Chapter One: The Vernal Equinox
"What's the big deal?" - Vegeta
March 21, Thursday à 21 days until the eclipse
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It's dark. So very dark. Blackness. No sight. No sound.
But I can still feel. I feel my energy growing inside of me. Rushing through my body. The black force is becoming stronger. Unimaginably strong.
Yet even at full power, my strength will not be enough. I require a force other than myself. A conduit to amplify my power. A conductor with his own immense strength.
And I already know whom.
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It was a beautiful day on earth. The first day of spring was certainly living up to its name. Birds sang and flew across the cloudless cerulean sky. The bees were collecting the pollen from the blossoming flowers. A slight breeze would rustle the trees every now and then.
And I'm stuck inside, Bra mused as she stared out the window. Learning things I'll probably never use.
Just the same, she would have to stick it out until the final bell. Bra adjusted the collar of her white blouse, part of the uniform required by her private school. "A minor drawback," her mother called it. All her mother deemed necessary of the school was that it give the best education possible.
But why are all the good schools extremely boring?
"Miss Briefs?" her teacher said, jarring Bra from her thoughts. "Can you answer the question?"
"Uhh...."
Bring!
"Saved by the bell," Bra muttered to herself. She shoved her blank notebook into her book bag and trotted out of the room, Mrs. Peterson letting her off with a warning glance.
Bra went to her locker and got what she needed for her homework, and quickly exited the building into the fresh air. She stooped down to pick a flower growing by the walkway.
"Hey! Stay off the grass!"
Bra started and looked toward the voice. She spotted Trunks approaching her.
"Very funny," she said, swatting him in the arm.
"I thought so. Do you want a ride home?"
"Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"I am at work."
"Oh," Bra said.
"Yeah. I told the office I would be in public relations, I told public relations I would be in finances, I told finances I would be in a meeting-"
"I get it. I get it."
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I watch them as they speak. They don't notice me behind the tree, and that is fortunate. Presently my mission requires me to be very scarce around people.
It is not the girl. She is a little more than a decade too young. The man? Maybe. He is most likely her brother. They have similar auras. A deep green color. Although auras are rarely described as colors. They are more of an essence of a person. I can get a good idea of a person from their aura.
There they go, into the young man's car. Should I watch again tomorrow? And accomplish what? I'll have to become more involved and enroll in the school. Perhaps I can get to know the girl. She may be somehow related to the one I am seeking. Her aura has special type of signature. So does the boy's, so it could be him.
I must find out.
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"Hey, Bra?" Trunks said.
"Yeah?"
"You flew home, okay?"
"I've been flying home a lot lately."
"So? See you later." He drove off, leaving Bra in front of their house.
Bra walked in the front door into the kitchen. She was about to get a snack when she heard the voices in the living room. She peeked into the den.
"Chi-Chi!" Bra exclaimed.
Chi-Chi was sitting on the loveseat next to Bulma, Bra's mother.
"Bra!" Bulma exclaimed. "You're home pretty early again."
"I flew home."
"You've been doing that a lot lately. I wish you wouldn't. It frightens people."
"I'm pretty sure no one saw, Mom."
"How are you doing in school?" Chi-Chi spoke up.
"All right," Bra replied. "The usual A's"
"I remember when Goten was still in school. I had to push that boy to study just like Gohan. Of course, while Gohan has a successful career, Goten is still unemployed like his father. Why can't that boy be a lawyer?"
Bra tried to picture Goten in a suit making closing statements in front of a jury. Nope. Definitely didn't fit.
"Where's Dad?" Bra asked.
"I'll give you a hint," Bulma said. "Chi-Chi didn't come alone."
"Oh, sparring again?"
"What else would they do?" Chi-Chi grumbled. "Why can't they get jobs?"
"As what?" Bra said.
"ANYTHING."
"Bra," Bulma said. "Do have any idea where Trunks is? He told his secretary he would be with public relations, and public relations said he was in finances, and the people there said he was in a meeting-"
"Uh, I have a lot of homework to do..."
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TO: IPS
FROM: Messenger
RE: Operation AP
Target not yet established, but I have enrolled in the academy of a related party. Relation to unestablished target
is currently unknown, but this is now a minor objective. Will report back when new information is revealed.
TO: Messenger
FROM: IPS
RE: Timeframe
It is imperative that the target be established and
found before the total solar eclipse that can be seen from
your area. Part of parchment has been translated to say that
D-day is three weeks from vernal equinox during the eclipse.
Additional part of parchment's property tells that target has only been alive about thirty years. Further translations will
be reported as they develop.
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"And last on tonight's news," the reporter announced from the screen, "scientists would like to remind the public that a total solar eclipse will occur over Satan City three weeks from today. An eclipse sighting party for the public is being planned for Satan City Park. More on that tomorrow on the six o'clock news."
"Did you hear that?" Bulma said, clicking off the television in her and Vegeta's bedroom. "I've only seen a total solar eclipse once before, and that was so long ago.... I can't really remember it."
Vegeta made an acknowledging grumble from his spot beside her in their bed.
"Have you ever seen one?"
He rolled his eyes. "Only about a million. What's the big deal?"
"They don't occur very often on earth. Probably every thirty years or so, and you can only see them in certain areas."
"Whatever." Vegeta lay down and pulled the comforter up to his neck.
"Should we go to the park to see it?"
"Just go to sleep, woman." He closed his eyes.
She nudged him playfully. "Without a goodnight kiss?"
"Yes."
Bulma gave him one anyway, pressing her lips against his so hard that he had to open his eyes. She released and pulled her head back a few inches from his face, flashing him a mischievous smile.
"Are you still tired?"
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There really is no reason I chose the day of the total solar eclipse to release my power. Any other day would have done just as well. The darkness just suits the atmosphere I'm looking for. I want each human on this planet to acknowledge the day I took over as being as black as the prison I am in now.
Now, the vernal equinox does play an important part. The shift in the earth's axis is what has awakened me. It has turned my former prison into more of an incubator. I sit here, deep within the earth's crust, and gather energy from the inhabitants above me. Not their life energy, though. Life energy is too bright, too positive. I gather the energy they release when they feel hate, anger, or sadness. The negative energy may take longer to collect, but it is exactly what I need for my takeover.
During the eclipse, I will emerge and use my conduit to amplify my energy. The power surge will invade each and every mind on the planet, making them my slaves. They will do whatever I, their queen, ask of them, even if it means risking their lives.
As for my conduit, well, even a dark force feels the need for companionship.
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