Stay tuned to the end of the chapter for a special announcement. Enjoy.
After their investigation of the old base, Bulma and Raditz quickly left and made their way back to Capsule Corporation. The moment she got back inside, she rushed up the stairs to her bedroom. She stuck the memory stick into her laptop and pulled up the files. Luckily, they had all managed to transfer over. Not wanting to waste anymore time, she pulled up the communicator and called the lab. She squirmed in her seat, eager to see their reactions.
After a minute of agonizing waiting, the screen flashed on and she saw the rest of the team at the lab on her screen.
Haricot addressed her, first. "Hello, Bulma," he said in his usual monotone. "Why have you called?"
"I found a smoking gun!"
"A smoking what," one of the other scientists said, exasperatedly.
"A smoking gun! A big piece of evidence! I'm forwarding it to you now!" She frantically typed and clicked on her computer, sending the documents over to them. Back on Planet Vegeta, they would be printed off for them to pass around.
Meanwhile on Planet Vegeta...
Many of the scientists groaned, hearing her speak. Was this going to be more conspiracy talk about that Gero guy? She had already wasted their time before. The murders were growing more and more numerous, yet the best theory she could come up with was some old scientist from a defunct military. They needed actual answers, and these fanciful ideas were a waste of time and resources.
Nevertheless, the documents she spoke of were printed. One of the scientists grabbed it and tore it out of the printer. Attached were a letter and a picture. The letter was Gero talking to some commander about an idea for a stealthy android, whatever that was. She rolled her eyes, as she flipped the paper over to see the other document.
She did a double take and gasped.
"You see," Bulma said, with a big grin on her face. "Gero was working on a stealth android! Able to take out people without any notice! And that picture is exactly the same person I saw, when I ran into them out in the city! Gero, or someone affiliated with him, has to be the one behind this! I just know he is!"
The papers were passed around the room and everyone had the same reaction. Not only did it have the incriminating letter, but it had the sketch. It matched the descriptions provided by the survivors perfectly. Suddenly, they felt energized and empowered. This was their first real breakthrough in months. The first time any of them felt that this case was actually solvable.
"Where did you get this," one of them exclaimed.
Bulma shrugged. "I did a little digging. Managed to find the old Red Ribbon Army base and investigate. I even got some coordinates!" She pulled out a small atlas, and thumbed through the pages. Throughout the book, little dots were put on different points on the Earth. "These points were where the army bases were located. One of them has to be Gero's old lab. If I can track it down, then I might be able to figure out where he's been. Then, we can stop him!"
"Bulma, this is incredible," Haricot said. Even the usually aloof Saiyan was amazed by the evidence. "You must let us know when you find more."
"You know I'll be sure to!"
Suddenly, their attention was pulled elsewhere. Out in the hallway, there was a lot of shouting and fighting. Then, the door slid open.
It was Mizu, fighting off some of the palace guards. She had something in her hands, as she tried kicking and pushing them away.
"Mizu," Haricot said. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you that you weren't allowed here any longer."
"Wait," she yelled, cursing at the guards between sentences. "Before you turn me away, I've got something! I think it might be able to help!"
The scientists all looked at her, in surprise. One breakthrough was good enough, but a second one would be a gift from the gods. They immediately started begging Haricot to let her speak. He wasn't moved. He simply shook his head.
Mizu's eyes widened, and her face went red with anger. "You're desperate for a breakthrough, but turning me away when I have one?! Do you even want the killings to stop?!"
"Rules are rules," he said. "If you do want to speak to us again, you can use the regular channels."
The guards grabbed her arms, and started to drag her away.
"Wait!"
They stopped, leaning into the room. Bulma was still speaking on the monitor.
"Let her talk. Mizu's done a lot of great stuff for us, before. Let's hear her out. Even for a little bit."
The guards looked at each other, then at Bulma, then at Haricot.
Haricot closed his eyes and rubbed his fingers on his temple. He sighed. "Fine. You've got five minutes to explain what you've found."
Mizu pushed the guards off of her and barged into the room. She glanced at the screen. Bulma smiled at her and gave her a nod. Mizu never expected that she, of all people, would be the one to stick up for her.
Nevertheless, she rolled her shoulders back. "First off, I need to ask - did you guys manage to find anything in that last scene - the one where Beets was found and rescued from?"
"Yes," Haricot said. "We found nothing we hadn't found, already."
She laughed. "Well, maybe you should have been more thorough." She slammed something down on the table. A large knife.
The team gasped. Beets spoke of a weapon, when he was being interrogated. So did the prince. But they weren't able to actually find it, anywhere. They just assumed that the killer had taken it with him.
"Where the hell did you get that," Haricot demanded.
"I went back, after you had finished snooping around the place. Maybe you would have seen it if you had been a bit more thorough. Anyways, I did some independent tests on this thing, and found some things that might shock you." She sent a piece of paper around the room. "I managed to find a chip on there that belonged to someone. According to the information on it, it was created by a scientist on Earth named Dr. Gero."
"Ha," Bulma exclaimed. "I knew it!"
Well, there it was: further confirmation that Gero was involved. The model might have been a coincidence on its own, but with both the model and the murder weapon together, it couldn't be one anymore.
Haricot looked over the paper. "Well, Mizu, while I don't approve of you 'snooping' around a crime scene, I commend you for finding this information."
"There's more. I found a lot more than just the guy's name. I think this goes a lot deeper than just him."
"What do you mean?"
She passed another paper around the room. "Read it and weep."
The new document was another letter from Gero. It was dated to 765 - only two years ago.
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing in hopes to reach whichever world government will listen. Recently, we have begun collaborating with intergalactic worlds. Normally, I would have no problem with this. However, I worry greatly about our recent alliance with Planet Vegeta and the Saiyans. I do not think their interests align with ours, as Earthlings. They are a bloodthirsty, cruel, and animalistic race of beings, only interested in fighting and nothing else. What would happen if we allowed them into our world? It could be the end to our way of life as we know it. I hope you will be able to see it from my perspective. If you do, then I know of ways to mitigate this threat, and I look forward to a timely response.
Sincerely,
Dr. Gero
The letter was horrifying, chilling them to the bone. Hearing their entire race talked about so callously. It brought bad memories of those who had lived through the Tufflian wars or Frieza's reign. The fact that he had enough power to lobby for this to other Earth leaders…
What did this mean about the Earth, as a whole?
"What is it," Bulma finally asked. "What's in the letter?"
"Gero," Mizu began, "thinks that Saiyans are a threat to life on Earth. So a couple of years ago, he proposed to some world governments that he 'mitigate' the threat."
Her eyes widened. "What?!"
"Oh yeah. I did some digging, and saw that it isn't an uncommon sentiment on his home planet. So Gero might not be the only one behind all of those murders. He might have some backing from the people of Earth." She crossed her arms, and looked at the screen. "Do you happen to know anything about that, Bulma?"
The scientists in the lab murmured to each other. If this was true, then this conspiracy went deeper than they had expected. The killer was of Earth. The scientist who created the killer was of Earth. Now, they knew that he had discussed this with some of his fellow Earthlings.
"No… that's not right. Gero was hated during his day. The Red Ribbon Army was the only place that would tolerate him, and they're widely regarded as one of the worst regimes that's ever ruled. There's no way that he could-"
Mizu rolled her eyes and shook her head. "That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking if people on Earth hate Saiyans."
Bulma hesitated. "Well… in my experience, most humans tolerate anyone. No matter where you're from. You can ask Vegeta or Raditz - they've never had a problem with anyone, when they go out."
"Maybe so, but that doesn't mean they like us."
She didn't respond. Mizu resisted the urge to laugh. She was right, and Bulma knew it.
"Isn't this a hasty conclusion," Haricot interjected. "One Earthling seems to dislike Saiyans. Why would that be a cause for alarm?"
"Normally, it wouldn't. But those Red Ribbon freaks had power and prestige. Sure, they might be hated, but that doesn't mean that they didn't have followers and flunkies. Especially Gero. He taught hundreds of scientists from all over the world. A lot of people learned under him. How many could have learned how to feel about Saiyans from him?"
"But that's not true! He was exiled from the scientific community long before we even knew about you all! His accomplishments were completely erased - I didn't even learn who he was when I was doing my studies!"
One of the scientists spoke up. "Do you Earthlings always have an excuse?"
"What? No, I was just explaining that it isn't as black and white as you think it is. Some people on Earth are less tolerant than others, but most of them are good and accepting."
Mizu put her hands on her hips. "So you admit that there are people on your planet that would like to see us dead!"
"That's not what I meant! Don't put words in my mouth!"
"Both of you, stop," Haricot shouted. They quickly shut up. "It's clear that all of this new evidence is making us irrational and emotional. We found information that might help us, in the future. That's a step in the right direction. Bulma, thank you for your help, but I think you should leave. We will contact you if we need anymore information from your end"
She blinked. "Alright. I'll be sure to keep in touch." Without another word, she shut off the call.
He looked at Mizu. "Once again, Mizu, while I commend you for finding all of this out, I do not approve of the methods. Had this been any other circumstances, I could have you charged for tampering with a crime scene or stealing evidence. But because we were in such a bad spot, I will let this slide. Don't do it, again."
Mizu tapped her fingers on her hips. "So I guess you'll be kicking me out, again. Even though I just gave you the breakthrough you needed."
He sighed. "If you promise to be more orthodox going forward, I will allow you back onto the team."
"I'm so glad you came to your senses." She walked to one of the empty chairs and sat back down in it. She was given congratulatory smiles and gestures, as she rejoined the rest of the group. She felt like she was going to burst with pride. If only Okra were here to see this.
"Alright," Haricot said, exasperatedly. "We will need to report," he gestured to the room, "all of this to the council. Mizu, I'll need you to put everything together into one report. We will take it to them tomorrow, and they can figure out how we're going to move forward. All in favor."
Everyone said aye.
"Then get to it."
And now, I have a very exciting announcement to make. If you've been following this story since the beginning, you'll remember that I was considering doing a spinoff about Future Trunks and what changed in his timeline. Well guess what: it's happening! I'm currently working on writing it, and it'll start getting posted sometime next year. It's gonna be shorter than the previous works in this saga, but hopefully you'll enjoy it regardless. So if you wanna make sure you don't miss it, be sure to like and follow my page, I guess.