Hey, all! I hope you're doing well! It's been a little while, but I'm back. Yeah, I think I'll be forgoing the Friday uploads until further notice. Now, I'll just post a chapter whenever I have something to show for it. But, we're picking up where the story left off, and I hope you'll still be along for the ride. Enjoy!
On a clear afternoon, Bulma found herself at a library. She rushed downstairs to the reference books, trying to find the Red Ribbon Army book she had read. She had a picture of the cover in her hands, and ran her fingers over the spines on the shelf, squinting as she reads the faded print. She had thought to wait until she got home, but when she drove past a library, she knew she had to stop.
Her eyes lit up, and her fingers stopped on one book. She pulled it off of the shelf, and ran to the closest desk. She pulled out a notepad and pen from her bag. She opened the book and flipped through the pages to the appendixes. She knew exactly which page to turn to – 537. She crossed her fingers, as her flipping became faster and harder. She very nearly ripped a page out, in her excitement.
When she reached her page, there he was. The page's headline read, in big bold letters, "Dr Gero: Head of the Science Division". She smirked. This was perfect. She grabbed her pad and pen, and started jotting down notes. She wrote down anything she thought was relevant to her searches – his life, career, inventions, and everything in between.
Gero's early life is unknown. He came from a family of nobodies before he made it as a scientist. His achievements were nothing to scoff at, working to improve robot AI and technology. He helped produce the first commercial service bots, bringing that technology into everyone's homes. He was also a gifted speaker, being a professor at Orange Star University and mentoring a number of its famous alum – among them was Dr. Flappe.
Then, almost overnight, he lost everything. An exposé was published, outing plans for experiments he wanted to perform. These were the earliest records of the android project, wanting to meld man and machine to speed up evolution, no matter the human cost. He was fired from his professor job and booted from the scientific community all together. His misfortunes lead him to meet the man who would become Commander Red. He wanted to build the most powerful evil army on Earth, and was impressed by his ideas in the exposé. If he helped build weapons and technology for the Red Ribbon Army, he would be allowed to proceed with the android project.
Bulma shook her head. She heard a lot of stories about scientists like Gero: too ambitious to see the costs. Science should not have been perverted, like this. It boggled her mind to think that someone could use technology like this, when it could have been used to do so much good. It was a little cathartic to know that his reputation had been ruined. Though, the scrub must have been thorough, as this was the first time she was reading his story. Nevertheless, she kept reading.
Gero's laboratory was not a part of the Red Ribbon Army's headquarters. Though he had a lab there, most of his work took place off site. They would be delivered to HQ, after being completed in another location. He was likely not present, when they was destroyed. His whereabouts are completely unknown, and no one has heard word from him since. One can only speculate where he might be hiding.
Bulma bit the tip of her pen. By all accounts, Gero could have been alive. She never considered that he could have been working elsewhere. It made sense from his perspective – it gave him privacy and the ability to work on his projects at his own pace, without an autocrat breathing down his neck. However, Red, or whoever green lit that idea, must have trusted Gero far too much. He could have been plotting munity out there. It didn't really matter, she supposed: their end came from a twelve-year-old boy.
She closed the book and gathered her things, leaving the book in a return cart. She had everything she needed – everything but an exact confirmation. It was plenty for her, though. She was onto something, she just knew it. All she needed to do know was report it all.
When she returned home, her father was sitting on the front porch, reading a newspaper. He glanced up, when she came running out of her capsule car. "Oh hey, Bulma. Where'd you run off to?"
She was beaming. "The library. I just found out something really important for the investigation."
He put out his cigarette. "Did you? Well, I'm proud of you, sweetheart. I knew you could do it."
"Thanks, dad." She quickly buzzed herself in, ran up to her room, and set up her communicator. She couldn't wait to tell the others back on Planet Vegeta about what she had found. She called up the science team, and bounced in her feat, waiting eagerly for them to pick up. They were one-step closer to solving this – she just knew it.
When the screen flashed on and Haricot appeared on the other end, she didn't wait for a greeting. "I think I found something!" She had a huge grin on her face.
"Found something about what," Haricot asked. "What do you mean?"
She unrolled a piece of paper, holding it in front of the camera – it was a picture of Gero. "This guy – Dr. Gero. He was the head of the Red Ribbon Army's science division. I think he might be involved in this whole thing!"
One of the scientists sighed. "How do you know? What's your proof?"
She dropped the picture, and typed at her computer, forwarding the notes to them. "Check out the notes I just sent to you. Gero worked on a lot of weapons technology, and he created the androids. You want to know the best part? He wasn't working at their headquarters! His lab was somewhere else! He could be working to form some remnants! Case closed!"
The scientists passed around the printed notes, taking turns reading them. Included was what she learned from the interviews, and from reading the complete book. They weren't impressed. "Is this all of the proof you've got," one of them blurted out.
"For now. But, if I can find his lab and see the guy, himself, then we'll know!"
"And if it's not, you just wasted all of our time."
Her smile fell. "Well, not necessarily. We'll at least be able to cross another suspect off of our lists."
"And how many more Saiyans are gonna be dead, in the meantime?! We could have been investigating anything else, while you wasted our time on some defunct military!"
"Watch your words," Haricot said.
"No, no, she should hear this! Next time you want to call, make sure you have something concrete! We don't have time for some bullshit conspiracies!" The other scientists were nodding along.
Bulma's chest was hurting. She had been so excited about her findings, and hoped that they'd be excited, too. After months of not finding anything and being stuck, this was a step in the right direction. However, they weren't even considering it. All of the time she spent researching and seeking people out was amounting to nothing.
"If you find anything actually substantive, do let us know."
She slowly nodded. "Right." She didn't look up, as she hung up the call.
Bulma shut the computer and put her hands on her forehead, slumping forward. What was she going to do, now? Her certainty had been killed in just seconds. How was she going to prove this?
She slid off of the mattress and slowly walked back downstairs. There had to be a way to prove this. There just had to be. But no one knew where Gero's old lab was. For all she knew, it was dust in the wind, lost to the ages. If she couldn't find it, then she'd never know. And the murders would persist.
She went to the fridge and took out a bottle of beer. She almost popped the cap off, but sighed, before putting it away. She couldn't even drink her problems, away. Everything was just happening all at once. She was going to have a nervous breakdown if the stress didn't kill her, first.
"Hey, again, Bulma," said her dad, as he came into the house. He scooped Tama off of the floor and put him on his shoulder. "How did it go?"
She just grabbed a random granola bar off of the counter. "Not good. They said it wasn't enough evidence. I just don't know where to look, anymore. This guy," she took a bite out of the bar, "this guy went missing such a long time ago, and I can't find him."
"Oh, don't worry, Bulma." Brief pushed past her to reach the coffee maker, just finishing brewing a cup. "You'll get him sooner than later."
She sighed. "I sure hope so." Just then, she remembered something. "Hey, dad, remember when I went out to go talk to people?" He nodded, not looking up at her. "Did you ever know a guy called Flappe?"
He laughed. "There's a name I haven't heard in forever. Yeah, we were in school, together. We did our doctorate program together. Good chap. Wonder what he's up to, now. Anyways, yes, I did. Why do you ask?" He stirred creamer into the mug.
"Well, he was involved in the Red Ribbon Army, and I asked him about their science division. She leaned her back against the counter. "He said he got there because of a professor at your school. His name was Gero."
Brief's stirs slowed.
"That was at Orange Star, where you went to. Did you ever know him?"
"Not well. I think I had him for a couple of classes, but that was it. Why?"
"Because that's the guy I need to find. I think he's our most likely suspect. If I can find some kind of proof that he's still out there, then we'll be closer to solving these once and for all."
"Now, Bulma," he said, with a nervous laugh, "I know you want to figure out this mystery, but poking your head into the Red Ribbon Army's old business might not be the wisest idea. I don't want you to get yourself in over your head."
Bulma paused and looked at him. That was unlike her father – discouraging her research. "Dad, if I don't, I might miss out on something important."
"I know, but there are better ways of pursuing it. Remember that you have to worry about more than just yourself, right now."
She sighed, and put a hand on her stomach. "I know, I know. But if I can't find anything without getting a little dirty, then I have no other choices. You always tell me to follow where my research takes me. Why stop now?"
He sighed. "Father's worries, is all. I know I can't stop you, if you really want to do this. I just want to make sure you're safe."
"I'll be fine, dad. I've gotten through worse."
He nodded. "I'm sure you have." He hugged her and kissed her cheek. "Just be careful, out there."
"I will." Her father patted her back and left the room, heading for his lab.
Bulma stood in the kitchen, leaning her back against the wall. There was something suspicious about how her father was acting. Flappe had told her that her father knew Gero. She didn't believe it, at first, but then he got all jittery when she mentioned his name. And then he started trying to talk her out of doing her research. He never did that, even when he probably should have. Anytime she had a harebrained scheme to run off and find some rare object, he supported her. What was different, this time?
Whatever was up, she hoped it wasn't serious.