Chapter Two: Homecoming

"Something's very wrong." - Gohan

"Yo, Goten. Think fast."

Trunks tossed the football at his friend, who caught it with reflexes the likes of which hadn't been seen by human eyes. They continued tossing the ball back and forth, flying and turning Super Saiyan whenever necessary.

"Boys!" Chi-Chi yelled from inside the house, "Time to come in! Dinner!"

Goten and Trunks looked at each other and smiled giddily. When they got inside, Goku and Ox King were already at the table, which was set with a feast fit for a king. Ten kings would've been enough for the average Saiyan, but Chi-Chi couldn't cook that much even if she wanted to, and she was serving three Saiyans, not to mention a hefty human and herself.

"So," Goten smiled, "We gonna eat or what?"

"In just a second." Chi-Chi smiled, "I... hey, is that Bulma and Vegeta?"

The entire Son family and their guest leapt from their seats in order to see who had parked outside their house. Just as Chi-Chi had thought, it was the Briefs.

"Back already?" Trunks sighed, "But I only got to stay over for a day! They were supposed to be gone a week!"

Everyone walked outside to greet Bulma and Vegeta, who had already stepped outside of their car.

"The trip got cut short." Bulma explained, "There's business to be done at Capsule Corporation. We're just stopping by to get Trunks."

"Well, would you like to stay for dinner? I'm sure we have enough." Chi-Chi smiled, lying through her teeth.

"No thanks." Vegeta muttered, "Let us take our boy home and then we'll feed there."

Bulma elbowed him.

"I mean we'll feed him there." Vegeta corrected.

Everyone stared at the couple, who seemed weirder than they usually were, something that was hard to do. Bulma looked intently at Trunks. Vegeta looked at the ground.

"Fine, let's go." Trunks said, breaking the silence, "See ya later, Goten. And thanks for having me Mr. Goku, Mrs. Chi-Chi, and Grampa Ox!"

They all said their goodbyes and the Briefs family took off in a hurry.

"Wonder what that was all about?" Chi-Chi sighed. She turned to her family, but they were already inside shoveling down food. She smiled and walked in after them.

~

"Are we there yet?" Trunks asked for the millionth time. He hated driving places. Why go in a car when you can fly?

"NO!" Vegeta snapped back, "Now, I am not in a very good mood! If you'd like to live, SHUT UP!"

Trunks kept his mouth shut for the rest of the trip.

Boy are they acting weird... he thought to himself.

~

When they finally arrived at Capsule Corp., Trunks was told to carry all the luggage inside. He begrudgingly did as he was told and walked up the stairs, bags in hand.

When he got to his parent's room, he tossed the bags in haphazardly, as any apathetic boy his age would do. He threw them a bit too hard, however, as upon contact with the floor and/or wall, the suitcases all exploded open, sending clothes flying into the air.

"Aw, crap." he sighed, "I'll have t' clean this up..."

Trunks began picking up the clothes at super fast speeds, stuffing them into drawers, back into suitcases, and under carpets. Trunks didn't notice too much, but one article of clothing caught his eye.

"What's this?" he said to himself, "Mom's nighty? But... there's blood all over it! And this is... dad's favorite pink shirt! It's covered in blood too! What the heck is goin' on here?!"

Trunks stuffed the two articles of clothing into a spare, empty capsule and tiptoed down the stairs. He could hear his parents being questioned by some of the Capsule Corp. employees.

"Mrs. Briefs, how are you?" the desk clerk asked, "Why are you two back so early?"

"We heard that the weather was bad in that area." Bulma replied, "So we decided to come back here."

Trunks stepped back into the bedroom.

"They told Chi-Chi that there was business here." he muttered, "Something's up, and the only one I know who might be as smart as my mom is..."

~

"Gohan!" yelled Videl, throwing on her clothes, "There's no time to lose! We've gotta get going!"

"I know! I know!" Gohan yelled back, "Ahgh! The pressure is too much! I can't stand it!"

"I know! I know! What're we gonna do?!"

Gohan looked down at the sheet of paper sitting on the wooden surface beneath him. Gohan was met with an enemy he had not yet faced.

A math problem he couldn't answer.

"THE TEST IS TIMED, GOHAN!" Videl cried, "I NEED THAT ANSWER!" Her leg began to tap furiously and excitedly.

Gohan pulled out his pencil and whirled it around, as if it were his weapon of choice, and put it to the paper. The other students in the class had been stumped by this problem as well, and if Gohan couldn't get it, no one could.

Scribble. Scribble. Scribble.

Gohan removed his pencil and the classroom erupted in cheers.

Erase. Erase. Erase.

Gohan returned to thinking. The class sat back down, anticipating his answer.

And then the bell rang, prompting the class to let out an exasperated sigh.

"Turn in your tests!" Mrs. Armstrong smiled, walking back into the class, "I hope you all loved question 23. It's the stupidest question on the city test, I know, but it's mandatory, and it doesn't count off too much. Gohan, did you answer it?"

Most of the students had already left, but Gohan and Videl were still there. The young Saiyan buried his face in his hands.

"I see." Mrs. Armstrong sighed, gaining a slight frown, "See you in class tomorrow, Gohan..."

Gohan walked out of the class, assisted by Videl, his face still buried in his hands.

~

"It's not that bad," Videl chided him, "It's not like anyone else got the answer to that question!"

"I know," Gohan sighed, "But I have a reputation to keep up. I'm the smart one.. and I'm supposed to-"

Gohan was cut off by the landing of a small, lavender haired Saiyan.

"Trunks!" Videl smiled, "What're you doing here? Maybe you can get Gohan outta the dumps."

"I dunno about getting him outta the dumps," Trunks said, staring at Gohan's condition, "But I need t' talk to him right now! It's important! And we need t' be alone!"

Gohan looked at Trunks, and then at Videl.

"Sure, you boys go on." she smiled, "Leave a poor girl such as myself to fend for myself in this wild, crazy world. I'll see you later, Gohan! And you too, Trunks!"

Videl walked off, as Trunks pulled Gohan into a nearby bathroom, and then into a stall.

"What is it, Trunks?" Gohan asked, smiling and rubbing his hands playfully through Trunks' hair, "Did you find a bug or something?"

"No, much cooler. I think." Trunks smiled, opening the capsule, "This is mom's nighty, and this is dad's fave pink shirt. They're both covered in blood. I thought ya might wanna take a look at 'em!"

Gohan examined the clothing, and then sniffed them, taking good care not to look too perverse when sniffing Bulma's undergarments. He couldn't help but think about what Master Roshi would do if put in this same situation.

"This is quite odd." Gohan muttered, "The blood on Bulma's clothing. It's more than one type. One of them doesn't smell human. A Saiyan's sense of smell is very acute, Trunks, if you didn't know that. On Bulma's gown, there's a foreign blood. Let's go to the school lab, and you can explain what's been going on to me on the way there."

"Okay, well, it all started..."

~

"...and then I flew straight over here, making sure no one saw me leave."

Gohan nodded and then went back to examining the clothing under his microscope. Vegeta's shirt was covered in the Saiyan Prince's blood. But Bulma's gown was covered in the manner that Gohan suspected.

"There's two types of blood here," Gohan muttered, "One is your mother's and it encompasses a large amount of what's on here. We'll call it 'Type A'. Then there seems to be another type of blood, and it's like nothing I've ever seen before. It's not human, per se. It's eating away at the other living blood cells. We'll call it 'Type B'.

"What's the weirdest part about all this is that the when 'Type B' devours 'Type A', the second type changes into an entirely new type, which I affectionately refer to as 'Type C'. It's all very complicated, Trunks, but what it all comes down to is that Bulma's blood has been tainted by this other one, and all I can deduce is... something's wrong. Something's very wrong."

Gohan and Trunks looked at each other, and then flew out of the room in unison.

~

Back at Capsule Corp., Bulma and Vegeta laughed in unison as they had the day before.

"Another bite, dear?" Bulma asked, holding the meat out to her husband.

"No thanks, Bulma." Vegeta shyed away, "I need to watch my weight. Your parents seem to be a little lightweight recently, maybe you should give it to them."

"Silly," Bulma smiled, licking the blood from her fingertips, "Where do you think I got it from?"

Bulma motioned to the living room behind her, where Dr. and Mrs. Briefs' lifeless corpses now lay. Vegeta laughed yet again.

"Now, when is that boy going to get back?" he asked.

"I don't know," Bulma replied, "Probably gone to play with some of his friends. I'll have him in for dinner when I find him. Then you can have your way with him."

Vegeta and Bulma laughed.

Well, that wraps up chapter two! I suggest you keep reading, or you may have to pay some sort of odd price that I do not yet understand. You think I'm joking? Oh, well, I warned you. I'm saving the Booya until the end of the next chapter.

Note to Self: The Booya thing's REALLY getting old. Quit after this story.