Disclaimer : I do not own DBZ or Hyperion
A/N : Well, this took a little longer than usual to get written, but I was on spring break and decided to sleep instead of write! Now I'm back at school and ready to put off my homework….
** … ** = thoughts
------- = scene change, time change, ect.
[ … ] = AI speech (except when the AI's are in human form)
----
"Ok, so you're telling me that they're both fine?"
"Yes Mrs. Briefs, Trunks and his wife are in good hands."
Bulma glared at the image of the man in front of her. He had small smile wrinkles around his amber eyes, and his silver hair was fashionably cut and clean – he was just the type of person that one could trust.
And that was precisely why Bulma was suspicious.
"If they're really fine, then tell me where they are, and who you are," Bulma said.
"I'm afraid that is classified information, ma'am – even this communication with you is slightly risky. I worked very hard to get permission to talk to you, but all I am allowed to do is assure you of their safety."
** Wrong answer, buddy, ** Bulma thought heatedly, ** Now I REALLY don't trust you. **
"Very well," Bulma said sweetly, though she was really at her most dangerous, "I think I can trust what you say for now. There's not much I can do about it anyway."
** Like hell there isn't, ** Bulma thought.
The silver haired man smiled warmly and nodded in agreement.
"I'm glad that you aren't upset about all of this. I truly apologize for their sudden abduction, but you can be certain it is for a good cause."
"When will they be back?"
"That is also classified, I'm afraid."
** Why doesn't THAT surprise me? ** Bulma thought.
"Well," She said aloud, "They'd better come back in one piece."
"Don't worry ma'am, they will be fine," the man said and abruptly cut off the communication.
"Damn it…what a bastard!" Bulma exclaimed and slammed her fist down on the console. "Who do these people think they're dealing with, anyway?"
"What are you yelling about, woman?"
Bulma spun around in her chair at the sound of Vegeta's voice.
"I just found out what happened to Trunks and Pan…well, kinda."
"What do you mean, 'kinda?' "
Bulma sighed – Vegeta was going to be angrier than her by the end of this.
"Well, this weird silver-haired guy just called me on the video phone. He said he knows where they are, and that they're fine, but he wouldn't tell me anything else. And, the damn bastard expected me to trust him!"
Vegeta crossed his arms and grunted.
"So, woman, what do you plan to do about this?"
"I see YOU don't have any ideas," Bulma said with a grin. Vegeta just frowned and waved his hand towards her dismissively.
"Well," she said with a sigh, "the only thing I can do right now is scan for unusual energy signatures. I'm pretty sure that they were in their part of the compound watching a movie last night, so I'll start there."
"Whatever, just get on with it."
"I will, but YOU'RE going to help," Bulma said, and tossed a remote control into Vegeta's hands.
"That's broken," she said with a smile, "and I'm going to need to it operate the energy scanner."
"WHAT energy scanner?"
"The one I'm going to build, of course!"
"How am I supposed to fix a remote for something that doesn't exist?"
Bulma ran her hand through her hair and rolled her eyes.
"It goes to one of the servant bots – if you fix it, it'll be much easier for me to modify later. Besides, it'll keep you from hovering over my shoulder while I build the energy scanner!"
Vegeta grunted and headed over to a workbench. He didn't really mind working with electronics; it was just fun to make Bulma mad.
Bulma shook her head and sat down at her own bench to work. She didn't know what type of energy they were looking for, or if that was even what they SHOULD be looking for, but she had to try something. She was not a woman to be trifled with, especially when her family was involved.
------
"Ummmm, Raz….I think we should get out of the boat."
Trunks' face was extremely white as he stared at the huge waterfall ahead of them. Raz, however, didn't seem the least bit concerned. Trunks bit his lip – he didn't know how they got the water and the boat to stay connected to each other in zero gravity, but he had a definite sense of up and down, and the waterfall ahead of them was definitely DOWN.
"What are you worried about Trunks? You can fly."
"I'm just not used to this place – I don't know what they hell I can do anymore," Trunks said and closed his eyes, feeling his stomach lurch as the boat fell over the edge of the water. He expected to feel himself falling, but instead, he felt exactly as he had before the boat had gone over the waterfall. Trunks opened his eyes and saw Raz grinning at him widely.
"What happened?"
"Nothing," Raz said, laughing.
Trunks looked behind him and noticed that the water seemed to drop off in another waterfall, but that was where they had just come from. Somehow what was up and down had managed to reorganize after they had gone over the edge.
"This place…..I just….damn….." Trunks stuttered. Raz's smile never left his face, and he patted Trunks on the back heartily.
"Don't worry Trunksie, you'll figure out all the secrets eventually."
Trunks groaned at the nickname, and briefly wondered why Raz had taken such an interest in him. He was very much an outcast in the colony, and he had gotten more than one odd look, but still Raz stayed by him, defending him when necessary.
"Ok man, I have to ask you something," Trunks said, regaining some of his lost composure, "Why are you taking care of me like this? I mean, I guess I just figured you people would lock me up or something since I'm different."
At this Raz's face turned serious.
"Honestly Trunks, there are some who would very much like to lock you up, but it's just not the way we do things," Raz sighed and softened his expression a little, "You see, Weiru and I were sent to your medical pod because we're the heads of security for this sector of the Biosphere. I'm still assigned to watch you, but I wouldn't want to leave if they made me. You're a cool guy, and I know you aren't here to trash the Sphere. Besides, we've had Web humans here before as honored guests. Once people get to know you, there won't be a problem at all."
Trunks nodded at this information – he had thought it odd that these people were just letting him gallivant all over the place.
"You know I'm not a Web human, right?" Trunks said, debating whether or not he should tell Raz what he really was.
"Well, you sure look like one."
Trunks sighed – these people trusted him, and they had saved his life. He had to tell Raz what he was.
"Look, Raz, there's something important I need to tell you about myself. I realize that your security is probably pretty lax in regards to one human, because there is no way one human could harm this huge place…" Trunks broke off for a moment and regarded Raz's confused expression. He sighed and continued.
"But the thing is, though it's true that I'm not a Web human, I'm not really a human either."
Raz blinked in confusion and shock.
"What are you talking about?" The red-haired Ouster asked.
"I don't know how much your people know about alien life, but I'm actually only half human. The other half of me is a race known as the Saiya-jin."
"Saiya-jin? Never heard of 'em."
"Well, my father is the only one of them left. Saiya-jin look just like humans, only they are extremely powerful and very strong."
"So, you're saying that you could destroy this whole place if you wanted to."
Trunks sighed – he may have just bought a ticket to a dungeon.
"Yes, I could."
Raz put his hand to his chin, apparently lost in thought. They stood in silence for several minutes, Trunks worrying about his fate all the while. Finally Raz looked at him and smiled.
"Well, this just makes my day!" He exclaimed, "Trunksie, my boy, I'd say you just earned the trust of the whole Ouster legion!"
"What?" Trunks said, confused.
"We already knew that you had Saiya-jin blood – the docs ran some tests while you were out cold. I didn't want to lie about not knowing what a Saiya-jin was, but I wanted to see if you were gonna tell me everything."
"Woah, wait a minute…" Trunks said, feeling somewhat violated. Raz just laughed and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Relax man," Raz said happily, "We had to perform the tests to save your life. You'd lost a lot of blood, and we had to synthesize more to inject into you. The docs really just stumbled across the information. The next test was to see if you would tell us what you really were. I realize this probably makes you trust me a little bit less, but it was standard protocol."
"Well, I'm a little creeped out, but so far I've seen nothing but good things in this place. The fact that you've shown me so much when you knew what kind of power I had is reassuring. I have to ask though, how do your people know what the Saiya-jin are?"
"Well, we actually have very little information on the Saiya-jin race. However, we possess many of the personal and scientific records of the person who created the faster-than-light propulsion system we use in our ships, and she had some dealings with the Saiya-jin."
"She? What was this woman's name?"
"Why, Bulma Briefs, of course! I can't believe you didn't know about her invention! It saved the human race during the exodus! The accident, of course, occurred hundreds of years after her death, but her engine system allowed everyone to escape safely."
Trunks was only listening to Raz with half an ear….he was still in shock from hearing his mother's name.
"Ok, you said BULMA Briefs, right?" Trunks asked shakily.
"Yes, of course."
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about her family, would you?"
"Umm, well….all we could gather from her personal records was that she was married to a very powerful Saiya-jin."
"Oh boy…." Trunks blinked and wiped some sweat from his forehead, "And….and she lived back BEFORE the huge exodus you keep talking about? The one that was like 300 years ago?"
"Yeah, duh."
Trunks understood everything now, and he was incredibly angry with himself for not figuring it out earlier. He was in the future – WAY in the future, and his mom was a legend! This was almost too much for him.
"Ok, Raz, you're really gonna think I'm crazy, but……Bulma Briefs is my mom."
"What? You're right; I do think you're crazy."
"It's true, Raz. She's my mother, and a Saiya-jin named Vegeta is my father. He is the last survivor of the Saiya-jin race, and I'm here from the past."
** Kami, I really sound like a nutball, ** Trunks thought unhappily.
Raz looked at him with an odd expression on his face. Trunks knew the Ouster would never believe his crazy story – it sounded preposterous even to him.
"Well, Trunks," Raz said after a long pause, "What you're saying IS pretty farfetched, but I've seen some really weird things in my life. I think I'll just give you the benefit of the doubt on this one….after all, we still can't figure out how you could've been floating around on an asteroid in the middle of space. You were hundreds of light years from any habitable planets, and there were no ion trails around to suggest that you'd been dropped off by a spaceship."
"Really? I mean, I know time travel is possible – heck, my mom invented a time machine, but how could I have traveled through time without one?"
"Your mom invented a time machine?"
"Yeah…well…..my mom from the future did, and an alternate version of me came into the past and warned us about some androids that were gonna attack us, and it created an alternate reality….but my mom, ummm…the one from my time, she invented one too….kinda…"
Raz blinked, totally confused once again.
"Ok….well, I realize that is a very long story," Raz said, "I'll just let you tell it to me later, I guess."
Trunks laughed.
"Yeah, it's pretty crazy. Hell, I've got a bunch of stories I could tell ya – I've got a couple where my dad and this guy Goku saved the whole universe!"
Raz laughed at Trunks' renewed enthusiasm – he hadn't expected him to appreciate the tests that were performed on him, but at least he still looked upon Raz as a friend.
"Hey Trunks, you want to see what Ousters do for fun?" Raz asked with a sly grin.
"Sure!" Trunks said.
"Ok, once we get this stupid boat to a dock, I'll take you up to the Outer Rim."
"Outer Rim, huh? Sounds exciting."
"You have no idea," Raz said, smiling.
------
~ The Web consists of 100 billion human beings. It is governed by a complex democratic system known as the All Thing, and headed by CEO Meina Gladstone. Gladstone is a renowned diplomat, and she has been elected to 3 consecutive terms of office. The Web is home to millions of different cultures, religions, and ethnic groups, and there are billions of restaurants, hotels, spas, resorts, clubs - ~
"ENOUGH!" Pan exclaimed, praying the implant would shut the hell up. She had not yet learned how to use it properly, and its incessant babble about every little question she had in her head was starting to drive her batty.
"Relax, Pan," Arnem said sweetly, "You will be able to control it soon. It just takes some getting used to."
"Ugh, well, it's driving me crazy. You didn't tell me this thing would be hard to use!"
Arnem laughed quietly – it was probably meant to soothe Pan, but it only served to infuriate her more. All she wanted was for the implant to shut up unless she wanted it to speak
~ The XG 20076 cerebral implant is a very delicate and sophisticated instrument. It will answer any and all questions you may have about the universe. It is currently set in 'perceptive' mode. Would you like to change the mode? ~
"What other modes are there?"
~ You do not need to address the implant aloud. There are several modes for you to choose from: 'perceptive,' 'infrared,' 'All Thing direct link,' 'dataumplane shunt,' and 'quiet.'
** QUIET. **
~ As you wish. ~
"Thank Kami," Pan said with a sigh.
"You have figured it out, then?" Arnem asked.
"Yeah, no thanks to YOU."
"Wonderful, then I suppose you would like to begin your trip through the Web?"
"Yeah, you supposed right."
Arnem smiled and handed Pan a white card. It had the word 'Universal' written across it in gold letters, and on the back was a magnetic strip.
"I see that the credit card never went out of style," Pan said.
"That is not like the credit cards from your time. It will allow you to use any of the public farcaster terminals in the Web, and it will also allow you to purchase anything you may wish to buy."
"ANYTHING? You mean, I could buy a spaceship if I wanted to?"
"Yes, you can buy anything you want with that. It has no limit."
"Awesome!" Pan grinned and looked at the card. If these bastards were gonna make her stay in their time, they would certainly pay for it.
"Well, now that you have your card, let's be going then. Your implant will be able to identify any world you set foot on, as well as any restaurant, shop, bar, hotel, club, or any other place you decide to go. You have one week to explore, and then you must return to the dataumplane. Your implant will tell you the code to enter to get here."
"Yeah, great…whatever," Pan said. Arnem just smiled and swept his hand downwards, revealing a shimmering silvery portal next to him. Pan sighed and walked up to it, passing her hand into it experimentally. It tingled a little, but it seemed safe enough. Finally, with one deep breath, Pan stepped through the portal into intense sunlight.
She blinked and tried to adjust her eyes to the bright light. The datumplane had artificial sunlight, but it was too fake to be this intense.
** Ok, you stupid implant, where am I? **
~ This is the planet Osiru. It is one of the smaller, more arid planets in the Web. The food is said to be excellent. ~
** Hell yeah, ** Pan thought happily. She looked around at the other people coming and going from the farcaster terminals. Many of them had on long robes, probably to keep out the sand on this apparent desert world. The farcaster terminex opened onto the main road of the town, and Pan decided it would be the best place to start looking for food.
The buildings were made of mud brick and thatched grass, and Pan got a very primitive and historical feeling from the whole place. She liked the market atmosphere the street had; the bustle of the people bartering for goods was intriguing.
Finally Pan came across a building with wonderful smells wafting through the windows. The sign on the front claimed 'The Best Ribs on the Planet,' and Pan knew it was the place for her. Whipping out her Universal card, Pan made her way into the small building.
The inside was much more sophisticated than the outside, and Pan was surprised when a robotic waiter sped over to her and led her to a booth in the back. Her mouth began to water with anticipation as another robotic waiter passed her booth with a huge pile of meat.
"I'll have 6 orders of ribs," Pan said, rubbing her belly. The robotic waiter bleeped in acknowledgement and sped off into the kitchen.
** All right, ** Pan thought, ** No weird looks or questions about my appetite. I could get used to this place. **
Several minutes later, the robot returned with Pan's order. She told him to keep an eye out, because she would probably be wanting seconds. She finished the ribs in record time, and quickly ordered more. It was the best barbecue she had ever had, and she wasn't about to leave without stuffing herself.
Pan left the small restaurant as a very happy, very full Saiya-jin, but she was also extremely tired from all her eating. She decided to find a decent hotel and take a nap. She asked her implant what the best hotel on the planet was, and it led her to a place called 'The Sleeping Duck.' Pan thought it was a rather silly name, but when she entered the large brick building, she understood why it was considered the best. The inside foyer was adorned with several large wooden sculptures, and the stairway leading up to the rooms was beautifully carved from what looked to Pan like mahogany. The desk, which sat in the middle of the spacious lobby, was also carved mahogany.
"How may I help you, ma'am?" The clerk asked politely.
"I'd like a room for the night," Pan said with a smile.
"Of course. What type of room would you like?"
"The most expensive one you have," Pan said wickedly. The clerk smiled and pulled out a key card.
"This is the key to the presidential suite. I think you will like it very much."
"Thanks," Pan said and handed the clerk her Universal card to be swiped.
She made her way up the beautiful steps and found her room easily. It was set off from the other rooms, and it had two ornately carved doors leading into it. Pan opened them with a flourish, and was greeted with the most beautiful, luxurious room she had ever seen. The bed was an extra-large king size (Pan didn't even know they made those!) and it was just as ornately carved as the rest of the room. There was a sitting area with a huge TV-like contraption, and Pan could see that the bathroom was almost as large as the bedroom. She practically hopped in excitement when she found the enormous jacuzzi tub.
** THIS is awesome. Maybe I should trust those damn computers…** Pan thought icily, and plopped herself down on the bed.
** Well, whatever…right now I'm just gonna enjoy myself. They'll have to do more than pamper me to earn my trust. **
Pan sighed and snuggled under the covers. It was still early in the day, but she had eaten so much that her body demanded a nap. She was also starting to get a little depressed because she missed Trunks and her family, so sleep would be a good diversion from that. Smiling, Pan pulled the covers up to her chin and drifted off to sleep.
--------
[ Well, have you found the man?]
[ Yes, and it is very bad indeed. ]
[ How so? ]
[ The Ousters have him. ]
[ That is unfortunate. And who took him? ]
[ We are still not certain. The Intelligence thinks there may be a challenging force. ]
[ Another Ultimate Intelligence? This was NOT in the variables. ]
[ No it wasn't. It's all because of the man – we cannot predict what will happen any longer. ]
[ That does not mean we cannot control what will happen. Everything will still go as planned. ]
[ Yes, it will. ]
------
A/N : Yay, another chapter done. It's a pretty long one too!
Thanks to SuperVidel for reviewing chapter 2! Even though I haven't gotten that many reviews for this story, I still feel like I should thank everyone who reviews.. .so… thanks!!!!
:)
A/N : Well, this took a little longer than usual to get written, but I was on spring break and decided to sleep instead of write! Now I'm back at school and ready to put off my homework….
** … ** = thoughts
------- = scene change, time change, ect.
[ … ] = AI speech (except when the AI's are in human form)
----
"Ok, so you're telling me that they're both fine?"
"Yes Mrs. Briefs, Trunks and his wife are in good hands."
Bulma glared at the image of the man in front of her. He had small smile wrinkles around his amber eyes, and his silver hair was fashionably cut and clean – he was just the type of person that one could trust.
And that was precisely why Bulma was suspicious.
"If they're really fine, then tell me where they are, and who you are," Bulma said.
"I'm afraid that is classified information, ma'am – even this communication with you is slightly risky. I worked very hard to get permission to talk to you, but all I am allowed to do is assure you of their safety."
** Wrong answer, buddy, ** Bulma thought heatedly, ** Now I REALLY don't trust you. **
"Very well," Bulma said sweetly, though she was really at her most dangerous, "I think I can trust what you say for now. There's not much I can do about it anyway."
** Like hell there isn't, ** Bulma thought.
The silver haired man smiled warmly and nodded in agreement.
"I'm glad that you aren't upset about all of this. I truly apologize for their sudden abduction, but you can be certain it is for a good cause."
"When will they be back?"
"That is also classified, I'm afraid."
** Why doesn't THAT surprise me? ** Bulma thought.
"Well," She said aloud, "They'd better come back in one piece."
"Don't worry ma'am, they will be fine," the man said and abruptly cut off the communication.
"Damn it…what a bastard!" Bulma exclaimed and slammed her fist down on the console. "Who do these people think they're dealing with, anyway?"
"What are you yelling about, woman?"
Bulma spun around in her chair at the sound of Vegeta's voice.
"I just found out what happened to Trunks and Pan…well, kinda."
"What do you mean, 'kinda?' "
Bulma sighed – Vegeta was going to be angrier than her by the end of this.
"Well, this weird silver-haired guy just called me on the video phone. He said he knows where they are, and that they're fine, but he wouldn't tell me anything else. And, the damn bastard expected me to trust him!"
Vegeta crossed his arms and grunted.
"So, woman, what do you plan to do about this?"
"I see YOU don't have any ideas," Bulma said with a grin. Vegeta just frowned and waved his hand towards her dismissively.
"Well," she said with a sigh, "the only thing I can do right now is scan for unusual energy signatures. I'm pretty sure that they were in their part of the compound watching a movie last night, so I'll start there."
"Whatever, just get on with it."
"I will, but YOU'RE going to help," Bulma said, and tossed a remote control into Vegeta's hands.
"That's broken," she said with a smile, "and I'm going to need to it operate the energy scanner."
"WHAT energy scanner?"
"The one I'm going to build, of course!"
"How am I supposed to fix a remote for something that doesn't exist?"
Bulma ran her hand through her hair and rolled her eyes.
"It goes to one of the servant bots – if you fix it, it'll be much easier for me to modify later. Besides, it'll keep you from hovering over my shoulder while I build the energy scanner!"
Vegeta grunted and headed over to a workbench. He didn't really mind working with electronics; it was just fun to make Bulma mad.
Bulma shook her head and sat down at her own bench to work. She didn't know what type of energy they were looking for, or if that was even what they SHOULD be looking for, but she had to try something. She was not a woman to be trifled with, especially when her family was involved.
------
"Ummmm, Raz….I think we should get out of the boat."
Trunks' face was extremely white as he stared at the huge waterfall ahead of them. Raz, however, didn't seem the least bit concerned. Trunks bit his lip – he didn't know how they got the water and the boat to stay connected to each other in zero gravity, but he had a definite sense of up and down, and the waterfall ahead of them was definitely DOWN.
"What are you worried about Trunks? You can fly."
"I'm just not used to this place – I don't know what they hell I can do anymore," Trunks said and closed his eyes, feeling his stomach lurch as the boat fell over the edge of the water. He expected to feel himself falling, but instead, he felt exactly as he had before the boat had gone over the waterfall. Trunks opened his eyes and saw Raz grinning at him widely.
"What happened?"
"Nothing," Raz said, laughing.
Trunks looked behind him and noticed that the water seemed to drop off in another waterfall, but that was where they had just come from. Somehow what was up and down had managed to reorganize after they had gone over the edge.
"This place…..I just….damn….." Trunks stuttered. Raz's smile never left his face, and he patted Trunks on the back heartily.
"Don't worry Trunksie, you'll figure out all the secrets eventually."
Trunks groaned at the nickname, and briefly wondered why Raz had taken such an interest in him. He was very much an outcast in the colony, and he had gotten more than one odd look, but still Raz stayed by him, defending him when necessary.
"Ok man, I have to ask you something," Trunks said, regaining some of his lost composure, "Why are you taking care of me like this? I mean, I guess I just figured you people would lock me up or something since I'm different."
At this Raz's face turned serious.
"Honestly Trunks, there are some who would very much like to lock you up, but it's just not the way we do things," Raz sighed and softened his expression a little, "You see, Weiru and I were sent to your medical pod because we're the heads of security for this sector of the Biosphere. I'm still assigned to watch you, but I wouldn't want to leave if they made me. You're a cool guy, and I know you aren't here to trash the Sphere. Besides, we've had Web humans here before as honored guests. Once people get to know you, there won't be a problem at all."
Trunks nodded at this information – he had thought it odd that these people were just letting him gallivant all over the place.
"You know I'm not a Web human, right?" Trunks said, debating whether or not he should tell Raz what he really was.
"Well, you sure look like one."
Trunks sighed – these people trusted him, and they had saved his life. He had to tell Raz what he was.
"Look, Raz, there's something important I need to tell you about myself. I realize that your security is probably pretty lax in regards to one human, because there is no way one human could harm this huge place…" Trunks broke off for a moment and regarded Raz's confused expression. He sighed and continued.
"But the thing is, though it's true that I'm not a Web human, I'm not really a human either."
Raz blinked in confusion and shock.
"What are you talking about?" The red-haired Ouster asked.
"I don't know how much your people know about alien life, but I'm actually only half human. The other half of me is a race known as the Saiya-jin."
"Saiya-jin? Never heard of 'em."
"Well, my father is the only one of them left. Saiya-jin look just like humans, only they are extremely powerful and very strong."
"So, you're saying that you could destroy this whole place if you wanted to."
Trunks sighed – he may have just bought a ticket to a dungeon.
"Yes, I could."
Raz put his hand to his chin, apparently lost in thought. They stood in silence for several minutes, Trunks worrying about his fate all the while. Finally Raz looked at him and smiled.
"Well, this just makes my day!" He exclaimed, "Trunksie, my boy, I'd say you just earned the trust of the whole Ouster legion!"
"What?" Trunks said, confused.
"We already knew that you had Saiya-jin blood – the docs ran some tests while you were out cold. I didn't want to lie about not knowing what a Saiya-jin was, but I wanted to see if you were gonna tell me everything."
"Woah, wait a minute…" Trunks said, feeling somewhat violated. Raz just laughed and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Relax man," Raz said happily, "We had to perform the tests to save your life. You'd lost a lot of blood, and we had to synthesize more to inject into you. The docs really just stumbled across the information. The next test was to see if you would tell us what you really were. I realize this probably makes you trust me a little bit less, but it was standard protocol."
"Well, I'm a little creeped out, but so far I've seen nothing but good things in this place. The fact that you've shown me so much when you knew what kind of power I had is reassuring. I have to ask though, how do your people know what the Saiya-jin are?"
"Well, we actually have very little information on the Saiya-jin race. However, we possess many of the personal and scientific records of the person who created the faster-than-light propulsion system we use in our ships, and she had some dealings with the Saiya-jin."
"She? What was this woman's name?"
"Why, Bulma Briefs, of course! I can't believe you didn't know about her invention! It saved the human race during the exodus! The accident, of course, occurred hundreds of years after her death, but her engine system allowed everyone to escape safely."
Trunks was only listening to Raz with half an ear….he was still in shock from hearing his mother's name.
"Ok, you said BULMA Briefs, right?" Trunks asked shakily.
"Yes, of course."
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about her family, would you?"
"Umm, well….all we could gather from her personal records was that she was married to a very powerful Saiya-jin."
"Oh boy…." Trunks blinked and wiped some sweat from his forehead, "And….and she lived back BEFORE the huge exodus you keep talking about? The one that was like 300 years ago?"
"Yeah, duh."
Trunks understood everything now, and he was incredibly angry with himself for not figuring it out earlier. He was in the future – WAY in the future, and his mom was a legend! This was almost too much for him.
"Ok, Raz, you're really gonna think I'm crazy, but……Bulma Briefs is my mom."
"What? You're right; I do think you're crazy."
"It's true, Raz. She's my mother, and a Saiya-jin named Vegeta is my father. He is the last survivor of the Saiya-jin race, and I'm here from the past."
** Kami, I really sound like a nutball, ** Trunks thought unhappily.
Raz looked at him with an odd expression on his face. Trunks knew the Ouster would never believe his crazy story – it sounded preposterous even to him.
"Well, Trunks," Raz said after a long pause, "What you're saying IS pretty farfetched, but I've seen some really weird things in my life. I think I'll just give you the benefit of the doubt on this one….after all, we still can't figure out how you could've been floating around on an asteroid in the middle of space. You were hundreds of light years from any habitable planets, and there were no ion trails around to suggest that you'd been dropped off by a spaceship."
"Really? I mean, I know time travel is possible – heck, my mom invented a time machine, but how could I have traveled through time without one?"
"Your mom invented a time machine?"
"Yeah…well…..my mom from the future did, and an alternate version of me came into the past and warned us about some androids that were gonna attack us, and it created an alternate reality….but my mom, ummm…the one from my time, she invented one too….kinda…"
Raz blinked, totally confused once again.
"Ok….well, I realize that is a very long story," Raz said, "I'll just let you tell it to me later, I guess."
Trunks laughed.
"Yeah, it's pretty crazy. Hell, I've got a bunch of stories I could tell ya – I've got a couple where my dad and this guy Goku saved the whole universe!"
Raz laughed at Trunks' renewed enthusiasm – he hadn't expected him to appreciate the tests that were performed on him, but at least he still looked upon Raz as a friend.
"Hey Trunks, you want to see what Ousters do for fun?" Raz asked with a sly grin.
"Sure!" Trunks said.
"Ok, once we get this stupid boat to a dock, I'll take you up to the Outer Rim."
"Outer Rim, huh? Sounds exciting."
"You have no idea," Raz said, smiling.
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~ The Web consists of 100 billion human beings. It is governed by a complex democratic system known as the All Thing, and headed by CEO Meina Gladstone. Gladstone is a renowned diplomat, and she has been elected to 3 consecutive terms of office. The Web is home to millions of different cultures, religions, and ethnic groups, and there are billions of restaurants, hotels, spas, resorts, clubs - ~
"ENOUGH!" Pan exclaimed, praying the implant would shut the hell up. She had not yet learned how to use it properly, and its incessant babble about every little question she had in her head was starting to drive her batty.
"Relax, Pan," Arnem said sweetly, "You will be able to control it soon. It just takes some getting used to."
"Ugh, well, it's driving me crazy. You didn't tell me this thing would be hard to use!"
Arnem laughed quietly – it was probably meant to soothe Pan, but it only served to infuriate her more. All she wanted was for the implant to shut up unless she wanted it to speak
~ The XG 20076 cerebral implant is a very delicate and sophisticated instrument. It will answer any and all questions you may have about the universe. It is currently set in 'perceptive' mode. Would you like to change the mode? ~
"What other modes are there?"
~ You do not need to address the implant aloud. There are several modes for you to choose from: 'perceptive,' 'infrared,' 'All Thing direct link,' 'dataumplane shunt,' and 'quiet.'
** QUIET. **
~ As you wish. ~
"Thank Kami," Pan said with a sigh.
"You have figured it out, then?" Arnem asked.
"Yeah, no thanks to YOU."
"Wonderful, then I suppose you would like to begin your trip through the Web?"
"Yeah, you supposed right."
Arnem smiled and handed Pan a white card. It had the word 'Universal' written across it in gold letters, and on the back was a magnetic strip.
"I see that the credit card never went out of style," Pan said.
"That is not like the credit cards from your time. It will allow you to use any of the public farcaster terminals in the Web, and it will also allow you to purchase anything you may wish to buy."
"ANYTHING? You mean, I could buy a spaceship if I wanted to?"
"Yes, you can buy anything you want with that. It has no limit."
"Awesome!" Pan grinned and looked at the card. If these bastards were gonna make her stay in their time, they would certainly pay for it.
"Well, now that you have your card, let's be going then. Your implant will be able to identify any world you set foot on, as well as any restaurant, shop, bar, hotel, club, or any other place you decide to go. You have one week to explore, and then you must return to the dataumplane. Your implant will tell you the code to enter to get here."
"Yeah, great…whatever," Pan said. Arnem just smiled and swept his hand downwards, revealing a shimmering silvery portal next to him. Pan sighed and walked up to it, passing her hand into it experimentally. It tingled a little, but it seemed safe enough. Finally, with one deep breath, Pan stepped through the portal into intense sunlight.
She blinked and tried to adjust her eyes to the bright light. The datumplane had artificial sunlight, but it was too fake to be this intense.
** Ok, you stupid implant, where am I? **
~ This is the planet Osiru. It is one of the smaller, more arid planets in the Web. The food is said to be excellent. ~
** Hell yeah, ** Pan thought happily. She looked around at the other people coming and going from the farcaster terminals. Many of them had on long robes, probably to keep out the sand on this apparent desert world. The farcaster terminex opened onto the main road of the town, and Pan decided it would be the best place to start looking for food.
The buildings were made of mud brick and thatched grass, and Pan got a very primitive and historical feeling from the whole place. She liked the market atmosphere the street had; the bustle of the people bartering for goods was intriguing.
Finally Pan came across a building with wonderful smells wafting through the windows. The sign on the front claimed 'The Best Ribs on the Planet,' and Pan knew it was the place for her. Whipping out her Universal card, Pan made her way into the small building.
The inside was much more sophisticated than the outside, and Pan was surprised when a robotic waiter sped over to her and led her to a booth in the back. Her mouth began to water with anticipation as another robotic waiter passed her booth with a huge pile of meat.
"I'll have 6 orders of ribs," Pan said, rubbing her belly. The robotic waiter bleeped in acknowledgement and sped off into the kitchen.
** All right, ** Pan thought, ** No weird looks or questions about my appetite. I could get used to this place. **
Several minutes later, the robot returned with Pan's order. She told him to keep an eye out, because she would probably be wanting seconds. She finished the ribs in record time, and quickly ordered more. It was the best barbecue she had ever had, and she wasn't about to leave without stuffing herself.
Pan left the small restaurant as a very happy, very full Saiya-jin, but she was also extremely tired from all her eating. She decided to find a decent hotel and take a nap. She asked her implant what the best hotel on the planet was, and it led her to a place called 'The Sleeping Duck.' Pan thought it was a rather silly name, but when she entered the large brick building, she understood why it was considered the best. The inside foyer was adorned with several large wooden sculptures, and the stairway leading up to the rooms was beautifully carved from what looked to Pan like mahogany. The desk, which sat in the middle of the spacious lobby, was also carved mahogany.
"How may I help you, ma'am?" The clerk asked politely.
"I'd like a room for the night," Pan said with a smile.
"Of course. What type of room would you like?"
"The most expensive one you have," Pan said wickedly. The clerk smiled and pulled out a key card.
"This is the key to the presidential suite. I think you will like it very much."
"Thanks," Pan said and handed the clerk her Universal card to be swiped.
She made her way up the beautiful steps and found her room easily. It was set off from the other rooms, and it had two ornately carved doors leading into it. Pan opened them with a flourish, and was greeted with the most beautiful, luxurious room she had ever seen. The bed was an extra-large king size (Pan didn't even know they made those!) and it was just as ornately carved as the rest of the room. There was a sitting area with a huge TV-like contraption, and Pan could see that the bathroom was almost as large as the bedroom. She practically hopped in excitement when she found the enormous jacuzzi tub.
** THIS is awesome. Maybe I should trust those damn computers…** Pan thought icily, and plopped herself down on the bed.
** Well, whatever…right now I'm just gonna enjoy myself. They'll have to do more than pamper me to earn my trust. **
Pan sighed and snuggled under the covers. It was still early in the day, but she had eaten so much that her body demanded a nap. She was also starting to get a little depressed because she missed Trunks and her family, so sleep would be a good diversion from that. Smiling, Pan pulled the covers up to her chin and drifted off to sleep.
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[ Well, have you found the man?]
[ Yes, and it is very bad indeed. ]
[ How so? ]
[ The Ousters have him. ]
[ That is unfortunate. And who took him? ]
[ We are still not certain. The Intelligence thinks there may be a challenging force. ]
[ Another Ultimate Intelligence? This was NOT in the variables. ]
[ No it wasn't. It's all because of the man – we cannot predict what will happen any longer. ]
[ That does not mean we cannot control what will happen. Everything will still go as planned. ]
[ Yes, it will. ]
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A/N : Yay, another chapter done. It's a pretty long one too!
Thanks to SuperVidel for reviewing chapter 2! Even though I haven't gotten that many reviews for this story, I still feel like I should thank everyone who reviews.. .so… thanks!!!!
:)