___Chapter 17___

The air was strangely silent, but not that frightening silence that makes one think of dead things. It was a sweet silence, and a warm wind blew by gently as Oboe peered outside into the bright, namekian sunshine.

A familiar site greeted her as she stared out at the valley they had landed. Oboe's eyes flew wide, in the greatest shock she had ever felt, as she stumbled out into the valley. This place.... It had been where she and her two best friends had played as children.

Oboe laid on her back and stared up in wonder as she recognized soo many little things, tiny details that were forever burnt into her childhood memory...

The gentle slope of the valley sides with the big rocks sheltering and shading it, the single little tree growing in the very center, the smooth, silky texture of the grass, the places the flowers grew...

"FLOWERS!!!" Oboe screamed aloud. She leapt up from her spot and clasped her hands around one of the blossoms in question, a beautiful pink plant with large petals. She trembled as it's name arose in her memory.

The adjica.

She sat up and stared around her, an utter childlike joy filling her whole being. The adjica. It was really the adjica. Oboe had cried when she had learned that the plant had been totally stripped from her home. And now there she sat, in her favorite place in the whole world, and it was still as beautiful and innocent as it had been when she was a little girl.

"At least some things in life are sacred...." Oboe whispered as she leant back against the side of the ship, her eyes closed in a blissful peace, the most complete peace she had known since she had left her home. The beautiful silence filled her ears, and she twined her hand gently into the velvety blue/green grass.

{{So peaceful.... I almost expect to see Palidor and Damaiou running up to ask me to play...}}

Her train of thought was broken when Gohan and Vegeta walked out of the ship, and called out her name. She stood, slowly, and walked up to them. Before abandoning her spot though, she patted the grass lovingly, and whispered "Oh Piccolo... You don't know what you missed, growing up on earth..."

---

Lute was sitting on top of the ship, astonished with all he was seeing. {{So THIS is where mom grew up.... cool.}} he whispered in his head as he stared out at the green sky with it's wispy yellow clouds.

Then he saw his mother appear, and he leapt down. She smiled at him, and placed her hand on his little head.

"Yo, where've you been?" Gohan asked upon seeing Oboe.

"Thinking. Remembering. It has been a long time since I've seen this place." she said as she picked Lute up and hoisted him on her shoulders. The two smiled at each other, and began to laugh.

"Mom..."

Oboe glanced back at Lute.

"Mom, what am I going to do this whole time?"

"You'll be our lookout! You can watch the ship for us, and make sure nothing happens to it."

"Ok."

Lute hopped off his mom's shoulders, stood in front of the ship, and saluted. Gohan and Oboe both smiled. Vegeta remained silent, looking away with back turned and arms crossed.

{{This is no time for laughing. We've got something to go, and we're damn well gonna do it.}} he scowled in his mind. "Come on! Move your asses people! We should be getting busy!"

Gohan glanced with slight annoyance at the sayian, said goodbye to Lute, and walked up to Vegeta, yelling back "He's right Oboe. The sooner we start looking, the sooner we can get Piccolo back!"

Oboe touched her hands to her earrings, closed her eyes, and whispered "Wait a sec." Then she whispered something softly and an opaque ribbon of blue energy grew like a vine, surrounding her and hugging to her body like a second skin. A sphere of white energy encased her, and exploded in a flash of light.

---

Vegeta blinked and coughed as the dust cleared and his sight returned.

When he saw the spot where Oboe had been standing, he was rather confused for a second. The namek he saw looked like Oboe, but Vegeta could tell easily it was a guy.

"How'd it go? Am I convincing enough?" said Oboe as she glanced at herself, and walked over to Gohan and Vegeta. She looked sort of like Neru, but her features were softer, and she was still an inch shy of seven feet. She still had her old voice, but it was sufficiently different.

Vegeta glanced at the ring on her arm and her earrings. "Are you sure you should wear that jewelry?"

Oboe's hand flew protectively to her ring. "I need the earrings to stay transformed, and I'm never taking this off. He gave it to me when we were married." she said defiantly.

Gohan looked at her and said "You've gotta do whatever you can to try and fit in Oboe. The smallest thing could give your secret away. Then it would be ALOT harder to do this. If you won't listen to me, listen to yourself. Your heart knows what is best. Trust it."

Oboe sighed. She knew Gohan was right. Slowly, and almost painfully it seemed, she slipped it off her arm. She touched a hand to her earring, and was encased in a white light as she assumed her normal form (once she uses a form, she can regain it easily). Oboe stared at her little trinket longingly, and turned to face Lute.

"Sweetheart, please watch this for me while I'm gone. You know how important it is to me." she said softly, placing the ring in her son's hands. He nodded, not saying a word as his mother ran to join the others.

Lute watched them walk off, sighed at the thought of missing such an adventure, and waltzed back into the ship to drop the ring on his anocha's bed. Then he went back outside, flew to the top of the ship, and watched the clouds. {{This is a pretty cool place...}} he thought silently as he watched the word go slowly by...