Chapter 32: Day 19 Part 5 — A Shining Afternoon
Meanwhile, on Samundra…
Tom stepped away and got on the radio, "You know if that fire is out? I saw the helicopter and Peter Pan heading back."
*fuzz* I don't know *fuzz* Randy said. *fuzz* But you're not going to believe this. Isaac set that fire as a diversion and ran, literally ran here with Sam on his back. He did like a three-quarters of a mile in 7 minutes. *fuzz*
"Carrying another 150-pound person?"
*fuzz* oh he's not 150 pounds. He's as gaunt as Sugar Petal at her worst. *fuzz*
"Damn."
*fuzz* That's not the worst of it. *fuzz*
"What now?"
*fuzz* Sugar Petal ran after Vegeta with the crossbow they have and shot up the people chasing them. She deliberately hit JASON and MICHAEL in the nethers. *fuzz*
From the camp, everyone saw Tom make a loud noise and hunch over stumbling.
"How sharp?"
*fuzz* Vegeta's laughing about all the blood he saw and now everyone is discussing who else needs to be shot and where. *fuzz*
"Holy crap… Vegeta… God, he's turned her ruthless in just a week!"
"Hey are you alright?"
Tom looked and saw Craig had come over.
He waved him off. Then he tried to stand straight. "Hey I got team stuff; I'll talk to you later."
*fuzz* 10-4 *fuzz*
While Tom tried to compose himself, Craig had jogged back.
"Hey, who could 'How sharp?' and 'Holy crap Vegeta, God he's turned her ruthless in just a week' be about?"
"Sugar Petal…" the three men said at once.
"Wait… did she stab someone in the dick?!" Jamal said horrified, putting Tom's posture together.
Tom made his way back to the camp.
Jamal stood, "Hey, did Sugar Petal stab someone in the dick or something?"
Tom looked at Craig, then sighed. "There was a battle over Sam. Sugar Petal shot Michael and Jason in the balls with a crossbow. Lots of blood."
The men cringed.
"Oh my God," Denise shot her head. "You're in the middle gang war here."
"Tell me about it…" Jamal said, rubbing his hand down his face.
Bob suddenly stood and walked away.
"Dad? Where are you going?"
Bob just waved him off and went down the beach.
Craig held his hands high then chopped them down. "Can none of you tell me what fucked my dad up so much, for the love of Pete!"
"He called it survivor's guilt and that he was trained for it," Jamal said, shaking his head with his hands on his hips. "I'd hate to think of what he'd be like if he wasn't."
"I know that!" Craig pointed at himself, "I'm trained too, damn it. But I can't help what I don't know!"
"The center of it we can't say," Daisuke said. "Even Jamal's outburst left out the major thing that makes what he said look like a compliment."
"If the fucking king is going to order my unborn grandchildren to be followed for their entire lives over this, I want to know everything!"
Everyone silently looked at each other.
"What?! What could be worse than a genocidal maniac?! Huh? Is he some evil alien that eats babies?!"
"He guessed it," one of the techs said.
"Guys!" Tom shouted.
"To be fair we don't know if he actually ate any babies," another said.
"GUYS!"
"Wait… you're joking… those guys are joking, right?"
"Nope," Jamal said flatly. "That's it."
"And when you said communities…"
"I actually meant entire planets, yes," Jamal said.
"To be fair…."
"To be fair?! See! See!" he pointed at Daisuke, "You see my problem with this guy!" He threw his arms in the air. "With absolutely no sarcasm! He's SERIOUS!"
Daisuke crossed his arms. "I was about to say—"
"No, shut up Daisuke. I don't care that he was a slave and child soldier. He bragged about being a commanding officer over adults at five. FIVE! He was doing such a great job, they made him a commander at FIVE! He was having the time of his life!"
"Do…do…do the Briefs… know?" Denise stuttered.
"Oh yeah! They met in SPACE! In the middle of a WAR! They had some whirlwind encounter and he followed her back to Earth like a puppy!"
"You can't be dealt with when you're like this," he turned around.
At the same moment, Denise leaned over into the sand.
Members of the crew surrounded her.
Jamal turned around and saw his wife had fainted.
Jamal ran, grabbed a stone from the fire pit mid stride, and chucked it at Daisuke's head.
Daisuke dropped, but before Jamal could jump him, Shohei made extremely short work of him. Jamal went to the sand screaming about his right arm even though his leg should not have been pointing that direction.
"Medics!" Tom shouted into the radio. "Three down! One serious head injury. One possible broken bones. One unconscious and unresponsive."
Craig stepped back to watch the chaos.
Denise's problem was fixed with smelling salts. But the sight of her husband sent her into hysterics.
Jamal, whose leg was somehow not broken despite the angle, limped away with the help of medics to get his arm examined.
Daisuke was not responding to the smelling salts.
"That's not good," Craig said to himself.
Craig looked around, but there was no sign of his father or the crew that ran after him.
Trusting his father's mental health training to keep him from falling into what was happening in front of him, Craig began walking up the beach unnoticed by the others.
Meanwhile, at Vegeta's camp…
The party was continuing without the royal couple and Jessica was now dancing and singing in a bad copy of Bollywood.
"You dance like you did when we were kids," Rachel couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh, I dance like a little kid? You get over here and dance with me and we'll see who's the bigger little kid here." Jessica clumsily grabbed her and pulled her from her seat.
Everyone started to cheer and clap.
"Wait! I can't!" she begged, "My God is a jealous god."
"Well, mine aren't," Jessica dragged her by the arm, "I'll sing Christmas carols if I have too. You're not getting out of this."
Rachel found herself in the center of the courtyard. She lifted her arms to her chest defensively.
Jerry clapped his hands before he raised them and did a whoop.
Panchy noticed she was trembling.
"It's ok baby, just sing what comes to mind. It doesn't matter what it is."
Rachel looked at Hassim out of the corner of her eye.
He noticed and sighed, "I married into a Christian family. Sing whatever worship song comes to mind. I've heard them all."
Rachel looked forward again. She closed her eyes and sang Amazing Grace.
She peaked one of her eyes open when she heard clapping.
"See," Panchy said, "that wasn't that hard. Sing another one."
Rachel was prodded into singing three more times, each one getting a little more loose in her posture.
Finally, she sang God of Miracles, and this time she began to move her feet and twist back and forth. She then extended her arms and fluttered her fingers like she was playing in the airstream of an open car window.
Jessica suddenly had a worried look on her face.
"What's wrong?" Luke whispered.
"Her aura is brightening. Really brightening—"
Rachel extended her arms to either side as she raised her voice for the final refrain of the chorus and began raising her arms in the air.
Jessica turned her head and raised her hand in front of her face "— It almost looks like…"
"Nana!" Trunks shouted pointing at her. "She has shiny hands!"
Suddenly Vegeta shouted and a loud crash and breaking bamboo came from the Hive.
Vegeta came stumbling out. "Who made a ki ball at me?!" he slurred his words, wobbling like he was very drunk.
Bulma darted out of the hive next. "Vegeta, come back to bed. We don't need to passing out and sleepwalking again."
Vegeta turned to her. "Someone made a ki ball at me."
"No, they didn't. It's your senses being paranoid because you haven't slept in days! Come on baby, let's go back to bed."
"Papa! Beekeeper lady had shiny hands!" Trunks shouted excitedly.
Vegeta looked around while Bulma looked frustrated at her son.
Vegeta's brain finally connected.
"You?" he pointed at Rachel while sidestepping, trying to steady his footing. "You made shiny hands? You did," he held up his hands to make them glow, "This," he said, twiddling his fingers.
Rachel stepped back putting her arms to her chest to defend herself. "I don't know. I had my eyes closed," she said hurriedly.
"Then what were you thinking about?"
"I was singing hymns to God."
"So happy thoughts?"
She nodded her head.
"What is wrong with your race?!" Vegeta suddenly shouted causing Rachel to jump back.
"People are supposed to summon their power through anger, self-loathing, and fear. But YOUR kind does it by vomiting rainbows!" He threw his hand in the air.
Bulma stepped in between. "Let's go back inside. You're tired."
"I am not tired. I am instructing this woman on the proper way to kill me." He looked at Rachel and pointed in her general direction. "What you need to do is form your anger into a stone, and then you chuck it at something you want to go away forever," he pointed at himself, "like my head. You people stop summoning the power of unicorn glitter farts to try and get me to gag to death on the smell. Got it?"
Rachel nodded.
"I said, 'Did you got it?!'"
"Yes!" Rachel shouted.
"Good." Vegeta started wobbling back and forth and looking around. "Where am I?"
"You're not going to give me a choice, are you?" Bulma's face twitched in frustration.
She took off her shirt revealing her black lacy bra.
She put her hands on her hips. "Vegeta it's time for bed." She ordered.
"But it's light out," he said, looking up and pointing at the canopy.
"Vegeta."
"What?"
Bulma grabbed his hair and shoved his face down her cleavage.
"Bed?" Vegeta said with a sudden insight.
"Yes, bed. Vegeta."
"Ok…"
Suddenly Vegeta grabbed her, tossed her screaming into the air, then over his shoulder.
"Wait Vegeta, not that type of bed?! Trunks is here!" she shouted as Vegeta carried her towards the ladder.
Everyone stood.
"No! I'm ok I got this!" She held out her hands as they disappeared.
After the sound of crashing items and falling shelves ended. Bulma stuck her head out.
"See! I got eeeeeeeverything under control. Someone toss me my shirt. I dropped it there."
Panchy grabbed the shirt and tossed it up to her.
"Thanks, mom."
"Momma?" Trunks asked, crying. "Is Papa drunk?"
Bulma could not hide the horror on her face.
"No. no no, Trunks baby, sweetie pie. Papa is just really tired because he didn't go to bed on time."
"So, Papa sleepwalking again?"
"Who taught you that word?" she demanded.
"Mr. Piccolo…"
Bulma sighed. "He's just very tired, Trunks. He's not sleepwalking. I promise. Momma's got this. Don't worry."
"You won't let Papa blow up the house again?"
"No… Momma is never going to let Papa blow up anything ever again." She said firmly. "Now you be good, Momma—"
"YES!" he shouted. "I will go to bed on time forever so I don't blow up any houses!"
"I got him, sweetie," Panchy said, going over to Trunks. "You keep that man of yours in bed."
"Yes, mom." Bulma disappeared.
Bulma suddenly stuck her head out again. "And no more shiny hands. Go be happy somewhere else." She ducked back inside.
Sugar Petal stood, "Why don't we let Mr. Vegeta sleep and all go up to the second camp."
Everyone who could left for the upper camp. Sam, and Pastor Luke stayed behind, along with Dr. Brief and Isaac for the animals.
Silence ruled the camp as the animals made themselves comfortable.
Timmy was spread out over the full length of the courtyard and went to sleep.
"Mark is even smaller than his head," Isaac pointed out when the puppy decided to curl up under his chin to nap as well.
Labu and Peaches went up the ladder briefly before Peaches came back down alone and returned to Dr. Brief's lap.
Silence reigned.
"So…" Pastor Luke said. "That was the alien everyone is talking about."
"Yeah…" Dr, Brief sighed. "Definitely not the best first impression. At least he wasn't sleepwalking."
"Did he really blow up your house?" he asked. "Trunks was terrified."
"Yeah, he did. We've decided to not rebuild those rooms and turn it into an outside entertaining space on the second floor."
"Wait, this was recent?"
"Three months ago."
"The gas leak?"
Dr. Brief sighed, "The king's PR jackasses can't even come up with a believable story. Accidents have been happening since before Bulma was born, but no… they had to cover up their own stupidity with even more stupidity."
"Their fault?"
"Vegeta has PTSD. Other than night terrors and some occasional panic attacks he's fine. But no, the king would have him drugged into a coma and spend the rest of his life on life support if we would let him. But Vegeta decided to give in to keep the peace and sleep walked for the first time in his life the first night he took it and two weeks later my damn house is up in flames."
Peaches jumped out of his lap.
"Oh, I'm sorry Peaches. I didn't mean to scare you." He leaned down and extended his hand. "It's ok baby girl, spspspspspsps."
Peaches sniffed his fingers, but then ran out under the fencing and disappeared.
Dr. Brief sighed, "Perfect… I scared the cat… Fuck you Ferdie…"
"He's been here since King Arthur Furry from Trunks' age. What did he think?"
"Oh, Saiyans have lived on this planet for decades. One of his advisors and best friends was one." Dr. Brief sighed. "When he died in battle, and in a way our Namekian allies couldn't resurrect him… Arthur didn't survive the hour. He was already so frail, he couldn't survive a broken heart." He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm a decade older than him. Why did he have to go first…" He took a deep, jagged breath then wiped his eyes.
"So," he said, putting his glasses back on, "anything else you want to know about my wayward son-in-law?"
"Hey," Bulma stuck her head out.
"Oh, Bulma I'm sorry…"
"No, not you Dad. I need a cellphone. Now." She looked at the remaining crews, "Cell phone. Now. I need to film this. It's too cute. Hurry before the kitten moves."
Nathan climbed the ladder to peak in. Then immediately handed over his phone and tried hard to stifle his laughter on the way down.
"Vegeta is covered in sleeping kittens. There's one on his face," he said when he got on the ground.
Dr. Brief chuckled. "Cats do love Vegeta. Dogs not so much.
"Yeah…" Isaac said. "Timmy's the friendliest thing in the world. But the first time he saw Vegeta he just growled at him."
"I know people think it's because they can sense he's a dangerous man. But I think it's the smell difference. Vegeta isn't the only Saiyan to get growled at. One poor dog was put down by its owner because it barked and snapped at a baby in a stroller. Never acted like it before. It was even a therapy dog at a children's hospital. But nope, couldn't confess the family wasn't human so they killed the dog…"
"That's what happened in the Terminator franchise," Isaac said. "They only showed really old movies in prison. I mean, who the hell is John Wayne?"
"Dr. Brief laughed, "Oh don't say that in front of Panchy, Isaac. She loves old movies, got it from her dad. He was always a joy. Best person in the world. We both loved old computer and videogames and would play emulators into the night, especially after I found a way to multiplayer over the internet so we could play every day. So, which movies are we talking about?"
"I don't remember. They're all almost 300 years old. They are all just so weird. I mean, the people. Did humans all have huge foreheads back then? Was it the camera tech? The hair styles? People weren't even bald. Even little kids and women looked just… off."
Dr. Brief laughed, "Oh. I'm so glad you're out of prison. Whoever framed you made a perfect noose."
"Father… It was Father…"
"Simon? Why?!"
"Michael's request." He sighed. "At least Yolanda didn't die…"
"Oh no… Don't tell me that boy tried to…"
"Yep, he drugged her and got more than he bargained for… So, he asked Daddy to make it all go away… At least she escaped back to Brazil and they never followed her."
"Michael raped your girlfriend?" Sam asked.
Isaac took a picture out of his wallet and handed it to him. "That's Yolanda. We just eloped."
"She's gor—"
"A man," Luke cut him off. "Transvestite."
Sam handed him back the photo and shook his hand like he had touched something icky, then wiped it on his pants leg. "Well, plastic surgery can do anything, I guess."
"Yolanda's previous life was a complete secret because she had a woman's passport when I brought her back from Rio. So… tell me," he looked at Luke, "How would my brother had discovered she hadn't had her bottom surgery yet? Which sin is greater? A serial rapist and woman beater or someone just being themselves."
"There is no graduating scale when it comes to sin. God's laws are immutable."
"So, what does that make my family then," Dr. Brief said harshly. "Vegeta's not a son of Adam and Eve. Does he have a soul? Is he a person? Has my daughter committed bestiality? And what about my grandson? Is God going to flood the world and drown everyone like the last time halflings began to appear on this planet?"
Pastor Luke went wide-eyed and made squeaky noises as he tried to find words.
Dr. Brief stood. "If this was my house, I'd have you thrown out by security since I'm too old to do it myself. But this isn't my house, so I'm going to leave. Have fun at the mercy of Vegeta and my daughter and try not to get killed."
"Dad," Bulma stuck her head out, "Don't say that about Vegeta!"
"I wasn't talking about your Vegeta, darling. You are a thousand times more dangerous and much more likely to kill someone than he ever will." He began walking away with his cane. "Now I'm going to find your mother. Good day gentlemen."
Bulma began to climb down the ladder.
"I'll go with him, Bulma," Isaac said. "Timmy. Timmy, get up."
Timmy opened his eyes. Then he lifted his head to look back at him. This sent Mark rolling as he slid off his ear.
Mark immediately started to whine and Timmy began licking him with a tongue twice as long as him.
Isaac walked over and picked Mark up, "Ok come on before you drown the poor thing in slobber."
Timmy got to his feet and stretched. Then followed the group out of camp wagging his giant tail.
Sam put his hands over his mouth to smother the scream when Timmy's tail smacked his bad leg.
Luke leaned over to help him.
"So."
They both looked and saw Bulma standing in front of them with her hands on her hips.
"I would keep any metaphysical discussions to a minimum." Then she turned and put her finger to her lips, "I wouldn't want to wake Vegeta again." She went back and climbed the ladder out of sight.
"Does the church have any proclamations concerning the salvation of aliens?" Sam looked at his cousin.
He sighed. "If it does, I don't know them… but the Samaritans were and still are enemies of Israel. It would be safest to offer a Samaritan kindness for now."
Sam looked up at the treehouse. "Vegeta must be the greatest Samaritan of all then."
Luke sighed again, "Let's just drop the subject… So, how has the game gone OTHER than the alien?"
Sam began to weep in his hands, startling Luke.
"I have sinned. I have sinned so much. I don't deserve salvation…"
"Of course, you do!" Luke began to shake him. "Just tell me what's been going on. Everything is going to be ok."
Sam bawled, gripping the cross around his neck, telling him how Michael manipulated him against Hassim, isolating Sugar Petal, how he turned his back again and again, Becky, being rescued by Vegeta… and Becky, and Becky, and then Becky again…"
"You got talked into burning down someone's house with them sleeping in it? You, Baby Sammy, got talked into arson and possibly attempted murder."
"Yes…"
Luke looked up at the treehouse. "You're right. Vegeta is the ultimate Samaritan."
"I deserve everything that's happened to me… I don't know why God is being so merciful…"
Luke thought of something.
"No… I can't tell him now. Not like I can actually prove angels weren't involved. But there's nothing saying aliens and advanced tech can't heal and cause dreams. He was told to close his eyes when he woke up midway… Yes, it could have been an angel hiding his face, but an alien not wanting to be spotted as well…"
"Hey! Open the door!" a man shouted. "Open the door right now."
Luke got up and ran to the lower gate.
"Oh, aren't you a Blue visitor?"
"I'm here for that bastard Vegeta."
"Vegeta is passed out currently—"
"Then wake him up!"
"We can't. He hasn't slept for a few days and when he was woken up by accident a bit ago, he was delirious until he collapsed again. He's dangerous in that state according to his family and his son's terror seeing his father like that speaks volumes."
Craig looked to the side, thinking.
"If you want to speak with anyone else," Luke pointed, "There is a bridge across the stream and a path to a second camp. Everyone that can walk has been evacuated there."
"Then why are you here?"
"Sam can't walk. I'm his cousin. Bulma is also here keeping an eye on him in one of the shelters."
"I came here to see Vegeta, and I'm not leaving until I do. I want to see the man that has caused so much pain."
"What do you mean?"
"I just saw Samundra devolve into a brawl. Dad's completely missing somewhere in the woods. And Jamal just smashed the one Asian guy's head in with a rock before his father karate'd him into his limbs pointing the wrong directions. All over a fight over Vegeta that was barely a minute long before they started ripping each other's throats out."
"Holy God," Luke began to look over the gate, "How do you open this?"
"And why would you want to do that?"
Luke looked behind him and saw Bulma.
"I'm a counselor. I need to get over there."
"So am I and Dad. None of the training is helping anyone."
Bulma sighed, "Well, you walked all this way. As long as you don't wake my husband you can at least rest and get some water."
She walked over and between the two of them they undid the knots on the locks and opened the gate.
She led them to the center courtyard.
"What… is all this?" Craig said, looking around.
Bulma clawed the air, "THIS is the reason my husband has barely slept in two weeks. When I told him to take care of his teammates, I didn't mean recreate the Manhattan skyline."
Bulma rubbed her temple as her eyebrows twitched with her ever increasing migraine.
Craig saw her distraction.
"So, which one is he in?"
"The loft…"
Craig ran.
"Stop! Are you suicidal!" She saw him get to the ladder. She climbed after him, "Don't you DARE get MY VEGETA in trouble you bastard!"
Craig froze at the top of the ladder, and Bulma soon saw why.
Labu was stretched across his chest nursing the smaller kittens. Two of the older kittens were investigating Vegeta's wide open mouth taking turns sticking their heads in.
Bulma climbed over him into the shelter and pulled out the cell phone.
Craig got over his shock. He grimaced. "Well… even Hitler had a dog, right?"
Bulma kicked him in the face causing him and the ladder to fall to the ground.
Luke ran over to help him. He got the ladder off of him. "Are you ok?"
"Back…" he mumbled as he rolled over.
Luke backed away after the crews joined him and looked up.
Bulma was standing in the doorway, hands on her hips glaring at them with pure fury and contempt.
Luke came to an instant conclusion.
This woman WAS a thousand times more dangerous than Vegeta.
At the upper camp…
Rachel was curled into a ball having a panic attack.
"I'm a witch… I'm a witch… I'm a witch…"
Panchy and Jessica were trying to calm her down.
"You're not a witch sweetie. Ki is completely natural. It's just the energy your body uses to work. You just have extra."
"Rachel, do you really think you could summon Satan's powers while singing about the joy of Christ? That's stupid. Just calm down."
Rachel then pointed at the ground. There was a shadow of a man who wasn't there.
Trunks looked up. "Ankle Yamcha!"
Yamcha dropped from the sky. "Yeah! Little buddy."
"Flying… Flying man…"
Yamcha looked at Rachel. "Oh, you were the one who's ki shot up. Are you ok? Was it your first time? Are you hurt?"
"Demons… Demons everywhere…"
"I'm not a monster," Yamcha smiled. "I'm Yamcha. I'm Earth's Special Forces. We're the ones who protect Earth from aliens and bad guys."
"Then why is that demon down there…?"
Yamcha looked behind him, "You mean Vegeta?" He looked back at her and smiled awkwardly, "Well it's complicated, but Earth is better off not having someone as powerful as him as an enemy. He's on our side, I promise."
*fuzz* Yamcha? Yamcha! Where did you run off to! The king was talking with you, damn it! *fuzz*
Yamcha grabbed his radio, "Sorry Reynolds, I felt someone's ki shoot up. Thought there was an emergency."
*fuzz* What did Vegeta do now? *fuzz*
"If it was someone I recognized, I wouldn't have flown over. It was one of the visitors who's currently in a panic attack. Spooked herself with whatever she did."
*fuzz* THERE'S ANOTHER ONE?! *fuzz* Reynolds give me that. Yamcha, this is King Furry. What happened, your own words. *fuzz*
Yamcha began scratching the back of his head. "Sorry sire. I felt a strange energy that seemed to form a ki ball. I thought there was a fight so I flew off. I'm sorry, I'll be right over."
*fuzz* What. Happened. *fuzz* King Furry stressed.
"Here, give that to me," Panchy said, taking it out of his hand. "Hi Ferdie! It's Aunt Panchy. Um Rachel was singing and her fingers started to glow because of how into it she was. You know ki responds to strong emotions when you're not trained to stop it, right?"
*fuzz* Yes, I've become keenly aware of that the past few days. Yamcha, if you can still hear me fly this person back to the resort, now. *fuzz*
Yamcha looked at Rachel. Then he took the radio back and flew up.
He hovered out of ear shot. "I don't think that's a good idea. At least until she calms down. There's something wrong with her ki and she's not in control of herself right now. Was screaming about witches and demons."
*fuzz* Reynolds who is this Rachel… *fuzz* he heard softly over the speaker. *fuzz* that cult still exists… of course the Nahm's would legitimize it… *fuzz* Yamcha, I've changed my mind. Stay there with her and make sure she calms down. *fuzz*
"Yes, your Majesty."
When nothing else came from the radio, he put it back on his belt and dropped down.
"Well, the king wants me to hang out and make sure you're ok, Miss Rachel." He sat down where Panchy had been. "So would you like to talk about what happened? I'm sure it was scary for a first timer. Manifesting ki visually is always startling. Even when you're deliberately trying to do it. Took me three years, you must be very blessed to be able to do it completely on your own. Only person I knew who could do that was Goku."
Rachel was now as small as she could make herself and completely hiding behind Jessica.
Jessica held her arm in front of her. "I know you mean well, but the group we grew up in forbids women to be around men from outside the church. You're only going to make things worse. And she's pregnant. We need to calm her down as soon as possible."
"Oh! You're pregnant! That's why your ki feels weird. I'm sorry, I should have recognized that." He stood, "Well if I'm going to be a problem, I'll leave for now." He looked at Randy, "Call if you need me."
Yamcha disappeared into the sky.
"Bye Bye Ancle Yamcha!" Trunks waved.
"Trunks," Panchy said sweetly, "Remember your promise about playing birdie."
Trunks looked down and saw he was floating. He dropped down, "I'm sorry, Nana. I happy I go up!"
"You happy you go up?"
Rachel had stuck her head out from behind Jessica.
Trunks nodded vigorously.
"Are you a demon disguised as a child?"
Trunks tilted his head confused. Then looked up at Panchy.
"No, you're just half Saiyan."
Trunks looked back at Rachel. He raised both hands in the air, "I'm a half Saiyan!"
Rachel paused. "A baby Nephilim?" she whispered to Jessica.
Suddenly Trunks grabbed her hand. "Want to learn how to play birdie?!"
Trunks pulled her completely off the platform and she landed hard on her stomach.
"Trunks! Watch your strength!" Panchy shouted.
She got down on her knees and helped her roll over, "Are you ok? How's your stomach? Does it hurt?" She looked back at her grandson, "Trunks! She has a baby growing in her! You could have hurt them both!"
Trunks started wailing and dropped on his butt.
"Don't cry like that young man! You'll get no sympathy from me or Grandpa!"
WOOF! WOOF!
"Now what's going on up here?"
"Britches! Don't even think about comforting Trunks! He just hurt someone!" Panchy shouted as her husband's head came into view.
"Trunks…" Dr. Brief had his arms crossed and tapping his foot. "Why did you pull so hard? You know better."
"But Ancle Yamcha said she had ki! I can't hurt people with ki!" he bawled.
Panchy gasped. "Oh no… That's what we've been teaching him so he doesn't hurt normal people," she whispered.
"This could get bad…" Dr. Brief said, wiping his forehead. "Um… you see my boy… ah…"
Another shadow appeared.
"Trunks."
"An Arab!" Rachel dove behind Jessica.
"Mr. Piccolo?" Trunks sobbed surprised.
Piccolo landed. He was masked with his ears hidden. And when he revealed his arms, he had sleeves and gloves.
He made a glass appear out of thin air. "Trunks. I want you to watch this. And listen close." He walked over to the trough and filled the glass.
"Trunks. There's enough water in this glass to drink right?"
Trunks nodded.
Piccolo dumped the water back in the trough. He showed the cup again. "And now?"
"No," Trunks shook his head.
Piccolo pointed at the glass, "But look, there's water in the glass, see the drops?"
"But you can't drink the drops."
"Exactly," he put the glass down. "Trunks, think of the water like ki. You and everyone you've met have always had a full cup. That is why you can't hurt them. But this lady only has little drops, that is why you can hurt her."
He put his hand on the boy's head. "Trunks, this is our fault. People with drops in their cups are rare, so we thought you would never meet one until you could control yourself fully. Don't blame yourself. But be careful in the future. If someone has ki, but you don't know them. Act like they have none until one of us tells you they have a full cup. Got it?"
Trunks nodded. "Yes…" he blubbered.
"Good. You're a smart boy. Goten would have said yes and licked the cup."
Trunks giggled. "He's still a baby. Babies are stupid."
"Well, you were a baby not too long ago. Be nicer to Goten. He might end up smarter than you some day."
"No!" Trunks declared. He raised his finger high in the air. "I'm going to be the smartest person in the world! Just like Momma!"
Piccolo sighed, "And as arrogant as your father… I don't need the mirror pool to see this coming…"
He stood, and turned to Dr. Brief.
"I'll be making my leave now," he said, wrapping his cloak back in front of him.
Panchy clasped her hands in prayer. "Thank goodness you're here watching over Vegeta. I don't know what we could have said to Trunks to make this better."
Piccolo nodded, smiling under his mask. "Until we meet again, Mrs. Brief."
Piccolo disappeared into the sky.
"Who was that? Another alien?" Isaac said.
"Piccolo, nicest bloke you'll ever meet. Does an awesome job babysitting."
"Ah…" something clicked in his brain. "As in king?"
"Oh," Dr. Brief scolded. "Don't you go after him too because his dad was a complete asshat. Like I said he's the one of the kindest men I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. He had a chance to leave Earth to go back to his people, you know, but he said he was born here and he was already home. Don't go helping Ferdie change his mind!"
Dr. Brief stomped over and found a seat.
Timmy suddenly jumped in the trough and started splashing around.
"Timmy, get out!"
Timmy obeyed and got out.
Then he shook himself, spraying everyone.
"Timmy!"
Four o'clock came, but the king was already meeting with people.
"I'm glad to see you only have a concussion. I've seen Sam's x-rays. You were very lucky."
"Thank you. King Furry," Daisuke said.
He turned to Daisuke's father, "You raised a calm son with a good head on his shoulders."
Shohei bowed from his seat. "I am honored by your praise."
King Furry stood. "I wish more people would respond to finding out about that man like you did." He sighed, "Jamal's is the most common reaction..."
"Will you be seeing him next? Dad told me what he did."
"Yes. He is in the next room currently. I will see you tomorrow, Daisuke. Shohei, I will see you at the photoshoot and dinner tonight."
King Furry entered the broken hallway. He sighed thinking about the power of Trunks. He quickly regained his composure and entered the next room.
"So. Jamal." The king said sternly. "You hurt an innocent man today. Don't talk back to me," he cut Jamal off.
He sat down, "Save that anger for Vegeta."
"Why is he here?"
"Because my father's men hid him on this planet and took him to battle with them secretly for years to earn enough brownie points to convince my father to let him stay. But it was the baby that sealed it. And after my father died, he was too entrenched to get rid of. He's one of the last three bastards I haven't found a way to get rid of safely yet. But hundreds of others have left. That will have to count as a win for now."
"And what happened to these men? Were they executed?"
"Jamal!" Denise shouted.
"No. The humans in question are as powerful as the aliens they protect Earth from. They did what they wanted before because my father had complete trust in them. They do what they want now because they know I can't stop them. I could launch the entire nuclear arsenal on their heads and they would just walk out of the crater without a scratch. I'm just glad they are as loyal as they are."
King Furry stood. "By the way, that man didn't have to save you. He could have just continued to pretend to be a normal, powerless human and watch you helplessly get eaten by that crocodile. If I had precognition, I would have ordered him to do so. Remember your place in the food chain young man and you will live to be old."
King Furry stopped at the door, then turned around, "I almost forgot. I'm told you don't 'need' surgery right now. You will need it if you reinjure it, which is a 100% guarantee with the rest of the game looming over. So be careful out there or you'll never be able to lift your arm over your head again."
He left the room.
He entered the next.
"So," he smiled. "I'm told you fucked around and found out when it came to Bulma Brief."
Craig looked up, not expecting cursing from the king.
"You're lucky you only have a bruised face, hip, and shoulder. You almost landed in the fire pit." he said sitting down.
"So… why did you go looking for Vegeta?"
"After watching the strongest man I've even known disintegrate into dust and watching one friend try and kill the other in blind rage. I needed to see the thing the staff was casually joking about being a mass murder and cannibal and let him have it."
King Furry sighed. "And it never occurred to you that he could kill you himself?"
"All the suffering he's caused was from pretending to be a human being. I wasn't worried."
"And you never thought screaming in his face could be the straw that broke the camel's back? That he's just as messed up emotionally as everyone else is right now?"
Craig pressed his lips together.
King Furry sighed, trying to think of what to say.
"I can't believe I'm defending this man…"
"Vegeta has always called himself a weapon. That it's whether he was ever pointed at someone or not is why someone might choose to like him. But since he was freed from slavery, he has been a very odd weapon.
"This weapon has discovered figure skating, is at a professional level, and likes to sneak in with a mask and do impromptu performances.
"This weapon goes on charity trips and does random acts of kindness as much as he complains about it.
"And this weapon set up hidden cameras on the North Street Bridge, programmed by himself an AI to recognize someone about to jump, and put visual alarms in a frequency only he can see in the rooms he was most commonly in without telling the Briefs at first.
"The Black Bullet has saved over 60 people these three years. It's to the point other modes of suicide have spiked in West City because no one jumps anymore.
"But the first time he saved someone was six years ago, back when he was transient and newly freed. When he saw his first person jump, he thought he slipped and grabbed him before he hit the water. Then when the man said he'd jumped to kill himself, Vegeta flew to plane height and dropped him six times, almost hitting the ground until he was satisfied the man would never try to kill himself again and gave him to the police on the bridge. Originally, a human in the special forces took credit for it, although the cruelty was unusual for him. Officially that man is still the Black Bullet."
He closed his eyes briefly. "I feel like Harry Truman sometimes finding out about the bomb."
He continued. "But it was the real man behind the urban legend that jumped thirty feet into the river, got death rolled by a saltwater crocodile the size and weight of a city bus, and got dragged under."
King Furry changed his position to lean in.
"Vegeta signed a contract to compete to hide his powers, and outside of two accidents, he's kept his word. Except when he didn't pretend to be a helpless human and watch hopelessly as Earth's new world record crocodile chomped on a bunch of swimmers, including your father."
The king stood, "A strange weapon in deed."
King Furry walked out of the room.