"You wanted to play a game, didn’t you?"

Bulma rolled over with a loud groan and looked up into the face of Vegeta. "What are you doing?" she mumbled.

"What time is it?"

"Time for the Storkrin’s annual festival." He replied rather disgustedly. "You can go out there if you want."

Bulma sat up in her bed and pushed the covers away from her. She looked confused, which was probably a result of waking up and having Vegeta looming over her first thing. She rubbed sleep from her eyes.

"Festival?"

"Yes." He said with his usual frown amplified 10,000 times. "It slipped my mind that we have, unfortunately, come at the time of the Storkrins season in which they have a ‘festival’ to celebrate the growing of their crops and the like."

Bulma swung her legs over the bed and scratched at her shoulder. "How the hell can they celebrate anything when they’ve got something like The Dungeons on their conscience?"

Vegeta gave her a warning glance. "I told you about The Dungeons." He said slowly. "So just push it from your mind."

"I can’t." Bulma pouted. "I told Koru I would come back to talk to her."

Vegeta waved the matter away angrily with a hand and stalked toward the bedroom door. "Anyway, the point is, the Storkrins consider this festival a matter of great importance. In other words, they basically expect us to come and show our respect."

Bulma smiled as she realized Vegeta’s cause for anger. "I remember." She said, grinning. "You were telling me that you respect the Storkrins as a race, don’t you? I don’t think a festival in under the category of ‘endangering our lives’, is it?"

"Wipe that smirk off your face, woman, and get changed." He turned and left.

"This is some thing you’ve gotten yourself roped into, Vegeta." Bulma called after him as she began to dress for the day.

* * *

Oh Kami…it’s just like a circus…

Bulma took her eyes away from the bright lights and sounds and looked to Vegeta, who she noted with some concealed delight, was wearing casual clothing. Although the skintight body suit and armor displayed his figure in the best way possible, she loved how he looked in ordinary human clothing.

"You look cute." she said with a grin. "Especially with that miserable pout on your face."

"Woman," Vegeta looked at her and shook his head, "I am not cute."

He scowled and looked away from her approving glance, experiencing the now familiar sensation of desire when she stood this close. He wore a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned enough at the top to reveal a nice portion of his chest. His cuffs were undone and his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his black, loose fitting jeans. She realized it was the same outfit he had worn on his ‘going away luncheon’. She loved it.

"So this is it." She stated. She had to admit, the Storkrins sure knew how to make a festival look like a festival. It was the stuff inside the tents and circles that she was worried about. She had already pictured dozens of slimy, disturbing prizes and eerie creatures hiding at every booth. But the flashing lights and the strange noises were a nice change from the usual drab redness of the planet and its solitude.

"So what exactly is this festival about, anyway?" she asked him as they stood on the outskirts. Vegeta shrugged, and Bulma watched the corded muscle flex beneath the flimsy white shirt. She blushed a tiny bit and looked away.

"Are there prizes and rides and stuff like that?"

"Not exactly." He muttered. "Look out."

Bulma looked over her shoulder to see the massive bulk of Treskor walking up to them. She remembered Koru’s words about Treskor and turned her nose up, ignoring him completely. The move did not go unnoticed by the other Storkrins, who looked suspiciously.

"Prince." Treskor greeted. "You and the earthling are going to join usss today?"

Vegeta nodded. "She is worried about the festivals intentions, however." He smirked at the Storkrins and a ripple of laughter went through them. Bulma turned a bit annoyed. "I am not…"

"Do not worry, earthling female." Treskor said with a strange glint in his eyes. "I think you will enjoy the fessstival."

Bulma took Vegeta’s arm, ignoring his surprised expression, and led him into the fairgrounds.

* * *

Vegeta could not deny that he was having fun. Watching Bulma as she hurried around the fairgrounds poking at everything with that keen curiosity of hers was priceless. I’m glad she’s having fun. He thought to himself. I’m glad she’s not withering away…

She whirled around, her Storkrin armor glinting in the strange lights of the fair. "Vegeta!" she called out to him.

"What?"

She took his hand and led him over to a booth she had discovered. "Aren’t they cute?" she squealed, sounding much like a schoolgirl.

Vegeta stared. He had never seen anything so ugly in his entire life. What stared up at him was what the Storkrins called a ‘Cheribulum’ it was basically their version of a ‘housepet’.

"Leave it to you to find the ugliest son of a bitch on the lot." He muttered, watching the way it’s enormous blue eyes blinked slowly at them. It stood about eight inches tall and had a thick mottled fur that covered its rounded body. It stood on two fat, plump legs that poked out from under its rotund belly. It looked up at Bulma and uttered a small chirping noise, flailing about two flipper-like arms. Vegeta supposed it was a like a more disturbing and fuzzy version of the Earth’s penguin, minus the beak. It opened its mouth and chirped again. Bulma was hooked.

"They’re not ugly!" she abolished him. "It says here you can win one if you win the game!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Of course." He said sarcastically.

Row upon row of the frighteningly adorable Cheribulum’s chirped and wiggled and danced around on the booths shelves as a rather bored looking Storkrin Carney leaned on one elbow and watched them. "Would you like to play?" it hissed, handing a small Frisbee-like object to Bulma in its clawed hands.

"W…what do I have to do?" Bulma said.

The Storkrin exchanged a knowing glance with Vegeta, who smirked back. Caught up in the cuteness of the Cheribulums, Bulma missed the look entirely.

"It isss a game of ssstrength, earthling female." The Storkrin hissed. "Perhapsss you would like the Prince to play for you?"

Bulma looked up angrily, catching the immediate challenge. What was it with these Storkrins, always having to put her down and insinuate that she was some weakling?

"I can do it!" she straightened to her full height. "Show me how."

The Storkrin stepped back a pace and gestured with his arm. "There isss a green line a number of pacesss behind you."

She turned and saw the line about five feet from where the booth was. "Yeah." She said, turning back to the booth.

"Ssstand there, and throw the Frih." The Storkrin said. Bulma looked down at the object in her hands. Frih? That must have been it.

"If you can manage to loop it around thisss Cheribulumsss neck, you may pick one of your choice."

He pointed a claw at a decrepit looking Cheribulum who stood out from the others because of what looked like a streak of blue paint across its belly. It looks so sad! Bulma thought.

"Do I win him?" she asked.

"No." The Storkrin replied. "There isss more."

"More?"

"If you sssuceed in the firssst challenge, you can move onto the final round. The final is the tessst of ssstrength."

Bulma nodded. She was fairly good at marksmanship. I have played baseball, haven’t I? She was surprised to find that she couldn’t remember.

She stepped back, wound her arm back, and tossed the Frih at the Cheribulum. The Frih sailed through the air for a good four feet, sparkling in the lights, and landed sharply on one large ear of the blue Cheribulum, who squeaked in response. She pumped her fist in the air.

"YEAH!" she howled, turning to Vegeta, who raised an eyebrow. She turned back to the Storkrin.

"I won!"

The Storkrin was slowly removing the Frih. "Not exactly." He hissed. "You only looped it around itsss ear."

Bulma stopped in her ranting and glared. "Excuse me??" she cried. "I don’t think so, buddy. Its ear is damn close enough."

"I’m afraid not, earthling female." The Storkrin replied.

Bulma growled and stalked over the green line toward the booth. She slammed both fists down on the counter, altering a terrified squeak from the Cheribulums. "I won." She said through gritted teeth. "Let me advance."

The Storkrin raised its eyes to Vegeta, as if to see what his thoughts on the situation were. Vegeta was impressed with Bulma’s outward defiance and chuckled softly, nodding toward her. "It’s good enough." He said. "Let her pass."

The Storkrin shot Bulma a slightly dirty look before extending his arm behind him, in the back of the booth.

"Come thisss way." He said darkly, slipping through the folds of the material.

Bulma turned to Vegeta as he came up to her. "Thanks." She said softly. "Thanks a lot."

He shook his head. "Don’t get all soft on me woman. I wasn’t doing that just for you. It was an unfair conclusion on his part, is all."

Bulma hid her smile as they walked through the tent flaps.

* * *

Vegeta sighed miserably as he cradled the chirping Cheribulum in his arms. Under Bulma’s strict orders he had been instructed to hold the semi-blue creature while she went to the bathroom.

"You weren’t worth the trouble." He muttered down to it. Bulma had decided on the most horrible name for it, as if being sinisterly ugly wasn’t a bad enough deal. "Ghost?" he mumbled the name aloud. "What the hell kind of a name is Ghost?"

Ghost cocked its head and chirped again. The word FURBY raced through Vegeta’s mind.

"Thanks!" Bulma appeared behind him, taking Ghost from his arms. "Those Storkrin bathrooms are disgusting. How am I supposed to go pee when all there is is some dumb hole in the ground?"

Vegeta was relieved to have the fuzzy monstrosity out of his arms. He brushed the soft brown hair from his shirt and sighed.

"I hope you’re having fun." He frowned. "Because I’m starving to death."

Bulma eyed him. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Have you ever had Storkrin food?"

She took that as answer enough. "So you want to leave?" she asked, not trying to hide the pout from her voice.

"Don’t give me that, woman. I practically had to engage in battle to get this ugly bastard for you."

"He’s not ugly!" she protested. "And like it was hard. All you had to do was pull a bunch of steel Frih’s apart." She snorted. "How the hell did that Storkrin expect me to be able to do that, anyway?"

"I think that was the point." Vegeta said with a smirk. "They seem to enjoy mocking you."

Bulma nuzzled Ghost to her chest and briskly walked through the crowd, pushing past Storkrin bodies that were sweating under the unusually humid heat of the day. "Do you notice the heat?" she asked him. "I think Ghost needs some water." She paused. "What do these guys eat, anyway?"

"Probably garbage." Vegeta mumbled. "And yes, I noticed the heat. I think it’s just so many bodies together in one area. There are a lot of big, sweaty Storkrins here."

Bulma handed Ghost to Vegeta once more. "Just for a second…" she reached up and undid the zipper at her neck, pulling it down to reveal more than enough cleavage. She reached around and undid the clip in her hair, ruffling her fingers through it. Vegeta hadn’t been sweating, but he was now. She reached for Ghost and smiled gently. "Well? Do you want to keep exploring? Or are you too hungry?"

He fidgeted. If staying here meant that much cleavage, then perhaps it wasn’t so bad after all. "Whatever." He shrugged. "You decide. I’m really too fucking hot to make any decisions right now."

She nodded. "We could get some food." She suggested. "It can’t be that bad."

He retaliated in fear. "That week I spent here all those years ago was horrible because of the food, woman. You might be all excited about it now, but by the time you get up close and personal to that shit of theirs, you’ll change your mind."

* * *

Bulma stared down in horror at the bubbling brown mass that gurgled in the Storkrins frying pan and inwardly admitted that Vegeta had been right.

"What…is it?" she whispered. It had eyeballs. That much she had confirmed. The smell rising off of it wasn’t anything she’d ever smelled before. Being neither appealing nor repulsive, she couldn’t decide if she had the courage to eat it or not. Just when she thought she was going to, the Storkrin cook leaned over and poked the mass, and a bubble burst, close to her face, sending a rising brown steam from what looked like a pimple.

Vegeta leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Don’t."

Ghost seemed all too happy to eat it for her, however. He pumped his stout arms in the air and chirped enthusiastically at the pot. The Storkrin gave him a disapproving look.

"Take your Cheribulum elsssewhere, female." He said.

"I’ll take him wherever the hell I want." She retorted. "Give me a bowl, please." The Storkrin stared at her, surprised, and began scooping large amounts of the brown goo into a round, marble bowl. Ghost wiggled his arms in joy.

"My," Vegeta said from behind her. "I see you’re not taking any more shit."

"I’m tired of it." She said simply. "It’s very rude."

He agreed, secretly pleased that Bulma was starting to crawl out of her ‘lay down and take it’ phase. Perhaps Fortricres had been doing it to her for the first few weeks, but she seemed to be changing. For the better, it seemed. He walked over to her at the nearest table where they both sat down and stared at the bowl. The hissing had died down. Bulma cautiously poked it with her fork. The mass moved. A huge unblinking eyeball rolled into view. Bulma screamed. Ghost flailed and fell off the table. Vegeta laughed hysterically.

She righted herself and punted him in the arm. "Shut up!" she yelled, extracting the fallen Ghost and placing him on her shoulder. "Don’t be so cruel."

"It’s my job, woman."

She pushed the bowl toward him. "You try it first."

"No way," he growled, "am I putting that shit in my body. I’m not going to be your guinea pig."

She sighed and nodded to Ghost, who happily slid down her arm and landed close to the bowl. He stuck his fin-arms in and slurped away at the food. The eyeball mysteriously disappeared from view.

"It wont be a complete waste, then." She said. "He was probably hungry, anyway."

They sat and watched the activities going on around them while Ghost sat and munched contentedly away. The air was growing increasingly hotter, and Bulma pulled the zipper down a few more inches. Vegeta tried not to notice but it was increasingly difficult as she leaned forward on her elbows and looked past him at the revolving display of Storkrin weaponry, affording him a perfect view.

A good few minuets later Ghost chirped up at her. "You done, little guy?" she smiled and pushed the bowl away with a cringe. "Good. I hope you enjoyed it."

"So is it final? Is that creepy little fucker staying in the ship with us?" Vegeta asked as they rose from the table.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he is." She shot back. "He’ll sleep with me."

"Damn rights he will." Vegeta snorted. "And if he tries to crawl into my bed, I’ll break his ugly little face."

Bulma glared at him. "Who’d want to sleep with you?"

An uncomfortable silence suddenly overtook the two. They looked away from each other and Ghost looked from one to the other, chirping in confusion. Bulma cleared her throat.

"It’s getting late. I want to say goodbye to Koru."

The remark was unexpected. "What?" Vegeta spun around to her. "I thought we talked about this."

"We did, but I don’t agree with you." She said quietly. "Please, Vegeta? Just for two seconds? I’ll be really careful."

"Woman…you…" his voice trailed off.

"Please, Vegeta? Think about her down there in the dark, alone…" she looked at her feet. "She’s probably so scared all the time. All her friends are dying…"

"Don’t lay guilt trips on me, woman. It won’t work. Not with this heart."

Bulma looked up sharply. "Don’t you have any compassion?"

"No."

She shook her head. "Look. Two minuets. I swear not a second longer. Please understand this…Vegeta…I feel so sorry for her. I’d feel horrible having such a fun day while she was down there if I didn’t go see her."

He growled. "Fine. But I’m waiting by the path. I refuse to let you get in shit. It’ll complicate things for the both of us."

She smiled. "Thank you."

"Get going." He scowled.

She turned back to the Storkrin cook. "One more bowl, please?"

* * *