The Figure trudged through the sand, unprotected from the wind. The sandstorm wasn't very bad, but most normal people wouldn't have been out in it unprotected. The man walking in it wasn't normal though.
The last of his kind, Prince Vegeta was not a delicate human but a resilient, powerful Saiyan. Alien to this planet, he was also too arrogant to believe that anything here could hurt him. He was almost correct. Still, even his skin was getting raw from the windborne sand, and he was hoping to find some kind of shelter. He had sworn to himself to not fly out of this desert, but to walk across it as part of his training.
Walking in sand was deceptively hard. And the need to forage for food and water was good for his hunting and observation skills. However, instinct told him to find a place out of this wind soon. He peered out into the billowing sand and covered his nose and mouth so he could take a deep breath. Sure enough, he smelled water, close by. He lowered his head and kept moving. Even Saiyan legs got tired after so many miles.
Kakarrot had once told him that he'd run around this tiny planet as part of his training under Kame-sen'nin. He'd scoffed at the story, believing it to be too easy, and the three years it had supposedly taken the other Saiyan too long for such a task. Now he felt a grudging admiration for the other man. Kakarrot had been only fourteen or so when he started that run, according to Yamcha, that ex-boyfriend of Bulma's. He scowled again, thinking of the woman who was his hostess at Capsule Corp.
Part of his reason for being here was Bulma. He had to get away from her and the others, even Raimi, the puzzling and frustrating last female of his kind. She was the one who suggested the Arabian Desert as a good place to try his endurance. He wanted to curse her for it, but she was correct. Too correct; he'd gotten soft in his year here on this pitiful planet. He was having far too difficult a time of this. But he sensed that he was almost at the place where he could smell the water coming from.
He nearly fell down into the shallow valley, which sheltered an oasis. The trees down here grew close together, and hid the water from view, but his keen nose told him it was there. He kept on, more tired than he wanted to admit, and very thirsty. Once he was in the shelter of the trees, the sound of the wind died down to a whisper, and the air was cooler. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the sand in his thick hair. He brushed off the armor he wore, and decided to wash his clothes in the pool. He wound into the trees, and soon felt some confusion. He could smell water, and even hear it moving somewhere nearby, but couldn't seem to find it. He stopped and looked around.
“Kuso! Where the hell is that water?” He muttered, his thirst magnified by his inability to slake it. He ground his teeth together, feeling angry. He refused to fly and find the water from above, but he could climb one of these trees and see. He looked up and his jaw dropped in shock.
Above him, the palm trees had grown to an enormous height, towering so high that he couldn't see their tops; palm trees never grew that high. He knew he hadn't gone that far down into this valley, and any treetops that poked over the rim of the valley would have been cut off by the violent winds of the storms here anyway. So how was this possible? Just then he felt a presence nearby. He whirled, on the alert for an attack. He'd been attacked alarmingly often on this journey, and was extra wary because of it. To his surprise, a woman stepped out from behind a tree. The light was dim, and he could barely see her.
“Hello.” She said, smiling gently. He felt a strange force from her, like a powerful Ki, yet different. He appeared to relax, but stayed alert. Raimi looked harmless too, but she was just as deadly as he himself was. No one was harmless, his Father had taught him.
“Welcome, Prince. I can tell you're thirsty, and need to rest, come.” She said, and led him in a new direction. He followed for a while, and then realized that she'd called him “Prince”. He stopped and glared at her.
“Wait. How do you know who I am?” He snapped, eyes narrowed. She turned and her eyes gleamed mischievously.
“Hmmm, well, if you come with me, I'll tell you… Maybe… “ She chuckled. He stood where he was, but she kept going. She slid out of sight and he heard her laugh. “Come now, you can't fear me, I'm just a woman!”
“I've learned that that statement is never true!” He grumbled, and jogged to catch up to her. He rounded a bend in the almost invisible path, and saw a cave in the wall of the valley. The palms grew right up the wall, most unlike their nature, and he could see a light flickering inside. He paused, and waited. The woman came out of the cave and waved at him impatiently.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Come in.” She said, kindly. He sighed and entered. Inside he immediately turned to look at her face. He'd already noticed that she was heavy, almost fat. And she was short, but other than having long red hair, he hadn't seen details. Now he wondered about her. Who was she?
Her face was strong boned, with wide green eyes and high cheekbones. She smiled at him with her full mouth and he saw dimples dot her cheek. It was hard to identify her nationality, though with that red hair, she wasn't a native of these parts. Her smile deepened as he studied her.
“Satisfied? Now, I know that you are on a pilgrimage of sorts. This place is set-aside for men on personal journeys. Your journey involves more than you know, Vegeta.” At the sound of his name, he stiffened and his glare returned.
“How do you know my name?” he demanded. She waved her hand at him, not frightened of him in the least.
“Such a simple thing, knowing names. You can read minds too; it's just harder for you. You can read the minds of your own kind more easily, that's all. It's just like Martial Arts, it just takes practice.” She said easily. She turned and went to a hole in the wall. “Come on, there is a bathing pool for you to use. You're tracking sand everywhere.” She told him.
“Wait, what's your name?”
“Hmmm, well, my name is Eostara. This isn't really my place, but it is my time of year.” She said enigmatically. He was baffled. The name was familiar, but he couldn't remember why. She pointed to the “room” insistently. “I'm not going to kill you. Quite the opposite, really. You and I need to talk, Vegeta.” He bristled, but walked into the bath area.
The water was hot, heated by the Earth, and scented by Eostara with some herbs that she said would sooth his tired muscles. He stripped, uncaring of modesty and hoping to shock her, but she didn't seem to care, and just took his clothes, saying that she'd wash them for him. He watched her leave, wondering if he should have let her take off with them. He shrugged, and went over to the waterfall she had pointed out for him to use as a natural shower, and found some soap and shampoo. Oddly, the water was bitterly cold, but he washed his hair and scrubbed off the worst of the grime on his skin anyway. Then he stepped into the hot spring, finding it to be almost too hot even for him. Still, it was indeed soothing for his legs. He closed his eyes and relaxed somewhat. He heard Eostara come back in.
“Here's some water. I'll make you some tea later.” She said. He opened one eye and looked at her. He sat up and stared. Her red hair was now blonde, and her body was slender, yet her face was the same. A little narrower, and somewhat younger looking, but the same! She bent gracefully and set a pitcher of water and a goblet by the edge of the pool.
“What the…!” He gasped, feeling a chill race up his spine. She smiled and laughed at his face.
“Easy, little Prince. I'll explain later. Drink, I swear by the rules of hospitality that it isn't poisoned!” She laughed, and left again, her slim body moving in a way that would have had Master Roshi's nose bleeding. He stayed in the water, but couldn't relax any more. What was she? Some kind of shape changer? He watched the doorway, wondering what she'd look like if she entered again. She didn't come back in, though, so he was forced to get out at last. He found some towels and a white robe, and dried off to go in search of her.
Out in the main chamber, he saw his clothes, spread out to dry, clean and ready to wear. Even his scuffed gold tipped boots were there. A plate of fruit and a large loaf of bread were waiting as well, so he sat and began to eat. The mystery of this woman plagued him though.
”You and I need to talk Vegeta” she had said. About what? He didn't even know her, and she couldn't know him, so what was there to talk about? He scowled so hard, his face hurt as he pondered. He finally set the last of the fruit aside, and tried to reach the state of “no mind” that he'd been taught by that old Sensei of his fathers'. He had almost found some peace, when he realized that there had been too much fruit left on the tray. He opened one eye, and saw that the tray had almost as much food on it as when he'd begun to eat. Now, with his appetite, that small tray should never have satisfied him. Yet there it was, full of grapes, apples and other fruits, many of which she couldn't have grown locally. He sighed and gave up on these mysteries, though it galled him to do so. He just had to wait for her explanation.
“So, are you feeling better, Vegeta?” Her voice preceded her into the room. He was almost afraid to look at her, but she looked as she had at first, a large yet beautiful older woman. She sat opposite him on a small chair.
“I'm sure you are full of questions. Let me say, that I do want something of you, but that comes later.”
“What is it?” He asked tightly.
“Later. Have you any idea of who I am?” She asked, eyes staring into his intently. He shook his head. She sighed and nodded. “I figured as much. You aren't one of mine. Goku is, though he doesn't realize it totally. And the little Saiyan woman, she's almost one of my kind herself, and certainly mine in her heart.”
“Yours? What do you mean yours? Kakarrot is one of yours?” He asked, feeling like he should have known what she meant. She nodded, and put her hand over her water. She mumbled something in a foreign tongue and the water glowed colorlessly for a few seconds before she drank it. Vegeta was curious as well as wary. He wasn't scared, though he wasn't sure why not. She was certainly one of the most interesting people he'd ever encountered in his many travels.
“Mine. They are mine. Everyone born here is mine. The little warrior woman, she was born here, and so she's mine. Goku gave himself to me, body and soul, and I have rewarded him for it, with my own power.” She was giving off that force again, and Vegeta concentrated on it, sure that it was familiar. He'd felt it before, he just knew it.
“But you, you aren't mine. You weren't born here, and you did come here with intent to harm me, my world. I want to know that you won't try to destroy it in the future. I'm very protective of my… home, Vegeta. I won't see it destroyed. I don't have the power to directly stop you, but stop you I will, if I must. However, I don't think I will have to. Will I?” Her gaze was heavy on his face, and he felt her looking deep into him, into his soul. He was still trying to figure this out, when he felt some of the truth of the situation dawn on him. His eyes widened in something like reverence. She couldn't be...
“You… who are you?” He gasped.
“I am one of the Earths many faces, one of Her faces. As I said, it isn't My place but it is My time. This face comes from the wild north, the mountains of Scandinavia. But there are other faces from this area. My name came from here, originally. That was as Astarte. Is it so hard to believe?” She told him gently. Vegeta simply looked at Her, baffled by Her words.
“I don't get it. If you are who you say you are, what could you want from me? Since I'm not from here, what could I have that some… someone like you could possibly want?” He asked Her, still not believing Her.
“I want to make a deal with you, last Saiyan. I want you to join the ranks of My defenders, and swear to defend Me from all that would destroy Me. My assistance would be your reward. And My assistance is not weak; remember Goku's power to harness My strength? It almost did you in, little Saiyan.” Her voice was patient and calm.
He scowled as he realized what She meant. It was the Genki-dama She referred to, and it was the power he had felt from Her; the force he hadn't been able to identify before. She emanated the same power as the Genki-dama Kurilin had hit him with. She was the source of that power! Yes, all living things gave to the so-called Spirit-bomb, but She was telling him the true secret of that weapon; Herself. Her own life force was the hidden power in Kakarrot's ultimate weapon.
“Wait! What about Namek? Didn't Kakarrot try the Genki-dama on Namek? You weren't there too, were you?”
“No, I was not, and that's why it didn't work on the Dragon-child. I've seen your importance in the future, and so I held back on the one crafted against you. But as I said, Goku is one of mine, and poor battered Namek had nothing left to give. It was simply too weak to kill the little Dragon.”
“Dragon? Frieza?” He was puzzled by Her calling Frieza a Dragon. Granted he had looked somewhat like a dragon, but…
“Yes, the Cold Family goes back to a Dark dragon, an Eternal Dragon gone evil. That is where all that power and evil comes from. But that is not your concern anymore. I ask you once more, will you be one of My warriors?” She asked calmly. Vegeta sat back and pondered.
He did like this planet, and it already felt like home to him, more so than Vegeta-sei ever had. If She could give him more power, well, that was just fine with him. But he decided to see just what She was capable of. She wasn't omnipotent; if She had been, he'd just do what She wanted, without this conversation-wouldn't he?
“Well, I have some questions. First, what kind of power do you offer?” He said slowly. Eostara chuckled and shook Her head.
“I should have guessed. You are a warrior through and through. While fighting for Me, I can help you in many ways, though indirectly, of course. There are rules to such things. And, there is something that you may have noticed in Goku's attitude. Something that makes him very hard to beat, no matter his opponents power.” She stood and paced quietly back and forth as She spoke.
“Oh, and what is this? I've only noticed how stupid he is… “ Vegeta quipped. Eostara turned and stared at him, and her eyes made him shiver.
“Don't be an idiot, Vegeta. He is near unstoppable, and you know it. It is one of My gifts to him. Inspiration, and the knowledge of My love. He does what he does to protect Me. Always, he remembers his loved ones when he fights. He remembers Me, and I give him the strength to do what he must to win. And that is why he does win, every time. Even on Namek, I gave him the final push.”
“I don't understand, he wins… because he thinks of You?” Vegeta sighed. It sounded too silly for him to believe in. He fought to be the best, for his own survival, not for some female who claimed to be a deity.
“He doesn't remember the talk I had with him. He just knows deep in his fierce heart that he must take care of Me and all My children. It is a tremendous weapon, love. I'm sure that you will see that one-day. I cannot promise you ultimate power, Vegeta. I like you, and I would give it to you if I could. But there are so many that are more powerful than I… “ Her face grew sad, and even frightened. “I have become a target for evil it seems… “ Her eyes closed wearily, and She sat once more, looking dejected. Vegeta felt uncomfortable as he watched Her sigh despairingly.
He realized that he wanted to help Her, that he loved this planet already. He was still here, after all. He could have left, taken Bulma with him to another planet and started a new Vegeta-sei; but he hadn't even thought of it really. He didn't know if it was the influence of this… Goddess or not, but he wanted to stay here, he wanted to stay in what he'd begun to think of as his home.
“I… I think I'll stay. I'll help you, I guess. If you can help me beat Kakarrot, that is.” He said hesitantly. He didn't expect Her to help one champion to kill another, but he was sure going to try. Sure enough She shook Her head.
“I can't do that. I need the both of you. Terrible danger lies ahead for you and the others, for Me most of all. I can't allow you to kill him, Prince.” She said sadly. “I know how much beating him means to you. But I can't tell if you ever will or not.” He scowled as he thought it through again. If She could help him at all, it might just be worth it. Certainly, Kakarrot was unstoppable right now, and Her explanations were more palatable than believing himself too weak to beat the younger Saiyan. He smiled a feral grin suddenly.
“Ok, Eostara, I'll do it. I'll fight for your cause, but I don't want to become some sentimental idiot like Kakarrot is. I won't get all sappy, will I?” He asked, more fearful of losing face than losing a fight. His pride wouldn't allow it
“No, as I said, he doesn't remember our talk, and neither will you. You will just feel My call to arms. I will give you a special gift; you will feel danger approach before anyone else does, so you will have more time to prepare. And you will find that My safety is a powerful goad to win the battles to come. It works for Goku, and it works for his friends. And I will give you a special bonus. A wife.” She smiled, looking relieved at his decision.
“I don't want a WIFE!” He yelped. He was a bachelor, and liked it that way, Bulma aside. He considered her a dalliance, nothing more. Certainly she was not really suitable to be the mother of the Heir to Vegeta-sei, being a human and all, though he had entertained the thought once or twice.
“Oh, you will want this one, I promise!” She chuckled as he jumped up and began to yell about interfering women and their meddlesome ways. She waited as he now paced the room, grumbling agitatedly.
“Enough. I have seen you with your wife, and you need all the help you can get to win her, believe me. So that is that. Now, go and get some rest, and tomorrow, you will leave this place; but I will never leave you again, my Prince. I swear it.” Her voice was sincere enough to move even Vegeta's hard heart. He nodded, and She led him to a bed in an alcove. He settled down and stared at the rock walls, wondering if he'd been wise, if this had even been real…
“Hello? Hello, I was told you wanted to be woken at dawn, sir.” A young girls voice broke into his dreams. He opened his eyes to see a dark skinned girl with black hair, leaning over him and smiling fit to split her aquiline face. He blinked and sat up, forgetting his nakedness. Many people were sleeping around him in makeshift beds. He appeared to be in some sort of hostel that sheltered people as they traveled across the desert. He didn't remember anyone else being there as he fell asleep. He looked around, his mind unusually blurry.
“Hey, where's… where is… what was her name?” He couldn't remember the name of the person he'd been talking to last night. He shook his head and tried to remember what they had spoken of. He only remembered eyes, deep and kind green eyes, and her smile. He couldn't help but smile himself as he remembered of it.
“I'm sorry, where is who? Do you mean the Hostel Mother? The Mother has gone on a journey for the Easter festival. She faces great danger, traveling in such times as these, but she refused to miss them.” The girl said worriedly. The desert was full of brigands and worse. Vegeta ignored her and grasped for the name of that woman.
“That's her name, isn't it? Easter… Astarte… “
“Oh no, that's one of the local Goddesses of the ancient pagans that lived here long ago, Eostara. The holiday was named after her, and is celebrated at the same time as her festival. Her symbols were even the bunny and the egg; but no one cares about Goddesses anymore.” Vegeta frowned slightly at this information. He grabbed his clothes and shooed the girl out so he could dress. Once clothed, he walked outside and stared, confused. The tall trees that he'd seen were gone, and the large pool of water of the oasis sparkled in the clear light of the sun. The storm was gone as well, just like his memory of the woman he'd talked with for so long last night. Despite the beauty of the spot, he could feel sadness in the air. He didn't like the way it touched his heart, and the sadness he hid within himself. Again he saw Her eyes, full of sadness and just a little hope.
“Why do I feel that that Goddess needs someone to care for her again after all these years?” He murmured, and set off walking. Bulma and the people he now could admit were his friends were waiting for him
It was time to go home.
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