A/N: Whoa, it's been awhile. X| A lot has been going on in my life so I had to put all this kind of stuff on the back burner so that I can take care of more important things. Sorry for the wait but here's the next chapter.
Despite not moving much for several hours, Bulma ached everywhere. Perched on a stool in front of the highest powered microscope she possessed, she worked diligently at making a micro chip small enough to adjust the miniature gravity generator that would allow her and Chichi to move around normally. While the chip was not taking as long to make as the generator had, it was considerably more fragile. Every muscle remained perfectly still allowing only her wrists to shift minutely while placing and attaching each impossibly small piece. Her eyes strained, barely blinking in order to reduce the chance of mistakes which could easily ruin all of her work. To make it all worse, it was unbearably hot. While the ship did have a unit to adjust the temperature, it hadn't been completely installed before she had to leave Earth. The lack of air conditioning coupled with Vegetasei's desert climate didn't exactly make for optimal work conditions.
A bead of sweat started to roll down her forehead but she ignored it as she attached the final piece on the bracelet. "Finally," she sighed out as she stretched, allowing her body to get used to the idea of movement again.
A distinct static sounded so Bulma looked over to the video communicator to see Chichi's humored look. "I assume you finally made something that meets your standards?"
"Yes, and I don't care if his majesty thinks it takes too long. I'm not about to use something on myself that I'm not fully confident in. Besides once the first models are done, the rest are…," Bulma stopped mid sentence as a thought brought a look of sheer horror to her face. "Chichi, please tell me we remembered to bring the replicator with us."
"We did," Chichi laughed out loud this time as Bulma visibly sagged with relief. "You really need to consider things like that first, you know. Especially since the majority of this plan depends on the capsulation chip."
"Excuse me if I haven't exactly had my thoughts in proper order as of late," Bulma huffed out as she rubbed her tired eyes.
Despite her annoyance at being chided, it was an entirely valid point. The majority of projects made by her and her Father required one-of-a-kind mechanisms. Control chips, converters, energy sources, you name it, each one was uniquely made with more detail and control capability than the mass produced version available for regular purchase. It made the chip harder to replicate since each had its own design and would require special equipment to decipher the pattern. It was a perfect business model since it meant that no one could buy one product from them and then reproduce the chip for their own product. If they needed something produced by her father, her father was the only one that could produce it.
Bulma had grown up learning how to make each of the items needed and how to figure out what was needed to make each item work at maximum efficiently. Though starting from scratch on a project could take an unknown amount of time, replicating a big project like a converter or energy source could be done in less than a day and replicating most micro chips could be done in less than an hour. With the exception of one chip, that is. Even at her best, each capsulation chip required took at least a week to make. The reason was not only because of what it was able to do but also because of how tiny it was since it was made to be attached to a regular sized chip without detection.
Obviously the idea of this did not sit well with Bulma since she had wanted to help her Father push past the concept of lone investor or military projects and more towards common household convenience. So she decided to build a computer that could perform the same procedure, much like the ones that produced most chips. Not something that relied solely on programmed instructions but could also scan a fully finished chip or device and replicate it perfectly. It had taken some time but with the human factor removed from the process the turnaround time had been cut significantly. Unsurprisingly her Father had been against the idea since the continuous fear of his inventions being stolen loomed overhead enough without a machine that could easily replicate his life's work. However after Bulma described that the machine was completely unusable unless it was turned on a specific way involving both her and Chichi's efforts, he finally allowed her to use it.
The household market was far from Bulma's goals now. She was only concerned with surviving long enough to find a way to defeat Frieza. Now that she'd be able to move freely, the next step would be building a gravity chamber that could satisfy Vegeta's needs.
"Ugh, Vegeta is already unbearably impatient. Could you imagine having to explain why these chips take so long to make?" Bulma furrowed her eyebrows into a scowl. "I don't care if individually designed chips make each device work more efficiently, Woman. Just make something that can be slapped into anything so I can use it right now. What do you think I'm pretending to own you for?" she finished with her best Vegeta impression. Smiling at Chichi's peals of laughter, Bulma hopped off the stool cringing as the movement sent cramps through her body. "I need to get up and move around anyway so let's go ahead and get the replicator out and scan these then."
"I already set the replicator and most of our other equipment in the new lab, Bulma."
"What? Chichi, you shouldn't be moving around too much in this planet's gravity, let alone lugging around all of our machinery."
"Goku shielded me with his Ki before too much damage was done so I'm not in nearly as much pain as you were. Also I'm pretty sure that if Vegeta had waited long enough on the ship for you to recover you probably would have able to move around eventually. Not that I'm able to run a marathon or anything, mind you. Every movement I make feels like I'm moving through cold syrup instead of air. The sooner I get my own simulator, the better. And I didn't lug around anything. Goku was more than happy to help put things wherever I needed them. Oh, and Vegeta was there too, telling me that I need to put all of our useless, inferior equipment somewhere out of sight. I don't know about you but I doubt too many people would dare to walk up to Vegeta and ask for a private tour of his personal quarters."
"Ha ha, yeah," Bulma laughed as she looked around in vain for a clock. "Even if they did, I couldn't really imagine Vegeta being okay with it." Giving up on figuring out what time it was, Bulma settled for stretching through her cramps again. "Ugh I really have been working for too long if you've had enough time to set up the equipment and connect the video communicator."
"And cook an insane amount of food for two hungry Saiyans' lunch, clean up the kitchen, unpack all of our clothing and personal items into our respective rooms, printout blueprints to start working on the prototypes, cook another insane amount of food for dinner, and clean the kitchen up again," Chichi listed while pretending to ignore Bulma's increasingly surprised look. "I was going to sit down and read a book since they both left to do some training somewhere but decided to see if you'd be capable of hearing my offer for food this time."
"Wow, I guess the change of location hasn't stopped my ability to defy all basic survival instincts while working," she let out a chuckle. "Yeah I'd love some food but we should go to the lab and start the replicator first. That way the parts for your simulator should be finished by the time we're done."
"Sounds like a plan. I'll meet you at the ship." With that, Chichi's face blinked off of the screen leaving Bulma alone to gather herself together.
"Alright," Bulma grabbed the bracelet she had chosen, "let's see this baby in action." Moving towards the entrance of the ship, Bulma slipped the bracelet on her wrist and activated it. No difference was felt, of course, since the ship was also set to the same gravity so with a deep breath to steady herself, she deactivated the ship's generator. A few seconds passed and still there was no difference from before. "Man, I'm so good," she boasted with smug satisfaction.
Hearing the hiss of the door opening, Bulma turned to see Chichi peek her head in. "Looks like you're still standing. Is there any pressure at all?"
"Nope. It's so similar it's hard to believe that the gravity is different at all."
"I'm sure you'll believe it when you're counting every second of the scanning process the replicator has to do."
That comment wiped the smile from Bulma's face.
Chichi let out a sigh of relief as she dried and put away what was hopefully the last dish she'd have to wash tonight. As much of a traditionalist she was, she'd be more than happy to have a dishwasher installed in the kitchen. Luckily cooking for Bulma didn't result in nearly as many dirty dishes as their roommates so it had been quick work.
Drying off her hands, she took extra time rubbing the towel over her new bracelet. The chip inside was completely waterproof but she still had to take care of the casing so it wouldn't warp or rust. The bracelet was the easiest concept to work around with the limited supplies they had but it wouldn't work in the long run. Aside from the issues that came from handling the majority of the household chores, a bracelet would get in the way of her work in the lab. Bulma would definitely have to choose a different design.
"I wonder if concubines have some kind of jewelry they wear to identify themselves," she wondered aloud. "If they do then we can just use that as the base."
A softly mumbled "Yeah" was her only answer. Chichi smiled, turning to look at her tired friend. Bulma was still sitting at the table. The amount of time she had spent hunched over her work desk followed by having to endure the full gravity of the planet for the hour it took to replicate the chip and gravity generator was hard enough and it seems that the simple act of eating had drained the rest of her energy.
Moving over to stand behind Bulma's chair, Chichi reached out and gently massaged Bulma neck chuckling when she received a pleased groan in return.
"Chichi," Bulma spoke tiredly without moving her head, "I don't know what I'll ever do if you leave me."
"Silly, we've been together for so long that we're pretty much family. Why would I leave you now?"
"When you get married you won't want a third wheel hanging around all the time."
"You're saying that like I'm going to be getting married sometime soon."
"...Well... you have been getting rather cozy with Kakarot," Bulma mumbled out.
At the mention of her and Goku, Chichi stopped her movements and pulled her hands away. "I... that doesn't mean anything, B. He's just nice company, is all."
"Isn't that what people look for in a relationship?" Bulma lifted her head, moving it from side to side to extend the relief the massage had brought her muscles. "Isn't someone that you get along with and enjoy spending time with exactly what you'd want for a husband? You've even got a special nickname for him."
"For you information, 'Goku' is a name someone else gave to him and he actually prefers being called it. And there's nothing wrong with having a male friend. There's more to a romantic relationship than just getting along. They should make you feel safe and secure with who you are, like you're not being judged but that your flaws are accepted as part of who you are. The mere thought of seeing them should brighten your day and make your heart race. You should feel a connection with them that's deeper than you've felt with anyone else."
"Yeah, yeah," Bulma said as she waved Chichi off.
"I'm serious, B!"
"Ok, I get it. No more comments about your love life until I'm awake enough to retaliate."
"Or after that!" Chichi scolded her frown deepening as Bulma once again waved her off while wobblingly standing up. "We'll talk about this later. You should go to bed."
"Fine. Let's go turn the replicator off and then I'll go to sleep."
"You'll go to bed now. I don't want to carry you to your room when you inevitably collapse. It'll be better to let the replicator continue running anyway. I don't know about Vegeta, but I've seen enough of Goku to know that having a few back-ups will likely be needed. I swear you haven't seen true terror until you've had to watch a man with enough strength to easily lift a two ton piece of machinery with one hand pick up a ten thousand zeni lens. I'll have gray hair by the end of all this, just you watch.
After sharing a brief laugh, Chichi watched Bulma get up and head towards her bedroom, her gentle sways belying how exhausted she really was. Chichi couldn't help but feel like a knowing mother watching their stubborn child finally relent to taking a nap. The thought was comical, especially since she was younger than Bulma by a few years.
"I'm sorry."
Chichi jumped at the sudden voice, turning to see that Goku had entered the room sometime towards the end of her and Bulma's conversation. "Goku, I didn't hear you come in!" As her heart rate finally slowed to a more regular pace, his words and sad expression finally registered. "Sorry? For what?"
"For scaring you."
"I'm not scared, you just startled me. Besides, you apologized before that happened."
"You said that I caused you true terror."
Thinking back, recognition finally struck as she remembered her conversation about the replicator with Bulma. "Oh! Oh no, Goku I didn't mean anything against you. It's a common manner of speech for our people jokingly exaggerate something to get a point across. Sure, it was a bit scary seeing you handle that lens but that would go for anyone that didn't understand how expensive and delicate it is. I know you were being as careful as you could be but I still held my breath for the entire duration as you moved it. Really, I'm not scared of you at all."
Goku looked at her, studying her face in a more serious manner than she even could have imagined from the usually cheerful man, before a smile crept back on his face. "I see. That's good. I would hate it if you were afraid of me."
Chichi's heart felt like it was being painfully squeezed at Goku's relieved smile. Before she could even register her actions, she had moved towards him and hugged him as tightly as she could. "I'm sorry. I'll try to remember to be clearer in the future." Goku placed his chin on top of her head as he moved his arms around her to return the hug.
They held their place a bit longer before the sound of a growling stomach interrupted the moment. Sighing, Chichi pulled away and looked up at Goku. "Let me guess: You're hungry."
Scratching his head, Goku returned to his usually goofy smile. "Yeah. Vegeta decided to go all out since we're not restricted to the limitations of the ship's training rooms. It takes a lot out of me."
At the mention of Vegeta, Chichi looked around. "Where is Vegeta anyway? Did he come in with you?"
"No, Vegeta got called by his father to go see someone. Probably the medical center to talk more about some kind of ki imbalance he has."
"Ki imbalance?" Chichi asked as she started pulling some more food out of the fridge. "I'd ask you to explain but I probably don't know enough about ki to really understand."
Shrugging, Goku sat down at the table to watch her. "I couldn't really explain since I don't understand what's going on. I've never noticed anything all that different about his ki compared to mine. Well, aside from the times he's frustrated or holding back from killing everyone on site. Last I heard, the doctor was saying he was stressed. Ticked Vegeta off like you wouldn't believe. Ah, don't say anything about that to him though."
"Don't worry, I don't have any plans on discussing Vegeta's personal life with him. I do worry about Bulma sometimes. She spends more time with him and she'd definitely not going to hold her tongue willingly."
"I wouldn't worry about her that much. She's lived a lot longer than anyone else I've seen go against Vegeta so I doubt he'd do anything now. Between you and me, I think he honestly likes her."
Pausing from her cooking, Chichi gave Goku an unbelieving look. "If he likes her, he's got a horrible way of showing it."
"Well, would you say that he treats me like his friend?" Goku asked.
"No I wouldn't. He treats you like a punching bag."
"And yet he trusts me with all of his plans even before he can question whether or not I'd be on board with them. He doesn't even give the same amount of consideration to his father. To him, everyone could possibly betray him but only I can aid him in his quest to get stronger. Well, I suppose I'm sharing that role with Bulma now. I know you've been through a lot recently but, to me, our meeting each other is the best thing to happen to both of us in awhile."
Chichi blushed and turned away to focus on her cooking again. "If you say so."
Despite everything, Chichi couldn't help but find herself agreeing.