REASON
Disclaimer: sarcasmSince I wrote the last chapter I have bought the Dragonball Z characters and concepts. Akira Toriyama was very happy to hand the rights over to a psycho like me./sarcasm Actually I don't own any of the Dragonball Z characters or concepts, they still belong to Akira Toriyama and I still don't make money off this.
Authors Notes: Finally, another chapter. I've had so many stories on my mind lately so its hard to focus on just one. Theres always an excuse though, isn't there? Last time I was making a mockery of Biology and this time its Chemistry. None of this stuff is researched and I'm not a scientist, so I'll say dumb stuff. Deal with it.
Chapter 7: Blood Ties
Bulma knew that her son was trying to help, but couldn't see how stopping the resuscitation would do Vegeta any good. Trunks had been standing there for thirty seconds doing nothing as far as she could tell. Although she trusted her son she wondered if he was suffering from shock. She reached out to touch his shoulder and maybe gain his attention and just then a flicker of light caught the corner of her vision. She looked down and saw that energy seemed to be visibly running from Trunks' hands and into Vegeta. It wasn't long before she could feel a backwash of heat energy emanating from the area. Bulma finally understood what Trunks was doing, she just hoped that he was able to pull it off.
A few moments passed. Vegeta's heart monitor slowly crept back into action and the computer was starting to give Bulma some good readings. Trunks, however, was starting to look slightly pale and his breathing was becoming heavy. Trunks hadn't said a word since he entered the room and Bulma was starting to worry. She wanted to know if everything was going according to plan. She was used to being in the dark with Vegeta, but normally Trunks communicated with her quite well. She didn't really expect him to interrupt the process of saving his fathers life for a nice chat though and contented herself with watching life return to her husband.
Without warning Trunks took a shaky step back. His eyes seemed unfocussed and dilated immediately after opening them, but before anyone noticed they returned to normal. Most of the attention was concentrated on Vegeta who hadn't stirred. A loud thud quickly restored this attention to Trunks who lay floundering on the floor. Videl knelt down to cradle his head as Bulma rushed around the bed. Trunks' cheeks flushed and he tried to struggle to his feet trying to hide his embarrassment with an uncomfortable smile. "Sorry. I'm not used to losing so much energy so quickly." Videl helped Trunks to his feet and supported him to a chair.
After only seconds of sitting Trunks raised himself to his feet. His eyes quickly darted to his father, but he averted making eye contact with his mother. Then he calmly walked out the door and was just about to race down the hallway when he heard a shrill voice call out. "Hold it right there young man." Trunks turned around and to his surprise it was Chichi talking.
"What?" he asked as politely as he could considering he really had to get back on the battlefield.
Chichi softened her look and said in a much quieter voice, "Don't you think you need to rest a little longer."
"No, really, I'm fine."
"Hmm, you saiyans are masochists, you really are. Just make sure my Goten doesn't have to go risking his life for you when you drop from exhaustion."
Trunks started to reply, but realised it probably wasn't something that needed an answer. He gave Chichi a reassuring nod and headed off down the hallway again, hoping that Goten and the others would still be alright.
*
A silent awe fell over the crowd. The sky had just been illuminated by some nondescript light source and was followed by a cry of pain. The group was lost for words. Fortunately none were required because everyone knew what this meant – they had arrived at the battlefield. With an air of caution the revolutionaries began to slow their pace, now approaching in complete silence. It was no secret that many were afraid and several whimpers were restrained from rolling off their lips, fear the only thing keeping them quiet.
Trina could see that Mike was trying to be brave, but he was never a good actor. A gut feeling she had developed for Mike's actions told her that he was probably more worried than she was. That could be blamed on his lust for life though – something ever present in his attitude. A small smile ran over Trina's lips, remembering the first time she had met Mike and instantly fallen in love with his intensity. She knew the reason he was such a coward at times was because he loved life and desperately clung to his right to live it. Her brief contentment was soon squashed by the knowledge that she no longer held this fiery desire. She had been pushed too far in her life and now it didn't seem to have any impact on her anymore. She was detached from life and her body was left moving the motions expected of her. It was almost laughable that she could depart from life so easily without anyone even noticing.
A muffled gasp ran through the crowd as the fighters came into view, then disappeared again. With their incredible speed they flashed in and out of view, seeming demons of war creating havoc even when invisible to the untrained eye. Tucking themselves away behind a thick patch of trees and scrub the group watched in awe. Several nervous voices could occasionally be heard over the sounds of battle, most asking neighbours such questions as, "Which one is Goku?" and "Where did that one go?" and "It's all just a blur."
Trying to block the horrendous noise from her ears Trina looked over at Mike, seeking some comfort, but the sight she was met with was more disturbing than the battle itself. Mike, her quiet and under-spoken Mike had been enraptured by the bloodshed. The compassionate flame that had burnt so strongly in his eyes and been extinguished leaving a blank stare where Mike used to reside. "No," she mouthed, trying to turn away. It couldn't be true, Mike was such a nice quiet person and would never revel in the death of another. Trina knew that he believed that the entire revolution was wrong, he had told her himself. Such a sweet face would never lie. She shook her head and turned away disgusted by her own stupidity. Her mothers warnings from many years ago now ringing true in her mind, 'They don't wear a sign around their neck, Katrina, and its not printed on their T-shirts. You have to make sure you really know a man before you throw away anything for him.' She shook her head, ignoring the few strands of hair that flicked into her eyes. She blinked hard, managing to hold back the tears of despair.
As if he had sensed her restlessness Mike looked over at Trina and noticed her unusual actions. He laid a hand on her shoulder, moving it down towards her waist and resting it on her hip while his other hand rubbed her arm comfortingly. Trina looked up at him, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "You OK babe?" Mike asked. As if on cue, the fire in his eyes lit once more. The recognition confused Trina even more. No longer did she know if this was Mike. It seemed that there must be two beings in there, duelling for the consciousness of one body. The want to believe conquered quickly though, crushing her previous doubts. Her mind began to convince itself that she'd not really seen that look in his eye. Mike had called her 'babe', just like he always had before this whole mess. It had seemed like a lifetime ago, but now it all came rushing back into perspective. The happy times they had spent together were no longer clouded by the worried mists in Trina's mind, there was only crystal clear memories showing her just what Mike had to offer her. Still, there was something telling her that even if she did make a wrong move it wouldn't matter. The world had gone wrong so many times and still come right exactly the same number of times and because of this Trina knew that consequences were not final, they never had been anyway.
"Trina?" he continued, wondering how to get her attention.
"Oh, sorry Mike." Trina said, her voice cracking. Mike knew that she was reaching the point of tears. "I think you know what it is," she finished.
She was right, Mike knew that this was hard for Trina, but he also knew that it was very important that nobody find out it was so hard for her. He took his head in her arms and held it to his chest, resting his cheek on the top of her head. For a second Trina seemed to hesitate before she tugged back at him as if she were trying to pull Mike through her. He drew his head back to look at her, wishing he could protect more than her eyes from the spectacle.
Another huge blast sounded not far from their hiding place and for the first time since Mike had signed Trina up he began to wonder if he'd made a mistake. It was so dangerous here, and the androids probably wouldn't be going out of their way to rescue bystanders, even if they were on their side. At first he had thought that the entire cause was a sham, but it wasn't long before he actually started to realise just how vulnerable the world really was. Goku's wrath was something to be feared and something he wanted to protect Trina from. Although he constantly reminded himself that even if the cause was unjust, at least he was on the winning side, he found himself needing the justification less and less until the only time he needed it was when Trina wanted a reason. He was still able to smile now as he watched the worlds real rulers fall to their knees. 'Just hope Trina doesn't see it,' he thought to himself.
*
Bulma stared at Vegeta's still silent face. He had been showing signs of coming around since Trunks had left, but hadn't quite made it. In his sleep he had been fighting an unknown enemy, probably still plagued by the realisation that would have hit the nanosecond before he fell into unconsciousness – he had been defeated with a single blow. "Come on, Vegeta." Bulma whispered running a hand over his forehead and then taking his hand in hers. Maybe he would wake up just to tell her to stop wasting his time with the 'sentimental garbage'. But still his head rolled on his pillow and his eyes remained shut, but still seeing so much. Videl and Chichi had since departed Vegeta's bedside, trusting he was in good hands. After all, Bulma knew what she was doing.
At the same time, Bulma was worrying about Trunks. He had left before he had a chance to say a word to her and she could tell he was tired from giving up a lot of his life force for his father. Sometimes she wondered if Trunks and Vegeta really understood what they put her through when they were out fighting. Having Vegeta as a husband was hard enough, but with Trunks so eager to follow in his footsteps it made the load so much worse. Ever since she had met Goku her life had consisted of worrying about the outcome of battles that the world was blissfully oblivious to with her best friends and family inevitably caught up in the middle.
A stir on the bed caused Bulma's eyes to light up in hope, moisture threatening to spill. As usual, it was a false alarm though. As usual Vegeta was being stubborn, waking up on his own terms.
While sitting, Bulmas mind was still running over possible cures. Although Vegeta was getting better now, that was only due to Trunks' huge input of energy and without a cure he would continue to deteriorate. She had been sure that she had come up with the cure, it had all fitted so perfectly. Something must have gone wrong in her calculations then, but that couldn't be true as they had all been performed on her computer, made at Capsule Corporation, no less. Then there must have been something else. Think, Bulma commanded herself. She traced the process she had gone through in her head, trying to pinpoint where she had gone wrong. After several attempts she gave up, silently reprimanding herself for her inability to help her husband. So many times he'd come through for her, saving the world while he was at it and she couldn't even save his life; the one time he really needed her.
Something tickled the back of her thoughts though, she kept seeing herself taking the phial off the shelf. With a start she stood up, knocking her chair over in the process. She held the bottle up to the light peering through the liquid. It was so subtle that she thought she was imagining it, but seconds later she was convinced that there was a touch of yellow to the clear fluid. Chichi, Videl and Chaotzu watched in wonder as Bulma took up two test tubes and added potassium thiocyanate to one and potassium ferocyanide to the other. Then, with her hands shaking from nervousness and excitement she drew some of the liquid from the phial. Carefully she added some to each of the test tubes, one turning a bloody red and the other turning a pale prussian blue. Under her breath Bulma whispered, "Ferric Ion."
After a few seconds of silence Chaotzu cleared his throat and carefully ventured, "Umm, Bulma, whats wrong?" Everybody knew that Bulma was not one to be trifled with when working or otherwise for that matter and so waited patiently for her to explain.
"Theres presence of the ferric ion in this," she said, indicating the medicine sitting on the bench. Then without warning she suddenly grabbed the blood red test tube and spun around quickly. Everyone but the sleeping warriors cringed, half expecting the test tube to go flying. Bulma gave them odd looks before continuing on while waving the test tube in front of their eyes. "Look, its formed a complex ion; iron thiocyanate. We are just luck that it didn't bond with anything in the cure or it wouldn't show up in the test."
Bulma was greeted with several blank stares. Plucking up the courage again Chaotzu asked, "Bulma, what does that mean."
Bulma let out a sigh as if she had become very tired from her sudden burst of energy expenditure. "I really don' t know how the contaminant got in there, it would have to be an extreme act of carelessness to make such a mistake. But however it got in there doesn't matter. The point is that this is not good stuff to have in your blood stream and either through a Saiyans different chemical makeup or through whatever it was that caused this its effects were sped up." Bulma slumped into her chair. The explanation had taken her last bit of energy. She had not had a decent sleep for so long and despite the urgency of the situation her eyelids felt like lead weights. Rubbing a hand over her face she continued unexpectedly, "The thing is, that is the last bottle we have of the cure and its the only thing I can think of to fix the problem."
"Can't you get some more from elsewhere?" Videl asked, trying to be helpful.
Bulma shook her head. "Do you know where that cure came from? It was designed off an extract from Saiyan blood. I once managed to convince Vegeta to give us some blood for testing."
"How did you manage that?" Chichi asked, curious as to how Bulma was able to control such an independent Saiyan as Vegeta.
"Umm, well...I told him that needles were the one thing Goku couldn't handle. It certainly hit the right nerve because in a second he had his sleeve rolled up and his arm offered to me." Bulma chuckled at the memory. "Anyway, we found this in his bloodstream and synthesised some more, thinking it could be very useful in the future. It seemed to help the body's gas transfer system – sort of like the oil of a Saiyan body. However if this thing was designed to target Saiyans then whoever made it would have accounted for this and somehow countered its effects. I figured a little boost in the levels would counteract the effects of whatever happened. Basically, its a Capsule Corp. original. It took weeks to get the stuff made and was a fairly costly project. This is all that was left after we realised the stuff was too potent to help out humans. I just can't understand why there was Ferric ion in it though. The stuff hasn't been in use for over a year."
There was still one unanswered question that the others were hoping Bulma would answer. She remained quiet though and Videl was forced to ask, "So what do we do now?"
"Normally I'd try and get the contaminant out, only that won't work because there is nothing I can think of that could work without bonding to the medicine itself, rendering it useless. The only hope would be..."
The three leaned forward waiting for Bulma to continue. After a second of silence they could not wait and prompted her, "Would be?"
"No, it would never work."
"Just tell us, Bulma." Chichi screeched. "Its your job to make my poor Gohan and Goku better so you had better start thinking of a way to make it work."
"Since when did this become my job? I'm not a doctor, I am not trained for this sort of stuff. Don't you think I realise how urgent this is? My husband almost died-" Bulma stopped, the words hitting her with full force. Vegeta had almost died because of her mistake, she should have noticed the strange colour before. She regained her composure and lifted her head with a despairing look in her eye. "I'm not going to do this anymore. I can't, I don't know what I am doing. I nearly killed my own husband. We need to take them to a real hospital," Bulma cried out. Her words blended into a continuous stream and tears started to roll down her cheeks.
Chichi instantly felt bad about what she had said and moved to comfort Bulma, but Videl stopped her and walked up to Bulma herself. "Bulma, the doctors know about as much about Saiyans as they do about poverty. They can't do anything, theres one person right now who can." Videls voice had a small edge to it. Although she was far younger than Bulma, Videl knew that she would have to slap some sense into her or the worlds three strongest warriors would simply fade away. "OK, you made a mistake, but that happens. It'd be an even bigger mistake if you fail to keep trying. So you have to tell us how we can help or what your plan is and maybe we can think of a way around the problems."
Chichi was rather stunned by Videls tone, it wasn't like her. However, the words seemed to work to their desired effect as Bulma wiped the tears from her eyes. "Alright, but you are not going to like this."
"Just go ahead."
"That substance is the answer, I'm sure of it. However, the only way we could get some of it would be to extract it from Saiyan blood and input all the data into the computer again so that we can synthesise some more." Bulma looked up at the others with tearstained eyes, unsure of how they would react.
"So you need Goten or Trunks for this then?" Videl asked.
Bulma nodded.
"OK then, Chaotzu, you are going to go out there and get Goten in here," Videl stated as if the answer were very obvious.
No direct challenges were met, but it was clear that nobody was happy with the plan. Chaotzu looked around the circle, waiting to see if there would be any complaints. Since none arose he slowly floated out of the room before speeding off to his mission.
*
Trunks flew back into the battle just in time to intercept a blow aimed at Goten. Instantly the battle divided, each android with a single opponent. This made it a lot easier for Goten to watch his back, but he was tired after his last struggle. He noted that Trunks' power was far lower now too and couldn't stop his mind wandering to possible answers. Trunks seemed to notice the lack of concentration and ordered Goten to stay focussed, just as a fist came flying into Trunks' jaw, slurring the last word. This was followed by a swift knee into Trunks' chest causing him to double over. With his back exposed the android moved to slam his elbow into the spine, but Goten caught the elbow on its journey. The diversion did not last long though as the second android came up behind Goten and wrapped his iron arms around him, forcing the air from his lungs and crushing his ribs into his internal organs.
The cry of pain was heard across the countryside and snapped Trunks to attention. He came racing towards the android who was causing his friend so much pain, but his path was blocked by the first android. With a huge war cry his hair swirled upwards, laced with gold and he simply head butted the android from his path. He enveloped a ball of concentrated energy in his palm and was about to slam the fist into the androids back when there was a faint whoosh in the air and Trunks found himself face to face with his silenced friend, his fist embedded in Gotens chest. Goten stared into Trunks' eyes, the pain evident, but Trunks' despair more so. For a second Trunks did nothing, simply holding his fist in position before his muscles gave way and his fist was pushed out from Goten's gut. Trunks looked down, realising that although he had not broken the skin there was enough internal damage in there to take a Saiyan down. Gotens hair slowly fell back to its normal position and returned to its inky black colour. His breath slowed and became laborious, his chest heaving against the pressure.
An evil laugh echoed behind Trunks, but he was oblivious to the sound, all he could feel was the hatred for the creature that had turned his own power against his best friend. Trunks could feel his body on the verge of going Super Saiyan, but there was just not enough left in his body to ascend. The hatred for everything these androids had done was now melting into him and becoming a part of him. These were the same creatures that had laid his father out so helplessly and had now tricked him into hurting his own best friend.
The android opened his arms releasing Goten who began to slowly float to the ground, his arms wrapped around his waist, his eyes were mere slits due to the agony pulsing through him. He knew he had to keep fighting, all he needed was a second to recover. Something inside of him said that Trunks didn't have a second, especially when he was so weak. He knew he didn't have time to be injured so looked up at the two androids, both so similar, and Trunks. He raised his energy, trying his best to power up, but it was taking enough to stay in Super Saiyan form and all he achieved was a weak increase. Determined to save his friend he ascended anyway. As he did so he realised that while Trunks was engaged in battle with one of the androids the other was preparing to send a huge blast at him. In the time Goten managed to open his mouth to warn Trunks, Piccolo was there and blocked the blast. Goten's mind questioned where he had come from and realised that he had left Tien and Yamucha to hold their own again. He looked over at where that fight was taking place and realised that it wouldn't last long. The power signatures coming from that area were slowly fading and he assumed that the androids wouldn't be getting any weaker, androids don't get tired. With a new born fire in his spirit he powered up, preparing to engage into battle once more.
"Goten," Chaotzu called out.
"Eh?" Goten spun around, surprised by the sudden interruption in his endeavour.
"Goten, its me," Chaotzu continued, scared by the angry look in the young warriors eye. Although he realised Goten would never willingly hurt him, there was always the chance that he could be mistaken in a battle. "Bulma really needs you inside."
"I can't, Trunks needs me," Goten yelled as he started to fly off again.
Chaotzu flew up in front of him. "So does your father...and your brother. Bulma needs some blood from you so she can save them."
Goten looked at Chaotzu for a second, unsure of what to do. He couldn't leave Trunks alone in a battle, could he? He couldn't let his father and brother die either. Knowing he didn't have long to choose he indicated Chaotzu to go and taking one last look at the fight raging overhead, he followed. He had told himself that once his dad was better then he would save Trunks - he just hoped that was true.
Goten quickly overtook Chaotzu on his trip back to Capsule Corporations. As soon as he realised this he dutifully waited, but gave up and ended up taking Chaotzu in hand and dragging him through the corridors trying to waste no time. It wasn't long before he realised he was getting lost and had to ask for Chaotzu's help, which was gladly given. However this did slow down his pace a lot.
Finally arriving in the small base the others had established Goten looked over his father and brother, unable to hide his concern. He was only granted a few seconds of this before Chichi ran up to him and started inspecting him thoroughly. She frowned at the trickles of blood that ran across his body like an intricate plan and even more so at the blood that was running freely from a gash on his forehead and the stream of blood coming from the corner of his mouth. Bulma took only a second to insert the needle into Goten's arm and pushed him onto the last unoccupied bed. Fortunately he had not inherited his fathers innate fear of needles and he sat quietly, although clearly eager to leave. While waiting for Gotens body to give up enough blood Bulma asked, "How is he?" There was no need for indication as to whom she was referring to, Goten knew she was talking about Trunks.
Goten lifted his head to look her in the eyes and said, "He's making his father proud." Goten knew that the last thing on Trunks' mind right now was pleasing his father, despite the fact that it was constantly plaguing him off the battlefield. There was no time for such thoughts in such an intensive battle. Nevertheless, Goten was out of the action for now and his thoughts were returning to what really mattered. "How are they doing?" he asked, nodding toward the injured fighters.
Bulma sighed, "After this, they will be fine. In fact, it shouldn't be long before your father comes along to save the planet, as usual. Just don't tell Vegeta I ever said that."
It was now apparent to both of them that neither was willing to give out gory details so Goten watched his blood slowly trickle from his arm, willing it to hurry. As if on cue, Bulma gently pulled the needle out and reached for a plaster to tape across the prick wound. She paused and looked back over Goten who was already leaving, understanding that after this Goten would be needing a lot more than a plaster. She opened her mouth, but before she could say a word Goten was gone.
Goten could hear the familiar sounds of war piercing the air outside He gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain exploding inside of him. He could see the light marking his friends fight, but even as he had run through the hallways of Capsule Corporation he knew where they were and what they were doing. The incredible presence tugged at his stomach, warning of his friends' plight.
Trunks sensed Goten's power jump up to Super Saiyan once more, indicating he would be returning. Trunks had tried to defeat the androids without having to transform, just as his father had always told him to. Vegeta's idea of father-son bonding was fighting, but Bulma had occasionally made Vegeta talk to Trunks. The awkward silences never did them any good so Vegeta began to drill fighting strategies into his son. There was one that Trunks had never bought into though, and that was holding back transforming until it was absolutely necessary. His father had told him that it was because one must conserve energy in a fight. Even if an enemy is weaker than you they can wear you down, stamina is as important as strength, he had always said. Trunks had told his father that it would surely be easier to simply transform and throw the strongest attack known at them. Vegetas response to this was a sturdy whack rocking Trunks forward. Trunks could still remember what his father had said to him that day, "Martial Arts without honour and philosophy is simply a street fight." Trunks never understood what his father meant, but the conviction in his voice told him that it explained his strategy well. It was hard to know with his father though, trickery was a part of his tactics and he could have been avoiding Trunks knowing he was right. Still, the word honour and Vegeta seemed to fit quite nicely into a single thought and Trunks felt that there had to be something significant in his father's words.
Not wanting to displease his father Trunks kept at it, trying to maintain his normal state. Goten rejoined the fight and knew that Trunks was being foolish. If they had known at the start what they were truly up against then they would have never tried to fight at anything less than Super Saiyan. "Trunks, you've got to transform. You'll get killed if you don't." Trunks took the words on board, realising that Goten was right. Taking only a second out of the action Trunks let his energy flare up and swirl through his body pulling his hair upward and turning it gold. His eyes melted from a deep black into a deadly aqua. For that second he was transforming images of his father and Gotens shocked face raced through his mind helping his power to rise so quickly.
Goten smiled. Despite the circumstances he was glad that Trunks had come to his senses, he would hate to lose such a friend. He wondered if Trunks really was OK, he should have figured out that he had to transform on his own without Gotens instruction. Goten knew he would be distracted by his fathers condition, but he also knew that this was not the time. A fight was a fight was a fight and distractions were fatal...always. As if to add emphasis to the point a stray energy ball that Piccolo had knocked aside flew just past Gotens arm. He could feel the heat and power emanating from it and reminded himself of his own advice before returning his concentration fully to the cold eyes of his opponent.
*
Bulma took the blood sample, carrying it as carefully as one would a newborn baby. She stared down at the thick crimson as if it were her lifeline. In a way it was, if this stuff didn't do the trick then she and everyone else on the planet would be doomed. For a brief second a profound thought crossed her mind, 'what if they aren't here to take over the planet?' Of course, this was discarded as quickly as it came – that would be a real first, some megalomaniac that was actually hell-bent on destruction or taking over the planet.
With her mind back on her task she found herself wishing that she had allowed herself to listen to her meandering muse – it was better than the alternative. All she could think of was Vegetas pale face and the lifeless hands. By association the dreadful image of her dead husband came back into her mind, that moment that she realised her ignorance and carelessness had cost the life of the only man she would ever love. The tube of blood in her hand had begun to clot and she resumed tipping it up and down as she walked along the quiet hallway. The sound of her lonely footsteps echoed back at her making her want to wince, not at the noise, but the solitude. Although she knew that her friends and family were nearby she felt very alone. The pressure was building up and reaching a critical point and was not helped by the constant reminders of her lack of sleep. She picked up her pace a little more, now pacing a slow jog. She found herself wishing that Vegeta or Trunks were there to drag her through the maze at breakneck speed. "At least I'm not alone," she whispered to the emptiness.
A double take confirmed Bulmas suspicions that she had overshot her destination by a few doors. Retracing her steps she entered the quiet lab. Groping the wall for the switch she balanced the tube of blood in her other hand, maintaining a firm grip. A satisfying click lit the room and revealed a complete mess. "When was the last time someone cleaned this place?" Bulma caught herself asking. With a tired sigh she swept several stacks of papers off the desk uncovering the keyboard. A loud thud rang out and Bulma jumped in shock. She looked at her feet and found a large book that had been buried in the papers. Her breathing returned to normal as she sat down on the swivel chair a couple of feet away from the computer. She grabbed onto the desk and pulled herself forward hearing the wheels trample discarded paper in the process. Then she stretched her hands above her head and let out a loud yawn before beginning to type furiously at the computer, bringing the equipment online. The machine several feet away from the computer whirred into life and let out several welcoming beeps. Bulma gently lowered a sample of the blood into the device and returned to the computer screen to begin the analysis. After typing in some data and several requests there was nothing left to do but wait. With that in mind Bulma rested her forearms on the desk and lay her head on them drifting off into a troubled sleep almost instantly.
*
Jacques and Paul were hurriedly packing up their equipment. The plan was now underway and there was nothing they could do here anymore. Paul grabbed a disk from one of the computers before him and put it in his shirt pocket. Jacques looked over the workstation, checking to see if there was anything forgotten. Seeing that there wasn't he dashed out the door, not forgetting to grab his long overcoat on the way out. Paul took one final look over the place that he had spent so many months working on and in before shutting the door behind him. With his laptop under his arm he jumped into the back of the waiting van where Jacques was waiting impatiently. Jacques tapped his foot and his face was wrought with irritation. Recognising the tell-tale signs Paul quickly flicked his laptop open and plugged it into the control panels before him. He typed in several commands, before pausing and offering the computer to his boss who unceremoniously pressed the 'Enter' key.
BOOOOM!!! The entire building exploded, taking all the evidence with it. The blaze crackled with destruction and licked outwards for a moment before it began to die away, starved of nutrients. As Paul was pulling the van doors shut trying to ignore the inferno and tumbling debris, Jacques began telling the driver, "Go to...Mancoff, where the hell are they?"
Paul didn't bother to look up from his work as he said, "Just north of Capsule Corporations."
"You heard the man," Jacques screamed, a large vein had begun to pop out on his forehead, pulsing as if it were alive.
The driver was a big, tough, burly man and when he turned around to face Jacques, Paul had to stifle a laugh. He had a murderous look in his eye and his muscles bulged at the movement. To his credit, Jacques did not show any outward fear, but it definitely put him in his place. "No, I didn't actually. Where are we going?"
"Err, just north of Capsule Corporations." Jacques replied, trying to hide the crack in his voice and the slipperiness forming in his hands.
"North of Capsule Corporation it is." The driver started up the van and revved it once before taking off at a dangerous speed.
"Slow down you incompetent imbecile, there is lots of debris around here and we don't want to waste time changing a tyre." Jacques had either forgotten who he was speaking to or had remembered who he really was because the words were spoken with his usual air of confidence.
Realising that his brief moment of influence was over the driver obediently slowed down until they were onto the main road.
Jacques caught Paul glancing over and asked indignantly, "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing sir, just checking Hyakugou's readings," he replied, tapping the screen next to Jacques. He had in fact been enjoying the spectacle, but that sort of speech was for those who were suicidal. He quickly read over the data on the screen and told Jacques, "Our androids are being put up against some strong warriors, but nothing that should cause us too much concern. They've been forced to push up their power though. We won't want this battle to go on too long. At the rate they were fighting they could have gone on forever without tiring. However, once the defenders powered up they had no choice but to increase their power to avoid being vulnerable to a sudden strong attack. At this level though, they can get tired-"
"Yes, we know. We've heard you stupid little speech before. They are still invincible, it'd take them a long time before their power begins to wane, right?"
"Thats right sir, but if Goku..." Paul instantly regretted saying anything. Jacques flicked his head towards Paul and lowered his eyebrows and twisted his lips into a terrible scowl.
"Mancoff, Goku was hit by the Hisan no Kosen, was he not?"
"Yes sir."
"And you assured me that there was no way for its effects to be cured, did you not?"
"Yes sir."
"Therefore, Goku will pose not threat, will he not?"
Paul lowered his voice and hung his head in submission. "Yes sir." He didn't like being forced to give such definate answers. Sure, to his knowledge there was no cure for the effects, but he didn't know everything. If everything he'd heard was true then these people seemed to manage to find a way to pull through anything the whole universe could throw at them. Knowing this made it hard to believe that his meagre creations could be anything but a drop in the ocean. Of course, this was the type of thing that could not be explained to people like Jacques, they didn't know enough to know that you can never know everything.
"Well, don't just sit there in a stupor. Whats going on?" Jacques asked, a lot more calmly.
Paul ran his eyes to the other end of the van where Hyakugou's monitor was. The readings caught him by surprise. "Hyakugou should be there any minute now, Sir." he replied with a touch of disbelief in his voice. They had come so far...
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Thanks for reading. Please review.
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