Chapter 42: Day 21 Part 2 — Flying Out
Bob came out of the bathroom in a robe and a towel around his neck and was met by his son at the balcony door.
"Huh? I didn't notice they caged us in," Craig said.
"It's probably electrified, don't go out there," Bob said.
He opened the door. "It's not like they electrified the floo— AH!" Craig jumped back in.
"Told you," Bob said, rubbing his hair with the towel again.
Craig bent over and continued to try and grab something, jumping in between attempts.
"Leave it," Bob said. "It's probably set to just below fatal. Now, where's the clothes I'm supposed to wear?"
Craig finally succeeded in flipping over part of the mat. "There are black burn marks on the bottom. Are they trying to finish this place off by burning it down?"
"Probably to finish us all off. Poison gas coming from the vents is too obvious. Now where's the clothes?"
"Middle left drawer, they're wrapped in a team cloth."
Bob went over and opened the drawer.
"Dad," Craig went to say, but his words failed him.
"What?"
"Nothing…"
He put the clothes on top of the dresser. "Don't go 'Nothing' with me. Spit it out. Something happened last night on the boat?"
"Yeah… lots."
"Well, start at the beginning. Not like that monster was there."
"Well, Jamal asked Michael to poison Vegeta, since the people he could turn to to kill him can't because he's bulletproof."
"Sounds like a good plan to me. Getting the whole family would be even better. But let me guess, Michael snitched since you know about it?"
"Yeah… Jamal drank himself until he passed out. But before he did, he attacked Jerry with a whiskey bottle."
"Was he able to stab him with the broken glass?"
"No. Michael got involved and got the bottle away from him."
"Shame. Glad you did not get involved. What else happened?"
"Michael's figured out Becky is a plant by the show to cause violence. She worked side by side with the staff to really hurt Sam."
"Good to know. I'll need to talk to her once the merger happens."
"Dad what the hell. This isn't like you. Get a grip."
"Of course I'm not my old self. I've been born again!"
"You're talking about killing people! Whatever you're feeling, it is not being born again!"
Bob looked at him through the mirror. "In righteousness he judges and makes war. He is clothed in a robe covered in blood, from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations and he will rule them with an iron rod." He turned around.
Craig had a look of fear and he stumbled back on the bed.
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. No. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I came to set sons against fathers, daughters against mothers, daughters-in-law against mothers-in-laws. Only your worst enemies will be the members of your family." He glared down at him, "Are you setting against me, son? I don't recommend it."
Craig shook his head.
"Good. Now leave the room so I can get dressed.
Ichiro put his clothes on. "Finally, real clothes," he said, putting his shirt on.
Meiko was sitting on the edge of the bed. She was looking down and gripping her hands. "Ichiro, we need to talk," she said, nerves peeking through her voice.
"What?" he said dismissively, not turning around as he straightened his shirt.
"I have not raised my voice around others, but I do not like you putting your hands on me."
"If you weren't being an idiot, I wouldn't need to protect you from yourself. Stay away from everyone, even Yamcha. They are all traitors who are going to burn when this is over. I'm not going let you end up joining them."
"The show is going to be forcing me to interact for the next few days until I leave. I would prefer you not lay your hands on me. Think of your career if nothing else. Your reputation is our livelihood. The kids' private schools will kick them out if your reputation falls into scandal, and they can forget about college if that happens.
"Think of your sons future while—"
Ichiro slapped her across the face so hard she fell off the side of the bed.
"I am," he answered. Then he sat exactly where she had been and put on the sneakers he was given.
Lesley woke up to the sound of a shower. She knocked over a bottle on the nightstand when she looked at the clock. It was almost noon.
Then she heard the shower turn off.
Hassim walked out some time later with a towel around his waist.
"I see you're finally awake. The doctor told you to stop taking Benadryl as a sleep aid for a reason, but here you took it." He rattled an empty bottle he found in the trash. "I don't know how you got this. I know you weren't trying to not wake up permanently on purpose, but watch what you do."
"I'm sorry…." She started to cry.
Hassim raised his hand. "Stop. You cried enough yesterday. And NO, I have not forgiven you. I was forced in here because we are still legally husband and wife. The show is taking everyone to a market festival for a few days." He grabbed clothes that were on top of the dresser. "I'm going to change in the other room. Plane leaves at 3 o'clock, so get cleaned up. We are leaving shortly."
"Auuuuuuuuugh… They could at least give some Alka-Seltzer with water…"
"You're the one who drank so much…" Brook said, giving her father a glass of water.
"You sound like your mother…"
"And grandmother," she smiled.
"Worth it, though," he smiled too. "Those two ending up in the water was great."
"You also almost got glass smashed over your head twice."
"Just like old times," he smiled. Then he gripped his head again.
"Dad. Stop acting like everything is normal and fine," Brooks' voice trembled.
"Hey. Hey, baby." Jerry raised his arms. "Come here."
Brook sat down next to him on the bed and they hugged. "Daddy's going to be ok. Both now and after the game. Most that's going to happen is the king will make us change family therapist."
Brook was crying.
"Everything is going to be fine."
Suddenly Jerry pushed her away, scrambled to the side of the bed, and puked.
"Uhhhh… sorry housekeeping…"
He puked again while Brook looked for a trashcan.
The contestants and guests began trickling into the lobby.
Michael was there first.
Jessica was next to exit the elevator with Sugar Petal, who had her hair in a single messy side braid covering her bald spot.
Then Maple and her guards exited.
Ichiro and Meiko came down next, Meiko holding her head down and trying not to look at anything in particular.
Then Crawford and Rachel. Crawford sat down like he owned the place and Rachel stood unflinchingly at his side as normal.
Jamal was being helped by his wife as he stumbled to find a seat in the lobby.
Jerry was in a similar state with his arm over Brook's shoulders.
Sam and Luke came out of the elevator next. Luke put the puppy down and it began to spin in circles trying to free itself from the harness. Mark began growling and chewing on the leash as he was gently dragged forward.
Daisuke and Shohei came down next, and immediately gravitated to the puppy.
Bob and Craig came down next, with Craig looking completely browbeaten. They both were surprised to see the dog, but as Craig stepped forward, his father turned around to sit on the other side. Craig stopped, looked longingly at the puppy, then followed his father.
Hassim and Lesley came down next and immediately separated.
Over an hour passed, and the puppy became the center of distraction as lunch was passed around. While Mark earned a great deal of chicken, turkey and ham from the various deli sandwiches, a loud bark broke the awkwardness.
Isaac exited the elevator with Timmy, who while staying relatively behaved by Isaac's side, was clearly smelling the meat.
Michael grabbed another sandwich from the deli cart and walked over.
Timmy ate the entire thing in one bite, even swallowing the tissue paper before either man could stop him.
"Please tell me there was no mannose on it," Isaac asked. "You know what eggs do."
"Oh, I'm not worried," he smiled. "The plane has oxygen masks after all."
Isaac groaned and face palmed.
Mark began to bark and pull on the leash.
Timmy barked back, laid down and began hoping forward while shaking his head playfully and making a combination of a wrah wrah and sneeze sound.
Isaac and Luke looked at each other and Luke dropped his leash and Mark bounded over.
While the dogs made a ruckus, the elevator opened again.
Everyone froze.
Vegeta had a cane, with Bulma providing support on the other side.
Jerry ran his hand through his hair, "What the hell? Dude!" Jerry stood, and immediately lost his balance on his first step.
"Dad, chill!" Brook caught him.
Vegeta looked around the group, then stopped at Sugar Petal. He silently smiled and gave a thumbs up with his free hand.
She lowered her head and looked away.
Vegeta pressed his lips together.
Isaac handed Timmy's leash to Michael and walked over.
"What happened to you? Do you need help? If you need anything in the next few days, let me know."
"Exhaustion. Fainted," Vegeta said softly.
"We're ok, Isaac. Thank you," Bulma said.
She led Vegeta to the closest set of chairs. Lesley moved to another set of chairs leaving the two alone.
The staff brought the sandwich cart over and the two had lunch.
Only the people who knew him well noticed he ate very little. Only 12 sandwiches. They were foot long subs with extra everything, but only 12.
While Vegeta was sucking down his third extra-large drink, equaling well over a two-liter total, more cameramen came, signaling something important was about to happen.
Conner walked in through the exterior doors.
"Good afternoon, everyone!" Conner said, holding his arms wide. Then he clapped his hand. "I hope your hangovers are going well."
Jerry raised his fist in the air and gave a lethargic whoop.
This led to a few awkward chuckles and pain-filled groans.
"Excellent!" Conner smiled. "We have two vehicles ready to go. First come, first serve. The last vehicle with room gets stuck with the potatoes, I mean Becky and Angelica." He immediately stepped aside and like rats on a sinking ship, the sober took off.
Michael dropped the leash leaving Timmy and Mark alone. Isaac slid to a stop at Timmy's woof. Timmy grabbed Mark's leash in his mouth and proudly dragged the puppy over. Isaac picked up the dog and coaxed Timmy to run after him.
They saw two vehicles that looked more like bulletproof limos than vans, one with open doors. Everyone piled in from both sides. Michael, Isaac and the dogs, Daisuke, Shohei, Ichiro, Meiko, Rachel, Crawford, Bob, Craig, and Hassim, who shut his door in Lesley's face. She went around the other side, but Crawford also shut the door in her face. The staff then opened the doors of the second vehicle. She sighed and climbed in.
Isaac then opened the door again. Luke and Sam had three-legged over while the hangovers were barely out the door.
"Luke! Sam! Still got room! Come join the dogs!"
The rest crammed into the second one: Vegeta, Bulma, Jamal, Denise, Jerry, Brook, Jessica, Sugar Petal, and Maple with her guards.
"It's going to get tight with two more people in here," Brook said.
"Definitely punishing us for getting drunk last night…" Jerry sighed. "We gotta deal with those two now the rest of the day." He looked around and saw Jamal looking the shittiest out of all of them. "You remember anything about last night, dude? You passed out bad. Almost fell over the side."
"Please stop making noise," he glared daggers at him.
Jerry looked over at Vegeta and Bulma. Vegeta was in the back corner of the seating area laying his head on the leather padded sides. His eyes were closed.
He looked at Bulma next. "The rest not coming?"
"Riding with Yamcha and the rest of the staff," she answered.
"I said SHUT UP!" Jamal roared leaping across towards Jerry.
Jerry raised his arms, but Jamal found himself on the floor in an instant.
Vegeta had his knee pressed down on his chest and the cane across his neck.
"Stop," Vegeta said softly before pressing the cane harder against his neck before getting off of him. Denise pulled Jamal back towards their side bench as Vegeta crawled back to his corner and rested his head again.
Vegeta closed his eyes, but instantly opened them again.
The others groaned as two familiar shrill voices raged and cursed outside.
Security literally tossed the two venomous women into the van and slammed the doors. The doors clicked locked as the raging women pulled on the handles and banged on the windows.
Vegeta blinked and was behind the women, held his hands up, and flicked the back of their heads.
The women smashed their faces on the inside of the door before collapsing over each other.
"Vegeta!" Bulma scrambled over to check on them. Their faces were bruising already and Becky's nose was starting to bleed.
Vegeta crawled around her and looked at Jamal.
"Thank me later."
It was 30 minutes to the private airport.
Security opened the doors on Vegeta's van and discovered the two women screaming and tied up with seatbelts that had been torn from the seats and walls.
Everyone loaded on to the private jet while the medics looked over the women.
The inside was very much like the limos. Bench seats along the sides. Table booths. Plush spinning single seats that wrapped around you like a burrito and operated like an electric recliner.
"So, who smashed the women's faces in?" Michael asked.
Vegeta raised his middle finger before sitting in one of the spinning single seats at the front of the plane. He locked it forward and leaned it back with the feet up, removing himself from any further interaction.
"Vegeta did it?" Michael said, surprised.
"I think being sick has lowered his bullshit limit," Sam said, lowering his crutches to the floor. "To a scarily low level…"
"I kept telling you assholes he was dangerous since day one, but no one has been listening to me."
"Shut up Ichiro," Bulma snapped, taking the seat next to her husband.
Ichiro went to stand, But Meiko pulled on his arm to get him to sit back down. Ichiro turned and raised his arm.
Suddenly he screamed. He looked over his shoulder and saw Vegeta had grabbed his arm below his wrist.
Michael leaned forward. "What the fuck…" he muttered seeing his speed first hand.
"No," Vegeta said curtly.
"Funny, coming from the one who smashed two helpless women's faces in."
Vegeta gripped harder. "They're not helpless. She is," he nodded towards Meiko.
"Please let my husband go!" Meiko shouted.
Vegeta looked at her, then let him go. Ichiro gripped his arm shouting in pain and Vegeta turned around and walked back to his seat. His leg buckled and needed to hold onto the seats on the way, but he returned to his seat.
Ichiro glared at his wife and moved seats.
Angelica and Becky were led onto the plane and brought to the back. Michael looked through the door and what he thought was the kitchen was more like a hotel room with a sitting area. The door shut.
Shortly after, a voice came from the speakers.
"Hello everyone, this is your captain speaking. We will be taxiing to the runways shortly if everyone could get their seatbelts on. The flight to Kota will be an hour. We expect some mild turbulence as there are a few stray thunderstorms popping up over the Karimata Strait and Java Sea, but nothing unexpected for the dry season…"
The flight was mostly quiet, both due to hangovers and headaches, and the fact that the people that would be the topic of conversation were in the room.
The plane landed.
"Thunderstorms my ass," Michael said standing after the all clear to disembark was given. "There were only fluffy clouds, if any."
"It's called going around, dumbass," Bulma muttered, annoyed as she helped Vegeta.
The flight attendant opened the door, and suddenly the sound of clapping and cheering could be heard.
Michael walked out first and saw a large crowd behind the fencing, many were holding signs that either had the CC logo or another symbol that looked like a fat radish.
He and everyone else were greeted by the local politicians, then a roar erupted from the crowd forcing the people who were still recovering to cover their ears.
Michael looked up and saw Vegeta had stepped out onto the steps. He raised his fist to the cheering crowd.
"Ah-li-jay-punt-ra! Ah-li-jay-punt-ra!" the crowd began to chant.
"What are they saying?" Michael asked.
"It is Mr. Vegeta's local name," Syamsul said. "It breaks down into English as 'Son of the fire god Orang Alijeh of Krakatoa'."
"Krack-a t-au? You mean Krack-a toe-ah?"
"That is the old mispronunciation common in the rest of the world. The current volcano of the site is Anak Krakatoa, son of Krakatoa." He looked up at Vegeta descending down the steps, "But Orang Alijeh still rules there, no matter what humans call his throne."
"Do you people honestly think Vegeta is divine?"
Syamsul laughed, "Personally no. But many see him as a holy man, much to the hardline Muslim and Christians leaders' frustration."
He walked past Michael as the leaders went to greet Vegeta and Bulma separately from them. The others looked on, frustrated.
Sugar Petal came down next and Vegeta called her over and personally introduced her to them.
"If these backwater bastards think Vegeta is a god because of some modern Capsule crap technology they saw, these idiots are going to be easier to haggle with than I thought," Becky said.
"And you won't even need to use your beautiful face," Isaac quipped.
Isaac caught Becky's slap. "If I throw you over my shoulder again, this time there will not be water to cushion your fall."
He let go, and Becky and Angelica glared at him before looking back at Vegeta. He waved at the crowd and they erupted in cheers again.
"Oh my God," Luke said. "It's like Jesus entering Jerusalem."
Outside, the crowd threw flowers on the armored vehicles. Their van had to break as the one in front lost traction on the flowers and palm and banana leaves thrown on the dirt road.
Bulma elbowed Vegeta. He rolled his eyes at her before returning to looking out the tinted windows.
Everyone noticed his uncharacteristic soft smile.
"So, you actually like being called a god?" Angelica crossed her arms. "I'm sure the tabloids will love this. 'Briefs trick locals into worshiping them as gods'."
"And is every Latino named Jesus pretending to be the Second Coming? It's just a name dumbass," Jerry sniped.
"Then why do they think he's a holy man if he hasn't pulled off some miracle?" She pointed at Jerry, "What, can the bastard walk on water?"
"Actually, I can walk on water," Vegeta interrupted, chuckling. "Would you like me to part the sea for you too so you won't get your defenseless pedicure wet?"
Bulma slapped his arm with the back of her hand.
They came to a barbed wire checkpoint. The guards let them through.
"Wow, check out the Airbnb's," Jerry pressed his face to the window.
The vehicles stopped at five decent size beach houses, each with a small beach and a dock into the crystal-clear water.
When the vehicles stopped, everyone was surprised to see Conner already here.
Conner was speaking and waving his arms as the automatic doors unlocked.
Everyone made their way out.
"… So how was you'r—" he saw the women's smashed faces. "Trip!" he quickly recovered.
"Uneventful," Vegeta answered.
Glad to hear that," Conner cut off everyone else before they could speak. "Behind us are five vacation rentals, each has six bedrooms, three full baths, indoor and outdoor kitchens, all modern amenities. Berapi, you will be staying on the left. Vegeta's group is next. Samundra is third. Guests will be split between the final two. But! We are not heartless. If there is room and a guest wants to stay with a loved one, like a married couple for example, they can stay with the team. As always, various forms of protection are available."
Vegeta blushed as Jerry said "Bow chicka bow wow" loudly.
Conner chuckled. Then clapped loudly. "Alright teams! Go explore and pick your bedrooms! We will bring your belongings once you've chosen."
Everyone went to their houses. Brook, Bulma and Luke went with Vegeta's group.
The place was fully open concept.
"Oh… great… one of those kitchens where you can't tell which cabinet hides the fridge…" Jerry jogged over and Brook quickly joined him, opening everything up.
Vegeta walked over to a glass box.
"Handicap accessible," he mused when Bulma came up to him.
Bulma opened the door, "After you."
The two opened the door.
"Four buttons," Vegeta said.
The second and third floors were the six bedrooms, each with two large beds, and the 'fourth' turned out to be the rooftop terrace.
"This must be the outdoor kitchen they mentioned," Vegeta said, opening the fridge. "Oh, they stocked it with more sandwiches and soft drinks."
"Hey sweetie," Bulma said sitting down on one of the tables, "Come over here."
Vegeta came over with his arms full of sandwiches.
Vegeta started chowing down and Bulma took her token food.
"Did you deliberately break their noses, or did you misjudge? You tend to do that when you're like this."
Vegeta swallowed. "I didn't do anything permanent," he said. "That was your condition."
"Vegeta…" She paused. "Please don't hurt someone that bad again. Black eyes and broken noses… it's too much.
"Yes, ma'am…"
Down below…
"We got two huge fridges! And they are packed! We're eating good tonight!"
The puppy had snuggled down next to Sam on one of the couches that looked out onto the water from the floor to ceiling windows that stretched from corner to corner of the entire house.
Luke sat down in a chair and grabbed a funny looking remote with only three buttons. "Wonder what this does," He pushed one. Suddenly the glass wall opened its full length heading out to the deck connected to the dock with a ramp to the beach below.
"Wow… This is great!" Brook said. "But I bet the Briefs find this completely normal and mundane…"
Sugar Petal ran outside and out to the dock. She gripped the rails as she looked over them.
"Look at the pretty fishies!" she shouted. "And we don't have to eat them!"
Brook ran out too, but she quickly spotted something else. "Dad! Jetskis!"
Jerry jogged over, but the glass wall began to shut.
He turned and saw Hassim had grabbed the remote. "We can't let the puppy drown. Keep the door closed."
"Ah… Yeah I can see the issue… He walked over to the door in one of the glass panels, "but hey, at least Vegeta killed all the gators."
Jessica sat down and looked out at the sea.
"I wish you could see this clearly Jessica…" Luke said. "It's amazing…"
"I'm sure it is."
In the next house, Ichiro had discovered the same wall of windows and opened them.
He walked out to the deck.
"Not bad."
Ichiro looked at Michael joining him on the deck.
"This must rent for 20,000 Zeni or so a month."
"Kinda reminds me of vacationing in Thailand."
Suddenly they heard Jerry scream. He raced past their dock and did a spin. "They got skis!" he shouted before continuing on.
"Oh thank God, they got an elevator," they heard Angelica say.
"This place has 4 floors?!" Becky shouted. "The top two out ours! I don't want to see any men up there! Girls only!"
Michael and Ichiro sighed.
"Where the hell's the fridge?" Bob said. "It's all cabinets. Craig, get over here, help me look."
As they looked around the house without opening anything up, Jamal plopped down on his stomach taking up the entirety of one of the couches. He buried his head in the throw pillows. "Everyone shut up!"
Denise sat down on one of the chairs, and put her feet up on the ottoman.
Daisuke and Shohei went over to the steps and began to climb. They came to the top and saw a glass square with rails going up and down.
"Wait…" Daisuke jogged down the steps.
Then he rose up from the floor.
"Dad, look, an elevator."
After a quick exploration, they rode the elevator back down.
"Hey! We got an elevator!" Daisuke shouted.
"Yeah! And no fridge!" Bob shouted back angrily.
Denise sighed frustrated looking up at the ceiling. Then she stood up, walked over to a double pantry door, and opened them, revealing a hidden fridge. She grabbed a Coke and cracked the seal to release the fizzy air. "You guys are embarrassing," she said, opening it fully. She took a swig and began to walk back to her seat, "Those other double doors are another fridge."
"Who the fuck hides a fridge in the cabinets?!" Bob said exasperated.
"Rich people," Craig shrugged.
Denise grabbed the remote that was on the coffee table and pointed it at the wall of windows before tossing it back and kicking back in her seat.
The wall opened up.
The others gawked while Denise just sipped her soda.
"Eye of a needle," Bob said, shaking his head. He went over to the other fridge to check it out.
"They got jet skis!" they all heard from outside.
Jerry did circles hollering until he made eye contact. Then he rode off.
"Will everyone just STOP THE NOISE!" Jamal shouted.
The people who walked into the fourth house were greeted by the smell of food cooking.
"PUP PUP!"
"Trunks careful! We talked about this." Dr. Brief shouted.
Trunks stopped, looked back at his grandfather, then at the dog taller than him.
Isaac brought Timmy over. "Come on, you remember Trunks." Timmy sniffed him, then jumped back several steps.
"It's ok Timmy. Come on, I know he smells funny but he's a good boy, see," Isaac scratched Trunk's head like a dog.
Timmy came over and sniffed him again. Then licked the boy's face ear to ear with his giant tongue.
Trunks held his arms up against the licking attack and started to laugh.
Dr. Brief sighed and looked at the ceiling from his chair, "Oh thank God. Sorry about that. Dogs make us nervous after what happened with the other baby…"
He looked at Trunks and Timmy, who was quickly discovering he was dealing with a wrestling opponent stronger than him.
Timmy threw all caution to the wind and went nuts.
"Timmy!" Isaac shouted.
"You should be more worried about Trunks than the dog."
Isaac looked at the Doc, "Doesn't mean I want him doing those behaviors with other kids."
The others walked around and made their way to the living room.
"Hello everyone," Dr. Brief said. "Glass elevator has four floors. Second and third are three bedrooms each and the fourth is a roof area with a second kitchen with a grill.
A breeze blew off the ocean.
"That is actually a retractable wall. I currently have it open. Deck ramps down to the beach, then the dock with -"
"WE GOT JET SKIS!" Jerry rode past.
Dr. Brief laughed, "Yes there's jet skis, a four-person bicycle boat, a normal rowboat, and a kayak. Snorkeling stuff and fins are stored in a box under the steps. Life jackets and rings are scattered just about everywhere, including under the beds. And of course, we have everyone's favorite, crappily hidden cameras! Most likely with sound. There are even ones in the bathroom."
Panchy looked up from the stove and saw Lesley. She hurried over.
"Oh, deary. You don't look like you slept well, come sit at the bar and talk to Auntie Panchy, darling."
Panchy dragged Lesley over to the kitchen by her elbow.
Maple's guards manhandled a chair away and Maple sat down.
"Oh, actually let the poor girl interact with people for once," Dr. Brief said. "We don't have cooties." He took a sip of his coffee. "Ah… roasted right off the tree."
Maple looked at her guards for permission to speak.
"Your son-in-law seems very popular here," she said, turning back to him.
"Oh yeah, Vegeta showed off his powers big time saving a kid from drowning when we first came here. Well, I guess showed off wouldn't be the right word, in his mind I guess efficient would be the word versus the human efforts to save the kid. King Furry will go bald when he realizes how many people Vegeta's taught. It's even spreading on its own now. You'll probably be seeing a bunch of kids playing contact soccer, for lack of a better word, with a beach ball out in the water during the trip."
"How did your son-in-law get named after a pagan god by the locals?"
"Raw ki looks like flames when there is enough to be visible, color varies by person. And Vegeta, well, he definitely has lots of ki. Just don't look at his golden form too long when he's powered up. It will leave sunspots in your eyes, but once he tones it down, it's more like looking at an Edison bulb."
"So, he looks like a flaming volcano?" Isaac asked.
"Yep."
"Papa a Super Saiyan!" Trunks shouted, still with the dog.
"Yes, Papa is a Super Saiyan," Dr. Brief said.
"Super Saiyan, huh? That's something out of a children's comic book."
Dr. Brief took another sip. "Well, never said Saiyans were the most imaginative species…"
"Don't say that," Panchy scolded. "Vegeta is just as smart as the rest of you. He just chooses not to make money with it. Most MENSA's are on welfare anyway."
"I never said he wasn't personally smart. Besides, the phrase super man wasn't originally a hero's name anyway. We're just as bad."
"I guess super human is kind of lame when you put it that way," Isaac said. He then stood, "Well, I better go claim my bedroom so I can get my stuff and unpack."
"Room closest to the stairs and elevator on the second floor is open," Dr. Brief said.
Maple went to stand, but was pushed back down.
"(Your room has already been selected. Now, get everything you can about the demon.)"
Panchy slammed her wooden spoon down. "Don't you dare call my boy that! I know what agma means you byeongsin gaesaekki!"
"Panchy! Cameras."
"I don't care," she shot back at her husband.
"How do you know Korean?" Maple asked, shocked.
"I helped Vegeta learn human curse words. After finding out we had over 7,000 official languages, he let me pick the most common. We know about 30 to 50 in six languages. It was a lovely bonding experience."
"You find learning curse words a bonding experience?" a guard spoke.
"Oh, don't act like that's the first thing every middle schooler who's forced to take a language class googles."
Crawford walked into the last house.
"Gentiles make men walk through a kitchen to go upstairs." He sat down and put his feet up. He snapped his fingers, "Woman! Food and drink. Then go upstairs and bring down a bed. I refuse to dirty my feet."
Rachel immediately ran to the kitchen and began opening cabinets.
Luke stood, "Well I'm going to go claim a room. I'll be back for dinner."
"You're not going to stay here Luke?" Sam asked.
"No." He looked at Jessica who had moved into the kitchen to help Brook with dinner. "I don't think Jessica wants me around," he whispered, putting his hand on Sam's shoulder. He stood straight, "I'm going to check out the guest houses," he said standing straight, "I'll be back a little later!" He waved his hand as he left.
He walked out, and saw Craig walk out of Samundra.
"Pastor Luke! I was about to look for you."
"More problems with your dad?"
Craig sighed, slumping his shoulders, "Yeah…"
"Well, I'm headed to the guest house to claim a room."
"Not staying with your cousin?"
"No. But sometimes you need to give the more obstinate lost ones some space as constant pressure can drive them further away. Walk with me."
"I see. So that's what he said…" Luke sighed. He stopped in front of the next house and turned to face Craig. "Craig, I don't know what you want me to tell you. Your father is 100% correct."
"What?! How can you say that! What type of preacher are you?"
"One trained under the Nahm's personally. While I'm currently on break, I worked directly for Willy's grandson for close to a decade now. And while I've never met the man myself, I've met the heir, Frank, many times."
He took a step forward, "Your father has said or done absolutely nothing wrong from what you've told me. His euphoria could easily be from being born again. And now I am questioning your understanding and salvation. If Jesus came today, only 144,000 people would survive his sword and be brought to heaven. Out of all the billions of humans alive. Out of all the billions of Christians alive. That percentage is a period with four zeros behind it before you hit the one. Most Christians seem to forget that statistic. The second coming is not going to be sunshine and rainbows. It will be the day Our Lord Jesus Christ brings humanity to the brink of extinction with his own hands and then yes, beat the holy loving shit out of the chosen with an iron rod until they obey immediately and without question like a small child."
He pointed under his nose, "And that look on your face is everything I need to know about where in that statistic you are."
Luke turned to walk into the house.
"And where the hell do you think you are in that statistic?!" he yelled. "What about all that getting killed in the conveyor belt shit you were saying last night?! What's the point if that's what you think that verse actually means!"
Luke shut the door behind him.
Craig made a chuckle-sob sound and ran his hand down his face.
"You ok, sonny?"
Craig turned and saw Dr. Brief open a side gate.
*woof*
Everyone still inside looked.
"Hey Luke." Isaac stood. "What are you doing over here?"
"Choosing a room."
"Not staying with Sam?"
"Nope. But I'm just here to claim my room. I'll be having dinner there."
Luke noticed Trunks back up, then run to his grandmother in the kitchen. Panchy stopped chopping and knelt down behind the island to talk to him. The boy then ran outside.
"Luke," Panchy stood and walked over smiling. "Can we talk?" she gestured back outside.
They walked out.
She turned around. "Seems your opinion on my son-in-law has soured. Why?"
"What makes you say that all of a sudden?" Luke said surprised.
"Trunks is developing his father's psychic powers. He can feel emotions, sometimes causing pain. You don't hate him enough for him to be screaming in agony, but he's noticed you've become more uncomfortable since the last time." She continued to smile, but her tone made it more ominous than cheerful. "Now, what's going on?"
Luke sighed, then crossed his arms. He was quiet for a time.
"Well, the only thing I can think of is as the relevant pastor, I've become the default therapist and advice guy. Everything so far has been Vegeta related."
"Well, I'm also the relevant advice woman, so why don't you tell me everything that's been going on. I think I know my boy very well."
"As a pastor, I cannot tell what was told to me in confidence," he said forcefully.
Panchy continued to smile. "Last I checked, you weren't a catholic priest."
Luke sighed. "Can I just choose my room? I'll be spending the rest of the day over with Sam otherwise."
"Bedrooms are the second and third floor, the fourth listed on the elevator is the rooftop terrace with the second kitchen. All the bedroom suites have two queen beds. The three of us chose a room on the third floor next to the steps and elevator. Isaac has chosen the room immediate below us to have quick outside access for the dog. Lesley has the farthest room on our floor next to the fire escape. If you're staying here, I'd say take the room under Lesley. Stay as far away from Trunks as possible. We don't need him grumpy or worse, nightmares, all night."
"I will take that room then. And the other two?"
"If my Korean holds up, they are going to force Maple to take Sugar Petal's spare bed no matter who is already there."
"You know some Korean?" he asked, surprised.
"I decided to take a few lessons while I helped Vegeta learn curse words. Most of Bulma's friends are people she met on her backpacking trip through Asia anyway. Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese. I thought I'd fill in that gap.
"I was surprised Goku knew some Russian words, all food obviously. Seems he was in Siberia fighting the Red Ribbon Army for a bit. He seemed to really like it there… Oh, I wish we knew where it was. Problem with sensors is they just fly straight towards a person. He never bothered learning place names, he'd just say so-and-so lives that way. He's been dead for a few years now and they have no idea why he hasn't shown up. That's true with 99% of the places he went. People's names and local food and him just pointing in a random direction. Vegeta does that too, but Bulma got him to wear a smartwatch and taught him to save spots on the GPS. We were so surprised he's over here so often when we looked at the data."
"Why?"
"I don't know. You'll have to ask him when he's better."
Luke looked at the final house. "I suppose Crawford and Rachel are over there?"
"They haven't come around," Panchy said. She looked at the house. "Rachel reminds me of a friend I was close to growing up. Groomed, non-consensual, forced to marry someone over twice her age as a teenager. It's hard to watch."
"What happened to her?"
"She and the baby died. Unnaturally."
"I see. But if Rachel obeys her husband properly as a wife should, she shouldn't be in any danger."
Luke took a step back as Panchy's head snapped back and tilted like something out of a possession horror movie.
"Are you blaming her death on not pleasing the pedophile that raped us and dozens of other girls during his 40-year career working with children?"
Luke took another step back, "What?! No! Never."
"Good. Now. I suggest you visit Crawford or only come back after we're asleep. Because I don't want to see your face again."
She turned around and stomped back inside and slammed the door.
Dr. Brief led Craig out to the end of the dock.
"Ok young man, what's the issue?"
Craig sighed and leaned on the railing. "My Dad. He's going off the rails and Luke says Dad's right in believing he's born again. Dad's never been violent before. Planning things. He wants to work with Becky and hopes your entire family dies from poison as collateral damage from killing Vegeta."
Dr. Brief casually leaned back on the railing. "I see."
"I mean, all of us got belted until we couldn't sit and needed to sleep on our stomachs like any normal family, but the look when he threatened me… That was not my dad."
"Yeah, Ichiro was once very close with Yamcha, but was more casual to the rest of the family. Seeing him hurt his wife," he shook his head, "It's something else…"
"How do people normally react to finding out Vegeta is an alien mass murderer?"
"Not really sure," Dr. Brief admitted. "I mean when Bulma was three the rival empire to the one Vegeta was enslaved in came to Earth. There had been a failed slave revolt there and Earth was close enough to the border to be a destination for refugees. They were hunting them all down to kill themselves. No mercy."
Dr. Brief made a half chuckle, "Vegeta is the only alien I've met that trying to get them to comprehend the concepts of civilians and non-combatants wasn't a lost cause. Anyway, the Galactic Patrol tried to take her when they realized how smart she was. My oldest went as tribute so Earth didn't get blown up over Bulma after all the work we went through to get them to not to blow up Earth as a failsafe against any survivors. Didn't see her again for forever. She still keeps her distance even though she's home, well, Earth, not home. Doesn't want to put us in a bad spot. Earth was supposed to get visited for inspection every decade give or take from calendar differences. With Tights here, that's stopped."
Craig's first thought was that Tights was clearly a spy, but he didn't voice it.
"I didn't even know you had another daughter," Craig said after a short silence..
"Most don't… So, strange encounters of the third kind were completely normal almost daily occurrences even before Vegeta first came. Bulma's childhood best friend was an alien. Met on a trip to Asia. Very polite young man. Extremely naïve. Didn't even know what a car was when he saw one for the first time and tried to hunt and eat it. Almost killed Bulma in the process."
He chuckled. "He was Vegeta's species, and the only one they had left to hunt down in this direction. Imagine justifying destroying an entire planet just in the hopes to kill a baby in the billions of lives lost. Boy got literally Superman'd here and even he didn't know he wasn't human until he was recognized by his older brother during one of the invasions of Earth well after he became an adult. Then there's literal immortal martial artists that can walk on clouds and are provably centuries old. Real witches and black magic. Divine beings. Demons. Been there, done that and were guests at dinner. I remember a newer security guard having a bit of a freak out witnessing a resurrection ceremony on our lawn. Our lovely head of security just told him, "You've seen one resurrection, you've seen them all.' and walked away."
"You must have very mentally strong employees."
He shrugged. "I suppose you can say that."
"Surprised no one has snitched on you guys yet."
Dr. Brief raised an eyebrow, "Would you want to piss off everyone I just listed as dinner guests?"
Craig chuckled, "No… No, I guess not."
"So, what about Vegeta is driving your father nuts?"
"That he saved his life. That someone that evil exists and everyone in power is protecting him. That good people are suffering, basically him, and are being persecuted for it."
"So, he's leaning on his faith, looking east, and looking forward to the apocalypse, huh?"
"Yeah…"
"You know what my friend Alex once told me."
"What?"
"That saying Jesus is coming every time something bad happens is the religious equivalent of saying 'It can't get any worse'."
Craig snorted. "Oh my God… I can see that," he chuckled.
"Yeah, the jinx fairies love that one." Dr. Brief looked out over the water, "You staying over here? It's filling up fast. And no one wants to join Crawford in the second one."
"No… No, I'm staying over there."
"I see, well tomorrow's team only day in the town, so you're more than welcome over here to play with the dogs."
"Your family… well… definitely made an impression on the locals."
"Yeah, that love is all Vegeta. He's saved kids from drowning, rescued fishermen whose boats sank, messing with corrupt cops and officials, teaching ki to the locals. He's been a busy boy."
"Is he trying to make up for what he did before?"
"No. Vegeta hasn't really changed at all." He looked back at Craig, "He's gone through the same insanity tightly controlled kids do when they suddenly gain their freedom, he's more predictable now. But he's still very much him.
"He may be the last of his kind, but he still strives to represent them and his royal family with dignity and honor. And his people were if a Spartan had a kid with a Viking who went on to marry Atila the Hun's love child with a Klingon warlord. Punching someone in the face is always going to be one of the top three options for him in any situation." Dr. Brief lit a cigarette, "He's usually very level headed, but I can perfectly see why the potatoes got to him."
"Didn't you just say there was another?"
"He's dead. And he's not coming back." He took a puff and blew it out slowly. "Honestly in my younger years, those women would have ended off a lot worse. I know you're not supposed to hit women, but even my sperm donor would have made an exception. God, have you been hearing what Becky did to that poor girl and Sam?"
"Not fully, but Michael is convinced Becky is a plant now by the show. I still can't believe it…"
"Sam pissed off the red team's on-site producer so much he took the entire duffle bag of Taser cartridges and emptied them on him until he broke the trigger. Sam's heart was doing loops for hours afterwards. I could go on."
Craig just looked at him.
"Death and carnage are good for ratings, boy. The only saving graces that have stopped the show from being cancelled are all the rating spikes on seasons with injuries and deaths the past decades. 300th anniversary season? They allow violence as a strategy for the first time and I can fully believe there's a scab or two here to make sure it's utilized."
Craig had a look of understanding on his face. "But Vegeta has been getting in the way... Driving himself to collapse making sure everyone is ok and fed... that's why the staff targets him so much…"
Dr. Brief took another drag. "Yep. That's my boy. Completely overestimating his abilities and getting himself hurt." He smiled, "But I have to say this is a first. His arrogance usually gets him almost killed on the battlefield then people have to be diverted to save his dumb ass. He's the one doing the saving now. Good lesson on how the rest of us feel seeing him coming in with broken bones and bleeding everywhere…" He rubbed his forehead, "But he probably won't learn it."
Craig went to speak when they heard the door slam.
Dr. Brief saw Panchy's face as she stormed in. He instinctively got behind Craig.
"Yikes, now that's a face I don't see often."
Panchy pulled out the knife she had stashed in her pocket and went back to work chopping vegetables with a vengeance.
"Well, that's good. Panchy won't contaminate food, so Luke isn't bleeding to death somewhere."
Craig turned around. "Your family has a very morbid sense of humor."
"Every respectable southern belle has some mud-stained camo hanging in the back of her closet. And my wife's ain't pink." He took a deep, extended drag. "She's the one who taught my girls to shoot. Pistols, hunting rifles, full automatics. Served both of them well, on Earth or otherwise…" he sighed, looking down at the cigarette wafting smoke in his fingers. "I miss my little Tights so much…"
Craig watched him go into the house.
"Panchy, sweetie pie. What's wrong? Remember Trunks now."
Sun was leaving its last color on the horizon.
Trunks was sleeping worn out on the living room rug with Timmy.
Dr. Brief and Panchy were doing dishes.
Lesley was already upstairs, in bed, and just blankly staring out the window at the ocean sunset.
"You mentioned Tights to Craig?" she asked.
"Yeah… I got a little too sentimental."
"Luke pissed me off talking about Rachel. I, I mentioned how I was a survivor without going into details."
Dr. Brief took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, as long as you stay a random statistic. That should be fine. What exactly was said?"
She told him the conversation.
Dr. Brief cracked the plate in his hand. "You went too easy on him my dear. I'll let him in tonight since you told him, but the rest of the week he can sleep outside or witness his words first hand."
"And the show?"
"Well, we know how controlling the Alliance is. They won't allow that conversation in. And Vegeta is more important as blackmail than anything that happened to you." He pulled her head over and pecked her temple. "Besides, we've prepped for this even when divorce was on the table. You be you. I trust you completely, even if you follow the game rules to the fullest." He went back to washing dishes. "Just be careful stealing any of the security's guns. If anyone can kill someone with nonlethal rounds, it's you, and I don't think our poor lawyers could survive. Especially James. He only just came back after his heart attack after the last shit Vegeta did."
Panchy laughed. "Last shit Vegeta got caught, Vegeta was right though. He did exactly what he promised he'd do and put the guy down and walked away. Not his fault his old therapist couldn't think in three dimensions when he wrote that contract." She looked back at her husband, "Is Rick his third or fourth?"
"I think he's his fifth now."
"How long do you think he'll last?"
"Well, he's the first one that has a military specialty. Might last more than six visits." Dr. Brief paused visibly thinking.
"Well… we can't really bet on the first position any more… Guess we'll need to do something mundane like choosing a restaurant or who's cooking dinner."
"Cooking dinner," Panchy said. "And ordering pizza after you burn everything doesn't count."
Dr. Brief gasped, "You absolute fiend."
They both laughed.
Then he pulled his wife close and did not let her go. She returned the side hug.
They continued to wash the dishes, coordinating their single hands with the skill of having done this often.
Michael rode past the beach, then did a loop and pulled in the jet ski. He climbed the steps and quickly hosed himself down and semi dried off before entering the house.
He looked around, and only saw Ichiro and Meiko in the kitchen.
"The bitches finally done baking themselves into a different census category?"
"They've apparently found a wine cooler upstairs," Meiko said. "They're being idiots."
On cue they heard a loud whiny laugh.
"And that's from the third or fourth floor," Ichiro sighed.
Michael came into the kitchen.
"You made rice? Really."
"With everything else needed to eat rice properly," Meiko snipped. "If you don't want my cooking, go cook for yourself."
"Fine," he sat on the stool, "Hand me a bowl."
Michael was given two plates with forks and spoons.
"Seems the rice was a side dish," he thought.
He used a fork and stabbed the meat in the first dish.
"Oh my God, chilies," he said, surprised with his mouth full of raging fire. He put some of the rice in his mouth. He then went to the sink and spit it out. "There's damn chilies in there too!"
Ichiro laughed as Michael frantically searched the fridges. "Don't tell me there's no milk."
"Michael."
He turned and saw Meiko pull the milk out of the wine cooler in the island.
She poured a glass.
Michael guzzled it.
"You bastards did that on purpose," he wiped his mouth as the two laughed.
"Well, if you're not going to eat it, I'll gladly have seconds." Ichiro reached over, stabbed a piece of meat, swirled it to make sure it was as red as it could get, then ate it without issue.
Meiko did the same.
"I hate you two so much right now…" he said as the two started laughing again.
Bob was poking at his meal.
"Dad, come on. This is good."
"It's rice."
"We're in Asia. Everything is rice," Denise said, holding up a cookbook she found in a drawer. She began flipping pages for him to look at, saying a syllable each time. "Ev-er-y-th-ing is ri—"
Before she could finish the word rice, Bob grabbed the book and chucked it as hard as he could.
It impacted the window wall.
Daisuke hopped over the couch and beat Bob to the book.
"Bob, chill out."
"No!" Bob shouted, "We didn't switch from one damn island to another, just to eat the same old shit."
Daisuke crossed his arms, tucking the book under his armpit.
"I say we are pretty damn lucky for this to be the same old shit. You just don't like being reminded of the cooks."
Bob stormed upstairs, but not before throwing the throw pillows at him as he passed the living room furniture.
"Please tell me he's not racist," Denise glared at Craig.
"No… It's Jessica and that monster," Jamal said. "Keep the noise down…"
"Jessica is vegan and really knows how to cook Asian food. She knew everything that was edible and with the meat and fish Vegeta traded with us… well…" Daisuke shrugged before coming back over with the book. "We ate stuff similar to this," he placed the book on the counter, "instead of starving."
Shohei took the book and started flipping through it.
"Perhaps Bob would prefer something more American sounding like these fried chicken and sweet potato recipes."
"You better not expect me to cook that stereotypical crap," Denise glared.
Shohei kept looking at the book and did not see her face or notice her tone. "You've already cooked for us tonight. I'll gladly take on tomorrow's meal. Oh, Daisuke. Look, tofu."
"We're only going to be here three nights," Craig said. "Maybe we should all get together tomorrow and plan our meals out together?"
"We can try," Daisuke said. "But I don't think we'll see much change from your father…"
Slightly earlier, at the beginning of sunset…
"I'm not eating ANYTHING if Vegeta helps in the kitchen!" Hassim shouted.
Vegeta put the dishes in his hands on the counter and moved to untie the apron.
"Vegeta. Don't." Bulma ordered. She turned to Hassim and put her hands on her hips. "And what's your major malfunction?"
"He's cooked and eaten people. I'm not going to eat anything he's cooked.
"Yes. Eaten a few bites raw or burnt quickly with his ki when he's not being watched because otherwise, he's trapped eating small granola bars and just plain swallowing vitamin pills, because it's all heathens and slaves deserve." She pointed at him. "Shut up. My husband learned to cook HERE. He learned about vegetables and fruits HERE. HE learned what a stove and cooking utensils were HERE."
Hassim interrupted. "And I think your husband lied through his teeth about how he grew up so you wouldn't vomit after you kissed him."
"Bulma."
Vegeta put his folded apron on the counter. "Not worth it. I'll do the dishes."
He headed for the door.
"Vegeta, don't you dare leave."
She chased after him but he closed the door first. When she opened it, he was gone.
Bulma growled angrily. Then went up the elevator.
"Sheesh, like husband like wife," Sam chuckled nervously.
"Hassim," Jessica stood. "You're an ass. So, you draw the line at Vegeta cooking but not what he kills? Vegeta's been hunting and fishing for two whole teams, plus the animals. You're just being a jerk. If you don't want to eat. Then starve tonight or get lost!"
Hassim left through the door in the glass wall.
Jerry sighed, "Fine. I'll help with dinner."
Jerry ran up the steps.
Jerry kept going up not seeing the elevator. He opened the door to the roof.
"You didn't have to make me sound helpless. You knew very well I could cook on a fire when I came here."
Vegeta stopped and the two looked at Jerry at the door.
Jerry held his hands up. "Hey, don't worry. I don't care."
Bulma crossed her arms. "What do you want, Jerry?"
"I'm volunteering to help you cook."
Vegeta pointed between him and Bulma, "You got this backwards."
"Vegeta!"
"Last I checked there's no microwave in the kitchen," Vegeta raised his voice. "I'm surprised you can barbecue."
"Ok. Ok. I can actually cook," Jerry said, trying to stop the next argument, "no microwave required."
"Oh, this is good." Sam said. "And this is tofu?"
"Yep," Jerry said.
Vegeta was quietly putting things away and starting to soak the pots and pans.
Sugar Petal was unceremoniously stuffing her face.
Hassim was also eating. "This is very good, Bulma."
"My wife sets water on fire. This was all Jerry," Vegeta said. "Don't assume a female can cook."
"He's right," Luke said. "It was all him, Brook, with Jessica on the tofu."
"And thank you for choosing a non-meat dish for tonight," she said.
"Vegeta chose what to cook," Bulma said.
"Most of the vendor's food is going to have meat and fish in it tomorrow," Vegeta said, turning the water on in the sink. "You should have something you can eat for once."
"So, tofu for the next few days?" Sugar Petal asked.
"Yes," Vegeta said.
"Yippee!" Sugar Petal raised her hands in the air.
Suddenly the front door burst open, bouncing off the wall.
Security came in with suitcases with Maple and her guards entering next.
"Told you they'd force her over here," Vegeta said. He walked over, wiping his hands dry on a towel. "Sugar Petal's room is on the—"
"Wherever we decide it is," her guard answered.
"Third floor, middle room," Vegeta finished. "With Jessica and Brook. Unless you want the girls sleeping with the men on the second."
The security stopped and looked at the guards.
They looked at each other silently until one shrugged. Then they turned to the security and nodded.
They continued up the steps.
"Have you eaten yet, Maple?" Vegeta asked.
"Yes. With your in-laws," she answered, then looked around. "You are eating late?"
"There's no real time we have to eat by, is there?"
Maple turned back to look at her guards for the answer.
"Do you always have your security answer for you? Or do you not even have one brain cell in between your ears?"
"Vegeta," Luke scolded. "Christian women are supposed to obey their male guardians. From fathers, to husbands, to sons until death then on to God himself. Not that you would understand the concept."
He turned his head to look at Luke. "Oh, I understand it. A Saiyan woman lived for their children," he fully turned his body, "That's why a man knows if he does not go to bed in fear of being killed in his sleep, he has not chosen a proper mate."
"You think Bulma would kill you?" Maple gasped.
Vegeta looked at Bulma, who was staring back at him. He smiled, "She is a member of this planet's defense forces. Not that I have intentions of ever betraying my oath and putting her in that position, but theoretically if I ever became a threat to Earth again, I would be highly disappointed if she did not act appropriately."
He looked back at Luke. "I did not marry a coward. I married an actual woman."
Bulma recovered from her shock quickly. "Didn't Jesus say there would be no husbands and wives in heaven, but pure souls perfected by God?"
"That is because all souls will serve Him alone!" Maple shouted, "There will still be men and women in their divinely created roles. Or are you saying women will take up a sword in the Heavenly Host while men cook and serve the Holy Banquets in New Jerusalem?"
"(Enough.)"
Vegeta saw the guard press his fingers on her neck in what human's called the Vulcan neck pinch and brought Maple to her knees.
"(Ignore the sinners. Women do not have the mental capacity to recognize when the Word is being twisted into temptation.)"
Vegeta grabbed the man's wrist and pulled him off on her. "I will not have someone injured in my presence," he hissed.
The other guard pulled his gun and pointed it in his face.
Vegeta glanced at it, then back at the guard. He smirked at his arrogance that this would intimidate him.
Vegeta put the barrel in his mouth.
The sound of breaking metal filled the room.
Vegeta spit it out leaving everyone looking at the half of gun.
Bulma just facepalmed.
Vegeta walked back to the kitchen and continued with the dishes.
"That… was… AWESOME!" Jerry finally broke the silence.
Luke sighed, then took one last chug of juice. He grabbed his food and stacked his bowl and plates in his arms. "Well, I'm going to head over then. See you later, Sam."
"Bye Luke…"
Luke made a quick exit.
"(Jeong-Suk. Stand.)"
Maple got off her knees and was pulled upstairs.
After Maple was locked in the room with one of the guards, another explored the other floors.
Then he came charging down the steps. "Where is the bed?! One man's room has only one bed!"
"On the roof," Bulma said. "Vegeta and I will be there."
"All men on one floor!"
"There's a kitchen and a bathroom up there. And if our son wants to come over, it won't cause any issues with the rest of the house." She crossed her arms, "Besides, when did you consider my husband a man? I thought you considered him a pet like the dog?"
Vegeta looked over her shoulder from doing dishes, spread his lips and clicked his teeth several times.
Mark started to puppy bark.
"Mark, shush," Hassim picked him up.
Sugar Petal got up from her seat and went up to Vegeta. She whispered in his ear.
Vegeta sighed. "Tell Jerry."
She nodded and went to talk to him.
Jerry nodded.
"Hey, I get it as a fellow musician and my girl is the same age as Maple. But you've always had three points of contact including the fire escape, whether it was exiting onto that floor or coming from above on the roof. You have to have more security than the two of you. You guys need to sleep at some point, right?"
The guard took a breath. "You seem very unconcerned for Sugar Petal."
Jerry pointed across his chest at Vegeta. "She can take care of herself long enough for her Rottweiler to come and bite through any guns they have. Then there's the other planetary defense forces hanging around. I'm not saying to not do your jobs, but we're probably the safest motherfuckers on the planet right now."
The guard glared at Vegeta, then went back upstairs.
Sugar Petal returned to eating.
"They really don't like Vegeta, huh?" Brook asked.
"Nope…" Vegeta said.
Night came and Maple Syrup sat on her bed in her pajamas, a bunny onesie. She was taking measured breaths. "(Come on,Jeong-Suk. You can do this,)" she said to herself, trying to psych herself up for something.
Sugar Petal came out of the bathroom, and Maple gasped.
Sugar tossed her cat onesie on her dresser and walked over to her bed in nothing but a t-shirt with her pink ribbon underwear in full view.
"(What are you doing, Hyo-jin?!)"
"(Sleeping comfortably for once in a long time,)" she said, slipping into bed. "(You're going to sweat to death in that. There's no air conditioning like in Korea.)" She adjusted the mosquito netting.
"(You look like you've gained some weight,)" Maple began the conversation awkwardly. "(The masters will not like that.)"
"(It's not like I will ever sing again. At least in Korea. Jerry is very interested in me. I might just change labels once I age out shortly.)"
"(Age out? What are you talking about? We're both 18. A woman must marry by 26.)"
Sugar Petal clapped her hands twice and her nightstand lamp went out. "So… How's everyone in the group doing? I saw in some advertising Candy Drop changed her hair color.)"
"…Yes… It was to distance herself from your image. The label thought orange looked too close to pink. Speaking of hair… How did yours get so jagged? I know about the stitches, but that doesn't explain the jaggedness on the other side."
"(I cut that side braid off. I had some hair crossing over.)"
"(What?!) she stood, getting tangled in the net. "(You need to have three male guardians to submit permission forms to be approved by a Nahm to just get split ends trimmed. Women cannot have short hair without 12 Nahms submitting justification forms to be signed off by the Living Voice of God!)" she shouted as she fought the tangle. "(What are you thinking?! Are you trying to go to hell?!)"
"(You're a sweet kid, Jeong-Suk-nim. You don't have to worry about me. You don't know what is going on.)"
"(Then tell me!)"
Sugar Petal looked at her, then back at the ceiling. "(Have you ever heard of Lee Gai? She was one of the singers my grandmother liked when she was young. Her neighbor was a smuggler back when there was still north and south.)"
"(Wait. Your family has nothing to do with the north! Don't lie!)"
"(Lee Gai was a singer whose career kept failing and she was relaunched with a different name and background each time. The final time she was found out she was in her 30s when the producers were trying to pass her off in a teenage dance troupe called Baby VOX.)"
"(What are you saying?)" Maple finally untangled herself and sat back down. "(I know everything about you.)"
"(You didn't know about Oe-halmi,)" she pointed out.
"(You should have told someone you were being haunted by demons!)"
"(Jeong-Suk-nim. I'm 24, already 25 on the Korean calendar. I never understood why I was suddenly made solo then completely messed up the launch. I think they were preparing a failing career to remove me. And even if that wasn't it and they wanted to get another 5 years out of my public contract, I'm done. Don't you think it would be a bigger sin to lie for the sake of money or to out the greed of our handlers and marry on time?)"
"(Women are meant to obey! Not to think! If the man God assigns us to obey without question sins then that is our fate! Women do not have free will! Only the devil acting through us when we disobey!)"
"Seon— I mean, hubae-nim, don't worry about me. Our paths will no longer cross. Go marry the next president of Korea or the chaebol heir of Samsung."
"(I'm a year older than you! We've known each other since 10 and 11.)"
"(We've known each other since 11 and 16,)" Sugar Petal said.
"(You were so short! There was no way you were a teenager.)"
"(Have I grown a single centimeter since we met? My grandmother was only 127 cm and my mother 133 cm. And didn't I already have my lower hair?"
"(Girls become women as early as 8. You were just early…)" She started to cry, "(We're supposed to be the magic twins… We're supposed to know everything about each other. You're my best friend…)"
"(I love you too…)" Sugar Petal said. "(But you were going to find this out sooner than later. Don't you think it would be better to hear this from me before we never see each other again?)"
"(None of this matters!)" Maple shouted. "(My original last name was Park! I was born from her boss and neither her husband nor her boss' family wanted me. I am Kim Jeong-Suk, anointed by God! Your old name and even age doesn't matter anymore! You have been baptized and declared Kim Hyo-jin and 18 years old in the name of God!" She pointed at her angrily. "(You are denying God! Don't you feel any shame at all?!)"
Suddenly there was a rap at the window.
Maple jumped, pulling the entire canopy down onto her as she fell on the floor between the beds.
The locks moved on their own and the window lifted.
"Are you guys ok?" Vegeta asked.
"We're ok, Vegeta," Sugar Petal smiled. "Go lay with your wife."
Vegeta looked unconvinced. "If you say so…"
The window shut and relocked itself and he flew away.
As Vegeta flew up, he saw security men leave from the house across the street. He went back and hid at the window, flattening his hair with his shirt flipped over his head.
The Asian men came into the room, turned on the main ceiling light, and took Maple out. Then they began trying to rehang the torn net.
Sugar Petal just took her flat sheet and curled up while the men argued, then they balled it up and threw it on the floor. One spoke on his radio.
Vegeta heard the house across the street open up and what looked like two of the show staff with tool belts and a small box came over.
While he watched the new net go up, he could hear Maple crying and speaking to the guards out in the road. He had no idea what was being said, but he did not hear anything physical, so he kept his eyes on Sugar Petal curled up ignoring the handymen drilling new anchors into the ceiling replacing the ones Maple tore out in her fall.
Out in the street, Maple was crying to the guards. "(Why wasn't I prepared for any of this? I spent three weeks memorizing her life events and going through conversation training, only for everything to be a lie? How am I supposed to get a bridal-aged woman to listen to a child who just had their name entered on the bottom of the marriageable list?)"
"(That is not our issue. Get back in there and get it out of her yourself.)"
