"After the Sleeper Woke Up" - Chapter Ten Chapter Ten

The controls were easy enough to manage, Endive noticed. She tipped her head to the side as she studied the control panel on the ship, listening with half an ear to the conversation Bulma was having with Trunks.
"I'll be fine, Mom," he was saying. "She said that even if she doesn't come back, she'll still find a way to send me home. Don't worry. I've been in more danger before." There was pleading in his voice that made Endive smirk. He would feel guilty if his mother worried about him. She found it absolutely hilarious.
"Okay, but don't let her get you into trouble. At least, none that you could get hurt in." Bulma's voice was tense, then she raised it a little. Endive knew she was directing the next remark towards her, too. "I just want you to be careful, and take care of yourself. If you have trouble or need anything, don't hesitate to call me." The Saiya-jin arched a brow. What could they possibly need once they left?
She still wasn't altogether sure how she'd ended up taking the boy with her. She'd said something about him finding out for himself, and it seemed he invited himself along. Wonderful. However, she was sure he'd have his uses. If they did get into trouble, his Super Saiya-jin power would come in handy. . . provided he didn't blow a hole in the side of the ship or something similar.
The controls seemed easy enough for her to master, and what she didn't know she figured Trunks did. He seemed to have the gift for technical knowledge that his mother did. He was a rarity, in a way; looks, power, and intelligence all wrapped up into one.
Now if he could just do something about that bleeding heart of his.
It wasn't that she minded him being compassionate. It had it's uses, and he had been raised with the overly empathetic humans, after all; but there were points in time where she knew it would get in the way.
She had the sudden feeling that she was no longer alone in her own head. The crystal around her neck had gotten a little warmer under the T-shirt she wore, laying heavily on her skin. Oh, so you're awake , she thought at the presence.
The presence came from the crystal she wore about her neck. It was, in a sense, the last remaining one of its kind, but at the same time, all of its kind. The crystal's intelligence was from an unnamed planet that Endive had the bad -or good, depending on the perspective- fortune of crashing on after a collision with an asteroid. Her ship had been damaged, so she'd ended up staying there for some time to fix it. The crystals helped. She'd fought with the intelligence of the calm, fine, and beautiful creatures at first, then grew up a bit in her time there. She mellowed.
Endive actually had only a little to do with the final destruction of the planet. It was being torn apart by its own internal stresses, a fact which the crystals knew long before she did. They had been preparing for it. Her ship was fixed by then, and so, with this specially prepared crystal, she left. The crystals shared a single consciousness. If one survived, so, in a sense, did all the others. Following their instructions to complete the transformation, she dealt the final blow to the dying planet, and escaped only just in time.
She'd heard little out of the crystal since she'd awakened. The last time they had communicated had been after she'd awakened in the bedroom prison Trunks and Bulma had put her in. The Saiya-jin wasn't exactly sure what the crystal did in the meantime; dream, meditate, or simply watch. It seemed to awaken when it wanted to, or when she nudged it.
There was a feeling of agreement. Communicating with this peculiar creature was a unique experience. It preferred to speak with feelings rather than words, and for some reason, it interpreted emotions as different colors. Endive had learned quite a lot from it, including the language. It was quite helpful, too. It had numerous powers, and had helped her escape from the room she'd been locked in after she recovered. Of course, she wasn't going to tell either of them about it.
She waited a moment, and when she felt nothing more forthcoming from it, yet didn't feel it withdraw, she decided to get on with business.
She stalked to the hatch, face set in a scowl. Outside stood Bulma, hugging Trunks and telling him all those little things mothers think of to say at the last moment. Endive sneered. "Damnit woman, will you stop mothering him so we can get on with this? He's a big boy, he can take care of himself. Besides, the sooner we leave, the sooner he returns."
Trunks was blushing a little and looking embarrassed. She wasn't sure about what. Bulma frowned at Endive and looked like she was about to open her mouth to say something when Trunks pulled his mother into a brief hug, then climbed up into the hatch and looked down at her. "She's right, Mom. Don't worry about me. I'll be back soon."
Enough of this, Endive thought. She walked away from the hatch, leaving Trunks to reassure his mother alone. She went to the control panel, and fired up the ship.
There was a low hum, which quickly turned to a louder roar. If they hadn't finished their good-byes yet, then they weren't going to, she supposed. She was surprised Bulma was going to let Trunks go through with this. Then again. . . what could she do to stop him?
Not much.
Endive sat down in one of the chairs, hands resting on the arms, counting slowly to ten. By the time she reached eight, she heard the hatch slam shut, then Trunks walked in. He looked a bit nervous, but still set on going.
"Is your mother clear?"
"Yeah."
"Then take a seat and buckle in." He did, and she followed her own advice and buckled in. She had taken the chair with the main controls on it. She set for launch.
The rumbling increased for a moment, and there was the sensation of movement as the ship lifted. Endive watched this though the main screen; the slow rise of the ship, a higher perspective on the world outside. This followed by a blast, then the sensation of being pulled downward, and a blur on the screen of the world outside as they shot upward. Impressive. The ship blasted off without a problem.
Endive remained seated for a while, leaning her head against the high back of the chair, looking bored out of her mind. Trunks watched the changes that took place to the scenery as they moved out of the atmosphere and into space. There was a soft hum, then a click, and the computer announced a quiet feminine voice that it was turning on the gravity. The Saiya-jin sighed and set a destination with some coordinates she recalled from quite some time before, then unbuckled her restraints once it was done and stretched. "Finally," she muttered, then wandered off to explore the rest of the ship.