Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Hikari No Will Power ❯ Act One, Prelude: Phone Call ( Prologue )

Hikari No Will Power

Act One: Chikyuu no Fukkatsu
Act Two: Ryuu no Densetsu

Act One, Prelude
Death Lurks In The Shadows! A Phone Call Signals A New Evil!

The phone rang.

A barely audible groan escaped Trunks Briefs-Vegeta's lips as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He had done it again; he had fallen asleep while he was supposed to be on duty. It was understandable, though, for the young Chief Executive Officer of the newly re-established Capsule Corporation had been working non-stop for the past days, hoping to bury the excruciating pain of the heart that had been haunting him and keeping him in darkness ever since the silent death of his mother.

The method was effective for the first few days, and the evidence was the re-establishment of his family's company at such a fast pace. The once-grand alcazar of the Briefs family, which made them a distinguished clan all over the world, appeared as good as new in no time, with a fresh yet promising workforce consisting of people who had both the potential and skill for the positions they were assigned into.

Capsule Corporation was back, in all of its grandeur, and the credit for its glorious resurrection going to the only heir to the Briefs' fame and fortune --- and the very same valiant young man who brought peace back to the world at his extermination of the havoc-wrecking androids. However, as days passed, the caffeine-heavy nights and workathons began to take their toll on the 20-year-old, as his body grew as weak as the soul that was trapped within. And if he would not be careful, if he would not take care of himself as he was supposed to do, he would fall when he had just risen.

Trunks staggered towards the telephone, which, unfortunately, was on the desk at the far end of the room --- the desk reserved for the fortunate young woman who would become his wife and the assistant CEO of the company. A frown swept his pale yet handsome features as he struggled to get to his destination, for the movements that had always been a second nature to him were now gawky and awkward. To add to his frustration, his secretary was apparently not on her desk as the phone continued to ring, when all calls were supposed to go through her first for screening.

Finally, he arrived at the other desk and quickly picked up the receiver, yet as he did so, it slipped out of his grasp, which he knew, was firm enough, and crashed to the floor. Bending down to pick it up, he growled a curse --- whether it was heard at the other end of the line, he did not know and he did not care --- as he was, once again, in one of his newly-developed mood swings.

"Trunks Briefs-Vegeta. Yes?" he asked with narrowed azure orbs, the tone of his voice that of fraudulent courtesy.

A voice did not greet him in reply, rather, it was the sound of buzzing static. Thinking that the other merely did not hear his rather weak salutation, he repeated the question, with a louder and clearer articulation this time. However, the same thing happened, which greatly annoyed the young man who was snapped out of his siesta, and the notion of yelling at the prank caller Vegeta-style was appealing at that moment. But he, too, knew that it would only ruin his reputation in a way and possibly create an advantage of sorts for his rivals in the business field, so he decided that a little scolding --- yet sternly done --- would do the trick.

"You don't seem to know the trouble you're causing me at the moment," he began coolly, reaching for the built-in caller ID button, "I am a very busy man, and people like me do not want their time wasted by people like you. If you have anything to say, then spit it out before I have you hunted down and arrested. If you don't have anything to say, then just put the phone down and never bother me ever again."

He glanced at the caller ID screen as he waited for the other to reply, half-wondering what took the program too long to work, for the tiny screen on the telephone still remained blank. He was about to push the button again when he froze, a chill running down his spine. The voice that sprung to his ears right then and there was deep, inert and apathetic, yet it was that lifelessness which gave the virulent and menacing impression of the caller. "You got it all wrong, Briefs-Vegeta. I am the hunter, you are the hunted. I am the predator, you are the prey. Run away while you still have time on your side, but don't expect too much from it --- for it is a futile, time-consuming move in the long run. You can run, but you can't hide. I will find you. And when I find you, I will kill you."

"And who are you?"

The other chuckled in amusement, yet the tone of his voice remained the same. "Young one, you should know by now that my name is not important. What matters most is the situation you are facing at the moment, the dilemna you have in your hands. I suggest you leave your current location and go somewhere secluded before I exterminate everyone else who will stand up for you --- and cause you more guilt. If you want to know what I am capable of doing, open the door and you will see it for yourself."

Trunks did not understand what exactly was going on, what exactly his predator wanted with him, and why the other was after him in the first place, but he certainly did not like the threats he was hearing from the sinister voice at the other end of the line. And he, too, did not like having to deal with wordplay --- not when the words came from someone he didn't know and most especially didn't trust. "It's too early for you to be on a scaring spree; Halloween isn't in a few months. Why don't you run along now and scare those who are just sitting around and sipping coffee instead of someone who has a hectic schedule like me? I need to get back to my work, which is more important than talking to someone like you who apparently has no life."

Before the caller could counter, the demi-saiyajin hung up.

"Stupid prank callers," he muttered with gritted teeth as he walked out of his office to talk to his secretary, Naru Shinjita, who was supposed to screen all the incoming phone calls for the CEO and yet failed to stop one which wasted a part of his valuable time. Before he pulled the door open --- the door which led to the room of his secretary and the lower officers --- he took a deep breath to push the fragments of his bad mood away, so as not to accidentally raise his voice at the woman who had been working so hard to please him.

"Naru, I need to talk---"

Utter shock in the heaviest intensity possible was painted on Trunks' features as he looked at what lay before him with his ice-blue eyes --- which flickered from cerulean to emerald and back at that very moment --- and his hand clamped into a fist at his side. He was shaking noticeably, static cackling lightly around his body... and fear could be traced in his eyes, squinting through the corners of his beautiful orbs and amidst the curtains of shock that were originally there.

Naru was sprawled on the floor, lifeless with empty, void-like eyes. Her skin withered like dead leaves, and it appeared as if she was only made of skin and brittle bones. But she was not the only one. The rest of the employees of Capsule Corporation who were in the room suffered the same fate, and that was when it hit the CEO like a slap on his face.

I suggest you leave your current location and go somewhere secluded before I exterminate everyone else who will stand up for you --- and cause you more guilt. If you want to know what I am capable of doing, open the door and you will see it for yourself.

It wasn't a joke. It wasn't a prank. It wasn't some sort of jape or quip. It was real. The caller wasn't fooling around. Everything he said was for real. His warnings were genuine. His plans were unfeigned. He was sincere with his threat that he would hunt down Trunks Briefs-Vegeta, the last of the Briefs and the last of Chikyuu-sei's Z-Senshi... and kill him.

But whether he was after the Briefs' wealth or the world, Trunks didn't know for sure.