Summer came early this year. It was already blistering hot. People were experiencing the delightful goodness of an ice-cream cone in shades and shorts. Everyone was out with their families, having a picnic, or shopping in the air-conditioned malls trying to cool down or distract themselves from the heat strokes that some were experiencing.
Nothing was out of the usual. At least that's what they thought!
Goku went with his family to the park for a nice picnic like any other half-Saiyan half-human family would do. The Namekian joined them as well. He preferred to keep his body cool, way back under the shadow of the trees. He wasn't a fan of the sunny season.
Goku set the picnic blanket, while Chichi, his wife, placed the basket in the middle. They both sat down with a simper on both their faces. Goku was mostly excited to eat whatever was in that basket, while his wife cherished the seconds they spent together, for she always wanted an alone time with her beloved husband. Alas they were alone with the Namekian. She understood Goku's desire to spend the day with him as well, so she didn't grumble about it. The Namekian watched from afar as Goku called him over.
"Get it while it's still hot!" he said.
"I don't know why I'm even here," he responded with his back leaned against the tree, "I should've spent these couple hours doing something else."
"Meditation can wait," Chichi commented. She welcomed him with a beam.
Piccolo nodded in agreement, and took a step forward; his feet were seconds away from the sun. While studying the distance between him and the light he took a deep breath as if he was going to jump into the sea and moved forward. The sun didn't bother him as he came from a planet with three suns and no nights, it's the heat that came with it that he abhorred. And the minute he stepped into the sun he felt the Goosebumps rushing down his skin. The irritation from the heat soon followed and then came his internal screams.
On his way there, a little child was strolling next to him. Piccolo noticed her, but he didn't seem to care. The little girl tripped by her tall dress and fell. However, before she could reach the ground, she had a strong grip on the Namekian's white pants. Her mother rushed over and held her up. Piccolo froze in motion and turned his gaze to his now pink-stained pants. In antipathy, he knew that the little girl was eating something and didn't wash her hands. He turned around ready to head home, "I've seen enough of this park," he growled to himself, but his friend called again caused him to rethink his decision.
"Piccolo," said Goku, "It's just ice-cream". In misery, the Namekian shifted and dashed towards the couple fast before any other accident could occur. He crossed his hands as he sat down, and stared in agony at what used to be his white pants. He frowned looking away accepting his lame destiny.
"Glad you finally made it. It took you forever," Chichi said sarcastically.
"I'm starving, what did you cook for us?" Goku questioned enthusiastically, he glanced inside the basket impatiently imagining the goodness he'd eat today. It was quite a big basket; it took a little while for Chichi to mention what she has prepared, she knew that the way to her husband's heart is through his stomach.
Piccolo looked at the cloudless sky, and thought under his breath:
"I wonder how Vegeta is spending his day. I can't believe Bulma convinced him to quit training today and go to the mall with her. How did she do it?"
"I can't believe you convinced me to quit training today and come to the mall with you," Vegeta told Bulma. She giggled with pleasure.
"Isn't it great?" she asked, "You get to do anything in this place. You can dine, walk and even watch a movie, not to mention the cool breeze in here. Besides it's too hot to train," she added.
"All I see is naked screaming children," he commented without exaggeration.
"It's because we're in the toy store," Bulma excused the running, aimlessly screaming, enthusiastic, half naked little ones.
"That's not an excuse for them to strip," Vegeta explained. He started wondering why anyone would come to a mall. Was it for the air-conditioner, or was it to buy useless junk? As he called it, whatever the reason may be he still thinks it was a wrong idea to come here.
"We didn't find any cool stuff in here," His young son said as he ran towards his father alongside his friend, Goten.
"I need to buy some pantyhose. I'll be right back," his wife said as she marooned away from the Saiyan. He himself looked at his only son, his gaze shifted from his left to his right. Trunks was quite puzzled.
"Is there something wro…" before he could continue his father cut him off by asking:
"Where's your sister?" Trunks looked at Goten who was also vexed. They both contemplated around them expecting to find a little brilliant girl with blue hair and big goofy eyes. But their expectations were terribly wrong. Vegeta was infuriated.
"You lost your sister?" he yelled. "How do you lose a baby girl?" They both looked down in shame and in silence until Goten spoke:
"You forget to cherish her," his comment made Vegeta suspire deeply ad ferociously.
"I'll look for her. Stay here." The prince growled.
Both boys didn't stop Vegeta from going in; they had no will or motivation on going in there again. They detested that place as much as Vegeta did.
"Here come the naked kids again." Vegeta sighed. He slowly ushered himself in through the toys and the unsupervised children. It was quite dim inside with the scent of bread and cheese.
As he was wondered around in this horrid maze of kids he called after his baby girl.
"Bra. Bra it's your dad," he said. He could barely hear himself through the queer noises of shrieking and hollering children, "I can barely hear myself, damn it!" he added in outrage.
"I lost my mommy," he heard a voice from underneath him. He looked down only to see a young girl clutched tightly onto his pants.
"You're not Bra." He commented in a confused and disgusted tone. The little girl seemed very upset; she was wiping her tears and snot against his clothes.
"I want my mom!" she yelled right before she released another scream. Vegeta gazed around for an adult who might be her mother. He came to conclusion that he was the only one who dressed himself this morning (there were no other adults). Vegeta was getting stressed by her weeping. So he gently pushed her away and gave her a teddy bear he had found on the greasy ground.
"Trunks when I get out of here I swear I'll make sure every bone in your body breaks from exhaustion." he muttered under his breath. He had never imagined himself he would be in a horrifying place looking for his lost daughter in a sea of screams and tantrums.
He felt the clutch of a clawed demon on his leg again, this time it was tighter. He looked down only to find the same girl. Her hands were tied around his ankle and her body was resting on the ground as she was continuously kicking her legs.
"Stop doing that." he said almost in a high tone. He felt the urge to finish his own life at the moment. He wasn't able to blast, fly, and kick anyone.
"I want my mommy!" she yelled again in a higher tone, "I lost her. Get me my mommy!"
"I don't know where your mommy is," Vegeta replied, "and apparently I don't give a f…" he was finally reminded that he was among young and innocent children "a frick frack. Go look for her," The little girl stared at him, as if to take a break before she broke another wave of tears.
"Bra! Bra! Bra!" he yelled continuously. No one answered. He felt the anger boiling inside of him and the fact that he wasn't able to express it made him tear a little bit.
His eyes shifted from one angle to another, he was limping because of the little girl on his leg. His eyes lied on a little girl playing with her Barbie doll calmly enjoying herself. He knew she was his daughter. He limped faster towards her and held her up.
"Daddy, who's that?" she asked innocently pointing at the weeping girl on his leg.
"I don't know, let's get out of here." He said to himself rather than her and walked away with increased rapidity through the running kids. They were like roaches, moving fast, munching on food they just found on the ground, all stepping on Vegeta's feet. "Where are your clothes damn it!" he added while dashing through.
The lights were bright on his royal face; he knew that the suffering was over. He triumphantly was able to walk out there alive and in one piece.
"Hey, you found her." Trunks said beaming; his father gave him a death glare as he helped his daughter back on her feet. He realized he's in a big trouble.
"Umm…Vegeta, who's that?" Goten dared himself and asked the outraged Saiyan about the one who's clutched onto him.
"Here, find her mother" he commanded rather calmly and pushed her towards the flummoxed boys.
She indulged in the coziness of her space pod. She was about to wake up after a three day nap. Her flight was going smooth and easy until an alarm went off. She opened one eye and looked straight at the motherboard; she grinned in satisfaction and closed her eye again.
Her space pod broke into the planet's atmosphere in rapid speed. It fell like a meteor into a deserted wasteland. The door opened letting in the exotic air. Without hesitation, she took her first step out in five months.
"Goku, did you feel that?" Piccolo asked. Goku dropped the watermelon slice he was devouring and kept quiet for a moment. Chichi was all so vexed and naively concerned.
"I just did," he replied with sulky expressions.
"What's wrong?" Chichi asked. The Saiyan and the Namakian got up and rushed away. Goku made sure his wife arrived home safely, then he hurried alongside Piccolo to the source of that energy they felt.
"Thank you so much young man," the mother of the lost little child said while pinching Trunks's cheeks.
"No need to thank me. It's a good thing my father found her, she was wandering lost in the toy store earlier." he elucidated with his cheeks turning fifty shades of red. The woman grabbed her daughter's hand and swiftly marooned.
The boy turned back to face his father who was obviously abstracted.
"Dad, is everything okay?" he asked. His father's quietness pierced a great deal of concern into him.
"Find your mother and go home. Hold your sister; don't let them out of your sight." The prince commanded with utmost seriousness, "Goten you should go home as well. I'll be right back." And without explaining his behavior he took off. He seemed very determined and disturbed in some level. Trunks didn't dare and question his orders. He went off looking for his mother.
Glancing at the bromidic place, she flew up high taking a better view of it. She was neither amused nor impressed.
"It's not what I thought it would be, but it'll have to do." She said to herself. Her short black hair was dancing gently by the dry wind that blew from the west; she had a scouter on her left brown eye. The woman wore the traditional female Saiyan armor without the shoulder pads, and underneath it she wore an orange one-wear, with white ankle boots.
Goku, Piccolo and Vegeta were on their way to the wasteland. All the way there they didn't speak, they were distressed by their own thoughts. The despondency of their mood made Goku worry more than he ought to be. He wasn't mindful of what they might face, he was able to feel its power level, and it was high enough for him to feel it all the way from the park. He glanced at both Piccolo and Vegeta speculating whether they knew what it was or not. He turned his gaze back in front, for he found no answer upon their expressionless faces.
Piccolo flew fast until they reached the desert. The power level kept rising and rising, the more it rose the more it bothered him. Even though he was concerned he wasn't frightened at all. With Vegeta, Goku and himself together, he had a feeling that nothing will harm them.
As for Vegeta, he was more curious than disturbed. The power level that kept rising made the adrenalin spread inside his body, he made sure not to show it. It's been a while since he last fought anyone; he thought it was a great opportunity for him to put his training into test. Unlike the other two, he was a bit excited.
The three finally managed to arrive after covering a great deal of land; they gazed at the woman flying in mid air as she tried regaining her full power level. The three got ready for any surprise attack. They clutched their teeth together hoping to get this over with.
As the woman was gaining her power level an unexpected fist appeared upon her. It punched her in the face sending her flying back and crashing into a small, rocky mountain in the distance. The Saiyan was quite proud of himself as he flashed a smirk on his face. Goku and Piccolo were not amused, they didn't approve on his move. Goku flew in front of Vegeta who was ready to blast the foreigner. Vegeta looked at him in annoyance.
"Kakarot, move or I'll blast you as well," he said as he raised his hand in front of Goku's face ready to attack.
"We don't even know who that is," Goku responded, "for all we know she might be good". His words didn't convince the excited prince.
"I'm not going to stand by waiting for her to slaughter everyone just so you could know how evil she is," he said with determination, he wasn't thinking of taking any risk.
"Vegeta, give us a chance to talk to her, Goku, is right." Piccolo said loudly and flew next to Goku. Vegeta's hesitation was getting the best of him, but after a while of thinking, he lowered his hand and said:
"You have five minutes." Goku nodded and flew straight into the hole in the mountain expecting to find a woman lying there probably unconscious, but no one was there. It wasn't long till he heard Piccolo calling over him in alarm. He turned around only to see the woman, continuously, attempting to punch the Namekian. She was quite fast with her plunks, and he was scarcely able to dodge all of them. She punched in rhythm but Piccolo feared that he might lose it and get knocked. Vegeta watched from afar trying to keep his promise by not interfering for five minutes in hopes they can reason with her.
Piccolo tried attacking her but she didn't give him the chance to do so, until he finally was able to use both his fists and hit her from the top of her head, leading her to the ground. Goku hurried and took the chance to pin her down. He still believed it is possible to reason with her. She seemed very furious at what had happened to her.
Lying on the ground helped her catch her breath again. She smirked as she stared at Goku's serious expressions.
"We don't want to harm you." He said, unintentionally making her laugh. And then coolly spoke:
"To be honest, I'm mostly worried about you. I think you'll suffer the most," she said keeping her smirk on and satisfying herself with the word 'suffer' as if it were a dessert that she couldn't wait to feast on. The fact that she was pinned down did not concern her; she certainly didn't doubt her abilities. She then said:
"I never thought this planet came with a price. I thought all Saiyans had died, apparently I was wrong." she added as she kicked Goku away as hard as she could, he was able to land on his feet. She jumped into the air gaining aerial advantage. She stretched both her arms out, aiming them at him. A white red-ish energy beam came shooting out of her palms and straight at Goku. He was able to dodge before he became crispy. The beam was as bright as the sun, blinding them for a brief second. They quickly looked around with squinty, watery eyes. Piccolo stared at Vegeta from afar, wondering if their time was up, he hoped it was. To Piccolo, she didn't seem like a person that would be patient enough to listen.