Dragon Ball: Space Adventures

Chapter 2

About as well it could have gone I

Bulla watched excited, she had never done such a thing. She held the rails of her seat tight, and braced as their destination approached ever so quickly towards them, growing by each second like a massive wave approaching towards them as it occupied the window in less than a second, and swallowed them hole in its blue extension— She looked towards her crewmates, who held themselves like sailors holding on from dear life by the mast as the ship rolls around the waves of a storm, and smiled as the planet embalm them on his arms. The ship turned side-ways, and from then they could only see the blue atmosphere, and the sun shined while the sea of darkness disappeared alongside the millions of dots behind, never to be seen or heard as a loud and heavy shaking took a hold of the ship, rolling them around as if they were going down a hill— Soon the clouds appeared, and before they knew it, the roar of the engines grew until it became an overwhelming noise that nothing else could ever hope to get close. Wooden colored mountains with tips of white appeared, then, forests of a leaf color, and then, they had landed, with a final roar as the last note of a song. No one dared to say anything, to try and fill the void of silence with words, for they knew that words wouldn't be enough to explain what flowed through their veins; fear, happiness, doubt—all of it was beyond a letter that could be put down in paper. Slowly, Bulla exhaled as the roar of the engines quieted down until it disappeared, Pan started laughing like a maniac who just got told the funniest irony in the world, and Uub dropped his head back against the seat, surrendering at what the universe had thrown at him. The blue haired girl smiled, they had landed.
The small white octopus of a ship slowly became filled with movement once again, as the prepared, grabbing everything they thought they could need in such expedition; Food, water bottles, first aids, a sleeping bag, more food, the dragon radar. Bulla quietly stacked everything on her cute blue backpack as if she was playing Tetris, trying to find the best methodical path to put as much things inside—She didn't want to hurry it, but she felt so excited she couldn't help herself. Her light brown tail threatened to start flapping around on its own. She couldn't have that, she had to calm down. What would her father say if he saw her acting in such way? She took a deep breath, and settled down… But it was impossible, how could she calm down!? She was—No! No! Bulla thought to herself, and finished packing. By the second, the time to open the door came running faster and faster. In the background, the ship worked tiredly to get the data from the planet's air. To her surprise, everything came perfectly back. This was it! The fated moment that perhaps should've come sooner hadn't been for someone not worth mentioning, there, they stood all looking at the door, as it quietly opened forward, blinding them first with the light of a strange sun that it was not their own, like a guarding dog yelling at the strangers trying to enter through the door.
Bulla prepared to walked, only to be surprised by dark silhouettes that ran ahead without care, and kneeled on the ground as if it was praying. It was Pan, she was crying and, bowing to the green grass. Tears flew through her eyes desperately, and by the time she finished rolling her eyes, she saw Uub doing the same thing, dropping their tears on the green grass that had been flattened by their arrival. Bulla wanted to scold them, they were the firsts half-Saiyans and human beings in this planet— she had even prepared a long and profound speech about the importance of their mission and their success, but it didn't matter now, she was going to allow it for the time being. There were bigger things to care about.
Like, her clothes; Pan, for some reason, had chosen to wear the same clothes she had worn that fated day. The white pants, the red shirt, the bandana. She seemed to like the outfit a lot. It looked alright. Bulla much preferred her own, the red skirt and top was lovely in her eyes, she knew it wasn't the best in a combat situation, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made in the name of fashion. Uub's clothes in the other hand were rather simple, traditional robes consisting of a brown, one-shoulder top, and white pants tied with a white belt. Bulla thought they were unacceptable, he had to had something better than that— What was even worse was that they had all picked the same clothes from the day they've met. For a moment, they all stared at each other, but no one said a word. Bulla felt that was for the better.
With that out the way; The first thing in the order of business; Localize the Dragon Balls. Bulla grabbed the Galaxy radar, and with a simple push of a button, a small dot began to blink. It didn't seem to be too far away.
That left her with the second thing, the hostage.
—No way I'm getting stuck with him, this is Your problem.
—I will not carry him for miles on just so you can go and have all the fun for yourself.
—I'm sorry, who didn't close the fucking doors?
Bulla sighed, there she went on with her mouth.
—The words of someone who didn't got rid of our hostage do not matter to me.
—Then fine, how about this; We play a game of rock, paper and scissors, winner of three takes care of him.
Bulla took a look at Uub, he seemed deeply resigned to his fate. The sheer idea of carrying him like a mule was the worst thing that could come through her neurons, by Kami, she had to won.
Rock-paper-scissors was a simple but serious strategic game, Bulla believed that to win it you required a great intellect and a quick but clever mind. She had a perfectly plan. She would first start with Paper, as she believed Pan was more than likely to use rock, she was that kind of girl after all, then she would follow with rock, as she thought that the black-haired girl was more than likely to try and adjust herself and change the approach for something cleverer. Lastly, she would finish with paper again, anticipating, a possible return to the traditional brute force approach, assuming Pan would think she would use Scissors again, as that was something expected of herself.
They both stand doff looking intensively at each other, two cowboys with their hands laid next to their hips as tumbleweeds slowly moved across the wasteland that had momentarily appeared on each girls' mind—and for a moment, Pan smirked. Bulla grew worried for a moment, but decided to stick with the plan. It was probably nothing, a small mental ruse by her.
At the count of three, naming all the tools of war, they each drew their swords, and Bulla blinked for a second, as Pan had put forward a pair of Scissors. Momentarily, she wondered if she had to change the approach, but she decided to stick with the plan, after all, it could just been a fluke.
At the count of three, they drew their tools, and Bulla blinked worriedly again, her rock had been easily stopped by Pan's paper. She grew worried, how was she getting anticipated so easily? Had she planned wrongly? it couldn't be, taking into account everything she knew about her this had to be a walk in the park, and yet there she was, about to have to carry Uub for a very long while.
At the count of three, very worriedly, Bulla drew her tools, and as she unveiled her paper, Bulla's worst fears became fruition. She had lost. She could only stare in envy and confusion as Pan grabbed the radar, adjusted her bandanna, and with a smile, flew away towards the Dragon ball. She even did a few loops as she flew away, stretching her arms like a bird with zero responsibilities. The blue-haired girl couldn't understand how she had lost so terribly, she knew she'd win, perhaps there would be some trouble but it wouldn't be anything she couldn't handle, but then, there she was, the winner taking all and flying away. Bulla decided to shake her thoughts away from it, there would be time to come up with a better plan later, she'd had to practice harder in the arts of rock, paper and scissors, but now, the 2nd Issue remained.
Bulla told Uub to stay there, and like a rock, he obliged as she went back to the ship, where moments later she appeared with a key on her hands. Without much care, she asked for his hands, and the boy, with an interested stare, reluctantly agreed. Then, she put the keys on the handcuffs, turned them, and freed him.
Uub drew back his hands, imitating someone who knows that the dog is going to bite, and softly massaged his wrists, feeling the numbness of a weeklong trip that had him with two extremities less. He moved them, he shook them, struggling to believe that it was happening right before his very eyes. then, he raised his dark pupils, and looked at her.
—Why… why did you free me?
He said, with a soft tone that was filled with confusion. Bulla almost laughed at the question, it was the dumbest thing she had heard this whole week. And by god it had been an strange week.
—As I stated beforehand; I will not carry you for miles—Furthermore, we were bound to release you sooner or later, I suppose now it's the most decent of times.
She said, putting one hand on her hip and raising her left hand upwards. Uub, meanwhile, quietly grew more astonished at the reveal, slowly, his mouth opened in sweeping amazement, devouring air that was not from his home world.
—W-was there a reason as to why you could not do it before?
He said, shaking his wrists, with a baffled stare.
—Well, I suppose not.
—Y-you suppose that you didn't want to?
—I Suppose so. Frankly, had you asked again, I'd probably would have done it.
A loud and profound sigh left Uub's body, as he stared to the ground, seemingly thinking something. Bulla wondered what was wrong with him. But she decided it was probably not something important, she had truly significant things to take care off. With it out the way, she decided to focus on the next set of task. Resources and scouting. A big thing they had created when her mother, brother, and her, made the ship, was that it would have to be decently self-sustaining, that's why, besides having its own internal water supply, and being capable of recycling immense amount of liquids and turning them into drinkable substances, they'd still would have to get water from local planetary sources every once in a while, but first, she wanted to check the planet, and see how it was.
With a smile, she turned around and looked at the boy, he was now jumping and moving his shoulders, feeling the KI flow through his body once again. Bulla quickly checked and saw how everything slowly worked again, like a river that had been clogged by a rock suddenly is free to flow again through the valleys and mountains. She thought of suggesting he stays away from a fight, but what were the odds of that even happening?
—Are you able to fly?
Uub looked upwards, and nodded at her, he had a very interesting stare, a mix of tiredness and peace. As if everything was right again, but just like anyone who's ever been to a party and drank a few too many, he thought that the bathroom should still be near just in case.
—I will not wear those again.
He said with a stern and confident look, the look of a slave who's tasted the fruits of freedom once again.
Bulla raised one eyebrow in confusion.
—I don't care.
She said, and entered the ship with the handcuffs still on her hands. Moments later, she returned, and took flight upwards. Her feet quietly lifted from the ground, where small bits of dirt lifted alongside, and took off straight into the blue skies.
Bulla flew across the skies, feeling the fresh air hit her in the face. She judged, taking into account the position of the sun, that it had to be early morning in this planet. It gave her a lot of joy. Two weeks ago she couldn't even begin to phantom the idea that she'd be here, flying freely in a world that was not her own. All It had taken was a small drop of gallantry, and now, she became the third Briefs to ever walk in a planet that was not her own. She smirked at that knowledge. She would never let it live down towards her brother. But a thing she couldn't live it down, was how eerily similar it was to her home, green pastures ran along the fields alongside the emerald colored trees of the forest they had landed in, those colorful pikes of white in the background made her feel like she was doing a play in the theater, a character so far detach from her own, where one sinks into the words that are not his own. Nothing could replace this view. It was a great shame her father couldn't be here to witness this with her. This unique and massive step from humanity into the unexplored depths of heaven, all in the hands of her, and the other two who were kind of there too. She could only imagine the heart full of pride his father would have after she returned from voyage with all the Dragon Balls on their hands. She would accomplish this mission, she would make him proud.
—Bulla! Bulla!
She turned around, and spotted Uub desperately appearing on her right. He was shaking and struggling to even sustain himself in the air, his muscles quivered and it seemed that at any moment he would drop down straight into the ground-. Why in the world the boy thought that flying at such speeds, or just flying after a week of the equivalent of being in bed for two years was a good idea was beyond her.
—What could I help you, Young Uub?
It was then, he looked at her, and opened and closed his mouth as he immediately felt the air hit his tongue. Then, he looked around, lost for words. He rolled his eyes, his head, and finally, of what was an eternity where everything ended, opened his mouth.
—I'm… escorting you?
Both stood off each other, unsure of the words that just had been spoken, as if neither could really believe what he had just say. Was it a joke? Didn't he mean it? Bulla rolled her eyes and pretended that he didn't say anything. She just assumed he hit his head or something.
—So what we're going to do next— She said changing the subject, feeling like any further words from him were definitely not important. —Is we're going to meet a friend of my aunt.
Uub raised both eyebrows very wide.
—In space?
He said incredulous.
—Yes. We're in the cosmos, Uub, we're going to meet plenty of people I hope.
The boy stared at her for a moment and then looked away, his eyes were lost in the distance, as if he hadn't really digested it yet, the terrifying fact that this was no ordinary travel to another country or a simple faraway town, this was on another planet, in another galaxy, with its own ecosystem of people and culture. People whose daily life differs from us so much that It's mere existence is capable of driving us to insanity on a mere day. The boy took a deep sight, wondering why his head hurt out of the sudden.
—Can I ask you a question?
Bulla turned her head, and with her right hand indicated him to go ahead.
—Is there anything I should know about him?
—In what regard? —Bulla said with a raised eyebrow.
—I'm not sure, is he impulsive, does he has a short temper? Anything that may be of help.
—Why for?
Uub stared at her for a moment before responding, realizing they were having two different conversations.
—I'm asking if he's dangerous.
Bulla turned around with a mouth open in disbelief. Laughter came screeching through her mouth like a train coming through a tunnel.
—Him? Pfft! He's a total dork!
—Have you meet him before?
—Of course, hear my word Young Uub, there is nothing to be concerned about.
—That is not… good enough.
Suddenly, a spike of electricity appeared near her upper head, a sensation of anger that raised her blood temperature and caused a small grin to appear. Who did he think he was talking to?
—Calm your nerves, you're speaking to the princess of all Saiyans, whatever it is, I can handle it.
Uub stopped on his tracks for a moment.
—…I do not don't know what that means.
Uub said honestly.
Bulla's mouth didn't open for a few moments, this was it, all the education she had received from her father, about what they were, and what she was. The excitement ran through her body like a wildfire eats a forest, reaching every branch and leaf so quickly that it almost felt peaceful. With a smile, Bulla opened her mouth.
—Saiyans were a race of intergalactic, conquering warriors. Some of the strongest beings that ever existed were part of it, and I, happen to be one of them.
—You're a warrior?
Uub said with a surprise that encompassed the sun. As if he was just told that the skies were green and a shower of snakes was approaching.
Bulla nodded, ignoring Uub's tone with a large smile on her face. Albeit proud, she recognized that she wasn't 100% a warrior like her father or brother. For example, she lacked any type of actual combat experience fighting other warriors in real scenarios—But that didn't matter, after all, how many years had she expend fighting her father and brother in that circular room? Did that not mean anything? Did the scratches she carried from every impact her body withstood mean that in actually the princess of all Saiyans was actually closer to a pet than a wolf? No, it couldn't. But it was just another reason to the dozens of reasons she had to be here. Her father had been perfectly clear that day when Pan complained below under their attentive stare, about how she should be doing just the same as that dark-skinned tailed girl.
"She's right." He had stated with a religiously calm stare. And despite her initial disbelief, she now found herself fully agreeing with his father once again. Truly, his wisdom had no limits. Now, there was a problem, how does one get a fight? That was a problem for later, though the young girl.
—Father trained me since I was very young, and I am adept in many techniques.
Uub looked at the distance for a moment, and then he looked back, and then he looked at distance, and then back again, raising both eyebrows wide as his eyes broadened.
—A-are you a being from another planet?
He said, doubting his own words.
—No, I was born in the planet we both share.
—Oh. I see.
—Father is what we could call "the extraterrestrial being" He was the one that was born in our home planet.
He stared emptily at her.
—Matter of fact, your teacher is a Saiyan too. —She was so happy. She finally had a chance to tell someone else about it. —He was born in our home planet many years ago, he even has a different name, although he uses the one he got here.
He continued stared emptily.
—So he's a…
—In short? An extraterrestrial being!
Uub didn't reply.
—Is it not incredible?
She said happily, but Uub's face confused her. His mouth was half open and his eyebrows were raised, almost as he was incredulous, or unable to understand the words she used. Had she not been straight-forward enough? Had she missed something?
—If you have any doubts, do feel free to let me know.
She said calmly.
Uub didn't reply, he limited to smile and nod, and then he looked away. Bulla felt confused by it, but she decided it was probably nothing, he seemed to have gotten the hang of it.