Moon Called

A small orange ball with three stars of a darker shade of orange sat in a grassy meadow, gleaming in the starlight. The full moon should have showered light on the ball as well, but the moon had been destroyed several years earlier.

A woman entered the meadow, her long strides so graceful she seemed to be gliding rather than walking. Her pale face had an ageless beauty and her silver-blue eyes seemed to faintly glow with a hidden power. Shimmering black hair fell half way down her back, each strand tipped with silver. She wore a black silk gown, cinched at the waist with a belt set with large moonstones. Black, high-heeled boots completed the outfit.

She knelt beside the dragon ball and withdrew the other six from the pale blue satchel she had had slung across her back.

“Shenron, come grant me my wishes,” she called, rising to her feet. The sky darkened and lightning crackled as the dragon appeared.

“My second wish is for the moon to be surrounded with a protective field which will keep it from ever being destroyed again.”

“Your wish has been granted. Now I bid you farewell.” The dragon disappeared and the sky lightened, revealing the full moon.

Selene, goddess of the moon, spread her arms and gazed up at the source of her power, basking in the energy that crackled through her body. She sent some of that power out to touch all who were affected by the light of the moon.

Soon she would call all of the werelings in the area to her side and the destroyer of the moon would be punished.

Vegeta leaned against the edge of the crib, staring at the small child sleeping within. He had stayed at Capsule Corp. just long enough to make sure that the boy and his mother were healthy before talking off into space to escape the distraction the two caused.

When he had returned, he had spent most of his time at Kami’s sanctuary, either ignoring or insulting the future version of his hybrid son. This was the first time he had really had a chance to get a good look at the boy.

“Who will you be, Trunks?” he whispered, lightly brushing the baby’s cheek with one gloved hand. “The future you was basically an Earthling with Saiyan blood, just like Kakarot’s brat. Will you be like that too, or will my influence make you act more like a Saiyan?

“I think you will still be an Earthling. I’ve been changing ever since I first came to this mud ball with Nappa, and I don’t think I like it. I’m becoming weak and pathetic, just like these Earthlings.”

Things had gotten very confusing for him lately, and it felt good to talk to someone about it. The fact that the person he had decided to confide in couldn’t understand a word he said made it even better in his opinion. He got to bare his soul without anyone knowing.

“When my father and the rest of my people were destroyed, I swore I would never care about anyone ever again. I built a wall so thick that I was able to kill Nappa without a second thought, even though he’d been with me since I was a very young child.

“Your mother managed to crack the wall, and helplessly watching you die shattered it. I don’t know who I am anymore, and every day what it’s like to be a Saiyan slips further and further away.

“I don’t like it here, Trunks. This planet is strange. When I was trying to become stronger than Kakarot, I could ignore it, but he’s gone now. For most of my life, my entire purpose was to destroy Frieza, but Kakarot killed him. Then I wanted to be stronger than Kakarot. Now I have no purpose, nothing I need to accomplish.

“I wish I could leave this place, but I can’t. I can barely even admit it to myself, but I love you and your mother. The two of you are what’s keeping me here. You are my son, and I will protect you from anyone who tries to harm you.”

Vegeta lightly patted the boy on the head and slipped out the door, quietly going to the room he now shared with Bulma. He gazed at her from the doorway, silently admiring her lovely body.

He took a step towards her, then collapsed to his knees with a gasp as a strange wave of energy slammed into him. He shuddered as a weird tingling sensation traveled down his spine, followed by the sound of cloth tearing.

His heart was pounding, his breath was coming in short little pants, and his tail was snapping back and forth behind him.

Waitaminute! he thought, running the words together in his mind, I don’t have a tail anymore. How the hell can I be practically wagging the damn thing if it isn’t there?

Vegeta glanced over his shoulder, and, sure enough, his tail was back and moving like a live thing. He tried to figure out what was going on, but his head felt fuzzy and he had the almost uncontrollable urge to run outside and howl at the sky like a demented idiot.

Vegeta’s attention snapped from his newly regrown tail to the woman, her scent suddenly overpowering. He growled low in his throat and crawled towards the bed with a strangely fluid grace.

“V-Vegeta?” Bulma said nervously, wondering about his bizarre behavior. She scooted backwards when he growled. Then she screamed as he leaped towards her. He stopped her scream by pressing his mouth against her own in a passionate kiss.

She returned the kiss, then pulled back in shock as she felt something soft and furry slip under her nightgown and wrap around her waist. She tried to back away from him, but the thing around her waist held her firmly in place. She lightly stroked it with her fingers.

It’s his tail, she realized as her touch caused him to shudder and moan softly. But Saiyan tails can’t regrow without moonlight.

“Because the moon is,” he answered before lightly nipping at her shoulder. “Someone wished the moon back and is flinging its energy around.”

“Um, shouldn’t we tell the others about the moon and do something about it?” she asked, trying to push him away from her.

“No,” he growled, pulling her close and licking her cheek. “Now be quiet. The full moon is making me feel extremely...um...frisky... and if you don’t shut up and let me concentrate on using what little control I have, I might accidentally hurt you.”

“Oh,” Bulma said. Then she shrugged and started stroking his tail again, which he seemed to like.

“Daddy, nooo!” Gohan screamed, jerking awake. He was panting and tears streamed down his face. It had been a year since his father’s death, but he still had nightmares about that day. He swallowed hard, his throat feeling a little sore from his screaming.

He got up to get a glass of water, then fell to his knees with a gasp as some sort of energy slammed into him. He felt a weird tingling sensation travel down his spine, followed by the intense urge to go outside. He ran out of the house and stared up at the full moon, not even noticing that his tail had grown back.

“Gohan!” Piccolo shouted, staring down at the world from Kami’s Lookout. He glared up at the moon and shot a ki blast at it. A blue aura flared around it, absorbing the blast.

“Damn!” he snarled. Then he flew down towards Earth to get Krillin. The short human’s kienzan discs had proven effective in cutting off Saiyan tails in the past.

Krillin launched yet another kienzan at the giant monkey that had once been Gohan, and missed the tail for the fifteenth time. Gohan seemed to be able to sense the energy discs and move his tail at the last moment.

“I...don’t...think...I can...manage...anymore...of these,” he panted apologetically.

“Damn it!” Piccolo growled. “The only one of us who even comes close to matching Gohan’s power is Vegeta, and if we try to get his help, we’ll just end up with two out of control were-monkeys instead of one.”

“Oh no we won’t,” Krillin said, grinning hugely. “You had already been killed by Nappa by the time Vegeta transformed. He had complete control of himself. Hell, he could even talk.”

Piccolo shot several ki blasts at Gohan, then flew deeper into the wilderness, the transformed boy chasing after.

Krillin landed on the balcony outside of Bulma’s room and was about to knock on the sliding glass door when he saw something through a gap in the curtains. He blushed a brilliant red and turned away. He waited for about twenty minutes before looking back; it was safe now. He knocked on the glass door.

A few minutes later, Bulma opened the door, having slipped her nightgown back on. “What is it, Krillin?” she snapped, looking annoyed.

“Gohan’s tail has grown back and he transformed. The moon can’t be destroyed for some reason, so we need Vegeta’s help to stop him.”

She turned to find Vegeta standing by the closet, holding one of his blue spandex jumpsuits. He used a small ki blast to make a hole for his tail before putting it on. He then slipped into his armor before putting on his gloves and boots. Bulma stripped out of her nightgown and put on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt.

“What do you think you’re doing, woman?” Vegeta growled, frowning at her as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’m going with you,” she said, crossing her own arms. “I’ve known Gohan for a long time, and I want to make sure he doesn’t get hurt.”

“Hmmph. You’re the one most likely to get hurt, but since you’ll no doubt find a way to get there anyway, I might as well take you with me.”

Piccolo cursed as he barely managed to dodge a swipe from one of Gohan’s hands. What the hell is taking them so long? he wondered.

Gohan once again tried to grab Piccolo, but this time the Namek couldn’t get out of the way fast enough. Before the giant were-monkey could wrap his fingers around him, a ki blast stung his hand. Gohan roared in anger and pain, cradling his injured limb to his chest.

“Vegeta!” Piccolo yelled, glaring at the Saiyan prince who had one arm wrapped around Bulma. “What the hell took you so long?”

“What do you mean what me so long?” Vegeta asked, frowning. “I came as soon as baldy here told me about Kakarot’s brat.” (Author’s note: I don’t know when Krillin grew his hair back, but for this story he’s still bald.)

Piccolo glared at Krillin. “Uh...heh...they were...um...sorta busy when I got there,” Krillin explained, once again turning bright red.

At that point, Gohan roared again and swiped at Vegeta, causing Bulma to scream. Vegeta easily dodged the attack and shoved his noisy mate into Piccolo’s arms.

“Are you crazy?! In his transformed state, Gohan is ten times more powerful than normal. You can’t fight him alone!”

“You’re forgetting that I am also ten times more powerful in my transformed state, and I also have complete control of myself,” Vegeta snapped, angry and irritated.

“Hmmph. I can take care of myself, woman,” he muttered as he landed on the ground. He looked up at the moon and allowed the transformation to take place, his stretchy clothing expanding to his new proportions. Gohan roared and charged at Vegeta.

“Stupid brat,” Vegeta rumbled in a deep voice. He lifted one massive fist and slammed it down on the transformed boy’s head, knocking him unconscious. Gohan crumbled to the ground, turning back into a boy just as he hit the ground.

“I told you I could handle him,” Vegeta said, his voice changing in octave and volume as he too went back to his normal form.

Selene frowned slightly, wondering at what she had just felt. When she had shared her power, she had brushed against the usual werewolves and assorted werefelines, then she had touched two alien presences. One had been extremely powerful, but young and very inexperienced. He had been completely under the moon’s power. The other one, however, had been able to easily resist its influence.

Common sense told her to only use the young one for her revenge against the moon destroyer, but she had never been able to resist a challenge.