Chapter 5:
Mysterious Young Man
"So, you're going to take Frieza on?" Bulma asked the guys. After finishing their barbecued meal, the group stood outside Bulma's house contemplating their next move.
"We have no other choice," Yamcha replied ominously.
"Sounds great!" Bulma responded excitedly. "Let's go, too, Charisma."
"Absolutely not!" Yamcha scolded her, turning her smile into a frown. "It's too dangerous. You already know how powerful and ruthless Frieza is. We can't put you at risk. Bulma, Puar, and Charisma…You're all staying here."
Before Bulma could argue with that point, Vegeta and Yamcha both took off like rockets into the sky, leaving a cloud of dust behind. The girls were left coughing and Bulma rumbled angrily in frustration. She ran off a few feet to stare after them and shake an angry fist in the air.
"Who do they think they are?" she demanded with her hands on her hips.
"Is Frieza really as terrible as they say?" asked Charisma. She remembered hearing the Bulma of her timeline mention Frieza, and her adventures on Planet Namek. Aside from those brief mentions, however, Bulma never went into a lot of detail. 'I don't think anyone could be as bad as the Androids…' Charisma thought.
"Yeah," responded Bulma. "But…I'm sure we'll be alright. These guys don't look like much, but I promise you they can take on anyone or anything. But…do you really want to go and see it for yourself?"
Charisma's shoulders lifted slightly, and she nodded. "It might sound strange, but there's something about this whole thing that sounds interesting…"
"Then let's go!"
Puar gasped and hovered over to Bulma. "But you heard Yamcha! We might get in trouble."
"We're not children and he can't tell us what to do!" Bulma shouted into the feline's face, causing her to move away in alarm and toward Charisma. "What is he going to do about it, anyway? I'll go get my plane ready and we might just be able to catch up to them. What do you say?"
Charisma felt a little uneasy but brushed those feelings aside with a smile. "Let's go for it!"
...
The ladies jumped onto the plane and darted off towards the direction in which the guys had gone. It didn't take too long before they came across their figures down below as they stood amongst a rugged area of land. The men stared up into the sky, looking around with their eyes. The sound of a rumbling engine and spinning propellers caught their attention right away.
"Hello down there!" Bulma shouted as she waved to them cheerfully.
"It's Bulma!" Yamcha proclaimed, in slight shock.
"Vegeta! Yamcha! I'm coming in!" she exclaimed. The plane touched the ground in a small cloud of dirt. Bulma hopped out, followed by Charisma, and Puar giggled happily and flew over to her owner.
"Yamcha!" she joyfully called, just about to reach him.
"What are the three of you doing here?!" he demanded irritably, scaring Puar and causing her to stop before she reached him.
"We came to see Frieza," Charisma declared with her hands on her hips. "I'm curious to see what he looks like. According to Bulma, he's a hunk," she added jokingly.
"Are you crazy?!" asked Yamcha, very aggravated. "Do you know what he'll do if he finds you here?"
Charisma lowered her head slightly, but Bulma just shrugged and spoke casually. "Yes. Of course, I do. He'll come down and blow up the planet. But we just want to see him before he does it. What's so wrong with that?"
Charisma nodded and smiled in agreement.
"You're impossible…" Yamcha grumbled, slapping his forehead.
Without another word, Yamcha and Vegeta turned around to see a tall bald man and, what appeared to be a little boy, landed there.
"Tien! Chaotzu!" Yamcha bellowed welcomingly.
'Their names sound familiar…' Charisma thought.
"Vegeta," Tien said coarsely, taking off his scarves. "I didn't realize you were going to be here too…"
Vegeta smirked arrogantly. "That's not a problem, now is it?"
"As a matter of fact, it is. You disgust me." Tien finished removing his coat and t-shirt until he was only in his green pants and a white tank top. "How can you stomach him, Yamcha?"
Vegeta chuckled sadistically. "Wimp…"
"What?!"
"Hey!" Yamcha suddenly blurted, trying to ease the tension in the air. "Cool it guys! This is no time to fight, ok?" Vegeta turned around egotistically with a chuckle.
"…It's Frieza isn't it?" Tien asked. "How long till he lands?"
Yamcha sighed and answered, "Could be any time now…"
"Be quiet!" Vegeta torridly commanded. "All this scary talk is upsetting the Namek…" he taunted, looking to his right.
"The Namek?" everyone repeated, looking over to the direction Vegeta was staring at.
"Piccolo!" Yamcha called him. "How long have you been standing there?"
'Piccolo…' Charisma thought. 'Gohan's master!'
Charisma remembered Piccolo's name well. Gohan didn't speak of Piccolo very often, but the times that he did really stood out in Charisma's mind. Charisma could never forget the wistful look in Gohan's eyes as he spoke of his master, and if there was one thing Charisma could tell, it was the amount of love and respect Gohan held for him.
"Piccolo was tough, and he was really scary at first," Gohan had said. "But he taught me how to be strong…not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Eventually, he became one of my closest friends. I miss him a lot…"
'Gohan spoke so highly of him…I can't believe I got to meet him!' she thought happily.
"Long enough to hear all of your senseless bickering," Piccolo replied. He turned his head to look back. Sure enough, a short, bad man was heading over with a young child.
The two promptly landed and the bald man greeted the group. "Hey there."
Bulma cheered, jumping up slightly. "Wow! Krillin, Gohan, you made it!"
'Gohan…?' Charisma's face reflected pure shock as her eyes studied the small dark-haired boy intently. '…that little boy is Gohan? I can't believe it!' The more she looked at him, the harder she found it difficult to suppress her smile. She managed to fight off the urge to grin happily. 'He's so tiny!' Charisma felt her heart fill with warmth. 'I'm so glad I get to see you again!'
Suddenly, Piccolo tensed up and looked back at the others. "He's here!"
All eyes were immediately glued to the skies above. A disk-shaped ship emerged from within a dark storm cloud, and the feeling of panic and fear fell upon everyone instantly. The tingle in Charisma's stomach suddenly jumped uncomfortably, and a cold sweat ran through her body. She had no real comprehension of this threat, no understanding of what she would be dealing with or seeing, but just based on everyone else's expressions, she knew it would be bad.
'He can't be worse than the Androids…' she reasoned with herself, almost as if trying to futility comfort her nerves. 'There's no way…'
The group watched with a mix of horror and awe as the spaceship flew overhead and enveloped them momentarily in a dark shadow.
'Incredible…' she thought. 'I've never felt anything like this before…so much power, it's a bit terrifying…'
"He's landed!" announced Krillin.
"Now, there's no room for mistakes!" bellowed Vegeta, his cruel voice ripping through the stillness. "We've all got to keep our power levels suppressed or else Frieza will pick us up on his scouters."
"This is crazy!" Yamcha suddenly blurted. "I've never felt anything close to the power I'm sensing right now!"
Understanding that they really had no other choice, the gang was ready to head off to take Frieza on. At least, that was what Charisma could make of the argument that ensued between the men. Truthfully, she wasn't necessarily sure about what was going on or just what kind of situation she'd gotten herself into.
'I think I'm too curious for my own good,' she thought as she carefully snuck about the barren land behind the others towards the threat. 'I've trained almost all my life, whether that counts for anything or not…but what can I hope to accomplish against an enemy that is this strong?'
Luckily, Charisma was able to keep up with everyone, more or less. Bulma, of course, needed a little help climbing over rocks and a small cliffside, and was assisted by Yamcha.
'I don't know what's going to happen,' she thought. 'I don't know if my training was enough for this kind of situation...but if I have to fight, I'll do my best…'
...
A short while after beginning their stealthy trek through the land, another surprise awaited the group. Having breathed a sigh of relief once her feet were on safe and non-crumbling ground, Charisma felt the pit of her stomach tingle even more than it had before.
'I feel something again…' Charisma thought as she looked up at the sky. 'It's almost making me dizzy…' She glanced around and saw the looks on each and everyone's faces. 'They must feel it, too…'
"Guys," Bulma said slowly. "What's going on?"
"I'm sensing another huge power level," Krillin said nervously.
"…And this one makes Frieza's seem like nothing!" Tien added.
The ground beneath them rumbled and trembled violently and unexpectedly, sending Bulma and Charisma to the ground on their bottoms. The men managed to stay on their feet but remained still in shock and nearly speechless.
"Looks like the fight is starting without us," commented Yamcha.
"It might be my dad…" said Gohan.
"You think?" asked Krillin.
"Who else would try to take on Frieza alone?"
Without warning, Vegeta growled and took off running toward the direction of the blast.
"What's wrong with him now?" demanded Yamcha. He watched as the other guys began following along, except for Bulma, Charisma and Puar that is. Shrugging in defeat, Yamcha ran off behind them as well.
"Wait!" Charisma yelled at them as she jumped to her feet. "What about us?!" She sighed and her face fell with a frown. "I need to know what's happening!" She looked back at Bulma and Puar.
"How can they just leave us behind like that?" Bulma asked rhetorically.
"Does this mean we can go now?" Puar posed hopefully.
"We can't," announced Charisma with her hands on her hips. "I feel that power that they feel! Something tells me I have to find out who that is. We can't just turn back now."
"Exactly!" Bulma agreed. "I really like your attitude, you know? You're not one to take this sitting down…"
Charisma looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about the guys," Bulma explained. "They don't think we can keep up just because we're girls. They think they can ditch us because we're girls! Well, we'll show them what these girls can do! Those boys better watch out, because here we come!" She laughed maniacally, and began running like mad, grabbing on to Charisma's arm with one hand and latching on to Puar's tail with the other. "Come on! We'll teach those guys not to run off and leave us!"
...
Somehow, the girls were able to catch up to the others soon. They found the guys all perched carefully on the stony ledges, watching as much of the battle unfold as possible. Charisma tried her best to carefully peek over the ledge at the battlefield. She could sense the surge of different and powerful energies and it was almost overwhelming. She struggled to actually see what was happening, though.
"What's going on?" asked Bulma, grabbing on to Yamcha. "I can't see!" There was dust all around the land a few miles across. "What happened over there, Yamcha?"
Before anyone could say anything, a red orb of energy suddenly appeared and lit up the area brightly. It slowly began to descend upon the distant land. Krillin gasped and turned around. "Everyone get down!"
Without thinking twice, everyone threw themselves onto the ground, shielding their eyes and heads. The sound of a loud explosion startled Charisma more than she expected. She was beginning to get flashbacks of her life above the surface of the bunker. It had been months since she'd heard the sound of an explosion. Even buried deep underground in their bunkers, the sounds of explosions and the feeling of the earth trembling from the Androids nearby were very common amongst the residents. There was always an overwhelming sense of fear that somehow the Androids would discover their safe house and that it'd all be over.
'No one can possibly be worse than the Androids, can they?' she thought as she shut her eyes tightly.
"Hey!" Bulma's whispering voice said. Charisma carefully lifted her head and looked at her. "It's all right now…"
Charisma looked up and noticed that everyone else had stood up already. Feeling a little embarrassed, Charisma rose to her feet as well, slightly shaken. She felt that power closer than ever and looked up at the sky as if searching for it.
Charisma couldn't see clearly but she saw what appeared to be two blurry figures up in the sky. 'Is that him?'
"It's another guy!" Gohan said. "…what just happened?"
"He…beat Frieza!" Vegeta stuttered in shock. "…Effortlessly…but…who is he?!"
"Who knows…?" replied Krillin. "Let's just hope he's on our side…"
"Maybe it's Goku," said Bulma. "He has a knack for showing up at just the right time."
"No, it's not Goku," Yamcha clarified with his eyes fixed on the two figures up in the sky. "No way…but he's definitely a Super Saiyan."
Once again, Vegeta bolted away, taking flight this time. Piccolo followed, and soon everyone followed as well. Yamcha was about to take flight, as well, but Bulma latched on to him.
"Hold it, buddy boy!" she announced, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm not being left behind again!"
"Sorry, but I'm going to need a lift, too," Charisma said ecstatically, jumping onto his back. "I hope I'm not too heavy!"
Yamcha sighed and prayed that he wouldn't fall over, mustering up all his strength. Thankfully, though, Charisma mustn't have weighed much above one hundred pounds.
Bulma giggled and wiggled around as Yamcha carefully took flight. "Look at the view! This is so cool!" She exclaimed, excited like a child.
"Stop moving!" Yamcha scolded her, Puar following them close behind.
They flew above just in time to see the young stranger blast Frieza's father away, impaling him directly through the chest. The huge and menacing looking monster was shot at once more and reduced to nothing but a cloud of smoke. The blond haired boy turned towards the ship in which Frieza had come and demolished it easily with a powerful ki blast.
"Wow…" Krillin said, impressed and at the same time afraid. "Just like that…they're gone…Let's just hope he doesn't decide to come after us…"
The stranger powered down until his blond hair faded to pale purple. He sighed, as if relieved at having completed his task, and stared down at the empty land where the ship once stood. Having noticed their presence, he turned around and looked at the crowd of people floating behind him.
Charisma carefully struggled to look over Yamcha's shoulder. She caught sight of lavender hair and blue eyes. "…Wait a second…" she whispered to herself when she got a good look at him. "…He looks…familiar…"
"I'm heading off to a place near here to meet Goku," he announced to them. "He'll be here in three hours." Aside from being surprised out of their minds, now they were confused, too.
"What?" asked Gohan in shock.
"Follow me if you'd like," the stranger called to them. "It's this way." He turned around and took flight.
Charisma eyes followed him as he flew off into the distance. 'I wonder who he is…'
...
Sure enough, they followed the mysterious young man a few miles from where they had first seen him. Once they landed in an open area, an intense feeling of fear, uncertainty, and distrust filled the air.
Charisma remained partially hidden behind Yamcha for safety. She peeked around him to curiously observe the young man as he reached into his denim jacket's pocket. He grabbed what appeared to be a capsule and tossed it on the ground. When it burst and the smoke dispersed, a small machine appeared on the ground.
Yamcha stood alarmed and braced himself. "Look out, you guys! He's up to something!"
It appeared to be a fridge, actually, and the boy opened it and pulled out a can, turning to the others. "How about a cold drink?" he offered graciously. "Goku's not due to arrive for two more hours."
The gang stared at him with bewilderment and silence. It was as if no one knew if this boy was serious or not. It seemed so bizarre and even too good to be true that this super powerful stranger appeared to be so friendly after the absolute slaughter of Frieza and his henchmen.
"Well, I don't see why not," Bulma announced with a smile as she began approaching. "Let's go get a drink!"
"Yeah!" agreed Gohan, running over there.
"Wait!" called Krillin. "Gohan! Bulma!"
"Chill out, Krillin," Bulma said. "They're just sodas."
Once they made it over to the fridge, Bulma and Gohan peeked inside.
"Wow," Gohan said happily. "What a great selection!"
"I think I'm starting to like this guy," Bulma said. Sure enough, the powers of peer pressure and thirst proved too much for Krillin, and he soon approached and joined in on enjoying the drinks.
Bulma looked back at Charisma who remained half hidden behind Yamcha. Bulma suppressed a chuckle and waved at her to come over. "Hey! Why are you being so shy all of a sudden? Come here!"
Grumbling slightly, Charisma stumbled over awkwardly as she tried her best to not ogle at the lavender haired boy. "…I'm not shy..."
"Here! Take one!" Bulma grabbed a random can of soda and placed it in Charisma's small hands. Charisma flinched at the sudden cold metal that touched her fingers. She looked up from the soda can in her hands and carefully studied the strange guy. She couldn't stop herself from gawking anymore and she almost didn't realize what she was doing. Her mind fumbled to piece together her memories, but she couldn't make sense of him as much as she tried.
His icy blue eyes fell upon her as well. The two shared an equally awkward yet curious gaze with each other. It was a moment that seemed to last forever, at least on Charisma's end. Swallowing at her nervousness, she slowly approached him with a thoughtful look and a finger on her lips.
'Something tells me…' she thought. 'I have to find out who you are…I just have to.'
'Why is she looking at me like that?' the stranger thought, breaking the gaze awkwardly to look at the ground. Purple bangs shielded his eyes but failed to shield his pink cheeks.
"…have we met somewhere before?" she finally spoke up, a little nervous and hoping she wouldn't come off as weird.
"…I don't think so," he replied, still blushing, and avoiding her gaze.
Charisma looked up at him with big blue eyes, glossy with the curiosity of a child. 'Oh, why is he blushing…?' she wondered. 'It's…kind of cute…'
Charisma mentally slapped herself for thinking such a thing. "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. You just remind me of someone...I don't know who exactly either, to be honest, but that's why I've been staring you down. I'm sorry…" Charisma giggled nervously and took a sip of her soda.
The boy shook his head, his cheeks still red. The sound of her laughter made him blush more for some reason. "Don't worry about it. I think you have me mistaken for somebody else…"
Charisma shrugged thoughtfully. "Probably…" She smiled brightly at him. "In any case, it's nice to meet you! I don't think you're scary at all unlike these guys." She gestured at the quivering group behind her.
He smiled shyly at her but before he could say anything, Gohan called to him. "Hey mister," he asked. "How do you know my dad?"
"Actually, I don't know him," the stranger explained. "I've only just heard of him."
"Then how do you know that he's gonna arrive here in two hours?" asked Krillin.
"Well…" the boy looked down. "I'm sorry…but I can't say…"
"Why not?" Vegeta asked, still with that attitude of his. "I'll tell you why. Because you're up to something. Tell us now, tough guy. Who are you?"
The boy looked at Vegeta with wide eyes, but then turned his head down and stared at the ground. "I wish I could…sorry…"
It became silent for a while again, until Bulma noticed the patch on the boy's jacket. "Hey," she said. "You've got our logo on your jacket. That's my dad's company. Are you one of our employees?"
The boy finally looked up at her. "No, not exactly…just a fan."
"Oh," said Bulma. "I see. Well, tell me your name and I'll recommend you to my dad."
"I…can't do that…I'm sorry I know it's strange…" His gaze fell to the ground again.
"Why all the secrecy?" Tien taunted.
"Yeah," joined Yamcha. "There's something funny about this guy. I don't trust him."
"Knock it off, you guys!" Bulma rebuked them. "You're all jealous." She gestured toward the boy with a smile. "This guy beat Frieza single handedly. So there!"
Bulma turned toward the boy with a friendly wink. He blushed yet again and cast his eyes to the ground shyly.
...
Sometime later, everyone either sat on their own rock, on the ground, or just stood around like statues, totally bored out of their minds. The purple-haired boy sat across the way from Vegeta, gazing over at him curiously every now and then.
Charisma sat quietly on a rock beside Bulma. She couldn't stop ogling at the boy from behind her blonde bangs. 'What is it about him? I don't get it…'
"Hey," Bulma whispered to Krillin. "Check this out…is it me, or do those two kind of look alike?"
Charisma's ears picked up those words and she looked over to see if it was true. "Well, now that you mention it," Krillin said thoughtfully. "…I do kind of see the resemblance…Well just in looks…" He looked at Vegeta and the boy. "That other guy seems pretty nice…but Vegeta has the personality of a stump."
"Well, he's a prince," explained Bulma.
"So what?"
"Princes have to act bored, like the world isn't good enough for them."
"I've never seen a real prince up close before!" Charisma blurted out loudly and excitedly, catching everyone's attention. She quickly covered her mouth and exchanged a glance with Bulma. "Oops…"
Bulma gave her a funny grin. Charisma felt herself sinking into the earth.
...
Time went by slowly, and the fact that the sun was beating on them at full force wasn't helping the situation. Everyone remained silent, bored out of their minds…again…
At last, the mysterious boy looked down at his watch and then stood up. "That's it. Two hours have passed. Goku should be arriving any second now."
"Really?" Bulma asked as she stood up.
All eyes once again lifted toward the blue skies. "He's coming!" said Krillin.
"Man, that guy was right after all!" said Yamcha.
"It's true!" Gohan said brightly, chuckling happily. "My dad's back!" The gang continued staring up at the sky, until a light shone from up above, like a star.
The 'star' shot out of the sky like a comet and hit the ground a few hundred feet away. Krillin laughed playfully. "Last one there is a rotten egg!"
"Wait for me!" Bulma shouted. They all took off toward that direction and stopped when they came to a huge crater. Now, they stood in silence, staring at the little round vehicle. The door slowly opened, and sure enough, Goku emerged.
"Hi guys," he greeted, surprised to see them all there. Nonetheless, they cheered happily. He was finally home. "How did you guys know that I was coming?" he asked, floating up out of the hole.
After having explained the situation, the stranger finally spoke up. "Goku, could I have a word with you?"
"With me?"
"Yes. Just the two of us."
The others just stared at him suspiciously. Goku's cheerful and happy expression suddenly became serious. "All right then. Let's talk." They both began to walk away to get some privacy.
"Wait!" called Yamcha. "What exactly is this guy trying to say?!"
"It's ok, guys," he waved to his friends. "I'll be right back."
Goku and the stranger took flight and landed a distance away, far enough to be out of earshot…for most of them, that is.
From what could be seen, the boy had challenged Goku to a fight, and they both became Super Saiyan. It was a simple and quick battle, or rather more of a show of skill which left everyone mind blown at seeing two Super Saiyans at once. Soon after, the duo powered down and began talking for several minutes before the boy flew off. Now that Goku was left alone, the gang approached him.
"Daddy!" Gohan called him.
"Hey, Goku!" said Krillin. "So, what did that guy say?"
Goku scratched the back of his head, fumbling for words. "Well…um…Nothing important, really…"
"That's funny," said Piccolo. "It all sounded pretty important to me…"
Goku looked over to him and stuttered. "Oh, really? You…heard it all?"
"My ears do more than just frame my face, you know, Goku."
"Oh, come on!" Bulma protested. "What's so important that you can't tell us, Goku?"
"Well…I can't really say…" he said slowly.
"All right," announced Piccolo. "But if you won't, then I will…"
Goku turned to him, wide eyed. "B-but you heard!"
"Don't worry, Goku. I won't say anything that will endanger your friend." He turned to face the dark haired Saiyan. "But listen. We deserve a chance to change our destinies. All of us…not just him…"
Moments later, Piccolo finished explaining the situation to the gang. A somber mood fell upon all of them as the news sunk in. More than that, Charisma stood there feeling as if she'd just been struck by lightning twice.
'I can't…even wrap my mind around this!' she thought, her memories of her life replayed over and over like an old scratched record. '…It's just as I thought…the Androids are going to appear soon, too. I can't escape it…no matter what…I can't escape…' Her fists tightened as she held back tears. 'Even Gohan is...'
It took all of Charisma's strength to not drown under the wave of grief that began washing over her. Memories of Gohan, her teacher, her friend, replayed over and over again in her mind. 'We were supposed to find each other again…but what about Trunks…is he…?'
Charisma felt her knees grow weak. 'But this boy is from the future, too? Who is he exactly? What in the world is going on? I don't understand! But…maybe that means there's hope for me going back home?'
Gohan caught a glimpse of something in the distance above and gasped. "Look! There he is!"
The mysterious boy was sitting in his time machine, floating above in space, and waving to everyone.
'He's from the future, just like me…' Charisma reasoned as she looked up at him. 'If only I could've talked to him! If only I knew…He's the only one who could have helped me now.'
At last, the boy disappeared into the atmosphere in the blink of an eye. Just like that, he was gone. Charisma's eyes became gloomy as she lowered her head. A glimmer of hope shone in her eyes for a second, if only a brief moment as she began to truly analyze the gravity of her situation. But just like that, the feeling of hope was gone in an instant.
Maybe going back to her timeline would be more difficult than she had expected. Once again, she felt alone and lost.
