Bulma finished putting away the groceries with an exasperated sigh; it was an all day thing to grocery shop for her family now. With Trunks and Vegeta's eating habits, plus occasionally feeding Goten was a test of patience and culinary skills that would make the most patient saint and cooking master swear in frustration. But, she did it anyways. Well, she thought, at least Goten won't be eating over any time soon; not with Chichi putting him through school now and needing him home to help take care of the house.

"MOM! PICCOLO'S HERE TO SEE YOU!" Trunks voice shattered the silence of the house. She blinked in surprise and quickly washed her hands before heading out towards the front door.

"Piccolo's here, did he say what he wanted?" She intercepted the young boy as he prepared to bolt off back to his room to play whatever new video game had come out. He squirmed in her arms and shrugged.

"Dunno, he just said he needed to talk to you and not to tell dad."

A soft snort issued from the now viewable namek. "I hardly think that matters now. Since you just told everyone within a five mile radius that I'm here and who I need to see; now get out of here, I have something important to talk to your mother about."

Bulma chuckled and dropped Trunks to the floor, letting the kid hit on his hands and knees, and watched him scramble off. "You still have the ability to intimidate, Piccolo. Now what can I do for you? And no need to worry; Vegeta's off gods know where training."

Piccolo nodded and regarded the woman for a moment before speaking. "I need to know if you know anything about a place called Cyscal Gene labs."

Bulma blinked slowly considering the words. "I know a bit about it, I know that it's in another city quite a bit a way's from here, and that they did genetic experiments for the government and for other countries. If you have time, I can probably find a bit of information on it in our database. Its uh, classified, but I trust you not to go selling it to the media or something; but I have to ask what you want it for; that way if something does happen and they investigate I can have a good alibi by the time it gets to me."

Piccolo frowned a bit; he didn't really want to tell her about the dream, he hadn't wanted to come to her in the first place; but when he'd seen the name on the side of the van they'd tossed whatever it was in, it had piqued his curiosity. "I suppose it can't hurt to tell. Just keep it from that idiot husband of yours. I don't need to be pestered by him."

Bulma nodded and shrugged, "I'm pissed at him anyways right now, so now worries there. C'mon, follow me to the computer room and I'll grab the information you need, meanwhile you can explain to me why you need it;" She side glanced at the larger man and raised a brow. "Unless it's something you can't tell me."

Piccolo shook his head. "I'll tell you what I know, and that's not much. I knew you and your father had connections to the scientific world, and the vision I had earlier had the words Cyscal Gene Labs in it somewhere." "Well, tell me about it, to be honest I'm curious about this vision, mainly because Cys labs haven't been in operation for over geeze, ten years? Somewhere around there."

Piccolo nodded, that was an important piece of information, and he tucked it away. "I had a vision, of something, an alien I assume that had lived here, from what I gathered from the vision for quite a long time. It'd been hibernating of sorts when it had been woken up and went in search of food and water. Some humans had come upon it and reported the thing to the police or military, I'm not sure which; but the military had shown up and had dragged the thing off, I saw through its eyes, and I recall before they blind folded us, it, whatever that the van had the labs logo on it. The vision continues." Piccolo went into detailed explanation of what it had experienced, and what it had shared with him. That a second alien had also been captured by these people and they had been put together in the same room with near disastrous results. He also told of how the creature had been put in some sort of stasis, and apparently was now trying to wake; calling out to Piccolo for help.

Bulma nodded as she took in all the information, and sat down at her computer. Piccolo stood behind her, arms folded over his chest waiting for her to begin working. He watched as she opened up a database browser and began typing away. After about a minute, the computer began to spit up information, showing pictures and documents. Bulma read bits aloud to the namek as they came up.

"It says here that the lab was opened up around seventy nearly eighty years ago, well before our time, and was first used as a doctors office that specialized in rare diseases and genetic research, the research mainly being trying to find answers as to why certain defects showed up in a certain group of people, or why certain races ended up with a disease, but another couldn't contract it. They continued to do this kind of work for about maybe ten or so years, until they had their funding pulled out from under them by their private benefactors for delving into stem cell research and genetic manipulations; and then the Military got in touch with them."

Bulma scanned the screen, scrolling down to a large paragraph of information and continued, "The military sent a high ranking General to speak with a Doctor San-Yi Murashi about funding his research, but the catch was that the Army had say in what the good doctor did and didn't do with the research. Murashi, desperate for funding, accepted the Generals terms and was immediately put to work researching gene splicing, and genetic alterations, making people, humans in general stronger, faster, smarter, with more stamina; basically super humans that the military could use in their ranks. Men who wouldn't need to eat but maybe once a day, could walk without fatigue, could figure out problems and deal with them on their own; you know basically drones with super intelligence. There was some serious ethical issues that Murashi didn't like, but he didn't really have much choice; this General was a hard ass and if he didn't like how things were progressing, he made sure that 'accidents' would happen in the labs to set back Murashi's personal work. He also placed a Lieutenant and some military staff there to keep an eye on the doctor and his staff."

Piccolo nodded and considered a few things. "If the military was involved, that would explain the uniformed people in the vision. It would also explain why they'd want to capture aliens."

"Right, the military knows that aliens existed; you being a prime example. But they always had a hard time getting a hold of them and keeping them alive long enough or detained long enough without suffering damages." The blue-haired woman responded. "There just wasn't an Outer-space-men-R-Us retail store that they could go to and pick up a dozen aliens for genetic experiments, you know?" Bulma laughed faintly and continued reading. "The Lieutenant was just as hard assed as his General; he made sure the medical staff had all the military's work done before they could pursue personal objectives. Murashi was working in a cure for Cancer and another for Multiple Sclerosis, he'd had a few good leads, and more than one break- through; but that had to be put aside for the Army's work. Murashi was becoming an aggravated man. The final straw came when the army started storing things in his lab."

"What kind of things, Bulma?" Piccolo raised a brow ridge, and a strange sense of urgency creeped up on him.

"They had found an actual, living, breathing- but wounded alien. It doesn't say in here what kind of alien it had found, or where the location of its capture had been, but that it was alive, and obviously not from this world. Murashi made a note about it in his journals; here I'll read it to you:

Lieutenant Yasan and his men brought in something I'd rather not have in my facility! The abomination is violent, filthy and foul smelling. It frightens my medical staff and already two of my lab assistants have quit because of the things presence. The thing has killed at least two other staff members, and one officer. I have no idea what it is, but it is obviously of an intelligent nature and species, it understands us, or feigns understanding, its eyes. the creatures eyes possess a sharpness and a clarity that sends ice water down my spine and hot water settle in my stomach. Its eyes are like nothing I've ever seen; they swirl like oil over water, or perhaps more-so like mercury over a black table. There are no pupils from what I can see; the eyes are just a solid mass of blackness interspersed with silver. Its hands are more like claws or pincers, three fingers and a thumb, the claws and teeth are that of an obvious carnivore. Its movements are quick despite its size, and I have a feeling it's used to a heavier gravity than what our planet has.

Yasan and Murashi want my staff and me to deal with it. Deal with it! How do you deal with something that can barely be sedated let alone approached when it's sleeping? I cannot say; and it's frustrating me, and my staff, not to mention the Lieutenant. He insists we find something to make the creature calm, but how does one do that when you cannot even approach it to take samples of its blood, or to catalogue its genetic structure?

The other problem I find myself facing is, if the General wants me to start performing experiments on this thing, how am I to accomplish that with the little resources he's given me? I have minimal staff, and the soldiers based here are of little to no use at all. There's no way we can handle such a monster on our own. I'm trapped here, with that thing; and I wonder how long it will be before I or it escape. I pray it's me that gets away before the thing figures out how to.

Bulma sat back and rubbed her eyes, then glanced back at the namek who looked half troubled and half annoyed. "There's more, but I really don't feel like reading it all to you, I can print out a copy and you can read it at your leisure."

Piccolo nodded. "Yes, please. That would be for the best, and that way I can pick out information as I need it. Can you also pull up the address of this building, as well as any floor plans if possible?"

Bulma nodded a bit as she pressed print on the printer and waited for copies to come out, handing them to Piccolo as they appeared one by one. Piccolo glanced over them as she gave them to him. "Address I can pull, floor plans are a bit harder to come by. But I'm sure if you really wanted them, and if I tried hard enough I could obtain a copy for you. Tell me you're not planning on going to that building Piccolo; there'd be nothing there, and if there was it'd be long dead by now. If whatever it was contacted you, the military probably would have moved it. They wouldn't abandon their projects leaving them to die."

Piccolo grunted as he glanced through one of the sheets of paper. "Not according to this; Murashi states that after a second alien was captured, that the military suddenly abandoned their experiments, called it quits and just up and left. The General and Lieutenant both disappeared and any attempts at contacting them were diverted by other ranked officials. As well as the media had gotten a hold of some incriminating documents, that named names. Chances are, the General and his friends are either someplace very cold, remote and out of the way, or if they were disposable, they're more than likely serving up as worm food in a ditch somewhere. The labs been closed for ten years. Murashi also mentions something about cryogenics. If something is in cryo-sleep, and if the machines it was hooked to maintained a constant state, no one would need to be there to watch them, or so this paper says. As for going to the building, probably; I'm not sure. If something is there, and it's called me for help, its only fair that I find it and at least check it out. It could be a potential threat Bulma, and if it was to escape; well let's put it this way; you remember Cell. If we had gotten to him before Gero had, we could have taken him out in before he'd even had a chance to escape. What if this thing, whatever it is has called not only me but another person susceptible to visions? What if this thing Murashi described is using the second alien to call for help? Looking for food or whatever? There are too many possibilities Bulma to let this slide."

Bulma gave him a severe look, one that plainly said she didn't like what he was planning; but she didn't have a choice in the matter. "Well, at least take someone with you, or let someone besides me know that you're going."

Piccolo shook his head and frowned. "No, I don't want anyone knowing about this until I've gauged the situation, and that INCLUDES Vegeta; do you understand me?"

She nodded and sighed, "Fine, I won't tell anyone Piccolo. But if you're gone too long and at least don't let me know you're okay, I will contact Goku or Gohan and send them to look for you. The idiot man of mine wouldn't do it if I asked him, so that's pointless."

A low chuckle from Piccolo made Bulma grin a bit. "You're right about that. There's no love lost between us, and I actually prefer that if you did send anyone find Goku. He's strongest and would be best in a situation. Thank you for the information Bulma, it helped a lot and at least I know now that I'm not walking in completely blind."

Bulma again nodded and stood. "Glad I could help Piccolo; remember if I don't hear from you within three days I'll find Goku. Take care and be careful."

The Namek nodded and exited without another word. Taking off for the direction of the town Cys labs was located. Bulma watched Piccolo take off, with a worried expression on her face, before turning in and reaching for the phone. Picking it up, she dialed a well used number.

"Hey Videl, how are you doing? Great, glad to hear that the pregnancy is going well. I hope that tea that I suggested for morning sickness works; it worked miracles on me during my pregnancy with Trunks, Chichi said that she had a hell of a time with both Gohan and Goten's pregnancies and she figured it was just the way humans reacted to saiyajin babies developing." Bulma laughed as she listened to a response on the phone. "Listen, do you think I could talk to Gohan? That is if he isn't busy with work. Great, I'll hold for him."

Bulma glanced out her window nervously, half expecting Piccolo to come storming in and chew her out for calling Gohan. Instead she jumped when she heard Gohans voice on the other end. "Hello, Bulma? Is something wrong?"

"Oh! Hey Gohan, no nothings wrong really, just wanted to give you a heads up, and possibly a request to talk to your father if you can contact the big boob. Listen, Piccolo's gone off on some kind of search and rescue mission. I don't want to go into details, but do me a favor; keep an ear out? I told him that if I didn't hear from him in three or four days that I'd send your father after him. I promised to keep my mouth shut to everyone about it until I had to tell someone, but I thought you being the closest to him that you'd want to know, and that way if something does happen and I'm away on business, someone else would have knowledge of it. Thanks Gohan for your help, I'm sure if Piccolo runs into trouble he'd appreciate it too." Replacing the phone into its cradle she chewed on her lip and struggled with feeling guilty for betraying the Namek, but neither did she want to feel more guilt later on if something did happen to him. Shaking her head she switched off the computer and headed back to her fathers lab, to ask him some questions, hopefully without incriminating Piccolo or herself.

Piccolo flew high above the cities and over pockets of dense forest and farmers fields. He considered his options as he flew along, not in a hurry. He had to think some things through before he rushed headlong into the situation he possibly faced.

Okay, based on the information at hand, the lab was shut down; but that was ten years ago, or so Bulma said. It's possible that the lab could have been operating while shut down, just on a lower level. The military could possibly still be running the experiments without Cys labs permission. Not that they'd be concerned about asking for it. All they would need is a few scientists willing to take hazard pay and a lump sum of money to work in secrecy. Military's done it before; chances are they'd do it again.

Or the lab could have been moved. Maybe whatever contacted me was sending me only what it remembered. There's a good chance of that as well, and if it's been moved, there'd be little chance of me finding it. Well, I'll just have to take my chances with the lab and work my way from there. Halting in mid-air he pulled the papers from his sash belt and looked them over for the address again. Bulma had been nice enough to include a map with specific directions on how to get there. Looking around in the dusky sunset, he gained his bearings and headed north.