So! I'm kinda on a roll with these DBZ alternate universe fics aren't I? Well here is another one! Yay!
This one is called "Lux Intus Tenebras" which is Latin for "Light Inside Darkness" and follows Azula and her journey into discovering the real reason she was chosen as an intern for Capsule Corp.
This story is set in an Alternative Universe… as most of my fics are because I can -insert wicked grin- so things like character ages might not correlate to the cannon show.
I don't own DBZ or any of its characters! I only own my OCs…
Chapter One - Internship
This was only supposed to be a summer internship at Capsule Corp… but it turned into something much more than anyone, especially me had expected.
My name is Azula Tenshin and I'm 22 years old and this summer I will be undertaking a summer internship at one of the most prestigious organisations in West City… Capsule Corporation. It's safe to say that when I got the letter confirming that I would be interning under Bulma Briefs I was excited! Bulma is someone who I aspire to be like when I'm older… beautiful, successful and to top it all off, she is friends with the Z-fighters! Those guys are freaking awesome! I was the only one in my class at the university that was accepted to intern there, as apparently, it is very rare, if not impossible to get an internship with Capsule Corporation due to the nature of their work… I guess Bulma must have seen something in my portfolio I sent her that piqued her interest. I am the highest graded student that ever studied Capsule Tech and even I didn't think I would land this opportunity of a lifetime. All I have to do… is get through this summer, complete the internship with flying colours and I will get the final grade I need to pass my Capsule Tech Master's Degree with honours and distinctions. Did I mention I was excited?!
To be able to apply for an internship at Capsule Corporation there are several things you must do in order to be considered. You have to provide a sample of your blood, your DNA and an ID sized photograph of yourself. Once you have that part down, you have to compile a portfolio of your most recent work, blueprints and plans, all of these have to be watermarked and registered under your name for legal purposes, you need to include letters of recommendations from your professors and then a letter from yourself, explaining why you would be the best candidate for the internship. It is a long and nerve wracking process as, there will be other candidates applying from the university you attend and then candidates applying from other universities across the country… hell even the world and the worst part? Yeah there's an even worse part to this whole ordeal… Capsule Corporation, IF they decide to take on an intern… will only take on ONE… so it's a battle of you, against thousands of other candidates, all applying for this opportunity. So with all that said… you can probably understand how excited I really am about this!
It had been a long day finishing up for the summer at university and I had come home, changed into my pyjamas and worked on my prototype a little. Finally, I flopped down onto my bed to read the letter over again and this time, I noticed something in it that I had missed the first time round and I sat up with a gasp "Really?" I blinked and read the particular section over again;
During your internship at Capsule Corporation, under Miss Bulma Briefs, you will be required to reside on the premises until your internship is complete. This is a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the work that we undertake and to guarantee that no plans and/or prototypes will leave company grounds.
"… So I get to live there during my internship?" I mumbled as I read it over yet another time "let's hope that Bulma is as friendly as she appears to be… because I would hate it if she was only nice for a good public image" I sighed softly and placed the letter in the drawer of my nightstand.
I lived in a tiny ass apartment just a short walk from the university, which luckily was only a short bus ride to Capsule Corporation. My parents had sadly died when I was a baby and I had spent my childhood being shafted from one children's home to another, with countless foster homes in between. I didn't remember much about my childhood honestly; I was put through therapy when I was 17, to help me deal with some traumatic events that happened when I was a small child and so, I pretty much only remember the last five years of my life in full technicolour, the rest is just a blur of events. Over the years nobody had wanted to adopt me, I mean sure, there had been countless families that had taken me in to foster me but it always ended up the same way… I would be there a few weeks and then I would get dumped off back into the children's home. Once one children's home gave up on me I would be moved to the next. This repeatedly happened until Child Services decided that I was a lost cause and just left me to grow up in West City's Children's Home. When I turned 18, I received a letter, explaining to me that before my parents had died, they had named me their sole heir to their fortune. I had gone down to the legal offices here in West City and had been presented with a bank book in my name, along with various bonds, stocks and shares that my parents had taken the time to convert to my name. Having grown up in the children's homes with nothing, I had no idea what I was going to do with that kind of money and so I sold the bonds, stocks and shares and just dumped all the money into an account, which I set up to give me a monthly allowance. I had spent my whole life with nothing, so why should I live lavishly now? When the children's home found out that I was financially stable, they turned my ass out onto the street and left me to my own devices.
I had bought myself this little apartment and had been living there since, studying and living a quiet, drama free life… which honestly was kinda dull… So the idea that I would be able to intern at Capsule Corp was a huge thing for me, even if I didn't look too excited on the outside, I was bursting inside.
Lately I had been working on a prototype capsule, an improved version of Capsule Corps Service Bot Capsule and I have to say I was doing a good job… I just hoped that Bulma thought so too. I reached for the nightstand and yanked the drawer open, looking for the date on the letter, of when I had to be at Capsule Corporation and I squeaked "3rd…? that's tomorrow!" I panicked and rushed across the room, letter left on the bed and began rifling through a drawer until I came across the storage capsules. Summer break from the university had begun at the end of lessons today and I was quite under the impression that the internship would begin after the weekend… but no! apparently they wanted me to start tomorrow… on a Saturday!
Pressing the button on the capsule, I tossed it onto the bed where it had expanded into a large suitcase and I began rifling through my closet with an irritated whine as I seemed to right now, be suffering from a small fashion crisis. Finally, after a few moments of staring at my clothes, I began packing clothes into the suitcase… smart clothes for working, casual clothes for when I wasn't working… pyjamas… oh and a couple of dressier things, since Capsule Corp always had a few different functions over the summer time. Shoes were picked to match outfits and underwear was tossed in too, and new toiletries were thrown in, until I was sure I had everything… If I didn't, I'm sure nobody would mind if I slipped out during my free time to fetch what I needed.
Shutting the suitcase, I pressed the button on the side and it shrank back into a capsule, which I picked up and headed to the nightstand, picking up a silver case, opening it and returning the capsule to its place before placing the case back down.
"I guess I had better get some sleep…" I looked at the time and sighed softly, noticing it was nearly 9pm "Ugh it's so early… but I don't want to oversleep… I gotta be there at 9am sharp…" I muttered to myself as I switched off the lights and clambered into bed, pulling the covers over myself and closing my eyes, willing sleep to come quickly.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Sitting bolt upright in bed, my heart in my throat, scared that I had overslept! I instantly turned my gaze to look at the clock which was beeping away, my alarm I had set to wake me at 6am, was flashing 6:02am at me and I sighed, relief washing over me as I could see I still had plenty of time to get showered, dressed, eat breakfast and get to Capsule Corp for 9am. I slid from under the covers and headed to the bathroom, turning the shower on to let it warm up a little. Yawning some, I rubbed my eyes before shedding my pyjamas and climbing into the shower, groaning softly as the warm water washed over me, washing away the sleep and grossness from yesterday. I scrubbed and cleaned until I was happy that I didn't have a single dirty mark on my skin and I hopped from the shower, wrapping a towel about me and heading back into my bedroom.
Standing before the closet, I raised a brow as I filtered through the remaining clothes left hanging there and went with a black pencil skirt that came about an inch above my knees, a pair of flat black pumps and a cerulean blue form fitting top with long sleeves that dipped down almost to my cleavage but not quite. Staring at myself in the full length mirror, I grabbed up a brush and the hair dryer, styling my silver hair so that it hung about my shoulders and down my back in a more pleasing way than it had done while it was wet and plastered all over the place. Taking up a couple of hair ties, I braided my hair into a long thick braid which I moved to hang down my back, my bangs settling around my face quite nicely.
Now see, I don't think it's odd that I have silver hair, pale skin and the most eerie pale greenish blue eyes with dark flecks through them… but others seem to. I mean, like I said before I don't remember a lot about my childhood but I do remember being looked over for fostering once or twice because apparently I looked like an 'alien' with my odd hair and eye colour and apparently aliens aren't good people. As I got older I came to realise that there were quite a few aliens in this world and so I really wasn't bothered if people thought I was… I mean I knew I wasn't, I couldn't be, there was nothing else odd about me!
Placing my hands on my hips, I stared at myself in the mirror a few more moments before moving away, sliding on my pumps and grabbing up my jacket, throwing that on and stuffing the capsule case inside. Heading to the kitchen, I made myself a bowl of cereal, eating it slowly and carefully so I didn't spill it down myself, peering at the time before making myself a mug of coffee. I still had plenty of time before I had to leave, so I went into the living room with my coffee and turned on the television set, flicking to the news channel to see what was going on around the city at this hour. Settling back onto the couch, I sipped at my coffee as they went over the weather report "Oh sunny today… that's good" I mumbled softly, cradling the mug between my hands, seeing that the weekend and next week seemed to be looking good too.
I finished up my mug of coffee and looked over at the clock "I guess I better get my ass moving" I slid from the couch and turned the television off, heading to the kitchen and washing the bowl and mug and putting them away, grabbing my keys and heading out the door, locking it behind me knowing that my place would be safe while I was away… this apartment building might be small, but the people living here were wonderful and always looked out for your place when you were away.
My walk to the bus stop was uneventful, as was the short bus ride; save for a woman who was trying to console her crying toddler, who when he saw me, instantly stopped crying and just stared in awe at my silver hair. I was waiting for the woman to give disapproving looks and usher her child away, but instead she smiled gratefully at me with a whispered thank you, as I had shifted closer so the kid could play with the end of my braid. When the bus pulled up at my stop, I waved at the little boy with a smile, he waving back with a big grin on his face as I stepped off the bus. It was another 5-minute walk to Capsule Corp and I could see it just up the way "almost there…" I took a deep breath and let my feet take me down the street, coming to a stop outside the large dome shaped building.
"Here we go… you can do this Azula" I encouraged myself as I looked up at the Capsule Corp building "you can do this…" I whispered softly, moving to the intercom at the main doors and pressing the button. After a few moments I heard a crackling and then a voice came over the speaker.
"Good morning, Welcome to Capsule Corporation, how can I help you?" I recognized the voice as Bulmas and I swallowed lightly before holding down the talk button.
"My name is Azula Tenshin, I'm due to start my internship with a uhm… a Miss Bulma Briefs today…" I released the button and waited patiently as the speakers fell silent. There was a loud buzzing and then Bulmas voice came over the speakers again.
"Hi Azula! Come right on in, I just buzzed ya!" her voice sounded much happier when she realised who was buzzing at the front doors of the building.
I pressed the button once more "Thanks!" letting it go and pushing the door open, to be greeted by a slender woman with blonde hair, gathered in curls atop of her head.
"Hi there dearie! You must be Azula, my my aren't you pretty!" the woman was very cheerful, to the point that I wondered if she was ever upset "You are Bulmas intern aren't you? Well follow me dearie, I will take you round to her!" she began off down the hallway and I was quick to follow. "My name is Bunny, I'm Bulmas mother, you will probably meet my husband too, Dr Briefs! He works down in the laboratories too you know" yep she definitely sounded like she didn't know anything else than painfully cheerful, however it was quite nice.
Bunny lead me down a few different corridors in the house until we came upon the doors into the laboratory and Bunny pressed the panel on the wall, for the doors to slide open and she lead me inside "Bulma darling where are you?" she called, looking about for her daughter.
"Back here mom!" she called and Bunny took me by the elbow and tugged me across the room, towards the back where there was a small office off to the side, where Bulma was sat at a computer, inputting some data.
"Ah there you are dearie!" Bunny clasped her hands together, finally letting go of my elbow "I bought your intern down from the main doors, is there anything I can get you dearie? A drink? Something to eat?"
"I think we are fine here mom…" Bulma looked at her and Bunny laughed cheerily.
"Well okay then! Just call if you need anything!" and with that Bunny was off, tottering back through the laboratory and off to do whatever it is that she had to get done.
"Okay mom!" she called after the retreating blonde, before turning her attention to me "So! You must be Azula!" she smiled and waved me to a seat which I gratefully took. "Welcome to Capsule Corporation! I hope you don't mind that my mother welcomed you at the main doors, she wouldn't settle for anyone else to come and get you" she laughed softly and pulled my portfolio in front of her on the desk.
"Thanks for the welcome Miss Briefs…" I began but she was quick to interrupt me.
"Call me Bulma, really… Miss Briefs just sounds waaaaay too formal" she grinned and opened the folder "I have to say… when I saw your portfolio I was really impressed!"
Thank god for that! I thought to myself as I had been prototyping upgraded models to a couple of Capsule Corps own designs and I was afraid that she may have been offended… but then if she had been… I wouldn't have got the internship… right?
"You have taken the time to examine and scrutinise a few different designs of mine and find ways to improve on the mechanics!"
"I was worried that might have been a bad move and you might have gotten offended…" I looked at her, chewing my lip.
"Oh god no! I'm actually impressed and surprised that someone else has the insight and skills to see where improvements needed to be made" I exhaled a breath I didn't realise I was holding and Bulma continued "I see you also included some of your own creations and I have to say… I haven't seen work like this anywhere else, except from my father, Dr Briefs" she winked at me "It's a compliment, really… smile!" she chuckled and my worried lip biting turned into a bright smile.
"Thank you so much" I could feel myself blushing slightly.
"You are very welcome" she closed the folder and tucked it away in her desk "So! How about we get started hmm? I guess the first thing to do is show you around the premises" she slid from her seat and walked out into the main lab area, to which I followed.
Bulma took me around the entirety of Capsule Corporation, even showing me where I would be staying while I was here, even being kind enough to offer me some help with unpacking, ooh-ing and ahhh-ing at some of my clothes as we unpacked them into the closet space provided, complimenting me on my fashion sense. I was then taken on a tour of the rest of the building, which as she told me, was quiet for once, a rarity it seemed, she also made it clear that she would rather I look at her as a friend, than a boss and I had nodded, feeling the last of my tension dissolve away.
The next couple of days went past like a blur, it seemed the Z-fighters were off somewhere training hard, which explained why the building was so quiet, Bulma assuring me that once they returned she would be introducing me to her group of friends. I worked with Bulma on a new prototype she was designing and the whole time we worked either in silence, or with random conversation and I quickly learned that when Bulma was engrossed in her work; nothing would stop her from completing her task, not even her mother, who flitted in and out over the hours, trying to convince Bulma to go eat or to rest a while.
It was only on the Monday morning that Bulma actually sat me down for a little 'chat' as she called it and I began to wonder if I had done something wrong…
"Azula, I need to talk to you about something" she had a serious look on her face.
Oh here we go… she's going to terminate my internship or something… I thought, bracing myself for the bad news that I was to be relieved of my work here and sent back to the university with a failed summer internship.
"I need to get something off my chest" she sighed softly, watching me for a moment and I swear to god I thought I was going to pass out with the suspense.
"I need to tell you the real reason why I gave you the internship…"
Why does Azula have silver hair and oddly coloured eyes? Why was she given therapy as a teen that conveniently allowed her to forget her past? And what is the real reason behind Bulma giving her that internship? If you want to know the answers, then stay tuned for the next chapter of Lux Intus Tenebras!
I really hope you guys like this story so far, please leave me a review and let me know what you think!
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-Also on a side note, if you liked this, please check out my other stories that I have written for Dragonball Z and Card Captor Sakura!
~Sunni-Chan