While Goku was off fetching Piccolo, one by one all other denizens of Capsule Corp. returned. As they heard Bulma's story, they all offered to blast through Pilaf's base and rescue Vegeta. But the scientist put her foot down; she wanted to be careful just in case, which was why she was only sending Oolong and Piccolo.
However, there was one resident who did not return.
"Trunks, have you seen your brother?" Bulma asked.
"No, Mom. Why?"
"He's been gone since yesterday afternoon, and he didn't tell me where he went, and I can't find him anywhere. His cellular phone's off, and no one's answering at Jennifer's house." She bit her lip. Her maternal instincts were kicking in. Part of her mind tried to tell her that technically, Mirai wasn't *her* son. Her heart and the rest of her brain told that portion to shut the hell up.
"Want me to go look for him?"
"No, that's OK. I'll give him a few more hours."
As she finished speaking, Goku and Piccolo materialized amongst everyone. The Namekian looked as if he were trying very hard to keep from smirking.
"So...Vegeta was captured by Pilaf, eh?"
"Yes," said Bulma, walking to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "And will you go get him? You know how Pilaf works better than anyone..."
He nodded. "I will." To himself alone he added, *And the opportunity to see Vegeta humiliated like this is one I cannot pass up.*
"Thank you. Oolong will be your companion."
Raising an eyebrow, Piccolo glanced at the pig. He was leaning in a corner of the room, arms crossed and looking sullen. He did not seem to appreciate the thought of walking into a high-tech supervillain base.
"Very well. Let's go now." Nodding in agreement, Bulma glared at Oolong. The shapeshifter heaved a sigh and began to walk towards the door with Piccolo. Before they could reach it, however, it was flung open by Mirai.
There wasn't a scratch on him, but he looked like he felt awful. His forehead was covered with a sheen of sweat, and judging by the way he was clutching at the wall, he could barely stand on his own. His mouth seemed to be locked in a grimace of pain. The room fell silent as everyone stared, horrified. Bulma rushed to him and supported him.
"Are you OK?" she asked, her voice a breathless whisper.
"No...I feel horrible." Every word seemed to be causing him agony. Goku joined Bulma in supporting him, taking his other side.
"What happened?"
"Jennifer won a big legal case against Z-TV...and I mean big, the final penalty against them was more than a hundred million zeni. So she invited me over to celebrate."
"Go on," said Bulma as she and Goku sat him down on a chair. He slumped forward, resting his head in his hands.
"Well, as a way of showing their appreciation for her hard work, her firm said they'd consider making her a partner, and they gave her some wine, too, as a gift. By the time we finished celebrating, we'd had three bottles." Everyone sighed in relief; they could see where this was going. "We made out for a while on her couch..." Yamcha realized that if he was able to discuss it so casually, and without blushing, he must *really* be in pain.
"After a while, she went to bed, and I spent the night on the couch. The next morning, when I woke up...ohhh..." he groaned, and rubbed his forehead. "The sunlight was painful, so we closed the shades. That helped a little bit. Then we took a shower--SEPARATELY, that is. We each took a separate shower," he added hurriedly. "That helped some more, and after a little while I was finally able to make it back here."
Bulma frowned. "I called over there but no one answered..."
"She took the phone off the hook. The ringing was too painful."
"Poor boy." She began to stroke his hair, but he yelled.
"AH! That hurts!" She quickly took her hand away. "Anyway, I'm gonna go lie down for a year or twenty." As he rose, he finally managed to grin. "It's kinda funny...Jennifer's my first girlfriend and first love. She's given me my first date, my first hug, my first kiss, and now, my first hangover." As everyone else chuckled, he staggered off in the direction of his bedroom.
"I remember when His Majesty had a hangover during our road trip," said Raditz, grinning. "Like father, like son."
"Well, that was an amusing interlude," said Piccolo, showing not a trace of amusement at all. "Now let's go rescue Vegeta." He gestured at Oolong to follow him.
***
"Here's your dinner, Mr. Briefs," said Mai, pushing the tray containing the meal through the hole in the bars. Vegeta grunted acknowledgement and began to wolf down the food. Mai walked to the main control room, where Pilaf and Shu were watching all the monitoring devices.
"How's the prisoner?" Pilaf asked when she entered.
"Doing well, sire. I just gave him his dinner," she replied.
"Good. Speaking of dinner, when is that pizza going to get here?"
"That should be the delivery man coming now, sire," said Shu, pointing to one of the monitors. There was a car driving down the road, with a sign reading "Demae Pizza."
"Excellent."
***
Piccolo flew low, under Pilaf's radar. Oolong was on his back, trying to desperately to maintain a firm hold on his cape. They saw the large structure a couple of miles away from Gingertown. A solitary road, presumably Hidden Base Lane, lead to it, a solitary aircar winding its way down to the villain's headquarters.
"What's that car?" Oolong asked.
"It says Demae Pizza on the side," replied Piccolo, utilizing his sharper vision.
"The world-conqueror needs to order out for pizza?"
Making no comment, Piccolo touched down just outside the base. They pressed themselves against the wall and watched as the deliveryman talked through an intercom for a moment, and then entered a code on a keypad. The large gate swung open. After the deliveryman stepped through, it swung closed again. A few minutes later, he returned to his aircar and drove away.
When it was out of sight, Piccolo hissed to Oolong. "Here's the plan. Change shape to look like him. Go up and tell them you forgot something. Open the gate with the code. It's 2047."
"Then what?"
The Namekian grinned. "I'll take it from there."
***
"Who is it?" Pilaf asked as the intercom buzzed.
"It appears to be the pizza man again, sire," said Shu.
"Again?"
"He says that he forgot to give us our complimentary breadsticks, sire."
"Tell him to come on in."
***
Oolong punched in 2047. As the gate opened, he dashed back out of sight.
"You stay here," said Piccolo, striding towards the gate. "This shouldn't take long."
He entered, and saw a few dozen laser beams, crisscrossing and forming a lethal web. What was it they had said? Push the off-color brick...
The walls were made up of grey stone bricks. But there was one brick that was a bright teal. He snorted in derision. Apparently they didn't want to make them too similar and face the threat of slicing themselves to ribbons. He pressed the teal brick, and the lasers faded. He continued walking. Several corners later, he entered what appeared to be Pilaf's main control room.
"I have your breadsticks," he growled. Pilaf, Shu, and Mai whirled to face him.
"You're not the pizza man!" they all yelled simultaneously.
"No, I'm not!" He whipped off his turban.
"LORD PICCOLO!"
"Yes, you incompetent fools! I, Piccolo Daimao, the great demon king!"
The three bowed. "W-what do you want, Lord?"
"You imbeciles are ruining my plans!"
"W-we are?"
"Yes, you are! I have schemes of my own that involve the one you have kidnapped! Bring him to me, now, and I may let you live!"
Pilaf, Shu, and Mai hurried into another room. Piccolo donned his turban again. They returned, almost literally dragging Vegeta with them. When Vegeta saw him, he adopted an expression somewhat between a smirk and a grimace.
"Here he i-is, as you commanded."
"Excellent. I am feeling merciful; I shall spare you. And you, come with me." He grabbed Vegeta by the collar of his shirt and hauled him away. The three he left behind audibly sighed with relief.
***
"As much as it pains me, I feel that I must thank you," said Vegeta as he and Piccolo met up with Oolong.
"No thanks are necessary. The sight of you captured by Pilaf and rescued by Oolong and myself is reward enough."
***
When they returned, Bulma squeezed most of the air out of Vegeta with a tight hug, then got rid of the rest with a kiss that left the observers grinning.
As he scanned the crowd, he noticed an absence. "Where's Mirai?"
"He spent the night at Jennifer's and now he's out of it."
"Ohh." He grinned wickedly, and she gave him a light slap.
"Not like that, you baka," but she was smiling too.
However, there was one resident who did not return.
"Trunks, have you seen your brother?" Bulma asked.
"No, Mom. Why?"
"He's been gone since yesterday afternoon, and he didn't tell me where he went, and I can't find him anywhere. His cellular phone's off, and no one's answering at Jennifer's house." She bit her lip. Her maternal instincts were kicking in. Part of her mind tried to tell her that technically, Mirai wasn't *her* son. Her heart and the rest of her brain told that portion to shut the hell up.
"Want me to go look for him?"
"No, that's OK. I'll give him a few more hours."
As she finished speaking, Goku and Piccolo materialized amongst everyone. The Namekian looked as if he were trying very hard to keep from smirking.
"So...Vegeta was captured by Pilaf, eh?"
"Yes," said Bulma, walking to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "And will you go get him? You know how Pilaf works better than anyone..."
He nodded. "I will." To himself alone he added, *And the opportunity to see Vegeta humiliated like this is one I cannot pass up.*
"Thank you. Oolong will be your companion."
Raising an eyebrow, Piccolo glanced at the pig. He was leaning in a corner of the room, arms crossed and looking sullen. He did not seem to appreciate the thought of walking into a high-tech supervillain base.
"Very well. Let's go now." Nodding in agreement, Bulma glared at Oolong. The shapeshifter heaved a sigh and began to walk towards the door with Piccolo. Before they could reach it, however, it was flung open by Mirai.
There wasn't a scratch on him, but he looked like he felt awful. His forehead was covered with a sheen of sweat, and judging by the way he was clutching at the wall, he could barely stand on his own. His mouth seemed to be locked in a grimace of pain. The room fell silent as everyone stared, horrified. Bulma rushed to him and supported him.
"Are you OK?" she asked, her voice a breathless whisper.
"No...I feel horrible." Every word seemed to be causing him agony. Goku joined Bulma in supporting him, taking his other side.
"What happened?"
"Jennifer won a big legal case against Z-TV...and I mean big, the final penalty against them was more than a hundred million zeni. So she invited me over to celebrate."
"Go on," said Bulma as she and Goku sat him down on a chair. He slumped forward, resting his head in his hands.
"Well, as a way of showing their appreciation for her hard work, her firm said they'd consider making her a partner, and they gave her some wine, too, as a gift. By the time we finished celebrating, we'd had three bottles." Everyone sighed in relief; they could see where this was going. "We made out for a while on her couch..." Yamcha realized that if he was able to discuss it so casually, and without blushing, he must *really* be in pain.
"After a while, she went to bed, and I spent the night on the couch. The next morning, when I woke up...ohhh..." he groaned, and rubbed his forehead. "The sunlight was painful, so we closed the shades. That helped a little bit. Then we took a shower--SEPARATELY, that is. We each took a separate shower," he added hurriedly. "That helped some more, and after a little while I was finally able to make it back here."
Bulma frowned. "I called over there but no one answered..."
"She took the phone off the hook. The ringing was too painful."
"Poor boy." She began to stroke his hair, but he yelled.
"AH! That hurts!" She quickly took her hand away. "Anyway, I'm gonna go lie down for a year or twenty." As he rose, he finally managed to grin. "It's kinda funny...Jennifer's my first girlfriend and first love. She's given me my first date, my first hug, my first kiss, and now, my first hangover." As everyone else chuckled, he staggered off in the direction of his bedroom.
"I remember when His Majesty had a hangover during our road trip," said Raditz, grinning. "Like father, like son."
"Well, that was an amusing interlude," said Piccolo, showing not a trace of amusement at all. "Now let's go rescue Vegeta." He gestured at Oolong to follow him.
***
"Here's your dinner, Mr. Briefs," said Mai, pushing the tray containing the meal through the hole in the bars. Vegeta grunted acknowledgement and began to wolf down the food. Mai walked to the main control room, where Pilaf and Shu were watching all the monitoring devices.
"How's the prisoner?" Pilaf asked when she entered.
"Doing well, sire. I just gave him his dinner," she replied.
"Good. Speaking of dinner, when is that pizza going to get here?"
"That should be the delivery man coming now, sire," said Shu, pointing to one of the monitors. There was a car driving down the road, with a sign reading "Demae Pizza."
"Excellent."
***
Piccolo flew low, under Pilaf's radar. Oolong was on his back, trying to desperately to maintain a firm hold on his cape. They saw the large structure a couple of miles away from Gingertown. A solitary road, presumably Hidden Base Lane, lead to it, a solitary aircar winding its way down to the villain's headquarters.
"What's that car?" Oolong asked.
"It says Demae Pizza on the side," replied Piccolo, utilizing his sharper vision.
"The world-conqueror needs to order out for pizza?"
Making no comment, Piccolo touched down just outside the base. They pressed themselves against the wall and watched as the deliveryman talked through an intercom for a moment, and then entered a code on a keypad. The large gate swung open. After the deliveryman stepped through, it swung closed again. A few minutes later, he returned to his aircar and drove away.
When it was out of sight, Piccolo hissed to Oolong. "Here's the plan. Change shape to look like him. Go up and tell them you forgot something. Open the gate with the code. It's 2047."
"Then what?"
The Namekian grinned. "I'll take it from there."
***
"Who is it?" Pilaf asked as the intercom buzzed.
"It appears to be the pizza man again, sire," said Shu.
"Again?"
"He says that he forgot to give us our complimentary breadsticks, sire."
"Tell him to come on in."
***
Oolong punched in 2047. As the gate opened, he dashed back out of sight.
"You stay here," said Piccolo, striding towards the gate. "This shouldn't take long."
He entered, and saw a few dozen laser beams, crisscrossing and forming a lethal web. What was it they had said? Push the off-color brick...
The walls were made up of grey stone bricks. But there was one brick that was a bright teal. He snorted in derision. Apparently they didn't want to make them too similar and face the threat of slicing themselves to ribbons. He pressed the teal brick, and the lasers faded. He continued walking. Several corners later, he entered what appeared to be Pilaf's main control room.
"I have your breadsticks," he growled. Pilaf, Shu, and Mai whirled to face him.
"You're not the pizza man!" they all yelled simultaneously.
"No, I'm not!" He whipped off his turban.
"LORD PICCOLO!"
"Yes, you incompetent fools! I, Piccolo Daimao, the great demon king!"
The three bowed. "W-what do you want, Lord?"
"You imbeciles are ruining my plans!"
"W-we are?"
"Yes, you are! I have schemes of my own that involve the one you have kidnapped! Bring him to me, now, and I may let you live!"
Pilaf, Shu, and Mai hurried into another room. Piccolo donned his turban again. They returned, almost literally dragging Vegeta with them. When Vegeta saw him, he adopted an expression somewhat between a smirk and a grimace.
"Here he i-is, as you commanded."
"Excellent. I am feeling merciful; I shall spare you. And you, come with me." He grabbed Vegeta by the collar of his shirt and hauled him away. The three he left behind audibly sighed with relief.
***
"As much as it pains me, I feel that I must thank you," said Vegeta as he and Piccolo met up with Oolong.
"No thanks are necessary. The sight of you captured by Pilaf and rescued by Oolong and myself is reward enough."
***
When they returned, Bulma squeezed most of the air out of Vegeta with a tight hug, then got rid of the rest with a kiss that left the observers grinning.
As he scanned the crowd, he noticed an absence. "Where's Mirai?"
"He spent the night at Jennifer's and now he's out of it."
"Ohh." He grinned wickedly, and she gave him a light slap.
"Not like that, you baka," but she was smiling too.