Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy
Chapter 12 - The Journey Begins
Trunks and Goten sat in Trunks' room on the second floor of Capsule Corp., discussing their preparations. They were all to leave the next morning, around noon. The idea was that they would all go in one of the Capsule Corp. pods, similar to the one that Goku had used to travel to Namek. Bulma had installed a time-travel device into the pod's main computer, which would take them back a few days before Carina would disappear.
"But why can't we just go back and kill him there? Why do we have to come BACK to the present to fight?" Goten had asked.
"We can't interfere with the past." Ceres explained. "If we destroy him in the present, everything should be reversed, and nobody on Vela would have any memories of the incident."
"But what about Natalie. Will she remember anything?" Trunks asked.
"We're not sure. In theory, she would, since, for her, everything would take place in the present. But there's no definite way to tell." Ceres answered.
Now, having been informed of their mission, Trunks and Goten sat in silence, making sure that everything was ready. They would arrive on planet Vela in the year 780 ad, exactly one day prior to Carina's end. Sirius had warned them that when they would arrive, they would have to keep an extremely low profile, and only make contact if it was absolutely necessary. The problem they all faced was that Carina lived within the palace, and getting in would not be an easy task. The security was especially tight, since the beginning of the Vela war was impending. They had their work cut out for them, but there were no other options. If they decided to ignore the problem, not only would Natalie be killed for good, but also the fate of the universe had the possibility of changing. They were just lucky that all the changes hadn't taken place yet, and that they were still alive. Bulma's inventions ensured that they would remain unharmed as well.
Sirius walked into the room, his presence commanding. To Trunks, Sirius reminded him of Vegeta in one of his prouder moments. But, Sirius was more of a hard, blunt character rather than sharp and spicy like his father had been when he was young. Trunks looked at Sirius, who stood with his arms folded and his head high, and the thought came to him, that Sirius had the presence of a great leader.
"I came to tell you two to get some sleep." He said, looking at Trunks and Goten. "It's going to be a long journey, not just time-wise but physically demanding."
"We have to go get some senzu beans from your tousan." Goten said. Trunks nodded and stood up, walking past Sirius and into the hallway. He could hear Reena and Ceres in Natalie's room, where they were to sleep, carrying on a conversation.
"...and then he told me that he had never really had a serious girlfriend before, and I just melted. He was so sweet and sincere." Trunks could hear Reena talking. "Later, when he was talking to me, I couldn't help it. I leaned up and kissed him, right on the lips. It must have lasted for 5 seconds or so. I was really embarrassed, but he was totally cool about it." Trunks smirked. When he had first met the three Sidra-jin senshi, they presented themselves to he hardcore warriors, with no emotions in their eyes. But once they were comfortable with their surroundings, he could see them loosen up. Trunks turned and walked the opposite way towards the mater bedroom, and he could hear his mother.
"Vegeta, don't act so tense. They're all at least sixteen years of age, and they're perfectly capable of handling themselves." She said. Trunks opened the door to see Bulma and Vegeta standing on opposite sides of their bed, seemingly arguing. Bulma turned to Trunks.
"Do you need something Trunks?" she asked. Vegeta turned around as well with a scowl on his face.
"I was just going to ask tousan if he had any senzu beans." Trunks replied. Vegeta, without saying a word, walked towards a dresser and opened a drawer.
"There are only three left." He said, pulling out a brown, faded bag with string tied around the neck where the bag opened. He tossed the bad to Trunks, who caught them with his left hand. "Make sure you only use them when it's absolutely necessary. When you run out, that's it."
"Hai." Trunks replied, and turned to leave.
"Oh, Trunks." Bulma said. Trunks turned around and faced her.
"We weren't fighting, if that's what you think." She said, and smiled. "We were just talking." Trunks nodded and then left, shutting the door behind him.
"Woman, I don't see why you insist on-" Vegeta broke off as Bulma brought her lips to his. When she pulled away, Vegeta was blushing.
"Vegeta, just relax for on night, huh?" she said, pulling him close.
"Goten I got em." Trunks said, walking back into his room. Sirius was on the chair in the far corner, secluded from everything. "But tousan said that there are only three, so we have to use them sparingly."
"That's good." Goten said. "As long as we have some, we should be fine."
"What are they?" Sirius asked. Trunks and Goten turned to him.
"Senzu beans. They recover your lost energy and repair body damages in a fraction of the time." Trunks said. "Say you had a broken bone, the senzu bean would heal it immediately and restore your health and stamina as well."
"Interesting." He said, sitting forward and staring at the brown bag. "They must be very useful in battle."
"They are." Goten said. "The only problem is that Korrin, who lives on Korrin's tower a ways from here, can only grow so many at a time."
"I see. Well, three should be enough. I don't expect any problems while we're on Vela, but we'll most likely need them when we return."
"Well I'm going to take them just in case." Trunks said, and tucked them into the pocket of his nylon cargo training pants, which he had laying on the bed to wear the next day.
"Let's get to sleep. We need the rest." Sirius said. Trunks nodded.
"I'll go tell the others." He said, and walked out the door and into Natalie's room, where Reena and Ceres were already fast asleep on Natalie's bed in borrowed pajamas. Trunks just stared over at Natalie's desk and turned out the lights, walked out, and shut the door behind him. As he walked back towards his room, he paused. These three strangers from outer space, who supposedly knew Natalie, were in his house sleeping in the rooms. He knew there was nothing wrong with it, but it just made him smile, because it reminded him of when he had first met Natalie. She was almost a stranger, and she lived with him in his house. She had even commented about it the day they met, when she was sitting in his room, wearing his clothes. Trunks eventually snapped out of his reverie and walked back into his room where Goten and Sirius were preparing for bed.
"...They met about a year ago before Natalie knew about her powers. It was really strange how things worked out." Goten was explaining to Sirius when Trunks walked in. "Oh, hey Trunks." Goten said. "I was telling Sirius about-"
"I know." Trunks interrupted. "Was he asking about it?"
"I asked Goten how you and Carina met. We didn't expect you to know her when we came, but it was by good fortune that you did." Sirius answered.
"It was definitely something. I think it was fate that we met, since it was on such a slim chance that we did." Trunks said. "The only reason I know her today is because I happened to bump into her one morning. If I hadn't gone out, I don't think we would have met. Orion would have already taken her before I would get the opportunity, and she wouldn't have stood a chance against him."
"That is a strange coincidence. Well then it was meant to be, I assume." Sirius said, lying back on the small sofa against the wall. He was wearing one of Trunks' old tank tops and a pair of Vegeta's training pants.
"Were Orion and Nat really supposed to be together?" Trunks asked, staring at the floor. Sirius paused.
"That's a tough one to answer, really. It was apparent that Orion had somewhat of an affection towards her on Vela, but I don't think it was set in stone." Sirius explained. "Orion really wasn't an evil person...he was corrupted by Hesperos. Sure, he was always a little bit malevolent, but never to the degree which he was when he came here." Trunks shivered.
"Well in a way I have to say that I'm glad he was corrupted, since I would never want Natalie anywhere near that cold hearted murderer." He said.
"He wasn't a murderer at heart, mind you." Sirius said, almost defensively. "You would have had to known Hesperos to know how Orion became the way he did. I almost feel sorry for him because of the person he was made to be."
"How can you feel sorry for him!" Trunks cried. "He came here and killed me, killed Goten, my tousan, Goten's tousan...and he didn't even flinch."
"That's impossible. If he killed you then how are you sitting in front of me right now?" Sirius said.
"We have these things on Earth, called Dragon Balls." Trunks explained. "There are seven of them. When you gather all seven, you bring them together, say a chant, and an enormous dragon comes out and grants you one wish. You can even bring people back to life, as long as they didn't die of natural causes."
"Well why don't we just use these 'Dragon Balls' to with Carina back and Hermes to die?" Sirius asked.
"You can't do that. You can only make a wish that is within the power of the Dragon Balls, and I don't think that wish would be approved. Plus they aren't active for a couple of months." Trunks said. "When you make a wish, the balls scatter and turn to stone, and you can't use them for 365 days."
"I see." Sirius said.
"Besides, Nat has already been wished back, and you can't revive a person more than once." Trunks continued.
"Nani? You mean she died as well?" Sirius said.
"Hai..." Trunks said. "One day, right after the second encounter with Orion, she overexerted herself in training..."
Suddenly, a very sleepy Bulma walked into the room. Trunks turned around in surprise and jumped back.
"Trunks you three need to be in bed. If you don't get enough sleep I am not sending you guys out tomorrow." She said. Trunks nodded and Bulma walked out of the room.
"She treats me like I'm five years old sometimes..." Trunks whispered. After a few more minutes of conversation, the three teens were out like lights.
The next day, Trunks awoke with a start, very early in the morning. He looked to the window and saw that the sky was just starting to lighten and it was a dark blue color. Beams of grey light shone into the room, making everything just visible. Trunks didn't know where he was at first, and as his memory rushed back to him, he remembered his present situation. He glanced at the digital clock on his desk across the room and realized that it was only 5:26 in the morning.
Trunks though to himself. Finally, he slowly crept out of the room, making sure not to awaken Goten or Sirius, who were sleeping on blankets on the floor. He snuck out the door to his bedroom and headed downstairs. The carpeted stairs creaked a little, but he doubted that anyone would hear him. He decided that he was going to go train lightly in the gravity room, only setting the G-synthesizer to 20 times.
Just as he reached the bottom stair, he thought he heard a noise coming from upstairs, but after a few minutes of silence, he dismissed it, figuring that someone was just stirring. Trunks had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, and as he tiptoed around his own home in the grayish blue morning light, it set the scene and made him all the more nervous.
He finally got to the back door, switched off the alarm, and unlocked it very slowly and carefully. He stepped into the cool morning air and inhaled deeply. He walked through the dew-glazed grass to the front of the gravity room. He was just going to warm up, but he didn't dare use his ki for fear of waking anyone sensitive to it. When he arrived at the entrance of the gravity room, he flung open the heavy, metal door. Before he entered he set the controls on 20 G's, and pressed the initiation button. He listened to the gravity chamber power on and obtain a steady hum before stepping in. He turned around to shut the door, and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw a figure standing in the doorway. After his heart started to beat again, the figure stepped into the artificial light of the gravity chamber.
"Ceres! What in Dende's name are you doing here?" Trunks cried, catching his breath. She just chuckled lightly and stepped completely into the room.
"I heard you awaken and decided to follow you." She said. "Why, did I frighten you?"
"Dende, Ceres you scared the shit out of me." Trunks said. "You should go back inside and go back to bed."
"How come you're allowed to get up and I'm not?" she asked, folding her arms.
"That's because I couldn't sleep." Trunks said. "I was nervous about today. I came in here to cool off."
"Well I couldn't sleep either." She said, leaning against the wall and frowning. "I was just curious, that's all."
"What if Reena wakes up? Shouldn't you be there so she won't be lonely or afraid?" Trunks said, obviously trying to get back to what he had intended to do.
"No, Reena will be fine. Besides Sirius and that kid Goten are just down the hall. She's a smart one, she'll figure something out." Ceres said. Trunks sighed heavily and placed his hands on his hips. Suddenly, Ceres stepped closer. "Besides, what if you get lonely?" she said seductively, inching towards him. Trunks had a horrified look on his face, as he stood, frozen in confusion. A bead of sweat ran down his cheek as his heart began to beat faster.
"Ceres..." he started, but she put her index finger to his lips.
"Hush." She said, and leaned in for the kill. Trunks grabbed her wrists before she could get any closer and pushed her away gently.
"Ceres what are you doing?" he said, stepping away from him.
"Aw, come on Trunks." She said, looking down at the floor and frowning pitifully. "Don't you like me?"
"Not like that." He answered. "Besides, I can't...Natalie..." he broke off. Ceres produced an angry look on her face.
"Carina again, huh?" she said, somewhat annoyed. "Well, let me just tell you something. Carina isn't what everyone makes her out to be. She's too blind and weak to know how to use her power, and she's nothing but an obstacle."
"Nani!?" Trunks said, surprised.
"You heard me. Back on Vela, it was so apparent that Orion liked her. I don't think she liked him in return, but she allowed him to hang on to her by a thread." Ceres said bitterly. "What she didn't know, was that I liked him! NO, I loved him."
"Ceres maybe you should go back in-" Trunks broke off.
"No. It's not fair!" Ceres said, her eyes growing teary. "She always had what I wanted! She was practically a saint back on Vela, and she could have anyone she wanted. But she chose Orion of all people!"
"No, Ceres...Orion chose her. And Nat isn't without fault, but she's not a bad person." Trunks said, taking pity on the girl. "Besides...you seemed to like her when you first arrived.
"Oh what do you know?" she continued. "You've only known her for a year. I grew up with her." Suddenly, two more figures stepped into the light, revealing themselves as Goten and Sirius.
"Trunks what are you doing here?" Goten asked, and then noticed the shaken Ceres standing next to him.
"Oh...Sirius." Ceres said, and then a devilish smile formed on her lips amidst her flushed complexion. "Trunks and I...we were just," she said, wrapping her arm around his waist, "well all I can say is that Trunks here is a good kisser." Ceres said. Trunks almost fell over, but straightened himself out.
"Nani!?" he cried. Goten looked at Trunks contemptuously and folded his arms.
"Trunks you make me sick." he said, and walked away. Sirius just shot him a glare and then left as well, leaving Trunks and Ceres behind. Trunks turned and looked at Ceres with a furious look on his face.
"Why the hell did you say that just now!?" Trunks shouted aggressively.
"Relax Trunks it was a joke. I think you friends can figure that out for themselves." She said. "But for now..." she continued, placing her two forefingers on his forehead. He tried to back away but her hand started to glow and he was paralyzed. A few seconds later, she let go. Trunks stared straight forward, blinking a few times, before looking around confusedly.
"N...what just happened?" he said, placing his hand behind his head. Ceres looked to the side with an amused look on her face.
"Nothing happened Trunks, what do you mean?" Ceres said innocently. He just shook his head.
"I don't know." He trailed off. "But, I came here to train lightly, so you should leave." He informed her. She just shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the gravity room, shutting the heavy metal door behind her. The sound reverberated around the room for a few seconds before fading into nonexistence.
Trunks stretched his arms for a few seconds and dropped to his knees, preparing to do some pushups.
"That was too weird." He said out loud. "I think she's up to something."
Twenty minutes later, Trunks had finished his light workout and he shut the gravity generator off from inside the chamber. After he readjusted to normal gravity, he exited the room with a few beads of sweat lingering on his jaw line. He walked through the backyard, passing the Capsule 009 ship that they would be using to travel to Vela. Shadows were cast over most of its form, but the letters "Caps" were seen in between blankets of darkness. He turned and walked back inside, and headed upstairs towards his room, when he ran into Goten.
"Goten what time is it, do you know?" Trunks asked. Goten just looked at him condescendingly.
"I don't know, perhaps you could ask Ceres!" he said sarcastically, and pushed his way past on his way down the stairs. Trunks just stood in place, lost in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" Trunks called down to Goten.
"You know very well what I'm talking about!" Goten shouted. "We know all about you and Ceres, and what you did in the gravity room."
"NANI!? Who told you that I did anything with Ceres?" Trunks cried.
"We saw you." Goten said, and then left the room.
"Goten I swear, I didn't do anything! We were just talking!" Trunks called out, but Goten had already walked out of hearing range. And if he had heard, he didn't bother answering. "What the hell is going on here?" he said to himself. On his way down the hall, he literally bumped into Sirius.
"Gomen." Trunks said. "Hey Sirius what's gotten into Goten?"
"He's angry at you, because of what you did." Sirius said. "Don't tell me you didn't notice."
"I did, but I don't know where he got his ideas." Trunks said. "I never touched her. She came into the gravity room just as I was about to start training, and then the next thing I remember is standing up next to her."
"It was pretty clear what you did. And apparently Goten isn't too fond of it." Sirius said. Trunks growled in anger.
"Well it's a lie." He spat. "And I'm going to find out who told it."
"Not now, Trunks, we have more important things to worry about." Sirius said. "You need to encapsulate your things so we can load them onto the ship."
"Yeah, yeah. I just don't understand where this came from. Does Ceres know about it?" he asked. Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"Are you being sincere?" he asked in a flat tone. Trunks just rolled his eyes and started stomping off towards Natalie's room where Reena and Ceres were. He threw open the door, not bothering to knock, but immediately regretted doing so when they screamed and covered themselves up. Trunks jumped back, slammed the door, and blushed furiously. After he gathered his senses, he cracked the door just a little bit to allow his voice to travel in. "G-gomen nasai...." He stammered, and then shut the door. Sirius was still looking at him crookedly.
Suddenly, Vegeta emerged from the master bedroom down the hall with his usual scornful expression.
"What are you bakas doing? You're supposed to be getting ready." He said harshly. Sirius just stared at him with a major sweat drop.
"Tousan we were just...discussing our...mission." Trunks filled in. Sirius raised his hand and opened his mouth to speak, but Trunks stepped on his foot. Vegeta eyed them suspiciously and then walked past them, brushing against them coldly. Sirius followed him with his eyes until he was downstairs and out of sight.
"Er...I guess we should do what he says." Trunks said hastily, and started for his room. Goten then walked up the stairs and would have smacked into him the second time, had Trunks not darted out of the way. Goten, without words, just shot an icy glare at Trunks and walked into his room.
"Damn, I need to go talk to him before he gets the wrong idea." Trunks said.
"I think he already does have the wrong idea. You and Ceres were pretty convincing." Sirius commented. Trunks scowled.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I didn't do a damn thing with that Ceres!" Trunks cried. Just as he said that, Ceres and Reena walked out into the hallway. Reena looked at Trunks, and then at Sirius in confusion, and Ceres just smiled and blushed. Sirius looked over at her.
"Ceres tell us the truth. Did you or did you not kiss Trunks, and/or he kiss you?" he asked. She looked at Trunks for a moment and the back at Sirius.
"I am telling the truth! I don't know why he has to pretend it never happened, because it did." She said, disguising her voice to make herself sound distressed. Everyone, with the exception of Ceres herself, turned and glared at Trunks.
"Think what you want, but this girl is LYING." Trunks shouted, and stormed into his room. He threw himself onto his bed and placed his chin in his hands. "I can't believe this. On the very day we leave, something had to come up. And I know that that baka Ceres is telling a lie." He spoke bitterly to himself. They'd soon see.
"Why don't you just tell the truth, Trunks?" Goten said, still in a disdainful tone, walking out of the bathroom. "Everybody knows about it, there's no point in trying to lie your way out. Pretending to be innocent only makes things worse than they already are."
"But I'm not lying Goten!" Trunks cried. "You should know me better than that! Sure, I may have said false things in the past, but I would never lie about something like this!" Goten just looked at Trunks for a few seconds and then turned his back to him, folding his arms.
"Well if you are right, what were you and Ceres doing in the gravity room?" Goten asked.
"I...I don't remember. I was in the room, about to start warming up, and the next thing I know I'm standing up next to Ceres and she's telling you guys that we were kissing. I must have blacked out or something." Trunks said. Goten made a brief hissing sound through his teeth.
"I'll take your word for it this time Trunks." Goten said, turning back around to face him. "But mark my words, if I see anything that confirms my suspicions in the future, you can kiss my trust in you goodbye."
"I know you won't, because this whole thing never happened." Trunks said, staring at the ground. Vegeta walked in and scowled.
"Trunks! How many times to I have to tell you to get a move on? What, do I have to hold your hand like a little baby?" he mocked. Trunks growled softly.
"Tousan I'm working on it. Just have some patience." Trunks retaliated.
" What little patience I have if getting very thin." Vegeta said. "Have you encapsulated your equipment?"
"Iie. Not yet." Trunks said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I was on my way." Vegeta let out a sigh and walked away. Trunks looked back at Goten. "Have you encapsulated yet?" he asked. Goten nodded his head and pulled out a small case, which he flipped open to reveal three, color-coded capsules. He quickly shut the case again.
"That's what I did downstairs while you and Sirius were arguing." He said.
"I'm getting a really bad feeling about going now." Trunks said, sitting on the floor of his room. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to handle it."
"Sure you can, Trunks." Goten ensured. "I think that if one person can do it, it's you, being the son of a prince and all, and having witnessed his pride." Trunks didn't say anything. "Besides, if we don't go, Natalie would never have another chance. You should be wanting to go as much as, if not more than the rest of us."
"Well I don't think I have much of a choice nonetheless." Trunks sneered. "How long is this trip going to take, do you know?" Goten shook his head no, and Trunks stood on his feet. "I'm going downstairs to get this stuff encapsulated." He said, and then walked out of the room, dragging his things behind him. He walked downstairs to the Capsule Corp. equipment room and found one of the machines that he was looking for. He stared at it for a moment, and then snapped out of his trance and ran his bad through it. After a few minutes, a nice, neat little capsule popped out the back of it and the machine bleeped and shut itself off. Trunks grabbed the capsule and dug through a pile of cases, located the right size, and then left, placing his capsule inside the case on his way up the stairs. His task completed, he turned his head up in front of him and saw Reena walking out of his room and back into Natalie's, where Ceres was sitting on the bed in her armor. All three of them had some sort of crest on the left breastplate of their body armor. It was the same one that Orion had. Trunks shuddered. He was still having a hard time grasping the concept that Orion and Natalie had grown up together.
"Trunks, you gonna shower?" Goten said, emerging from the room, holding a towel.
"Hai." Trunks replied. "But you can go first."
"Domo." Goten replied, and walked back into the room. Trunks signed heavily. His mind was racing, and his adrenaline pumped at the thought of his mission. He looked down and realized that his hands wee shaking. He clenched them into fists and watched as the tendon in his forearm stuck out about a quarter of an inch. What was wrong with him? Was it the time shift, or his nervousness? He could hear the muffled voices of Reena and Ceres coming from Natalie's room. He could only make out a few words of what they were saying, and he assumed they were discussing the mission and their plans. His stomach rumbled, telling him that he needed to eat. He shuffled down the stairs in a lethargic fashion, finally reaching the first floor with a "plop". As he trudged towards the kitchen, his stomach rumbled again.
"I know, I know." He spat. He rummaged through the refrigerator, coming across some leftover teriyaki chicken. He opened the container and sniffed it before putting some in a bowl. As he shoved it into the microwave to heat it up, he could hear someone walking down the stairs. He just assumed it was one of the Sidra-jins, and didn't pay it much attention. Then, when two arms embraced his body, he spun around in surprise. "Oh...gomen, kaasan." He said, realizing that it was his mother. She looked at him strangely.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked. "You seem paranoid."
"Nothing...I thought you were someone else." He muttered. The microwave beeped to signal the end of the heating cycle, and Trunks pulled the steaming bowl out, preparing to eat it.
"Well I just wanted to tell you that we're going to miss you." She said.
"We?" Trunks questioned.
"Me, and your tousan." She said, and paused, smiling. "You know he will miss you, don't you?"
"H...hai." Trunks replied. "I guess so."
"He will. And Bra as well." She continued. "You won't be able to see her before you leave. But we'll make sure she knows."
"Okay." Trunks said. He shoved a piece of chicken into his mouth and chewed only a few times before swallowing. He did the same a couple more times.
"Trunks what's wrong? You're not even chewing your food before you swallow." Bulma said. "Are you nervous?"
"No." Trunks said quickly...too quickly. Bulma, having obviously seen through it, folded her arms and frowned.
"Trunks don't lie to me. You're letting your pride get in the way." She sighed. "Just like your tousan."
"Gomen kaasan, but I can't help it." Trunks said, looking away bitterly.
"Don't you worry. You will get her back." Bulma said sternly. "If there's one thing I have faith in these days, it's you, Trunks. And I mean that." Trunks looked at her. "You are going to go on that journey and you will overcome the odds. I know, because you are driven by a passion for fighting, and a love for her." She finished. Trunks stood in inert shock at what his mother had just said. He swallowed hard and tried to think of something to say in return. "Oh, Trunks?" she added. He questioned her with his eyes. "What's this I hear about you and Ceres?" Trunks growled in protest and slammed his hand into the counter, imprinting a slight dent into the surface.
"Don't tell me you believe that, kaasan!" he cried.
"I was just-"
"I don't know why she has spread this lie! Now everyone thinks that I was making out with her in the damn gravity room, and it will surely get back to Natalie. That's the last thing I need, after all she is already going to be wary of me for a while because of what I did to her." Trunks shouted. When he was finished, he inhaled deeply. Bulma just stood, unable to produce words. Vegeta walked in and observed the scene.
"Trunks!" he shouted. Trunks looked up. "Don't you dare yell at your kaasan like that! If you have a problem, you can take it out on me, understand?" Trunks' jaw dropped. "She didn't do anything to you, and you certainly don't have a reason to shout at her!"
"Hai..." Trunks trailed off, looking rather sheepish. Bulma smiled and turned around to face her mate.
"Arigatou, Vegeta, but I don't think Trunks meant to take out his anger on me." She said. Vegeta sighed angrily.
"Fine." He spat. He then looked back at Trunks. "Have you finished everything?"
"Iie. I still have to shower." Trunks replied. "But, I encapsulated my things."
"Good. We've changed your departure time to 9:00 since you all have gotten an early start." He continued. Trunks let his shoulders roll forward as he leaned against the counter. He nodded as he picked at his meal with his chopsticks, separating the chicken from the snow peas and water chestnuts.
"Vegeta, have I told you lately that you're cute?" Bulma said, stifling a laugh. Vegeta produced an embarrassed look on his face and blushed before walking away swiftly. Trunks just shrugged and took another large bite.
"Kaasan, what are you going to do when we leave?" Trunks inquired.
"Trunks, don't talk with your mouth full of food." Bulma said. Trunks pathetically gulped his food down. "I don't really know right now. I would just go back to Hawaii, but we would need Goku to teleport us, and I don't have any equipment in my lab to get in contact with him."
"Don't you have their...room number?" Trunks said, his eyebrow twitching. Bulma facefaulted.
"Oh...yeah..." she said. Trunks finished his food and literally threw the dish into the sink before walking out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.
3 hours later:
Trunks, having showered and loaded his things into the capsule pod, was sitting about five feet away from Goten on the grass in the backyard. All five of the warriors were outside, with Ceres and Sirius standing next to the pod, and Reena sitting timidly on the grass by herself. Goten glanced over to her, but immediately looked away at making eye contact with her.
"Why don't you just go over there?" Trunks whispered to his friend. Goten turned red and clenched his teeth.
"Shutup!" he whispered harshly. "She might hear you..."
"Oh, relax Goten." Trunks said. "She's just a girl."
"Me relax? You're the one who was a bundle of nerves when Nat was new here." He replied.
"Hey Reena." Trunks called. She looked up at him. "Why don't you come sit over here?" Goten tried not to fall over. She nodded quickly and scooted towards them. Goten shot daggers at Trunks with his eyes.
"Gomen...I'm usually more talkative than this." Reena explained. "But, I'm just nervous...that's all."
"Don't worry about that. I think we all are." Goten said. She looked up at him and smiled. Suddenly, Bulma and Vegeta emerged from the back door and walked over towards them. The five lined up in front of the pod without words.
"Alright." Bulma started. "Here's your itinerary. You board the pod, and there are two main floors. The main one, or the level you are on when you enter, contains the main control panel. Your route is already plugged into the processing unit, so you won't have to worry abut navigating unless there is a system failure, in which case there are tracking charts in the compartment below the panel. The space-time wave generator is programmed in as well, but you will need to initiate the generator manually. In the two days it will take for you to travel to the planet, the generator will have taken you back to the year 780. Now, the second floor, or the cabin area, contains beds, a shower, and food storage. This floor is accessible by a set of stairs in the northeast section of the pod. And, those are the basics. Should you need to make contact with me, there is a telecommunication device located on the main control panel. However, it will not work after a certain point, I estimate about midway through your trip. Any questions?" There was a long silence, with no noise present other than the slight breeze and a few chirping birds. "This is not a toy, kids." Bulma said firmly. "It's a multimillion dollar piece of equipment."
"Relax, woman, they aren't going to break it." Vegeta said. Bulma sighed.
"You people have no appreciation for technology!" she cried. She then turned back to the group. "Gomen..."
"Kaasan, we'll be fine." Trunks assured. He stepped forward and gave her a quick embrace before stepping back to the level of the others. Bulma smiled and stepped back until she was 20 feet from the pod. She nodded, signaling to them that they could go aboard the pod. As they stood in the doorway, she waved to them. Vegeta just nodded, his arms crossed firmly over his chest.
The five entered the cold, sterile pod and inspected their surroundings. Trunks walked to the main control panel and observed the setup. He pressed the button to shut the door, causing a loud bang to echo around the large, round room. He then initiated the engine startup sequence, and the pod suddenly became alive with a faint humming sound. The control panel's lights were blinking and flashing as it ascended to full power.
"Ready?" he said, looking at the other four. They all looked at him and nodded simultaneously. Trunks pushed up on the switch slowly and steadily, causing the generator to flash and the humming to grow in intensity. "Let's go." Trunks said, and the pod rocketed off the ground.
Bulma looked up at the pod, her hair and clothes rippling in the gust of air caused by the takeoff, and smiled.
Chapter 12 - The Journey Begins
Trunks and Goten sat in Trunks' room on the second floor of Capsule Corp., discussing their preparations. They were all to leave the next morning, around noon. The idea was that they would all go in one of the Capsule Corp. pods, similar to the one that Goku had used to travel to Namek. Bulma had installed a time-travel device into the pod's main computer, which would take them back a few days before Carina would disappear.
"But why can't we just go back and kill him there? Why do we have to come BACK to the present to fight?" Goten had asked.
"We can't interfere with the past." Ceres explained. "If we destroy him in the present, everything should be reversed, and nobody on Vela would have any memories of the incident."
"But what about Natalie. Will she remember anything?" Trunks asked.
"We're not sure. In theory, she would, since, for her, everything would take place in the present. But there's no definite way to tell." Ceres answered.
Now, having been informed of their mission, Trunks and Goten sat in silence, making sure that everything was ready. They would arrive on planet Vela in the year 780 ad, exactly one day prior to Carina's end. Sirius had warned them that when they would arrive, they would have to keep an extremely low profile, and only make contact if it was absolutely necessary. The problem they all faced was that Carina lived within the palace, and getting in would not be an easy task. The security was especially tight, since the beginning of the Vela war was impending. They had their work cut out for them, but there were no other options. If they decided to ignore the problem, not only would Natalie be killed for good, but also the fate of the universe had the possibility of changing. They were just lucky that all the changes hadn't taken place yet, and that they were still alive. Bulma's inventions ensured that they would remain unharmed as well.
Sirius walked into the room, his presence commanding. To Trunks, Sirius reminded him of Vegeta in one of his prouder moments. But, Sirius was more of a hard, blunt character rather than sharp and spicy like his father had been when he was young. Trunks looked at Sirius, who stood with his arms folded and his head high, and the thought came to him, that Sirius had the presence of a great leader.
"I came to tell you two to get some sleep." He said, looking at Trunks and Goten. "It's going to be a long journey, not just time-wise but physically demanding."
"We have to go get some senzu beans from your tousan." Goten said. Trunks nodded and stood up, walking past Sirius and into the hallway. He could hear Reena and Ceres in Natalie's room, where they were to sleep, carrying on a conversation.
"...and then he told me that he had never really had a serious girlfriend before, and I just melted. He was so sweet and sincere." Trunks could hear Reena talking. "Later, when he was talking to me, I couldn't help it. I leaned up and kissed him, right on the lips. It must have lasted for 5 seconds or so. I was really embarrassed, but he was totally cool about it." Trunks smirked. When he had first met the three Sidra-jin senshi, they presented themselves to he hardcore warriors, with no emotions in their eyes. But once they were comfortable with their surroundings, he could see them loosen up. Trunks turned and walked the opposite way towards the mater bedroom, and he could hear his mother.
"Vegeta, don't act so tense. They're all at least sixteen years of age, and they're perfectly capable of handling themselves." She said. Trunks opened the door to see Bulma and Vegeta standing on opposite sides of their bed, seemingly arguing. Bulma turned to Trunks.
"Do you need something Trunks?" she asked. Vegeta turned around as well with a scowl on his face.
"I was just going to ask tousan if he had any senzu beans." Trunks replied. Vegeta, without saying a word, walked towards a dresser and opened a drawer.
"There are only three left." He said, pulling out a brown, faded bag with string tied around the neck where the bag opened. He tossed the bad to Trunks, who caught them with his left hand. "Make sure you only use them when it's absolutely necessary. When you run out, that's it."
"Hai." Trunks replied, and turned to leave.
"Oh, Trunks." Bulma said. Trunks turned around and faced her.
"We weren't fighting, if that's what you think." She said, and smiled. "We were just talking." Trunks nodded and then left, shutting the door behind him.
"Woman, I don't see why you insist on-" Vegeta broke off as Bulma brought her lips to his. When she pulled away, Vegeta was blushing.
"Vegeta, just relax for on night, huh?" she said, pulling him close.
"Goten I got em." Trunks said, walking back into his room. Sirius was on the chair in the far corner, secluded from everything. "But tousan said that there are only three, so we have to use them sparingly."
"That's good." Goten said. "As long as we have some, we should be fine."
"What are they?" Sirius asked. Trunks and Goten turned to him.
"Senzu beans. They recover your lost energy and repair body damages in a fraction of the time." Trunks said. "Say you had a broken bone, the senzu bean would heal it immediately and restore your health and stamina as well."
"Interesting." He said, sitting forward and staring at the brown bag. "They must be very useful in battle."
"They are." Goten said. "The only problem is that Korrin, who lives on Korrin's tower a ways from here, can only grow so many at a time."
"I see. Well, three should be enough. I don't expect any problems while we're on Vela, but we'll most likely need them when we return."
"Well I'm going to take them just in case." Trunks said, and tucked them into the pocket of his nylon cargo training pants, which he had laying on the bed to wear the next day.
"Let's get to sleep. We need the rest." Sirius said. Trunks nodded.
"I'll go tell the others." He said, and walked out the door and into Natalie's room, where Reena and Ceres were already fast asleep on Natalie's bed in borrowed pajamas. Trunks just stared over at Natalie's desk and turned out the lights, walked out, and shut the door behind him. As he walked back towards his room, he paused. These three strangers from outer space, who supposedly knew Natalie, were in his house sleeping in the rooms. He knew there was nothing wrong with it, but it just made him smile, because it reminded him of when he had first met Natalie. She was almost a stranger, and she lived with him in his house. She had even commented about it the day they met, when she was sitting in his room, wearing his clothes. Trunks eventually snapped out of his reverie and walked back into his room where Goten and Sirius were preparing for bed.
"...They met about a year ago before Natalie knew about her powers. It was really strange how things worked out." Goten was explaining to Sirius when Trunks walked in. "Oh, hey Trunks." Goten said. "I was telling Sirius about-"
"I know." Trunks interrupted. "Was he asking about it?"
"I asked Goten how you and Carina met. We didn't expect you to know her when we came, but it was by good fortune that you did." Sirius answered.
"It was definitely something. I think it was fate that we met, since it was on such a slim chance that we did." Trunks said. "The only reason I know her today is because I happened to bump into her one morning. If I hadn't gone out, I don't think we would have met. Orion would have already taken her before I would get the opportunity, and she wouldn't have stood a chance against him."
"That is a strange coincidence. Well then it was meant to be, I assume." Sirius said, lying back on the small sofa against the wall. He was wearing one of Trunks' old tank tops and a pair of Vegeta's training pants.
"Were Orion and Nat really supposed to be together?" Trunks asked, staring at the floor. Sirius paused.
"That's a tough one to answer, really. It was apparent that Orion had somewhat of an affection towards her on Vela, but I don't think it was set in stone." Sirius explained. "Orion really wasn't an evil person...he was corrupted by Hesperos. Sure, he was always a little bit malevolent, but never to the degree which he was when he came here." Trunks shivered.
"Well in a way I have to say that I'm glad he was corrupted, since I would never want Natalie anywhere near that cold hearted murderer." He said.
"He wasn't a murderer at heart, mind you." Sirius said, almost defensively. "You would have had to known Hesperos to know how Orion became the way he did. I almost feel sorry for him because of the person he was made to be."
"How can you feel sorry for him!" Trunks cried. "He came here and killed me, killed Goten, my tousan, Goten's tousan...and he didn't even flinch."
"That's impossible. If he killed you then how are you sitting in front of me right now?" Sirius said.
"We have these things on Earth, called Dragon Balls." Trunks explained. "There are seven of them. When you gather all seven, you bring them together, say a chant, and an enormous dragon comes out and grants you one wish. You can even bring people back to life, as long as they didn't die of natural causes."
"Well why don't we just use these 'Dragon Balls' to with Carina back and Hermes to die?" Sirius asked.
"You can't do that. You can only make a wish that is within the power of the Dragon Balls, and I don't think that wish would be approved. Plus they aren't active for a couple of months." Trunks said. "When you make a wish, the balls scatter and turn to stone, and you can't use them for 365 days."
"I see." Sirius said.
"Besides, Nat has already been wished back, and you can't revive a person more than once." Trunks continued.
"Nani? You mean she died as well?" Sirius said.
"Hai..." Trunks said. "One day, right after the second encounter with Orion, she overexerted herself in training..."
Suddenly, a very sleepy Bulma walked into the room. Trunks turned around in surprise and jumped back.
"Trunks you three need to be in bed. If you don't get enough sleep I am not sending you guys out tomorrow." She said. Trunks nodded and Bulma walked out of the room.
"She treats me like I'm five years old sometimes..." Trunks whispered. After a few more minutes of conversation, the three teens were out like lights.
The next day, Trunks awoke with a start, very early in the morning. He looked to the window and saw that the sky was just starting to lighten and it was a dark blue color. Beams of grey light shone into the room, making everything just visible. Trunks didn't know where he was at first, and as his memory rushed back to him, he remembered his present situation. He glanced at the digital clock on his desk across the room and realized that it was only 5:26 in the morning.
Trunks though to himself. Finally, he slowly crept out of the room, making sure not to awaken Goten or Sirius, who were sleeping on blankets on the floor. He snuck out the door to his bedroom and headed downstairs. The carpeted stairs creaked a little, but he doubted that anyone would hear him. He decided that he was going to go train lightly in the gravity room, only setting the G-synthesizer to 20 times.
Just as he reached the bottom stair, he thought he heard a noise coming from upstairs, but after a few minutes of silence, he dismissed it, figuring that someone was just stirring. Trunks had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, and as he tiptoed around his own home in the grayish blue morning light, it set the scene and made him all the more nervous.
He finally got to the back door, switched off the alarm, and unlocked it very slowly and carefully. He stepped into the cool morning air and inhaled deeply. He walked through the dew-glazed grass to the front of the gravity room. He was just going to warm up, but he didn't dare use his ki for fear of waking anyone sensitive to it. When he arrived at the entrance of the gravity room, he flung open the heavy, metal door. Before he entered he set the controls on 20 G's, and pressed the initiation button. He listened to the gravity chamber power on and obtain a steady hum before stepping in. He turned around to shut the door, and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw a figure standing in the doorway. After his heart started to beat again, the figure stepped into the artificial light of the gravity chamber.
"Ceres! What in Dende's name are you doing here?" Trunks cried, catching his breath. She just chuckled lightly and stepped completely into the room.
"I heard you awaken and decided to follow you." She said. "Why, did I frighten you?"
"Dende, Ceres you scared the shit out of me." Trunks said. "You should go back inside and go back to bed."
"How come you're allowed to get up and I'm not?" she asked, folding her arms.
"That's because I couldn't sleep." Trunks said. "I was nervous about today. I came in here to cool off."
"Well I couldn't sleep either." She said, leaning against the wall and frowning. "I was just curious, that's all."
"What if Reena wakes up? Shouldn't you be there so she won't be lonely or afraid?" Trunks said, obviously trying to get back to what he had intended to do.
"No, Reena will be fine. Besides Sirius and that kid Goten are just down the hall. She's a smart one, she'll figure something out." Ceres said. Trunks sighed heavily and placed his hands on his hips. Suddenly, Ceres stepped closer. "Besides, what if you get lonely?" she said seductively, inching towards him. Trunks had a horrified look on his face, as he stood, frozen in confusion. A bead of sweat ran down his cheek as his heart began to beat faster.
"Ceres..." he started, but she put her index finger to his lips.
"Hush." She said, and leaned in for the kill. Trunks grabbed her wrists before she could get any closer and pushed her away gently.
"Ceres what are you doing?" he said, stepping away from him.
"Aw, come on Trunks." She said, looking down at the floor and frowning pitifully. "Don't you like me?"
"Not like that." He answered. "Besides, I can't...Natalie..." he broke off. Ceres produced an angry look on her face.
"Carina again, huh?" she said, somewhat annoyed. "Well, let me just tell you something. Carina isn't what everyone makes her out to be. She's too blind and weak to know how to use her power, and she's nothing but an obstacle."
"Nani!?" Trunks said, surprised.
"You heard me. Back on Vela, it was so apparent that Orion liked her. I don't think she liked him in return, but she allowed him to hang on to her by a thread." Ceres said bitterly. "What she didn't know, was that I liked him! NO, I loved him."
"Ceres maybe you should go back in-" Trunks broke off.
"No. It's not fair!" Ceres said, her eyes growing teary. "She always had what I wanted! She was practically a saint back on Vela, and she could have anyone she wanted. But she chose Orion of all people!"
"No, Ceres...Orion chose her. And Nat isn't without fault, but she's not a bad person." Trunks said, taking pity on the girl. "Besides...you seemed to like her when you first arrived.
"Oh what do you know?" she continued. "You've only known her for a year. I grew up with her." Suddenly, two more figures stepped into the light, revealing themselves as Goten and Sirius.
"Trunks what are you doing here?" Goten asked, and then noticed the shaken Ceres standing next to him.
"Oh...Sirius." Ceres said, and then a devilish smile formed on her lips amidst her flushed complexion. "Trunks and I...we were just," she said, wrapping her arm around his waist, "well all I can say is that Trunks here is a good kisser." Ceres said. Trunks almost fell over, but straightened himself out.
"Nani!?" he cried. Goten looked at Trunks contemptuously and folded his arms.
"Trunks you make me sick." he said, and walked away. Sirius just shot him a glare and then left as well, leaving Trunks and Ceres behind. Trunks turned and looked at Ceres with a furious look on his face.
"Why the hell did you say that just now!?" Trunks shouted aggressively.
"Relax Trunks it was a joke. I think you friends can figure that out for themselves." She said. "But for now..." she continued, placing her two forefingers on his forehead. He tried to back away but her hand started to glow and he was paralyzed. A few seconds later, she let go. Trunks stared straight forward, blinking a few times, before looking around confusedly.
"N...what just happened?" he said, placing his hand behind his head. Ceres looked to the side with an amused look on her face.
"Nothing happened Trunks, what do you mean?" Ceres said innocently. He just shook his head.
"I don't know." He trailed off. "But, I came here to train lightly, so you should leave." He informed her. She just shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the gravity room, shutting the heavy metal door behind her. The sound reverberated around the room for a few seconds before fading into nonexistence.
Trunks stretched his arms for a few seconds and dropped to his knees, preparing to do some pushups.
"That was too weird." He said out loud. "I think she's up to something."
Twenty minutes later, Trunks had finished his light workout and he shut the gravity generator off from inside the chamber. After he readjusted to normal gravity, he exited the room with a few beads of sweat lingering on his jaw line. He walked through the backyard, passing the Capsule 009 ship that they would be using to travel to Vela. Shadows were cast over most of its form, but the letters "Caps" were seen in between blankets of darkness. He turned and walked back inside, and headed upstairs towards his room, when he ran into Goten.
"Goten what time is it, do you know?" Trunks asked. Goten just looked at him condescendingly.
"I don't know, perhaps you could ask Ceres!" he said sarcastically, and pushed his way past on his way down the stairs. Trunks just stood in place, lost in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" Trunks called down to Goten.
"You know very well what I'm talking about!" Goten shouted. "We know all about you and Ceres, and what you did in the gravity room."
"NANI!? Who told you that I did anything with Ceres?" Trunks cried.
"We saw you." Goten said, and then left the room.
"Goten I swear, I didn't do anything! We were just talking!" Trunks called out, but Goten had already walked out of hearing range. And if he had heard, he didn't bother answering. "What the hell is going on here?" he said to himself. On his way down the hall, he literally bumped into Sirius.
"Gomen." Trunks said. "Hey Sirius what's gotten into Goten?"
"He's angry at you, because of what you did." Sirius said. "Don't tell me you didn't notice."
"I did, but I don't know where he got his ideas." Trunks said. "I never touched her. She came into the gravity room just as I was about to start training, and then the next thing I remember is standing up next to her."
"It was pretty clear what you did. And apparently Goten isn't too fond of it." Sirius said. Trunks growled in anger.
"Well it's a lie." He spat. "And I'm going to find out who told it."
"Not now, Trunks, we have more important things to worry about." Sirius said. "You need to encapsulate your things so we can load them onto the ship."
"Yeah, yeah. I just don't understand where this came from. Does Ceres know about it?" he asked. Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"Are you being sincere?" he asked in a flat tone. Trunks just rolled his eyes and started stomping off towards Natalie's room where Reena and Ceres were. He threw open the door, not bothering to knock, but immediately regretted doing so when they screamed and covered themselves up. Trunks jumped back, slammed the door, and blushed furiously. After he gathered his senses, he cracked the door just a little bit to allow his voice to travel in. "G-gomen nasai...." He stammered, and then shut the door. Sirius was still looking at him crookedly.
Suddenly, Vegeta emerged from the master bedroom down the hall with his usual scornful expression.
"What are you bakas doing? You're supposed to be getting ready." He said harshly. Sirius just stared at him with a major sweat drop.
"Tousan we were just...discussing our...mission." Trunks filled in. Sirius raised his hand and opened his mouth to speak, but Trunks stepped on his foot. Vegeta eyed them suspiciously and then walked past them, brushing against them coldly. Sirius followed him with his eyes until he was downstairs and out of sight.
"Er...I guess we should do what he says." Trunks said hastily, and started for his room. Goten then walked up the stairs and would have smacked into him the second time, had Trunks not darted out of the way. Goten, without words, just shot an icy glare at Trunks and walked into his room.
"Damn, I need to go talk to him before he gets the wrong idea." Trunks said.
"I think he already does have the wrong idea. You and Ceres were pretty convincing." Sirius commented. Trunks scowled.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I didn't do a damn thing with that Ceres!" Trunks cried. Just as he said that, Ceres and Reena walked out into the hallway. Reena looked at Trunks, and then at Sirius in confusion, and Ceres just smiled and blushed. Sirius looked over at her.
"Ceres tell us the truth. Did you or did you not kiss Trunks, and/or he kiss you?" he asked. She looked at Trunks for a moment and the back at Sirius.
"I am telling the truth! I don't know why he has to pretend it never happened, because it did." She said, disguising her voice to make herself sound distressed. Everyone, with the exception of Ceres herself, turned and glared at Trunks.
"Think what you want, but this girl is LYING." Trunks shouted, and stormed into his room. He threw himself onto his bed and placed his chin in his hands. "I can't believe this. On the very day we leave, something had to come up. And I know that that baka Ceres is telling a lie." He spoke bitterly to himself. They'd soon see.
"Why don't you just tell the truth, Trunks?" Goten said, still in a disdainful tone, walking out of the bathroom. "Everybody knows about it, there's no point in trying to lie your way out. Pretending to be innocent only makes things worse than they already are."
"But I'm not lying Goten!" Trunks cried. "You should know me better than that! Sure, I may have said false things in the past, but I would never lie about something like this!" Goten just looked at Trunks for a few seconds and then turned his back to him, folding his arms.
"Well if you are right, what were you and Ceres doing in the gravity room?" Goten asked.
"I...I don't remember. I was in the room, about to start warming up, and the next thing I know I'm standing up next to Ceres and she's telling you guys that we were kissing. I must have blacked out or something." Trunks said. Goten made a brief hissing sound through his teeth.
"I'll take your word for it this time Trunks." Goten said, turning back around to face him. "But mark my words, if I see anything that confirms my suspicions in the future, you can kiss my trust in you goodbye."
"I know you won't, because this whole thing never happened." Trunks said, staring at the ground. Vegeta walked in and scowled.
"Trunks! How many times to I have to tell you to get a move on? What, do I have to hold your hand like a little baby?" he mocked. Trunks growled softly.
"Tousan I'm working on it. Just have some patience." Trunks retaliated.
" What little patience I have if getting very thin." Vegeta said. "Have you encapsulated your equipment?"
"Iie. Not yet." Trunks said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I was on my way." Vegeta let out a sigh and walked away. Trunks looked back at Goten. "Have you encapsulated yet?" he asked. Goten nodded his head and pulled out a small case, which he flipped open to reveal three, color-coded capsules. He quickly shut the case again.
"That's what I did downstairs while you and Sirius were arguing." He said.
"I'm getting a really bad feeling about going now." Trunks said, sitting on the floor of his room. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to handle it."
"Sure you can, Trunks." Goten ensured. "I think that if one person can do it, it's you, being the son of a prince and all, and having witnessed his pride." Trunks didn't say anything. "Besides, if we don't go, Natalie would never have another chance. You should be wanting to go as much as, if not more than the rest of us."
"Well I don't think I have much of a choice nonetheless." Trunks sneered. "How long is this trip going to take, do you know?" Goten shook his head no, and Trunks stood on his feet. "I'm going downstairs to get this stuff encapsulated." He said, and then walked out of the room, dragging his things behind him. He walked downstairs to the Capsule Corp. equipment room and found one of the machines that he was looking for. He stared at it for a moment, and then snapped out of his trance and ran his bad through it. After a few minutes, a nice, neat little capsule popped out the back of it and the machine bleeped and shut itself off. Trunks grabbed the capsule and dug through a pile of cases, located the right size, and then left, placing his capsule inside the case on his way up the stairs. His task completed, he turned his head up in front of him and saw Reena walking out of his room and back into Natalie's, where Ceres was sitting on the bed in her armor. All three of them had some sort of crest on the left breastplate of their body armor. It was the same one that Orion had. Trunks shuddered. He was still having a hard time grasping the concept that Orion and Natalie had grown up together.
"Trunks, you gonna shower?" Goten said, emerging from the room, holding a towel.
"Hai." Trunks replied. "But you can go first."
"Domo." Goten replied, and walked back into the room. Trunks signed heavily. His mind was racing, and his adrenaline pumped at the thought of his mission. He looked down and realized that his hands wee shaking. He clenched them into fists and watched as the tendon in his forearm stuck out about a quarter of an inch. What was wrong with him? Was it the time shift, or his nervousness? He could hear the muffled voices of Reena and Ceres coming from Natalie's room. He could only make out a few words of what they were saying, and he assumed they were discussing the mission and their plans. His stomach rumbled, telling him that he needed to eat. He shuffled down the stairs in a lethargic fashion, finally reaching the first floor with a "plop". As he trudged towards the kitchen, his stomach rumbled again.
"I know, I know." He spat. He rummaged through the refrigerator, coming across some leftover teriyaki chicken. He opened the container and sniffed it before putting some in a bowl. As he shoved it into the microwave to heat it up, he could hear someone walking down the stairs. He just assumed it was one of the Sidra-jins, and didn't pay it much attention. Then, when two arms embraced his body, he spun around in surprise. "Oh...gomen, kaasan." He said, realizing that it was his mother. She looked at him strangely.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked. "You seem paranoid."
"Nothing...I thought you were someone else." He muttered. The microwave beeped to signal the end of the heating cycle, and Trunks pulled the steaming bowl out, preparing to eat it.
"Well I just wanted to tell you that we're going to miss you." She said.
"We?" Trunks questioned.
"Me, and your tousan." She said, and paused, smiling. "You know he will miss you, don't you?"
"H...hai." Trunks replied. "I guess so."
"He will. And Bra as well." She continued. "You won't be able to see her before you leave. But we'll make sure she knows."
"Okay." Trunks said. He shoved a piece of chicken into his mouth and chewed only a few times before swallowing. He did the same a couple more times.
"Trunks what's wrong? You're not even chewing your food before you swallow." Bulma said. "Are you nervous?"
"No." Trunks said quickly...too quickly. Bulma, having obviously seen through it, folded her arms and frowned.
"Trunks don't lie to me. You're letting your pride get in the way." She sighed. "Just like your tousan."
"Gomen kaasan, but I can't help it." Trunks said, looking away bitterly.
"Don't you worry. You will get her back." Bulma said sternly. "If there's one thing I have faith in these days, it's you, Trunks. And I mean that." Trunks looked at her. "You are going to go on that journey and you will overcome the odds. I know, because you are driven by a passion for fighting, and a love for her." She finished. Trunks stood in inert shock at what his mother had just said. He swallowed hard and tried to think of something to say in return. "Oh, Trunks?" she added. He questioned her with his eyes. "What's this I hear about you and Ceres?" Trunks growled in protest and slammed his hand into the counter, imprinting a slight dent into the surface.
"Don't tell me you believe that, kaasan!" he cried.
"I was just-"
"I don't know why she has spread this lie! Now everyone thinks that I was making out with her in the damn gravity room, and it will surely get back to Natalie. That's the last thing I need, after all she is already going to be wary of me for a while because of what I did to her." Trunks shouted. When he was finished, he inhaled deeply. Bulma just stood, unable to produce words. Vegeta walked in and observed the scene.
"Trunks!" he shouted. Trunks looked up. "Don't you dare yell at your kaasan like that! If you have a problem, you can take it out on me, understand?" Trunks' jaw dropped. "She didn't do anything to you, and you certainly don't have a reason to shout at her!"
"Hai..." Trunks trailed off, looking rather sheepish. Bulma smiled and turned around to face her mate.
"Arigatou, Vegeta, but I don't think Trunks meant to take out his anger on me." She said. Vegeta sighed angrily.
"Fine." He spat. He then looked back at Trunks. "Have you finished everything?"
"Iie. I still have to shower." Trunks replied. "But, I encapsulated my things."
"Good. We've changed your departure time to 9:00 since you all have gotten an early start." He continued. Trunks let his shoulders roll forward as he leaned against the counter. He nodded as he picked at his meal with his chopsticks, separating the chicken from the snow peas and water chestnuts.
"Vegeta, have I told you lately that you're cute?" Bulma said, stifling a laugh. Vegeta produced an embarrassed look on his face and blushed before walking away swiftly. Trunks just shrugged and took another large bite.
"Kaasan, what are you going to do when we leave?" Trunks inquired.
"Trunks, don't talk with your mouth full of food." Bulma said. Trunks pathetically gulped his food down. "I don't really know right now. I would just go back to Hawaii, but we would need Goku to teleport us, and I don't have any equipment in my lab to get in contact with him."
"Don't you have their...room number?" Trunks said, his eyebrow twitching. Bulma facefaulted.
"Oh...yeah..." she said. Trunks finished his food and literally threw the dish into the sink before walking out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.
3 hours later:
Trunks, having showered and loaded his things into the capsule pod, was sitting about five feet away from Goten on the grass in the backyard. All five of the warriors were outside, with Ceres and Sirius standing next to the pod, and Reena sitting timidly on the grass by herself. Goten glanced over to her, but immediately looked away at making eye contact with her.
"Why don't you just go over there?" Trunks whispered to his friend. Goten turned red and clenched his teeth.
"Shutup!" he whispered harshly. "She might hear you..."
"Oh, relax Goten." Trunks said. "She's just a girl."
"Me relax? You're the one who was a bundle of nerves when Nat was new here." He replied.
"Hey Reena." Trunks called. She looked up at him. "Why don't you come sit over here?" Goten tried not to fall over. She nodded quickly and scooted towards them. Goten shot daggers at Trunks with his eyes.
"Gomen...I'm usually more talkative than this." Reena explained. "But, I'm just nervous...that's all."
"Don't worry about that. I think we all are." Goten said. She looked up at him and smiled. Suddenly, Bulma and Vegeta emerged from the back door and walked over towards them. The five lined up in front of the pod without words.
"Alright." Bulma started. "Here's your itinerary. You board the pod, and there are two main floors. The main one, or the level you are on when you enter, contains the main control panel. Your route is already plugged into the processing unit, so you won't have to worry abut navigating unless there is a system failure, in which case there are tracking charts in the compartment below the panel. The space-time wave generator is programmed in as well, but you will need to initiate the generator manually. In the two days it will take for you to travel to the planet, the generator will have taken you back to the year 780. Now, the second floor, or the cabin area, contains beds, a shower, and food storage. This floor is accessible by a set of stairs in the northeast section of the pod. And, those are the basics. Should you need to make contact with me, there is a telecommunication device located on the main control panel. However, it will not work after a certain point, I estimate about midway through your trip. Any questions?" There was a long silence, with no noise present other than the slight breeze and a few chirping birds. "This is not a toy, kids." Bulma said firmly. "It's a multimillion dollar piece of equipment."
"Relax, woman, they aren't going to break it." Vegeta said. Bulma sighed.
"You people have no appreciation for technology!" she cried. She then turned back to the group. "Gomen..."
"Kaasan, we'll be fine." Trunks assured. He stepped forward and gave her a quick embrace before stepping back to the level of the others. Bulma smiled and stepped back until she was 20 feet from the pod. She nodded, signaling to them that they could go aboard the pod. As they stood in the doorway, she waved to them. Vegeta just nodded, his arms crossed firmly over his chest.
The five entered the cold, sterile pod and inspected their surroundings. Trunks walked to the main control panel and observed the setup. He pressed the button to shut the door, causing a loud bang to echo around the large, round room. He then initiated the engine startup sequence, and the pod suddenly became alive with a faint humming sound. The control panel's lights were blinking and flashing as it ascended to full power.
"Ready?" he said, looking at the other four. They all looked at him and nodded simultaneously. Trunks pushed up on the switch slowly and steadily, causing the generator to flash and the humming to grow in intensity. "Let's go." Trunks said, and the pod rocketed off the ground.
Bulma looked up at the pod, her hair and clothes rippling in the gust of air caused by the takeoff, and smiled.