Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Bulma's Quest ❯ Chapter 1

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Bulma's Quest

By: Bulmafox

Chapter One

"Vegeta!" Krillin shouted at the man who had just created a monstrous explosion right before his very eyes. Piccolo stood with Krillin in mid-air and stared in awe at the scene unfolding before him. Just as Vegeta's energy started to dissipate, Trunks regained consciousness.

"Piccolo," Trunks asked the Namek, "where's Dad?"

Piccolo said nothing.

Trunks started to panic. "Piccolo, where's Dad? Come on, where's my dad? He was in that blast, wasn't he?" Trunks squirmed out from Piccolo's grasp and flew straight the explosion. "I'm coming, Dad!"

"I guess there's no point in keeping Goten unconscious anymore," Piccolo mumbled. He shook the little boy awake. Piccolo, Goten, and Krillin followed Trunks to his destination.

Trunks looked around the crater and saw nothing but pink goo splattered all over the place. He looked up and saw a familiar looking statue falling down. He raced to save the statue before it crashed, then sat it right outside the crater.

"Dad, is that you?" Trunks asked the statue. "Oh no, what happened to you? Snap out of it, Dad. Please snap out of it! Come on, you have got to wake up!"

Piccolo, Goten, and Krillin landed behind Trunks. Piccolo told the boy, "Trunks, it's no use. Your father is dead."

"Dead? What do you mean `dead'? My father is not dead. T-that tall pink guy just…turned him into stone, didn't he?"

"Trunks, that fat bubblegum monster ate the pink guy, remember?" Goten reminded him.

"Bu-but how can my dad be stone then?"

Piccolo explained. "Trunks, this is a different kind of statue. Vegeta was turned into stone because there's no life left in him."

"Can't you just turn him back or something?"

Piccolo shook the young boy by the shoulders. "Trunks, your father is dead! Dead! You just have to accept it! Concentrate and see if you can feel his ki anywhere."

Trunks tried as hard as he could to sense Vegeta's ki. "I don't feel anything, Piccolo. My dad is…gone. He's really gone."

*************************************************************** ****

"Oh, no. Something terrible's happened to Vegeta," Bulma said to herself as she sat in the passenger seat of her roomy Capsule Corp. plane.

"What's the matter, Bulma?" Yamcha asked. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can bring them all back with the dragon balls."

"It's not the people I'm worried about, lunkhead!" Bulma lashed out. "It's Vegeta!"

"You do have a point there, Bulma," Master Roshi said. "Vegeta does seem more evil than usual."

Suddenly, without a word, Bulma seized the controls and headed directly where her instincts told her to go: right to Vegeta.

*************************************************************** ****

Bulma landed the plane, jumped out, and ran to her son. "Trunks, where's your daddy? He's dead, isn't he?"

Trunks nodded his head and buried himself in his mother's arms. "H-he's just a statue now, Mom. He blew himself up." Trunks choked back the tears that were rising in his throat.

"It's true," Piccolo told Trunks' mother. "Your husband did a very noble thing today, Bulma. He gave his life to protect you and your son."

"What?" Bulma asked in disbelief.

"Earlier today, a horrendously evil being named Majin Buu was unleashed on the world. Your husband did his best to kill the monster, but it regenerated after every attack. Vegeta self-destructed, hoping the blast would scatter Buu into a thousand pieces so it could never regenerate again. It was the first time he fought for someone other than himself. It was his first truly selfless battle."

"Wait a minute. This is the same Vegeta that killed all those people at the tournament today, right?"

"What? He did?"

"Yes. He must have been under some kind of spell or something."

"The man who came to Earth many years ago to destroy it is the same man who sacrificed himself for you and Trunks today."

Trunks smiled. "Well, at least he's in heaven now." Trunks asked shakily, "Isn't he?"

Piccolo bowed his head and closed his eyes.

"You mean after all he did for us he still didn't make it to heaven? Man, what a ripoff! You used to be Kami, for crying out loud! See if I talk to you again." Trunks sat on the ground and sulked.

"Trunks, your father used to be a very terrible man. He used to purge entire solar systems, killing millions of innocent people for his own gain. It was only recently that he began to change; not long after you were born, in fact. In the grand scheme of things, that was three-fourths of the way into his life."

Everyone stayed silent for a moment. Then Bulma declared, "Majin Buu picked the wrong family to mess with. Come on Trunks, Goten." She dragged them into the plane and took off for Capsule Corporation.

Not long after Bulma took off, her well-displayed composure began to crumble.

"Hey Bulma, you all right?" Chi Chi asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Bulma said unconvincingly. Her hands began to tremble and her steering became unsteady.

"Here, let me fly for a while," Yamcha offered.

"I said I am just fine!" Bulma croaked out. "Now leave me alone!"

"You're being just as stubborn as Vegeta. You are obviously not fine, now let me fly for a while!" Yamcha shoved Bulma out of the pilot's seat and assumed the controls.

Trunks got out of his seat and hugged his mother. "It's all right. You can cry now, Mom. No one's gonna think you're weak."

Bulma wailed at full volume and squeezed the life out of her son. "Why did he have to leave me like this? It's not fair! Vegeta, how could you do this to me?! How?!"

Chi Chi tried to comfort her best friend. "Bulma, I'm sure Vegeta loved you very much."

"Then why did he kill all those people and run off to die? Why? Tell me Chi Chi!"

"I don't know why, Bulma. But Piccolo wouldn't lie about Vegeta doing something as selfless as killing himself for you."

"If it makes you feel any better," Trunks offered, "he gave me a hug and told me he was proud of me before he died."

Bulma wept silently for a few more minutes, then wiped her eyes dry. "Listen up, everyone. I have a plan," she announced.

"Huh?" everyone asked.

"Yamcha, I want you and everyone else to look for the dragon balls to wish back everyone Vegeta has killed. Trunks and I will go to Namek to wish Vegeta back."

"Ooh ooh ooh, can I came too?" Goten asked eagerly. He beamed at the prospect of a new adventure.

"Oh no you don't, mister!" Chi Chi scolded, "You're not going anywhere!"

"Aw, why not?" Goten whined.

"Because you're all I've got left. Goku will be gone at the end of the day, and I don't know what in the world happened to your brother. He could be dead for all we know!"

"What? My brother's not dead!"

"Chi Chi, they're big boys now. Super Saiyans, even. Don't worry, they can take care of themselves," Bulma told her friend.

"But what if my little Goten gets killed by some ice-box alien?"

"Don't worry, he won't. Not with me and Trunks on his side."

"Bulma, you're a mother. How can you be so flippant about things like this? What if it were your son going off to another planet all by himself to fight some freezer alien?"

"Chi Chi, the boys are strong enough to take down five Friezas. And Goten won't be alone. I promise. Besides, when your son's father is as strong as Vegeta, you don't have much to worry about."

"Yeah, but still-"

"Hey Chi Chi, why don't I go with Goten?" Videl offered. "I can look after him. Besides, I'm sure Bulma could use the company."

"Hmm, I don't know about that. I mean, you did get beaten up by that bald guy, Spopo-something-or-other earlier today."

"Please, Mom?" Goten looked up at Chi Chi with big, sad puppy dog eyes.

Chi Chi finally gave in. "Oh, all right. Just be careful, and don't get yourself killed. As for you, Videl," she turned to her presumed future daughter-in-law, "don't let anything happen to Goten or I won't let you marry Gohan."

Videl made an exaggerated salute. "I won't let you down, ma'am."

*************************************************************** ****

"Is everyone strapped in?" Bulma asked as she prepared the spaceship for launch. "Hang on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. 5…4….3…2…1…blastoff!" she whooped as the quartet made its way into outer space.

"No!" Piccolo yelled as he watched the spaceship blast off. He barged right into the space dock at Capsule Corp. "Dr. Briefs, call them back right now!"

"But why? Whatever for, Piccolo?" Dr. Briefs asked cluelessly.

"Majin Buu has returned."

<a href="http://www.anycities.com/bulmafox/fanfics/quest.html">Go to Chapter One</a><br>

<a href="http://www.anycities.com/bulmafox/fanfics/quest3.html">Go to Chapter Two</a><br>