Sapphire and Gold

By Toku Tenshi

Disclaimer: I don't own anything – ANYHTING – alright? The extent of my DBZ stuff is a key chain, a 2 t-shirts, and a preview issue of Shonen Jump.

A:N/ Gasp. I got a review – and from a new person to boot! Hazaah! I'm totally inspired to write now. My chapters aren't too long because I have it set in mind what events need to happen in what chapters and while writing, no matter how hard I try to stretch things, I can't seem to get over 5 pages in Microsoft word! This chapter isn't too long either, but the update is definitely fast, right?

Chapter 14: Changes

The humming and buzzing of the various machines in the room were drowned out completely by the blood cuddling scream emanating from a single, shaking form. Dashi hugged herself tightly as she lay on the dirty tile floor in a tight ball in the vain hope of dulling some of the pain. Electricity jumped through her body and fire shot through her veins as the very skin concealing it all burned uncontrollably. Sucking in a sharp intake of breath, the girl tried desperately to keep the next screech silent. It appeared to work for a moment as she bite her lower lip, drawing crimson blood that dripped out of her quivering mouth. The pain racking her tan body grew too great to contain any longer as the girl let out another agonizing scream.

Mul Kimchi watched in fascinated horror as Dashi thrashed in pain. He had thought the girl was invincible – completely and utterly void of any weaknesses – but there she was, crying at his feet.

When Dashi had returned from her little mission, she was perfectly fine in every way and smirked widely as she reported her success. One minute she was smiling smugly, the next she collapsed to the ground in pain. It was all very new to the scientist as he tried to figure out what could have possibly triggered such a reaction from his goddess. Try as he might, Mul couldn't bring a thought to his head with Dashi screaming as she was. The man grew frustrated and grabbed the stool. "Shut up!" He yelled angrily as he smashed the stool across Dashi's shaking back and head. To his amazement, and relief, the girl fell silent against the cold floor.

Mul's shoulders heaved up and down as he calmed himself and set the chair down. The man sat on the stool and sighed in the quiet. A moment or two passed before his eyes glanced at the still form on the floor. Shooting up with the sudden realization of what he'd done, Mul rushed over to Dashi and checked her for injuries. A large welt had formed on the back of her head and she looked to be unconscious. Mul quickly carried the girl as best he could, which was more or less dragging her, across the floor and into his bedroom. He dumped her on the bed and tossed a blanket over her as he paced back and forth.

His wanderings pulled him back into the main room where his eyes drifted over the many notes scribbled by his own hand. "What could have happened?" He mumbled as he searched the walls and boards. "That attack she had was strange enough, but then I was able to knock her out. No matter how mad I get, I shouldn't be able to muster enough strength to make her unconscious." He wondered for a moment if he had become stronger, but quickly dismissed the crazy notion. The only explanation for the second mystery was that Dashi had gotten weaker. "It is quite possible that she became weaker because of that pain she was in, but why was she suddenly in pain?" The scientist turned sharply around and opened his eyes to find himself face to face with the observation notes of the original subject, his former lab assistant.

Numerous observations were listed neatly on the clip board, each starting with the time of the event. Flipping through the pages, Mul recalled that once exposed to the virus, a human subject took approximately one day to fully change, each hour bringing him closer and closer to completion. Mul lifted his eyes from the paper and stared at the open doorway where Dashi lay asleep. "A human subject... but my Dashi is not human."

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"And you're sure Dashi killed them?" Bulma asked as she pulled three small vials out of the clarifying cabinet.

"As best as I could be without having been there," Trunks ran his hand through his hair and leaned against the wall. 'There goes two more people who could have been saved.' "I explained to Dashi before she ran off that she was infected with a virus, I guess she didn't realize that the same virus is what made the creatures."

"Didn't realize," Bulma started as she slipped the vials into the small carrying case along with the replacement pressure gun, "or didn't care?" She turned to her son with stern, serious eyes. "We determined that the virus brings out the primitive, survival parts of the brain, haven't we? For Dashi, that's probably like being a normal Saiya-jin back on Planet Vegeta. I've only seen a few Saiya-jins in my life, but your father was more than enough of an example of what they could be like. From what Goku and Krillin, rest their souls, told me of his first visit to Earth… well, Dashi's actions don't seem that strange at all - especially if she was following orders."

Trunks slammed a fist backwards into the wall. "Smurf. This guy must be pretty powerful to be able to order Dashi around."

Bulma shook her head as she walked over to her son with the newest cure. "From what you told me, he wouldn't have to be strong at all. Dashi is most likely under some type of subconscious hypnosis. I actually think that we should be grateful that this smurf is sending her on little gathering missions, if that is what's going on, because it gives us another shot at finding her." Bulma motioned for Trunks to follow as she picked up a pen and made her way over to the area map. "If we stake out areas with large creature populations, like here, here, and here," she drew 'x's by three pin marks, "then we could catch Dashi while she's away from the one giving the orders. See?"

"I get it," Trunks mumbled as he took the pen and made some more 'x's. "We'll also be able to tell where she's been by whether or not the creatures are still there. If so, move on to the next spot and wait." Trunks smiled at his mother, the quest now seeming much more realistic than before. All he had to do was wait for Dashi while hiding from the creatures, surprise attack her, and hold her still long enough to administer the cure. His sapphire eyes lowered and his smile contorted into a frown. It was hard enough with both of the Breifs trying to hold down an infected Dashi and give her the shot, but now that Dashi had her ki back and since Trunks couldn't even think about bringing his mother to such a dangerous place… "We need a new way of delivering the cure." Trunks turned to Bulma and stared into her eyes, watching the wheels turn in her head as she began to think of a simple and effective way to help the girl.

Bulma nodded and turned a paper clip from the counter over in her hands as she thought. "I'll think of something new, don't worry, but for now I'll also keep up with this method's antidotes. Its better to have the correct dose for the current stage than to have nothing at all, right?"

"Right, please do that Mom," Trunks nodded and slipped the case into his jacket pocket before turning to leave.

"Wait a sec," Bulma dug inside the deep pocket of her jumpsuit and pulled out something. She tossed it to her son, which he easily caught. "It's a food bar," she explained. "You haven't eaten yet and need to be at the top of your game, right?"

Trunks smiled and nodded again before once more rushing out of the building and taking into the air. Bulma watched him leave silently for a moment or two before shaking her head and smacking her cheeks. "Right, right. No time for spacing out, I need to get to work!" The woman glanced at the heat cabinet and the several levels of tiny vials. The bottom row was a murky purple color with each level above it growing steadily clearer and colorless. These were the future antidotes for Dashi and descended in order. Bulma's eyes fell to the bottom row as she chewed her lip nervously. "I hope we can help her before we reach the last row…"

Shaking her head to rid herself of the negative thoughts, Bulma tried to devise a new way to administer the cure. The fastest way was still by introduction into the blood stream through a major artery, but that only gave someone three tries to find and utilize a major artery. Missing the vein only lead to a 15 chance of the drug properly circulating through her system. If all three attempts missed, that was still only a 45 chance of success and it would be quite possible that the virus could mutate again to avoid becoming destroyed. If the Virus mutated again, then all future cures were useless and the time needed to construct new ones, let alone attaining a good sample to analyze, would be too much.

An air-borne method might work if it was made dense enough to lay ten or so feet above ground and coat the ground as well. "But Dashi can fly, right? She could just jump over that." Bulma groaned and scratched her head. "Maybe if a devise was thrown at her and it released the gas on contact, she couldn't avoid the gas then – she could avoid the initial throw though or even destroy it all together." The middle aged woman groaned loudly and rubbed her hands furiously through her blue hair. When she finally stopped, her hair was tangled and sticking in all directions, making it look as if she'd just woken up from a fitful sleep.

"I gotta think of something quickly so I can get to work on it! How could anyone possibly introduce a foreign substance into an unwilling Saiya-jin!" Bulma growled in frustration and balled her hands into fists. Her eyes sprung open as she studied her hands slowly. "Against a Saiya-jin…" She smiled as a plan formed itself and rushed over to the computer to begin work.

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Dashi stirred and opened her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. It was a dark room with sparse furnishing: a metal frame bed; small book shelf filled with books, papers, and clothing; and a burnt out floor lamp. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Dashi tossed off the blanket and silently wondered why she had her boot on if she had gone to sleep. "You're awake now? Good." Dashi turned her head sharply to the open doorway and the figure standing there. "It had been a while since I knocked you out; I was beginning to worry a little." Mul moved over to the girl and tilted her head down to take a look at the welt still present above her neck. He touched it lightly and sighed silently when Dashi didn't wince. She seemed back to normal.

"You knocked me out, Master?" Dashi stared up at the man's face with her head still down, a look of awe visibly present.

"Well, yes, I did." Mul shifted slightly as the girl looked at him with something he had never seen before. What was it? Why was she looking at him that way? The man's eyes widened in realization and looked down briefly before smirking at Dashi. It was respect that she was showing him. That look was something he had always wanted. "Sorry to have done that, but you were making such a racket, Dashi dear, that I couldn't think. Try to be more quiet."

Dashi gave a firm nod before speaking in a soft voice, "Master must be truly strong." Mul almost didn't hear her comment.

"Not that quiet, Dashi dear," He smiled widely to himself as he left the room, Dashi in tow. He decided to let the girl think he was stronger than her. That way, he reasoned, she would be far easier to order around and far less likely to leave. Mul looked behind him with a twisted smile. Now that he had Dashi, he didn't want to ever let her go.

End chapter 14

SA: Gah! This is short too! Curse it! Oh yeah, if anyone forgot about the smurfs – they're back! I don't swear, so I put 'smurf' in place of swear words.

Jimi: What about the other day?

SA: GAH! Jimi from Lavendar and Pink! How'd you get here?

Jimi: doesn't matter. Now, about the other day.

SA: What about the other day?

Jimi: you swore.

SA: 00 WHAT! Nu-uh! I haven's swore since I was 10, and that was only c-r-a-p.

Jimi: I keep telling you, 'crap' isn't a swear word… anyways. At work? That customer looking for shirt boxes?

SA: Hmm? You mean the lady with the short temper who didn't speak clear so I didn't know what she was talking about?

Jimi: yep. And her husband was yelling from the end of the isle at you? They walked away after you kept telling her that you didn't have any and you heard the husband say 'What? No speak-a English? Freaking Mexicans.'

SA: That guy! I'm not even Hispanic! Just cuz I have long black hair and my name is Angelica (no 'h' sound, it's a 'g') he thought I was Hispanic!

Jimi: yeah. They left, you turned around and muttered under your breath, 'freaking b8str8d.'

SA: I-I-I-I 8blushes in frustration8 its all Naruto's fault! I've watch 189 episodes in under a month! 8tries to misplace blame8

Jimi: you swore at a customer during work after not swearing all those years. All those 'freaking', 'shoot', 'dag nab it', 'gosh darn it', and 'geez luise' go right out the window.

SA: shut up! I hate you! 8runs off8

Jimi:… turns to reader oh, if you stuck around for this, then please review the chapter. The main reason why it takes so long for potty mouth over there to update is she gets so little reviews she doesn;t think anyone is reading her work.