Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball, Dragonball Z, or Dragonball GT. Those and the characters were created by Akira Toriyama, so please do not sue.
Chapter 2 - Fire in the Sky
The shrill calls of the seagulls and the pounding of the rapid surf on the desolate cliff walls awoke her with a start. She looked, bewildered, in all directions around her, yet look as she might, she was not in any place as desirable as she wanted. Instead of the radiant sunshine that would normally overwhelm the seaside, she found herself shrouded in the shadows. In the place for the dry sand that gave life a sense of peace, there was ugly dirt that clogged her fingernails as she carelessly ran her hand through it. The calls of the seagulls were replaced by the angry honks and screeching of brakes and the impudent roar of engines nearby. It had all been a mere dream.
She leaned back onto the dampened stone wall and gazed at the crystalline blue skies that stretched eternally above her, pondering the questions that soaked through her brain like the coffee had soaked David's papers just minutes before. Where was she? How had she gotten to this…this place? Her head was still throbbing furiously in her head as she struggled to recall what had happened. She remembered returning to her office, and as she had arrived at her desk, the mysterious vortex had somehow broken through her ceiling and enveloped her into it. Falling great depths, she had ended up to her present location in the shadowy alleyway.
Her eyes wandered to the end of the alley, where the brightness of the afternoon summer rays were as inviting as the Siren's calls to Odysseus' men. Gathering every ounce of strength she had, she managed to grasp a secure hold on the wall behind her, willing her weakened legs to support her
"What the hell is wrong with me??" It took an enormous effort to get herself to walk forward, shuffling every step of the way, a tedious journey until she at last reached the clean, cemented sidewalks out of the musty alleyway that she had emerged from. Cursing to herself, her breath caught in her throat as she at length became aware of the surrounding environment.
One gaze on the street that she stood on gave the instinct that she was not in a humble town, but a bustling metropolitan. People of all ages jammed the sidewalks, hastening in every which way to their destinations. Colorful shops of all sorts lined the sidewalks. Magnificent clothing stores, fancy cafes and restaurants, modern coffee houses, hangouts for younger adults and teens. Stores selling electronics, furniture, antiques, stores stocked with just about anything that there ever needed to be sold. Cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles teemed like schools of fish in the congested streets. In the near distance, she could make out the looming skyscrapers and their beauty against the cerulean skies. In all clamor that this city managed to make, she was surprised that her heart felt a sense of tranquility, one that she had not felt since she had joined the police force back in Harakatsuma.
She managed to snap out of her wondrous state long enough to realize that she was still standing in the center of the sidewalk, hundreds of people streaming by her in every which direction. This was still an unknown place, and finding out just where she was seemed to be a wise action to take.
Before she could tap the shoulder of a passerby though, sudden movements made her turn her face to the sky. Shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun and brushing her red locks out of her way, the outline of a plane was gradually coming into view. Twin-engine and silver in color, it trailed behind it a banner that read the following message: "Welcome to Satan City"
Bewildered with shock, the information sunk into her like a dead weight hitting the ocean's bottom. She had already traveled the world many times over, and in all that, no one had ever known a place that existed on Earth by the name of Satan City.
* * * * *
"Dad do you have the design for the new gravity machine done yet?" The blue-haired woman peered intently at the figures and data that she had just received through her computers in her Capsule Corporation laboratory. Fiddling with the keys, she was able to process the calculations into data and statistics necessary for the gravity management of the soon-to-be-built gravity machine.
Dr. Briefs raised a hand to the back of his head and scratched his lavender-colored hair. "Well, I have the design all planned out, although I must say with the amount of power that Vegeta has, I doubt that it would hold for a very long amount of time." Skepticism flooded the middle-aged man, revealing in truth that deep down inside of him, the gravity machine would not hold at all.
"Oh come on Dad! Capsule Corp. has the most advanced technology available in the world!" Bulma Briefs entered a few more numbers into her computer. "There! That should do it! If we plan accordingly to these measurements and figures, the gravity machine would do fairly well against even Vegeta's strongest outbursts. Or…for the moment I suppose," she added as an afterthought, "once he gets stronger though, we'll probably need to add on a couple more adjustments."
"Well Bulma, I trust your judgment on this one…" Dr. Briefs' face was crossed with worry, yet there was a smile on his face. Like himself, he knew that his daughter would make Capsule Corporation greater than ever. "When do we start work on this gravity chamber?"
"Right now." Getting off of the leather chair, she made her way to the doors leading out of the laboratory. She paused before going through them. "Oh and Dad? I'll meet you in Section 4 on the northern area of the C.C. grounds okay? I need to tell Vegeta of this."
"You go ahead Bulma, just don't try to provoke him. He's one dangerous person." The black cat on Dr. Briefs' shoulder meowed in agreement.
"Don't worry Dad, I can handle him! I mean, what's the worse that he can do to me?" Bulma left the lab, leaving Dr. Briefs to his own worries.
He slowly shook his head. "Bulma, was it such a good idea to let him stay here?"
* * * * *
Bulma slowly made her way along the corridors, pausing to reflect how Vegeta had managed to end up living at Capsule Corporation with her and her family. It seemed so long ago when the Saiyan Radditz had arrived on Earth and told Goku who he really was, that Goku himself was a Saiyan and not an Earthling. Radditz had kidnapped young Gohan, and even though Piccolo had managed to destroy Radditz, he had to destroy Goku as well. Before Radditz had been killed though, he had alerted more Saiyans about the dragonballs, and in a matter of time, Tien, Krillin, Chaotzu, and Yamcha went off to train with King Kai. The Saiyans had arrived a year later, Nappa and Vegeta, destroying cities and wrecking havoc. No one was a match for the Saiyans, not even Gohan who had been trained by Piccolo. All hope seemed lost until Goku was wished back by the dragonballs. Vegeta killed Nappa for not being able to defeat Goku, and the battle commenced between Goku and Vegeta. In the end, Vegeta was let off alive by Goku, getting into his space pod and blasting off into space. In all this fighting, Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, and Chaotzu managed to get killed, and there was no hope for bringing them back. She had had to journey to planet Namek with Krillin and Gohan to find the dragonballs there, only to find out that Freeza was after them as well. Goku had reached the level of Super Saiyan on Namek, and many lives were destroyed by Freeza, including Krillin's, Vegeta's, and many Nameks'. Once back on Earth, they used their first wish to bring back all of their friends. The second wish they used to bring back all the good people killed by Freeza, which included Vegeta. The last wish was intentioned to bring back Goku because they assumed him dead, yet he wasn't, and had recently returned to Earth from the planet Yardat. So the last wish was used to make a new planet Namek for the Namekians to live on. But Vegeta had needed a place to stay as well, and feeling sorry for him that he had no family or friends or anywhere else to go, she suggested Capsule Corporation.
She sighed, wondering what Vegeta thought about living on Earth. He was a strange person, she had to admit. He kept mostly to himself, saying little to everyone else. He usually woke before she did, flying off to the forests on the edge of the corporation to train and returning only for food, which he consumed vast quantities of. Returning to the forests, he would come back to the corporation late at night. The next day would be a repeat of the previous day. Sometimes, just for no reason, he would pick verbal fights with her, but so far he had not caused any major trouble.
Working her way through the maze of halls, she arrived at the exit closest to the forest. Pushing aside the door, the warm summer air met her with a most comfortable feeling that reached all the way to the tips of her toes.
"Now where is that Vegeta??" crossing her arms across her chest, Bulma proceeded in the direction of the forest, only to hear a deafening blast coming from the sky. "What the hell…"
The blast came from a silver plane that was hovering over the heart of Satan City, smoke emitting from its' tail wing and losing altitude fast. Flying away from the damaged plane was Vegeta.
"Vegeta!!! You get back here this instance!!!" Bulma yelled into the sky, only she knew it was hopeless. He was too far away to hear her.
"Damn that Vegeta…" the plane seemed to linger in the still air, yet its' tail wing was still on fire. Sparks flew like daytime fireworks, and another explosion shocked the plane, this time closer to the middle part of it. It looked as if the plane would break apart at any moment now.
Bulma just had to do something. Whether it was to stop Vegeta or to save the people onboard the plane, it didn't matter to her now. Jamming a hand into the back pocket of her jean shorts, she withdrew a capsule and threw it onto the ground. In an instance, it had transformed into her own four-seat helicopter. Sliding the door open, she clambered inside and took a seat at the controls.
"Vegeta, I'm going to get you for this…" Gritting her teeth till the roots gave an immense pain, she started the engine. The blades of the helicopter gave a creak and started to spin, faster and faster until the ground surrounding the plane was blown flat. Her right hand on the throttle, she pulled it back.
Slowly, the helicopter rose from the ground and began to gain altitude. Bulma turned it around and flew off in the direction of downtown Satan City.
* * * * *
It seemed only seconds ago the plane was gliding smoothly over Satan City. The next few moments, she had watched in horror as something resembling a bullet had flown over the plane's tail wing. She couldn't decipher what it was, only that it was a person, but the swift action had somehow made the plane's tail become an inferno of orange-red heat.
With each passing moment the plane sank lower and lower in the sky…she estimated it to be a mere one thousand feet above where she and the other citizens of Satan City stood and watched in awe, fear, and panic. The street that she had been on seemed more packed with people than ever. All traffic had ceased; people had gotten out of their vehicles to stare up at the spectacle in the sky. More people flooded out of the shops and joined the pedestrians on the sidewalks, and there was an air of turmoil and confusion. Women were screaming, little children just stared in wonder, not understanding, babies were crying out loud at the disorder on the streets, and there were shouts by police officers for the people to clear out if the plane was unable to land in the nearby ocean waters.
"What is that helicopter trying to do??" A red and white copter had arrived on the scene and was advancing towards the doomed plane, yet she could tell that it was neither a police copter nor one from the military. It was flying a precautious fifty feet from the plane that was releasing the dangerous flames into the air.
She watched in terror as the plane already on fire suddenly burst into a ball of flames, sending some of the fire and embers onto the rotor of the nearby helicopter.
* * * * *
Bulma Briefs stabbed the controls on the control panel for the helicopter. Making a slight whirring noise, it's engine kicked into full power. Her sights set on the flaming jet already starting to fall, she made a mental note just how far she should approach. She dared not come within range of the fire; her life was in grave danger just by doing so, going into the air.
Soon she had spotted the pilot of the aircraft. She noticed the sweat cascading down his panic-stricken face, yet he seemed abnormally young to be controlling an aircraft. No more than eighteen she was ready to bet. He looked ready to give way to the heat of the fire that licked furiously closer and closer to his cockpit, and in the confusion and fright of the situation, he had forgotten the procedure that needed to be done in an emergency like the one he was in.
She picked up her radio and called into it, "Aircraft AF872, do you read me? Aircraft AF872? Hello?? Is anyone there?? Aircraft AF872??! Damn that idiot turned his radio off!" Well she would just have to signal him the manual way, she thought.
Bulma waved her arms madly at him, desperately wishing that he would see her.
"Hey! Hey you! Look over here!" her frantic waving still was not able to attract his attention.
After about thirty seconds which Bulma felt immensely frustrated and worried if she would be able to contact him in time, the young pilot was finally able to spot her. She signaled for him to put the lever under his seat, which would enable him to eject out of his seat and out of the aircraft. A wave of relief washed over his reddened face, and Bulma gave him the thumbs up sign. Within a spilt second, he had pulled the lever and had gotten safely out of his craft.
And not all too soon either. The angry flames at last found their target, eating at the engine. Unfortunately, Bulma saw this a spilt second too late.
The aircraft blasted itself into a million fiery portions, sending clumps of burned pieces and parts straight at Bulma's helicopter. The tremendous cloud of ashen-gray smoke billowed out into the sky, shielding Bulma's view of what was in front of her. Suddenly, red lights and warning signals flashed on her control panel.
"Damn! This can't be happening!" Urgently she turned knobs, pulled levels, and punched keys, but the plane still emitted the deafening sirens and the red warning lights. A computerized voice came on and said in it's technical voice, "Warning. Engines not responding. All systems failure."
Stomach frozen as cold as the Arctic winds and her heart pumping with fear in her throat, the plane plummeted into a rapid nosedive. It was only a matter of seconds before it would hit the ground.
* * * * *
The first craft burst into a sphere of intense flames, plunging swiftly. She prayed that it would not hit land but the nearby water, and was relieved to see that the pilot had gotten himself out in time and was drifting slowly downwards in his parachute. Her gaze now directed at the second craft, she gasped out loud.
"It's going to blow!" a woman nearby exclaimed to her children. "It won't make the ocean! Let's get out of here!" pushing through the crowd, a wave of alarm extended through the people in the area.
"She's right! We're all doomed!"
"Someone please save us!"
"Mommyy!!! Where are you?!!"
It was chaos like it was never seen before. In all her years with the police force, there was nothing like it. Men, women, and children scrambling to get as far away as possible. The young and the old alike in a state of panic, confusion, and getting in the way of one another. Cars and other vehicles madly attempting to escape the doom that would unmistakably fall.
The police were not any better off in terms of their calmness. Most were severely agitated, and the ones who had just a minute sense of their minds left were shouting at the mass of people to clear out. In fact, the people needn't have been told. The streets were finally clearing.
"I've got to do something before that plane explodes and kills the person inside!" she clenched her teeth and summoned up as much strength as she could muster. It was not enough.
"Come on! Clear out! Get away from here!" police officers were shouting at the last few citizens who would not leave the scene. Anxious to get away themselves, they gave one last look at her and fled with the rest.
Its' rotor engulfed in flames, the helicopter entered a steep nosedive straight at her.
Chapter 2 - Fire in the Sky
The shrill calls of the seagulls and the pounding of the rapid surf on the desolate cliff walls awoke her with a start. She looked, bewildered, in all directions around her, yet look as she might, she was not in any place as desirable as she wanted. Instead of the radiant sunshine that would normally overwhelm the seaside, she found herself shrouded in the shadows. In the place for the dry sand that gave life a sense of peace, there was ugly dirt that clogged her fingernails as she carelessly ran her hand through it. The calls of the seagulls were replaced by the angry honks and screeching of brakes and the impudent roar of engines nearby. It had all been a mere dream.
She leaned back onto the dampened stone wall and gazed at the crystalline blue skies that stretched eternally above her, pondering the questions that soaked through her brain like the coffee had soaked David's papers just minutes before. Where was she? How had she gotten to this…this place? Her head was still throbbing furiously in her head as she struggled to recall what had happened. She remembered returning to her office, and as she had arrived at her desk, the mysterious vortex had somehow broken through her ceiling and enveloped her into it. Falling great depths, she had ended up to her present location in the shadowy alleyway.
Her eyes wandered to the end of the alley, where the brightness of the afternoon summer rays were as inviting as the Siren's calls to Odysseus' men. Gathering every ounce of strength she had, she managed to grasp a secure hold on the wall behind her, willing her weakened legs to support her
"What the hell is wrong with me??" It took an enormous effort to get herself to walk forward, shuffling every step of the way, a tedious journey until she at last reached the clean, cemented sidewalks out of the musty alleyway that she had emerged from. Cursing to herself, her breath caught in her throat as she at length became aware of the surrounding environment.
One gaze on the street that she stood on gave the instinct that she was not in a humble town, but a bustling metropolitan. People of all ages jammed the sidewalks, hastening in every which way to their destinations. Colorful shops of all sorts lined the sidewalks. Magnificent clothing stores, fancy cafes and restaurants, modern coffee houses, hangouts for younger adults and teens. Stores selling electronics, furniture, antiques, stores stocked with just about anything that there ever needed to be sold. Cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles teemed like schools of fish in the congested streets. In the near distance, she could make out the looming skyscrapers and their beauty against the cerulean skies. In all clamor that this city managed to make, she was surprised that her heart felt a sense of tranquility, one that she had not felt since she had joined the police force back in Harakatsuma.
She managed to snap out of her wondrous state long enough to realize that she was still standing in the center of the sidewalk, hundreds of people streaming by her in every which direction. This was still an unknown place, and finding out just where she was seemed to be a wise action to take.
Before she could tap the shoulder of a passerby though, sudden movements made her turn her face to the sky. Shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun and brushing her red locks out of her way, the outline of a plane was gradually coming into view. Twin-engine and silver in color, it trailed behind it a banner that read the following message: "Welcome to Satan City"
Bewildered with shock, the information sunk into her like a dead weight hitting the ocean's bottom. She had already traveled the world many times over, and in all that, no one had ever known a place that existed on Earth by the name of Satan City.
* * * * *
"Dad do you have the design for the new gravity machine done yet?" The blue-haired woman peered intently at the figures and data that she had just received through her computers in her Capsule Corporation laboratory. Fiddling with the keys, she was able to process the calculations into data and statistics necessary for the gravity management of the soon-to-be-built gravity machine.
Dr. Briefs raised a hand to the back of his head and scratched his lavender-colored hair. "Well, I have the design all planned out, although I must say with the amount of power that Vegeta has, I doubt that it would hold for a very long amount of time." Skepticism flooded the middle-aged man, revealing in truth that deep down inside of him, the gravity machine would not hold at all.
"Oh come on Dad! Capsule Corp. has the most advanced technology available in the world!" Bulma Briefs entered a few more numbers into her computer. "There! That should do it! If we plan accordingly to these measurements and figures, the gravity machine would do fairly well against even Vegeta's strongest outbursts. Or…for the moment I suppose," she added as an afterthought, "once he gets stronger though, we'll probably need to add on a couple more adjustments."
"Well Bulma, I trust your judgment on this one…" Dr. Briefs' face was crossed with worry, yet there was a smile on his face. Like himself, he knew that his daughter would make Capsule Corporation greater than ever. "When do we start work on this gravity chamber?"
"Right now." Getting off of the leather chair, she made her way to the doors leading out of the laboratory. She paused before going through them. "Oh and Dad? I'll meet you in Section 4 on the northern area of the C.C. grounds okay? I need to tell Vegeta of this."
"You go ahead Bulma, just don't try to provoke him. He's one dangerous person." The black cat on Dr. Briefs' shoulder meowed in agreement.
"Don't worry Dad, I can handle him! I mean, what's the worse that he can do to me?" Bulma left the lab, leaving Dr. Briefs to his own worries.
He slowly shook his head. "Bulma, was it such a good idea to let him stay here?"
* * * * *
Bulma slowly made her way along the corridors, pausing to reflect how Vegeta had managed to end up living at Capsule Corporation with her and her family. It seemed so long ago when the Saiyan Radditz had arrived on Earth and told Goku who he really was, that Goku himself was a Saiyan and not an Earthling. Radditz had kidnapped young Gohan, and even though Piccolo had managed to destroy Radditz, he had to destroy Goku as well. Before Radditz had been killed though, he had alerted more Saiyans about the dragonballs, and in a matter of time, Tien, Krillin, Chaotzu, and Yamcha went off to train with King Kai. The Saiyans had arrived a year later, Nappa and Vegeta, destroying cities and wrecking havoc. No one was a match for the Saiyans, not even Gohan who had been trained by Piccolo. All hope seemed lost until Goku was wished back by the dragonballs. Vegeta killed Nappa for not being able to defeat Goku, and the battle commenced between Goku and Vegeta. In the end, Vegeta was let off alive by Goku, getting into his space pod and blasting off into space. In all this fighting, Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, and Chaotzu managed to get killed, and there was no hope for bringing them back. She had had to journey to planet Namek with Krillin and Gohan to find the dragonballs there, only to find out that Freeza was after them as well. Goku had reached the level of Super Saiyan on Namek, and many lives were destroyed by Freeza, including Krillin's, Vegeta's, and many Nameks'. Once back on Earth, they used their first wish to bring back all of their friends. The second wish they used to bring back all the good people killed by Freeza, which included Vegeta. The last wish was intentioned to bring back Goku because they assumed him dead, yet he wasn't, and had recently returned to Earth from the planet Yardat. So the last wish was used to make a new planet Namek for the Namekians to live on. But Vegeta had needed a place to stay as well, and feeling sorry for him that he had no family or friends or anywhere else to go, she suggested Capsule Corporation.
She sighed, wondering what Vegeta thought about living on Earth. He was a strange person, she had to admit. He kept mostly to himself, saying little to everyone else. He usually woke before she did, flying off to the forests on the edge of the corporation to train and returning only for food, which he consumed vast quantities of. Returning to the forests, he would come back to the corporation late at night. The next day would be a repeat of the previous day. Sometimes, just for no reason, he would pick verbal fights with her, but so far he had not caused any major trouble.
Working her way through the maze of halls, she arrived at the exit closest to the forest. Pushing aside the door, the warm summer air met her with a most comfortable feeling that reached all the way to the tips of her toes.
"Now where is that Vegeta??" crossing her arms across her chest, Bulma proceeded in the direction of the forest, only to hear a deafening blast coming from the sky. "What the hell…"
The blast came from a silver plane that was hovering over the heart of Satan City, smoke emitting from its' tail wing and losing altitude fast. Flying away from the damaged plane was Vegeta.
"Vegeta!!! You get back here this instance!!!" Bulma yelled into the sky, only she knew it was hopeless. He was too far away to hear her.
"Damn that Vegeta…" the plane seemed to linger in the still air, yet its' tail wing was still on fire. Sparks flew like daytime fireworks, and another explosion shocked the plane, this time closer to the middle part of it. It looked as if the plane would break apart at any moment now.
Bulma just had to do something. Whether it was to stop Vegeta or to save the people onboard the plane, it didn't matter to her now. Jamming a hand into the back pocket of her jean shorts, she withdrew a capsule and threw it onto the ground. In an instance, it had transformed into her own four-seat helicopter. Sliding the door open, she clambered inside and took a seat at the controls.
"Vegeta, I'm going to get you for this…" Gritting her teeth till the roots gave an immense pain, she started the engine. The blades of the helicopter gave a creak and started to spin, faster and faster until the ground surrounding the plane was blown flat. Her right hand on the throttle, she pulled it back.
Slowly, the helicopter rose from the ground and began to gain altitude. Bulma turned it around and flew off in the direction of downtown Satan City.
* * * * *
It seemed only seconds ago the plane was gliding smoothly over Satan City. The next few moments, she had watched in horror as something resembling a bullet had flown over the plane's tail wing. She couldn't decipher what it was, only that it was a person, but the swift action had somehow made the plane's tail become an inferno of orange-red heat.
With each passing moment the plane sank lower and lower in the sky…she estimated it to be a mere one thousand feet above where she and the other citizens of Satan City stood and watched in awe, fear, and panic. The street that she had been on seemed more packed with people than ever. All traffic had ceased; people had gotten out of their vehicles to stare up at the spectacle in the sky. More people flooded out of the shops and joined the pedestrians on the sidewalks, and there was an air of turmoil and confusion. Women were screaming, little children just stared in wonder, not understanding, babies were crying out loud at the disorder on the streets, and there were shouts by police officers for the people to clear out if the plane was unable to land in the nearby ocean waters.
"What is that helicopter trying to do??" A red and white copter had arrived on the scene and was advancing towards the doomed plane, yet she could tell that it was neither a police copter nor one from the military. It was flying a precautious fifty feet from the plane that was releasing the dangerous flames into the air.
She watched in terror as the plane already on fire suddenly burst into a ball of flames, sending some of the fire and embers onto the rotor of the nearby helicopter.
* * * * *
Bulma Briefs stabbed the controls on the control panel for the helicopter. Making a slight whirring noise, it's engine kicked into full power. Her sights set on the flaming jet already starting to fall, she made a mental note just how far she should approach. She dared not come within range of the fire; her life was in grave danger just by doing so, going into the air.
Soon she had spotted the pilot of the aircraft. She noticed the sweat cascading down his panic-stricken face, yet he seemed abnormally young to be controlling an aircraft. No more than eighteen she was ready to bet. He looked ready to give way to the heat of the fire that licked furiously closer and closer to his cockpit, and in the confusion and fright of the situation, he had forgotten the procedure that needed to be done in an emergency like the one he was in.
She picked up her radio and called into it, "Aircraft AF872, do you read me? Aircraft AF872? Hello?? Is anyone there?? Aircraft AF872??! Damn that idiot turned his radio off!" Well she would just have to signal him the manual way, she thought.
Bulma waved her arms madly at him, desperately wishing that he would see her.
"Hey! Hey you! Look over here!" her frantic waving still was not able to attract his attention.
After about thirty seconds which Bulma felt immensely frustrated and worried if she would be able to contact him in time, the young pilot was finally able to spot her. She signaled for him to put the lever under his seat, which would enable him to eject out of his seat and out of the aircraft. A wave of relief washed over his reddened face, and Bulma gave him the thumbs up sign. Within a spilt second, he had pulled the lever and had gotten safely out of his craft.
And not all too soon either. The angry flames at last found their target, eating at the engine. Unfortunately, Bulma saw this a spilt second too late.
The aircraft blasted itself into a million fiery portions, sending clumps of burned pieces and parts straight at Bulma's helicopter. The tremendous cloud of ashen-gray smoke billowed out into the sky, shielding Bulma's view of what was in front of her. Suddenly, red lights and warning signals flashed on her control panel.
"Damn! This can't be happening!" Urgently she turned knobs, pulled levels, and punched keys, but the plane still emitted the deafening sirens and the red warning lights. A computerized voice came on and said in it's technical voice, "Warning. Engines not responding. All systems failure."
Stomach frozen as cold as the Arctic winds and her heart pumping with fear in her throat, the plane plummeted into a rapid nosedive. It was only a matter of seconds before it would hit the ground.
* * * * *
The first craft burst into a sphere of intense flames, plunging swiftly. She prayed that it would not hit land but the nearby water, and was relieved to see that the pilot had gotten himself out in time and was drifting slowly downwards in his parachute. Her gaze now directed at the second craft, she gasped out loud.
"It's going to blow!" a woman nearby exclaimed to her children. "It won't make the ocean! Let's get out of here!" pushing through the crowd, a wave of alarm extended through the people in the area.
"She's right! We're all doomed!"
"Someone please save us!"
"Mommyy!!! Where are you?!!"
It was chaos like it was never seen before. In all her years with the police force, there was nothing like it. Men, women, and children scrambling to get as far away as possible. The young and the old alike in a state of panic, confusion, and getting in the way of one another. Cars and other vehicles madly attempting to escape the doom that would unmistakably fall.
The police were not any better off in terms of their calmness. Most were severely agitated, and the ones who had just a minute sense of their minds left were shouting at the mass of people to clear out. In fact, the people needn't have been told. The streets were finally clearing.
"I've got to do something before that plane explodes and kills the person inside!" she clenched her teeth and summoned up as much strength as she could muster. It was not enough.
"Come on! Clear out! Get away from here!" police officers were shouting at the last few citizens who would not leave the scene. Anxious to get away themselves, they gave one last look at her and fled with the rest.
Its' rotor engulfed in flames, the helicopter entered a steep nosedive straight at her.
