HALLOWEEN:

“Trick-or-Treat?!” came the squeals of the excited children outside the doors to the Capsule Corporation building.

“Oooooh, you all look really scary!” The lovely blue-haired lady replied, smiling at the children as she dropped the sinful chocolate treats into the outstretched baskets and pillowcases. “Happy Halloween!!” she waved, smiling at the disappearing kids.

She was dressed in an outfit that was supposed to be like a fairy of some sort, but her mate had scoffed at it, saying it made her look like a sickly moth. Snorting inwardly, she wondered what his reaction would be when she would finally drop the bombshell on him. Shutting the door, she skipped lightly into the large living room decorated with mostly orange and black Halloween accessories and called out for her little one.

“Yo! Trunks-kun!! Come on out!! Mommy wants to take your picture now!!”

She frowned in growing annoyance, as no reply was heard. Raising her voice louder, she placed hands on her hips and yelled out again,

“Trunks Briefs!! You better get out here, before I decide to scratch out trick or treating tonight!!”

Shuffling feet were heard as a little Power Ranger made its way slowly into the room.

From within the masked head, a mumbled complaint was heard,

“Mom…please, can’t I wear something else? I hate the Power Rangers!”

“Too bad, Trunks! You will just have to wear that or no trick-or-treating! Got it?! Now smile for mommy….oh, you better take that mask off. I can’t see your cute face.”

Trunks groaned in misery and took off the offending headwear, smiling weakly at his mother’s beaming face. His misery became tenfold as his father walked into the room and began going into guffaws of laughter at the scene before him.

“Kami! Onna, you are surely not going to let that brat go out like that, are you?!”

“Well, Vegeta, you don’t see me complaining about your spandex now, do you?!” she snorted back, eyeing the blue tank top with matching pants that seemed to fit the small man like a second skin.

“I wear it because it is comfortable!” He snapped angrily.

“Yeah, yeah! Whatever! Just remember that you have to be ready for later this evening.” She replied, grinning, at the expected response that was forthcoming.

“Nani?! What do I have to be ready for?!” Vegeta scowled, not liking the look of smugness on the woman’s face.

“Oh…remember…Goku and Goten are coming over and you are going to join them, with Trunks, to go trick or treating! And there is no backing out of it, Vegeta!! Or I swear that Gravity room is going to be in pieces!” She finished; folding her arms in triumph, as the man opened and shut his mouth like a fish for several minutes. Spinning on her heels, she began walking into the kitchen, intent on finishing her Halloween dinner.

“No way, Onna!! I refuse to go anywhere with any of those people!!” He screamed in frustration, as he stalked angrily after her, finally finding his voice.

“Those people involve your son, Vegeta! Think of how crushed he will be if you don’t take him out to have some fun.”

“The Prince of all Saiyans does not have fun. And neither is his offspring!! And I am most definitely not going to go with that bakayaro, Kakkarot and his midget replica of a brat!!”

As if on cue, a loud knocking was heard. “OH! Must be them now!” She exclaimed dramatically, running past the scowling man and opening up the front door.

“Hiya, Bulma!!” enthused the man at the doorway, dressed as Count Dracula, complete with matching fangs, the illusion only flawed by the tell-tale spiky locks. Noticing the look the woman directed to his head, he shrugged sheepishly and grinned. “Hey, couldn’t get the hair down for some reason.”

“You look awesome, Goku! And so do you, Goten!” She said, smiling at the small-sized vampire.

“Thanks, Bulma. Where is Trunks? I wanna see how cool his outfit is!”

“Oh, he is in the living room, sulking….” She stopped as the boy rushed past her and went in search of his best friend.

“Where’s uum…Vegeta?” Goku asked, as he walked into the house. “Has he changed his mind about trick or treating with us?”

“What else do you expect from the ‘Prince of all Saiyans’” Bulma said, deepening her voice and imitating Vegeta’s raspy voice. “The Prince does not have fun, so he will not go with all you mere mortals….”

Goku tried to make Bulma shut up, making silencing gestures in the air, since the person being spoken about was currently in the room about to burst a vein in anger.

“Oh, hey, Vegeta!” He finally spoke up, watching as Bulma spun around, grinning sheepishly. “Uum…aren’t you going trick or treating with us?”

“I do not go trick or treating, Kakkarrot!” Vegeta snapped curtly, glaring daggers at the taller man.

Squirming under the uncomfortable glare, Goku shifted from one foot to the other and met Bulma’s eyes, silently pleading.

“He is going, Goku. He has no say in the matter. Come on, boys!! Time to go!!” She yelled as Trunks and Goten flew towards the front door in excitement.

“Onna…”

“Now, remember, no candy from strangers and if you get to dark alleys, put on your flashlights!! Now, go out there and have some major, ghoulish fun!” She said, pushing all the men out, including the very, very upset-looking Vegeta.

Shutting the door behind her, she leaned wearily against it and sighed,

“Phew! I hope he doesn’t kill Goku by the time this thing is over. Oh, well…I have dinner to prepare.”

And humming beneath her breath, she danced into the kitchen with thoughts of chocolate treats for dessert.

~*~*~*~*~

Vegeta strolled behind the excited trio in front of him, mumbling curses under his breath as he watched their childish antics, especially the antics of the ‘supposed’ older chaperone. For the love of all things right and just, Kakkarrot was acting even worse than the brats. The tall man seemed more excited at all the treats they got from the houses they had visited and Vegeta had watched as he had charmed the pants off everyone they had come across. For goodness sake! The guy was dressed as something that was supposed to scare off people, but somehow, he drew more people to him. Their baskets were nearly at bursting point with all the candies and miniature toys they had already gotten, and Vegeta had tried, unsuccessfully, to get them all back home. Somehow, there always seemed to be one more house that had not been visited yet.

~ At this rate, we are sure to visit the entire blasted city. ~ He thought angrily.

“Hey, Vegeta! We are going over to the next house! You can wait for us out here if you like!” Goku yelled, already heading up towards the house that seemed to be on some sort of hill.

“Fine, Kakkarrot! I will just wait here and count flying ghosts or something!” Vegeta replied sarcastically, leaning against the iron-wrought gates. Shutting his eyes, he frowned, as several children suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

“Trick or treat?!!” they chimed happily, raising their baskets.

Vegeta opened up an eye and smirked in devilish glee. ~ Hn. This is supposed to be a scary night, ne? ~ And with that, he suddenly, bared his canines and with a loud,

“GRRRR….RUN, YOU LITTLE BRATS, BEFORE I MAKE YOU MY DINNER!! MWAHAHAHA!!”

“AAHHHHH!!!” The children screamed in fear as Vegeta folded his hands and grinned at the fleeing kids. For the first time that night, he felt a bit relaxed and craning his neck around, he spied the excited trio again, already making their way towards some more houses down the street. Cursing under his breath at the thought of Kakkarrot not telling him where he was heading to, he began striding briskly towards the disappearing group.

“Kuso! Wait for me, Kakkarrot! I am supposed to be with you, ne? Argghh!!”

~*~*~*~*~

“Whoa, dad! We really got a lot of candy at that house, didn’t we?” Goten asked, already stuffing some of the éclairs into his mouth.

“We sure did, son!” Goku said, grinning as he stuffed his mouth as well. Finally, noticing that Trunks was eerily quiet, he turned towards the lavender-haired boy.

“What’s the matter, Trunks?” he asked.

“I don’t see my dad. He was supposed to be by the gates, right?” Trunks asked, looking quizzically at Goku.

“Uum...yeah….” Goku replied, beginning to walk down the hill and towards the iron gates. Sure enough, there was no sign of Vegeta anywhere. Frowning, he tried to see if the smaller man was around the vicinity. Nothing. Concentrating, he focused in on the prince’s ki and was puzzled to find that it was somehow nonexistent.

“Do you know where he is, Goku-san?” Trunks asked, really beginning to get worried.

Goku was plenty worried, too. It wasn’t like Vegeta to just take off like that without telling them, well….that wasn’t really true. But still, this was supposed to be a time when they should all be together, and he couldn’t have gone back to Capsule Corp. His ki wasn’t there.

~ Maybe he is masking it. So, we aren’t able to sense him. ~

But somehow that didn’t seem right to him. Looking into the worried faces of the kids in his care, he plastered on a grin and spoke cheerfully,

“Hey, don’t worry! I think we can go look for your dad. Uum…let’s go that way!” He finished lightly, taking each boy’s hand and heading off into the barely lit streets of the city.

*~*~*~*~

Vegeta was really, REALLY, pissed off at this point. He had practically been running after Kakkarrot and the brats, yelling for them to stop and somehow he was being ignored. If there was one thing that Vegeta could not stand, it was being ignored. He hissed in an angry breath as they disappeared, yet, around another corner. Gritting his teeth, he ran after them and screeched to a stop, as they seemed to have vanished into thin air. There was no sign of the tall, caped man and his two companions. Spinning around frantically, he began to take in his surroundings for the first time since the chase. He was in some sort of street. But this was no ordinary street, instead of the usual high-rise modern buildings that graced the city he was familiar with; he now looked at dingy, crowded buildings. The streets looked as if they were made with cobbled stone and instead of the usual high-powered lamps, poorly lit electrical lights were situated at different locations on the ghostly streets.

Yes, ghostly, for there was no one in sight. Vegeta was right in the middle of nowhere. There were no laughing voices, no screeches from blaring cars or horns, no music, no people, nothing. Shivering lightly, he began walking slowly down the street, looking carefully at his surroundings. Something was definitely wrong with this picture. Feeling his mouth go dry and his body tremble in the first signs of panic, he rounded another corner and came face-to-face with something that made his blood run cold.

~ Nani?! What the hell is going on? ~

In front of him stood a carriage with a single black stallion attached to it. It looked like it was relatively new and Vegeta reached out his hands to touch the insignia on the side-doors. ~ The Royal House! The Symbol! ~

“Would you like a ride, Vegeta no Ouji?”

Vegeta spun around at the deep voice and sucked in much-needed air, as he looked into the eyes of one he knew so well.

“S..SS..evan?!” He stuttered out in confusion. What the hell was one of his father’s royal subjects doing here?!

The tall, dark-haired Saiyan nodded and bowed gracefully at Vegeta’s feet.

“Come, Ouji-sama! The party awaits!”

“P..P..Party?!!”

“Yes! Oh, mighty and great prince! The party you requested. Surely you remember, my lord?” Sevan said, smiling at the puzzled look on the other’s face.

Vegeta felt his head spinning. ~ What is…what is…happening to me? ~

“Yes…yes…I remember the party now. Yes…” He mumbled out as he felt himself being led into the carriage. “Take me to the party….Sevan…I don’t want to be late.”

“As you wish, Vegeta no Ouji.”

Making sure that his prince was settled in nicely within the luxurious pillows, he got unto the carriage and with a loud cry; the lanky Saiyan warrior sped off into the dense fog that seemed to lead to nowhere.