Mental

02: Inside

A DBZ fanfiction by LadyRivka

A/N: Thanks for everyone who has reviewed so far, especially Aerith Gainesborough. Thanks ever so much for the compliments on the first chapter, girl, you ROCK!!! And to anyone else who's bored after (or during, whichever) this fic, Aerith's story "College, Coffee, and Crushes" is a must-read for Marron-chan fans; heck, even Marron-HATERS may like this fic. Aerith gives Marron this Everywoman quality that pulls you in and forces you to see things through her eyes. ^^

Enough of my blabbing, on with my story…

-Rivka

Bulma hopped right to her task of hooking up the EEG's (A/N: electroencepalograms, they monitor brain waves and other cerebral activity) to the two subject's heads, turned a few switches here, a few levers there, and placed a microchip in each one of the subject's ears. A light humming sound could be heard as the two subjects reached optimum brain-wave patterns; a red vinyl sheet, looking eerily like an unzipped body bag, was placed over both subjects.

Bulma whispered to Kuririn, "If you need to get out because of endangerment to your life, please notify me."

"How?"

"Ask, and your brain waves will change. This EEG is very sensitive."

"Oh." Kuririn breathed heavily under the red sheet, and tried to get his composure before the procedure.

His brain waves having been restored to optimum by his relaxation, Bulma continued.

The mattresses of the two beds were brought to near-ceiling level, to better access the computerized resonance imaging system. A pair of wide laser beams came down over both Kuririn's and #18's heads, scanning their brains, down to the last synapse. Bulma worked with the computerized images and fed them back to the microchips in their ear canals.

Kuririn was still nervous, but if it was for Juuhachigoo's good, he couldn't argue…

--

Kuririn found himself in what looked like the inside of a giant windowless warehouse, all concrete; no detail anywhere. All the same monotonous shade of gray.

If this is Juu-chan's mind, he thought, it must be some kind of blank slate. Either that or Gero took it…

A loud female scream interrupted his thoughts; young, he guessed around six or seven, and blood-curdling.

Around the corner he saw a half-materialized little girl with bright, warm blue eyes, long blond pigtails, a green dress with a white Peter Pan collar, and what appeared to be white socks and black shoes. Her face wore an expression of absolute fear, and her little sometimes-there-sometimes-not legs were running as if she were being chased by a horde of demons after her soul.

She stopped a moment to catch her breath, and saw Kuririn standing not ten feet from her.

Again she started to run, this time towards Kuririn, her eyes wide in desperation.

"Mister," she panted, "can you help me?" A tear dripped from her left eye.

"What's the matter?" Kuririn patted the little girl's head.

She leaned into Kuririn's T-shirt and started to cry. "They-they're chasing me, mister, and they want to kill me…and I don't know where my brother is and I'm lost and alone and scared…help me!"

"I'll help." Kuririn was quite moved by the little girl's plea. "What's your name?"

"M-Miki," she stuttered, her voice not yet overcoming her crying spell.

"Who's chasing you?"

"They are."

"Who are 'they'?"

"You'll know them when you see them." Miki looked Kuririn in the eye. "Trust me, mister…Maybe I can take you to my drawing corner, that's where I go get my anger out." With that, Miki ran to a small enclave in the "building".

Kuririn was astonished by what he saw…

Crude, childlike drawings of Dr. Gero. Cyborg plans taped to the floor. A dark figure he didn't recognize…

"Whaddya think?" Miki grinned.

"I-Impressive!" Kuririn put his hand behind and giggled.

"Shh, you're too loud. They might hear you and try to kill you too."

"I understand. Now where do we go from here?"

"Dunno, I usually trust my gut." The six-year-old image of Juuhachigoo's human psyche pulled Kuririn towards a destination in the "warehouse" he knew not of….

END CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3- What will Kuririn and Miki discover next?