10: A Change Of Scenery
Bulma rocked back and forth in the nursery of her mansion, humming softly as her little infant, Bulla, fell into a quiet nap in her arms. Her tiny hands clutched her favorite stuffed animal, a teddy bear that Vegeta had won for her at a carnival they went to last year. Bulla was glued to the brown stuffed bear like a cat is to cat-nip.
Bulma smiled down at the sweet and innocent face of her child. Her small crop of light blue hair. Her light complexion and her flawless skin. Bulma loved all of it. And the more she stared at her child's face, the more she saw her husband in her. Sure, none of her kids took on the black hair and scowl, but they certainly had the attitude and determination like Vegeta nonetheless.
Bulma stepped over to Bulla's crib and placed her gently on her wad of pink and blue blankets. Bulla made a soft, whisper-like sigh as she curled up in a tiny ball. Bulma giggled softly and brushed her fingers gently across her daughter's face. "My sweet little angel. So adorable and peaceful."
Not two seconds later, a loud crash was heard from outside, near the large pool and patio. Bulma flinched and sighed, pulling away from Bulla to head outside, muttering to herself as she went. "Unbelievable. I leave everyone for one minute and chaos ensues."
She stepped outside, the bright sunlight blasting onto her face. The cool breeze blew her turquoise hair back, and she smiled, greeting the gentle touch of the wind against her face. Stepping down the porch steps, she turned onto the path and started down the walk, out towards the pool area. She hummed to herself as birds flittered around above her head. The sweet smell of salty ocean water flooded her senses, which felt quite refreshing.
Her good mood was slammed to a halt when she stumbled upon a large heap of bodies in her brand new rose garden. Which she had paid a decent amount of money for. The red flowers were crushed into unrecognizable pieces, their once brilliant ruby shades obliterated by a mass of tangled bodies. She opened her mouth to start yelling when she realized how familiar those mangled bodies were.
Goku sat up slowly, rubbing the top of his head. "Ow. I probably should have tried a different landing zone."
Basil jumped to her feet, her eyes wider than the Earth. "Holy wow, that was AWESOME!" She reached down and grabbed Goku's hand. "Do it again!" Then she slapped him in the face with his own hand.
"OW! It doesn't work like that! Stop hitting me!" Goku got to his feet, rubbing his cheek.
"You're back." Bulma said with a warm smile, crossing her arms. "Took you long enough" She turned her attention to Basil, then extended her hand. "Hi! You must be that female Saiyan Jaco spoke of. I'm Bulma, Vegeta's wife."
Basil stared at Bulma's hand, unsure of how to react. Wife? What's a wife? Is that food? Ugh, I'm so hungry. But this Bulma looks really pretty when she's not on a strange screen-thing. Not wanting to seem rude for just standing there, Basil leaned forward and rested her head in Bulma's hand.
Bulma blinked, then slowly looked at Goku. "What is she doing?" She whispered. Goku simply shrugged.
Basil stood straight and looked around, her brain struggling to process all the vivid colors and sounds. Everything was so bright and blissful that it overwhelmed her senses.
"I'm hungry, where's Chi-Chi?" Goku said, as if they hadn't just teleported halfway across space to crush a bed of flowers.
Vegeta scrambled to his feet and punched Goku in the face. "NEVER TOUCH ME LIKE THAT AGAIN, KAKAROT! NEXT TIME, I'LL REMOVE YOU'RE HANDS!"
"Don't yell at me! It was the only way we were gonna get off that planet!" Goku replied, then quickly hid behind Bulma. "Besides, if I asked you to take my hand, you wouldn't have listened."
"I WOULD HAVE CONSIDERED IT!" Vegeta shouted.
"What happened on that planet?" Bulma asked slowly. "And do I want to know the answer?"
"Dad threw Vegeta over his shoulder to Instant Transmitted us here," Goten groaned as he stood up.
"Oh." Bulma nodded knowingly. "Rookie mistake, Goku."
"Oh, come on, Vegeta. Don't be mad at me. You should be happy. We saved Basil!" Goku said with a big smile. "We won!"
"Speaking of Basil..." Trunks trailed off, spinning in a full circle. "Where did she go?"
...
Basil walked slowly along the sidewalk, her steps leisurely as she took everything in at once. She had never imagined something as beautiful as this could ever exist. The only home she ever knew was a nightmare, but this was a pleasant dream she didn't want to wake up from. All the smells of strange things filled her nose, and all the dazzling colors and shapes and machines amazed her simple and easily-impressed mind.
Wow, was the only word Basil's brain could form. She could hardly stand to blink, for she didn't want to miss a second of the wondrous things surrounding her. She saw buildings taller than anything she'd ever seen, and strange machines that ran on little wheels and gave out loud sounds. They made her flinch when they passed her, and she jumped, pressing her back against a large storefront window.
People walking along the sidewalk stared at Basil as they went on their way. Indeed, Earth wasn't new to aliens on their planet, but that didn't stop them from giving Basil strange looks. She was still in her bulky Saiyan armor, though she had ditched the chest piece on her home planet. She wore the bottom skirt piece with black tights and the same clunky boots. She walked awkwardly, as if she didn't know how to. Her eyes trailed across every surface, her mind starving for more.
Everything is so pretty, Basil thought. She giggled and ran into the street, spinning in a circle. This is my new home! It's beautiful and amazing and it smells so nice! I love it! I love it!
A car honked, and Basil screamed, nearly jumping out of her skin. A line of cars waited impatiently for her to move. She tilted her head to the side, then a smile burst onto her face. She walked up to the car in front of her and placed both hands on the hood. Then, with a heaving grunt, she picked up the car, taking a step backward but keeping her balance fairly centered. The occupants in the car all began to panic and shout, which made Basil smile wider.
They're happy to see me! she thought with a laugh. She held the car above her head, staring into the front window at the two people inside. "Hi! I'm Basil! I'm a Saiyan! You look so cute!"
Goku, upon having turned the corner in a mad panic to find a certain Saiyan, nearly had a heart attack when he saw her in the middle of the street holding up a car. He shrieked and hurried over to her, Vegeta and the others not far behind.
"Basil, drop it!" Goku shouted as he slid to a halt beside her.
"I'm saying hi!" Basil said cheerfully. She turned to face Goku, shifting her position to hold the car with one hand while the other pointed to the long line of cars behind her. "Look, they all want to say hi!"
"That's not anywhere near true." Vegeta said once he joined them.
"Give me the car, Basil." Goku slowly began to reach for the car, but Basil jerked away from him.
"Car? That's what this thing is called? What a weird name." Basil chuckled. "But I like it. Car. It has a nice ring to it."
"Hey, Basil, you hungry?" Trunks asked, hoping that if she were anything like Goku and Vegeta, she wouldn't resist an offer of food.
Basil perked up, and immediately dropped the car. "Yeah!"
"Gah!" Goku shot forward and fumbled to catch the falling vehicle, then set it down slowly. He grinned nervously under the glares of the people in the car. "Sorry, she's new."
...
Bulma and Chi-Chi starred, open-mouthed, as Basil wolfed down more food than they'd ever seen, which was really saying something, considering they were married to Saiyans. Basil licked each plate clean before reaching for more, which, in Bulma's opinion, was more manners than her husband ever showed.
Sauce coated Basil's face, dripping down her chin and onto her lap, but she paid it no mind. After practically inhaling a bowl of ramen, she moved onto a giant bowl of tempura udon, a Japanese dish that mainly consisted of udon noodles in a flavorful dashi stock. Basil devoured it in a matter of seconds. Then she moved on yet again to a plate of hitsumabushi, a traditional Japanese dish of sliced and grilled eel on top of steamed rice. Most of the plates of food still had steam seeping from them, but Basil didn't waste time blowing on the delicious meats and treats. She wanted them in her belly as soon as possible. Tebasaki yakitori, yatsuhashi, hiyashi chuka, takoyaki, and zenzai dishes were gone in a few minutes, while it would take a human several hours to finish all the towering plates and bowls.
Chi-Chi wrinkled her nose, then shook her head. "I don't know where Saiyans put all that food."
"Oh, that's easy! Right here." Goku took a pause from his own eating to pat his stomach. "Thanks for the great food, Chi-Chi! You always take such good care of me."
Chi-Chi rested her chin in her hand, sighing longingly. "You're welcome, Goku."
"You guys took care of everything on Planet Vegeta, right?" Gohan asked as he bounced Pan on his knee. "We won't have to worry about any enemies coming here anytime soon?"
Vegeta scoffed, swallowing a mouthful of meat before speaking. "We'll always have to worry about enemies. But yes, it was taken care of."
"What happened, exactly?" Krillin asked, looking from Basil to Goku, then to Vegeta. "You guys look pretty beat up."
"It was so cool!" Basil said suddenly, shoving aside her stack of empty dishes. "Goku and Vegeta and Trunks and Goten and Jaco Galactic Patrolman all beat up the bad guys! They used Ki-blasts like it was nobody's business! Vegeta almost got his jaw ripped apart, but then I jumped in to rescue him, and then we kicked more butt!"
"Wow, Vegeta, are you okay?" Bulma asked, immediately grabbing her husbands face and turning it this way and that, examining every inch as if she were a nurse.
Vegeta grunted and smacked her hands away. "I'm fine, woman! Leave me be."
"Goku was cool, too!" Basil went on. "He almost died, though. The big Turles guy grabbed him like this," She stood and walked around the table they all sat around, walking up behind an unsuspecting Yamcha and wrapping her arm around his neck the same way she had seen Turles do, pressing her chest against his back. Yamcha tensed and began to struggle while Vegeta burst into laughter. He wasn't a big fan of Yamcha, so this was quite amusing.
"And he held him here for, like, almost a whole minute." Basil said, oblivious to how Yamcha's face was beginning to turn purple.
"Okay, okay, Basil, you can release Yamcha now." Bulma said, thought it was clear she was trying hard not to laugh.
Basil released Yamcha, who gasped and coughed roughly, rubbing his neck. "What the hell?!" He choked out.
"Turles?" Gohan said, his face morphing from confusion to anger. "He's still alive?"
"Apparently," Goku shrugged. "I have no idea how, though. He's been off our radar for so long that I guess we forgot about him."
"He's all talk." Vegeta growled. "He isn't nearly as menacing as you talked him up to be, Kakarot."
"He was menacing when we first fought him," Yamcha pointed out. "You weren't there. He was like a bulldozer to us."
"Anyone who hurts a child is pure evil." Chi-Chi said, running her hand lovingly through Gohan's hair.
Basil walked up to Gohan and knelt down, staring intently at Pan. What is this tiny thing? It looks too small to be a human, and certainly too small to be a Saiyan. I wonder what it eats. She poked Pan's forehead, which made the baby giggle. Pan reached out and grabbed Basil's fingers, sucking on them as if it was her job. Gohan laughed.
Basil raised an eyebrow, unsure if she should pull her hand away or stay still. But she got even more confused when she didn't feel any teeth. Intrigued, Basil used both hands to open Pan's mouth to see inside it, just to make sure the baby wasn't missing something else.
"Okay, how about we find Piccolo?" Krillin said as he quickly pulled Basil away from Pan. "He needs to meet this...very interesting Saiyan."
"She's missing teeth," Basil said in awe as Krillin pulled her away.
"She's a baby." Gohan stated. He stood up and held Pan out to Basil, a gentle smile on his face. "Here. You can hold her if you want."
"I don't think that's the smartest idea," Bulma started, already feeling nervous.
"Baby?" Basil repeated, then wrinkled her nose. "What's a baby?"
"A baby is a newborn creature." Vegeta explained, taking a sip of some colorful drink Basil was unfamiliar with. "When a race mates, they have offspring, or children."
Basil took Pan from Gohan and held her underneath her armpits, holding the tiny quarter-Saiyan away from her body as if the child were infected with a deadly disease. Gohan watched for a second before fixing Basil's position until she held the baby cradled in her arms, much like the way Bulma and Videl hold their children. Basil looked surprisingly natural holding Pan, her curious eyes watching the tiny child closely. Pan laughed and grabbed Basil's nose, squeezing it in her tiny yet strong fist. Basil smiled and gave a gentle, almost slow-motion kiss to Pan's forehead.
Goku and Vegeta exchanged a confused look.
"How is she suddenly so gentle?" Trunks asked in shock.
"She's a girl." 18 said from her spot beside Krillin. "When women are around children, their mother instinct kicks in. Right now, she's basically acting as Pan's mother."
"Really?" Goku said, then chuckled. "Wow, that's really cool. How come guys don't get that?"
"Guys aren't natural caretakers." Chi-Chi explained. "Women are the ones that take care of everyone."
"Huh." Goku nodded. "Interesting."
"You don't get it, do you?" Vegeta asked him with a knowing shake of his head.
Goku nodded again. "Yeah, I have no idea what Chi-Chi said."
Chi-Chi sighed.
Basil held Pan close to her chest, purring slightly. "I want one."
"A kid?" Gohan asked. "Well, to do that, you need a mate."
"A mate?" Basil asked. "What's that?"
"A mate is someone you choose to spend your life with. My mate is my wife, Videl." Gohan said.
"Videl? Who's that?" Basil looked around them and pointed at 18. "Is that Videl?"
"No." Gohan shook his head. "That's 18."
"Is that Videl?"
"No, that's Chi-Chi."
"How about that?"
"That's Goten."
"Okay, that has to be Videl."
"That's Goku. Okay, look, Videl is out of town right now, she's not here." Gohan said, trying not to get annoyed.
"Speaking of those who are not here right now, where is Piccolo?" Vegeta pushed his chair back and stood up.
"He's where he usually is." Bulma replied. "At his house by the lake."
"Basil, give Pan back to Gohan. We're taking you to see Piccolo." Vegeta grabbed Goku by the back of his Gi and pulled him out of his seat.
"Piccolo? Who's Piccolo?" Basil asked as she passed Pan to Gohan.
"Someone cool, you'll like him." Goku said with a grin.
"Okay! Let's go meet this Piccolo!"
