Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Dark Heart ❯ A New Adventure ( Chapter 11 )

Bulma stood silently in front of one of the windows of the space ship, wrapped in a thermal blanket. It never really ceased to amaze her how beautiful space was; she'd dreamt with space travel ever since she was a little girl and, even though she'd already witnessed some of the monsters that inhabited it, she couldn't help but admire the beauty of her view.

They'd already traveled for nine days, and they were getting closer and closer to their destination: the planet where Vegeta's ship seemed to be stationed at the moment.

From the time she'd decided to make this trip, she'd been regularly checking on the ship's tracking system her father had installed, systematically, in all Capsule Corp. vehicles. The signal wasn't very good and it continually appeared and disappeared from their radar. However, it was the best option they had and, at least, they knew the ship had been positioned on the same location for about six days now. Of course, there was always the possibility that the Prince had simply abandoned the vehicle and that he'd left the planet employing some other means of transportation, like one of the pods the warrior used when he first came to Earth, but the heiress hoped that, even if her man wasn't there, she'd at least get some information on his whereabouts and perhaps even find out what exactly he'd been up to. She knew Dende had told her he'd “shed some blood”, but as far as she knew, it hadn't been innocent blood, so that gave her hope that Vegeta's mind and spirit wouldn't be completely gone.

Bulma heard a soft noise and she turned around, only to be greeted by Krillin walking towards the little kitchenette.

“Want some coffee?” he softly asked her.

“Sure. Thanks, Krillin.”

“No problem…” the bald man replied.

The blue haired woman walked towards their tiny living area and she sat down on one of the small couches. They both tried to make as little noise as possible, since all three passengers had been taking turns to sleep and it was Yamcha's chance to rest now. It had been a really good idea on Bulma's part, that way two of them would always be completely alert in case something bad took place. And as usual, something bad had happened indeed: the ship had suddenly found itself in the middle of an electromagnetic field and some of the electrical power systems had been slightly damaged. Luckily, it hadn't been anything major, but the scientist had decided to disconnect the main energy systems of the ship just in case. As a result, they'd spent the last couple of days in the dark, relying only in the dim emergency lights of the vehicle, and without heating or hot water. She'd also forbidden the guys from using the small gravity room she had installed on the second floor.

Bulma shivered slightly and she wrapped the blanket around herself a bit tighter. She kept telling herself that the situation was uncomfortable, but not terrible. After all, the woman had certainly found herself under worse circumstances. A lot worse. And per her calculations, they only had about thirty-six to forty-eight hours until they reached their destination.

“Here” a kind voice said, placing the steaming cup of coffee right in front of her.

“Thank you”, she replied with gratitude. A warm drink was just what she needed right now…

They both drank in silence for a minute or two, as they enjoyed the last few days of peace and quiet they'd probably get for a while. After all, who knew what kind of circumstances they'd find when they finally landed. Bulma had been able to get in touch with her father on two occasions, which hadn't been an easy task, and he had no information whatsoever regarding the planet they were about to visit. For all they knew, it could be a planet with a hostile environment, or even worse, unfriendly inhabitants. The heiress knew her friends were strong, but not as strong as a Saiyan warrior, and as they approached their destination, Bulma found herself getting increasingly nervous about what they'd eventually find when they got there. A part of her was also starting to regret not having brought Gohan along with them, but deep down she knew that she'd made the right choice by not allowing the young boy to join them on the day of their departure from Earth.

Bulma frowned as she recalled her last day on her home planet. They were all in the garden, ready to go, her mother holding Trunks in her arms as Dr. Briefs and his daughter performed a last check up on the navigation system of the ship.

“What the hell is that?!” Yamcha said all of a sudden, as he looked at the sky.

“What?” a startled Bulma replied.

Abruptly, Goku's son had landed near the ship, closely followed by Piccolo.

“Gohan!! No!!” the Namekian had yelled.

She looked at the boy and she realized something was wrong. He looked angry and impatient, and he spoke frantically.

“Bulma, please! Let me go with you! I can't believe you didn't ask me to join you!”

The scientist looked at Piccolo in confusion, and the green man answered the question that was on her mind.

“I'm sorry, Bulma. I told him that you were leaving because I was hoping Gohan would give me a hand with Trunks. My mistake… I should have waited until the ship had taken off…” he said, regret in his rough voice.

The woman nodded in understanding and she turned towards her best friend's son once again.

“I see…” she said as she firmly put both arms on Gohan's shoulders.

“I'm sorry, young man, but I'm afraid you can't come with us…”

“But Bulma… You'll need my help! It's… It's my responsibility to…”

“No, it's not, Gohan”, she cut him off. Her heart tightening at the sight of the young boy, who was looking more like his father than ever, and the sense of duty and obligation present in his too young eyes… No, this wasn't right.

“Gohan, listen to me…” she continued, her maternal instincts kicking in with a vengeance. “Your place is here, on Earth. You mother needs you, now more than ever, and you are right, you are the strongest warrior we have and you'll be more useful staying on the planet”.

“B-But… Bulma I… I can help…” the boy said frustratingly.

Bulma knelt in front of him and she whispered in his ear, “I need you to take care of Trunks while I'm gone, Gohan. I'm sure he's going to need you more than I would. I'll be fine, I promise. I'm gonna find Vegeta, and then he'll protect me when we're finally together. You know he's one of us now, don't you?”

The young boy nodded, confused.

“Yeah, I guess…” he said sadly, staring at the ground now.

“Are you really going to bring him back, Bulma?” he whispered back.

“Of course!” she replied, winking playfully at him. “What's the matter, boy? You think I can't do it?” she asked mockingly.

The boy laughed.

“I'm sure you will” he replied. And he wasn't lying, for he'd heard some of his dad's stories about his adventures with the young woman and he knew she was a force of nature.

“Alright then”, she said resolutely, standing up in front of him once again. “I leave my baby in your hands, OK?”

He nodded.

“And take care of your mom, you hear me?”

She gave him a hug and a strange sense of déjà vu enveloped her, realizing there was something in the boy's scent that smelled just like Goku when he was a kid and he used to sneak in to innocently share the bed with her…

Bulma took another sip of her coffee, suddenly finding it hard to swallow the hot beverage as she recalled her last moments on Earth, holding her child as she said her final goodbyes. Trunks had seemed in good spirits as she entered the ship, but she really had no idea how he was doing right now, having only been able to check on him on two occasions, and sometimes she felt like she was going insane from how much she was missing her baby.

“Are you OK?” Krillin asked, concern present in his voice.

“Uh? Um, sure, I'm fine. Why do you ask?”

He shrugged.

“No reason, you just seemed a bit lost in thought, that's all… Are you worried?”

“A little…” she admitted in a low voice.

The warrior gawked at her, shocked that she had actually confessed being nervous about what they were attempting to do. These past few days he'd really gotten to see a new Bulma, perhaps a more mature one. He guessed it probably had something to do with motherhood and even with Vegeta. He found it interesting that, even though their mission was very clear, she never actually talked about the Saiyan Prince, and he didn't dare to ask since, just like all the rest of the Z Warriors, with the exception perhaps of Goku, he'd never fully understood just what the hell had his friend seen in that man. Although some recent developments in his own personal life had started to challenge his own concepts of good and evil.

As if reading his thoughts, the heiress smiled sadly.

“Tell me the truth, Krillin, do you think I'm crazy?” she asked.

“Uh? Um, no… Not really… I mean, I'm sure you know Vegeta better than any of us. Besides, people can change, right?”

Bulma looked at him for a minute, realizing that her friend seemed to have something else on his mind, and she had a vague idea of who the lucky lady was.

“I think so” she continued. “Are you… Um… Are you hoping that someone else will change in your life, Krillin?” she asked cautiously, with a playful glint in her eyes.

The warrior blushed and he shyly nodded.

`Bingo!' She thought.

“Is it a lovely blonde lady?” she smirked.

“Yeah… It's 18…” he said, avoiding her gaze and smiling like a silly teenage boy.

She smiled.

“Well… I'm happy for you” she said, really meaning it.

“Really?” he asked in shock. “You don't really think I'm crazy?”

Bulma laughed.

“Do you realize that's exactly the same question I just asked you myself?”

He smiled too.

“Yeah… I guess we're both crazy, uh?”

“Or we have a sixth sense when it comes to reading people…” she said hopefully.

Krillin nodded, remaining silent.

“May I ask how things are going?” she finally asked again.

“Uh, you know…” he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “We've, uh, we've been on a few dates…”

She smiled, noticing how shy he looked.

“I think it's going well… I even think…” he paused, unsure of whether he should continue or not.

“Go on… You even think, what?” she encouraged him gently.

“I think she might be the one…”

Bulma's eyes widened a little.

“Really? Wow… Well, I hope things work out for you two…”

“You really mean that, Bulma?” he asked, still clearly insecure, looking almost embarrassed about the fact that he'd fallen in love with one of the “bad guys”. The heiress knew the feeling all too well…

“I really do. You're a really nice guy Krillin, you deserve happiness”, she finally replied, kindly squeezing one of his hands.

He looked at the woman and he smiled, putting his other hand on top of hers.

“We're gonna find him, Bulma. I have a good feeling about this…” he declared with complete honesty in his eyes.

Suddenly both friends heard the sound on someone clearing his throat.

They both turned their heads only to find a sleepy Yamcha witnessing the scene with curious eyes.

“Um… Is everything OK?” he finally asked.

Krillin let go of Bulma's hand.

“Yeah… Just, catching up, you know…” the scientist replied.

“Alright… Well, I'm not feeling like sleeping anymore, so you can rest now if you want, Bulma.”

As if on cue, the blue haired woman yawned.

“Yeah… I'll go get some sleep.”

She got up and she walked towards the little hallway where the three small rooms were placed.

“Have fun, you guys…”

Bulma laid in bed and she closed her eyes, trying to get some sleep. Even though she was exhausted, her excitement about her new adventure kept her awake for a few extra minutes… She'd tried not to get her hopes up, but she knew that it was very possible that she'd finally find Vegeta in less than a couple of days, and now that she was getting closer, she had absolutely no idea what she would do if and when she actually found him.

What would she say? What would she do? And more importantly, how would he react? Would he reject her? She knew in her heart that the Prince would never, ever hurt her physically, but she knew that he'd already hurt her emotionally quite a few times in the past. She had absolutely no idea what was going on inside the Saiyan's mind, but she knew that something was wrong with him. When she closed her eyes, she could still see those dark penetrating eyes, sadly looking at her in the middle of the night. Their last night together…

She shivered, tucking herself with the blankets, she turned on her side and she took a deep breath. Her last thought before deep sleep finally came to her was that everything was going to be alright…

Meanwhile, Yamcha sat down on the pilot's chair. He was now fully awake, thanks to a cup of coffee and a really cold shower. He looked at the coordinates in the map where Bulma had traced their route and he frowned.

“Hey Krillin” he said softly, trying not to make too much noise. “Come here…”

“What's up?” the bald man asked, standing next to him.

“Um… When was the last time you received the signal from Vegeta's ship?”

“I dunno… Bulma was the one really watching it. Why? Is there something wrong?” he asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

“Well, I'm looking at the records and it says that we haven't received any signal for about eight hours now. Isn't that a little too much?”

“Um… Not really… I mean, I think at one point we lost it for almost an entire day. It drove poor Bulma crazy… And then we got it again, exactly on the same spot… So, I'm sure it's OK.”

Yamcha took a deep breath.

“If you say so… Hey, how about another cup of coffee?”

“I'm on it, pal…” Krillin replied, making his way towards the kitchenette.

The scarred faced warrior got up, abandoning the pilot's chair, and he walked towards the same window Bulma had been standing in front of before. He crossed his arms, deep in thought, hoping that Bulma would eventually find what she was looking for…