The next chapter is posted! Enjoy :)
Meanwhile on the Main Ship not far from Earth...
Two fidgety soldiers had just entered the Main Room. They hope their Lord wasn't too angry by their slight tardiness. One blames the other for going for third helpings in the Mess Hall which delayed their important meeting with the Galactic Emperor. Both men stumbled through the doors and clumsily got down on one knee. The subordinates gave them disapproving looks for not being on time. Which didn't help their anxiety.
"Surely you two fools have a good reason for coming in late." Came a snappy voice from a single risen platform in the middle of the large room.
Both men were sweating bullets and were speechless on what to say. Their silence only further proven to agitate the Evil Emperor, who finally turned his blood red gaze to them.
"Well? Out with it." He snapped, making the two men jump.
"Apologies, Lord Frieza. We unfortunately left the Mess Hall a little late. I assure you it won't happen again. And we eagerly await your instructions." One of them finally replied.
The petite tyrant swiftly jumped down from his seat eyeing the men critically. He swears the Frieza Force is recruiting more and more imbeciles these days. He really wanted a couple Elites for this. But unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to spare any for the task at hand. Just like the previous mission on Earth, he needed significantly weak soldiers so they can slip in undetected by his foes. It worked well enough last time and he would've obtained his wish had he not included that renegade saiyan warrior into the mix. A mistake he will not make again anytime soon.
"I don't have much time for reprimands right now. I will tell you though to leave your unsavory floundering out of your future endeavors. This is a task I cannot afford to have messed up again. Are. We. Clear?" He enunciates.
"Yes, My Lord." They said in unison with a slight bow of their heads.
"Good, you have the radar Dr. Runo was able to duplicate. Now get going." Frieza said.
The two men wasted no time leaving. Frieza turned to his two top subordinates, Berryblue and Kikono.
"I want you two to report to me on their progress and when they find all of the dragon balls. It should be easier this time around because our drones have indicated that those two monkeys are off world again. So, there shouldn't be any dilemmas this time around." The tyrant stated.
"Yes, My Lord." They said in unison.
The two then exited the large room, leaving Frieza alone. He approached one of the large windows at the front and peered through it into space. His crimson eyes set on the swirling galaxy in front of him as he patiently awaited further news.
On Earth with Eve...
Eve yawned as she relaxed on the beach. Most would think the last place she'd be right now is near the water. Especially, since she works on it all day long. Yet here she was, getting some color as she laid back on the lounge chair. Bulma was sitting next to her reading a magazine. While Bulla was having a blast in her little inflatable kiddie pool. Trunks and Goten were tossing around a beach ball by the water's edge.
It certainly was a nice little outing. And Eve still can't believe the outcome of her life. At this point, she has been here around six months in this new reality. Even then, there were times she was still adjusting. Hey, it's hard getting use to another reality when you spent the first thirty-two years of your life in the only one you have come to know. A world she had to learn quickly and grow up fast, because it was a living hell for a good part of her youth.
"You know, I'm pretty embarrassed to ask this, especially since you been here now for several months. I guess I've just been so busy like always with work that I seem to forget other important things in life. But I must ask. When's your birthday, Eve?" Bulma asks.
The question caught her a little off guard. Probably because Bulma wasn't the only one who had been mad busy these last several months. Much so, that she didn't bother celebrating it when it came. Though she also had a very good reason too. Eve was still somewhat recovering over the initial shock of finding herself in a reality that wasn't her own.
"It's long passed. It was back in January. On the eighteenth to be exact. When I first arrived here, it was the beginning of December back home. After finding myself here, I guess my birthday was the last thing on my mind. Since I was still adjusting to being here when it came around." Eve replied.
Bulma nodded in understanding. With it currently being June, it definitely was some time ago. Yet ironically, it was December at the time here too when Eve arrived. The only difference was the year. Something the blue haired scientist still couldn't wrap her head around. She almost spat her drink across the room when Eve mentioned the year back home for her was 2021 going on 2022.
It's hard to gage for anyone, thinking of the year being in quadruple digits instead of the triple they were all used to. Even Eve almost shit a cinder block when she was told the year was 782 here. It baffled her because in her timeline that year or time period should she say was barely into the Middle Ages. Bulma was pretty shocked when Eve told her that mankind at that time in her reality wasn't advanced and didn't have any tech for centuries to come after that.
To this day, Eve still found it extremely strange looking at the calendar in her home or at work. While the months and days were relatively the same, it was the year that still throws her off.
"Well, at least now we know. Then we can throw a big party for when it comes around again." Bulma said.
Eve smiles and shakes her head.
"Thanks, but you don't need to go all out. I much prefer smaller parties with close friends." She replies.
"And family." Bulma added.
Eve's smile faltered a bit but nodded in agreement, nonetheless. The older woman didn't miss the subtle change in her body language though. And it reminded her of a long awaited and overdue question Bulma been meaning to ask her.
"Do you...miss them? Your family I mean." Bulma inquired.
Eve looked away and looked to the scene in front of her. This was something she definitely wanted to avoid talking about. She hoped it was a topic that would never be broached again. But then if there is one thing the younger woman learned about the Capsule Corp Heiress, is that she is very astute and appears to have a steel trap memory.
"I'm sorry, Hun. It's just...well you been here for a while now and not once have I ever heard you talk about them." She said.
The young woman turned her gaze down to her lap. Eve was silent for a moment, trying to think of the best way to approach the touchy subject. When a multi-colored object suddenly obstructed her view, and she jumped a little when a light round object made contact with her. It was the beach ball the kids were playing with.
Trunks and Goten came running over.
"Sorry, Eve! Goten has a pretty lousy throw at times." Trunks said, as he ran over.
"I do not, Trunks! You just can't catch sometimes!" Goten shot back.
Eve couldn't help but chuckle at their antics. While Bulma rolled her eyes and shook her head. But even then, she still had a smile on her face as well.
"It's all good you two. And I'm sure there is nothing wrong with anyone's throwing or catching skills. Sometimes things just get away from us. Take it from someone who was pretty lousy at sports growing up." She joked.
The boys giggled in response, because they were quite aware of Eve's athletic abilities or should they say, lack thereof. It's true that she was in great shape and took care of herself and was a superb diver and swimmer. But any other sports, she couldn't play to save her life. They almost pissed themselves when she tried her hand at soccer with them.
She was trying to execute what would've been an easy pass. Instead, when she kicked the ball, it veered hard to the left and hit Vegeta in the side of the face a couple yards away while he was standing by the food table setup in the backyard. He barely budged from her flimsy half-assed kick but was stunned nonetheless because he was not expecting it.
Both boys dropped to the ground laughing their asses off. Even Goku was cackling like a hyena. Whereas Eve quickly ran over and started apologizing profusely and asked him if he was 'ok'. She obviously forgot how tough the saiyan warriors truly were and was unaware that the ball didn't hurt him one bit. It just surprised him if anything. He simply held up his hand to silence her and grunted. Goku assured her he was fine and most likely didn't eve feel it.
Watching the two spar not long after that completely blew her away. No wonder it didn't faze the saiyan prince. Her accidental attempts were feeble at best when compared to those two or any of the other Z-Fighters for that matter.
"You want to play with us? We promise not to poke fun at your sport skills again." Goten said.
"Yeah, sure. I am getting a little crispy just laying here." She says.
Eve stood up and pulled her light mesh cover-up over her bikini clad body before joining the youngsters. Playing with the kids was always a great distraction for her and took her mind off of things. Plus, in this case it saved her from having to explain her past to Bulma. Something she was still not ready to do yet and probably won't be for a long time. Hell, it took her a good couple years before she told her friends back home. The only one who knew of her past was Drew.
The rest of that afternoon seemed to go smoother after that. Even when she got tired of playing with the boys and went to sit back down, Bulma didn't bring it up again. The older woman apparently must've took the hint to just let it slide again. She can only gather at this point that her new friend probably didn't have such a good home life. Considering Eve didn't want to talk about it.
The group left that evening so they can be home in time for dinner. Bulma invited Eve to stay for dinner. Eve politely declined though and claimed she was exhausted. So, Bulma dropped her home on the way back to her place. The young woman said goodbye to her and the kids and promised them she'd meet up with them for lunch tomorrow instead.
Eve spent time in the shower rinsing the saltwater and sand off. When she came out, exhaustion was hitting her a little harder. She didn't even feel like cooking. So, she just made herself a sandwich instead. Afterwards, she retired to the couch in her living room. She surfed the channels until she settled on a movie. It just reminded her of one of the other many things she missed.
She loved movies and music. Sadly, none of the movies or bands she really loves exists in this reality. So, whatever was on the t.v. here or the radio is all stuff she never seen or heard before. Though it didn't mean she hasn't seen any decent movies or heard any good music. She even found some books here she enjoyed. Eve just keeps reminding herself; 'One day at a time'.
She leaned back into the comfortable couch. A couple movies later, Eve looked out on of the windows and saw it was starting to get dark out. She dragged her blue orbs away from the window and glanced around the room. Until her gaze settled on the bookcase on the far-left wall of the living room. So far, there were only a few books taking up space in it. Knick knacks took up the other areas of the bookcase.
Her eyes landed on one object in particular Eve rose from the couch and went over to the bookcase. She reached into the third row down and pulled out the small orange orb. Eve took it and walked back to the couch and plopped back down onto it. She leaned back and held the ball up to observe it.
'Still seems odd that this tiny thing and the set it belongs to can summon a wish granting dragon. The size and color of it along with the little red star in it kind of makes it look like a kids toy even.' Eve thought as she eyed it.
A yawn escaped her, reminding her how tired she was from her day at the beach. Eve shifted to lay down on the couch. She rested her head on one of the soft couch pillows and started to doze off. A little over a half hour later, she was out. The t.v. still on in the background.
Not far from Eve's Home...
"We're close, the radar indicates we're closing in on next one." A soldier told his comrade.
The other grins in satisfaction.
"Yeah, and according to the radar there is a cluster of three of them not too far from here either. We should have them all in no time." He happily announced.
The other chuckled, "And it didn't even take us long to find them all. It was pretty quick and easy finding the first two. But the fact that three of them are clustered together just made our job even easier. Lord Frieza shall be most pleased."
Their tiny cruiser glided quietly through the clouds over the ocean as they closed in on one of the dragon balls location.
With Bulma...
"Crap, I forgot to ask her what time she wanted to meet up tomorrow for lunch." Bulma muttered.
She fished her phone out of her pocket to call Eve. Upon the first ring though, she heard a ring coming from her beach bag she had yet to unpack since she got in. The dial tone on her phone chimed again in unison to the ringing coming from the bag. Not soon after, Bulma hung up the phone as she approached her bag on the floor against the wall.
"Guess, I'll be asking her tonight in person seeing as she accidently left her phone in the bag." She says to herself as she pulls Eve's phone out from underneath a beach towel.
Bulma then left the bedroom and went downstairs to grab her car keys.
Meanwhile back with Eve...
The soldiers cursed for jinxing themselves. They thought it would be easy getting the next dragon ball. As they drew closer to their location and the clouds cleared, the signal on the radar started beeping louder as they started descending closer to the ground. A few homes came into view which sat several meters to half a mile away from the water. One in particular was a little closer to the water than the others and situated up on a small hill.
As the cruiser traveled closer, their grins slowly morphed into frowns. Once they finally cleared the water and drew closer to the first home, their suspicions became clearer. And they were not happy about it in the least. The dragon ball radar in their position started beeping faster. This meant that the dragon ball was in one of these homes. According to the radar it was in the closest home that was up on that hill they were about to fly pass.
Before they could bypass its roof, they harshly hit the controls making their tiny cruiser come to an abrupt stop. They then landed it behind the home. The side hatch quietly hissed open and they slowly poked their heads out to see if they were in the clear, before fully exiting the cruiser.
Both soldiers quietly approached the back patio door which happened to be a sliding glass door. One reached out to slide it open, but to their disappointment, it was locked.
"Great, now what?" He hissed.
His comrade rubbed his chin in thought.
"Wait, there is a small cutting laser in the cruiser. I'll go retrieve it." He said.
Eve was still fast asleep on the couch completely unaware of any danger. She didn't wake as the two men silently crept through her house. They lowered the volume on the radar and tried being as stealthy as possible. The heard a noise as they traveled further through the halls, and it gradually was getting louder. The arrow on the radar was pointing them out to the same direction as the noise.
A couple minutes later, they entered one of the larger rooms of the house. they saw the source of the noise was coming from a decent size screen mounted on a wall over a mantled fireplace. A couch was situated in front of it. They split and walked on either side of the room, examining the surroundings. According to the radar, the dragon ball was in this very room.
They heard a faint rustling sound coming from the center of the room and turned their attention there. The soldiers stopped dead in their tracks when they spotted a young petite woman slumbering on the couch. The one soldier who was a little closer quietly inched closer trying to see signs of her awakening. He's eyes widened when he noticed what was in her right hand.
He looked to his comrade and pointed to her. The other furrowed his brow in confusion and followed where his comrade was pointing at. That's when he too noticed it. The very dragon ball they came here looking for, was in this woman's hand. It was resting on the couch tucked into her side. This certainly made the situation worse and all the more challenging. Especially, since they wanted to get in and out without being noticed.
That didn't seem like much of a possibility right now. They'd have to try to take the ball as carefully as possible without waking her. The shorter of the two slowly and quietly moved in. He stopped in front of her and with slight hesitation cautiously reached over to the dragon ball. He pressed three of his pudgy fingers to the smooth orb and very carefully and slowly started to ease it out of her grip.
Her grip around the orb was not exactly tight, but not all that loose either. It didn't help that the incredibly smooth surface of the orb was making it challenging for him to keep a good grip on it with his fingers. He was slowly making progress though and had it halfway out of her grip. Until she shifted onto her side, which made him fumble with the dragon ball.
Eve awoke to feeling a quick jolt of pressure in her right hand against the orb she apparently fell asleep holding. Her eyes snapped open and that's when she noticed a burly alien like man standing over her. The look on his face made him appear he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. There was a moment of silence before she let out an ear-piercing scream.
Bulma had just arrived moments earlier and was about to knock on the front door, when she heard Eve scream.
"Eve!" She yelled.
The older woman twisted the knob and was surprised the door was unlocked. She wasted no time and barged in through the door. Both men's gaze snapped to the front door that just so happened to be off to the side of the living room. When they noticed another woman enter the room, the one closest to Eve pulled a gun from his side and pulled her from the couch. He pressed the barrel of the high-tech gun to the side of her left temple and held her in front of him.
"Don't come any closer or we will kill her." He snapped.
Eve's eyes widened and her terrified gaze settled on Bulma who was standing a few feet away from them with an alarmed look on her face.
"Please don't. You want the dragon ball, fine. But don't hurt her." Bulma said.
The other gave her a scrutinizing look, recognition flashed through his eyes.
"Wait a minute. Your Vegeta's woman." He surmised.
Then he snapped his attention to his comrade who still held the young woman hostage.
"Don't let her go. You do, and this bitch will contact the saiyans. Plus, the other fighters that are currently here. And then we're screwed." He commanded.
"Well, we can't have that can we. We will just have to take her as leverage then, just in case the others do come running. Let's take her along with the dragon ball and go." He replied back.
The other drew his gun and pointed it at Bulma.
"Don't move. We're taking both the woman and the dragon ball." He barked.
Scared and torn, the blue haired scientist was at a loss on what to do. She can't think of way out of this. At least not without her or Eve getting hurt or killed. She watched on helplessly as they hastily made their way to the front door. The one pointing the gun at Bulma shouted at her to move out of the way as they ushered through the door.
They then quickly made their way to the cruiser out back, all while still holding a gun to Eve's head. Then the one holding her roughly shoved her through the side hatch onto the cruiser. Eve roughly hit the far side of the small craft. They quickly boarded the ship and rushed to the tiny cockpit up front. She didn't even make it to one of the seats before she was roughly thrown back into the floor of the ship as they quickly gunned it out of there. She hissed in pain as the wind was knocked out of her as her back hit the solid metal beneath her.
"Fuck! Now what!? We can't possibly go back for the other dragon balls now! Probably should've just killed the blue haired bitch to cover our tracks!" The shorter one said, clearly pissed and afraid.
"It's too late for that now! The longer we stayed the more at risk we would've been had she contacted the others and alerted them to us! If that happened, I have no doubt they would've killed us on the spot!" The taller one barked back in agitation.
They knew either way, they were royally fucked.
As they continued to bicker back and forth, Eve dragged herself to the back corner of the cruiser and pulled her knees into her chest. Her vision began to blur as tears started to flood her eyes. She can't believe this is happening. Just when it seemed everything was getting easier; this happens! Now she was being kidnapped by these crazy alien men and who the hell knows what they were going to do with her now.
Poor Eve, just when she was finally starting to get comfortable, this happens. Can only imagine what it will be like for her when she encounters the infamous Galactic Emperor. Until Next Time ;)