Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Royal Namekian Blues ❯ 21 emerges ( Chapter 54 )

Royal Namekian Blues

By Trynia Merin aka StarbearerTM

 

Disclaimer: Don't own DBZ. Toriyama does. This is Fan fiction, and I make no money from this. I only own Fermi, Bohr and Stellari.

 

Thanks to Butterfly v for some of her helpful suggestions. I hope this makes sense to you!

***

Only halfway from the island, Vegeta glared at Raditz. He stared back with questions in his own dark eyes. Slowly he nodded. To their surprise, their mates veered around to land on the ground once more. Vegeta and Raditz set their mates down, and looked at one another. "What," Bulma asked.

 

"You'd best remain here. I've something more your style," Vegeta said.

 

"That being? Leaving us behind?" Bulma grumbled.

 

"I need you need to find Nappa's computer. I need to know if it can be tracked down," said Vegeta.

 

"That's going to be tough," Stellari said.

 

"I'm sure you two can do it. This is Saiyan's work. You'll only slow us down," said Raditz.

 

"Males," Stellari rolled her eyes. "All right. At least now I can feel less guilty about the kids."

 

"Trunksy is probably scared to death," Bulma nodded. "All right Vegeta, let's do it your way. But don't be bullheaded."

 

"You know I'm right," Vegeta started.

 

"Don't rub it in!" Bulma interrupted. At the same time Stellari glared at Raditz standing over them stoically.

Both males exchanged a look, then blasted off to leave Bulma and Stellari standing on the beach. Nodding to each other they decided to check back in the base first for anything they might have missed.

 

"This way," Vegeta whispered. He narrowed coal black eyes to slits, inhaling the faint scent of the morphing fluid.

 

"Agreed sire. The trail grows ever stronger," Raditz nodded. Both Saiyan males glided stealthily at an altitude low enough to keep them from visual contact, their legs barely trailing the ground. Such a fine tuned levitation was a typical way a Saiyan could sneak up on an unsuspecting prey.

 

Through the bushes ahead they heard screaming. Raditz tensed, and Vegeta did as well. Over the tops of the bushes they saw the skyline of a small town near the beach. Other then a few voices screaming, all they could hear was a loud cry of pain.

 

"Sire, there are hardly any humans left," Raditz commented.

 

"Isn't hard to tell from their puny kis," Vegeta said unimpressed. "But that thing… there… look at it!"

 

A suited man begged, trembling at the feet of a tall slender thing. Mottled green spots covered its carapace, under which a long tail telescoped out with a scorpion shaped barb at one end. Two points rose like extended rabbit ears from its head. Both Saiyans saw how intensely it fixed its gaze on the terrified human.

 

"Interesting," Vegeta said. Raditz nodded. Both of them watched as the pleading human scrabbled at the creature's feet. Uncaring, the predator sank the tip of its tail into the neck of the trembling elderly man. Before their eyes they saw bulges rise from the tip imbedded in skin to travel along the tail to where it joined the body. Simultaneously the human body shriveled like a deflated balloon

 

"Just like a Hornamath from Carapace 5," Raditz commented under his breath. "It's sucking the bodily fluids out of him."

 

"I've never seen a creature like that who killed so efficiently," Vegeta marveled. "Could this be a worthy adversary to prove my superiority?"

 

"It must be 21," said Raditz. "The stench confirms it."

 

"Stay here, Raditz. We shall watch how the creature hunts, before we engage it. Then I will challenge it," Vegeta said.

 

"Is that wise Sire?"

 

"You question my orders?" Vegeta glanced at him.

 

"You're the Prince, and it's my duty to protect you," Raditz said automatically. "Perhaps we should wait and see how I'd fair against it, so you can observe its tactical strengths and weaknesses so you can better conquer it."

 

"You have a point. It seems thinking has come more naturally to you, son of Bardock," said Vegeta quietly.

 

The shriveled raisin of a man dropped like an empty plastic wrapper. Soon the wind blew it away to dust along with the wad of zenni the man carried. Vegeta and Raditz slowly circled the perimeter, suppressing their ki and keeping their eye on its next victim. The being turned, gold eyes flickering back and forth as its tail swished very much like a Saiyan's tail. Something about it reminded Vegeta about his own race.

 

"It moves like one of us. You suppose it knows we are here?" asked Raditz.

 

"Obviously," Vegeta snickered. "Which is what I wanted. Come Raditz; let's have some fun. Just like the old days."

 

"Sire, the last time you said that, Nappa and I had to pull your tail out of that…" Raditz groaned, his mind flashing back to a time when the foolhardily young Prince had disobeyed their better judgement and gone off half cocked because he was bored."

 

"I'm not a stupid whelp, Raditz. I'm far more powerful," said Vegeta. "Now let's go! The hunt is on!"

 

Sharply cocking its head the other way, the figure of 21 slowly spanned its carapace, resembling a beetle's. The long tail retracted underneath, and an aura glowed around it. Both Raditz and Vegeta gasped at the sudden burst of live ki that spread. It was not an android, and yet it was. For a second the flare of power told them it was far in excess of anything. Vegeta smiled in enthusiasms to see the thing levitate up, and take off in a blaze of white ki. Nodding to Raditz, the two Saiyans rocketed off after it. Behind them the inhabitants of the town lay like shriveled heaps of dust from what 21 had wrought.

 

***

At around the same moment that Raditz and Vegeta had sighted 21, Piccolo touched down on Kami's lookout. Energies crackled between the two Namekians who regarded one another. Leaning on his staff, Kami slowly strode forwards. His wizened face wrinkled with concern at the other half of himself.

 

"You left them at a bad time," said Kami quietly.

 

"They're too strong for even us. And till Nappa and Trunks emerge, we need to have every available fighter at his peak strength," Piccolo responded. Long silence lasting minutes indicated the stream of thoughts passing from the Demon lord to the Earth's Guardian. Kami's normally shriveled face seemed to wrinkle even more with Piccolo's reports of the battle.

 

"It was foolhardy for Goku and Krillen to take on the ones called 16 and 18 so soon," Kami shook his head. Sorrow of the infinite sort filled his dark eyes, ones that had seen far too many battles and were destined to see many more.

 

"I tried to warn them," Piccolo snorted. "You know why I'm here?"

 

"Indeed I do. You came because of my own desire," Kami said. Two pairs of dark eyes stared into one another. Piccolo's eyes widened in horror. He threw up his hands to negate the next thought they shared.

 

"No thank you! I've had enough personality adjustments for a lifetime!" Piccolo protested. Kami sighed.

 

"You will be the dominant part of the mind if you wish. But perhaps it is time for us to be whole again."

 

"Are you sure?" Piccolo blinked. "I don't like this at all."

 

"If you truly wish to save Gohan and Earth, it is. The Earth needs a warrior, not a guardian. And I know of your plan to bring Dende here. Even so the Namekians are gathering the dragonballs to send him here. But you have little time. There is another menace even greater then the ones called 16, 17 and 18…" said Kami.

 

"What could possibly be… wait a minute…"

 

"I sense a great evil. Its ki is a mixture of Namekian, Saiyan and human. If such a thing were possible, we must be quick."

 

"I know," Piccolo gritted. "Well, let's get on with this. Gohan's in danger. He just HAD to rush in to save his father from 16… and there's no telling how long Krillen can distract 18…"

 

"Yes," nodded Kami. "Let us be again whole."

 

Piccolo looked down at his hands carefully. He strode forwards on pointed booted toes towards the elder Namekian. His heart pounded with dread of the unknown, an irrational fear that he would cease to be who he was now. While the instinct for self-preservation burned hotly, the warmth he felt for Gohan doused it in an instant. Gohan needed him, and he had to be there for his pupil. Piccolo did not question why this was so, he simply knew what he had to do.

 

"All right," Piccolo said, stopping only six inches from where Kami stood. The grizzled guardian lifted a skeletal hand. Tentatively Piccolo did the same.

 

"I'll be there soon, Gohan, don't worry," Piccolo caught himself saying. Reality blended in a sparkling purple blast of light.

 

**

No sooner had she arrived at home then Bulma and Stellari had rushed to Capsule to see their children. Their efforts to find anything else were fruitless; except for the slim disc that Bulma carried containing pieces of vital information. It only too her moments to drop them off at Capsule's IT department.

 

"How long have you been wearing the armor?" Stellari asked her. "I know I probably could have asked all long…"

 

Suddenly the device let out a shrilling beep. Bulma punched her side buttons and so did Stellari. "What the hell is that?" Stellari asked.

 

"Wait… it's a huge energy reading… almost off the scale! What on earth…"

 

"It looks even larger then Vegeta's or Trunks. Could it be Nappa and he?" asked Stellari. Bulma struggled to narrow the focus. Stellari aimed her scouter one way, while Bulma did the other.

 

"It's coming from the south," Stellari said.

 

"That's not the direction of Korin's tower," Bulma said. "It's… it's from the direction where Krillen and Piccolo went with Gohan…"

 

"It's gone," said Stellari. Sure enough the bleeping trace dropped to a more modest one.

 

"Try scanning for apparent levels," said Bulma, pushing the studs on the side of her pink lensed device.

 

"Nada," Stellari shook her head. "Whatever it was, it's suppressed."

 

"You really should wear contact lenses," said Bulma.

 

"I do have them," Stellari said. "I just don't usually wear them for lab."

 

"I wonder what the hell that was, unless it was Goku going Super Saiyan. That must be it," said Bulma, trying to hope for the best. "I mean he did say he was going to try and find another level."

 

"Or it could be Vegeta," said Stellari. "But it's the wrong direction."

 

"Vegeta's not in that direction," said Bulma, narrowing her eyes.

 

"How do you know?"

 

"And you're fully bonded to Raditz?" Bulma smirked.

 

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Stellari glared at her.

 

"Let's not worry. I want to check on Trunksy," said Bulma, motioning to her. Two pairs of boots touched down on Capsule's back lawn. They rushed across the yard from the Capsule 4 to Bulma's mansion, through the back door. Once inside the kitchen they saw everyone clustered around the table eating a late lunch.

 

"Mama!" whimpered a voice from across the nursery. Stellari rushed in her arms outstretched.

 

"Mommy, you're okay!" Fermi shouted, lugging Planck in his arms.

 

"Mommy! We were so worried, don't scare us!" Bohr protested. He clutched Radzia who was in his arms as well. She dropped to her knees and felt her twin boys shoving their way into her arms. Two twin boys held their younger siblings tightly, choking her. Small bodies pressed to her with their warm, soon blurred by the tears dripping down her face.

 

Bulma's heart ached for her son Trunks. Just to feel him squirming in her arms was worth the fright. Little Trunks pressed his face to Bulma's chin. She wrapped him close in her arms with a soft blanket draped over the hard shell of her armor. Small teeth nipped her ears from the shifting of two Saiyan children and two six-year-old boys clinging to her back and shoulders. They pressed the babies into her arms, then clung to their mother's shoulders. "I missed you. Mom's so sorry to leave you for so long."

 

"Mommy, we knew you'd beat the bad guys. Is Daddy…"

 

"Chasing them down and kicking their butts?" Bohr completed, swinging his fists. Stellari kissed both their foreheads, fighting more tears. She rose to stand arms full of two Saiyan babies nipping and tugging at her hair. Furry tails curled around her wrists and loud yowling sounds told her they were both glad to see her. Still Fermi and Bohr twined their little arms around her legs, and she wished she could hold them all at once. Strong arms twined around her neck with the tiny fingers gripping. Radzia's hair tickled her nose.

 

Bulma sat on the couch, cradling trunks and sniffling. Her son stoically looked at her with cobalt blue eyes. Stellari plunked down with a twin on either side leaning against her armored body. Still she held her children, heaving in great sobs. "Don't cry Mom," Fermi said at the same time Bohr pleaded, "Don't cry mommy we were protecting 'em."

 

"If I never saw you again," she whispered.

 

"No way. Daddy would beat them up, and so would Uncle Goku!" Fermi said.

 

"Mommy you're cold," Bohr realized, snuggling up to warm her. A loud purring noise rumbled her chest, emanating from the two bodies nestled in her arms.

 

"They're… purring like kittens," she realized with shock. She hadn't always held them so close but Fermi and Bohr were both stroking the other twins backs that it dawned on her how Saiyan this was.

 

"Like lions," Bohr nodded.

 

"Or Dad does when he's snoring," Fermi laughed.

 

"He was good as gold, sweetie," Bunny said to Bulma who rocked Trunks tightly to her.

 

"He's a good little guy. Has anyone tried to attack?"

 

"Not with my security system in place," said Dr. Briefs, looking up from his paper.

 

"Aunt Chichi's fast asleep upstairs," Fermi reported, lifting his head from where it rested on Stellari's shoulder. Bohr clung to her red clad wrist, rubbing his cheek to it.

 

"We were good. She was worried about Gohan, who's out hunting robots with Piccolo," Fermi added.

 

"We even chewed up the meat an' fed it to 'em like Daddy told us to," Bohr giggled.

 

"Aunt Chichi thought we were bein' sick," Fermi frowned.

 

"You took care of them yourself?" she asked.

 

"We didn't want Aunt Chichi to freak out. She was so worried about Gohan when he left," said Fermi.

 

"Good boys. I'm just feeling awful I left you behind," she mumbled.

 

"They were no trouble. But Mrs. Son was quite… frantic. My doctors had to sedate her at one point," Dr. Briefs frowned.

 

"Those two angels of yours are very handy with babies," said Mrs. Briefs.

 

"I'm sorry," Stellari sighed.

 

"That's Chichi for you. Damn it," Bulma swore. "If I had known…"

 

"She misses her son, naturally. But how goes the robot hunt?" asked Dr. Briefs.

 

"We need to find a lost computer ripped from a Saiyan space pod, Dad," said Bulma.

 

"Oh my goodness, that IS serious," Dr. Briefs coughed, sitting straight up.

 

"Is Aunt Bliss in trouble?" Bohr asked, wide eyed.

 

"Yes. And Trunks and Nappa are training to find her," said Bulma. "And Vegeta and your Father Raditz are also out there, with your Uncle Goku and Piccolo and Gohan, and Krillen."

 

"Will we fight?" asked Fermi.

 

"No, you're going to stay here and help us take care of the kids," said Stellari. "You can still continue to train, but maybe you can help Mommy by being good big brothers like you've been doing."

 

"Okay!" saluted Fermi and Bohr.

 

Soon Stellari was nursing Radzia. Planck sat nearby on Bohr's lap sucking at a bottle. Fermi rushed to grab diapers in the quarters she had originally shared with Raditz. Their mother still wore the strange armor their Dad had given them. Both twins sensed the thoughts of Bulma nearby carrying her baby son Trunks. He had not left her sight since she had been pacing in the lab with Dr. Briefs Senior.

 

***

A terrible battle raged in Gingertown, now emptied of its citizens. Huge scorchmarks bore witness to the game that 18 played trying to find new clothing. It was here that Goku, Krillen and Gohan had found her and 16 ransacking the stores and scattering glass on the street like a dusting of snow. People had run screaming in fear, emptying the area in minutes.

 

Krillen gathered up the fallen battered form of Gohan. Only minutes before Gohan had blindly flown in to defend his father from 16's sneak attack. Only to get blindsided by 18's infinity blast. Piccolo had arrived from wherever he had disappeared to before. Now his power rocketed off Krillen's ability to even sense.

 

"Give up, you can't win!" 18 said bored as she drifted back. Krillen's kicks had no effect. Piccolo shouted for him to retreat. Blonde hair half obscured her face as Android 18 levitated above the rocky planes of the wasteland area. Piccolo's white cape flapped his face stern and filled with a new light and knowledge.

 

"Shut up and let's get this over with," he boomed.

 

"You're different. Not sure what it is, but I can't say that it's a bad thing. C'mon, let's see what you've got, Jolly Green Giant," 18 taunted. "Hopefully you're better entertainment then that Princess of all Saiyans."

 

"Piccolo be careful!" Krillen urged.

 

"Get Gohan out of here to safety!" Piccolo shouted. "This is my fight now!"

 

"Gohan, Krillen get out of here!" Goku's voice shouted. Krillen blasted off, cradling Gohan in his arms.

 

"Take him to Kami's lookout! Get Trunks and Nappa!" called Piccolo.

 

"Now that we've had a warm-up, let's begin?" 18 chuckled. Ice blue eyes focussed on the Namek.

 

"I'm much stronger then you think, lady," said Piccolo with a knowing smirk. His hands raised up, crackling with energy. 18 flung her own arms wide, readying herself for whatever was to come.

 

Goku flew out in a wild series of punches that 16 managed to stay one second ahead of. For the first part of the fight he and the robot had simply tested the limits of each other's powers. Till a sucker shot slammed Goku in the chest, and Gohan just had to jump in without considering the consequences. Darn Piccolo just HAD to leave them at that moment to go to Kami's lookout. He couldn't say he blamed Piccolo, and yet his timing was poor. However the massive levels of ki radiating from the caped body stunned even the Super Saiyan serving as 16's punching bag.

 

"OOF!" Goku gasped, smashing into the side of an apartment building. Masonry and bricks flew out, accompanied by a puff of dust. Coughing and gasping, Goku crawled out of the hole that was shaped exactly like him to see 16 hot in pursuit. The corners of Goku's lips perked up into a smile.

 

"Make this easy on yourself. I have no wish to cause you necessary pain," said 16.

 

"But I'm having such a good time. You're pretty strong, you know," Goku said cheerfully. "Although I'm pretty mad at what your friend did to Gohan."

 

"That was not in my programming to harm him. That was 18's fault," 16 apologized. Then his fist shot out. Goku's armband intercepted it, then his knee flashed out to block the kicks.

 

"TAOYKEN!" Goku shouted. A bright flash exploded in 16's face.

 

"Compensating… compensating," 16 droned on. Goku's look of astonishment vanished; exchanged for another look of pain from the ki blast that directly caught him in the face. His own eyesight faded, and he struggled to reach out to his other senses.

 

"You should know better then that, Goku," said 16's voice.

 

"AHA, there you are!" Goku laughed. His kick slammed into something solid, knocking it flying. Within seconds his eyes watered over and tentative sight returned to his eyes.

 

"Special beam CANNON!" Piccolo gritted. The spiraling beam sizzled out, only to crash against the blue sphere that 18 erected around her.

 

"Is THAT all you've got?"

 

"No," Piccolo grinned, vanishing. 18's field dropped, then suddenly an arm snaked out and wrapped around her neck. Keeping well back, Piccolo's arm had extended beyond her field, and he swung her back and forth like a rag doll. Her head flopped along with the rest of her body snapping the other way. Soon he let go propelling her into the pile of rubble Goku's fall had caused. He cupped his hands and formed a black sphere between them, focussing all his ki.

 

"HELLZONE GRENADE!" Piccolo thundered, lobbing the black light towards the fallen figure. For a mile around the negative darkness flooded all the sunlight. Nothing could be seen nor heard for a matter of seconds. Piccolo hovered unharmed above the roiling darkness pushing the ruined city into a pile of ashes in its wake. When the sunlight finally peeked through the dark rolling pillars of smoke, all that remained was a large bowl shaped crater.

 

"Wow," Goku gasped, hurling a ki blast to catch 16 into the face.

 

"How was that?" Piccolo laughed.

 

"Futile," said 16. Another Rocket fist slammed into Goku's gut, knocking the wind from him. Pinned by the projectile he was propelled across the blue sparkling sea. At a distance of two miles a huge death flower blossomed, its red petals spreading in all directions like a chrysanthemum of fire.

 

"GOKU!" Piccolo shouted.

 

"You made a grave miscalculation," 16 commented. "And now I must finish the job."

 

"Come back here you!" Piccolo shouted. 16's energy flared, and he zipped away even faster then Piccolo could track him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a scarlet blaze. Just in time he swung his hands up to block the red sphere hurtling towards him. It pushed the Namek back with its force despite the crossed wrists thrown up to ward it off.

 

"GGGHHHH," Piccolo grunted, eyes slatted against the sizzling energy almost blinding him. He flipped his body down sharply, sending the sphere upwards. Vertically it shot like a rocket, then exploded harmlessly miles above in space to temporarily cast a blood red hue on the landscape before fading.

 

"Lucky," said 18, hovering in the dust of the now dead city. "But you ruined my clothes, you creep!"

 

Her vest hung off her shoulder in tatters, revealing the white torn sleeves of her shirt and a creamy white shoulder. A black lace bra peaked through the shredded garments. 18's features twisted into a nasty scowl. "And you're going to PAY!" she shrilled. Her index finger pointed at Piccolo.

 

"Is that all?" Piccolo taunted her. "How sad you've nothing better to do with all that power then to just play these stupid games."

 

"THIS GAME IS SERIOUS!" 18 screamed at him. "NOBODY messes up MY CLOTHES, you creep! I'll blast you into nothing!"

 

"Come on and try," Piccolo motioned with his hands.

 

***

Sweat poured down their foreheads. Bulma groaned as she tried to press her hands to the floor and perform a solitary pushup. Nearby Stellari grimaced trying to pull her chin up to her folded knees. Around them the entire room glowed red. A digital indicated blinked at 5 G's. Both women were blowing off steam waiting for their husbands to return after having put their children down for a nap. It was almost three in the afternoon and both of them judged that Trunks must have been in the time chamber for at least six hours.

 

"Vegeta's taught you some moves. You were pretty impressive," Stellari panted.

 

"I feel like my bones are going to break… how can you stand this?" Bulma gasped. The exobraces she wore were barely helping her compensate.

 

"I… have carbon nanofibers woven into this armor," said Stellari. "IT… braces my body. That's one of the components of the Saiyan armor that gives it toughness and lightweight strength."

 

"Raditz was training you?" Bulma asked.

 

"Yes, wasn't Vegeta training you?"

 

"Yes, but you didn't have a gravity chamber!"

 

"I trained a bit with weighted garments," Stellari huffed. Bulma armored casing whirled perfectly with her movements. The lightweight materials worked well.

 

"That's six months my baby boy's been alone with Nappa," Bulma swallowed hard.

 

"We should get back to the lab and see what else we can figure out," said Stellari. Bulma's remote control stopped the gravity, returning it to 1 normal earth G.

 

Stellari sank to the floor, wiping sweat from her face. Bulma joined her, after shedding the combat G suit. Still her blue hair was held back in its band. Both women regarded each other, frustration on their faces.

 

"That's a pretty diadem. A Vegetasei Azurite," said Stellari. "You've been wearing it for a while."

 

"Vegeta insisted that if I was going to fight, I needed to look like a Saiyan Princess. They did wear ceremonial armor in wartime even if they only fought when there was no other choice. Or if two females vying for the Prince's attention did so," Bulma shrugged.

 

"There's just been no sign or anything from Vegeta. I HATE being left behind," Bulma added, after she walked towards the shower stall.

 

"We should be using this time to hunt down that console ourselves," said Stellari. "There are only a few places it could be."

 

"Then… let's go," Bulma nodded. Soon both females went and showered in the bathroom of the GR chamber, then helped themselves to armor and spandex. Fortunately she had their armor cleaned by one of the bots and checked over for repairs.

 

Bulma slid into the blue bodysuit then tugged it over her head. From across the locker room she saw Stellari with her back to her, adjusting a sports bra and black spandex that went under the breastplate. She pulled up the skintight pants reinforced with lightweight armor, marveling at the minute traces of Raditz handiwork. Unlike the white Vest Bulma hauled over her head this was 100 percent Saiyan handcrafted. She dragged the vest overtop her head, with the green shinguards attached, then reached for the red wristbands laying next to one of the scouters.

 

"Ah," Bulma nodded, toweling off her hair. She twisted it into a French braid, then slipped the jeweled diadem around her forehead that she had been wearing earlier. Then she thrust her feet into the tall thigh high boots, and tugged on her gloves. Oddly they gazed at each other, reality of their situation settling in. Despite their differences in rank, they were both still human. They exited the capsule 4 and crossed the lawn again to the main mansion.

 

"Mom, you have fun training?" Fermi asked, looking up from helping to feed his little sister. Bulma picked up her baby from his chair and took the bottle momentarily so she could feed him. Stellari held her son that Bohr passed her. She gave him a hug, then walked over to sit by Fermi.

 

"No sign of that missing console. I've had my bots looking everywhere. And we haven't heard anything from Vegeta or Mr. Raditz," said Dr. Briefs.

 

"Nothing from Daddy," Bohr said quietly, leaning against Stellari's lap.

 

"Oh my I do hope they aren't beaten up by those nasty robots," Bunny briefs said, fixing a few sandwiches.

 

"Where's Chichi?" asked Bulma.

 

"She's still sedated. It seems she can't stop from getting upset. The doctor says it's probably lack of sleep and hormones," said Dr. Briefs, pushing his glasses more securely on the bridge of his nose. He rustled the paper in his lap distractedly.

 

"Has the program decoded that Red Ribbon database tape we brought back?" Bulma asked. She had made copies of the downloaded tapes and passed them onto Capsule's best computer hackers, for traces of any secret files that might tell the whereabouts of the strange console. But nothing.

 

"No," Dr. Briefs shook his head.

 

"Is it some kinda futuristic looking thing?" Fermi raised his head.

 

"Why do you ask?" Bulma said.

 

"I had some weird dreams about one," Fermi blinked.

 

"Where?" asked Stellari. "When?"

 

"While we were nappin'," Bohr said innocently. Stellari's eyes widened with delight.

 

"Wait a minute," Bulma blinked.

 

"No, it could be a lead," Stellari said. "Fermi, where did you see it?"

 

"It was all foggy like," Bohr wrinkled his nose. "And really dark like a cave. And there were some people that looked like those dolls they put in the stores."

 

"Mannequins dummy," Fermi corrected him. "Yeah, and they were laughing. And then someone smashed the thing. And the dream went poof."

 

"Anything else you can remember?" Stellari asked.

 

"This is hardly scientific," Dr. Briefs coughed.

 

"Wait Dad, they ARE psychic," said Bulma.

 

"Can't remember anything much more. But one of them had dark hair, and the other was blonde like Aunt Bliss with really weird eyes," Fermi said.

 

"Thank you. That must mean…"

 

"18 and 17 have that console and Bliss. No wonder they wanted her," said Bulma.

 

"Did you hear or see Bliss at all?" asked Stellari.

 

"Yeah, I heard her crying. IT was really scary," said Bohr.

 

"The next time either of you have a special dream you must tell me or your father immediately," Stellari said quietly, looking at both her sons.

 

"I can't get around this… you mean they're clairvoyant?"

 

"One of their underdeveloped gifts. And it isn't always reliable. But my guess is, their concern for Bliss was letting her somehow reach out to them," Stellari said.

 

"Auntie bliss is our friend, and she's scared," Fermi said.

 

"Very scared!"

 

"You two keep trying to see if you get any more images. If you do, think them to me as hard as you can," Stellari urged.

 

"But why can't you track her on that scouter?" asked Fermi.

 

"Somehow the androids are blocking her ki," said Bulma frustrated. "And they seem to be able to jam our scouters now."

 

"Crap," Stellari grumbled. "Well, I guess we have to somehow go after them… and at least find where she might be."

 

"It's too dangerous," said Dr. Briefs. "You should wait for Vegeta and Raditz to return, or at least Trunks and Nappa."

 

"But it won't hurt if we go look," said Stellari.

 

The phone jangled, and Bunny leapt up to get it. Everyone fixed his or her eyes on the phone, and she passed it to Bulma. "It's for you…"

 

"Yes?" Bulma asked, cradling the phone.

 

"Bulma is that you? It's Krillen!"

 

"Krillen where are you are you okay?"

 

"I can't talk for long. I'm talking from a public phone. But we've spotted 16 and 18… they're not doing anything yet. Just looking around…"

 

"Is Goku there?" asked Bulma.

 

"Yes. We're trying to see if we should try attacking them or not… but I don't think it'd be a good idea… but Piccolo… he's done something REALLY weird," said Krillen.

 

"What do you mean, weird?" asked Bulma.

 

"He's um… he's… changed," Krillen said. "It's just that he's found a way to boost HIS strength like Vegeta and Trunks did."

 

"How? Is he some sort of a Super Namek?" asked Bulma.

 

"No wonder," Stellari said.

 

"What?"

 

"Bulma, my scouter was going haywire earlier. Like a huge energy source was suddenly created…"

 

"Krillen did you hear that?" asked Bulma.

 

"What, you mean your buddy? If she saw an energy spike that was Piccolo changing," said Krillen excitedly. "He's become a Super Namek."

 

"A SUPER Namek?" Bulma swallowed hard. "Is that possible?"

 

"It is if you fuse with Kami," said Krillen.

 

"He WHAT?" Bulma gasped.

 

"Fused with Kami. Like he did with Nail on Namek. He said something about being called 'the Namek'. We're about to try and fight 16. Goku's gone to try and face him and get him to tell us where they took Trunks girlfriend, and where 17 is hiding. Oops I gotta go find 18… I mean…"

 

"18?" asked Bulma.

 

"Sorry, gotta go! Piccolo's about to take her on!" said Krillen quickly. Sounds of explosions crackled in the background and then the line bleeped annoyedly.

 

"Krllen… KRILLEN!" called Bulma.

 

"What's wrong?" Dr. Briefs asked.

 

"Daddy, tell Trunks and Nappa if and when they get back that mom's gone out. Stellari, are you with me?"

 

"Where are you going?" asked Fermi.

 

"To follow your little dream," said Stellari. "Be good!"

 

"Careful mommy!" both twins called, rushing to hug her. She and Stellari dashed out, after handing Trunks and the others back. White boots pounding the ground next to green toed ones covered in red cuffs. In their halter tops their chests bobbed slightly. The quick press of a stud activated the jetpack under Bulma's cape to launch her in the air the same moment that Stellari levitated herself up.

***