Runaway (Chapter 2)

Bra hurried to her room and pulled a backpack out of one of her many drawers. She didn't have anything bigger so this would have to do. She put the bracelet inside her pants pocket and packed the things she thought she'd need. Clothes, a flashlight, her teddy and a small pocket knife she had once stolen from her brother. Then she went downstairs and into the kitchen, packing some water bottles and food. She frowned then, thinking hard. What else would she need? Pan had told her a story that her father had told her. A story about how he'd lived in the wilderness for half a year. Had Pan mentioned anything else her father had had?

Then it struck her. Of course! Pan had said that her father had had a sword with him. Bra contemplated that for a second. Her brother had a sword, too. He had once told her that he'd gotten it from a guy called Tapion… Luckily he didn't keep it in his room. Bulma had forbidden it when Bra was still very little, afraid her daughter might hurt herself. There had been a higher chance of the little girl wandering in her brother's room than one of the many storage rooms. So instead Trunks had had to keep it in one of those.

Now Bra made her way to where the sword was hidden, careful not to make any noises. "As if they'd care." she thought than, which renewed her anger a little. She saw the thing she had been looking for as soon as she opened the door and switched the lights on. She picked it up, surprised at the weight of the item. It was too big to fit inside her backpack, too. She put the backpack on the floor and strapped the sword to her back by closing the fastening in front of her chest. She nodded happily as she slid her backpack back on. With the sword underneath it wasn't exactly comfortable, but it would have to do.

She took a deep breath, left the room and made her way to the back door, toying with the bracelet she had pulled from her pocket. She would have to use this or she would be easily traceable by her ki. It would probably take her family a few hours to realize that she was gone, but they would notice. At the latest when it was time for dinner. Her mother would call her name and if she didn't come, her mum would check her room… to find it empty and messy - since she hadn't bothered to clean up after rummaging through her closet for things to wear. Bra knew that they would be worried, at least for some time. Then they'd get over it. After all, they all had their lives and apparently they didn't need her in them. So she would have to find her own way.

She stepped into the midday sun then, raising her head to look at the blue sky. She had to concentrate a little in order to levitate into the air. Pan had told her that in order to fly all she had to do was put her energy underneath her that it would hold her up. At the time Bra had faked disinterest but had secretly taught herself how to do it afterwards. It had taken her a week but then she had been able to fly. Now she was very glad that she had learned, as she put on the bracelet and flew into the sky, away from the place that had always been her home.

Three hours later Bulma was walking towards the room of her daughter, faintly remembering that Bra had wanted to talk to her. She had been in the middle of a very important conversation and after that had helped Trunks with the problem he had had. Then the phone had rung again, making her forget about her daughter's appearance in the lab for a time. But then she'd remembered and had immediately felt guilty. With a big breakthrough with an invention on the horizon she had been more busy lately, scarcely able to make time for the attention that her little girl needed. Bulma sighed. She'd think of a way to make it up to her as soon as could.

"Bra?" Bulma asked, opening the door to her daughter's room as soon as she reached it. The sight that greeted her made her blink in surprise. A weird, unpleasant feeling made her stomach churn. Clothes were scattered across the floor, a few desk drawers left open and her teddy bear gone from her bed. "Bra?" Bulma called again, but this time her voice had a nervous edge. There was no answer. Bulma turned and made her way to her son's room that wasn't too far from her daughter's. She didn't bother to knock but just opened the door, making her son look up in surprise.

"Where's your sister?" she asked while trying to calm herself down mentally. "Maybe she was just angry that you made her wait so long… sometimes she can have quite a temper…" she thought. But then again, her daughter had never gone rock star on her room. "I don't know." he said, his forehead creasing at the look in his mother's eyes. "Search for a key." Bulma commanded the uneasiness inside her building. Trunks sighed and closed his eyes. After little more than a second they reopened, a strange expression on his face. It was an expression that was a mix of surprise, worry and panic.

"I can't find her."

Bulma turned on the spot and ran to the GR as fast as she could, her heart racing. Oh God… her little baby girl… If Trunks wasn't able to feel her ki then she was certainly not on the grounds of Capsule Corp anymore. But why? What had happened?

When she arrived at her destination, she slammed her right hand against the door, bagging on it until it opened, revealing an aggravated Vegeta. "Woman! Damn it, what…" he trailed off as he saw the expression on his wife's face. "What's going on?" he asked, surprised as his son came running across the lawn, stopping next to his mother. Trunks looked at his mother, clearly waiting for her to deliver the bad news. "Brat!" Vegeta growled as his Bulma began to cry. Trunks looked at his father, gulping.

"Bra's gone."