Chapter 1 – Turn Away From All That I Know
The world was in ruins.
Her world was in ruins.
Bulma Brief (as many already knew and loved), was a proud woman. Perhaps a little stubborn, most certainly loud and she unknowingly demanded everyone's attention when she walked into a room (though at the same time, it wasn't entirely unknowingly and she loved every moment of it). No, she was not innocent, but that didn't make her evil, either. She was twenty-four years old, so of course, she'd lived a little and had done things that made her not-so-pure.
Saying that, all of the things she had previously done in her college years meant absolutely nothing compared to her current predicament. All-nighters, random hook-ups and partying until she literally passed out, had nothing on the mess they were in.
With the use of a glowing green button, Bulma signalled to those on board that they were due to land shortly. They'd been travelling for what felt like an eternity and she sighed deeply at the thought of escape, no matter how brief it may be. Anything would be welcomed wholeheartedly at that point, her restless body aching with the need to stretch properly. There was only so much that pilates could do for her, though she supposed it could be worse. She could be a half-Saiyan being denied proper exercise due to their cramped circumstances.
At her thoughts, said half-Saiyan entered the control room, followed closely by his mother. They moved straight to their seats, the woman tugging on her son's safety belts firmly before so much as considering her own safety, despite his protests of being able to strap himself in.
Was it sad that that was what brightened her day? Seeing that bond between mother and son? Even though they were all miserable and lost in their grief, they acted so normal together that it hurt. It hurt to watch them, but it was a beautiful kind of pain. It brought back so many memories of their planet, of the times she'd shared with her family and friends. Many more memories could be made, but that all depended on whether or not they completed their mission.
"You in, Chi-Chi?"
Said woman nodded once, expression serious. They were sat side by side, with Gohan situated behind them and ever since entering space, Chi-Chi made it a habit of continuously glancing over her shoulder at him, like she was checking that he was still there, still sat in his seat and still safe – or as safe as he could be while on their current mission.
"Why are we landing, Miss Bulma?"
She couldn't answer immediately and knew he would understand once he heard her typing in commands and witnessed her gripping the steering wheel tightly, preparing herself for when she had to take control and land the ship. It was always a shaky event, requiring her full, undivided attention.
"We need more supplies and while we're at it, we should try gathering whatever information we can."
Narrowing her eyes when the ship broke through the atmosphere, she prepared herself, eyes glued to the monitor as it told her how far they were from the ground. At four hundred feet, she began to pull the steering wheel back, tilting it ever so slightly to the side, trying to control the shaking of her straining muscles. It was always difficult taking control.
"This is an exchange planet," she continued after a few moments, pretending not to notice the way Chi-Chi's grip intensified on the arms of her chair. Clearly she didn't know just how off putting that truly was. "But it's not like the others we've visited."
Her words distracted Chi-Chi from her silent terror, causing her eyes to narrow. "How is it different?"
The younger woman had every right to be suspicious after all they'd been through in recent months. The previous planets had been anything but nice and every time they visited a planet, more often than not, they left with new enemies. Aliens simply couldn't be trusted – hell, most humans weren't even trustworthy. However, it was those experiences that had a lasting effect on her and Chi-Chi hadn't been a trusting woman to start out with. Everything was taken with a pinch of salt, every possible outcome assessed before she put her darling son through anything that could potentially scar him or kill him.
"How can I best describe it?" she wondered aloud, though was forced to take more notice of the ship as she fought to remain in control, slowing their descent the best she could.
As always, it was a bumpy landing, however Bulma congratulated herself on the fact it was much smoother than the last time. The first time she tried landing the ship, they had been stuck for over seven hours due to the repairs that had been needed.
"Well?" pushed Chi-Chi and she heard her grip finally loosen on the chair, though one glance in her direction showed her that it would remember the death grip for a while, the indents in the leather annoying Bulma greatly.
"All the other planets were basically huge malls, right?" She didn't wait to hear their affirmatives. "Well, if the data I've been reading is correct, then this is more of a flea market. It says that only one race lives here, unlike the other places, but other races are welcome to shop and sell here."
Gohan frowned at that. "Are other races not welcome to live here?"
Taking an extra moment to type in a few commands, Bulma waited, watching as the tracker scanned for any hostile races. Eventually, it revealed that there were none. Everybody on the planet, not including Gohan, had a power level below one hundred. Sure, it would be an issue for herself, but for Gohan it was nothing. He was his father's son, after all. As for Chi-Chi, while she wasn't overly powerful, she was skilled enough to stand her ground.
"I'm not sure, kid," Bulma finally answered Gohan's question, unbuckling her safety belts. "I can only repeat the data the computer tells me." All data she was currently being fed from her computer was the data from Raditz's scouter – much to her delight, it continued to be updated regardless of his death and lack of communication, meaning it told her all she needed to know. Another few presses of buttons and she asked the computer, "What direction are the market stalls in?"
"Detected market stalls forty-seven miles north, Miss Brief."
Landing far from any detectable lifeforms was a must, they'd discovered after their first stop. People were savages and often times, desperate. If they couldn't use her ship – which they couldn't, due to the voice control – then they would break it apart and either sell the pieces or find uses for them.
While she could have asked Gohan to uses his senses to find the market stalls, he would only take them to the area with the largest population, since he couldn't identify the different areas. The ship could. During its descent, it captured photographs, of sorts. It helped them in finding where they needed to go.
Gohan, on the other hand, had taken them to a festival rather than the mall the last time he was in control. Okay, so Bulma would be lying if she said that it hadn't been fun and that it hadn't been nice to let her hair down after so long of nothing but business, but that was beside the point. Who knows where he could have taken them on the next planet? Tweaking Raditz's scouter and rewiring the mechanisms, inputting the data, had been a cinch.
Upon standing, Bulma reached over and grabbed her bag from the wall, tugging on it once it was across her body to make sure the strap wouldn't snap, as it had last time. That hadn't been fun. Everything scattered over the ground, lost in the sea of people who trampled over her belongings like she was some kind of low class–
Breathe, she warned herself. It did no good to allow her bratiness to take control. Not anymore.
"Remember, guys: we need to stick together. And if somebody's looking for trouble, stay calm. We can't afford to be noticed yet."
Approaching the door, she assessed the pair behind her, watching for a few moments as Chi-Chi fussed over Gohan's appearance. Despite his mother's protests, Gohan chose to wear an outfit he had created in memory of his first ever teacher: Piccolo. His previous one had been destroyed during the battle with the Saiyans, during the battle that had been the beginning of the end for their defenceless planet. As for Chi-Chi, she wore her usual outfits as they made very little difference to her ability to protect herself. She had no restrictions on her movements, and she was comfortable.
"Don't stray too far from me, Gohan," warned Chi-Chi, taking his hand and looking down at her son with a grim expression.
"Okay, Mom."
Poor kid was probably dying for fresh air and real exercise, Bulma thought sadly, stealing a glance at their cramped accommodations. They'd been cooped up on the ship for over six months now and were limited on space for training activities, especially for a child who was half-Saiyan. Chi-Chi did her best with him, trying to adapt for him, but it was difficult.
They all shielded their eyes from the harsh sun as the door finally opened with a swoosh, the insufferable heat causing Bulma to remove her jacket and toss it to her seat. A second later and she was reaching into her bag and pulling out a capsule, soon releasing it and slipping on a pair of sunglasses. She handed the other two pairs to the two behind her, but as always, Gohan smiled and politely refused. Being half-Saiyan allowed him to accustom to different climates ridiculously fast, they'd quickly learned during their journeys.
The sight before them was far from spectacular. It seemed to be nothing but a wasteland, covered completely in sand and the occasional weed for as far as the eye could see. Exhausting just to look at, if she was being honest. Knowing that the market stalls were only forty-seven miles away provided little comfort.
"There's a full moon tonight, so we'll need to be back way before sunset."
There was hesitation in Chi-Chi's movements, her dark eyes drawn towards the harsh sun. While Bulma wanted to say she understood the woman's concerns, she knew she couldn't possibly understand until she had children of her own – even then, she wouldn't know. The only man she had ever loved, possibly would ever love, was dead and she certainly wouldn't be getting knocked up by any leftover Saiyans. She'd only met one kind Saiyan and he was spoken for.
Blue eyes glanced at Gohan's tail, watching how it waved in the air, showing his nervousness. "If it comes down to it and we have to stay another night, we'll return to the ship long before the sun starts to set. You both know the drill from there."
What they had to do – what Gohan had to endure – wasn't pleasant, but it was necessary. Neither she nor Chi-Chi had the heart to remove Gohan's tail, for they both knew it would cause him excruciating agony. Instead, they'd come up with a plan in case they happened to become stranded on a planet during a full moon and that was a lockdown room. If they were stuck, Gohan was to go to a room where there were no windows or any influence from the blutz waves. Chi-Chi would stay with him until it was safe for him to leave, ensuring he didn't grow bored, hungry or thirsty. In other words: he was forced to study until his bedtime.
She threw a couple of capsules into the air and within seconds, two hoverbikes were released. Another had been in the makings for Gohan and was almost complete when Chi-Chi caught wind of her plans. All hell had broken loose after that and it was safe to say the bike remained unfinished.
Bulma threw her leg over the sleek, red bike and waited until Chi-Chi was on hers. There was a pause in Gohan mounting the bike as he put on the helmet his mother had forced her to make (regardless of the fact his head with thrice as hard as theirs), but as soon as it was on, he was sitting behind the dark haired woman and wrapping his arms around her securely.
"You guys ready?"
When she received her affirmative, Bulma couldn't help but grin as she switched on her bike and revved the engine. Sounded as sweet as always, though that was to be expected considering it was completely her own design.
She took the lead and shot off, enjoying the wind as it blew through her hair (yet thankful she'd tied half of it up and only left the lower half down). When Bulma noticed the other bike appear in the corner of her eye, she exchanged a competitive smirk with Chi-Chi, who was quick to return it and warned Gohan to hold on. Simultaneously, they both added more speed.
A cloud of dust, sand and dirt picked up behind them, spraying out across the expanse of the desert as they dashed across it. After being stuck in one area for so long, without being able to go out for fresh air, riding the hoverbikes really got their adrenaline rushing through their veins, livening them up once more. It was so exhilarating and part of the women wondered if it was how their warriors had felt when flying through the skies at top speed.
The reminder of her loved ones had Bulma's mood plummeting, but it soon picked up as they flew over sand dunes.
Gohan never truly enjoyed their racing, even though he did his best to make it seem like it did. Knowing that boy, like his father, he didn't want to dampen their enjoyment by making it appear as though he wasn't having the same sort of fun. They both understood why, too. It was due to the fact that he could fly at triple the speed her bikes travelled and to him, they were travelling slowly. Not once had he ever complained, however. Like his father, he cared for others' happiness rather than his own.
"There!" Gohan yelled over the winds.
She only barely picked up on what he had said, but seeing Chi-Chi slowing down had her reluctantly doing the same. Driving a little closer to the pair, she glanced over at them and raised an eyebrow.
"The town," he clarified. "I can see it."
Yes, so could she once Bulma was facing forward once more. It looked rundown and beat up, like there'd been many fierce battles that tore the place up time and time again. Somehow, it remained standing – somewhat. In her mind, Bulma dubbed it as the 'Stubborn Planet', since she was unable to understand or pronounce the true name of the planet.
She sped up before braking hard, going sideways as an indication that Chi-Chi was to stop. More sand picked up, spraying in front of her.
"We'll put the bikes away now," Bulma decided and hopped off her own, sealing it away within its capsule once more. "There's no telling how desperate these guys are for valuable goods to sell."
Oh, but they weren't.
The town appeared to be barely standing, but the market stalls were anything but. They were filled with expensive jewellery, exotic and amazing smelling food and intriguing parts for any kind of invention that came to Bulma's mind. Everything she spotted gave her more and more inspiration and she was practically thrumming with giddiness.
"This." Bulma all but threw her necklace at the young woman behind the stall. "I'll give you this necklace for this…" She tilted her head to the side, but then decided on holding the metal item up, smiling sheepishly. "This."
They knew she would be able to understand them, because not long after landing on the first planet they came across, Bulma had once more taken apart Raditz's scouter, examining it and all of its components, trying to work out how it was able to translate so many languages. It took a solid three weeks with hardly any sleep or food, but eventually, she managed to crack it.
Now, they all had earpieces and choker-styled necklaces that translated everything they were saying, and everything the aliens were saying to them. It really came in handy. Once or twice, they'd been certain an alien was acting aggressively towards them, but it turned out they were simply super animated when they spoke.
"This…" The woman raised the necklace, inspecting it closely with her shockingly gold eyes before those eyes shot to Bulma's smug blue ones. "You have a deal."
It was worth way more than the metal part, but she had her plans on what to use it for. More than likely, the poor girl had no idea about what she was selling and what it could be used for, but Bulma did and the thought had her inwardly smirking. Just because she couldn't pronounce aliens words (or knew what to call them in her own language), it didn't mean she didn't know what they were. Her computer never let her down and she knew that, with the item she'd just acquired, she could create scouters for herself and Chi-Chi, who were unable to sense energy.
Perfect!
Not only that, but since taking Raditz's apart, she would now be able to tweak the circuits, making them more like the system in her ship.
Wait…
She could use the same system! It was incredibly useful and it would be great if she could keep the same voice, too. Soothing, calm and easy to understand even under scarily desperate situations.
"Thank you," she almost sang and walked away with a skip in her step.
They paused every now and then at different stalls, curious with what the vendors had to offer, until they moved along. Sometimes they purchased items, other times they were empty handed.
The heat of the planet fit with its new name, for the sun stubbornly shone down on them, beating them with its harsh rays. Gohan was less affected than Bulma and Chi-Chi due to his Saiyan genes, but even he began feeling the heat and asked if they could stop for a moment at a stall that held large bottles of different kinds of liquids.
"What's in them?" Chi-Chi asked the vendor and narrowed her eyes on the alien. The gender of the alien was unspecified and Bulma truly believed it could pass as either male or female. "Are they healthy? Safe? Poisonous?"
The alien held up its four hands and chuckled deeply, the sound contrasting sharply with its dainty appearance. To her, it looked like some kind of bug, but its voice was deep and grumbly. For a few moments, she was enraptured by the antenna twitching at their presence.
"I can assure you, ma'am, that my water is completely harmless."
Bulma had the urge to ask what gender the bug was, as the startling differences left her clueless. Knowing it was extremely rude to do so, however, she looked around until the stall behind them caught her attention.
"Here, I'll show you what ingredients I use."
Other shoppers were giving it a wide berth, not daring to so much as look in its direction even when the vendor called out that it was safe and Bulma couldn't help but feel curious. It was in her nature as a scientist to want to investigate and take things apart, after all.
"Revenge is sweet," the vendor called out loudly, trying to bring customers to his stall, but they were having none of it. "So come and get yours today!"
"Oh!" Chi-Chi exclaimed happily and even though she'd tuned the conversation out, Bulma's concentration broke and she turned to face them again, wondering what was so wonderful to cause such a reaction. "This is amazing and so refreshing. Gohan, here. Drink this." After handing her son the sample, she looked up at the bug vendor again, smiling brightly. "We'll take as much as we can get with… this!"
Part of Bulma wanted to scold Chi-Chi for using real money, especially such a large amount. It had taken a ridiculous amount of time converting Earth money to a currency that was supposedly spendable on every planet in the universe. They had more back on the ship, but it had to last and they had no idea how long they'd be in space for. It was why she went as far as to selling her precious jewellery for parts and anything else that wasn't necessary but wanted.
"C'mon! It's not often ya get to see this sorta thing."
The vendor behind them was yelling again, she realised belatedly once Chi-Chi had purchased a good third of the bug's stock. That woman was so lucky she brought empty capsules with them, otherwise she would have forced her to carry it all herself. Like hell she'd help out.
When they set off walking, her interest was once more piqued, as was Gohan's and Chi-Chi's.
She paused in her walk and took a step back, leaning to look closer into the mysterious stall and even slipping her sunglasses down her nose to see over the tinted lenses. It had such a dark atmosphere surrounding it, but it didn't seem to affect the vendor standing in front of it proudly and unlike other stalls, there was no table, just a tent that was dark inside except for the single ray of light that came from the outside.
It wasn't until the light breeze picked up, causing the tent opening to billow that she saw what was inside. For a second, she raised an eyebrow, wondering if she was hallucinating due to the severe temperature. But then dark eyes met hers and she knew it was real, causing her to shriek and jump backwards, straight into Chi-Chi and Gohan, who were just as stunned.
"It's… I-It's Vegeta!" Gohan cried, though soon fell into a defensive stance in front of them both, teething gritting. "But what's he doing here?"
