Chapter 36: Day 20 Part 3 — Beach Party
Everyone arrived at the beach, and Jerry immediately began jumping and hollering.
He ran up the beach. "Come here you big beauty!"
"Is that a karaoke machine attached to solar panels?" Sam asked.
"Looks like it," Hassim said, grabbing his chair from the boat.
Vegeta picked him up.
"I'm never going to live this down…" Sam said grimacing.
"Live down what?" Vegeta asked.
"Well, isn't it the blushing bride!" Becky called out.
Vegeta looked around.
"Rachel is not here," he said.
"You're holding Sam like a groom would traditionally carry a bride over the threshold," Jessica said as Sugar Petal helped her out.
"There was no threshold carrying ceremony at my wedding," Vegeta said, "What tribe is it from?"
"Just forget it…" Sam said.
"Here are your crutches," Sugar Petal said.
Vegeta stepped into the dry sand and put Sam down.
Then Vegeta went back to the boat.
He tossed the two balls up the beach into the dry sand, then picked up several pieces of bamboo of different thicknesses and lengths and a blue rope.
"Did… they actually make the balls?" Jamal said surprised, holding his football.
"I don't fucking care anymore…" Bob said, turning his head away.
Conner came down the beach with his crew. He was wearing gloves to cover his hands and pants for the first time on set. He also had a slight limp.
He spread his arms wide welcomingly, "I see you guys came ready to party."
"Big ball can be used for soccer or volleyball. Jessica asked for a baseball. Got enough bamboo and rope for all three."
"I see you brought your bone flute," Conner said pointing at it hanging around his neck, "We going to get a performance?"
"Maybe…" Vegeta answered indifferently.
Sugar Petal came back to the boat and grabbed her guitar and bamboo flute. "We brought all of our instruments," she smiled.
"And I will do all in my power to make Trunks as annoying as possible," Vegeta smirked.
"Yes, I recognize that flute from the footage. I would be careful who you weaponize him against."
"I'm not worried about Trunks getting hurt," Vegeta said.
"Even emotionally? Guil—"
"I will be extracting their beating hearts from their thorax cavity before their nervous system even registers any broken bones," Vegeta snapped back. Then he smiled again, "I'm pretty sure everyone knows it too. Trunks' auditory misadventure will go unimpeded."
Vegeta walked up the beach.
Conner sighed, then looked at Sugar Petal.
She shrugged, then chased after Vegeta.
"Ok! Everyone gather for your families' arrival," Conner shouted. He drew a quick line in the sand about 40 feet from the water's edge. "Stand about here."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and came down.
The boats arrived with the visitors.
*Bark*
Timmy immediately jumped out and ran up to Michael. Michael crossed his arms and glared at the dog.
Timmy stopped in his tracks. He lowered his head, tucked his tail in, and whimpered loudly as he hunched over and tiptoed over.
"You're not getting pets after what you did yesterday. Bad dog."
Timmy stopped in his tracks, laid down, and whimpered louder, tentatively wagging his tail.
"No."
Timmy placed his head down on the sand, and switched to a whine.
"Will you pet the dang dog!" Dr. Brief shouted.
Timmy raised his head and looked back at Dr. Brief wagging his tail.
"Timmy," Michael snapped.
Timmy turned back.
Michael sighed and lowered his hand.
Timmy stood and cautiously came over. He licked his hand then pressed his big forehead into his hand. His tucked tail began to beat the inside of his legs.
Michael scratched behind his ears, "Stay."
"Wait, where's Isaac?" Sam asked.
"They're planning something…" Hassim said.
"Gee, who would have thought," Vegeta said.
"Everyone! Welcome to Beach Day!" Conner said walking down. "I see everyone brought their one item."
Brook held up a small instrument case and whooped like her father.
Jerry gave a double thumbs up, then pointed at the karaoke machine and jogged away.
Conner did not notice. "I see we will be having a musical afternoon," Conner smiled. "Alright, everyone set yourselves up! The caterers will be here shortly."
Conner stepped out of frame and the relatives walked up onto the beach, except for Brook and Trunks who ran.
"Papa!" he stopped in front of his father.
Vegeta smirked. "I brought something," he pulled the bamboo recorder from behind his back.
Trunks grabbed it and put it in his mouth. He began circling the group blowing a sour note.
"(He's just like your nephew, Nasir,)" Lesley chuckled in Arabic. She hugged him.
"(He's definitely something…)" Hassim said after a pause. He kissed her forehead.
"Seonbae-nim," Sugar Petal smiled and gave a quick bow to Maple.
"Hubae," she nodded back.
"They have a karaoke machine," Sugar Petal grabbed her hand, "Let's sing together again today!" She pulled her along, "Over here."
They headed over to Jerry and Brook, followed by her guards.
"So, what's this mysterious item you brought?" Vegeta asked, looking at Bulma.
"Actually, it was me, dearie," Panchy said, holding up a capsule. "But Bulma's still too mad at you to bring this anyway."
"Mom?!" Bulma tried to grab it, but Panchy pulled it away.
Vegeta pointed at her hand as they played keep away, "Please tell me that's what I think it is."
"Yep! She made two after all."
Vegeta snatched the capsule and ran off happily.
"Is he… skipping?" Luke asked while everyone watched.
"You gave Papa new toy?" Trunks looked at his grandmother.
"Yep," Panchy said, bending down. "Let's let him go play by himself. He hasn't had a chance since he's been here."
"What is it?" Sam asked.
"A small gravity room," Panchy said.
While the others muttered gravity room, Hassim has a look of recognition.
"Oh…" he said, "Vegeta did say Earth has incredibly weak gravity, but he could survive a month without his gravity room when I asked about his health."
"Papa sick?" Trunks looked back at Panchy.
"No sweetie, but he can become sick if he doesn't get a chance to play for a very long time. That's why I brought it."
"Can we go see it?" Lesley asked.
"Sure," Panchy said. "Vegeta's never minded people watching."
"Mom!"
"They already know," Dr. Brief said. "Besides, we know Vegeta actually likes them. That's a big step for him having human friends outside your orbit." Then he pointed, "And he's already being followed."
Everyone turned and saw Jerry and the three girls with the guards go into the trees.
Bulma rubbed her forehead and ran after them.
Everyone else followed.
"Luke," Sam raised both hands.
Luke carried Sam on his back after them.
"You know the way, Jerry?" Sugar Petal asked.
"Yeah, this is the path to the Final Fire area," he said. "Yep, see here we are."
"I hear a buzzing noise," Maple said. "I think it's coming from that way," she pointed down another path.
They found a staff area with everything shoved aside with a capsule dome in the middle lined with circular windows.
They looked in.
"That's one goofy grin," Jerry said. "He's definitely happy."
"He's doing cartwheels like a schoolgirl," Brook giggled.
"(Wait. Stay here,)" one of the guards ordered. He walked over and poked a pile of clothes at the base of the steps with his foot.
"Is he naked in there?" he asked.
"No, he's in his boxers," Jerry said.
"(Then stay back here,)" the other guard said walking forward.
The two men looked in the windows.
Vegeta had stopped jumping and was laying spread out on the floor.
"(That screen on the center console says 100 on it,)" one of the guards said. "(That machine is definitely the source of the buzzing.)"
"Get out of my way."
The two men turned and saw Bulma marching up.
She forced her way through and up the steps. Bulma placed her hand next to the door and a panel opened with a speaker and a button.
She pushed it. "VEGETA! Did you mess with the limiter?! The miniature gravity machine should not be making that noise!"
*fuzz* Not my fault you made it so easily hotwired, woman. *fuzz*
"Can you NOT cause an explosion for once in your life?!"
*fuzz* It only feels around 150 Gs. The materials can handle a lot more. *fuzz*
"Just because I used old spaceship parts doesn't mean you should jeopardize the safety of everyone around you! That's the very first model! It's been in the closet in pieces for six years! I didn't even send Goku to Namek with that! You put the gravity back down under 100 right now, mister."
"Wait, you mean he's doing cartwheels in 150 times Earth's gravity?!" Brook shouted.
*fuzz* Who's out there with you? *fuzz*
"Papa having playtime?"
Bulma looked down at Trunks, then behind and saw the others enter the clearing.
"Everyone followed you when you disappeared, dummy."
*fuzz* Augh… fine! Be right out. *fuzz*
The buzzing stopped and the door opened.
Maple screamed and put her hands over Sugar Petal's eyes as she closed hers and turned away.
"Can I please have some alone time for the first time in three fucking weeks?!" he shouted. "Go eat your food! I'll kill something for myself later!" He looked down. "Take everyone down and make sure they eat, boy." The door then shut again and the buzzing soon returned.
"Ok, Papa!"
Bulma growled loudly and went to hit the button again.
Someone touched her shoulder and she spun around.
"Bulma, sweetie," Panchy said. "Let's just leave him alone."
Bulma looked back at the door. "He removed the limiter! He's going to cause an explosion going over 100."
"He's survived explosions at 500 times gravity," Dr. Brief chuckled. "He'll be fine."
"And everyone else?! There's been enough explosions as it is!"
Trunks tilted his head. "What explosion, Mama?"
"She's talking about the big rock that fell," Panchy said quickly. She picked him up, "Let's go down." She hurried down the steps.
Bulma went to shout again, when she noticed the clothes.
"Don't you feel any shame as a wife?!" Maple said as they went down. "Others will see your husband in an unsavory light."
"I would steal his boxers and force him to walk naked if I could. But this will have to do for punishment."
"But it is your sin! How can you not be terrified?!"
Bulma stopped and looked back. "Of what? Vegeta?" she laughed, putting the back of her hand to her mouth like a villain. "Little girl, Vegeta is afraid of me. I rule this marriage, not him."
A tight hand suddenly gripped Maple's shoulder.
"(Ignore the sinners,)" the guard ordered.
She stiffened. "(Yes!)"
Bulma turned back around and the group continued.
"Did you actually say 500 times gravity, as in 500 times Earth's gravity?" the guard asked.
"Yes I did," Dr. Brief said.
"The sun only has 25 times the gravity of Earth. What you describe is not possible."
"Actually it's 28, but yes, it is perfectly possible, Vegeta's home world had 20 times Earth's gravity."
"But he was just at 150," Brook said.
"He likes to crank it up for a work out," Panchy said. "He'll go up to 500 transformed, but sticks to 150 normally."
"He can transform?" Maple looked up. "Into what?"
"Saiyans are like werewolves," Sugar Petal said, "but he can control it fully. He's quite proud of the fact. He can even talk."
Maple shrunk at the thought of the monsters.
"That sounds amazing," Brook said.
"It… sounds dangerous…" Jerry said.
"But he said he can control it."
"Which means normally it can't."
"Oh it is dangerous," Dr. Brief chuckled. "Bulma had nightmares for months after almost getting eaten by a friend of hers as a kid."
"There are others here?" Brook said.
"Of course," he chuckled. "Vegeta first came here chasing after deserting soldiers. We look close enough that Earth is the only real place a Saiyan can reasonably hide. Goku was such a sweet boy, always thought he was strangely short for his age, but I had no reason to think he was lying about being 14. And Bulma liked him, so I just ignored things."
Bulma's eyebrows twitched at the conversation.
"Nana," Trunks asked, "What's a werewolf?"
"Why don't we let Papa show you once we go home," Panchy smiled at the grandson in her arms.
"Ok!"
Luke and Sam came around a corner.
"Are you guys headed down now?" Luke asked panting.
"Actually, we're not too far down from that seating area," Panchy said. She looked behind her, "Do we want to head back up?"
"Oh thank God…" Luke said, finally able to sit down.
"Isn't this the Final Fire set?" Sam asked, looking around.
"Yep," Jerry said.
"Where's Vegeta?" he asked.
"Papa is playing!" Trunks said.
"He's in a room with an artificial gravity machine," Hassim said. "He's actually from a world with 20 times our gravity."
"Wow, astronauts wither away in less than that difference," Luke said, "Is he ok?"
Suddenly, there was a giant boom and crash. Little pieces of smoking debris began fluttering down.
Bulma sighed. "Well, you jinxed it…"
Vegeta came stumbling down covered in soot a few moments later.
He put his hands on his knees and coughed.
"Woman! *cough* *cough* What the hell was that?!"
Bulma crossed her legs and arms and turned her nose up, "Well I warned you, didn't I? I hope those 15 minutes were worth it because you're not going to get any more for a while."
"What do you mean by that?!"
"You set off the alarm when you snuck home. It takes my biometrics to turn it back on. And I don't think I want to."
Vegeta clawed the air, "Oh come on!"
She pointed at him. "You're the one who thinks with your muscles and not your brain. I said, I didn't even put Goku in it. Didn't that set you off that it was fragile?"
Vegeta snarled and growled loudly like an animal, causing the people new to him to flinch.
"Don't get pissy with me. This is your fault and you know it."
Vegeta went to shout again but calmed down suddenly. "Did you steal my clothes?" he said, spotting them.
"And?"
He sighed relieved. "Oh, thank the goddess I married a petty bitch…"
He floated up, "I'm going to take a quick dip and be right back." He flew away.
"You can open your eyes now," Sugar Petal poked Maple's shoulder.
"You didn't close your eyes?!"
"I've seen worse here than Mr. Vegeta's boxers."
Maple made a sound like a short, strangled cry.
"Is everyone alright up here?!" Conner came charging up. Medics and security were lining up behind him.
"Yes," Bulma waved them off. "Vegeta hotwired his gift and it literally blew up in his face… AH-gain. He went to wash."
"Where did it blow up?" Conner asked.
"That way," Bulma pointed.
The group left in that direction.
When they came back, Vegeta was putting his shirt on.
"Vegeta, what did you do?" Conner asked exasperated. "Why is there a shattered Capsule house in the staff area?"
"It had an artificial gravity machine in it. It blew up."
"Only because you messed with it!"
Vegeta turned around. "Your shit usually doesn't blow up like that woman!"
"Because I built it before I met you, dumbass! No one ever tore apart and hotwired my stuff until you started to be a smartass!"
"Oh, so am I a dumbass or a smartass, now?"
"Language," Panchy scolded with her hands over Trunks' ears.
"Okay, just stop, the both of you," Conner intervened. "Food's ready. Please head back to the beach."
Bulma huffed and turned her nose up and Vegeta stormed past them and down the steps.
Dr. Brief sighed, "Alright…" He got up with his cane, "Let's head down."
Luke rubbed his back as he stood.
"Nah, I got it, dude," Jerry came over. "You did the hard part. Just rest the rest of the day."
Vegeta stomped back down onto the beach.
The first thing he noticed was the buffet being set up.
"That's enough for 60 people, easily…"
"Like the view?"
He turned around and saw Conner.
"Are you also feeding the staff?"
"Nope," he put his hand on his shoulder, "After hearing about your boat exploits, I made sure there was enough food for you for once."
Craig and Bob were throwing the football around with Jamal, who was using his uninjured, nondominant arm.
Meiko had dragged Ichiro over to Daisuke and Shohei. Meiko and Shohei were excitedly talking about their past lives in Japan after discovering he and Ichiro's great grandparents and arranged marriage grandmother were from the same village and trying to figure out exactly where their family trees crossed.
Ichiro and Daisuke were awkwardly talking about the box labeled chopsticks they spotted earlier, occasionally stopping and glancing at each other when Meiko and Shohei found another match.
So far there were four.
Angelica and Becky were relaxing on the beach chairs she had taken over as her item.
Michael was throwing a stick into the sea for Timmy, but the dog wasn't the chaotic ball of energy he was the first day.
Crawford was sitting on a folding chair with his shirt collar undone with a spray fan the staff gave him while Rachel stood behind him unflinching like a servant.
"OH, THANK THE GODS! I'M STARVING!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked.
They saw Vegeta with his arms in the air looking up.
His group was at the edge of the trees, including a very pissed off wife.
Forty-five minutes later…
Everyone was looking disturbed and a little disgusted at Vegeta.
"… Is he a professional eater?" Michael muttered.
"… Is he even chewing?" Bob muttered.
"Oh Jesus, use utensils," Denise put her food down on the table. "I've lost my appetite." She stood and walked away.
"Same," Jamal stood and followed his wife.
Vegeta was walking back with his twentieth "plate". Gripping an entire large turkey in his bare hands as he ripped the breast meat off of it with his teeth.
Bulma stood as he got back to their table. She glared furiously at him.
Vegeta glanced up from his meal just in time to not run into her.
He looked at her confused with a giant strip of meat hanging out of his mouth. Then he ripped the leg off and held it out to her.
Bulma screamed and walked away.
"I take it Papa!"
Vegeta handed his son the leg, who began mimicking his father and gnawing on the meat.
Vegeta sat down and continued to attack the turkey with his teeth.
Dr. Brief started to chuckle. "Leave some for the rest of us, boy."
Vegeta looked back at the table.
"Wheres wenty ef," he said before swallowing and immediately refilling the empty void.
Jerry started laughing hysterically.
Vegeta swallowed. "What's so funny?"
He shook his head. "You eat like the boys when they're all jacked up on the road."
"What's jacked up?"
"On drugs," Brook sighed.
"Do they not feel hungry without a prescription…or…"
"He's taking about the illegal stuff that fucks with your brain. Just like your ass. Learn English!" Becky shouted.
Panchy saw Vegeta snap a bone to make a spike and test its point with his thumb.
Panchy grabbed his arm. "Don't, not in front of Trunks at least."
Vegeta put the spike down. Then he blinked as he thought of something. He got an evil grin.
He looked at Trunks.
Trunks nodded vigorously.
Trunks suddenly stood on the chair. "Are you in love with Papa?!"
Angelica spit out her drink.
"What?!" Becky shouted.
"You said he has an illegal ass! Are you going to pinch it like Nana does Grampa?!"
"Trunks?!" Dr. Brief shouted.
Becky screamed and threw her plate at them. "Ewe! You just made me think of old people's ass!" She ran off.
Angelica stood and walked over to Dr. Brief with her plate. Before she could finish the word oops, Dr. Brief hooked her arm with his cane and put her on the ground.
"Get off of me!"
"I paid for school on a BOXING scholarship, lady. Unless you want to find out why my ass is still pinchable at 70, I suggest you go find a new plate and finish eating somewhere far away." He pointed, "Like your chairs on the other side of the beach."
Dr. Brief released her arm from his cane and she got out from under him.
She glared down at him, still kneeling on the ground, as she rubbed her arm.
Dr. Brief waved his cane in the air. "Well? Get going woman!"
She huffed off after her daughter.
"That was awesome!" Jerry said. Then he saw he was still on his hands and knees panting. "You can't get up, can you?"
Vegeta jumped over the table like a car hood. "I got you."
"Thanks son," Dr. Brief said as Vegeta picked him up and set him on his feet. He took a deep breath, "Woooo, damn broken hip." He tiny stepped rotated around, then put both his hands on his cane. "Now, grandson. Where in the world did you ever see Nana pinch me?"
Trunks shook his head. "Papa told me."
Panchy gasped, "Vegeta!"
"Trunks! Shut it!"
Trunks started to tear up, "But you said if I shouted it, it would scare away the baked potatoes!"
Michael sputtered.
Dr. Brief hooked his cane over Vegeta's neck. "Sooooon…."
"Oh, come on, he's walked in on us. You two being cute is not going to scar his brain any worse."
Michael smirked. "Hey kid! What do Momma and Papa do?"
"Don't answer that sweetie," Panchy quickly said.
Trunks nodded. Then he stood up again. "Momma thinks you're a lot of grown-up words that mean poopy head!"
Even the Briefs couldn't help but snicker.
"Papa doesn't like you either!"
"Trunks, that's enough," Panchy said.
Michael looked at everyone laughing and gripped the plastic fork and knife in his hands so tightly they snapped.
He stood and walked away.
Bulma was looking out over the water shoving baby carrots in her mouth.
"So…"
Bulma looked behind her and saw Michael with his hands behind his back. She rolled her eyes and swallowed.
"What do you want?" she asked looking back at the water.
"So, your husband? Quite the table manners…"
Bulma growled looking up. "Arrrrh, he does know how to eat properly, believe it or not. He just doesn't care about appearances right now."
"So, he's doing all that disgusting stuff on purpose? Doesn't he care about your family's reputation once this airs?"
"No. But he doesn't care about anything." She waved her fork in a little circle. "That's part of his adorable charm." She pops the carrot in her mouth.
"Sarcasm doesn't suit you," Michael smiled.
"I am a woman of many talents," Bulma responded. "Maybe if you weren't such a narcissistic asshole, you could have seen more of them. Vegeta certainly enjoys them." She took another carrot and put it in her mouth. But instead of taking the fork out, she pressed it on the inside of her cheek and moved it back and forth in full view of Michael.
Michael cleared his throat. "So… Why do you think he did it?"
Bulma finally swallowed. "Oh that's how he really eats. It's like training a wild animal. Sometimes they will just be themselves whether you like it or not." She sighed, "Why can't I stay mad at you, you dummy…" She finished the carrots and moved on to the string beans, grabbing a chuck of mashed potatoes before shoving it in her mouth.
Michael lost all composure on his face. "Where the hell did he learn that?!"
"Eating bodies from mass graves raw."
"Vegeta!" Bulma snapped.
"Would you rather I had starved to death as a boy and you never met my handsome face?" Vegeta smirked.
He held up a plate.
"Peace offering. Turkey. Cut into cubes."
He then exaggeratedly took a fork, stabbed a cube, then put it in his mouth.
He swallowed. "Happy now?"
She glared at him. "Very…"
Vegeta then took a cube and stuck it in her face. "Huh?" He moved the fork in a slow circle. "Huuuuuuuuuuuh?"
"Vegeta I'm not Tr—"
Vegeta made a quick stab but Bulma put her hand up.
It then became a battle, with Vegeta moving like a fencer as Bulma skillfully put her hand up to block.
Bulma then surprised Vegeta by grabbing the fork.
"Vegeta, no. I'm still mad at you."
Vegeta sighed. "Fin—"
Bulma cut him off by shoving it in his mouth.
Vegeta tilted his head to the side and pulled the fork from his mouth. "Fiiiiiine…"
He then bent the paper plate, tilted his head back, and funneled all the meat into his mouth. He then looked at her, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, held the plate and fork from his outstretched arms, and dramatically dropped them.
He stomped off.
Bulma sighed, annoyed.
Then she looked over her shoulder for the first time.
"Are you still here?" she said coldly.
"No…" he began backing away. "No, I'm not…"
Michael turned and walked away.
"What the hell? Did pregnancy cause brain damage or something? I know they say motherhood can change a woman, but oh my God…"
He absentmindedly rubbed his head to run his hand through his hair.
Michael stopped feeling the stubble, then turned to look towards Vegeta.
He was being dragged back by his ear by Panchy.
"Bulma! Get back here and smack your husband!"
"How could he make a joke like that…"
"What?! What the fuck did you do now that you got Mom pissed off?!"
While people were watching or trying to ignore Vegeta being held by Panchy while getting slapped silly in the face by a screaming Bulma, Dr. Brief told Trunks to put his fingers in his ears, then walked over behind Crawford. Rachel had been standing all day and was currently a statue behind him.
"Are you not going to let your wife eat? She's pregnant for Christ's sake."
"A man should not concern himself with the property of other men," he answered.
"If a baby does not get fed from food, it will cannibalize the mother's body. Or do you have a fetish for women with no teeth?"
Crawford stood up. He towered over Dr. Brief. "A man does not concern himself with another man's property," he said forcefully.
"Then concern yourself with the health of your child if not the incubator. Don't you want a healthy and robust child? Especially if it's a son?"
Crawford leaned down into his face. "If a woman has so little faith that it cannot protect her child from demons, then that is her failure and hers alone and will suffer God's wrath."
"Like all the violent deaths of your previous wives?"
Everyone was looking at them now.
"God gave man full dominion over all life. Any cow or sow that cannot fulfill its sole commandment to multiply will face the same butcher as its offspring."
Dr. Brief smirked under his mustache. He turned and returned to his seat.
Crawford sat back down. He finished what little was left on his plate and put it on top of his plate pile.
"Woman. Another," the overweight man ordered.
Rachel ran to the buffet, only the fourth time anyone had seen her move since arrival.
Lunch ended, and Sugar Petal and Maple had gathered everyone by the karaoke.
The two danced and sang together side by side, often holding hands and forming hearts in the routine. They were in perfect sync, both physically and vocally.
Vegeta thought a mirror and an echo program could not have done it better. Knowing how Sugar Petal was dressed coming in, he could see them dressed the same. Her in pink and orange and Maple in black and green. In the back of his head, he knew this level of coordination was considered the pinnacle of the profession on this planet…
Bulma noticed his discomfort.
"Are you ok?" she whispered.
"(This is creepy as fuck,)" Vegeta whispered back in Saiyan. "(Even their breaths and heart beats are the same. It's unnatural.)" He looked back at the group. "(It's not like Gero made dancing toasters.)"
"(Stop it,)" she elbowed him. "(Krillin and 18 are serious now.)"
Then he looked back at Bulma, "(He didn't, right?)"
"No, now stop," Bulma said in English.
Their sixth routine ended and everyone clapped again, except for Crawford and Rachel. Crawford was looking bored. Rachel was standing far away at the water's edge looking out at the ocean like she was ordered.
Sugar Petal grabbed her guitar and held it in the air "Mr. Vegeta! Let's sing the songs we wrote together!"
Vegeta flinched.
"You, uh, want me to grab my flute?"
"No, let's perform together! Some of the songs are not fit for a woman to sing alone."
"Oh, sexy duets," Jerry clapped, "Alright! Alright!"
"Oh Fuck no!" Vegeta shouted looking at him. "Get that thought out of your head!"
Vegeta looked at Sugar Petal's eager face. It reminded him of a puppy.
He sighed, "Which do you want…"
Sugar Petal went to the basket they brought and pulled out their writing sheaths.
"They made a three-ring binder?" Michael mumbled.
Craig mumbled the same thing turning to his father before looking back.
Sugar Petal made her way through the folding seats and began carefully flipping the fragile leaves.
Bulma tried looking over his shoulder, but she turned the pages too fast to get a grip on the words.
"I think you can do this one by yourself too," Sugar stopped on a page long enough for Bulma to read the first few lines.
She looked at him. "Really?"
"What?" he snapped. "Did you think I'd write about pretty flowers or something else ridiculous?"
"Come on, sweetie," Panchy shook his shoulder from behind. "You haven't randomly touched the piano since before Trunks was born."
"You play the piano?" Sugar Petal said excitedly.
"It's just pushing buttons," Vegeta said dismissively. "No different than any other console."
"Awe, your ears are red."
Vegeta suddenly felt the heat in his ears and cheeks.
"Alright," Vegeta said, loudly slapping his knees. He stood up. "Let's get this trainwreck over with."
"Yeah!" Sugar Petal jumped with her fist in the air.
Vegeta could hear the chuckles and he made his way forward.
As they got up front, Jerry had gotten out of his front row seat and was messing with the karaoke machine.
He stood and handed Vegeta a mic. "Set on speaker mode," he smiled and eagerly jumped back in his seat.
Vegeta sighed, annoyed.
"Ready?" Sugar Petal smiled, bringing her guitar up to play.
Vegeta looked at her. "Ye—" Vegeta's voice died in his throat as he suddenly froze and blanched.
Ichiro tried to crawl backwards and tipped his chair back into Crawford.
Bulma, Panchy and Dr. Brief began to stand.
The microphone exploded in his hand and he disappeared into the trees.
"What the heck is wrong with you!" Crawford screamed at Ichiro.
"That's the face he made when he tried to kill Michael on the second day!" Ichiro pointed where Vegeta used to be standing. "Look what he did to the microphone! With his bare hands!"
Sugar Petal was crying, and Jerry was getting angrier and angrier listening to Maple's version of comforting.
"Don't cry. This is a good thing. You've been exposed to the demon's corruption enough this game. The devil couldn't stand your holy words and fled. The trash took itself out."
"Hey!" Jerry stepped over from checking on the karaoke machine. He pointed in her face, "You. Shut up."
He knelt down, "Hey. I know I'm new here in camp, but that didn't look like stage fright. Do you have any idea what happened?"
She paused, then shook her head.
"Not going to tell me huh?"
"Ok," he stood. "I'm going to track them down. And then," he pointed at himself with his thumb. "We can perform together. I've been trying to get you as an opening act, consider this a test run."
Jerry ran off.
Maple shook Sugar violently. "(Hyo-jin! You can't give in to this evil!)"
With the scouter broken, and Yamcha absent, the Briefs had to rely on Trunks to find his father.
Trunks pointed in the direction of the staff area.
"Thank you, Trunks," Dr. Brief said, ruffling his hair. "Let's go get some ice cream and leave grumpy Papa to Momma and Nana."
Dr. Bried guided his grandson back down the steps and Bulma and Panchy continued into the Final Fire area.
They found him in the smoking rubble of the portable gravity room.
It looked like Vegeta was stretching his arms, but the two women knew better. The extended arms in front of him, the contracting of one muscle at a time, the constant twisting of his wrists and the touching of his fingers and thumbs together. Vegeta was forcing his will onto his shaking body, unable to suppress or hide it any other way other than under another movement.
Not good.
"Vegeta… baby?" Bulma said.
Vegeta turned his head.
They saw him drop his arms, allowing his hands to twitch in their presence.
"Are you ready to talk, baby?"
Vegeta sighed defeated, hanging his head. He nodded and went to speak.
No sound came out. Vegeta bent over and silently dry coughed, his face quickly twisting into a snarl.
After a few moments, Vegeta looked up and relaxed his face in defeat. He tapped his throat.
"Ok," Bulma nodded. She looked at her mother, "Keep people from coming up."
Panchy nodded and disappeared down the steps.
Bulma walked over and faced her husband.
He put his forehead on her shoulder.
Jerry was making his way up the steps when he heard people talking. He saw security and ducked into the bushes and bamboo next to the path.
"Mrs. Brief, please get out of our way."
"No. Look, Vegeta isn't in the right state to deal with people right now. Let Bulma calm him down."
Jerry snuck away and continued out of sight.
"Don't make us get physical ma'am."
"Ignoring that will get you murdered in the end." Panchy lost her smile and snarled like Bulma. She poked the man in the bullet-proof vest. "Vegeta is so upset he's lost the ability to speak. When that happens back home, we have a surprise fire drill to evacuate the building. I will not let your suicidal recklessness get poor Vegeta in trouble. Do you want a repeat of Trunks? Except with a grown ass adult? LET. BULMA. WORK."
The security man sighed and pulled out his radio. "Someone get Yamcha over to the set. Vegeta has gone nuts and is dangerous to himself and others."
Jerry came out of the bushes and found himself in the destroyed staff area.
They were not there, so he went to the Final Fire seating area.
Vegeta and Bulma had their backs to him. She had her arms wrapped around him and their heads were leaned together touching. It looked like they were looking at a flashlight.
He could hear Vegeta talking softly, but it sounded off. Like an old analogue nob radio slightly off frequency with mistuned speakers.
"Hey! Vegeta!" he took a step forward.
His brain barely had time to realize he made a mistake.
Vegeta jumped up with a screeching noise. The small light ball he had apparently had in his palm the whole time grew with the sound as he pointed it at him.
Jerry's vision went white with light.
Suddenly Yamcha was in front of him and there was a crashing sound to his right. He looked as saw a flaming hole through the trees and bamboo leading into the blue sky.
"VEGETA WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Jerry looked back.
Vegeta was holding his hands next to his head looking horrified.
"WELL?!"
"Yamcha! He's gone mute!" Bulma shouted.
Vegeta dropped to his knees, disappearing behind the set pieces.
"Vegeta, baby?" Bulma quickly disappeared as well.
Jerry walked around Yamcha.
"What are you doing? Don't you get he almost killed you?!"
"Yeah bud," Jerry waved his hand walking forward.
"He didn't miss, I deflected the beam!" Yamcha went after him. "Dumbass!"
"Hey, buddy," Jerry waved as he came into the circle.
Bulma was hugging Vegeta covering his body.
"Nice horticultural work. Flaming trees are totally going to be in season at all the fancy mansions this summer."
Vegeta's back jerked.
Jerry took it as a silent laugh.
"So, umm, about Sugar Petal…"
"~She's crying, isn't she?~"
"I thought you were mute?" Jerry said surprised.
Vegeta gently pushed Bulma off of him and he sat up. Then he held out his hand and opened his fist revealing a small dot of energy.
"~If there weren't ways around it, I would have been executed ages ago.~"
Jerry leaned down to look at it, putting his hands on his knees.
"Are you making the light talk?"
"~Yes. It's—~"
"Cool! Like how a speaker can make thousands of sounds at once? That must be hard to control."
Vegeta gave a tiny smirk, "~Glad you understand the concept.~"
Jerry leaned up. "So, umm, since you bugged out. I was wondering if you could poke my head again, so I can sing with Sugar instead."
Vegeta nodded, and shakily got to his feet. Instead of a simple poke, Vegeta put his whole hand on his head.
Jerry lost his balance and fell backwards.
Yamcha grabbed him.
"Woah, spin cycle," Jerry said. "Sit."
Yamcha got him to the opposing bench.
Vegeta got off the ground and sat back on his bench with Bulma joining him.
"~Take a breath and let it play out~," Vegeta "said".
"Yeah… Woah… Double woah… Wow, wasn't expecting a full professional mix…" Jerry suddenly stood up.
Yamcha grabbed him so he didn't fall over.
"Dude, do you want a job?! These are AMAZING!"
"Tsk. Probably just something he heard out in space," Yamcha said.
Yamcha suddenly found himself on the ground surrounded by the smashed bench, Vegeta's hand on his face, staring into his shining blue eyes.
He could feel the electricity in the air and Vegeta started incoherently screaming in another language, when there were no cracks or syllables of silence, practically foaming at the mouth.
"Vegeta! Get off of him," Bulma grabbed him.
"Dude!" Jerry grabbed him too, "Chill! Chill out! He's not worth it!"
Vegeta got off of him.
Jerry noticed his blue eyes turn back to black. Vegeta then walked away towards the staff area.
"Well, that solved the mute problem…" Jerry chuckled awkwardly.
Yamcha got up and gripped his back. "What the heck…" he looked down. "Oh kami, the benches are concrete? No wonder it hurts…"
Bulma looked at him, arms crossed tapping her foot. "Yamcha… his mother and aunt were prominent singers and actresses before the king forced her to marry him. His mom was the one who taught him to windweave."
"Is that what the light talking is called?"
She looked at Jerry and nodded.
"What?" Yamcha's face twisted in confusion, "I can't believe someone like him has any musical talent of any kind."
"Yamcha, leave." Bulma ordered. "Now."
"Hope whatever love ballads he wrote you were worth it," Yamcha said, passing her before jumping and flying down the steps.
"He doesn't strike me as the love song type…" Jerry said, looking at her.
"He's never even said 'I love you'."
"You're kidding?" he said, shocked.
"Nope, but he shows it other ways." She sighed. "Vegeta is just Vegeta."
"I could never be with someone who never said I love you."
"Well, you're not the one married to Vegeta," she snarked.
"What was he screaming anyway?" Jerry changed the topic.
"I caught 'apologize', 'mother'," she paused. "And a word that sounded like another I know is wrong."
"What is it?"
"I thought I heard one of the words for wife, but that's completely wrong. Must have been combined with whatever sounds came before or after."
"And not you?"
"No, he uses a different word for me."
"No mention of the aunt?"
"Nope."
Jerry looked in the direction Vegeta walked.
"What are you thinking?" Bulma said disapprovingly.
"Nothing," Jerry said looking back at her.
Bulma suddenly sat down. "Jerry… can I ask a question…"
"Shoot," he said sitting down next to her.
"How has Vegeta been doing, music wise?"
"What do you mean?"
"Vegeta can't stand music. Never has… well, the exception is you but that's only happened in the past year when he caught one of your lyrics before turning the radio off when I started the car… But he's made flutes, actively plays them and now he's writing songs." She looked up. "This whole fucking thing is just one big contradiction."
"He's probably doing it to get close to Sugar Petal. She's… well… from a pretty fucked up background."
She put her head in her hands, "That doesn't explain that look on his face…"
"Did he tell you how his mother died?"
"Yes, he's joked about it a lot. Wait," she lifted her head, "Did he joke about it here?"
"Yep, I think he did it to see people's reactions."
Bulma clawed her hands, looked up at the sky and growled.
Jerry chuckled. "And the aunt?"
"He said Frieza killed her, so she blew up with the rest of his species when he blew up the planet."
"Does he joke about her as well?"
"No… he's only mentioned her once…"
Jerry looked towards the path Vegeta went down.
"Unlike his mother?"
"Jerry," she sighed frustrated. "I learned a long time ago to not speculate about him. Vegeta is a bundle of secrets, and with what little I know about him, it's for the best. Just take the man as he is now and let the past stay dead. He'll dig those skeletons up if he chooses to on his own time."
She stood. "Head down. Sugar Petal is waiting on you." She walked towards Vegeta.
Jerry came down, and saw the seats had all been put away. A baseball game was going on instead.
Ichiro was pitching, Craig was bare chested holding a piece of bamboo Vegeta had brought, and Bob was catching with his and most likely his son's shirts wrapped around his hand.
Craig did not even swing and Bob screamed and stood. "Fuck! Ok, no professional players!" He unwrapped his hand. "Medic! I think something's broke!"
While the game paused, Jerry went over to Sugar Petal, who was pouting next to the karaoke machine.
"Hey," Jerry came over. He leaned on the karaoke machine, "Vegeta poked my head. I can sing those songs now."
"It's too late. They've all moved on."
"Oh, it's never too late," Jerry said.
They spotted Conner walking over to Ichiro.
"What do you mean? I am being careful!"
After a few more quiet words, Ichiro dropped the ball and walked away.
Conner picked up the ball. "Any volunteers? Before I do this myself?"
"Let me try!" Jessica raised her hand.
Conner looked at her. "Are you sure?"
"If the blind bitch wants to humiliate herself, let her!" Becky called over from her chair.
"I'll take her on!" Craig said, raising the makeshift bat.
While Conner led her to the spot and pointed her in the right direction, Yamcha came up to Ichiro.
"Hey."
"Oh, Yamcha," he looked back at Jessica. "So, what did he do now since you're over here?"
"Complete meltdown. If I was a millisecond later, Jerry would be ashes." He looked over at him, "I can't believe he's acting like he didn't almost die."
"So, Vegeta will be kicked off? Good."
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," Yamcha sighed. "But when he finally catches himself enough for Bulma to let him come down, stay away."
"Why would I ever approach him?"
"No, I mean REALLY far away."
"Did he hurt your face?"
"What?" he touched his face. "Am I bruising?"
"What did he do?" Ichiro scowled.
"Grabbed my head and shoved me through a concrete bench. Nothing spectacular. Just a sore back for a few days. I'm surprised I'm bruising…"
"Yamcha!"
"Meiko," Yamcha bowed as she ran over.
"It has been too long," she bowed quickly.
"Yeah…" Yamcha scratched the back of his head. "Don't really have a lot to talk about these days."
"Would that change now that—"
Ichiro grabbed his wife's arm, "(We are NOT getting involved with that thing!)"
Everyone turned when Meiko screamed.
Ichiro had pulled her off her feet and was dragging her through the sand.
Yamcha intervened, squeezing his forearm until he let go due to pain, then shoving him into the sand.
Yamcha immediately knelt to look at her blackening arm.
"Did he do that earlier? There's another bruise here."
Conner ran over abandoning Jessica.
Ichiro and Meiko were separated to opposite sides of the beach.
Yamcha stayed with Meiko.
After everything was settled, the game resumed. But no one took the catcher's position. Just a chaser was chosen to retrieve it once it hit the sand.
Jessica used a soft ball pitch.
It went wide.
She could hear the chuckles.
Jamal gave Jessica back the ball.
It went wide in the other direction.
Three more tries, and Craig walked.
Crawford laughed and got up from his seat.
"I'm next," he declared confidently. He walked over and yanked the bat out of Luke's hand.
Crawford lined up.
Jessica smiled, confusing him.
Then he saw her do that stupid pose: hand on heart, arm outstretched.
Then she threw.
The ball disappeared, before it threw sand into the air as it skipped down the beach before finally burying itself in the sand.
Everyone was silent in disbelief.
"Strike!" Conner shouted.
"That was easily over 70 miles an hour…" Ichiro muttered to himself.
"That was professional level," Meiko said, turning to Yamcha.
Yamcha crossed his arms and shifted his weight, thinking.
Jessica threw another strike, this one landing even further down the sand.
"She's using ki," Yamcha said.
Meiko looked at him. "So she's cheating?"
"No, she's not manipulating the ball itself. It's internal to her arm. You know the carnival game where you need to throw three balls the same speed and everyone always loses because they throw the final ball a lot faster than the first two? That's ki."
"Does my husband use ki?"
"Haven't met a professional who doesn't to some capacity." He then lifted his hand out of his elbow. "Being able to do this is the dividing line," he made a small ki ball, "King Ferdinand has made. If you can externalize it, you get followed the rest of your life." He tucked his hand back in. "Or killed. There's nothing like opening the seal on a new water bottle and wondering if it's poisoned this time that kills any drive for having families or teaching the next generation."
"Then who will protect Earth?"
"No one. If he doesn't wise up, we're all going to be the last generation of humanity. There's an age limit. The later it's taught, the less ability the person will have until it can't be manifested at all. Unless there's a genetic fluke that keeps the pathways open in the body. Like me. I wasn't spotted until my late teens, but I'm one of the strongest fighters on the planet."
"Strike three!"
"I'm literally the only one who started so late. Everyone else was under ten, some even under five."
"You bitch! You did that on purpose!"
"It's your fault you forgot I went to college on a SOFTBALL scholarship!"
"You live a depressing life," Meiko said, ignoring the physical struggle as Craig put Crawford on the ground after trying to attack Jessica with the bat. "Knowing everyone will die soon."
"I mean, there's still time. All the kids right now are Saiyan hybrids. Then there's the Namekians that live for hundreds of years. And even if the rest of us never have kids, it's not like the abilities will die with us. Everyone has ki, it's just some people are born with a greater aptitude than others. Just look at Jessica," he then pointed at Rachel, still looking out at the water, "and Rachel can already partially manifest and make her hands glow. And Christians don't even believe in ki. It's pure bodily instinct." He tucked his hand in again, "The government will get tired of playing whack-a-mole soon enough. Just need to keep everyone alive until then and everything will go back to normal."
Meiko turned to face Yamcha and bowed. "Thank you, Yamcha. For everything. But I think my husband is right. You are part of a world we simply don't belong in."
She walked away before he could respond.