Cosmic Crisis

Chapter 10 - Pain

Natalie shot through the air like a rocket, getting closer to her house. She could see it in the distance. Tears began to fall down her face. This is where she used to live. Now her mom was gone, and she had nowhere else to go. She flew to the door and opened it cautiously, closing it softly behind her. She walked up the stairs and went into her room. The yellow paint and cheery sunflowers reminded her of all the fun times she had spent in the house. She walked over to the mirror, and stared into the reflection. What had she become? She sat on her bed, sobbing quietly in the dark room, when she heard a noise downstairs. At first she didn't acknowledge it, but when she heard it again, her head snapped up. She was about to jump up to investigate, when Vegita entered her room. She jumped back.

"You jerk." She said, glaring at him with hate in her eyes.

"What did you call me?" he said angrily.

"You heard me! Just go home and train, and leave me out of this." She said, clenching her fists tightly.

"Fine, if that's what you want, so be it." Vegita said, and began to leave. Natalie dropped her head again. Vegita paused in the doorway and looked back at Natalie.

"You know, if you don't come back, Trunks will miss you." He said.

"I don't care." She lied. She really didn't want to leave him, but she had no other choice. She didn't want to be a part of the family any longer.

"I'll tell him your thoughts on that subject, then." He said, walking out the door and down the stairs. Natalie looked up, to make sure he had really left.

"It figures." She muttered to herself. "Why me?" she thought bitterly. "What did I do to deserve this?" Her mother had died, some alien was after her, Vegita hated her, and she wasn't even from earth. All she wanted was her old life back. But did she? After all, she would have never met Trunks, she would have never discovered her hidden power, and she might not have stood a chance against Orion in the first place. She was so confused. Her muscles ached from the previous training and pushing her power to the maximum level. She was so tired; she lay down on the bed to let her thoughts wander.

Trunks sat in a state of shock.

"Five days?" he asked frantically. Five days were all they had left to prepare. They wouldn't be able to get any rest. Suddenly, Vegita appeared in the back door.

"Where's Natalie?" Trunks asked.

"She refused to come back." He said, walking in the door and slamming it behind him.

"Dad, we need to tell you something." Trunks said wearily.

"What?" Vegita said with spite in his voice.

"Uh..." Trunks began, but Bulma interjected.

"Honey, we need you to remain calm, no matter what we say, okay?" she said softly.

"Alright already. What is it!?" he asked impatiently.

"Well you have five days left to prepare for the arrival of Orion." She said. It was done. The two prepared for Vegita's outburst, but were surprised by his response.

"Okay. We'll have to work harder then." He said plainly, and walked up the stairs. Trunks and Bulma stared in disbelief at him as he calmly walked towards the bedroom.

"Well that was easy." Trunks commented. Bulma let out a relieved sigh. They slumped back onto the sofa, when they heard a shout from upstairs.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?"

Natalie was lying on her bed, half-asleep, when another headache slammed into her brain. She grasped her head in pain, making whimpering noises.

"Stop doing this to me!" She shouted.

"Why, I find it amusing." A voice replied, echoing through her head. Natalie sat up in shock.

"W-what?" she asked in a whisper.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to frighten you." The male voice laughed mockingly. Natalie sat in the darkness with a frightened look on her face. Her head began to throb again, causing her to double over in pain. She was sure that she would pass out, when the pain stopped. She slumped onto the bed, her body fatigued and her mind racing. The evil laugh reverberated through her skull. She would go mad if she sat there any longer. With nothing else left to do, she opened the window and jumped out, propelling herself through the ominous skies. She flew to Capsule Corp., and peered through one of the windows. She observed Trunks and Vegita having some sort of argument. Right as Vegita turned around, she ducked underneath the window in a bush.

"Too close." She said, breathing heavily. She crept out of the yard and flew up into the air once again. She looked back at Capsule Corp. one last time, and then pressed onward, with nowhere to go. She couldn't return to Capsule Corp. She was getting frustrated and angry at the world. Her ki flared and she began to fly faster. She felt like taking out her rage on something, so she flew out into a field and ki blasted the ground. There was a smoking crater where the blast had hit.

"I hate you!" she screamed, and blasted the ground once more. "I hate you mother! I hate you Orion! I hate you Melina!" she continued, sending repeated blasts into the field of grass, vaporizing the ground instantly. As her rage grew, so did her ki. It flared blue and yellow, and electricity seemed to surge through her body. Trunks detected her ki from the Capsule Corp. building and began to worry immediately. He informed Vegita of the situation, who apparently was aware of it as well. The both shot out of Capsule Corp. and headed in the direction of the ki. They came upon an enraged Natalie shouting irrational slurs at the sky. Trunks flew over to where she was hovering, and called out to her.

"Natalie!" he said, reaching for her shoulder. She snapped around, looking at Trunks with hate in her eyes. Trunks had never seen her this way, not even when her mother had passed away.

"Stay away from me!" she screamed. "You and that beast over there just go home and abuse each other, but leave me out of it!" she continued, and shot away from him. Vegita appeared behind her and grabbed her by the arms, bringing them together behind her back.

"Listen to me girl. You calm down right now and come back with us." He said harshly. This further enraged Natalie and she yelled back at him.

"Don't tell me what to do you freak! Let me go!" she said, struggling. Trunks watched on as his father kept her at bay. She was screaming things at him and tried repeatedly to kick him in the stomach, but he just held on. Her ki flared once more and she grew a golden aura. Vegita had a look of surprise on his face as her power level began to grow rapidly. Suddenly, she was interrupted by another wave of pain. Her aura dissolved and her ki ceased to flare, as she doubled over. She was holding her head and her face was twisted in pain.

"What's wrong with her!?" Trunks asked and flew over to where Vegita was hovering. Vegita said nothing as the girl continued to suffer. Tears streamed down her face as she screamed.

"Stop! Just leave me alone!" she cried out. The evil laugh was present again, but only Natalie could hear it. The pain was so unbearable that Natalie fell out of the sky. Trunks flew over and grabbed her, as she struggled to remain conscious.

"Let me go! Let me go!" she cried, making pathetic swipes at Trunks' face.

Vegita had enough of the commotion and flew over. He hit Natalie on the back of the head, knocking her out instantly. Her body went limp and her power level went back down.

"What did you do that for!?" Trunks asked, turning to his father.

"It was for her own good. She was clearly in a tremendous amount of pain and it's the only way we can get her back to Capsule Corp. safely. Come on." He said, and flew back to his home. Trunks followed, with Natalie in his arms. As they arrived at the door, Bulma was waiting for the, with a look of concern on her face.

"What is it?" she asked, looking worriedly at Natalie's limp body.

"No time to explain mother." Trunks said, and whizzed past the confused Bulma and up the stairs to Natalie's room. He placed her on the bed and put a damp cloth on her forehead. Vegita followed, and went in to check on the girl.

"She should be okay once she waked up, aside from a bruise on her head." He said with a smirk on his face. Trunks got up and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

"Are we gonna tell her about Orion, dad?" Trunks inquired.

"When she wakes up we can go explain the situation. Remember, he is after *her* and she needs to know this." Vegita replied and went downstairs, where Bulma was preparing dinner in the kitchen. The wind outside was howling and the skies continued to grow darker.

"Honey is she okay?" Bulma asked her husband. She was stirring a pot of stew.

"She just needs some rest." Vegita answered, and left the room. Trunks sat down at the table and stared out the window. Raindrops began to fall on the roof. The wind continued to blow and there were occasional rumbles of thunder.

"What's on your mind, sweetie?" Bulma asked as she stirred.

"Oh, nothing." He said, and gazed out into space. He got up and went upstairs to his room, where he plopped down onto the bed. He was unusually tired for some reason. There was a sudden flash of lightning and clap of thunder, causing Trunks to jump. The rain was getting heavier and the wind was blowing outside. He got up off his bed and walked down the hall to Natalie's room. He opened the door with caution, and looked into the room where she lay silently on the bed. He walked over, shutting the door behind him. He sat on the side of her bed and looked down at her as she stirred in her sleep. He bent down and kissed her gingerly on the forehead. Her eyes fluttered open and Trunks jumped back in surprise.

"T-Trunks?" she said, squinting to make out his figure. "Trunks what are you doing here?"

"You're back at Capsule Corp." he explained. "We brought you back."

"No! I don't want to be here!" she said, sitting up. Trunks held her back with his arms. "Let go of me!" she cried.

"Natalie you aren't safe anywhere else!" Trunks said. He held the struggling girl from running away.

"Trunks please! Just let me go!" she pleaded. "I don't belong here!" Vegita heard the commotion and popped his head in to investigate.

"What's going on here?" he asked, looking at the frightened Natalie. At seeing him, she jumped back and cowered in fear. "What?" he asked her. Trunks was getting frustrated at the situation and decided to do something about it.

"Dad, go get the tranquilizing device. She's not in a rational state of mind." He said. Vegita ran to the medical wing to get the piece of equipment and back to the living quarters, where he placed the gadget in Trunks' hands.

"Natalie lay back and relax. We aren't going to hurt you." Trunks said sternly. Not knowing what to do, she tensed up and sat against the headboard. Trunks placed the device on Natalie's head, which sent the beam across her forehead. Natalie's eyes became dilated and she lost her connection with reality. After she had calmed down considerably, Trunks took it off and shut it down.

"Can you hear me?" he asked, shaking her body.

"O-Orion...he's - " she broke off.

"He's what?" Trunks asked. "What, Natalie?"

"He's c-coming..." she trailed off. Trunks placed his hand on her forehead. It was burning up. The familiar touch of Trunks caused Natalie to snap out of her daze and look around the room with wide eyes.

"What just happened?" she asked in her normal tone of voice. Trunks laughed happily and hugged Natalie. Vegita just sat in the doorframe and watched. As he left, Natalie thought she saw a smile on his face. As soon as Natalie gathered her thoughts and was feeling better, the two teens went downstairs. They saw Vegita sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed. He seemed to be concentrating on something.

"D-dad?" Trunks asked cautiously.

"Wait." Vegita replied, and continued. He jumped back and opened his eyes. "It looks like your mother was telling the truth about Orion." He said to Trunks.

"What?" Natalie asked quizzically.

"Orion." Trunks began. "He's very close." Natalie stared hard into space and tried to detect his presence.

"He's strong." She said softly. Trunks could see her fear.

"Damn right, he's strong. I don't know if we even have a chance of touching him." Vegita commented. Natalie sighed heavily and sat onto the sofa. She was terrified of this Orion, and didn't even know who he was.

"What time is it, dad?" Trunks said, breaking the silence.

"3:45. It's time to do some more training." Vegita said.

"Do you even think this training is worth the effort? If he's as close as you say, what good would this do us before he arrives?" Natalie questioned. Vegita turned around and was about to say something harsh, but quickly corrected himself.

"Every minute is precious. I suggest we spend them in the best way possible." He said, and got up, heading toward the gravity chambers.

"Oh no, not gravity training again..." she sighed. While Vegita set the controls, Natalie slumped into chamber 2. She leaned against the dome-like walls and shivered when her skin cam in contact with the cold metal. Vegita's face appeared on the screen.

"This time you get two holograms, Kameko and Sachi. Make sure to watch them both closely." He finished. Two holograms appeared in front of Natalie. One had blonde hair with green eyes, and the other had blue hair with purple eyes. They were both extremely intimidating, just as Tora had been. She guessed that the blonde one was Kameko, and the other was Sachi. Natalie whirred into a fighting stance, and the holograms followed. She waited for them to move. Kameko was first, diving toward the girl with her fist out. Natalie dodged, and came face-to-face with Sachi, who attempted to kick her in the side. Natalie jumped up, bringing her leg around to kick Sachi in the head. When her leg made contact, she spun around and punched Kameko in the stomach. An enraged Kameko retaliated with a ki blast, which Natalie barely dodged. She sent a blast flying in Sachi's direction, but she dodged it and shot one back at her. It grazed Natalie's arm. She jumped and did a roundhouse kick, which met up with Sachi's stomach. Sachi winced in pain and sent a powerful blast at Natalie's chest. Natalie just barely missed it as she lost her balance and fell into Kameko's arms by mistake. The angered girl grabbed Natalie by the back of the neck and squeezed. Natalie let out a cry of pain as Kameko smiled evilly. She held the struggling girl up by the neck, which allowed Sachi to deliver a painful blow to her jaw. Natalie cried out once more, which amused the two girls. She was in tremendous pain, but reacted quickly and elbowed Kameko in the stomach, causing her to lose her grip. She spun around and punched her in the jaw, and brought her leg around to kick Sachi in the ankles, causing her to lose her balance. Sachi screamed in rage as she jumped to her feet. Natalie stood in fighting stance in front of the two girls once again, and waited for their attacks. This time, they powered up considerably and began to fire rapid ki blasts at her body. Natalie dodged most of them easily but had a few close calls. She powered up as well and began to charge a blast, when out of nowhere another hologram appeared and hit her in the back.

"What the!?" Natalie cried out and spun around to see another woman the same size as the other two. This one had fiery red hair and blue eyes. "Who the hell are you?" Natalie questioned, startled.

"My name is Midori." She replied, and began to power up. Natalie was confused and bewildered.

"VEGITA!" she screamed. His face appeared on the talk screen.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Why didn't you warn me about the third one!?" she asked, frantically dodging attacks in the process.

"Sometimes enemies attack from nowhere and you need to be prepared." Vegita replied and faded out.

"Great!" Natalie sighed and tried desperately to keep herself alive amidst all the blasts and attacks from the three women.

"Hah!" she screamed and fired an amazingly strong blast towards Sachi. She tried to dodge it but failed, and was caught in the beam's path. She screamed in pain as the beam surrounded her and vaporized her body almost instantly. "One down!" she shouted triumphantly. Midori and Kameko retaliated and sent two blasts at Natalie that combined to make one huge beam of energy. With no time to dodge, Natalie bravely shot her hands forward and tried with all her might to block the attack. It was driving her backward, and she tried desperately to keep her footing. She remembered seeing Trunks use a particular attack earlier and decided to try it. She tensed her muscles and concentrated on the two attackers.

"Ka..." she began, as the two holograms watched on while continuing to pour out more energy. "Me...ha...me..." she continued and closed her eyes and gritted her teeth in determination. "HAAA!" she screamed, and sent an enormous wave of energy towards the two helpless women. They tried to block it, but that proved to be futile and Natalie could hear their screams as their bodies were incinerated. She bent over and rested her hands on her knees while breathing heavily. "Man what a blast." She said, panting. "Well at least I'm still alive and conscious." She said, trying to be optimistic. Vegita stood outside the chamber and watched in awe, as he looked on a monitor that showed the inside of the room. He pressed the button on the intercom and spoke into the speaker.

"You can take a break now." He said, and allowed the door to open. As she passed through Trunks' chamber, she saw him sitting against the wall, wiping sweat off his forehead. He took one look at her battered body and his eyes widened.

"What happened to you!?" he asked, surprised.

"Oh, nothing really." She said, wiping blood off her lip. She walked out the main door and grabbed a towel out of Vegita's hand. Trunks just followed her with his gaze and sat in amazement. Vegita leaned his head in.

"You can take a break too." He said. He tossed Trunks a towel as well, and Trunks walked out of the chamber. He mopped sweat off his forehead and chest as he walked over to where Natalie was sitting. He examined her injuries as he sat down next to her. He noticed that she had a split lip and a new wound just below where her other one had been healing. She also had a bruise on her jaw and scratches on her back.

"Man, Natalie what were you doing in there?" he asked, looking her over once more.

"She was fighting three holograms simultaneously." Vegita cut in.

"Three!?" Trunks said with a bewildered look on his face.

"Yep." She said, blotting blood off her shoulder.

"Those things are evil!" he said. "Wow. Well they sure roughed you up." He said, playfully punching Natalie on the arm.

"Thanks." She said, smirking at him. She got up and threw her towel on his head. "Hey are we finished for the day, or what?" she asked Vegita, who was recording her progress on a computer. He looked at the digital clock on the panel.

"5:15. Time for dinner." He said, and turned off the computer. "Go in and wash up." The two teenagers ran into the building and raced up the stairs to their bathrooms where they washed their hands and splashed water onto their faces to wash off any residual sweat. Then they both ran back down and into the kitchen.

"Mmm smells good, mom." Trunks said, inhaling deeply. Bra came running down the stairs and jumped into Natalie's arms.

"Nat!" she cried. Natalie laughed and put her down.

"Time to eat, girl." She said, and sat down at the table across from Trunks. Bulma came to the table with a pot of stew and another pot of rice. She served everyone and then sat down and served herself. Vegita and Trunks inhaled the food, slurping and spilling rice everywhere. Bulma and the two girls sat with sweat drops as the saiyans ate. In the midst of the commotion, Trunks stopped and looked up form his bowl of rice to observe Natalie staring at him with her jaw dropped. Trunks meekly set the bowl of rice aside and sipped his stew. When they were finished, Trunks and Natalie started to do upstairs, but were stopped by Vegita.

"You two aren't finished yet." He said, calling them back down.

"What? You mean we have more training?" Natalie said in a high pitched voice.

"Don't whine at me girl. You two are going to train outside." He said, and led them out of Capsule Corp. After they finished stretching, Vegita began to explain their training.

"You two will spar with each other this time, instead of the robots and holograms you have been using. Don't use energy until I say so." He explained. Natalie and Trunks obeyed and stood in front of each other in fighting positions.

"Go." Vegita called, and they began to spar. "Trunks don't be afraid of hitting Natalie. She can take it." He continued. Trunks glanced back at his dad to confirm that and then began to pick up the pace. He launched at Natalie with his fist out, but she dodged and faded behind him before he could react. She slammed her fists into his back, causing him to shoot forward. He counter-attacked using his momentum to swing around and deliver a blow to her arm.

"Come on, you can hit harder than that!" she said, smirking.

"Oh, I don't think you would like that very much." He said and grabbed her arms, forcing them behind her back. "Never let your guard up." He said, grabbing her wrists and holding them together with one hand. At that angle, she couldn't get her arms free without using energy.

"Okay let go!" she cried, as it was beginning to hurt

.

"You think some enemy would listen to you if you cried for mercy?" he said, laughing. "Try again." This angered Natalie, for this isn't what was supposed to happen. She forced her power level to stay low, so that she wouldn't accidentally use it. After struggling and getting nowhere, she became furious and began kicking and yelling at Trunks to let her go. Since he obviously wouldn't comply, she began to become desperate. She began to do into a daze, and reacted on instinct. She shot her head back, hitting Trunks in the face, causing his grip to loosen. She broke free and spun around with amazing speed, sending a punch across his face that sent him flying in the opposite direction. She flew after him and brought her fists together, bringing them crashing down on his back. He flew to the ground, face first, and Natalie followed to attack him once again. Suddenly, she snapped up as if coming out of a trance, and flew down to Trunks.

"Oh my gosh I am so sorry!" she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I didn't even know what I was doing!" she said, apologizing profusely. Vegita flew over to where the two were hovering and started to yell at them, saying that they couldn't let their emotions get in the way of their training.

"I-I'm sorry...I just didn't want to hurt him." Natalie said, her voice quivering. Trunks lifted his head and began to take up for her.

"Don't shout at her dad, she didn't know." He said. "Give her another chance." Vegita grumbled and folded his arms.

"Fine, but you can't let this become more than it is. Don't be afraid to hurt the other person." He said sternly. "If it gets out of hand, I will stop you two and that will be the end of it." He finished, and turned back to the building.

"Wanna go again?" Trunks asked, slapping Natalie on the back.

"Heh, sure." She replied, and got into position.