That night, after hearing about Clove's death, Launch quit her gardening for the day. She left her garden half-watered, didn't give two shits about the mud she tracked into the house, striped in the bathroom and sat in the tub until the water was murky from the dirt on her skin and turned her into a golden raisin. Once she sneezed, of course, she was just a regular raisin. That's how the ex-thief thought of herself - dried of all emotion and care.
Tenshinhan continued his teachings for the day, but was sure to look in on her periodically. He'd ask her if she needed anything but the woman would just shake her head, staring straight at the wall opposite her. Two hours had gone by and he came in with a fluffy towel in his hands. He was barefoot and in just his linen pants.
He stood near the sink and looked down at her, while slowly unfolding the towel. "Launch-san, I respect your pain but this is very unlike you."
"I just want to forget, I guess," she said, finally.
"And is this helping that?"
"No… I thought… Blondie thought we needed space… but I'm not sure what we need."
"Could I convince you to have tea with me? I purchased some fresh chamomile leaves yesterday."
The indigo-head nodded slowly, staring down at the water. She was startled to find that she could not see her own reflection. She hadn't realized how dark and dirty the water had gotten. Slowly, Launch rose from the water, letting it run down the softening curves of her body and stepped into the towel her husband was offering her. He gently patted her slender frame and wrapped it around her, not saying a word. This was something that Launch had always appreciated about Ten. They did not need to fill the air with small talk. Both were relatively quiet people, only saying what needed to be said and as such, they easily shared silence.
Once dried and covered, they went to the kitchen where Ten began filling a kettle with water and put it on the stove to heat. Launch sat herself at the table, choosing to be waited on for once. The air in the kitchen made her shiver slightly. She watched her husband pull down two small cups and fill them with the fresh leaves he mentioned as the water slowly began to steam.
They continued in silence as they drank their tea. Usually Ten sat across from Launch, but tonight he sat next to her and gently put his hand on hers.
"Are you sure there is nothing I can do?" he asked.
"I wish my truck was going right now… I just need to focus on something else."
"When the body is tethered, one focuses on the mind. Perhaps the opposite is also true," he said as his hand traveled along the length of Launch's arm.
She smiled as he made his way up her shoulder, a bare brushing of fingertips, and went up her neck to find her chin and slowly bring her lips to his. He kissed her fully and sweetly. Despite how chaste it was, Launch found her cheeks burning from the gesture. She was normally the romantic one, normally the sexual one. Ten was such a man of the mind and spirit, and perhaps that was part of why he could deal with her dueling personalities.
Launch put her hand on the back on his neck to deepen the kiss, caressing his cheek with the other. She wanted to lose herself in this large, gentle man. Lose her worries and cares and pain and perhaps find herself again in him.
One hand slid down his bare back as he put one of her against her shoulders and pulled her towards him slowly, as though asking permission. Launch let herself be pulled into Tenshinhan's body, relishing the feel of his large hands and arms. She slid her tongue along his as she straddled his lap. His frame was so much larger than hers that even spread along his thighs, her knees rested against his hips.
She moaned as her body was pressed to him completely, separated by only the towel he previously wrapped her in. She could feel herself getting aroused already, though her disciplined husband was in need of more coaxing. Something in the air tickled her nose and-
"Achoo!"
That was when Blonde Launch felt not only Tenshinhan under her, but she swore his lips were on the side of her neck. She wasn't sure how that was possible when he was looking right at her.
"Ummm.." she began as he clasped her face in his hands. He looked her in the eyes when he spoke.
"Be calm and trust me."
There was an undeniably lustful tone in his voice. She still couldn't understand how he could be talking to her and kissing her neck. But she knew those were his lips. Launch breathed heavily, as his hand brushed her blonde hair entirely to one side.
"I trust ya, Ten, but what - Oh!" she gasped as one hand reached into the top of her towel and squeezed her tit. She was still amazed that he could entirely fit one in each hand, being not exactly flat chested. His hands then slowly went down to her hips (a third one still in her towel) to rock her body against him. The growing hardness under her was unmistakable, making the woman moan lightly, and her eyes flutter.
"I thought if I could overwhelm your body, it would overwhelm your mind," the voice behind her said. The voice belonging to Tenshinhan.
"How?" she whimpered as a fourth hand slowly began to strip the towel from her, letting it drop to the floor.
"I multiplied myself," he said, huskily, rubbing circles on her bare hips with his thumbs as Launch rubbed her groin against him. "Does it disturb you?"
"No," she breathed, one hand reaching down to guide one of Ten's hands more towards her butt to grab it. The other reached to the Ten behind her, grasping at the hardness that his pants barely concealed. "Kinda wished we did this sooner."
"Ugh, Launch," the one behind her groaned. She took this as encouragement and tugged on his pants until they came down, releasing her favorite pound of flesh. Still grinding the man under her, she half turned and slowly began to run her tongue over second Ten's firm cock, swirling along the head. All three eyes closed as he let out a throaty groan, making Launch snicker in her little victory.
She stroked his length, as fingertips began to softly brush her folds. Launch moaned lightly, looking into the eyes of the Ten behind her as she painstakingly put his cock in her mouth. The Ten under her grabbed her ass firmly with his other hand, making her yelp around the thickness between her lips. His fingers entered her and she groaned, trying hard to focus on sucking the doppelganger that her husband so generously provided.
She pulled off of his cock, and continued stroking him, the task now easier with her wet saliva coating his skin. Launch turned her head to face the Ten under her and palmed at his still hidden length. It tented his pants, making it all too easy to find. Her gestures made him fumble his hand only for a moment before regaining his concentration on her pussy.
"Take off your pants," she said before getting to her feet.
With a rise of his hips, Ten shed himself of the garment and settled back onto the chair before pulling on Launch's hand to come back over. Instead of sitting back on his lap, however, she got to her knees before him and began paying his length the attention that she'd been giving the other. The woman sucked on the head for a short while before spreading her spit all over Ten's cock with her fisted hand. He groaned, running a fond hand through her hair as she took him into her mouth completely.
Behind her, Launch felt her hips pulled upwards and large hands spread her thighs. She'd begun to think on what a great idea this was when a tongue licked up her folds and along her clit, making her body and mind both stop momentarily. She felt her throat constrict on the cock that teased her esophagus and one of Ten's hands softly pulled her from his length.
"Don't hurt yourself," he smirked.
She scowled at him then smiled as a stray hair tickled her nose.
"Ah-ah-choo! Oh… oh my.. Oh…" Blue Launch moaned. For her, sexual acts were always more intense than her blonde counterpart, though neither was sure why.
Her mind caught up with how she got on the kitchen floor with two Tenshinhan then she leaned forward and continued the work that Blondie had started. It was a bit overwhelming, the feel of his tongue deep inside her pussy, lapping at her wetness while hearing him moan at his cock in her mouth. Now that she'd thought about it, Launch had never had two men at once.
"Wait.. wait.. Launch. Too much…" he gasped, running both hands in her now blue hair.
She pulled from him and looked up, lovingly as the second Ten slowly pulled away from her folds. She groaned at the loss of pleasure when her husband took her hands and brought her to her feet. He got out of the chair and turned her so that she was facing the second Ten. For some reason, she was shocked at how identical they were.
Her hips were now pulled downward as she felt her cheeks being spread. This was different too. Gods the man was full of surprises. The Ten before her got to his knees so they were more level, his length brushing her fingertips. She took him in her hands and caressed the skin as a tongue pressed to her butt, sending a shockwave through the woman before another wave of pleasure.
Launch gasped as Ten now licked an entrance they really never used. It felt strange. Strange but good. She whimpered as the Ten before her brought her lips up to his and kissed her deeply, his tongue exploring her mouth. He swallowed up the moans that his original created, her body a violin that the two so adeptly played.
A thick finger then entered her back entrance, making Launch yelp in surprise.
"Shhh…" Ten hummed, placing kisses along her vertebraes as he patiently worked her backside. Again, it wasn't painful, necessarily. Just different. The Ten in front of her did the same thing to her core, dipping his long fingers inside of her as he kissed her. It was all a taste of what was to come and Launch welcomed it. She welcomed how her body, all of the sensations took over everything else. Left room for nothing else.
Two more fingers eased into her, one for a while, then the other, until Ten was using three fingers to pump his wife's tighter entrance. He just wanted to make sure he didn't hurt her, though this was normally an act he would never have suggested. But he wanted so badly to ease her pain, and now that she was a moaning, cumming mess he was allowing himself to get more and more into it. He had to maintain some control over his mind, however, in order to keep his copy out.
Her body quivered again and he moaned out her name. Ten pulled his fingers from her ass, making her gasp, and sat back into the chair, his thickness throbbing. He gently pulled her by the hip, leading her back to him before lifting her and gently easing himself into her ass. He monitored her heart rate and breathing as he did so. The first sign of discomfort and he'd back off.
She was halfway down when he laid a kiss on her shoulder. "Are you okay, my love?"
"Yes," she shuddered. "Please keep going."
Although she was speaking to the Ten underneath her, Launch looked into the eyes of the one in front of her. Both men were paying such sweet attention to her body, so she wanted to make sure neither felt ignored.
The second Ten worked himself with one hand while caressing the side of Launch's face with the other, returning her focused gaze. His original continued to slowly fill her until he could go no further, groaning at how tight she was. He stayed still, breathing quite heavily, and beckoned for the other to come closer.
"You should get her going. It'll be better than way," he breathed.
The second nodded his understanding and positioned himself so that he could easily access Launch without getting into the other man's way. He held one of her gorgeous calves in one hand while easing into her with the other. Once he was secure enough, he grabbed the other leg and pushed into her with a moan.
"All these years, and you still feel amazing, Launch."
Using her legs to keep her steady, he gently pumped into her, coaxing sweet moans from his wife's lips. She was so slick already, and he could feel her juices dripping down from around his cock to begin to puddle towards her ass where the other waited. Ah, so this is what was intended.
"Oh! Oh! Ah! Oh Ah-ah-ah-choo!" she sneezed suddenly, moving her head just in time to not sneeze in Ten's face.
Blonde Launch took a quick inventory of the situation, and this was some hot shit. Couldn't believe Blue had it in her to do something so dirty, even if it was with Tenshinhan. Hell, she was a little surprised Ten took it this far.
The blonde chuckled and simultaneously caressed the face of each husband, one in each hand.
"Whatcha waitin' on?"
She couldn't see the expression of the Ten behind her, but the one in front of her looked shocked for a moment before recovering with a sense of confidence. He shoved into her just as his memories told him this Launch liked to be pleasured.
"Fuck!" she moaned.
He pulled her legs over his shoulders to gain deeper purchase and began thrusting more vigorously. There was a possibility that if she changed again that she would simply urge him to keep going as he was. The force he used inadvertently rocked her against the cock in her rear, and that Ten slowly began to pump her from underneath.
"Oh! Oh! Fuckin' Kami!" Launch moaned.
This encouraged both men as they began to go just a bit faster. She came once with a scream, her hands grasping at the thighs under her, digging her nails. He slowed down instinctively at what seemed to be an act of pain, even as he felt more of her wetness coat their portion of the lovemaking.
"N-no… Don't you dare stop! Oh! Fuck! Ah! Keep going!"
Ten did as she asked, kissing the side of her face periodically as he fucked her ass. Admittedly, this felt amazing. They'd have to try it once just the two of them so he could allow himself to enjoy it more. Launch came a second time and he didn't mistake her body language.
Nearly an hour and several orgasms later, Ten's clone materialized into thin air. That one had already cum and served his purpose. Launch had transformed three times, into Blue, into Blonde, and back to Blue. The gentler version and her husband were both pumping into each other languidly, covered in sweat and the night air. Their soft moans and grunts filled the kitchen, until finally with a few more pumps, Ten let out a deep groan, grabbing Launch's hips a bit more tightly as he filled her.
The triclops let his body slouch into the kitchen chair as Launch collapsed fully against him, panting. He held her tight around the waist as she kissed his cheek.
"Thank you," she told him and nearly fell asleep just like that.
Two hours had passed since Launch arrived to visit Bulma. No doubt if Blondie came out, they'd end up drinking together and Launch supposed that was fine. She just needed to get out of her head a little and see a friendly face.
It was honestly a good idea on Tenshinhan's part, along with his other idea from last night. Both sides of Launch thought they should try out his ability to multiply more often.
The heiress was dressed in a way that Launch wasn't used to seeing: beat-up jeans with old grease stains and a roughed up red tank top. She was evidently about to go work on the time machine her other self built when Launch had arrived. At first, she was going to leave but Bulma insisted that it was fine. 'Everyone's been telling me to take a break anyways,' and ushered her into the house to order food, part of which was now in front of them on the balcony.
She watched as Bulma looked over her shoulder and all around before answering the dual-minded woman. She then leaned closer to the other bluenette.
"In actuality, I can have the time machine going in two days," Bulma whispered. "Well, five now. Trunks...the younger one... actually messed it up some more to extend the time."
"Why though?"
"He also thinks his older self needs more time." she shook her head. "You should see him, Launch… my 30-something year old son looks like a war vet. Just a lost, paranoid look in his eyes. When Vegeta first started opening up to me about his time on the Frieza Force, he'd have that look. That's something no mother wants to…" she then turned to look at her friend. "I'm sorry. You're here for my comfort and I'm doing a shitty job at it. I can't imagine what you feel, Launch."
Launch smiled solemnly and nodded. "Clove never got that kind of look though, no matter how many wars he fought. So I also can't imagine what you're feeling."
Bulma reached a hand across and took Launch's in hers. She gave a squeeze and a reassuring smile. "Chai'll bring them back, you know. We have to wait a little while to gather the Dragonballs. About 31 more weeks… so seven months. In seven months you can hold your son again."
Launch squeezed her hand in return but couldn't look up. Yes, she was ecstatic that she would be able to see Clove again, and not even have to wait a year. Still, she felt for Bulma. Even though Trunks and Future Trunks were the same person, it never occurred to her that Bulma viewed them as two different people.
"In two weeks though, you no longer hold one of your sons."
"If he's okay, then… dammit, it was different the first time. The first time, I knew Trunks was returning to a timeline with a mother. A version of me. Someone I knew would look out for him and love him and… I'm… other me.. Is gone now though."
A tear slipped down Launch's cheek for both of them. Silently, she wondered at Clove's fate in the other timeline. Her own fate. She knew Ten had died fighting the androids, but she never asked about herself. Launch turned over the possible answers in her head and decided that she didn't want to know what happened to her adopted son in the alternate timeline. She didn't want to risk losing him twice.
"At least I can make sure this son doesn't have the same life," Bulma said, slowly.
Bulma peered over the balcony where they ate their sushi and drank iced tea. Below, the teenage version of Trunks, the Son twins, Marron, and three children Launch thought vaguely familiar laid in the grass and debated what to do for fun.
"We could play hide and seek. No one could get hurt doing that, right?" Tsuchi suggested.
She was wearing her hair in a crown braid that went into a side braid and a striped dress. It reminded Launch of some of the outfits Chai wore as a girl, though her sister's taste seemed a little more girly.
"Hide and seek?" the blue one laughed. "Isn't that a child's game?"
The black-haired girl leaned into her hands, laying across from Tsuchi, who kneeled in the grass. The two groups were separated, saiyajin children on the left, mystery children on the right, and Marron in the middle.
"Pilaf, we are children," the black-haired girl hissed.
Next to her, Bulma snorted and shoved another piece of maguro into her mouth, chewing with a very dissatisfied look on her face. Somehow, Launch didn't think it was the tuna.
"Besides," Tsuchi continued. "We need to play something Marron can play. She's a lot smaller."
"I'm not that small. I'm eight years old!" Marron crooned.
"You're not that much smaller than me!" the black-haired girl said brightly. "I'm…" she paused and a look of concentration appeared on her face before frowning. "I'm ...ten…"
"Capsule Corps is really big! Lots of places to hide!" Goten pointed out. He was in the same exact position as his twin, the two of them like bookends on either side of Trunks, who laid on his back, staring up at the sky as if he wasn't part of the conversation.
"Trunks-kun and I used to get into so much trouble exploring the place" Goten continued.
"Psh. I still get in trouble," the other boy said, moodily.
"Your future self is still mad, huh?" the dog-boy asked.
"He tries not to show it, but yeah."
Bulma was still staring down, eyes fixed on the black-haired girl who edged herself closer to her son. A small smile appeared on her host's face as Tsuchi's tail began to twitch behind her. Launch had been around Goku enough to know that was a sign of annoyance.
"So, its your house. What do you wanna do?" the unnamed girl asked.
"We could go with Tsuchi's idea. One of you should be seeker though. It's too easy for Goten, Tsuchi and me to pick out your guys' ki."
"The hiders should move around. Make it more tricky," Goten suggested.
"Roshambo for seeker?" the dog suggested.
The group didn't so much as agree as they all put their fists in a circle and shook them three times before throwing out rock, paper, or scissors. A seeker was eventually decided - poor Marron - and she closed her eyes, hands covering over the top while the rest either flew or ran in various directions.
"Achoo!"
Bulma got up from her spot and went into the house really quickly, leaving blonde Launch to try and decipher through Blue's memories how she got here and what she was doing.
Aircraft? Okay.
Bullshittin' with Bulma? Fine by me.
Watching the kiddos? Whatever.
The heiress came back with a cooler that had ice and over a dozen beers sticking out of it and placed it on the far side of the table where it was kind of between them. She pulled one out for herself and offered the ex-thief one of her own.
"It's kinda sweet that the kids are friends too," Launch said, taking the beer.
That set of kids that Launch didn't recognize ran by again. She thought maybe she saw them at a few of Bulma's parties but there was something else about them that was familiar.
"You and Vegeta adoptin' kids now or somethin'?" she nodded down to the trio. They were whispering together before going off in separate directions.
"Nooooo…." the bluenette sighed, "But they had nowhere to go, and Trunks asked if they could stay, and I spoil the shit out of my kid so I wasn't gonna stop now. Besides, he should probably have friends other than super-powered ones."
"You don't sound pleased about it," Launch pointed out as she grabbed another beer.
Bulma snickered. "Remember the Pilaf Gang? Chased Goku and I around the planet for the Dragon Balls?"
Launch nodded with an eyebrow raised, not sure what that had to do with anything.
The heiress then stabbed down at the spot the three had been in a few minutes ago with her bottle. "That's them. Got wished into children by accident." She then threw back her drink and Launch followed suit.
"Wasn't she older than us?" the blonde asked, referring to Mai. "Wouldn't she be like 50 now?"
Bulma then spit out her drink and covered her mouth. "Oh Kami, you're right! And that cougar is all goo-goo-eyed over my son!" Launch's eyes popped out at that revelation. Oh man, if that were her son she wouldn't even wait for something… her… her son. She took another deep draught as Bulma groaned. "Ugh, and Chibi Trunks likes her…"
"Do ya think she remembers being older? Like… do you think she has weird thoughts?" Launch said, trying to think of her friend's crisis rather than her own.
"SHE BETTER NOT OR NO DRAGON IN THE WORLD WILL BRING HER BACK TO LIFE!"
Bulma cracked open another beer and downed half of it in seconds. "At least… she better keep her hands to herself. Younger Trunks is 13… I don't think he knows what any of that stuff is yet… my older son is 30? 31? I'm not sure… and ya know what? I don't like the thought of her looking at him either."
There was the sound of a stampede as all seven kids barrelled into the ground entrance of Capsule Corps, obviously done with their hide and seek game. Tsuchi carried Marron on her hip as though the girl was her doll and Launch snickered. The youngest Son - by two whole minutes, from what Chi-Chi said - took a bit from her mother's personality. Chi-Chi was always fussin' over her kids, like they didn't come from Goku's loins or something and that sense of maternity did transfer to all four in some mild way, but Tsuchi was by far the worst.
"What are we going to do now?" the tiny blonde giggled.
Launch couldn't believe they were loud enough to be heard all of the way up here. She looked over at Bulma who was sipping at her beer as she walked to the table. There was something in her hand. The kids completely disappeared. Something in the air tickled her nose and -
"Achoo! Oh… ummm," blue haired Launch considered the cold bottle in her hand before sitting down across from Bulma and setting it on the table. "I'll leave that for Blondie."
She could hear more sound and commotion coming from the small black device in Bulma's hand and realized that it was a portable speaker connected to different rooms in the house. The indigo-haired woman raised an eyebrow.
"Let's play a video game! Trunks-kun has the biggest collection!"
That sounded like Goten. My, he sounded just like Goku used to.
"Umm… we can. I don't think I have anything for seven players though. We'll have to switch off on deaths or something."
Launch felt her heart bob back down again at the sound of what she was mentally referring to now as "the D word".
"Do you have anything classic?" a squeakier voice asked. That sounded like the blue one. Pilaf?
"I have the old Mario. The original. I think it used to be my mom's. We'd play it together when I was really little."
Bulma smiled at this, absentmindedly swirling her bottle. Launch smiled at her friend. She never had such memories of Clove. He came into her life when he was about 12. Her stomach churned and she instead tried to focus on something else.
Slowly, began to digest how strange it was that she even had such a listening device. No one who really knew Bulma would deny that the woman was a little eccentric, chasing after magical balls, going into space, marrying an alien, but spying on her kid was a bit much, right?
"Let's play that!" "Yeah!" "I haven't played that in forever!" was the chorus of enthused responses.
"What's Mario?" Tsuchi's voice came through.
"It's really old and easy. You basically fight through these magical worlds with your brother to rescue Princess Peach but can't until the very end." Goten replied.
" 'Sorry Mario but the Princess is fucking Bowser in another castle.' "
Bulma's eyes got wide for the second time in an hour. Launch gasped then stifled a laugh as Bulma guzzled the rest of her beer and reached for another. Launch wasn't sure if the woman's shock was at the realization that her son did know what sex was, or how easily he used the word "fuck". Probably both.
"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that…" the blunette said, turning off the speaker with a click.
"So… do you listen to everything at Capsule Corps?" Launch asked innocently.
"No," Bulma replied, shaking her head. "I only have speakers in the common parts of the house, and in the rooms that Pilaf, Shu, and Mai sleep in. They're very recent."
Good Kami!
"Isn't that an invasion of privacy?" Launch grimaced.
"They're in my house, looking to steal my Dragon Radar. I consider it insurance."
The women talked for a while longer, discussing Launch's food truck, Bulma's interest in recreating the time machine - which ironically came to her two months ago, Tenshinhan's dojo, Vegeta's slow-but-continuous integration into Earthling life, and an interest that Chaotzu recently took in painting miniature models. Somehow that worked for him, and they didn't seem so tiny in his miniscule hands.
The patio door then flew open as saiyajin children (plus one) flew out of it, nearly forgetting to close it behind them.
"Mom we're going to go play in the forest! Kloveyoubye!" Trunks exclaimed as he, the twins and Marron took to the sky with him holding the little girl as they flew.
"Have fun and be careful!" Bulma shouted from her chair.
"Damn, they're restless," Launch laughed. "Reminds me of the old days."
"Yeah. They get into just about as much trouble too," Bulma mused.
Moments later, Chai touched down on the balcony. She gave a weak smile but otherwise didn't make much eye contact. The girl bowed, her voice quiet as she spoke.
"Oba-San, Trunks-sa invited me to stay here while we rebuild the castle, if that's okay."
"Of course, Chai. There's lots of room here. Besides you're family." The heiress replied.
Chai rose back to standing. She glanced over at the blonde then quickly looked away with shame in her eyes.
"Vegeta wont have an issue?"
"Vegeta isn't here to have an issue," Bulma sneered. "He's still sulking in the mountains."
The girl nodded but otherwise didn't respond much. Launch hated how Chai wouldn't look at her as the younger woman stood on the balcony with a bag slung over her shoulder. She assumed the girl blamed herself but did she think that Launch also blamed her? Her tail slithered to wrap around her thigh once. Launch tried to look the girl in the face and smile but the woman wouldn't have it.
"Join us for a drink?" the blonde offered. "Ya look like you need one."
Behind her, the patio door opened and Mirai Trunks stepped onto the balcony.
"I thought I felt your ki signature," he told the other demi.
She glanced up after a few moments, flushing.
"i decided to take your offer." She then turned to the two ladies and gave them a small smile. "As for drinking, maybe. Never got wrecked with you two," Chai nodded at both women before looking down and pursing her lips again "I ummm… We're going to have services for everyone in three days. About noon. I have to try to identify more bodies or it'd be sooner."
That pulled on Launch's heart to be reminded of Clove's death but even in her moodier form, she sympathized with what Chai had to do. She nodded and watched as Trunks put his hand on Chai's shoulder.
It'd been a long time since she saw him. She remembered Clove being a bit jealous towards the young man Chai held feelings for several years ago. He thought she was foolish, falling for someone who would never be able to give her a life together, but Clove also accepted that as long as the time traveler was here, the Earthling would never be able to compete for Chai's affections. Still, even if Clove wasn't bitter, it didn't keep this Launch from being a little testy on the subject. The boy she considered a son was in love with Goku's daughter. Had been for quite some time. And he was decent and respectful, loyal to the young woman's orders. The dualistic woman had wanted them to eventually marry, and was sure Chai would accept after some time had passed.
"Do you want me to show you to your room?" Trunks asked her gently.
Chai glanced up at him and nodded. He slowly dropped his hand from her and led her towards the inside.
At least they don't look together. And I'm sure Chai will bring everyone back to life. But now how long 'til she gets over Mr. Blue Eyes again?
"Is that all you brought?" Bulma called over to her.
Chai stopped just short of the patio door. Smells from whatever Panchy was cookin' already wafted out. It must have been a lot of work cooking for all these Saiyan-jins. That made Launch a little glad that it was just her, Ten, and Chaozu.
"It's all I have," the girl said quietly before continuing inside the house.
Damn.
Launch finished her drink in a few gulps and sat her bottle back down with a clatter.
"I can steal us something stronger," the blonde offered.
Bulma side-eyed her with a frown. "Please, do you think I don't have a full bar?"
"Bet I can drink ya under the table, rich girl."
"You're on," Bulma accepted before leading them inside and down some stairs.
It didn't take long to reach Bulma's bar room, which didn't look much different than one that was found in the city. She had a fully stocked shelf that spanned the height of one of the walls, including mixers and tonic water. Over towards the floor were two pool tables, a few card tables and a jukebox that looked like the real deal. Probably was. Launch could see Bulma drop a few million to have the first juke ever invented, and then a few more to make it functional. She was just enough of a show off for it.
"Whatcha drinking?" Launch asked, looking over the bottles of tequila. One that sounded real Spanish caught her eye.
"Expensive vodka" Bulma stated, fingering through her bottles.
"I didn't try," Chai admitted. "I'm… not trying to restart anything, to be honest."
Launch popped open a bottle of Reposado that she was more familiar with and chose a medium glass as Bulma turned on the television in the corner. She frowned her as a news reporter droned about a celebrity break up,grabbing her own bottle - a gold, egg-shaped receptacle - and pulled ice from the nearby fridge.
"-Breaking News! A large wildfire has spread over the forests 30 miles south of Mt. Paozu. The reason for the flames has yet to be determined as-"
The sound of breaking glass brought the blonde's attention away from the television..
"The children" Bulma gasped.
On the tv above, the raging wildfire filled the screen as it engulfed the forest.
17 Years Earlier
"Did I mention that I never practiced landing this ship?" Bulma asked innocuously.
Krillin's head snapped upwards at the confession. Just a few moments ago, Bulma had looked at the navigation screen and confirmed that they were approaching Namek. Immediately, ehe blunette told them to strap in and hold tight - typical precautions for a landing - and Bulma being the heiress to Capsule Corps meant that not only was she well-educated in repairing ships, she could figure out how to fly every one she'd come across. Their run in with the armed orphans proved that as she prevented them from crashing into some meteor or planet. So, for Krillin, a confession like the one she'd just given was not only annoying but also a bit terrifying.
"Oh… and now is when you mention that!?" the monk exclaimed.
"Well, I just thought it was fair warning! You've never doubted my abilities before, have you?!"
Krillin had looked over at Gohan who was resting his arms on the arm of the chair and looking over at, shaking his head in silent discouragement. For the duration of the trip, Bulma had been a bit testy and more spoiled than usual. She'd make messes and ask them to clean up after her, yelled every other sentence, and ridiculed them for getting nervous when flying through a meteor storm - on autopilot, no less. The Z fighter considered himself a very tolerant man but not mentioning her inexpertise landing an alien ship last minute was about where he was drawing the line.
"You've never said that you didn't know how to do something!" he pointed out as the surface of Namek came more into view. Judging from how fast they were coming down, they'd land in less than a minute. He hoped the ship could take such abuse.
"I didn't say that I didn't know! I said I didn't practice!"
He swore he felt the bottom of the ship fall out as it suddenly began a rapid descent, falling twice as fast as it was before. Gravity seemed to have grabbed them and was bringing them down, ready or not.
"Shit!" Bulma yelled, pulled the controls towards her in an attempt to slow the ship. It didn't seem to respond at all as trees were crushed under their weight. The shockwaves travelled upwards, through the floor, their chairs, and up into their bodies. "BRACE YOURSELVES!"
All Krillin could think was that he hoped his breakfast stayed in place as the crashing of the ship sent force upwards, but his grip on his seat forced his body downwards. Leaves and broken branches filled all of the windows and the front view of the ship as they seemingly leveled a forest and continued to mow forward.
"Kri-krillin-n-n-n! Is that a cl-iffff!?" Gohan stuttered through the shaking.
Goddamnit it was.
"Bul-l-ma! I have full f-f-f-aith in-n yo-u-u-u-u!" he lied.
"O-okay th-en!" she said with a devilish grin. Bulma then steered the direction of the ship just slightly. Krillin realized they were going to crash right into a huge tree.
"B-bul-ma! Wh-at are y-ou!?"
SMASH!
Krillin snapped his eyes shut and tensed himself for impact when the collision happened. There was no sound of metal bending or glass breaking, and no screams or smell of smoke. He teased one eye open and while a tree did indeed fill his vision, it was leaned back, bits of bark splintered large enough that he could see from inside the ship. And they were stopped.
"Yes! We made it! In. One. Piece." Bulma snarkily cheered. "Doubt me again."
All he and Gohan could do was exhale. He never realized just how much air he could hold in his lungs as belts clicked all around and the trio got up from their seats to peer out the windows.
Namek didn't look terribly different from Earth. There were trees, grass, and lakes, from what he could tell, though the trees seemed similar to something out of a Dr. Seuss novel. Everything was incredibly green. That was a good sign right? A sign of a healthy, thriving planet with healthy, thriving, friendly people, right? His only experience with Namekians was Piccolo Daimon and Piccolo Jr. One was absolutely power-hungry and cruel, and while Piccolo Jr did turn out okay in the end, he was once not too different from his father. The monk silently wondered if all Namekians had a mean streak.
"There's a lot of fog," Gohan pointed out.
Krillin nodded. As green as everything was, the color was murky due to a thick layer of fog that seemed to cover everything.
"And you're sure this is Planet Namek?" he asked casually.
"What are you saying!? That I don't know how to navigate a spaceship!? When I've literally spent my entire life around ships!?" Bulma shouted from behind.
Krillin jumped at the shrill of her voice, covering his ears. The woman didn't exactly have a high pitched voice, but she sure could reach some notes when she was angry. And boy, was she angry a lot.
She probably misses Yamcha.
"It's not that, Bulma. I just want to be sure," he said calmly. She didn't seem to back down though, leaning over his smaller frame and fuming so much that it seemed to come from her ears.
"No, just spit it out! You don't think I'm up to snuff, do you!?" she then began to dig in her pockets. "I can't believe you don't trust me!"
Behind him, Krillin's ears picked up the cracking and snapping sounds. His brain barely registered what that meant when the ship nosedived off of the cliff. They flipped forward, screams as loud as the air ripping around the ship. The dragon radar that Bulma was holding smacked around the ship as they fell. Through the windows was nothing but the sienna tones of the mountain side. Suddenly the ship began to spin as towards their descent. This is what he was afraid of. Not an issue of Bulma's calculations. Just unforeseeable complications. The dragon radar bounced off of the captain's dashboard and bonked Krillin on the head. He didn't even hear himself cry out as all went dark.
When he didn't feel any pain, Krillin's first thought was that he was back in Otherworld, body-less. Then he realized that he could hear Bulma's voice, urging him to get up. Well, Bulma would likely make it to Otherworld, however, he wasn't sure how many Namekians he saw there last time and there were two standing over him. He sat up, realizing that not only was he still in a body but that Bulma and Gohan were next to him. The taller, skinnier Namekian grabbed the monk where his nose would have been laughing at the man's confused stare.
"It's a greeting here," the smaller, more stout Namekian explained, also laughing. He and Gohan were on their feet, holding each other's noses as though they were shaking hands.
"Oh… okay," Krillin said and grabbed the Namekian's nose in return. "Nice to meet you."
It was certainly a strange greeting but perhaps he was being too… humanistic? Was that even a word? Though, it was probably odd for them to see a man with no nose.
Once everyone had let go of each other's faces, the two Namekians introduced themselves as Raiti and Zaacro. Raiti was the shorter Namekian and a doctor, who was responsible for healing their injuries.
The taller one, Zaacro, then beckoned them over to another room where there was a table already set for five with a large pot of soup steaming in the middle. Krillin felt his stomach growl at the sight. They'd eaten mostly MRE's on the ship, and random bentos that got packed. Nothing quite as homemade as the smells coming from the table.
They all made their way over, grateful for the food, but it was a bit odd. These were total strangers. He scanned the area and noted that the house was really just two rooms separated by a few feet of wall on either side. It was a very open dwelling with a black ceiling and lights every six inches all around the circular walls. Only one door.
They each smiled and thanked their hosts as soup was poured into their bowls. It smelled eerily similar to miso soup with little greens and onions in it.
"Is this really Planet Namek?" Bulma asked as she sipped on her soup.
Krillin side-glanced her with a frown. So now she questions it?
"Yes it is," Raiti answered before bringing a spoonful to his lips.
"And do all Namekians look alike? You guys look just like our friend, Piccolo," Krillin inquired.
"Oh, yes. All Namekians do look quite similar to each other. I see Earthlings look quite different from one another," Zaacro replied.
You have no idea, Krillin thought to himself, picturing the blue dog-man that was the king of Earth.
"So, we would like to help you find the dragon balls," Raiti said quite suddenly.
Everyone stared over at him wide-eyed, their spoons not quite reaching their mouths.
"How'd you know about that?" Krillin asked.
A strange feeling stirred in his stomach. Everything seemed a little too convenient. The soup was a little too familiar.
Raiti simply chuckled, chewing his food. He then lifted two fingers before him, making Gohan's glass of ...whatever they were drinking… raise into the air above their heads and come to sit in front of him. Zaacro then lifted his fingers and a box on the table opened up, revealing cigars. One came to him to easily set between his lips. It was already lit.
Amazing as these abilities were, these two were complete strangers. Krillin shifted in his chair and watched the smoke exhale from Zaacro's mouth.
"We know just about everything there is to know about you three," the Namekian stated.
The room fell silent. Krillin became aware of the breathing and heart patterns of his companions as he digested this information. It was unsettling to say the least. Not that the man had any skeletons in his closet but it seemed quite unfair for their Namekian hosts to know so much about the Earthling travelers but to be so closed-mouthed everytime a question was asked about themselves or the situation.
Then again, Kami knew plenty about others without being told. It makes sense since they are the same race but I still don't like how little they're telling us.
"So then, you could tell us what happened to our spaceship," Bulma inferred, raising her glass to her lips.
"Of course," Raiti said in a relaxed manner. "It's safe in our storage. Did you think we were going to take advantage of you?"
"Not at all," the heiress shook her head. "But if we're going to leave your planet, I do need to make sure our ship isn't horribly damaged."
"We can take a look after lunch," Zaacro assured.
The rest of their meal went on without much more of a word. For this, Krillin was strangely comforted. He didn't want any more of a show of their hosts' abilities, nor did he really want to know what they knew about the Earthlings.
Man, if Yamcha were here instead of me, he'd probably be handling this better.
They made their way to the other building, which was far taller and didn't have any windows near ground level. Once inside, there were no lights either. All light emanated from the small circular windows which dotted randomly around the upper tiers of the building, casting an eerie glow along the walls and objects that filled the storage. There were many odd looking things inside but Krillin didn't ponder on it too much.
He noted that Gohan had said very little since arriving, and wondered if it was shyness, homesickness, or just letting the adults discuss everything. He sure was different than his sister who, while well-mannered, did not hold back her opinion.
There was the ship alright, standing tall towards the edge of the storage unit. It seemingly glowed brightly among everything else, the only grey and white object in this place. It was like a holy beacon to the monk who just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
Bulma got closer, walking all the way around it without a word. She was also being uncharacteristically quiet, and acting in a manner than Krillin wasn't familiar with. Normally the woman was loud, confident, and a little obnoxious. But since the Namekians showed off their telepathic abilities, she piped down and seemed to choose her words and actions more carefully.
"There's just some bumps and scratches. Assuming the mainframe is also intact and the fuel hasn't leaked anywhere, which I don't smell, then we should be good to go," Bulma said finally, coming all the way back around to them. "Is it okay that I open it up? I need to get the Dragon Radar."
"Oh," Raiti began digging in the pockets of his robe before producing the small, silver tracker. "This?"
Krillin narrowed his eyes. That didn't seem right.
Bulma walked over and took the radar carefully as though it might bite her. She turned it over and pushed the top button to bring up it's coordinates. It beeped and let off a small sound every few seconds.
"How did you know to get this out too?" she asked.
Raiti just smiled and tapped the side of his head. Bulma looked from him to Krillin, who returned her uneasy gaze, then glanced at Gohan - also with a confused look - before looking down at the radar that cried for her attention.
"There's four nearby. We better get going."
She put the radar in her pocket and pulled out a pack of capsules, choosing one and tossing it on the ground. From the smoke rose a modest vehicle, just big enough for four or five people, bearing Capsule Corps logo. It was almost more comforting than the sight of the ship. A piece of home.
"May I suggest one of our vehicles," Raiti offered. "Something so small would surely look like a meal to a lot of the local wildlife."
Once again, putting the control more in their hands. Everything was feeling worse by the minute.
But maybe I'm being paranoid. They haven't actually done anything to us, and they did heal our injuries and offer us food.
Back home, random acts of kindness weren't that unusual. In fact, hospitality was quite normal. But Krillin just couldn't shake the creeping in his spine.
He watched as Bulma cast her eyes downward with a look on her face as though she were calculating. It was the same stare when she was looking over a piece of machinery that she was unfamiliar with, like the Saiyajin scouters.
She released the capsule again and the vehicle disappeared.
Raiti then led them to a larger, orange vehicle, leaving Zaacro behind.
"Your friend isn't coming?" Gohan asked.
"He's going to go ahead and bang out the dents in your ship. Make it good as new," the Namekian informed them as he opened the shuttle door to let them inside. He got into the driver's seat and started up the airship.
As they travelled over the plains of the planet, Krillin noted that the thing made a god awful noise. It was as loud as a train and didn't quiet or relent as they flew. There was no possibility of talking amongst just the three of them, if need be. Krillin wasn't sure why that thought occurred to him - okay, whatever, I am letting my paranoia get to me - but it was just one more thing that made him feel less and less in control of his own situation. It made him feel vulnerable. Krillin hated that. Warriors were supposed to feel strong and here he was looking over his shoulder at everything on this planet.
The first dragon ball was easy enough to find, hiding in the bottom of a river, which Raiti graciously grabbed for them. He didn't hesitate to hand it over or really mention anything about his help to them. Admittingly, that did make the monk feel a bit better about their situation but just barely.
The radar then led them to some ruins a few miles off. He easily pushed aside the doorway of a tomb and the four of them went down the stone steps by flashlight, the only sound being their shoes tapping on the stone as they went. It was musty and full of cobwebs. Every few feet, they would pause and look over the glyphs on the walls, no doubt created by the earliest Namekians.
"The ancient Namekians looked quite different," Krillin observed, looking over the paintings. They were large with exoskeleton-type body structures and spiky heads. No antennae.
"Ah, yes. We evolved quite a bit from our previous forms," Raiti chuckled.
Bulma and Gohan both looked over the paintings as well, the former with much scrutiny in her face, but neither said anything. She looked back down at the radar and continued to follow the path it set for her. The tomb opened up more and the stairs came to an end. Darkness enveloped them from all sides, the flashlight their only source of light.
Krillin thought back to all of the mummy movies he'd seen and hoped they wouldn't come across some supernatural corpse on their way to find the dragonball. Then again, it was hard to tell what was more than three feet in front of them.
Bulma went ahead of them slightly as the beeping from the dragon radar increased in frequency. Her flashlight then landed on a long container that sat in the middle of the floor. It was three feet high and long enough to fit a human body, adorned with drawings and jewels.
You've gotta be shitting me.
Krillin sighed, watching closely as Bulma edged towards the sarcophagus. She gulped audibly, staring down at it.
"Do you want one of us to do it, Bulma?" Gohan asked.
"N-no! It may be dirty and disgusting and full of dead stuff but I can do this. I'm not that much of a girl!" she snapped and pushed the lid aside with gusto.
His trained eyes noted her moment of hesitation and the way she gulped again before reaching her hand inside. Bulma rummaged around inside. Krillin could hear his blood pounding in his ears. Every moment felt like an eternity and he swore something would happen. He swore something would grab her and-
The flashlight dropped out of her hand as Bulma shrieked, casting them all into darkness.