___Chapter 12___

Vegeta had been absorbed by the song. Everything was as perfect as it had ever been at that moment. Piccolo was not dead, he was behind him, playing the drums and nearly smiling his face off. The audience was great, noone cared that the two didn't, and refused to sing. The crowd here were the general ones who hung around the bar, and they weren't here for the music in particular. They came for good, cheap drinks. That's what Goku sold, so this is where they came. But... according to Goku, some of the patrons only were there when Piccolo + Vegeta were playing.

The sayian loved this feeling for some strange reason he couldn't define- this feeling of power he got when he played his wordless music, knowing that his best friend in the world was right behind him, and that the two of them were being seen for who and how they really were, not as some freaks. They had gotten to know this crowd, and were actually friends with a couple of them. The atmosphere this night seemed exactly the same as any other. The only difference now was that Vegeta had no urge to smash the instrument he was holding. There was something special he sensed in it that stopped him.

He did not notice Oboe walk in or sit down. Only when the song ended did he snap into reality.

His face was of confusion for a second, but then he remembered where and when he was. He was sitting on a bed in Oboe's house with Piccolo's guitar in his hands. Oboe was sitting down, smiling sadly at him. Piccolo was dead, his body lying behind him. There was no bar, no crowd of familiar faces cheering him on... the only real part of that whole song had been the music, and his best friend's guitar in his small hands.

{{All an illusion...}} Vegeta thought quietly as he lay the instrument on his lap. Vegeta sighed softly, and traced his fingers across the embossed writing on it's edges.

"Ok, that was weird." said the sayian, still not looking up.

"You know Vegeta, " said Oboe with the slightest tint of sadness in her eyes, "for a second there, I thought you were him."

Vegeta stood up, placed the guitar back on the wall, and said "Noone could ever be like him." Then he looked at her, and said "And there's something I've been meaning to ask you. About Lute."

Oboe looked up, and said "You mean his origin?"

Vegeta nodded weakly.

"Well, he's one strange kid. He wasn't born like any of us were. He just... became. It's hard to describe. The last time the whole gang was together seven years ago, that night... as we, Piccolo and I, flew off to the mountains, he just laughed out loud for no reason. I asked him what was wrong, and he just smiled and said 'We've been married for what, two years? And you don't even have a house yet? Well, I'm gonna fix that!' And that very night, he started building it. Sometimes he would work all day and all night, but sometimes he would just collapse on the spot and fall asleep."

"Why didn't Piccolo just ask for help!? I would have helped! Why is he so stubborn?" Vegeta exclaimed angrily.

Oboe continued the story, saying "He didn't want to tell anyone until he finished. He wanted to make it by himself. I could scarcely get Piccolo to accept MY help for some things. Anyway, it took him a year to make this house."

The sun was beginning to set, and the two could see it out the window- the perfect view, only interrupted by a large flat-topped stone and some mountains far in the distance.

"See that slab of rock over there? When he was finally finished, it was just around this time, the sun falling into the mountains. We were sitting together out there, watching the sunset. Everything was perfect. The world was beautifully at peace, the house was done, it was warm and... *sighs* Utterly perfect. And we were together. That was possibly the closest we had ever been. I had been watching the sun fall into the mountains, but then I looked over, and Piccolo's face looked really strange. I looked down, and saw there was energy or something coming from our joined hands and going to the spot between us. Then there was a flash of light, and the next thing I saw was Lute, sitting between us with the silliest little look on his tiny face. We would have told you all about him earlier, but, we got preoccupied with everything, and only when Goku sent out that message to come to the tower for a reunion did we really remember you didn't know yet."

Vegeta picked up the picture of Lute. "Oh.. I had no clue what to expect when I asked you that. Actually, I expected to get slapped across the face and thrown into the wall. Something as weird as that I didn't expect."

Oboe smiled, slightly laughed, and shook her head

"No Vegeta, nothing like THAT happened."

Vegeta looked away so she couldn't see the embarrassed look oh his face. She laughed, and said "You know, it's getting late. You should go down and call everyone in. You guys can stay in the living room, I guess. But Trunks, Dendea, and Goten are going to stay with Lute. Seems they became friends. And I asked Gohan to watch over them, make sure they don't get too loud. We all need our rest. It's off to Nameksei tomorrow." Oboe sighed, closed her eyes, and slid her hand over to touch Piccolo's.

Vegeta nodded and was about to leave when he said "I've also been wondering- why is his body still here?"

Oboe looked up again, and replied "Because I don't want it to go. When he comes back, I want him to be home, not in some barren lonely place. He's going to be gone long enough. I want to see him as soon as we come back."

With that, Vegeta left.