Disclaimer: DBZ does not belong to me. I am not making any money off this, etc, therefore it would be completely pointless to sue me over this one little fanfic. Also, to answer a question I've been asked about twenty times, no, I had never, ever read Ender's Game before writing this story. Whatever similarities between this fanfic and OSC's writings are purely coincidental, believe it or not.

Fire and Ice

Chapter Five, The Attraction

Alec punched in the numbers again.

"200,000,000 / 3 / 31400 x 4000 =..." He waited for a second as the calculator did the math, "8492569.0021231... Damn... damn..." He slammed his fist against the keys, watching the numbers flash dully, "Damn them..."

"How long has he been like that?" Bulma asked Ender, quietly, so that Alec wouldn't know that they were eavesdropping.

"Ever since we walked back in..." Ender said, her voice as soft as Bulma's. She walked back down the hallway, letting Alec have his privacy.

Bulma shook her head as she followed Ender, "What kind of being has the power to reduce Earth's population from billions to eight and a half million? Trunks must have some idea, but he doesn't tell me..."

Ender wanted to she could say what she was thinking. She wanted to tell Bulma how that wasn't the question, since even a demi-Saiyan could destroy the world if they wanted to. The question is why such a being would do something like that... But she didn't. She couldn't.

Bulma was one of the few people left underground who still had some hope for the future. Ender didn't want to crush it.

* * * * *

[How old was I when I first found the meaning of death? Thirteen? Fourteen? When did I first realize that the androids were so...ruthless?]

* * * * *

"Sometimes," Bulma said, walking back into the workshop and gesturing for Ender to follow her, "I wonder how the androids could be so cold."

"No use." Ender said. She walked into Bulma's lab, closed the door behind them and glanced over the room, "No point in sitting around and wondering when you could be doing something."

"But I am doing something." Bulma said, indicating the machinery all around her in the workshop, "I'm duplicating the machine you invented. That's major."

"I don't see how. You already have the time machine."

[Well,] Bulma considered as she tried to find the right words to explain, [At least she's honest.]

"The time machine is rather..." She said.

"Crude."

"That's not the way I would have put it, but..."

"Crude. Not in the sense that it's poorly constructed, but in the sense that sometimes it can alter or even destroy timelines by accident. The gateway, on the other hand, is more like a doorway that a transportation device, and because of that, doesn't hurt its environment as much?"

"Yes. We're going to need help, if we're to survive any longer." Bulma said, switching on a computer, "The thing is, we can't get all of the help we need from the people we have left here."

"What you're saying is," Ender said, "That you need someone to destroy the androids. Either that or at least provide enough back-up to help you do so."
Bulma hid a smile, [And smart enough to make conclusions on her own.]

* * * * *

[Was it when Gohan died?]

[No... I couldn't have been that naïve. I had to have some idea before that. Even when I was just a child, I must have known that there was more to life than hiding underground.]

* * * * *

"The thing is," Bulma said, choosing her words carefully, "Right now, even if all the fighters from my timeline and yours came together to face the androids, I doubt that we could beat them." [Give her a little information, see if she can reach her own conclusions.]

"And getting more fighters wouldn't help. After a while, they'd just get in each other's way... So if defeating the androids isn't the help you need... or at least it's not your immediate concern..." Ender said, "...Then what you're worried about is resources?"

"Exactly. At the rate we're going, at most, we can last underground another five to ten years. After that, we're going to need more supplies. Even right now, we're trying to get by with too little, so we can conserve for the future."
Ender reflected on that for a moment, "Well then," She said after a long silence, "I suppose I should help you build this thing..."

* * * * *

[Maybe it was during the first time I snuck above ground and saw the destruction the androids had done to the world.]

[Maybe it was then...]

* * * * *

"How long will it take to build this thing?"

"It took me seven and a half months in my timeline."

"That long?"

"It shouldn't take so long here, because I was doing the experimentation along with the building back then. I'd say, four, five months or so?"

"And you'll be staying with us during that time?"

"...Depends."

* * * * *

[...I lost the chains of innocence...]

[...That my loving mother had forged to protect me...]

* * * * *

"Do you have all of the materials for the gateway?"

"I brought as many as I could, and you have most of what I need here, but I'll probably have to go above ground a few times in the next couple of days, to find the rest of the supplies."

"All right. Be careful. And don't be afraid to ask Trunks for help if you ever need it. He needs the distraction, anyway."

"...Yes."

* * * * *

She lay flat on her back, brushing a strand of dark hair away from her eyes as she started to build the frame for the gateway. She glanced over at the computer console, where an enlarged design was on the screen.

Bulma had fallen asleep hours ago on the desk, and as Ender took a long look at her for the first time, she realized how old she looked. Stress and constant worry had worn away a woman who had once been beautiful. Now that attractiveness had been replaced by something more becoming for a woman her age- Strength. Dignity.

[I wish I could be as strong as her.]

* * * * *

"Ender?" Alec said, "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Let me get this done." She said, not looking at him as she continued to work. Alec smirked. There was only about a third of the frame up, although she had been working for over a week. He had helped, and Bulma had helped, but it was obvious that Ender was the only one who really knew what she was doing, so for the most part, they had left her alone.

"Even Bulma's asleep. You need to rest."

"...."

Alec looked at her, looked at the detached air that she had wrapped around herself to protect herself, and wondered, not for the first time, how she could just radiate coldness and intensity, at the same time.

[I wish I could be as strong as her.]

"Here," He found himself saying, "I'll help. Get things done faster so that we can both get some sleep."

* * * * *

When Bulma woke up the following morning, she was in her own bed, even though she remembered that she had fallen asleep in the workshop. She threw her blankets off herself and got up a little groggily, almost stumbling over the covers as she went out the door.

The whole house was quiet as she walked down the hallway past the kitchen to the door that would lead to the workshop. She looked at the clock. Nine-thirty AM.

[Shouldn't Trunks be up by now? He's an early riser...]

She opened the door a crack and smiled.

Her son was still asleep, the fingers of his right hand on the keyboard of the computer, his head resting on the forearm of his other hand. The computer screen was flashing from picture to picture. It took Bulma a moment to realize it was because Trunk's hand was still pressing down on the keyboard. She walked over, moved the hand.

Ender was also asleep, but she was leaning against the wall, eyes closed, head tilted back a little. Bulma watched her for a moment, wondering how she could look so intense even as she slept.

[She's so...so...] She couldn't find the right word. Instead, she closed the door behind her as she left, letting the two of them get the rest they needed.

* * * * *

His eyes opened to the soft glow of the computer screen, stuck on the image of a side view of the gateway Ender was building. For a moment he was disorientated, wondering where he was, before he remembered.

[Looks like I fell asleep in the workroom last night.]

He couldn't blame himself. He hadn't been getting enough sleep for a while, so he had just managed to stay up until five or so in the morning before he crashed. He had woken up only out of force of habit.

He lay there for a second, then got up with a quiet groan, stretching out the aches that had developed over the night from the awkward position. He glanced over at the framework of the gateway, now about halfway finished.

[Need some more work on that. Maybe Bulma would explain some of this technical stuff to me, like she always wanted to.]

Ender was standing a few feet away from him, leaning against the wall. She was asleep. Her head was tilted back a little, her arms crossed over her chest, a slight frown on her face.

[She looks a softer when she sleeps.]

He considered the slender frame.

[No. Softer isn't the word for it. Just...younger.]

* * * * *

[She bit the inside of her cheek as he slammed her against the cliff face behind her, but she forced herself to try to ignore the pain. Blood flooded the inside of her mouth as she clenched her teeth, willing herself to hold on just a little longer.]

[Why can't you just leave me alone?]

["Won't cry out?" He inquired, his voice low and soft, "Proud enough not to give me that pleasure, I suppose..." He smiled, his eyes staying as cold as ever as he bent down to whisper in her ear, his breath warm against her skin, "But why not? You've already given me enough."]

["Bastard..." She hissed.]

* * * * *

Pale blue-green eyes opened so sharply that he was startled for a moment. He watched the look in her eyes change into an almost panicked expression before both of them calmed down. The icy shield was back.

"Good morning." She said, her voice even. So even that it was hard to these were the same eyes that had, just a moment ago, been filled with fear. She pushed against the wall so that she stood, every movement almost languid.
Dammit, she's closed herself up again.

For a second he was angry, angry at his missed chance to see the true Ender, angry at her for being so damned indifferent.

Then he fought it down. It was still there, seething at the surface, but it was more controlled.

[Sorry, Ender, but you're not as cold as you'd like to be.]

* * * * *

[Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid...]

[You forgot that you weren't in the privacy of your little cave, didn't you? Forgot that you were in Bulma's workshop.]

[How was I supposed to know that he was standing over me like that when I woke?]

[Baka. Should have had more control.]

[Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid...]

* * * * *

[She's scared of something.]

[Well, at least it proves that she's not altogether emotionless. And it also proves that she's not as strong as I thought she was. I always forget that despite everything...]

[...She's just a girl.]

* * * * *

"Trunks?" Bulma called, hearing voices coming from the workroom, "Ender? Are you two up?"

"Yeah," Trunks said, his voice getting clearer as she heard footsteps coming down the corridor. Ender came in first, darting a glance at Bulma before looking away, and then Trunks, who was obviously angry again.

Bulma shook her head. Trunks was a controlled person who seldom reacted to anything, but upon the arrival of this girl, he had been showing emotions on his face that she hadn't seen in a long time. Anger. Confusion. Perplexity. She wasn't sure whether it was for the better or for the worse. She considered the two of them, standing near each other, but not together.

She smiled.

Better. Bulma's smile grew as he glared at Ender, and she just gazed back, indifference in her eyes. He's worried about her, and in the past, I'm the only person he was ever worried about in his life. Like it or not, he's attracted to her, and that should make things in this house very interesting for a while.

She couldn't wait.

* * * * *

He still didn't know what to make of the young girl who called herself Ender. She was distant, but brilliant, every one of her moves calculated in advance. But so cold sometimes, that she barely seemed human.

And yet...

* * * * *

[So, he knows.]

[Not much though. All he knows is that something is making me have nightmares, and he's angry at me because I don't want to tell him.]

[I've never understood why humans have different ways of getting angry at others. This demi-human in particular glares, ignores people, and after all that, pretends that he's not mad.]

Ender shook his head.

[He's undoubtedly his father's son.]

* * * * *

She sat in front of the computer console, pressing the enter button over and over, trying to find the right diagram that would provide a better view. This was the most delicate section of the frame, and if she didn't build it right, it'd collapse and take some of the other parts with it.

After a few more minutes of searching, she found the chart and got up, then shook her head.

[I could do this myself... But it's so much easier if I just asked someone to help me.]

She wasn't about to ask Alec. He was still mad at her, so she figured that she would leave him alone for a while, let him get over his anger, and when he did, she knew that he would be the one to initiate conversation.

* * * * *

"Hello." He said, so close to her that she was startled for a second. She turned a little, watched him as he drew a chair over and sat down next to her, then she turned back to the computer screen.

"Do you need something?"

"No. Wondered what you were doing. Wanted to know if you needed help."

"I see..."

* * * * *

"Trunks?" Bulma called, "Ender?" She walked down the hallway, "Are you two here?" She checked their rooms, the kitchen, then finally, the workshop. There she found the two of them both bent over the computer screen, Ender's hand sweeping over the designs in explanation, while Trunks asked some question or the other.

She smiled, then closed the door as quietly as she could.

* * * * *

[How does she manage to do that?] Alec asked himself sometime later, not for the first time, [She does things that annoy me all the time, but at the same time, she can make me realize that I have no justified cause in getting mad at her.]

"Are you listening?" Soft voice, quiet, a little husky for a girl, but still feminine.

"Sort of."

[She's standoffish, but when the need arises, she doesn't have any problem talking to people.]

[So, socially moronic by choice, or by nature?]

She shook her head, "I was explaining about the programs?"

"Yeah."

She's brilliant, but she doesn't like to show it.

She watched him for a second, waiting for more of an answer, those strikingly exotic eyes still on him.

[She's persistent. Give her a scrap of information and she'll annoy you with that calm way of hers until you tell her everything. If you don't, she figures it out herself eventually.]

"So you weren't listening." She put one arm around the back of her chair and typing with the other, her slender fingers moving over the keyboard with a practiced ease.

"..." He didn't answer. He was watching as she stretched languidly, admiring how the slender frame moved with a catlike grace.

[She's beautiful.]

"Are you listening now?"

"Somewhat."

[She's a mass of contradictions within herself. And all of that, put together creates this personality that both repels me...]

[...and pulls me in at the same time...]

* * * * *

She shook her head. He just wasn't paying any attention. She couldn't blame him. He was a fighter, not a scholar. At least he had tried to concentrate, but he had been drifting off for the past couple of minutes.

Well then. Might as well move onto a topic that he enjoys more.

"How do you train?"

"Hmm?" Alec said, but she could see that she had his attention.

"How do you train?" She repeated, "If you go above ground, your ki level would be sensed by the androids, and if you stay here, then you'd destroy half the place."

"You want to see?"

She nodded.

"Come on then."