Dragonball Alternate Dimension
Chapter Fifteen
Bra told her mother for the fifth time that afternoon that she appreciated the offer, but she didn't need any help. Bulma sighed and went back into the house. With the vice-president taking over for Trunks (whom employees were told was taking a medical leave of absence) she truly had nothing to do.
Vegeta and Mirai Trunks sparred all day with a vengeance; Vegeta to take out his worry about his son and grandson on Mirai, and Mirai to feed his guilt and be around the man he had barely gotten to know so many years ago.
Bulma sat down stiffly in a comfortable chair in the sun-room. A window was open and she could hear the faint chirping of birds and dull thuds which emanated from the nearby gravity chamber. She leaned over to get a magazine off the table next to her and her vertebrae cracked loudly.
"Ai! That hurt..." she moaned and rubbed the joint. Bulma frowned deeply. "Christ. I'm in here falling apart and he's out there kicking the shit out of someone," she complained about her mate's superior physical constitution. She smoothed her greying hair back and opened the magazine. Within a few minutes the warm sunshine, coupled with sheer boredom, lulled her to sleep.
As she snored lightly, a breeze picked up and blew her stray hairs into her face. She reeled up for a sneeze as they tickled her nose. The sneeze was a convulsive one and woke her. 'Aw,' she thought. 'I was having such a nice dream, too.' Her son was flying with her, smiling wide and whispering some secret in her ear. 'Hmm, what's it supposed to mean when you fly in your dreams again?' she wondered and slowly got out of her seat. She leaned good deal of her weight on the table for support (as she did habitually these last few years) and stood.
The table gave way and Bulma's hand shot through the surface as it splintered. She watched this happen as if it were in slow motion. Instead of falling, her body snapped to attention. She jumped back and stood up straight.
Her brain couldn't process anything. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She ran a shaking hand through her hair and started to hyperventilate. Something felt very wrong. Her muscles felt different; supple, alive. She registered the firing of neurons which corresponded to something strange; something new.
The something new brushed up against her leg as it wagged nervously this way and that. It was furry, brown and attached to her. She could feel the bones which humans had phased out through evolution slide from left to right as the appendage moved. Finally, Bulma's scream caught up with her. It drew all those with sharp enough hearing to her, quickly.
Bra and Roland arrived first. They stopped dead in their tracks as they laid their eyes on her.
"Muh, muh, muh..." Bra stuttered, "MOM!?!"
Bulma nodded slowly.
"What has happened to you, Ma Mere?" Roland asked. He titled his head down and looked at her over the top of his sunglasses.
"I.. I.. don't know," she began softly. "I fell asleep and..."
She stopped as Vegeta and Mirai Trunks burst into the room. Both men's jaws fell.
"What the..?" Vegeta wore a comical expression of half shock and half amusement. "Bulma?" he asked, not able to accurately place her ki signature. There was something off about it. Her tail curled around and waved at him. "How?!" he exclaimed and approached her.
Roland looked from one to the other and decided it would be best if they were left alone. He dragged Bra and Trunks out of the room.
"I just woke up this way," she whispered, afraid she was still dreaming.
He reached out and touched her face. Bulma put her hands up to wrap her arms around his neck, but stopped and stared at them instead. There were strong and wrinkle-free. She wanted to shriek with joy, but was far too astounded to do so. Vegeta noticed her reaction to her restored youth and laughed lightly, surprise still gleaming in his eyes. "Woman," he smiled. "You're a Saiyan!"
"That's nuts! I can't be a Saiyan, I'm a human!" She began to panic and clutched the new appendage. She yanked at it and frowned deeper. "Holy shit, this thing's really on me!! This HAS to be a dream! This just can't be happening!"
"Why are you so mad!?" Vegeta grabbed her arms. "How dare you look a gift like this in the mouth!"
"A gift! What the hell are you talking about?! I didn't want this!"
Vegeta growled, but struggled to make himself understood. "Woman, you're a Saiyan. An Elite Saiyan as well, by the way you handle your tail. You've been given another hundred years to live, maybe more!"
Bulma was cross with him for yelling at her. She was about to bark another insult at him when his last statement sunk in. "A hundred years? What do you mean?"
"I don't know for sure because I was separated from my race when I was so young, but," he took a deep breath. He had her full attention. "A Saiyan's life span is longer than Humans'. A lot longer. I think about 150 to 170 Earth years."
"When were you planning on telling me that? On my death bed!?"
He wasn't surprised at her reaction to his holding back such a secret, but it didn't matter anymore. She would live now. For a long time, right by his side. "No." He pulled her to him suddenly and kissed her, roughly. "I wasn't planning on ever telling you, you ungrateful witch."
She translated his insult and bit her lip. He didn't want to tell her that he would live on without her. Her eyes softened and she leaned in against his chest. He closed his eyes and hugged her, tightly.
-*-
Akiko re-braided her hair as she walked down the stairs. Bulma watched her with interest.
"Have you been wearing that same outfit since you got here?" she commented on the oversized Capsule sweatshirt and black slacks.
Akiko blushed, picked at the logo on the shirt and nodded. She hadn't wanted to ask anything more of her hosts. She felt she had imposed enough.
"Here," Bulma rummaged in her purse. She pulled out her wallet. "Go get yourself some clothes."
'Three Bulmas,' she thought, 'and they're ALL amazing to me!' "I couldn't, really."
The woman frowned. She looked to Trunks. "You too."
He was startled and juggled a cup of tea.
"My son's clothes don't look right on you." She handed them both a stack of bills.
"Bulma, I..." he began to protest.
"Don't argue!" she yelled, but then smiled. "Besides, he's probably spending your money!"
*
Trunks piloted the air car into the city. The journey was only a five minute one, but neither Saiyan spoke to each other until they reached their destination.
"Where is it?" Akiko hopped out of the car and asked, looking around for the huge mall that she and Trunks had visited together some nine-odd years ago. He walked to the corner. The street signs were the same, but the buildings that stood in the mall's place were much older.
"It was never built in this dimension because of the Jinzouningen," he told her and pointed to the dated cornerstone. "I remember going to it when I was a kid right after it opened. It was just before Mom and Dad were married. Yeah…" He remembered. "Before Majin Buu. Before Bra was born," he mused and shook his head a little. Trunks scowled. "Before YOU were born, too, eh?"
Akiko pouted and tried to ignore the remark. "May I remind you I am AS OLD as your sister."
He shot her a sidelong glance, pleased at her reaction. "Well, it looks like this place sells clothes too."
She folded her arms and entered the building. "Let's get this over with."
-*-
Adonai knocked three times on the front door. His knuckles were beginning to feel a tiny bit sore. It was late in the day and he and his sister had knocked on hundreds of doors already. His stomach grumbled.
"I'm hungry too, Adonai," Soma whispered as they waited for a response. "Should we ask for food here?"
He didn't answer. They both heard someone approach the door before it opened. A man in his forties with lavender hair answered. "Can I help you?" he asked, and like many others, raised an eyebrow at the strange duo. He didn't look like their father. His eyes were black and their shape was more Son-like than Vegeta-like.
"Have you seen a woman with blue hair and a star like this," Soma pointed to her organ, "in the last couple of weeks?"
"Sorry," he shrugged. "Did you lose one?"
"You could say that," Adonai grumbled and began to take his leave.
"You look really familiar," the man of the house studied the boy carefully.
"Yeah, well..." Ado tried to grab Soma, but she was interested.
"So do you. Who's son are YOU?" she asked without toning the question down for the stranger's benefit.
"Me? Uh, I'm Goku's son, Trunks."
"WHAT!?!" Adonai bugged out.
"Who are YOU?" he asked.
"Just passing through!" Soma sweat a little and grabbed the katana from her brother. He was boiling with disgust. "Nice to meet you again, Trunks!" In a flash they were gone, and Trunks Son was left staring at space with his jaw touching his chest.
*Footnote 1*
-*-
Vegeta emerged from the gravity chamber victorious. He smiled mischievously and watched the sunset briefly before going to meet his wife.
Bulma was waiting for him. She wore a brand-new negligee and had lit dozens of candles in their bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed, stroking her tail as she had all afternoon.
"You're going to wear a hole in it if you keep that up," Vegeta jibed as he entered silently through the window. Bulma scowled, but raised her eyebrows suddenly. She hadn't been surprised at his entrance; she felt him enter the room before she saw him. That was the first shock. The second came when she noticed a flicker of movement in the shadows.
"Oh, Vegeta," she gasped. "You did it!"
The Prince smirked and waved his own, thick, brown tail at her as he approached. She stood and wrapped her arms and tail around him. He did like wise. He threaded one arm around her waist, his tail under her butt and touched her face with the other hand. He held her chin and stared into her blue eyes. He didn't need to say that this was a dream come true; that she was beautiful; that he was happy. Her third surprise came when he spoke.
"Bulma Briefs:" he whispered. He had never called her by her full name before. He smiled with his eyes. Bulma's heart fluttered. "Saiyan Princess." His lips met hers, softly, gently. She melted into him.
-*-
After dinner, Niwatori and Akiko did the dishes and Bulma got a good idea. She dumped a stack of boxes on the coffee table in the living room. Zarbon examined them closely and made a face. "Parcheesi?"
"Yup!" She showed them to him. "And Sorry, Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble..."
Trunks walked over and checked out the games. "Ooh, that's an old version of Trivial Pursuit."
"To you it is, Chibi boy," Niwatori smirked.
"Hey! Tribond! I am so good at that game!" Akiko grabbed the box.
"Good! Let's play!"
They all took seats and chose Scrabble as the first game. Zarbon, being the only person who had a different mother-tongue, sat out and helped Bulma instead. That began a nightly tradition. After dinner every night, the unlikely five-some gathered in the living room and played games together. All the stress and strangeness of the situation was eased considerably for at least a few hours at the end of each day.
-*-
The twins thanked their hosts, another set of older twins for the meal and made their way to the front door.
"We hope you find your parents soon!" The teen girl waved.
"Good luck!" Her brother saluted to Adonai.
"Thanks Kenji."
"Bye Kaci!"
Ado unsheathed the sword and they hopped out.
*Footnote 2*
-*-
The portal closed behind them and they approached yet another front door.
"That was fun!" Soma sighed. "I wish we could have stayed with them longer."
"We're on a mission, sister," he reminded her and rang the bell.
"I know, I know. I just felt kind of at home for an hour or so. It was nice."
The door swished open and yet another strange-looking, lavender haired young man answered it. "Can I help you?"
Soma's jaw hit the floor. Adonai began reciting the question, not noticing his sister's shock. "Have you seen a woman with blue hair and a star like this?"
"Which one?"
"HUH!?!"
Trunks blinked as he recognized the girl. "Oh, hey. What's up Soma?"
"T!?!"
"Long time no see. Where's yer Mom?"
"Oh, T! We're looking for her, I mean she's lost, I mean we're looking for her at Capsules and it's been weeks already and no Moma and..!!" tears coursed down her cheeks. Soma fell against Trunks's leg and hugged him. He hugged her back and listened to her babble her story.
"Soma, get a grip! What the hell's going on!?" Ado shook her rigorously.
"This isn't Adonai, is it?" T looked down at the boy. "I thought he was living with his Dad, the Luckier Me."
A light went on in the girl's head. She grabbed her brother's arms and smiled from ear to ear. "Come on! We're in Dibad!" she cried and dragged him into the air. He was a bit surprised that she knew how to fly. He hadn't seen her do it yet. "Sorry, T, I have to tell everyone!"
"Uh, ok! Good luck!" He waved to them as they flew into the east. T scratched his head and went back inside.
Soma touched down outside the two little houses and ran in the door with out knocking. She held her brother's hand tightly. His eyes were wide with disbelief. Soma called out to the members of the house. "Gramma! Grampa?!"
A young woman with blue hair and a light purple star ran into the living room. "Soma! What are you doing here? What's wrong?"
"Aunt Akago!" she cried and hugged her. Akago picked her up and shushed her.
"Gosan! Mom! Dad!" she ran outside and called. Adonai stood where he was, still not sure what was going on. He scanned the walls of the small home. Books were everywhere… books and pictures.
Atsuko and Gohan were in the back yard. They ran around the house and listened as the little girl told her story. The commotion aroused the neighbors. The great-grandparents joined the group, all ears and wonder.
"This is terrible!" Chi-chi looked to Goku as if to say, 'make it better!' Akago put the four and a half foot tall eight-year old down. Soma hugged her grandmother and buried her face in her shirt. She looked up suddenly and wondered aloud where her brother was.
"Adonai? He's here!?" The family turned and looked to the house as Soma pointed. Adonai was standing in the doorway, staring at the group. He began to walk slowly toward them with a comical look on his face.
"Hey, Adonai! How ya been, buddy! You look strong!" Great-grandfather Goku, as optimistic as ever, noticed the muscles under the blue spandex suit Ado wore. He knew it was Vegeta's handiwork.
Ado glared at him, but didn't stop. He spat the name 'Kakarott' at the elder Saiyan and sneered at him. Goku's eyes widened as he watched the boy pass in awe. 'That name,' he thought. 'My own great-grandson just called me that name!'
Atsuko noticed the boy's anger and stepped forward. "Do you remember me, Adonai? I'm your gramma, Atsuko."
He walked by her and stopped finally in front of his sister. Without a word, he reached out, grabbed her hand, took out the sword-key and cut a gate open.
-*-
Soma shot a devastated glance at her grandmother as they disappeared. The portal slammed shut and she sank to her knees. Ado sheathed the sword and observed his surroundings.
"Come on. We have to get back to Capsule."
"Why..?" Soma sobbed.
The boy scoffed and stuck his chin up.
"No, Adonai, why did we leave!?! Did you know that Great-aunt Mira is a very powerful sorceress!?! Do you realize that we could have gotten her to send us to Mother and Father?!"
His sneer faded and he closed his eyes. Ado growled and spun to confront her. He opened his mouth, but saw the pain in Soma's eyes. For the last three weeks he had gotten to know his sister and he hadn't really felt anything for her yet. She had been an all right companion. She was quiet, hardly ever complained or cried or carried on. Now she was screaming with frustration and grief and it was all his fault. He felt horrible
"No, Soma. I didn't know." He squatted down next to her. She continued to cry. He pouted. "I'm sorry, my sister, but I can't believe..." he began to get angry, but knew this would just upset her further. "Father never told me that Mother was a Son. This means I'm related to Okano and his twerpy cousin, Kashtan!"
"So?" Soma sniffed, interested.
"So!?! I am the Prince of the Saiyans! They are the sons of Kakarott!"
She gave him puppy dog eyes. "Does that mean I'm the Princess of the Saiyans?"
"Huh?" His anger ebbed again. "Yeah, I guess so. You and Aunt Bra and Korosette." He stood and looked west. "You ready?"
"I guess. Prince Adonai..." She smiled sweetly.
With his back turned to her, he allowed the corner of his mouth to turn up. "Come on, Princess."
-*-
"So there's this alien and this human sitting next to each other at a bar. The alien's poking the guy's cheek and going 'zzzt'!" Trunks pointed at the air, hunkered his shoulders, grinned and made a cute, buzzing sound to illustrate the joke.
"The guy keeps drinking and says 'Quit it.' He does it again and the guy gets pissed. He says, 'If you do that one more time, I'll chop your dick off!' The alien pokes his cheek and goes 'zzzt' a third time and the guy says, 'Okay, that's it!' He gets up, grabs the knife the bartender's using to cut limes, and pulls down the alien's pants. He's a little shocked to see nothing there. Then he says, 'well, if you don't have a dick, then how the hell do you have sex?' The alien just smiles, pokes the guy's cheek, and goes 'zzzt'!"
Bulma, Akiko and Niwatori lost it. They were so tired and punchy that they burst out laughing. Zarbon rolled his eyes.
"What? You didn't get it!?!" Niwatori wiped tears from her eyes.
"Oh, I got it."
Trunks made a face. "Oops, I didn't realize.."
The women gasped and looked to the pure-blooded alien man.
"DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT! I HAVE THE PROPER ANATOMY!!!"
Akiko rolled on the floor alongside Bulma. "HA HA HA!!! Ha haha.. oh.. ha ha..."
Zarbon began to chuckle as he watched his mate clutch her sides. Trunks did the same. Niwatori smiled, cleared away the empty tea cups and the last board game they had played. The women sighed as they righted themselves, still giggling. Trunks met Akiko's eyes. They were warm and happy. He smiled at her awkwardly. They both looked away quickly. Bulma and Zarbon didn't notice, they were too busy making excuses to turn in early. Trunks wandered out of the room and Akiko sighed and took her own tea cup back into the kitchen. Niwatori watched them carefully. She saw Trunks close the sliding glass door behind him and lift off the ground. She sneaked out and followed him.
He was on the roof. She touched down without asking permission and folded her arms. "When are you going to talk to her?"
"What!?"
"If you still care about her, why don't you tell her so?"
Trunks was silent. He didn't look up at her.
"God! You are just as stubborn as... YOU are!" she yelled at him, put her hands on her hips, turned her back to him and jumped down.
Akiko sat in the living room reading a Hemingway book. Her vision blurred as she zoned out. The book drooped a little. Niwatori came back in the room and sat down across from her. She massaged her right leg, and pressing down on her patella in a certain way, she twisted the shin. To Akiko's surprise, the limb came off just above the knee.
"Thinking about Trunks?" Tori asked. She began the same procedure with the other leg. She laid the appendages next to her on the couch, sighed and scratched the stumps.
"Yeah," Akiko zoned back in and blushed. She nodded and made a face. "I didn't know they were.."
"Oh, yeah. Gotta love Capsule technology!"
"But, you guys have Dragon Balls.."
"..Why didn't I wish my legs back?" She knew the question she wanted to ask and smiled. "These are my legs." Tori motioned to the prosthetics. "Well, these and about twenty different sets for different occasions and purposes." She noticed the younger woman wasn't staring at them. She was looking her directly in the eyes. Akiko's eyes were soft and lonely. Tori sighed. "You know, sometimes, when I worry about him, I go up to the roof. It's so quiet and beautiful up there."
"Yeah?"
Akiko closed the door with her tail and lifted gently off the ground. Why did her life suck so hard? Why did she still love him? Where were her children!? She pouted and tried to hold back tears as the top of the dome and Trunks came into sight.
"Oh! Sorry, I didn't know you were up here..." She was surprised that she debated leaving. Why wasn't she running away? 'I don't know why!!!' she thought and turned to bolt.
"Akiko, wait."
She hovered in place.
"I was actually going to come looking for you," he said, still looking out at the lights of the Western Capitol. "Can we.. talk?"
"Um, sure." Akiko lighted and sat with her back to him. She pulled her knees up and hugged them.
"I think we had a pretty good time tonight."
"Yeah, it was fun." She bit her lip. No one was around and he was making an effort to talk to her. What was going on?!
"I almost forgot for a while that we're trapped here."
There, she knew it! The insult. He had just asked her to stay to insult her! "Yeah, well, we ARE trapped though, aren't we?" she sneered.
"I didn't mean it like that."
"Didn't you? I am the one whose fault everything is, aren't I?" Akiko huffed.
Trunks closed his eyes and tried to salvage the conversation. He pushed his pride down and pulled his courage up. "I admit I haven't exactly walked on eggshells around you..."
Akiko snorted to affirm this.
"..But I'm serious now. I'm getting distracted into thinking I'm at home. I looked across the coffee table tonight and you were laughing without a care and I thought, wow. Maybe this won't be as terrible as it seems."
He stopped for a moment to allow her to snarl at him again. When he got silence, he sucked in a deep breath and continued.
"We've been here for a month. I have begun to resign myself to the fact that we may never get home..."
"But Soma and Adonai!..." Akiko cried, still not facing him.
"Do you know for certain that they'll come to our rescue? What if it's them that needs the rescuing?"
"I'm trying not to think about that. I have to believe that they're all right; that they'll find us."
"I do too, but.. if I DO have to stay here forever..." Trunks inherited his stomach from his father and it flip-flopped as he tried to force out the words. "I'm glad we can be civil to each other. Akiko, there's something I have to ask you."
She stared out at the city lights. They were far fewer than in Etibi or Dibad and it was also quieter for the lack of inhabitants. She held her breath and waited for him to speak again.
"I haven't been very tactful in dealing with our... problems. I've said a lot of things that I know have hurt you. I only said them because I didn't know what else to do. Part of me wanted to make you feel worse than I did. Like the last time I saw you, when you gave me my son. Half of me was outraged that you were leaving again and half of me wanted to cry out 'don't go!' The bitterness wouldn't let me shed a single tear until you were gone." He opened his eyes and looked to the stars for strength.
"Akiko Son, I love you. I will always love you. I'm sorry for the way I've reacted to the choices you've felt you had to make. I want to know.. what I mean is.. I need you to.." he stuttered. 'Damn it! I was on a roll!' "Will you please forgive me?" Trunks squeezed his eyes shut and waited for her to storm off.
Akiko turned her head and looked at the back of his. Tears coursed down her cheeks. "On one condition..."
Trunks's eyes popped open and he turned to look at her.
"If you'll forgive me!" she eked out. Trunks put his hand on top of hers and began to cry as well. They wrapped their arms around each other and embraced at last, exchanging 'I love you's and 'I'm sorry's.
End Chapter Fifteen
Footnotes:
1) This character (Goku and Bulma's son, Trunks) is taken from Alternate Dragon Ball Z and modified to fit my demented purposes.