DBGT: Mind Games
By: Jodi Lynn Barrett
© 2004 Original Author of Dragon Ball GT: Akira Toriyama
Trunks had been forced to go shopping with his mother, Bulma. It was getting late and the sky began to get dark. The lights illuminated one by one around the large shopping center. This mall was Chi Chi's, Pan's, and his mother's favorite place to shop. It was very big and had every store imaginable woven into an intricate web of hallways.
Bulma was not even close to being finished shopping, when they ran into Gohan, who was on his way to the electronics store.
"Oh, hey Trunks." Gohan said.
"Hey, where are you headed to?" Trunks asked.
"The electronics store. Just gotta pick up a thing or two."
"Mind if I go with?" Trunks asked desperately.
Gohan could see the desperation in his eyes and agreed. "Sure, as a matter of fact I will probably need your help." Gohan lied.
"Well, I'll see ya at home mom." Trunks said waving goodbye to Bulma. When she was out of earshot Trunks said, "Thanks Gohan. I'm sure she would have had me out all night. Now I see why dad disappears when mom says she's going shopping. And she can't stand to shop alone for some strange reason. Do you know how many pairs of shoes she bought today?"
"Sounds like you had a rough day." Gohan said with a chuckle. Just as he finished his sentence, a young woman literally ran into him. She was moving so fast she nearly knocked Gohan over but
Gohan regained his balance. The woman on the other hand was not so lucky. She stumbled and tried to catch her self, but failed miserably and landed right on her face. The young woman was about five foot two with blackish brown hair and deep brown eyes that filled with pain when she hit the concrete. Gohan felt a little responsible for the fall and rushed over to help her up.
"Hey, are… Are you ok?" He said helping the girl up.
"Yeah thank you. I'm really sorry. I really have to go." The girl said hastily, and started to rush off again, but before she could get anywhere, there was an explosion of noise behind them.
A group of about four men were at a full run in Gohan's general direction. Judging by their appearance, the men looked to be fighters and they did not seem to be too happy.
The girl looked panicked and scrambled around the corner of the building. Gohan knew she was heading for a dead end and he and Trunks followed her.
"Hey what's going on? Why are they chasing you?" Gohan called after her.
She stopped at the dead end and turned to face Gohan who had been right behind her. She looked around Gohan and Trunks and saw the men had now stopped running. They saw her and they could see the dead end as well, so there was no reason to run, they had her cornered.
"Well, well missy looks like you have some friends. How unfortunate for them." One of the men said.
Clearly, this guy was not on the side of good. Gohan cracked his knuckles. "Well Trunks, it looks like we are out numbered."
Trunks nodded with a smile. "Yeah, this'll be fun. You take the two on the left, and I'll take the two on the right." Trunks said.
"Those poor fools, they don't know what they're getting into. Now men, lets show them." The same man said. He appeared to be the 'head of the pack' so to speak.
The men charged at Gohan and Trunks. The girl stood shocked behind them. Gohan and Trunks had all four men on the ground in no time. The lead man stood up rubbing his jaw.
"Who are you?" The man said sounding horrified.
Gohan smiled. "I'm Gohan, son of Goku, and I am a martial artist."
The man took a few steps back and said, "Don't think you've won. We'll be back." He said running off. The other men followed him.
Gohan turned to the girl, but before he could open his mouth, she interrupted.
"What do you want?"
"You're welcome." Gohan said.
"I didn't want to get anyone else involved. Especially you two." She said.
"Well that's what we do, we help… Wait you know us?" Trunks asked.
"Gohan son of Chi Chi and Goku, and Trunks son of Vegeta and Bulma. I know all about you two. And you shouldn't have gotten involved." She said crossing her arms.
"Gotten involved in what exactly?" Gohan asked.
"That doesn't concern you. Just get out of here before he comes!" She said to the two Saiyans.
"Huh? He? Who's he?" Trunks asked.
"Urrgh! Just LEAVE!" She yelled running out of the dark alleyway into the lamp-lit street.
Gohan and Trunks stared after her with clearly baffled expressions on their faces. Both of them blinked twice in unison, then they just stared at each other blankly.
Trunks straitened out his black, long-sleeved shirt and looked back at the end street where the woman had gone. She had vanished into the darkness.
It was now completely dark out and the sky was sparkling with stars. It was a beautiful night and Trunks couldn't help but wonder how it could be so calm and clear.
"So… Should we go after her?" Trunks asked, but just then, his mother appeared around the corner.
"I should have known you two would be involved." Bulma sighed. "I heard the men yelling in pain and figured some poor unfortunate sole had been wronged and you two decided to come to their aid…" She said as if this kind of thing were a normal occurrence. "Come on you two, the stores are all closed now," She said disappointedly. "They close early on Sunday." She turned to face Gohan. "Do you have a ride home?"
"Actually no. I figured I'd just fly." He responded with a shrug.
"Not this late at night young man! It is too dark you might hit something! Come on, I'll take you home." Bulma demanded harshly.
"Really, I'm fine." He said with his eyes closed and waiving his hands in front of him in a refusing manor. He opened his eyes and looked at Bulma's hover car, which was full of shopping bags. "Besides, I don't think there is enough room." He declined. But to his and Trunks surprise Bulma erupted in a fit of rage.
"Nonsense! You'll ride with me! Do I make my self very clear? You're mother would not think of me as a responsible mother if I let you go home alone this late!" Bulma clenched her fists to add to the impression of her rage.
Both Gohan and Trunks had jumped when she started to yell. They had not seen that coming. Bulma was in a touchy mood, that much was clear, and it was very dangerous for anyone who was not in agreement with her to argue. So Gohan gave in and allowed her to drive him home.
It took about twenty minutes to get home, but the whole time the car remained silent. Gohan and Trunks were thinking about the woman they had met, the men they had fought, and what the woman had said.
Her voice rang through Gohan's head.
"I didn't want to get anyone else involved. Especially you two."
"That doesn't concern you. Just get out of here before he comes!"
Who was 'he'? Why did she sound so afraid of him? Gohan thought. Darn, I should have followed her! He clenched his fists in anger at him self.
Trunks looked at Gohan. He wanted to ask, he wanted to know if there was something they could have done further to help. Judging by the way those men were acting they knew the woman. So they would find her again. And when they did, what would they do? Kill her? What did she do to make them so angry? And how did she know who we were? He could tell Gohan was wondering the same thing.
Bulma looked in the rearview mirror at Gohan and Trunks. She could see they were both absorbed, deep in thought. She wanted to cheer them up, but decided it was better to let them alone. She looked back at the street, and just in time to see the light change to red. She brought the car to a sudden stop.
Maybe I was a little too harsh on them…She thought. They're not Vegeta. It's not like they deserved to be yelled at. I just think that they…The light turned green and she pressed the gas.
They pulled up to the all too familiar Capsule Corporations Building. They all quietly exited the hover car and Bulma pressed the button that made the vehicle disappear into a cloud of dust. When that dust cleared all that remained on the ground was a small capsule. Bulma picked it up and they headed for the building.
Goku was lying on the couch, in his childhood body, holding his stomach in pain, when Vegeta walked into the room. Vegeta glanced at Goku and huffed a sigh of disapproval.
"He's been like that for an hour now." Goten said hearing Vegeta's sigh.
"Humph! Goku, I hate to say it but your worst enemy is your stomach. The powers of Freeza and Buu pail in comparison to that organ of yours." Vegeta said with a tinge of hate in his voice as he walked passed the couch.
The room was nearly empty. It's only occupants were Goku, Vegeta and Goten. But on the other hand, the table was full of food. The sweet scents of a variety of foods filled the air, overwhelming the senses. Vegeta's mouth began to water. He had not realized how hungry he had been. A days worth of training had drained his energy. Then there was the factor that he was a full-blooded Saiyan that added onto the hunger. All Saiyans required a larger amount of food in order to generate the amount of energy they use. And when they run out of energy, they are like a car out of gas. Vegeta cringed for a second from the hunger pains. It's not that they hurt, so much as to annoy him.
Goku caught the quick break in Vegeta's stern face, and knew what that look meant. "You're one to talk. You're just as hungry as I am."
Anger boiled in side Vegeta. "Urrrrgh! That's imposable! No one can be that hungry! You're a bottomless pit! Not even you're…"
The door opened and Bulma, Trunks, and Gohan entered the kitchen with Chi Chi.
"Ok, we can eat guys!" Chi Chi said with a smile. No sooner had Chi Chi finished her sentence than Goku was at the table.
Pan, Videl, and Bula entered the room and sat down at the table with Vegeta, Bulma, Chi Chi, Goku, Trunks, Goten, and Gohan. They all began to eat.