Chapter 8:
A Race Against Time
Charisma was barely fast enough to keep up with Piccolo, Krillin, and Tien as they soared through the skies towards North City. She refused to let herself falter even a little bit lest she slow them down in such a critical moment. The mountain air was freezing cold and caused goosebumps all over her bare arms and legs. Charisma blinked away the tears caused by the cold wind in her eyes. She had never flown in an environment like this. Truly, this experience would be a test of her training; a test that she could not afford to fail.
"Tien, can you see it yet?" Piccolo asked.
"Not yet," Tien replied. "But we should be getting really close."
"Oh, I see it!" Charisma said as the city began to appear gradually, completely surrounded by mountains.
"Yes, that's it, all right," Piccolo said. They came to a stop floating just above the city. The task at hand was daunting at best and impossible at worst.
"I didn't think finding the lab would be a walk in the park…" Tien said cautiously. "But considering the fact that we cannot even sense the Androids, and that there are hundreds of mountains to choose from...I'd say this could take a while."
"I think it would be best if we split up and the first person to find it should send a signal…" Piccolo explained.
"What kind of signal?" Krillin asked.
"Raise your power level slightly so that all of us will sense it."
"That's a good plan," Tien agreed. "We better get started…"
"Before we do…" Krillin interrupted. "You all better take some of these…" He held up the small sack of senzu beans. "There's no telling what's going to happen…"
Charisma watched as Krillin split the six remaining senzu beans amongst himself and the two others. She was growing nervous as the seconds ticked by. Simply knowing that the same Androids that ruined her life were just mere moments from being activated sent chills up and down her spine.
"Charisma…" Krillin said as he turned to her. "When we come across the lab, I think it's best that you head back to Bulma's place at that point. It could get too dangerous."
Charisma simply nodded, crossing her fingers behind her back again. 'There isn't enough time to argue…' she thought.
"Thanks for the beans, Krillin," Piccolo said. "Let's just hope we don't have to use them."
After exchanging a nod, they all split up to different parts of the area and began searching for the lab.
...
Charisma soared above and around the mountains located to the direct north of North City. Without even realizing it, she wandered aimlessly as she became distracted by her own thoughts.
'What will our next move be?' she wondered. 'If we find the Androids before Dr. Gero, will we really be able to destroy them? Will it really be that easy?'
She stopped in her place above the mountains, stifling her cold shivers as the mountain air continued blowing on her unforgivingly. Her eyes scanned the atmosphere. "I wonder if I will run into Trunks soon...he was heading this way with Vegeta, after all."
Charisma shook her head and resumed her mission of flying around above the mountains. "I can't let myself get distracted!" she reasoned. "We're so close to destroying those Androids so I need to work fast. My very life is counting on this. This might be my only way to not only save this timeline, but to return back to mine where I belong."
At times, Charisma felt very comfortable in this timeline. She made more friends than she ever had in her own time. She had the freedom to go wherever she wanted without fearing for her life. She became so comfortable that she had even contemplated just remaining here in this peaceful world that was like heaven compared to her own.
'I don't rightfully belong here,' she reminded herself. 'Based on what Trunks has said, jumping through time periods can cause serious issues for everyone. I don't want to be responsible for anything like that…'
Charisma stopped flying when she suddenly sensed someone's power level jump. "Is that the signal?" She looked over her shoulder to the direction where it was coming from. "It's Krillin! He found the lab?!"
She rushed over to where Krillin was located. Tien and Piccolo were also with him now and they floated above the mountains to the southeast of North City.
"Hey!" she said as she came over. "What is it? Did you find the lab?"
"Yeah," Krillin said as he turned to her. "That opening right there is the entrance." He gestured toward what appeared to be a hole in a mountainside.
"That's it, all right," Tien said. "Good job, Krillin."
"Well, we can pat each other on the back later," Piccolo grumbled. "We've got work to do right now. Let's go."
"Right!" agreed Tien and both began to zoom over to where the lab was.
"Wait!" Krillin said nervously. "Before you go...you should know that Dr. Gero beat me here…"
"WHAT!" Piccolo snapped. "You should've mentioned that sooner, Krillin!"
"Sorry…" Krillin mumbled. The three rushed into the opening in the mountain, leaving Charisma behind in their dust. She watched as they disappeared into the lab entrance.
"...what should I do?" she wondered. Although the thought of going to Bulma's house crossed her mind for a split second, she ignored that thought as swiftly as it had appeared. "I've come too far to turn around and leave now."
Charisma prepared herself to blast over to the lab entrance as well until she caught sight of something in her peripheral vision. Her eyes lit up in an instant. "Hey, it's…!"
Sure enough, Vegeta and Trunks zipped past her a distance away. It didn't seem that they even noticed her, or perhaps they didn't care. Instead, they entered the opening in the cliff face after the others.
"Now I definitely have to go in there! It's now or never!"
Tossing her reservations aside, Charisma hurried over to the entrance of the lab at once. Cautiously, she landed at the edge of the opening just behind Trunks. She was careful to not make too much noise in a futile attempt to fly under everyone's radar. Her eyes glanced up at Trunks momentarily with wonder. Just staring at his back caused her heart to skip.
'I'm so happy to see him,' she thought, placing her hand on her heart.
"Get out of the way, you idiots!" Vegeta's voice growled angrily, snapping Charisma out of her thoughts. He lifted his arm towards the metal doors ahead.
"Stop it!" Trunks yelled. "You don't understand how powerful the Androids really are!"
"Too late, kid," Vegeta coldly responded. A powerful beam of energy shot out of his palm. It hit the metal doors and blew them down easily with an ear-splitting bang. All that was left behind was a thick cloud of smoke and dust.
Charisma immediately braced herself and shielded her eyes from the bright light and debris. When she opened her eyes again, she could only watch as the smoke slowly cleared, revealing the features of the three beings on the other side of the busted down lab doors.
"I-it's them!" she barely choked out.
"I take it these are the scary Androids we've heard so much about..." Vegeta sneered, utterly unimpressed.
"Yes," Trunks said. "That's them…"
"Really?" asked Krillin. "They look just like regular people to me!"
"Don't let their appearance fool you," Trunks warned angrily. "They are deadly machines and are stronger than all of us."
"Well, Goku's friends are determined to stop us," Dr. Gero said to his creations. "But they will not! We will destroy them just as they destroyed Android 19."
"Android 19, huh?" Android 17 said with amusement. "Another energy absorbing model just like yourself, was he not?"
"How very interesting," Android 18 joined, throwing a cold grin at Dr. Gero. "You designed him that way because it would be easier to control him...but now he's been destroyed."
"That is enough!" Dr. Gero bellowed angrily. "I order you to destroy these intruders at once!"
"We do not take orders from you, old man," Android 17 responded, unphased by Dr. Gero's outbursts. "We will deal with them when we are ready."
Dr. Gero growled angrily. "How dare you defy me!"
"Oh, look, I see there's another Android," Android 18 said, walking over to another chamber in the middle of the lab.
"Hey, get away from Android 16!" Dr. Gero commanded.
A cold sweat simultaneously ran through Trunks and Charisma's bodies. "Another Android?!" Trunks demanded. 'How is there another Android that I didn't know about?' he wondered.
'This is worse than anything I could have imagined!' Charisma cried. "What are we gonna do?!"
"I'd like to see what other modifications you've made to him, Doctor," Android 18 said as she peered closer to the sleeping Android. "He's lacking in the looks department, though."
"Stay away from Android 16!" Dr. Gero angrily warned again. "His programming is incomplete! If you activate him, you WILL regret it!"
Android 17 turned towards Dr. Gero. "According to my data, I am much stronger than he is. Regret it? I highly doubt that, old man." Android 17 looked over at Android 18. "Go ahead and activate him."
Android 18 grinned at him. "You got it…" she leaned over the chamber and brushed her fingers over the button.
"No, 18!" Dr. Gero rushed over. He grabbed her arm and attempted to pull her away from the chamber. "For the last time, DO NOT activate 16!"
She huffed with annoyance and glared down at him. "You're irritating!" She elbowed him right in the chin, sending him flying backwards on the lab's cold, hard ground.
"How dare you!" he seethed as he stood back up. "I created you! I gave you life! Stop what you're doing, or I will make you stop-"
All of sudden, Android 17 impaled Dr. Gero from behind with his hand exiting through the android's chest. His eyes widened in horror as he realized what just happened.
The Z fighters could only watch in horror as Android 17 pulled his arm back out of Dr. Gero's body, and then dislodged Dr. Gero's robotic head with a swift kick. Dr. Gero's disembodied head landed just a few steps away from Krillin, who grimaced with a mix of fear and disgust before retreating further back behind Tien.
Charisma remained cowering behind Trunks as well, afraid to come any closer to even try to get a better look at the commotion. It was not the time to be curious. From what she could hear, it was not something she necessarily wanted to watch.
When she did find her courage to peer from around Trunks' figure into the lab, she witnessed as Android 17 leapt through the air and came down on Dr. Gero's head, smashing it into pieces. She quickly covered her eyes and returned to cowering behind Trunks' figure again.
Satisfied with his work, Android 17 stood up straight and walked over to the chamber with Android 16 still nestled inside. "I think it's time we wake up our sleeping friend," he remarked.
Trunks growled angrily as fear and rage bubbled within him, ready to burst at any second. Charisma was startled by his demeanor and began stepping back away from him slowly. "If they set that Android free, it'll be the end of all of us!"
Without any warning, Trunks suddenly powered up into a Super Saiyan. Charisma felt her stomach drop instantly. She was so close to him that the mere surge in energy hit her with a wave of intense heat and nearly knocked her off the edge of the cliff. Somehow, she managed to catch her footing despite now shivering with fear at seeing such unimaginable power right in front of her eyes. She watched with bewildered eyes as Trunks prepared a huge ki blast from his joined hands. The others looked back at him in shock, caught by complete surprise at his sudden outburst. Trunks' blast shot between them and struck the lab with the Androids inside.
"Everybody, get down!" Krillin cried before a huge explosion rocked the entire mountain range.
…
Charisma didn't quite remember when or how she took off into the sky after Trunks unleashed a deadly blast into the lab. It had all happened in the blink of an eye and now she found herself floating above the mountain's remains. She clutched her heart which was beating insanely with a rush of adrenaline.
Krillin sighed with relief as he observed the wreckage below. "Hey, Trunks!" he shouted. "How about you give a little more warning next time you do that!"
Vegeta grumbled angrily. "Bad move! Why'd you go and do that?"
Trunks stared back at him with confusion. "Why? What's wrong?"
"Look down there," Vegeta responded, gesturing to the figures below on the other side of the wrecked mountain. Android 17 and Android 18 survived the explosion without a single scratch and they managed to save the chamber with Android 16 in it.
Trunks trembled with disbelief. "I don't understand how anyone could survive that! That was my most intense blast!"
Vegeta laughed at him mockingly. "Well, looks you spoke too soon. Now they know how weak you are."
"Are you going to activate Android 16 or not?" Android 17 asked Android 18 with annoyance in his voice.
Android 18 smiled and walked over to Android 16's chamber. She wasted no time and pushed the button to unlock the chamber door. With a loud beep, the chamber door slowly began opening. Android 18 grew impatient in a half second and effortlessly kicked the door off as soon as it began to lift from the rest of the chamber. Android 16's eyes slowly came open, glowing a demonic red color, before fading into the usual cold, blue Android eyes.
"What are we gonna do now guys?!" Krillin panicked. "Now we have to fight another one!"
Android 16 did not say a word as he got out of his chamber. He didn't even respond to Android 17 or Android 18 when they spoke to him. Still, this giant Android responded to their words about carrying out their objective and finding Goku, and he left with them when they left to embark on their mission.
"They're leaving," Krillin said with relief. "Good riddance. I guess we're safe now."
"But where do you think they're going?" Tien asked.
"They're not going to South City," Piccolo said. "South City is the other way…"
"What if they're heading for Goku?" Krillin said. "Dr. Gero created them in order to get revenge on Goku for destroying his Red Ribbon Army."
"We have to stop them!" Charisma responded. "As long as they're running amok like that, they're a danger to everyone in their path."
"Those Androids," Vegeta growled. "They left because they are afraid of me, as they should be! I'll take them down myself!" Vegeta powered up into Super Saiyan and began to rush after the Androids.
Trunks hurried after him and managed to block his path. "No! Don't go after them," he said. "We have to wait for Goku!"
"I don't need to wait for Karakot to do anything," Vegeta laughed cruelly. "Now get out of my way before you get hurt."
Trunks did not relent and remained in Vegeta's path. "Listen to me! If you face the Androids alone, you will be destroyed for sure! Stay here-!"
Next thing he knew, Trunks got the wind knocked out of him by Vegeta's sudden punch to the gut. Trunks immediately hunched over in pain, clutching onto this stomach. Charisma stifled a worried gasp.
"Now stay out of my way!" Vegeta snarled and took off after the Androids.
The others remained there in shock. Charisma's eyes narrowed angrily at Vegeta's directly. "What a jerk!" she exclaimed. She quickly hurried over to Trunks and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, are you all right?" she asked.
Trunks groaned as he struggled to even open his eyes. "...Please, we have to stop him…" he choked out. "...we have to wait for Goku...go after him…!"
Charisma sighed and shook her head. "It's too late. He's long gone...we'll never catch up to him now."
Trunks managed to catch his breath and stood tall. His eyes narrowed with determination as he looked towards the direction where Vegeta had taken off to. "We have to stop him!"
"There's no time to waste!" Piccolo shouted. "Let's go! NOW!" The men all took off on cue, leaving Charisma bumbling behind them once again.
"Gosh, I wish they would warn me before they do that…" she pouted. "I'll have to fly extra fast to catch up to them at this point!"
...
Unfortunately for her, Charisma underestimated just how much she had fallen behind the others. She could sense Vegeta's power level towering above all the others.
"Oh man, I'm too late…" she said sadly. "I can't believe they left me behind like that…how am I still this slow?!"
A sinking feeling filled Charisma. "Maybe I really am in over my head…" She stopped in place. Her eyes flattened as she looked over the landscape. "What am I even going to do? What can I possibly do to help them win this fight?"
She grumbled and she crossed her arms. "What good does three years of training do for me if I can't even effectively put it into practice? The thought of battle scares me so much...what am I even doing?"
Sighing deeply, she shut her eyes as if searching for the answer within herself. She remembered those days she spent training with Gohan and Trunks, and how badly she wanted to be able to fight beside them. She wanted nothing more than to be their equal someday. The sky was the limit in her young mind those days, even when she understood her disadvantages. 'Somehow...I've lost sight of that goal…'
"I know I'm just a girl," little Charisma cried to Gohan during one of their training matches. "I'm not a Saiyan like you or Trunks. But I want to be able to fight, too! I want to help you guys fight those Androids…"
"I know, Charisma," Gohan said softly. "But the best thing you can do for us is stay safe and support us, no matter what. Even if we can't take you into battle with us…please stay behind and cheer for us, all right?"
"I'm sorry, Gohan," she said aloud, clenching her fist and looking up. "I can't just sit by and cheer from the sidelines like you asked me to. Now isn't the time to back down!"
With that, Charisma took off flying as fast as she could to catch up to the others. At this point, she had lost so much time that she didn't even know if she'd reach them. But still, she wanted to try.
"Oh, I think I finally found them!" she said as she came across a stretch of rocky terrain and winding roads. She caught sight of the guys standing on the road overlooking an ongoing fight between Vegeta and Android 18.
The feeling of relief was suddenly overcome with panic when she caught sight of Vegeta, at full strength, getting his arm broken by Android 18's kick. "Oh no," she cried, stopping in midair to cover her mouth in shock. "We're too late!"
"No!" Trunks screamed. Vegeta's agonizing cries were too much for Trunks to bear. Without hesitation, he powered up into a Super Saiyan and leapt into the fray. "Father!"
Trunks' anguished and infuriated screams for his father chilled Charisma down to the bone. She felt powerless as she watched Trunks unsheathed his sword and took a swing at Android 18.
Android 18, completely unphased, simply lifted her arm to parry the sword. Upon impact with her body, the sword shattered as if it were made of glass. Trunks was left stunned and horrified. He barely had the chance to even look up behind him when he caught sight of Android 17 rushing in with a fist. Trunks was instantly sent flying several feet before falling face down into the rocky ground.
"Trunks!" Charisma cried, her own rage now boiling over. "No!"
She barely even realized what she was doing, as if she were running on autopilot. Everything blurred together for a second, until the last thing she heard was Krillin calling her name. She only caught sight of Android 18's cold blue eyes as the android turned towards her and effortlessly struck Charisma right in the stomach. With that, Charisma blacked out and was down for the count.
Trunks groaned from his place on the ground as he heard someone call his name. Shaking off the pounding pain in his head, his blue eyes opened to see the random girl he didn't know lying face down across the way, knocked out cold.
"Let's go!" Piccolo commanded angrily as he leapt into the battle, with Tien following along right away.
"Wait, guys!" Krillin cried, trembling. "Don't you think you're being too hasty?!"
Needless to say, their best efforts were in vain as Piccolo and Tien were easily taken out by Android 17. Trunks composed himself and grasped his broken sword. He leapt from the ground and rushed towards Android 18. She dodged his attack easily as if he were nothing, and grabbed him by the ankle as he whizzed through the air right above her.
At that moment, Vegeta stood on to his wobbly feet. "Android!" he shouted as he charged at her.
"You should've kept your little friends out of this, Vegeta," Android 18 scolded. She swung Trunks around and threw him right on to Vegeta, knocking him down like a bowling pin, and taking them both out of the fight. And just like that, the battle was over.
...
Charisma's head was pounding, and her stomach ached as her eyes softly fluttered open. She recognized a familiar voice calling her name and a blurry but shiny bald head slowly became clearer in her view. Cocking her head to the side as she laid in his arms, she looked up at him with confusion.
"...what…?"
"Are you alright? You took a nasty hit back there!" Krillin said sympathetically.
Charisma sat up suddenly with a gasp, startling Krillin slightly and nearly causing him to fall over. She stared at him and noticed as he let out a sigh of relief. 'Was he worried?' she thought.
"Great," he said. "Looks like you're awake."
"...yeah…" Charisma sputtered as she rubbed the back of her aching head.
"I thought I told you to go back to Bulma's house," Krillin tried to scold the girl, although he didn't find it in his heart to. His voice didn't come out quite as stern as he intended it at all. "You put yourself in some serious danger. It could've ended worse off for you."
Charisma casted her eyes to the ground and shook her head. "...I don't know. I don't know what I was thinking…I just wanted to help."
Krillin stood up and hurried to revive the others. "Well, never mind that for now."
After a few moments, the group was fully revived thanks to the senzu beans. Nursing the wounds of their defeat, they talked about their next course of action. Charisma remained sitting on the ground a long distance away from them, still trying to compose herself and hanging her head in shame.
"What? You mean they even knew about the senzu beans?" Piccolo demanded from Krillin.
"It seems they know a lot more about us than we do about them," Krillin lamented.
"I don't understand it," Tien said dejectedly. "They could've squashed us all like flies. They were just toying with us. This is all Vegeta's fault!"
"Don't blame him!" Piccolo said sternly. "We ALL underestimated the Androids. That is one mistake we cannot afford to make again. They may not be so forgiving next time."
Vegeta snarled angrily and took off to the sky without uttering a single word. Trunks looked up at him suddenly and prepared to chase after him.
"Trunks, let him go!" Piccolo commanded. "He's going to need some time alone. Ever since he became a Super Saiyan, Vegeta's ego has been out of control. Honestly, I think what that Android actually hurt the most today was his pride."
Trunks sighed and hung his head as he turned back to the others. "I don't get it. The Androids I know are stronger than me, but not by this much…"
"What do you mean by that?!" Piccolo asked.
"I don't know why or how exactly…" he responded. "It's another change I wasn't expecting…"
Charisma grumbled with disbelief and placed her head in her hands. She felt as if she could just sink into the earth. 'The timeline must've shifted so much because of me...there's no doubt. This is my fault…'
"Then we really are out of luck…" Tien mumbled. "What are we going to do?"
"The rest of you should take Goku somewhere safe before the Androids find him," Piccolo suggested.
"That sounds like a good plan," said Krillin. "But then what are you going to do, Piccolo?"
Piccolo's eyes narrowed as he stared off into the distance. "I... don't know…"
Krillin chuckled. "I know you have a plan. Come on, we're buddies now. You can tell us…."
Inexplicably, Piccolo suddenly grew agitated and snapped. "Stop asking stupid questions! This is something I have got to do by myself!" All of a sudden, he angrily summoned a blast and shot it towards the three other men who stood around him. Luckily, they quickly leapt out of the way.
Krillin looked up at him with utter confusion. "What is wrong with you?"
"Go find Goku and forget about me! Anyone who follows me will be sorry!" he blared. With that, he took off into the sky.
"What gives?!" Tien said in disbelief. "Last I checked, Piccolo was fighting on our side."
Krillin stared after Piccolo for a moment but turned towards the others with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about him," Krillin said confidently. "He's still one of us. He's just going to do what he has to do to win."
Noticing the looks of confusion on everyone's face, Krillin explained that Piccolo and Kami used to be one being. However, at some point, they separated, with Piccolo being the embodiment of the negativity which existed in Kami. Once they join together again, they will be the strongest creature in the universe. At last, a sense of hope returned to the friends.
"We might just have a chance then," Tien said with relief.
"My father…" Trunks said before catching himself. "I mean, Vegeta…we can't forget about him."
Krillin chuckled knowingly and turned towards Trunks with an understanding grin. "Hey, you don't have to worry about hiding it anymore, Trunks. We know about Bulma and Vegeta. You're their son, aren't you?"
Trunks hung his head shamefully. "Yeah...I'm sorry I tried to hide it."
"There's no need to be sorry," said Tien. "In any case, Vegeta probably just needs some time to cool off and collect himself. He's not one to back down from a fight. Once he's back to normal, I'm sure he'll be back stronger than ever."
At that, Trunks smiled for what appeared to be the first time in a long time. Charisma looked at him with sympathetic eyes and took a deep breath of relief.
"So we're really not out of luck yet, are we?!" she said loudly from her place on the ground, drawing the other's attention.
"How are you feeling?" Krillin asked. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Of course, I am!" she shouted back. "I'm stronger than I look!"
Trunks looked over at her curiously, and their gazes met for a moment. 'That girl…' he thought. '…she was the first one to jump into the fight with the Androids right behind me.'
Before Charisma could even realize what was happening, Trunks made his way over to where she sat. She looked up at him with wide eyes as he came to stand right in front of her. A blush that inexplicably spread across her cheeks and she couldn't quite understand why.
'Why am I shy all of a sudden?' she asked herself. 'I'm freaking out here!'
Trunks stared down at her for several seconds. 'There's something about her…' he thought. 'I don't know what it is…' His mind flashed back to the battle when he saw her laying on the ground, shortly after she'd gotten knocked out by Android 18. 'She's got guts, I know that much.'
"Are you all right?" he asked.
It took a moment for Charisma to process his words. 'He's talking to me?!' Brushing her nervousness off, she nodded. "Y-yes! I'm just fine now!" She struggled to get back on her trembling legs until Trunks held out his hand to her.
She looked up at his hand and her eyes lifted to look up at his face. Her heart swelled and she struggled to catch her breath for a moment. She masked those feelings with a bright and friendly smile as she took his hand and stood up on her feet.
"Thanks a lot!" she said happily.
Their hands remained together for a few seconds longer than they probably should have been. Trunks' eyes fell to the silver bracelet on Charisma's right wrist as it sparkled in the sunlight, barely poking out from under her black fingerless glove. He gasped slightly at noticing the cute little strawberry charm that dangled from it.
'...that looks like…' his eyes widened. 'No... it's a coincidence.'
Noticing his gaze so intently at her wrist, Charisma giggled awkwardly and pulled her hand back toward her body. Her left hand covered her wrist protectively. "...I know it's weird to wear something like this into battle," she stuttered. "But this bracelet is my good luck charm. I know it's childish, but that's how I feel."
"It's not that," he responded. "It's just…" He shook his head, as if realizing that he may be sounding crazy. "…What's your name?"
Charisma felt a cold chill run through her body. At the same time, the temperature in her body went up by several degrees. 'What should I do?' she wondered. Her gaze shifted to Krillin and Tien who both stood nearby looking a bit intrigued by the interaction. 'I can't not tell him my name….I can't lie.' She looked back at him with wide open eyes. 'I hoped to tell him who I am privately but what choice do I have now?'
"Charisma," she said slowly. "My name is Charisma."
Trunks' eyes widened to the size of saucers upon hearing her name. "C-Charisma?" He repeated, stunned as if he were struck by lightning. "Y-you're Charisma…?"
Charisma nodded her head hesitantly. "Yes…"
'This has to be a coincidence…' he reasoned. His eyes traveled back to look at her bracelet which was gleaming under the sunlight. His eyes lifted back to meet with hers where she stared back at him equally as stunned. The two shared a gaze for what seemed like eternity. A mix of emotions wafted between the two, teetering from wonder, confusion, and awkwardness.
'Does he remember me?' Charisma wondered as she searched his eyes for an answer.
'It can't be…' he thought. 'How…?'
Sensing the weird feelings in the air, Krillin startled them both when he came in between them. "Hey," he said casually. "Is everything all right here?"
Trunks and Charisma struggled to break their gazes from each other. At last, Trunks took a deep breath and glanced down at Krillin. "...yes," he said, his raspy voice soft and low, almost like a whisper. "Everything is fine…"
Charisma's eyebrows furrowed at his words. 'Maybe he doesn't remember me after all?' She thought dejectedly. Her shoulders fell and her eyes flattened as her gaze lowered to the ground.
"Great!" Krillin responded. "Then we better get going to Goku's house right away. We need to get there before the Androids find him."
"Right," Trunks nodded. He turned around to give his back to the others. "There's no time to waste, then." Suddenly, he bolted up into the sky.
"Wait," Krillin said, taking off into the sky after him. "You're going the wrong way!"
"What the-" Tien ran over. "We better go, too!" He said to Charisma before flying off after them.
Charisma was left behind again, still stunned and processing what just happened. 'Maybe he's mad at me?' she wondered. She snapped herself out of it when she finally realized how far she'd now fallen behind them.
"Hey, wait for me!" She cried as she finally took off after them.
