but thank you for the ride," Master Roshi said as Oolong walked into the house.
"No problem, and thanx for coming." And with that, Gohan flew away, waving goodbye. Master Roshi went inside the house, took off his turtle shell, laid down on the couch, and turned on the TV. He must have gotten four or five phone numbers at the wedding. He was about to call one of them when he remembered."Oolong, can you do me a favor and water my geraniums?"
"Now why the fuck would I do that?"
"Coz I let you watch That Crime Scene Thingy show when my exercise show was on last night. You said you would pay me back, remember?"
"Aw damnit." He knew he was right, and for once didn't feel much like arguing. He went outside.
Good, that little pig is gone, Master Roshi thought to himself. Now he had some time to himself. He went through his pocket and pulled out the first number: a girl named Rebecca. She had some sort of cute nickname, but he couldn't remember it. She said no one ever calls her Rebecca, except her brother. He got half way through dialing the first number when Oolong called for him from the back yard.
"Ugh, Master Roshi, I think you should see this."
Master Roshi slammed the phone on the receiver ,"Damnit Oolong!! I was doing something important!!!!" He stomped outside to where Oolong was. "Now what was so important that you had to" Oolong pointed at the objects hidden in the flower bushes. "Oh my gosh."
"What are they? Some sort of fungus?" Oolong asked. Before them were two oval shaped growths coming out of the ground.
"I don't know, probably." They both stared at them in amassment. Master Roshi broke the silence. "Ok.kick it."
"I'm not gonna kick it, you kick it."
"No you kick it."
"No you kick it."
"Ok, fine, I'll kick it you big wuss!" Master Roshi yelled. He kicked it just hard enough to shake it a little bit.
"Nothing happened." Oolong said.
"I CAN SEE THAT!!!" Master Roshi screamed.
The two started shouting and arguing when the pod that got kicked top's peeled open like a banana. The two stopped and looked over at it. Then they looked at each other, looked back, and Oolong said "What the hell..?"
Master Roshi pushed him aside a little bit and looked inside the pod. There was something in it, though he couldn't quite make it out. He went in for a closer look.
Almost immediately, something sprang onto his face and enveloped him in darkness. He fell to his back and thrashed around violently to try to get it off. He felt something being forced down his throat. He heard Oolong yell his name, then he heard him scream. His screams soon became muffled and were mixed with a loud thud and the sound of leaves rustling and twigs snapping. The sounds the started to fade off as Master Roshi faded out of consciousness.
