Bulma managed to regain some of her composure. Apparently, confusion was still painted across her face, as Gero continued speaking after a slight pause.
"Please allow me to clarify the matter, miss Briefs." Gero continued, "As you well know, Goku has been my arch enemy ever since he had annihilated my former employers, the Red Ribbon Army."
"My laboratory had been built to survive a full-scale bombing run though," he continued, "thus allowing me to continue my work unnoticed, since everyone believed the RR Base abandoned."
"I later learned that the 24th Tenkaichi Budokai Tournament was to be held in it. I then halted my research and decided to return when it was over." He said, "However, I had recognised most of the Tournament's competitors, which made me decide to return to my lab and capsulize everything, just in case."
"Lucky for me I did, since it had collapsed when that demon fired his beam at Goku." Gero said. At noticing the puzzled look on Bulma's face, he added "Remote Intruder Warning System. The entire system got cut off at the same time, obviously by the roof coming down on top of it."
"Now, all I desire is to kill that green nuisance for denying me my revenge on Goku!" Gero growled, "but since I can't do that alone, I hereby come to you for your aid. I had noticed you were acquainted with those other finalists..."
While listening to Gero's speech, Bulma managed to regain control of herself. The thing was, she needed Gero's help. Basically, she was being counted on to create a biological weapon, something she had never done before, and here, out of nowhere, came the world's leading scientist in weaponry. Turning over her options, she looked up at Gero.
"Okay, I accept your offer. Come inside, I'll fill you in on the details." Bulma said.
"By the way," Bulma added, "why were you at the Tournament anyway? No offence, but you don't seem to be the type for it"
"Cyborg Taopaipai was created by me." Gero told her, "I study all of my... projects, to improve future designs."
'I hope I'm not going to regret doing this' Bulma thought, showing Gero around Capsule Corp.
------
Kami and Yamcha were waiting outside of the room while Chiaotzu was putting his clothes on. They were a bit tattered by the attack that nearly killed him during the Tournament, but nothing grave. Finished dressing himself, he walked out of the room and noticed a group of doctors being held back by Kami and Yamcha. The doctors were shouting something about an alarm going off and they had to check on the patient's condition. They grew quiet when they saw Chiaotzu standing in the doorway.
"Okay, I'm ready to go." Chiaotzu said, "By the way, what's this all about?"
"They saw the sensors they hooked you up on go blank when you pulled them out," Kami explained, "they were about to rush in before we stopped them."
"Well as you can see, I've recovered," Chiaotzu said, turning towards the stunned doctors, "and I would like to leave with my friends."
And with that, the trio started walking towards the elevators, leaving a number of astonished doctors, wondering how they were going to tell their planner that one of their badly wounded patients just got up and left, apparently unharmed.
Inside the elevator, Yamcha explained to Chiaotzu about Piccolo and why he shouldn't power up, because Piccolo might be able to sense where he was. Chiaotzu nodded, and the three walked out of the hospital towards their car.
"Heh, it's been a while since I rode in a car," Chiaotzu noted, "They never could reach the places where I used to live."
They got in and drove off, Yamcha mumbling something about dodging traffic jams. Sensing his companions weren't in a talkative mood, Chiaotzu took in the city by what he could see through the windows. Having lived in the mountains all of his life, he had only seen a city when he was flying over one. Now he was in one of the Capitols and, with his power suppressed, felt himself be nearly overwhelmed by the variety of Ki signatures around him. He couldn't help wondering how so many people could live in such a small space without going crazy.
Using the time that they drove back to Capsule Corp. getting used to this sensation, normally buffered by his own Ki, he found himself looking forward to seeing Tien and Launch again. The reason why he couldn't sense them, he assumed, was that Tien was suppressed like he was and Launch simply didn't sneeze (A/N: For those who don't know, Launch/Kushami is a Dragon ball char, who changes personality when she sneezes. Launch is plain and has dark hair, while Kushami is a trigger-happy blonde). Getting lost in his own memories, he barely noticed the time pass away and was surprised that it was getting dark when Yamcha stopped the car, claiming they had arrived.
As soon as they got out, Kami capsulized the car and they walked up to the door. Yamcha searched his pockets, finding the piece of paper where Bulma'd written the access codes to Capsule Corp. on. He entered the code, opening the door, and walked inside into the living room.
Only to find himself face-to-face with Dr. Gero.
During his days as a desert bandit, Yamcha had had a collection of 'Wanted'-posters in his base. He had hung his own amongst them, comparing the price on his head to those of Commander Red, Kushami and Dr. Gero amongst others, to have an estimate of his standing on the crime ladder. In other words, to prevent him from accidentally mugging the wrong people. Dr. Gero fit nicely into that category.
"Ah good, you're all here." Bulma said, noticing Yamcha's discomfort, "Come on in, we'll fill you in on what has happened."
Yamcha was surprised by Bulma's calmness. Regaining his composure, he shrugged it off and took a seat, closely followed by Chiaotzu and Kami, who had removed his disguise the second the front door had closed behind them. Chichi entered from the kitchen, carrying a tray with coffee and freshly baked cookies. Her eyes were red and swollen, and it was clear she had been crying a long time.
"Hi everyone," she said, "I just woke up and I had to take my mind off of what happened before I'd drive myself crazy, so I decided to go bake something. I hope you don't mind, Bulma"
"Not at all, Chichi," Bulma replied, "Come on, sit down, you need to know what happened so far as well. Are you up for it?"
"I suppose I am, at that," Chichi smiled, taking a seat, "I'm past the worst part though, so I should be okay, given some time."
Chiaotzu had become increasingly worried by this conversation. It was eating at him that he still wasn't able to pick up Tien's Ki signature. Or Goku and Krillin's, for that matter. Becoming uneasy, he silently prepared for some bad news.