A Chance of a Lifetime – Chapter 21
They were just like she said they would be. The fighters studied the two androids in front of them, listening as Krillin flew Yamcha away to Korin's, his almost lifeless body barely hanging on the small man's shoulder. Everyone watched Goku engage the clown looking one in battle, their eyes widening after a moment as he fell to the ground, his hair returning back to black. Vegeta appeared as soon as the funny looking android was going to finish him off, slamming his foot into the thing, away from Kakkarot. He picked the taller saiyan up and threw him to Piccolo, not looking back. Yamcha, now fully recovered and standing off to the side, grabbed his friend, flying him to Capsule Corporation as the heart virus attacked their great hero. Bulma and Trista came running out as he landed. He put him on the living room couch, not bothering to look for the vial. Trista already had it, pouring it in the man's mouth before he fully set him down. They all listened to him cough and sputter, little gasps coming from him as he clenched his chest. The woman looked at Yamcha with worried eyes.
"Why isn't it working?" Trista asked, looking away in horror as her dream came back, remembering she had said those exact words. A hand came up to cover her mouth. She closed her eyes. Oh God! What does that mean! She let out a sob, feeling Yamcha slightly hug her before turning to Bulma. Her friend was sobbing openly, looking down at one of her best friends almost at death's door.
"Bulma," Trista said softly, glancing up after a moment. She met the woman's eyes.
"I'm going to the lab," she stated, watching the woman's eyes fill with confusion.
They studied one another for a moment before the blue haired scientist spoke.
"What for?" she whispered, her voice breaking.
They both looked down at Goku, Trista's voice cutting through the silence several minutes later.
"I'm going to make more of this," she said, looking down at the vial in her hand.
"How..." Bulma trailed off, watching the young woman stand, her gaze focused on the man on the couch, gasping for breath. She didn't answer her.
"Yamcha," Trista said quietly, "Why don't you put him in a bed, where he'd be more comfortable."
The young woman strolled out without looking back.
"My goodness Vegeta. You have gotten strong," the android, Dr. Gero, murmured, standing with arms crossed, looking the fighters over. "You all are a lot stronger than my information deems you should be."
They watched Vegeta smirk, the group stepping forward as the doctor narrowed his eyes.
"I'm interested in knowing how you all strengthened yourselves without my knowledge," Dr. Gero said, his gaze resting on the young man among the group, his short hair fluttering in the breeze. This one is not in my data base. Who is he!?
They all listened as Vegeta started talking. "Well, since you stopped surveying us after Namek, than you missed a whole lot of information," he stated, a small smile on his lips.
"Such as?" The doctor took a step forward.
"The fact that me and Kakkarot are super saiyans," the prince boasted, a chuckle escaping as he powered up.
Dr. Gero looked at the remnants of Android 19, before slowly moving his head and watching the prince power up.
"The fact that you can change your hair means nothing. Android 19 wasn't my best work. And Goku didn't stand up to him very long. I see nothing that indicates that I should be worried," the doctor stated, watching the fighters in front of him.
"Why you insolent-"
Vegeta cut off as the doctor suddenly widened his eyes, staring off towards the right. They looked, but there wasn't anything there. Dr. Gero's voice had them turning back.
"Well," he said slowly, his gaze still fixed over the horizon. "I see she still lives. The little bitch will become perfect soon enough."
"Who are you talking about!" Vegeta yelled, raising his arms to his sides. He felt the others behind him tense up.
Dr. Gero took his time looking at the saiyan, before a smile appeared.
"The one that got away," he whispered, before he disappeared, running away from the group at break neck speed.
They all stood there for a moment, puzzled.
"What the hell was he talking about?" Vegeta whispered. He looked back at the other fighters, noticing their perplexed look as well. He glanced at Trunks. The boy had his eyes furrowed, a frown on his face as he studied the ground. He seemed to be thinking hard. After a few minutes, Trunks eyes widened, and he let out a pained gasp. His head shot towards his fathers. He murmured one word.
"Mom!"
She heard a crash, slowly setting down the vial of heart medicine she had created. It clattered to the table, settling with the other three she made. Trista listened for a moment, another crash reaching her ears before she jumped up, running towards the living room. It was thrashed, glass and wood littered the carpet, the door had been blown in. She gave a soft cry at Bulma laying on the floor, not moving. She ran over to her friend. She shakily touched the woman's neck, relief coursing through her as she felt a steady pulse. Her head shot up as someone spoke behind her.
"Hello dear," someone whispered in her ear. Terror went down her spine. She knew who it was. Her throat closed as she slowly stood up, turning around.
The man from her visions stood behind her, the exact way he appeared in her dreams. Her body shook as he took a step towards her, a hard smile on his lips. He held a hand out.
"It's time you came back. Become the perfect being you were supposed to be," he stated softly, his eyes never moving from her.
She choked back a sob, shaking her head. Trista watched him narrow his eyes, the terrifying smile still on his lips. He let his arm fall.
"Fine, little one. If you don't come with me, I'll kill the woman laying at your feet," he stated.
Trista felt another sob escape, swallowing back a curse. She cried out as he took a step towards her, bending down and wrapping her arms around Bulma.
"No! Please!"
Dr. Gero stopped, his eyes intent on her face. He didn't say anything for a moment.
"I will kill her," he said softly, gesturing to the blue haired woman, "And I will kill Goku, sleeping upstairs. Now which do you want to die first?"
Another cry escaped her as he walked forward.
"Don't!" she screamed, trying to cover the woman's body with hers.
"Then come with me child, or your friends die," the android said simply, watching with disinterest as she sobbed.
Trista lay there, racking her brain for something, anything that would get her and those she loved out of this situation. She kept coming up blank. If I don't go, he'll kill Bulma and Goku! What the fuck do I do! If I go with him, there's no guarantee he won't kill me! She looked down at her unconscious friend, thought about the earth's savior on the floor above, fighting for his life. She slowly stood, a breath escaping her. Her face went white at the satisfied look in his eyes. She didn't move as he walked up to her, snaking a hand out and grabbing her wrist.
"Now you get to experience what perfection is like." He watched her eyes widen in horror. "I hope you like killing your friends, because when I get through with you, you won't want to do anything else," he said softly, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
They both looked up as Yamcha came through the door. Trista screamed at him to run, but he just stood there, eyes wide.
"No!" she screamed, watching as if in slow motion as Dr. Gero blasted him.
She only caught a brief glimpse of Yamcha's surprised face, before she was suddenly yanked out of the compound, the world flying by her as she let blackness surround her. She succumbed to the darkness.
They were too late. Everyone heard Trunks racing around the compound, shouting for his mother. Tien checked Bulma, making sure she was alright before going to Yamcha. An energy ball had hit him in the shoulder, a pained look appearing as he slowly came around. Vegeta stalked up to the warrior, his eyes narrowed. He grabbed the injured man by the shirt, ignoring the cry of pain.
"Where the fuck were you!?" he shouted, shaking the man a little. When Yamcha didn't immediately respond, he shook him again.
Tien and Piccolo had to pry the prince off the man, his body shaking with fury. They watched Yamcha cough and fall to one knee, Gohan going up and handing him a senzu bean. He quickly ate it, his eyes closed for a moment before opening, meeting the enraged prince's gaze.
"I was checking on Goku," he stated, taking a shuddering breath. "I came down when I heard the crash, and he already had her man! He shot me before I could even move!"
Yamcha slowly stood, swallowing and going over to Bulma. He rolled her over, shaking her a little. She moaned as she came to, a hand coming up to touch her head. They watched as she sat up slowly, her hand shaking slightly. Yamcha and Gohan helped her to her feet, supporting her as she wobbled to the couch.
"I feel okay," she whispered, laying a palm against her forehead for a moment before looking up. Her eyes widened as she caught the enraged look on Vegeta's face, and the worry blanketing the features of everyone else.
"What's going on?" she asked, glancing around. "Hey, where's Trista? Is she still in the lab?"
No one said anything for a moment. Vegeta finally spoke up.
"The bastard took her," he said harshly, his eyes filling with fury.
Bulma felt the blood drain from her face. "Oh my God! Why...why would he take her!?"
Yamcha hesitated for a moment, before speaking up. "I heard...some of what was said when I was coming down." They watched him flinch. "But I thought that maybe one of you had returned, until I heard clearly what he was saying."
They watched him look down at the floor, lifting his head and vaguely meeting Vegeta's gaze before looking towards the woman on the couch.
"He was threatening to kill you," his eyes rested on Bulma, then looked up. "And Goku. Dr. Gero," the scarred warrior paused for a moment, swallowing. "He said he was going to make her perfect, that he was going to make it to where she would kill all of us, and enjoy it," he stated quietly, swallowing again as no one spoke. He took a breath. "She went with him so he wouldn't murder her friends."
Vegeta snarled, slamming a fist into the wall. No one said anything, just studied the prince. He looked over, studying Trunks' ashen face for a moment before speaking.
"Come on son," he said quietly, turning and heading towards the door.
"Where...?" Trunks trailed off, slowly walking up to his father.
"We're going to get her back!" Vegeta snapped, not looking behind him.
"Wait!"
The prince stopped, looking over his shoulder at the blue haired woman. They all watched her walk up to him, putting a vial in his hands. She closed his hand over it, meeting his eyes.
"Take it. Just in case," she said softly. "Trista would have wanted you to," Bulma stated when he opened his mouth.
Vegeta didn't say anything, turning away as a muscle started jumping in his cheek. He started for the doorway again, until someone stopped him. He whirled around, shoving the namek's hand off his shoulder with a snarl.
"I need to go find her dammit!" he shouted, his anger growing even more.
No one said anything for a minute. "We'll help," Piccolo stated, looking over at Krillin. "Stay here and watch over Goku and Bulma," he stated, briefly glancing at Yamcha sitting on the coffee table. The man looked away.
Vegeta gritted his teeth, and not saying anything else, whirled away and blasted off, Trunks right behind him. A moment later the rest of the fighters followed.
Night started to fall. The fighters searched desperately for any sign of the woman, but couldn't get a reading of her ki signal anywhere. It was as if she disappeared. They watched, trepidation going through them, as Vegeta became frantic. He started blasting massive rocks, studying the cliffs and mountainous area for any sign of Trista or Dr. Gero. According to Trunks, this is where they located the man's lab in his time. They looked away from the desperation creeping into the prince's eyes. Trunks' was the same as his father, although he didn't blast the earth. He studied the area, trying to remember exactly where they had found the damn hideout. His eyes landed on a familiar patch of rocks.
"What!? What is it!?" Vegeta asked quickly, noticing the boys' slight pause.
Trunks didn't say anything, just took off, everyone else filing in with him. He listened with half an ear as the fighters landed behind him, his eyes searching the landscape. His father grabbed him and whirled him around.
"What?" Vegeta shouted, fear on his face.
"I recognize this spot from when me and my older mother found Dr. Gero's hideout in my time, when we destroyed it," he explained softly, watching his father's eyes roam around them.
He turned back, jogging towards what looked like a cave. He felt fear and relief course through him as he caught sight of the massive metal doors. It was an odd feeling stirring inside him, knowing last time he stood outside these doors, him and his mother were standing side by side. He walked up to the control panel, studying it. A moment later he jerked Vegeta's arm down, cutting off the man as he was fixing to blast the doors.
"Are you crazy!" Trunks shouted. "Mom is in there! If he knows we're here, he could kill her!"
Vegeta didn't say anything, just kept his narrowed gaze on the doors. "Then hurry the fuck up!" he snapped, finally looking over at the older version of his unborn son.
Trunks stepped away, eying him another moment before returning back to the panel. He narrowed his eyes at it, the memory of the code his mother put in suddenly popping up, and he softly smiled. He punched it in.
They all took a step back as the doors opened, studying the darkness for a moment before stepping into the hideout. No one said anything as they were met with another set of doors. Trunks walked up to this control panel as well, and after a moment, the doors opened slowly.
They entered a lab, their eyes immediately going to the woman laying on a metal table. With a cry, Trunks went to run to his mother, but Vegeta restrained him. The boy shot him a surprised look.
"We don't know if he's changed her yet or not," the prince said quietly, never taking his eyes off Trista.
They started looking around, jerking to attention at the sight of two other bodies standing erect inside a casing, holding them against the wall. It was the two androids Trunks had mentioned before. Dr. Gero was nowhere to be seen. Looking around warily, Vegeta finally started walking towards Trista. He studied her, noticing right away that she had different clothing on, her hair cut short again, to her shoulder's. He studied the leather pants and small top she had on, knowing they weren't hers. The woman's shoes were different to. They were black knee high boots, along with small gloves on her hands, holes where the knuckles were. He stopped beside her, looking down at her, noticing the chain still around her neck. The prince heard Trunks walk up behind him.
Her eyes popped open.
They stepped back, watching her stare at the ceiling for a moment before slowly looking over at them. She studied them, unblinking for a few minutes before shooting up from the table, turning and throwing her legs over the side, standing in one fluid motion. Trunks hesitantly took a step forward.
"Mom?"
Their eyes widened as she slowly smiled, the look on her face pure evil. She reached over without looking and grabbed a remote from the desk. They both backed up again, listening to her chuckle between her teeth. Dr. Gero finally emerged from behind her, a small smile on his lips.
"She's finally perfect," he boasted, his gaze raking over the woman before looking at the warriors. He spoke, not looking at the woman at his side.
"Now, Android 15, I want you to kill these men," he stated, amusement in his eyes. There was a moment of silence.
"No."
The doctor's head swiveled towards Trista, his eyes narrowing. "I gave you an order. I'm your creator. Do as I say!"
They watched her, a shiver going down their spines, as she slowly smiled. She shot a hand out, grabbing Dr. Gero by the throat. And without looking at him, tightened her hold, crushing his esophagus. She didn't glance over as he dropped from her hand, dead. She studied the men for a moment, before raising the remote.
"Now for a little fun," she said quietly, flipping a switch as she studied Vegeta and Trunks. She chuckled through clenched teeth as Android 17 and 18's eyes popped open.
A/N: Uh Oh! What's this!? Things are escalating! Please stay tuned for more!
Please Review!