"I'm off to bed," Vegeta muttered,
"I hope you'll think about it," Bulma said loudly as he left the kitchen, he just growled in reply.
On his way to his room he heard his five year old daughter's voice coming from her room, he ignored the noises but what caught his attention was a mature voice talking to her. He paused next to the door and listened carefully,
"And they all agreed that I'm the strongest, so they showered me with gold and gifts, but I left without taking them. Want to know why Bra?"
"Because family is more important than material things?" the little girl asked
"Nope, because I forgot to." And Bra laughed loudly.
Vegeta was able to recognize that horrendous voice, so he busted open the door only to find his little princess sitting down in front of the traitor with her legs crossed and laughing loudly. His whole body went numb at the scene. He stormed in yelling:
"Just what do you think you're doing?"
"Daddy," the girl cheered joyfully, as she ran towards her angry father, "This is my new friend, El,"
"It's Elata actually, but you can call me El," Elata said cheerfully. Vegeta held in his anger in the presence of his daughter,
"Friend?" he questioned. The little girl simpered with a nod,
"Nice kid you got there," Elata commented. She wasn't lying. Bra had an amazing personality that Elata enjoyed being with. She was the only person who truly cared enough to listen to her adventures across the universe. But all Vegeta knew was she's a traitor, who shouldn't be in here with his daughter,
"Wanna join us, poppa?" his innocent little girl asked enthusiastically, "She tells amazing stories. She promised me a bedtime story too." Vegeta should have dragged Elata to Goku's house, for he was not willing to keep a traitor under the same roof as him. After he noticed the excitement and joy in his daughter's eyes, he altered his decision, because he didn't want to disappoint his only daughter.
"Yes, and I always keep my promises," Elata said in a mocking manner and smirk at the prince,
"Then I guess it's time for you to go to bed then," he told his daughter who nodded as a response and jumped on her bed. "I'll stay here to listen to the story," he added while glaring at Elata, watching her like a screen.
"Tell me a story," Bra demanded while tucking herself in. Vegeta and Elata sat on the edge of her bed.
"I'll tell you a story about how I was imprisoned in planet Sanzakar. I was innocent, though," Her words made Vegeta scoff, with a slight of a mocking giggle, Elata ignored him and continued her story.
They spent the whole night listening to her adventure. Vegeta even found himself caught in her words. Besides her thrilling stories, she had an amazing way of narrating them. Her story was nowhere near the end, but Bra's eyelids were getting heavy, she lied back with her teddy bear between her little arms snuggling it. Elata stopped her story telling and watched the girl as she drifted into deep slumber.
"That's enough," Vegeta said calmly as he got up,
"Where are we going now?" Elata asked coldly, knowing that she might not spend the night here. He didn't answer and walked into the hallway. She followed closing the door gently behind her,
"I will not tolerate you being here," he went on saying, "And this is the last time I see you with any of my kids, if you disobey me one more time then I'm going to have to kill you." The coldness of his tone made her shiver. But she was angry; she placed her arms on her waist and replied:
"When was the last time you told your daughter a bedtime story?" she asked, "When was the last time you tucked her in? Or you gave her a goodnight kiss? And don't you lie to me," she asked with serious expressions. He didn't answer her question, but he had to say something, so his words came out in hesitant tone:
"That's none of your business and…"
"No, Vegeta, when your daughter complains to me of how she feels like you don't love her anymore then it's my business." Vegeta felt he was electrocuted by her words. He looked down thinking. He trains everyday just so he could protect his daughter and his family, but he never thought that she might feel unloved. He was willing to take a bullet for them. He admitted that Elata was right this time. He felt a slight of shame but he made sure not to show it.
"You never explained to her why you train too hard. Maybe if you did she'll understand," Elata's voice echoed inside his head. He glanced up at her face and frowned,
"Get out of my head," he hissed, "She's only five years old, she wouldn't understand anything I do," he excused himself,
"She seemed to be understanding quite well when I tell her stories. Stop making excuses Vegeta, instead, use the time to spend with her," she suggested.
A confused Vegeta stood there for a moment in complete and utter silence. He didn't know what to worry about first. Should he worry about Elata's existence? Or should he worry about his daughter? Or should he worry about the bond that was instantly built between the traitor and Bra?
"Get out of my house," he growled and walked away stepping into his room. She was left alone in the hallway. She could almost taste his bitterness towards her. Elata respected the fact that he didn't want her there so she stepped outside where it was already chilly. It is the summer breeze, she thought.
Elata didn't feel like flying, she didn't want to spend her ki on silly things as she didn't know what might happen to her alone in the dark. She looked at the sky where the moon should be, she wasn't able to find it, but the stars were clearly shown, lying on the dark blue velvety rug, that is the sky. They seemed like flecks of milk drops on a blue carpet.
Maybe that's why it's called the Milky Way galaxy, she thought.
She heard the sound of wind against the leaves as they danced around in the silence of the night. She enjoyed the scenery, and besides the sound of leaves she heard something else. A sound of a suffering man echoed in the dark of the woods. It was faint and faraway. She paused and listened carefully. She was able to recognize where it came from. She walked deep into the woods where she heard the sound. It was too dark to see but quiet enough to hear. She heard it again as a black figure paused next to a tree, and leaned on it. He seemed as if he was going to puke, clinching his clothes. She kept a safe distance between them as she called:
"Hello? Is everything okay with you?" she was more curious than concerned,
"I…need…help," he said, taking a breath between every word. Then he collapsed. Elata jumped and ran towards him. She looked down at the man. He seemed to be familiar as he recognized her as well,
"Aren't you the Namekian that I fought earlier?" she asked. He nodded placing his arms on his stomach. He was obviously in severe pain. He was in no shape to be wandering around alone in the woods. Elata placed his arm around her shoulder and held him up. He was heavier than she thought he would be, and taller as well. He pushed himself to stand up, but he was mostly supported by Elata.
Goku walked out of the bathroom, drying his wet hair with a towel. He walked straight to his living room where his son, Goten, was
"All I needed was a nice hot shower," he said joyfully as he sat back on his couch,
"Dinner's gonna be ready in five minutes," his wife called from the kitchen,
"What's for dinner?" he asked enthusiastically,
"Mac and cheese," she replied. Goku frowned,
"uhh…Again? Don't we have bacon or…" His words made Chichi snap suddenly,
"Oh…My cooking is boring? Well if you have a job we would be eating shrimps for dinner…I'm not cooking for you if you keep complaining like this!" she yelled as Goku looked at her innocently,
"Way to go, dad," Goten said sarcastically. Goku didn't mean to anger his wife; he was talking in a nice manner when she lost it,
"No, I didn't mean it like that. I love your cooking," he said trying to make a lame yet smooth recovery,
"Don't try to nice-talk your way out of this," Chichi responded as she crossed her arms. He only sighed, giving up. He wanted to get up and check if there's something he could eat, but a rough knock on his door distracted him. It worried them. Goku hurried turning the handle. He opened the door and was astonished by the sight of collapsing Piccolo and Elata. Piccolo fell forward but before he could hit the ground Goku grabbed him. With the help of Elata they sprawled him on the couch.
"What happened?" Goten asked anxiously. He was too concerned to notice Elata's presence. Chichi walked into the room after hearing the noises. She gasped at the scene and wondered as well,
"What happened to him?" Goku wasn't able to answer, for he didn't know what was going on. He just glanced at Elata hoping to get an answer from her. He noticed from Elata's expressions how apprehensive she was,
"I don't know what happened. I was walking alone in the woods when I heard him, and when I saw him, he collapsed. I held him up and asked him if he had a place to go. He led me here, and well…You know the rest," she finally elucidated, making everything clearer.