Bulma let out a muffled sigh, rubbing at her bleary eyes while she tried to read the computer screen. Letters and numbers blurred together, making a black and white striped pattern. "I know the answer is here... It's right here... I just can't see it! Where is the damn solution?" Nothing was jumping out at her, and that made everything that much more frustrating.
"I need more coffee..." she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. She stood swiftly, trying not to sway in exhaustion. It was 3 AM. She hadn't slept in two days... any attempt squashed by the anxiety she was feeling. Her mind continuously shifted back to the pale boy in one of the guest rooms.
On the plus side, they seemed to have reached a stalemate with Cell finally. The undead invader hadn't grown any larger, spread out to other areas, or anything. But... it wasn't dying off as quickly as Bulma had hoped. Cell was putting up one hell of a fight.
She upgraded the chemical concoction every week, to keep Cell from adapting to the structure and over coming it. Staying one step ahead would be the key to victory.
As would just cutting the parasite out. Which was what she had been working on non-stop. She had drawn up plans for tools to help with the process... tools that could cut at cellular level. And her over active brain was also computing other various scenarios... trying to find what would work and what wouldn't.
Normally, her overactive imagination would be happy going over these things for days on end. Being the mother of an eight month old super baby kind of skewered her old routine and tossed it out of the proverbial window.
She padded through the halls of Capsul Corp, heading toward the kitchen. There was no need to worry about waking any body up... they were all in the guest rooms on the other side of the building. Not than any of her "guests" would be bothered much... they could each sleep through Armageddon.
She made a beeline for the coffee pot, thanking Kami... Dende... whoever the Guardian was... that the pot was already made. It smelled heavenly... it was sure to taste just as good. She grabbed the biggest mug she could find from the cupboard, grabbed the handle of the pot and poured.
The aroma wafted up to her even more, and she could feel just the scent start to wake her from the fog that had penetrated her senses. It cleared her thoughts a bit, and she took a small sip, not wanting to burn her tongue.
It was strong. But that didn't matter. That was how she prefered it anyway. She took a longer sip, feeling the warmth spread through her. It was then she heard a chuckle, and it took every ounce of will power in her not to jump or choke.
Yamcha was sitting at the bar counter behind her, his own mug off to his right. "Morning," he said cheekily, flashing a grin at her. Bulma nodded back, giving a small half smile in return. She mentally berated herself for not knowing he was there. She had been the one who had started his coffee habit after all...
And he was always awake at this time of night. She never did know why. He just was. Which meant, he always made the first pot of caffeine goodness, and she always took the second cup whenever he was around. Never failed.
"Need any help?" he asked, making a point to look her directly in the eyes. He hadn't asked what she was working on... it was fairly obvious what was on her agenda. It was on everyone's.
"I think most of what I'm working on will go a bit over your head..." she responded lightly, giving him a small smirk. She took another sip, looking him over. "And you look like you aren't even truly awake. Are you sleep walking?"
"Ha! Maybe. I dunno. I don't think I ever actually fell asleep last night. Er... this morning... Yesterday? What day is it anyway?" his tone sounded so genuine, Bulma had to blink at him. "Seriously, maybe I'm not awake." He was grinning though. "Are you visiting my dreams?"
Bulma rolled her eyes at his cheesy, fake suggestive tone. "Yeah, I'm visiting. Telling you to wake up and... smell the coffee."
Yamcha let out a small snicker, "I already have actually." He grabbed his mug, holding it proudly before him before taking a sip of his own. "Seriously though... if you need help, I can try. I know I'm not the best with science, but I can try." Translation: He hated feeling useless and needed to feel like he was contributing in this some how.
Bulma thought it over, "It's mostly just calculating at this point. Formulas and designs. But... I'll... let you know, ok?" He nodded, taking that answer. "What're you doing up?" she asked suddenly, almost shocking herself. She never asked him that, in all the time they were together... thinking it better to just let him do as he pleased.
He shrugged lightly, a small smile lighting his features. "In the desert, me and Puar always took shifts for sleeping. I always ended up staying awake at this time of night, and I guess it never left me. Its rare that I can get a whole night's sleep in."
Bulma nodded, glancing out the window. The stars, though most were invisible from the multitude of city lights, were shining brightly against the clear night sky. It was then she realized neither of them had turned the kitchen lights on.
She heard Yamcha give a small sigh, prompting her to turn her eyes to him once more. His head rested on his arm, and his eyes were aimed toward the stars as well. "Well..." she stated, turning back to the pot. "I'm going to head back to work. See if I can make any headway in this."
"Right," he replied, straightening suddenly, and Bulma had to force herself to not giggle at him. His expression seemed almost startled. As if he'd forgotten she was there. He probably had too... which was amusing. "Hey Bulma? How's... how's Gohan doing at this point? I... I mean, we all know he's being treated... and he looks like Hell... but... I mean, the treatment's helping him... right? He's going to be ok?"
Bulma shifted, not used to hearing... whatever undertone his voice had adopted. "I... You know what? Follow me to the lab. I need to run the latest test anyway." That said, she turned and began to trek back to the lab she'd come from, Yamcha following eagerly behind her.
The former desert bandit stared around at the multitudes of blinking lights. There were twenty computer screens, each displaying different mathematical problems, algorithms, and the like. Others showed chemical compositions, while others still only displayed words. Bunsen Burners simmered, and some of the liquids looked down right scary... ranging from deep purple to neon green.
Bulma ignored everything, moving directly to a computer station against the far wall. She typed at the keyboard furiously fast, and her eyes never left the flat screen mounted on the wall. When Yamcha moved to watch over her shoulder (close, but remembering Bulma tended to make sudden movements, he stayed back a bit, not wanting to be caught in a collision), the screen displayed medical stats.
"I took a blood sample earlier, I just haven't had a chance to look it over yet," the scientist explained, glancing over her shoulder a moment. "The last few times haven't been exactly promising... but maybe... hopefully..." She bit back the tears that tried to form. This wasn't the time to break down.
Yamcha didn't say anything, instead just watching the screen. It ran through whatever diagnostics it needed to do, and various information popped up off to the sides. One of the other computers let out a funky ding, startling him, but Bulma didn't even seem to notice. She continued skimming everything presented over. He couldn't see her face, but he could read her body language.
She seemed relieved.
Feeling hopeful, he moved in closer, trying his best to understand everything he read with minimal success. The blue haired inventor let loose a tiny sigh, taking his attention once more. Her expression was peaceful, her blue eyes sparkling in the harsh artificial light. There was even a tiny smile playing about her lips.
"It's working..." she whispered. "It's working..."
A/N : Yamcha literally came out of nowhere this chapter. I was going in a completely different direction with this installment, and then he just... poof! He startled both me and Bulma! I felt a bit odd adding him in here... it felt weird and I think it's a bit distracting, but that's just me. Tell me what you think! Next chapter will be up tomorrow.