Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Attachments Detached ❯ Chapter 11 ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter 11

Kakarott's eyes flicked from one shadow to the other, taking in the various smells and sounds of the conifer forest set on the edge of a huge mountain he had felt impelled to go to. Since it was the tallest landmark around, he figured Vegeta would know to go there. That was the plan with a relocate/regroup signal.

He sighed as his stomach once again growled with irritation. He hated to admit it, but after a week of wandering around the forest, he was pretty sure Vegeta hadn't been able to escape. He ran a hand through his hair and grimaced. The bad thing was that Kakarott had no idea where Bulma's house was or even where he was.

He looked around once again, tensing slightly at a foreign sound only to see a huge golden cat step out of the shadows. It stared at him, one paw raised, the rest of its body stilled as it sniffed the Saiyan. Deciding this was only another predator like him and not a true threat, the cat let out a sneeze of warning and went on, leaping up a formation of craggy rocks in search of prey.

Kakarott considered following the animal, maybe to find out what was edible around here. He had never had Vegeta's skill for hunting an animal. He made too much noise. He shrugged and continued on his way, path lit only by the ever-lengthening shadows and his own sensitive vision. He needed to find some kind of people here so he could at least meet up with Bulma. How Vegeta would scoff if he knew Kakarott was lost.

Suddenly Kakarott's head whipped around, eyes locking onto a bush with a ready stare. He moved silently to the vegetation, stalking his prey. However, the snapping of twigs and rustle of his loose fitting clothes, something Vegeta had always gotten on him about, ruined the impression that he hunted anything living as it surely would've bolted by now.

He stared down at the bush, eyeing the huge, juicy, red berries whose sweetly soured scent tickled under his nose, calling his grumbling stomach irresistibly.

Seeing no reason to ignore the call, Kakarott grabbed a handful of the fruit, stuffing it in his mouth and refilling his hand until the bush had not one ripe berry on it. One taste of the green berries told him they weren't as good as the red.

His stomach grumbled again and Kakarott looked at his red stained hands, wiping them on his clothes, with a frown. That frown lit into a grin as he saw yet another bush brimming with berries. Chuckling he once again pounced on his prey, following the line of bushes without any conscious thought except that of his stomach demanding more food.

He stopped eating on his sixth bush when a strange yet haunting sound hit his ears. He cocked his head to one side, wiping his mouth with one hand and the hand on his clothes. The sound flittered around the forest, echoing with a true pitch that made Kakarott smile. He'd never heard a sound quite like that. Not from any person, not from any animal.

Being naturally curious, Kakarott moved unerringly toward the sound, crouching down behind yet another of the berry bushes as he came upon a clearing. He peeked over the edge, grabbing yet another handful of berries and stuffing them in his mouth.

A girl with black, straight hair done up in a ponytail leaned down and dropped her skirt-full of berries into the hand-weaved basket at her feet, softly humming a tune that seemed to fit the image she projected perfectly.

Kakarott eyed the berries that seemed plumper than the ones he had eaten and then the pretty girl with the pretty song, trying to decide if he should greet her or not. The sudden knowledge of the empty bush before him and the thought of those berries with whipped cream or a la mode had him rising and stepping out, huge grin plastered on his face.

The girl stood up at the sudden movement she caught out of the corner of her eye. She turned, her black hair swinging behind her to stare at the man before her. She took in the size of the man, or rather his muscles, his wild, black hair, the red stains on clothes, hands, and mouth and immediately reacted, jumping back slightly and crouching down into a fighting stance, "Stay away, you! I know how to defend myself!"

Kakarott again tilted his head to one side, grin not faltering. "Hi! I just want some berries. I've eaten all of them," he motioned behind him. "And my name's not 'you', it's Kakarott."

The girl gawked slightly and quickly rid her face of its incredulous expression, stance not relaxing. She did, however, lean over to look behind him, seeing that, indeed, all the bushes behind him that had been full were bare. Well, that would explain the stains.

Kakarott chuckled, putting a hand behind his head in a manner the girl found-cute. "Actually, I think I'm lost." He gazed longingly at the basket, "But I am awfully hungry and those berries look so good!" As if to punctuate the sentence, his stomach gave a loud growl. Kakarott mock-grimaced, a grin still on his face, and sheepishly put a hand on his stomach, "See what I mean?"

The girl giggled despite herself. The man's charisma was just too sincere to put off as being manipulating. There seemed no deviance or ill will to this person at all. She relaxed her stance, "Well, Kakarott, it is easy to get lost here. Do you know where you are?"

Kakarott shook his head, his eyes involuntarily straying to the basket. "I'm-new around here." He wasn't quite sure if Vegeta would want him to tell strangers he was an alien.

The girl grinned and the way it lit her face had Kakarott momentarily looking from the food to her, hunger forgotten, until a stray breeze blew the scent of the berries back under his nose. "Well, my name's ChiChi. My house isn't far from here. We could go there and try to contact someone you know. I'm planning on making a pie with these and you can have some of it. I can't eat a whole pie, after all."

Kakarott rubbed his stomach, licking his lips in anticipation, "With ice cream?"

ChiChi looked amused by the question and smiled again, lighting up the whole dark forest, "Sure! I love it that way!" She motioned to him to follow and he eagerly did so, taking the basket from her hands as any gentleman would, although it was quite a test of willpower not to take a bite. The look of appreciation of ChiChi's face helped.

Kakarott didn't even notice the walk to the girl's house, attention divided between the girl and the berries, feeling a weird need to keep from touching both of them. He shrugged it off in the light that he would not only get a hold of Bulma, but also find Vegeta and get home-baked pie in the deal. He'd never had home-baked pie before.

He finally noticed that they had exited the woods and were coming upon a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a simple, yet nice capsule house. ChiChi stopped at the entrance and held the door open with a flourish. "After you!"

Kakarott grinned at her and stepped into the house, looking at the clean surroundings before setting down the basket and turning completely to the girl. "Well, ChiChi, thanks for inviting me here. Um, now how do we contact my friend?"

ChiChi smiled and moved to a videophone that hung on the wall. She put her fingers over the keypad. "Just tell me who you need to contact and I'll get them."

Kakarott was suddenly very nervous, "Um, well actually, I don't know if it would be wise to contact her. Some stuff happened and I had to leave in a hurry and got separated from them. I'm not really sure if the place she would be at right now would be okay to call."

ChiChi frowned. She could tell the man was sincerely worried. She took a seat at the table Kakarott had placed the berries on and motioned for him to do the same. When he had done so, she smiled encouragingly at him, "Maybe if you tell me the whole story, I'll be able to help you."

Kakarott looked at the basket, as if the wood used to make it was very interesting, "Well, you see, all I can really say is that me and my friend were out of town when this girl, who lives around here, came into town. Some people tried to have her killed and we helped her escape.

"When we came into her town some people here hurt my friend. He told me to basically get away and he would catch up. It's been a week now and I have no idea where either of them are." He sighed ran a hand through his hair. "The person who was after the girl is coming here in just one more week." Now that he'd stated the situation in simple terms to ChiChi, he saw how very dire a situation he was in.

ChiChi reached out and grasped Kakarott's hand, "It'll be okay. Now I understand you not wanting to tell me everything, as you probably don't trust anyone here after what happened to you friend. I'm sure both your friends are fine, probably worried about you too. Now, all I need is for you to tell me this girl's name. I can look her up and see if the coast is clear for contacting her. Maybe I can even find out about your other friend."

Kakarott smiled at her, slightly relieved now that someone had a plan. He squeezed her hand gently back in thanks. "Her name is Bulma Briefs."

ChiChi's jaw dropped. "Bulma Briefs? THE Bulma Briefs? The heiress of Capsule Corporation?"

Kakarott tilted his head to one side, eyebrows raised at the unexpected reaction. "Yeah, that's her. Why? Is she that famous here?"

ChiChi gawked, making strangled sounds since she had no idea whether to laugh or shout. "Yes, she's famous! Capsule's a monopoly here!" She paused, her face going slack as the pieces of Kakarott's unfinished story clicked into place audibly.

Kakarott gulped as ChiChi stared at him almost blankly. "But she's with Frieza."

Oh, Vegeta was going to kill him. He chuckled nervously, "Yeah. She was."

"Was." ChiChi nodded, her eyes narrowing slightly, "So, what? Frieza tried to have her killed and you and your friend helped her escape to Earth and some guys down here captured your friend and you were told to leave him and now you have no idea where they are and Frieza's coming to Earth in a week?"

Kakarott winced. The way she summarized made it sound even worse. "Well, yeah. That about says it." He drew his hand away, knowing the next conclusion she would come to. He was surprised to find himself dreading her reaction.

ChiChi's brows furrowed at his sudden withdrawal, "You and your friend are aliens? You don't look alien."

Kakarott let his tail unfurl behind him, waving it back and forth with slow nervousness. "I'm an alien. I'm a Saiyan."

ChiChi glanced at the tail. She didn't really understand his anxiety; the tail was kind of cute, fitting his image perfectly. She cocked her head to one side, "Saiyan? I've never heard of them. But I guess if you're one they can't be bad, huh?" she grinned.

Kakarott felt relief wash over him and acutely knew how Vegeta had to have felt when Bulma had reacted to him being Saiyan. It would've hurt if ChiChi's reaction had been anything close to fear. He smiled back at her. "So, can you find out what I need to know?"

ChiChi's grin widened, "Of course! I can ask to speak to Bulma about their new line of capsules. She absolutely loves to talk to people about them and always answers phone calls like that. If I can't get a hold of her I'll ask if I can drop by. That should tell us something."

Kakarott heaved a sigh and ChiChi giggled. "While I'm making the call, you can go take a shower if you want. It's right down the hall."

Kakarott stood and nodded his thanks. "That sounds good. Bulma was complaining all the way here about how bad we smelled. Of course, Vegeta, that's my other friend, would start arguing about how she didn't smell good either." With that last, almost inane, comment, Kakarott went in the direction ChiChi had pointed out, his tail curling behind him lazily.

ChiChi shook her head, wondering what her father would say if she told him an alien, a male alien, a male good-looking, cute alien, was taking a shower in her house. On second thought, what her father didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

ChiChi got up and once again walked to the videophone, this time tapping in the number for Capsule.

It was picked up on the third ring, which was unusual in itself, by a person she recognized as Dr. Briefs. Where was Bulma's secretary?

"Can I help you?" He looked awfully tired with those dark circles under his eyes.

"Um, yes. I was wondering if I could speak to Miss Briefs about her new line of capsules. I really need help in knowing what to buy to upgrade what I already have."

Dr. Briefs sighed and seemed to look beyond the screen. "I'm sorry. Miss Briefs isn't in right now. We don't have any of the new line in stock though."

ChiChi raised an eyebrow, "Not in stock? But-you guys manufacture it, right?"

Dr. Briefs nodded, "Yes, but Fri-Lord Frieza has requested them for his own use."

"Can't you make more? I really need to upgrade my stuff. Living way out here in the mountains I can hardly get what I need. I'm really behind."

Dr. Briefs shook his head, "I'm sorry we don't have any more, but if you'll excus-"

ChiChi quickly interrupted him, "Then do you mind if I stop in and take a look around? I've never been there before and perhaps Miss Briefs can tell me what I can get that will upgrade what I need that you guys have." She smiled pleasantly.

Dr. Briefs seemed to pause and ChiChi knew something was wrong. Capsule was known for its open-door policy. It didn't try to hide what it did because no one else could get the exact replication of the capsule's machinations. Basically he wasn't sure if he should allow her in, even though to not do so would sound suspicious.

His decision was taken away from him when the angle of the video on his side changed, revealing a huge man with short-cropped brown hair and green eyes that were narrowed at her. His appearance was something that set her immediately on edge.

"Listen, Miss Mau, Capsule is having major repairs done and Miss Briefs is not seeing anyone. She has a-bug. She'll be sure to call you back as soon as she gets better though. Will that do?"

This definitely wasn't a worker of Capsule Corporation. None of the Briefs family would ever allow an employee to speak to a prospective customer like that. ChiChi did a good job of folding her arms and scowling. "Yes, I suppose it'll have to do."

With a simple nod, the man shut off the connection and left ChiChi with a black screen and quite a few problems.

She sat down and began to pick and clean the berries to straighten her thoughts. Kakarott had to get to Bulma so they could both get to-Vegeta; that was his name. Then she guessed they would run again, or fight him. So, who else could she get in touch with to contact Bulma?

With a sudden snap of her fingers, ChiChi stood up; blushing as she noticed Kakarott, now clean with his old gi on, staring at her with a raised eyebrow. She sat back down and watched as he too sat down across from her, "What'd you find out?"

She shook her head, "Whoever got your friends is at Capsule. They won't let me contact her at all." As Kakarott's face fell, ChiChi ran through his dreary thoughts, "But I know of someone I can get a hold of that will help us."

Kakarott beamed, "Who?"

ChiChi grinned at the man triumphantly, "Yamcha."

General Ribery frowned as he shut off the connection. That certainly hadn't been the first call they'd had to deter, but she had certainly been the most insistent. For some reason, alarm bells were going off in his head.

He turned slightly toward Dr. Briefs, who did not look him in the eye. He still thought the man knew where Bulma and the Prince were. He was her father after all.

"Lord Frieza will not be happy with your uncooperativeness. He will want to question you himself." He shook his head, "From what I've seen that won't be pleasant."

Dr. Briefs did not look up, but his voice was glare enough, "You've betrayed us all."

The general chuckled, the comment not bothering him at all. "It's called incentive, my dear man. I'll get more pay and more power. All I have to do is stand back and let him do his work."

"You actually think Frieza will keep you alive? A traitor is guaranteed to betray again. They just need the right price. He won't trust you."

General Ribery shrugged. "Hardly matters to me. I don't want to die old like you, that's for sure." He suddenly stiffened and turned, a fake smile plastered on his face. "Yamcha."

Yamcha silently inclined his head, standing just in the doorway. His blank face didn't tell the general how much the man had heard. "You've found the other?"

Yamcha shook his head, "This guy is hiding his ki without even realizing it; a survival instinct. I think the Prince is doing the same and managing to keep Bulma's hidden at the same time. An interesting trick I'd like to learn."

General Ribery frowned with displeasure, "You'd wish to learn something from a traitor to Lord Frieza?"

Yamcha shrugged, suddenly looking bored. "Sometimes the best way to kill an enemy is to use their own weapon against them."

The general scowled. He'd been trying to catch the leader of the Z fighters as a traitor to Lord Frieza. However, although the man's easy smile made it look not so, Yamcha was quick witted. He'd never managed to get him caught in a lie yet. It wouldn't matter in a week.

"I have another lead for you. I want you to check out-" He paused to glance at the information the computer had retrieved from Miss Mau's videophone, "1909 Mt. Poatzu, the residence of a Miss ChiChi Mau. See if she's seen a big, muscled man with wild hair and a tail. If you feel you can't stomach an interview with her, bring her to me."

Yamcha folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe, one eyebrow raised in an amusement that made the general grind his teeth. "Contrary to popular belief, the Z fighters are not your personal soldiers you can command to do your every whim. I see no reason to check this person's house based on the little information you have provided. Have one of your little men scurry to do the job."

General Ribery stood up, striding to the man to tower over him. Yamcha just smirked up at him. It probably didn't help that Yamcha could kick General Ribery's butt. However, in terms of power, General Ribery had more.

"You know my duty to Earth. You know I can call upon the Z fighters to fit any job when it comes to that duty. As of now, we have not one, but two aliens on the loose. Miss Briefs just happens to be missing at the same time. Not only do I need to find those two aliens for Earth's safety, but also to keep relations with Lord Frieza good and to ensure the safety of Miss Briefs." He pointed back to Dr. Briefs, who looked to have fallen asleep. "Do you want to tell that man that you're not willing to look up a possible lead on the disappearance of his daughter?"

Yamcha's eyes narrowed. He couldn't say anything against the general, not yet. Was it just coincidence that if a 'B' were added to his name it would spell 'bribery'?

He silently nodded his head, lips thinned and turned to stalk out of Capsule Corporation without another word. He'd need to speak with Piccolo about this. The Namek was most definitely going with him on this lead. Besides, it seemed they might need the dragonballs and a few senzu wouldn't be unwanted.

A/N: There's Kakarott! Imagine that! He was eating! And then he sees ChiChi and they go have a pie a la mode. They have a great place where I live for that…. Mmmm, hungry. Truck stop. Must go. No money! (wail) Oh, Ribery-Bribery! HA! Gotcha! See, even Yamcha caught that one! lol Next chapter? Oh, a little V/B action, maybe…. All depends on whether Bulma gets back or not.

SkittleKicks: Yeah, but I hear ff.net is run by ONE person. Yeah, strangely I saw that too. But not till the Buu Saga. You're right! Where food is, Kakarott shall be!

Catgirl: (shrugs) Seriously, I haven't gotten that far yet. I don't know…. (winces) Actually I do have one story I haven't updated in quite awhile….

Moonsaiyanprincess: For now, you get your wish. However, you know me. (shrugs)

Masamune: Hmm, I don't know…. Is she? Next chapter…. (winks) Glad you feel that way. Hope you meant it….

Susan: Ouch! I might just…. Hey! Awesome idea! But-heehee-how? (rolls eyes) Save it for LPP! Lol Well, either Kakarott or Yamcha…. Take your pick. I loved writing that! Well, today I cooked up some fried pork chops with stuffing and a vanilla cappuccino…. Oh, you meant the story. Was the K/CC action good?

Serenestorm: Nice name and nice guess. Exactly right!

JadedBest: Whatever! Vegeta is so evil it isn't right…. Um, yeah. Lol, I was on a hook? Ouch! I liked Yamcha too at first, until he said 'but I don't wanna die'. You LIKE Future Trunks! He was such a pansy with his lavender hair and his girlish hips, sashaying out of the RoTaS before his father and Prince, giving up to Cell when Vegeta went down in a blaze of glory! But he was cool when he blasted his father…. (shrugs) I guess some of his father rubbed of on him, eh? lol You HATED Vegeta! You were so wrong in the head! Glad you got screwed back right. You did get-screwed, right? Lol (oh, that was crude) You're just that way JB….