Chapter 3
Human hair was always growing, in a steady cycle of regeneration. Each hair got replaced after a while, and fell out while a new one started growing in its place. Thus it was nothing extraordinary to loose hairs, and find them in the brush or in the shower or electrostatically sticking to something.
Even if it freaked some people out to find hair they lost, it really was normal to loose up to a hundred hairs per day.
For humans, anyway.
Saiyan hair, on the other hand grew into a specific shape while still in the womb, and aside from growing a bit along with the rest of the body during adolescence remained completely unchanged afterwards. Saiyan hair was very sturdy and resilient, and aside from an unlucky few who had the genetic disposition to loose their hair, (like Nappa had) there were very few things that could cause a saiyan's hair to fall out.
And apparently radiation was one of those.
Gohan was saying something, but Vegeta didn't even listen as he looked at the loose strands of hair in his palm. It weren't that many, not as if he'd pulled out a chunk, or anything, but the fact that they were there at all was worrisome enough.
In addition to his headache and the nausea he was experiencing this didn't look very good at all.
„Do you know if the namek can heal radiation poisoning?", Vegeta asked, and was a little surprised himself at how casual the question sounded.
„What?", Gohan looked up, surprised. Then he noticed the hairs between Vegeta's fingers, which because of how thick and wiry they were were quite noticeable. „Oh." For a moment he went quiet, then he asked: „Are there any other…"
„Headache. Nausea. Do you think the namek can help, or not? Cause I like my hair." Vegeta tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, because already there was a look of fear and concern creeping onto Gohan's features and Vegeta didn't want to encourage that. He didn't want to be pushed into the role of the victim to be pitied. And he was most definitely not going to succumb to a little bit of radiation. He was the Prince of all Saiyans, after all.
„I don't know. But we should try as soon as possible", Gohan said. „I'll go get Dad, so we can get there by Instant Transmission."
„I'm perfectly capable of flying there on my own", Vegeta interjected with a scowl.
„Well, yeah, but do you really want to risk loosing more hair on the way?"
Vegeta grumbled something, which seemed Gohan to interpret as him agreeing to the half-saiyans plan. The thought of himself without hair was scary enough to him to grudgingly accept the third class clown's help. But he didn't have to like it.
Gohan got up and left the room and Vegeta followed him. The thought struck him that both Gohan and Kakkarot had worn saiyan armor while they had been in the hyperbolic time chamber, and didn't wear them now, so he could ask… then he remembered how closely that spandex fit and decided that he didn't want any armor that had been worn before. Especially not by Kakkarot.
When they got the living room where the others were sitting they could hear Bulma screeching something. Upon closer inspection it turned out that she was talking into her cell phone. Apparently her attire had left her with some more useful possessions than him.
„No I won't change my mind! Especially not under these circumstances!", she yelled into the phone. There was a short pause, and then. „I've said it before and I'll say it again: There will not be any military application of any Capsule Corporation technology." She listened for a moment and then yelled: „Because I hold the patents and I say so! Don't bother calling again, I won't change my mind!"
She pushed the button to end the conversation so violently it looked as if she wanted to snap the phone in two.
„That's the third call today! What the hell are they thinking? That losing my hometown would make me think that war is a thing that needs to be supported?" She launched into a rant of what was going to be epic proportions.
While she talked Gohan waved his father over. „Hey Dad, could you come for a second?" Apparently Gohan had noticed that Vegeta wouldn't want to let to many people know about his condition, and the prince was glad about that. With any luck the little green guy would simply solve the problem and they would never have to think about it again.
„What's up?", Goku asked, when he came over to Gohan and Vegeta standing in the hallway mostly out of sight from the others.
„Can you IT us to the Lookout?", Gohan asked.
„Yeah sure. But why?", Goku wanted to know.
„Just do it", Vegeta said with his arms crossed. He didn't know why Gohan wanted to accompany them, since strictly speaking there was no reason for him to be there, but he didn't care all that much.
„Alright", Goku said with a shrug. „Hold on to me."
Both Vegeta and Gohan grabbed his shoulders while Goku concentrated and put two fingers to his forehead. And instant later they disappeared.
Dende was pacing the Lookout restlessly, so that Mr. Popo could barely keep up with him, but why the good-natured gardener even bothered to try was beyond him.
He was probably the least successful guardian in the universe but he didn't even know what he had done wrong. But it must've been something major if the people of the planet started throwing bombs at each other.
There wasn't much one could do from the Lookout but observe, and the thing they had observed today would probably haunt his dreams as long as he lived. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen any destruction before, he had lost the entire planet before, after all, but the worst thing wasn't how many people had died.
It was the suffering of those who survived. The greater West City area was covered in Fallout now, radiation was killing all the plants and all the water had evaporated, leaving the survivors desperate enough to drink the rainwater that was coming down from the huge black cloud that covered the city. Dende wasn't sure if they knew, but drinking that water would probably kill them, be it of too much radiation in a few weeks or of cancer in the years to come.
Mr. Popo had been talking to him, but Dende had barely been listening.
„Dende?", he asked now, and the young guardian finally stopped his pacing. „You can't blame yourself for this."
„How could I not? I'm earth's guardian! This shouldn't have happened!"
„No, it shouldn't", Mr. Popo agreed, „but it's not your fault. You need to stop blaming yourself."
„Well I must've done something wrong! This wouldn't have happened to Kami", Dende yelled. Really, Mr. Popo didn't deserve to be yelled at, but the young namek was in too much emotional turmoil to even feel sorry.
„It could, and it did", a scruff voice coming from the main building said. Dende turned around and saw Piccolo stepping out of the shadows.
„What?"
„There have been horrible wars on this planet while Kami was its guardian. It doesn't matter how well you do as a guardian, some things you just can't prevent", Piccolo explained.
„But… there's gotta be something I can do", Dende said helplessly. He held onto his staff as tightly as he could, because he feared he might collapse from the weight on his shoulders.
„There isn't. A guardian can do everything to protect the people of his planet, but there is one thing you can't have any control over", Piccolo said calmly.
„What thing?"
„Their free will. There are many threats we can save humans from, but we can't save them from themselves. Trust me, Kami made some bad experiences with that, too."
„So I'm just supposed to sit here and watch?"
„I know it sounds bad, but right now there isn't much else you can do."
Dende ran his free hand over his head and almost bent one of his antennae. He was just gonna reply, when suddenly three familiar figures showed up out of thin air, Goku, Gohan and Vegeta.
„Hi Dende", Goku said in a friendly tone, and greeted Mr. Popo and Piccolo as well. Dende's attention was caught by Vegeta, however, who was walking toward him quickly. Something about the saiyan prince seemed to be a little off, but Dende couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
Of course Vegeta wasn't one to beat around the bush. „Can you heal radiation poisoning?", he asked.
„Radiation poisoning?" Dende was taken aback for a moment. But then he realized that Vegeta had been living in West City. „I… I don't know. But I can try", the guardian replied honestly. He'd never been faced with that question before, and he wasn't sure if his healing powers would help or not.
„Then try", Vegeta said, and Dende stepped closer to him. Upon closer inspection he realized what had put him off about the saiyan's appearance. His normally tan skin had a slight greenish tinge to it, and he seemed to be a little paler than usual. And even though from a fashion standpoint Dende believed a green skintone to be quite nice, he knew that it wasn't a good sign when it came to humans or saiyans.
He put his hands forward and concentrated as a yellow glow started to surround him and Vegeta. He really didn't know if he could do anything about the radiation, but then again, why not? He could heal injuries, so why not get rid of a bit of radiation?
When he was done he put his hands down. Whether or not it had helped he wasn't sure, but this was all he could do.
„Did it help?", Gohan asked Vegeta.
Vegeta touched his back lightly. „Burns are gone", he reported. „Headache and nausea are still there, though." He didn't look any better, either.
„Well, maybe it just takes a while for the symptoms to go away", Goku suggested, optimistic as ever. But Dende knew right away that his ministrations hadn't made any real difference, and from the look Piccolo passed Vegeta, he knew his mentor didn't share Goku's optimism, either.
„Maybe", Gohan said half-heartedly.
„Well, I guess we better get back home, in case anyone wonders where we are", Goku said, and motioned for Vegeta and Gohan to get a hold of him. They both did. „Thanks, anyway. Bye!" Goku said cheerfully and waved as they wavered out of sight.
For a moment no one on the Lookout said anything. „How bad is it?", Piccolo asked.
„I can't really tell. Only thing I do know is that what I did didn't help at all", Dende replied. And that weighed almost as heavy on him as the whole other situation. The only people who really asked for his direct help, and he couldn't even do anything for them.
He really did suck as a guardian.
A short system diagnostic… all systems working within normal parameters. Sensory input was activated.
And an instant later android Eighteen returned to consciousness. From what her tactile sensors were telling her, she was lying on a cold floor, possibly metal, that was very smooth. She heard some voices talking, and decided to keep her eyes closed for the moment. Gathering information while her opponents thought she was still out could prove beneficial later.
„… can of course only serve as an inspiration. Trying to achieve the same level of detail would simply be ludicrous", a female voice stated.
„And why is that?", a much deeper, male voice asked. A short check against her memory banks revealed that she had heard the voice before. It was the man with the elaborate uniform and the mustache who had talked to her on the beach. Who had the controller to shut her off.
„There is so much detail to the construction, probably the programming as well. A simulation this good of human behavior is simply unprecedented. Most of the parts are completely costum made, as far as we can tell. Also, the amount of physical power is almost obscene. Trying to copy this design would probably cost at least ten million zeni. Possibly much more, depending on how much effort is spent on the programming." The woman explained.
„Seems like a lot for a sex bot."
At that, Eighteen's eyes snapped open. Sex bot? She now saw that she was in something resembling a prison cell, except that everything seemed to be made of metal. There was a slight humming sound, so she guessed that wherever she was was probably something that was capable of moving. The most logical conclusion was that she was now on the ship that mustache man had come from.
„It's not a sex bot, sir. It's a weapon", the woman explained calmly. She had dark hair and wore a white lab coat. She didn't seem to be surprised at all, when Eighteen sat up and glared at both of them, and just kept reading from her clipboard.
„Well, from what I read on the specifications you gave me, it would probably be good for both", the man said.
„I have to admit, the design is quite puzzling. The device is capable of simulating human behavior and looks extremely well, to a point where it's absurd." The woman pointed at Eighteen's face with her pen. „Look! It blinks! There's absolutely no good reason for the device to do that, except to look more human."
Eighteen stood up and crossed her arms. „‚The device'?", she quoted. „I do have a gender and a name, organism!" To emphasize her point she blinked, just because it seemed to freak the woman out a little.
„Also, this personality? From what I hear it was created for a purely destructive goal. Why would anyone choose to waste a frankly exorbitant amount of processing power on a function that's completely irrelevant to her main objective?" The scientist pushed her glasses up.
„Maybe Doctor Gero was lonely", the man with the mustache suggested. „Even though there ware rumors that giving them a personality was ultimately the cause of his demise. But it's certainly impressive that it's even possible to create something as elaborate as this? Did you know that it was even possible to simulate a personality like this before you saw this android?"
„From a purely scientific standpoint, yes, it is impressive", the woman admitted. „But for our purposes and from an economic viewpoint it really is useless."
„What purposes?", Eighteen demanded. She stepped closer to the bars which separated her from her captors. The bars didn't look like they were made from particularly sturdy material. She could probably bend… as her hand moved closer to the bar, she was suddenly hit with an electrical discharge. She quickly pulled her arm back.
„It experiences pain. That's just weird. Why would he construct it with specific weaknesses?"
„Pain isn't pointless", the man with the mustache pointed out. „It's really a defense mechanism to let the body know to stop activities that would otherwise prove harmful. It really leads the device to protect itself and its functions."
„Well our models probably won't have that. It'd be difficult to implement and they're disposable anyway."
Eighteen was getting tired of being ignored and analyzed. „Who the hell are you? And where's my family?", she shouted at them.
„Well, you could say that we're admirers of your creators work", the man said.
„How do you even know Dr. Gero?", Eighteen demanded.
„Well, I didn't know him particularly well. I just met him at a few conferences. I have to say, I never really knew what to make of the man, but his ideas were undoubtedly brilliant. I think his creations speak for themselves, really. From what I hear, both he and his army don't exist anymore, but that doesn't mean his ideas can't live on. An army reinforced by androids with superhuman strength might just be the thing that's going to decide the outcome of this war."
„And that's why I'm here? Because you can't build any decent androids on your own and want to see what Dr. Gero did? Well I got news for you: whatever cheap knockoff you do build, there are enough warriors on this planet who can easily dispatch of it."
„Let that be our worry, dear", the man said with a chuckle. „If you're right then we'll just have to make sure those warriors and our ‚knockoffs' don't meet."
„Or we could just reprogram this one", the woman said.
„No you can't. And whatever you want to do with me don't bother. I won't cooperate."
„Oh I don't see how you have any choice in the matter", the man with the mustache said, and took the controller out of his pocket. „We have several of those."
„Where is my family?", she asked again.
„Don't know. Probably still on this island of theirs. By the way, I've been meaning to ask, who was the old guy?"
„That's none of your business. What did you do with them?" Eighteen couldn't imagine that Krillin would've just let them take her.
„Oh nothing, really. Your husband actually wanted to kill me, but you'd be surprised at how complacent a man can get when you have someone pointing a gun at their child's head and threatening to wipe all the data off his wife's memory logs with an electromagnetic pulse. Though I imagine that last one doesn't work on most husbands." At Eighteen's glare, he added. „Don't worry, no one on the island was harmed."
So they weren't on the ship. Which meant that there was no harm in sinking it. She knew she had to strike fast, faster than the guy could press the button. Luckily her reflexes were far superior to those of any human. She whipped her hand back, palm pointing at the wall behind her, and she blasted it away. She turned to leave, but to her dismay saw that there wasn't freedom waiting for her on the other side of the wall. In fact she'd just blown a hole into another cell that was identical to the one she was in. She really didn't know where the way out was.
But before she could even attempt an analysis of her new situation, she heard a faint click, and all of her processes were stopped.
7777777777777777777
Bulma had ranted for a while about the people that had been calling her - greedy fucks who wanted to make money from people's misery. Usually ranting made her feel better, but this time it didn't. These people's attitude made her shake with anger and after the day she'd had she felt drained.
After they had arrived at Goku's it had taken her a while to fully understand how lucky she'd been. Had the Gravity Room not acted funky Vegeta wouldn't have been in the same room with her and if he hadn't been, all of his saiyan reflexes wouldn't have been enough to get her out of there. But her prince had saved her, and Trunks was okay, too. She really was incredibly lucky. That near to the explosion she'd have had no chance at all. None of her neighbors had.
Still, it was hard to wrap her head around the fact that this had happened at all. She couldn't even allow herself to think about her mother and her father, because every time she did she started crying.
Those assholes who kept calling her reminded her of them, though. Because one of the things her father had always stood for was restricting the use of capsule technology to civilian applications. And that made her even more determined to stand by her opinion.
She looked up and saw Vegeta stand in the doorway of the small living room. He caught her look and made a small gesture with his head, signaling for her to come over. She hadn't really talked to him since they'd arrived here, but he'd also left a little while ago, for a longer time than she expected he'd needed to pick out the blue t-shirt he was wearing now.
She got up from the couch and followed Vegeta, who led her outside.
„Where've you been?", she asked, once they were outside. It was so calm and nice out here that it was hard to believe something like what they had been witnessing that day could've happened on this planet. He didn't answer her, and just looked at her seriously. The sun was slowly setting and basking everything in a pleasant orange light, but something about her mate didn't look quite right to her.
„Do you have any radiation symptoms? Nausea? Headache?" He looked at her so intently that she felt as if he was trying to stare into her very soul.
„No", she said. Then a thought struck her. One that she didn't like at all. „Do you?"
„Are you sure? What about the baby? Anything unusual?"
„Not that I know", she answered. „You didn't answer my question, though. Do you feel sick?"
He hesitated for a moment, which wasn't something you could see the saiyan prince do often. „Slightly", he admitted.
„How ‚slightly'?", she asked in a serious tone.
„It's nothing to worry about", he said, but something about the look on his face made her suspect that he wasn't being quite honest.
„Don't bullshit me Vegeta", she said. „How, exactly, do you feel?"
„Nauseous. With a headache. And…" Again he hesitated.
„What else?", she asked firmly. She knew he didn't like to admit weakness, particularly not to her, but she did need to know, if something was wrong with him. She was already starting to worry more than slightly.
He ran a hand over his head and then showed her the hand. Her eyes went wide when she saw several seperate hairs in between his fingers. She knew from experience that it was almost impossible to pull any of his hairs out, because in the throes of their love making she had held on to his mane more than once. There shouldn't be any that fell out that easily.
She felt incredibly shallow when she realized that the first thing on her mind was how much she didn't want her husband to go bald. But the thought that that could very well be the best case scenario downright frightened her.
„How… how bad is that? For a saiyan, I mean? There's gotta be some differences to humans…", she managed to choke out.
„I have no idea", he admitted. „There never were any nuclear devices on our planet, so there wasn't too much data on what effect radiation has on saiyans", he explained.
A race as militant as the saiyans didn't have nuclear weapons? That sounded odd to her. „Really? Why not?"
„Saiyan weapons technology never was particularly advanced. Saiyan engineers never really saw the point trying to develop weapons when most members of the general populace could turn planets into rubble at a full moon. They were more focused on other things, like transportation and healing", he explained.
„Oh. Well that makes sense", Bulma said. „Maybe… maybe if you went to Dende's, he could help, or maybe a senzu bean…?" she suggested.
„That's were I was. Didn't help. Except for the burns." He said that just a little too casually for Bulma's taste.
„Crap…" was all she could think of saying to that. She felt a cold fear creeping into her stomach.
„Don't look at me like that", he said, suddenly.
She knew that her worry must've been evident in her face, and if there was one thing Vegeta hated it was being pitied. But she couldn't do anything about it. The thought of surviving a nuclear attack only to watch her husband who had saved her from it get sick and possibly… it was just too much for her.
„What's more important, if I got irradiated, there's a chance you could've, too. Which is why I'm asking, are you sure that you're okay?"
She sighed and noticed her voice was wavering a little, when she answered. „Really, I… I just don't know. I feel fine, but I don't know how to tell if the baby's okay. It's still so early, I don't have any way of knowing much about the baby. I don't feel sick, but the radiation, and the baby… there's so many things that could go wrong, and I don't know." She had spent all her time, ever since the explosion, trying to push these thoughts away, actively forbidding herself from thinking about all the ways this could impact their unborn child. Her baby could be dead, or its growth could be impaired, or some of it's cells could've been damaged… there where so many ways things could go wrong that just thinking about them made her shake with fear. She felt her eyes water, as she admitted, „I'm scared."
Vegeta was just about to reply something, when he suddenly turned around. Bulma turned, too, and saw someone landing not far from them. When she looked closer, she realized that it was Krillin, holding Marron.
„Krillin. What are you doing here?", she asked, confused.
„I need a babysitter", he announced. Just then she noticed the dark look on his face.
„And some help sinking a warship that can take a fully powered destructo disk."
A/N: Well, I'm really spamming you with this story these last few day. Hope you're not annoyed.
Let me know what you think about the story and the new chapter!
