Cosmic Crisis

Chapter 11 - Before the Storm

Natalie and Trunks were sparring in the yard as Vegita watched on, observing their various techniques and abilities. He had to rely on his senses rather than his eyes, because of the growing darkness.

"You can use energy now." He shouted to them. As if it was his que, Trunks fired a ki blast at Natalie, who dodged it and fired on of her own right back at him. After several minutes of blasting and dodging, Vegita called the two over to tell them that training was over.

"Ha! I call shower first!" Natalie cried and ran into the house, followed by Trunks. He was determined to beat her at her own game, so he elevated himself and flew up the stairs and into the bathroom before she could even protest.

"No fair!" Natalie yelled, banging on the door to his room.

"Heh, now don't be a spoil sport, Natalie." Trunks laughed from the bathroom.

"Ugh! Men! They're all the same!" she cried, and turned to go to her room, when she bumped into Vegita.

"You're right. I call shower second." He said, and then continued down the hall, laughing. Natalie's eyes narrowed and her jaw dropped, as Vegita turned to go into his room. She let out a frustrated growl and shuffled into her room where she came upon a blue-tinted scouter lying on her floor. She picked it up out of curiosity.

"Let's see what this thing can do." She said, and pressed a large button on the side of the device. It bleeped and began to display several power levels located near by. "What the - " she said, trying to figure out what it was doing. Just then, Bulma walked by the door of her room.

"What are you doing, sweetie?" she asked.

"What is this?" Natalie asked, holding out the scouter, which was still turned on.

"Oh, where did you find this? It's a scouter. It's used for various things, but we just use them for displaying power levels." She said, putting it on.

"It was lying on my floor. Can you detect Trunks'?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, sure. His, and Vegita's, and Goku's, and even yours." She said, scanning the area to locate them all.

"Mine?" Natalie replied. "What is it?" she inquired.

"Let's see here..." Bulma said, focusing on Natalie's form. "It says here that you have a power level of 50 million." She said, somewhat surprised.

"Wow. Is that high?" she asked.

"Uh, this thing must be broken." Bulma replied, though Natalie knew she wasn't the average human. "But Trunks is 200 million, Vegita is 350 million, and so forth." She continued. Compared to the others, Natalie's power level was dwarfed.

"Wow..." Natalie thought to herself. But Orion's was far greater. A cold chill ran through her spine. Trunks opened the door of his room and emerged, wearing pretty much the same thing he had been wearing earlier, just clean.

"Hey guys, I think I'm gonna go to bed." He said, yawning.

"Yeah, us too." Bulma said. She went into her room after saying goodnight and giving everyone kisses. When she shut the door behind her, the two could hear Vegita's cries of anger as Bulma apparently walked in on him by accident. They just laughed at the sound and rolled their eyes.

"Well I'm going to go get my shower now, FINALLY." She said, punching Trunks in the arm.

"Hey, everyone gets their turn!" he said, returning the punch. She rolled her eyes playfully and returned to her room. She jumped into the shower and proceeded to wash her hair.

"Hey! Where's my shampoo!?" she cried out, as she noticed it was missing. She could hear Trunks laughing in the other room. "Ugh that idiot." She said, stepping out of the shower and into a towel. The cold air gave her goosebumps as she pressed the button on the intercom.

"Trunks! Return my shampoo right now! This isn't funny!" she cried into the speaker. A few seconds later there was a knock at her door and she swung it open to reveal a grinning Trunks with a bottle of shampoo in his hand. She grabbed the bottle and slammed the door in his face before he could even offer an apology. She ran back to the shower to return to the warm flow of water. After she was finished with her shower, she got out and put on a pair of black nylon pants and a black tank top. She put her wet hair in a tight ponytail and walked out on her balcony. The night air chilled her, but the glittering stars distracted her from any discomfort. She gazed into the heavens, remembering the dream she had and wished that she knew more about her past. Suddenly, a dark figure appeared in front of her. She screamed and jumped back, but the figure closed in on her and covered her mouth to smother her screams. She bit the hand, causing the figure to jump back.

"Ow! That's twice you've done that to me!" a voice said. She focused on the figure as it stepped into the light, and realized that it was Trunks.

"Oh my god, Trunks you scared me!" she said, letting out a relieved sigh.

"Heh heh. Sorry." He said, and stepped closer to her.

"Um...so what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep. Anticipation I guess." He replied, and sat onto the railing, looking up at the stars.

"It's a nice night for them, huh?" she said to him.

"Huh? Oh the stars you mean. Yeah." He said, and looked back at the glittering jewels that hung in the black velvet of the night. It was a surreal sight.

"Well why don't you come in?" she said, walking back into the room. "It's cold out here." Trunks hoped off the balcony railing and walked into the room. She gathered the towels off her bed and threw them on the floor in the corner. "Sorry for the mess. I just got out of the shower." She said, plopping down onto the bed. She laid back and rested her hands behind her head. She glanced over to where Trunks was sitting.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked, with a concerned tone.

"Yeah. I'm just...I don't know. I guess you could call it...annoyed." He replied.

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"Well...it's just that every time I try to settle down and have a normal life, something messes it all up. In this case, it's Orion." He said, staring at the ceiling.

"Oh. Hey at least he isn't out to get you or anything..." she trailed off.

"Yeah well I'll probably be killed in the process anyway. You know how it works." He said dryly.

"You know Trunks, if it bothers you that much then why don't you all just leave it up to me and I'll just go with him, so as he won't destroy the earth or anyone on it." She suggested.

"Are you crazy!? Like we would just let him take you away like that?" Trunks said in an outburst.

"S-sorry." She said, cowering over to the corner of her bed.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I just meant that I wouldn't give up without a fight." Natalie turned around to look at Trunks with tear-filled eyes.

"Do you really mean that?" she asked, her body trembling.

"Every word." He said, stroking her cheek, brushing away a tear that fell down her face. He brought her chin up and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Natalie became lost, and for one moment, she felt that there was nobody else in the world. When she opened her eyes, she was face to face with him once again. She grabbed him by the shirt and threw herself onto him, sobbing quietly. She was angry with Orion for doing this to her. She wouldn't allow him to harm anyone else, even if it meant her own life. Trunks held the distraught girl in his arms until she settled down and fell into a deep sleep. When he was sure that she wouldn't wake, he laid her down to rest and left the room quietly.

The next morning, Natalie woke up to the sun shining on her face. She sat up in bed, looking at the clock on the table.

"8:30!? How come nobody woke me?" she wondered, and got up out of bed, stretching. She opened the doors to her balcony, letting the warm, fresh air come into her room. "What a perfect morning." She thought to herself. She inhaled the morning air before walking downstairs to discover that the house was empty.

"Hello?" she called throughout the living quarters. There was no reply, so she decided to check in Trunks' room to see if he was there. After she knocked and received no answer, she opened the door slowly. She glanced into the room to see that Trunks obviously wasn't there and had been out for a while. "Okay, great. Now everybody left me." She said sarcastically and walked out into the hallway again, making sure that nobody was downstairs one last time. After inspecting the area again, she walked back into her room. She made her bed and tidied that bathroom out of boredom, and then walked out onto the balcony.

"Hello!" she called out, but nobody replied. "Is anyone there?" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Since there was obviously nobody around, she decided to have a little fun. "Trunks! If you can hear me, I think you're really cute!" she shouted, laughing to herself. But as she turned around, she bumped into that all familiar, purple-haired figure. "T-Trunks!" she said, her face totally red.

"So, I'm cute huh?" he said, running his hand through his soft hair. "Thanks." He said, smirking. Natalie was too embarrassed to say anything, so she just stood with a dumbfounded expression on her face. "Hey, hello?" Trunks said, waving his hand in front of her face, but she just stood, looking up at him with huge green eyes.

"Hey Natalie! If you're in there, I think you're cute too!" he said, snapping her out of her daze. She closed her eyes and inhaled, opening her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Trunks.

"Hey come on, let's go downtown today." He said, grabbing her by the arm and leading her into the bedroom.

"You mean we don't have to train?" she asked, following behind.

"Nah, we can train later. We need to go have some fun." He said, and then ran towards the door. "Be ready in 10 minutes." He said, and then left, shutting the door behind him. Natalie walked to her closet and examined the little amount of clothing that she had.

"I really need to get some more clothes from home." She said, grabbing a pair of khaki shorts and a navy blue tank top. She slipped into the clothing, and then went into the bathroom to fix her hair. She took her hair down from the ponytail she pulled it up in the previous night and brushed all the tangles out of it. Then she pulled it back up and tied a white ribbon in her hair to top it off. She washed her face and brushed her teeth before walking out into the hallway where Trunks was waiting for her.

"Come on. We can get breakfast out." He said, grabbing her hand and leading her down the stairs.

"But what about your parents?" she asked while trying to keep up before she tripped.

"Oh, they're gone. They went out this morning and took Bra with them." He replied, and they ran out the door. The sun was bright and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A perfect day for an outing. They walked down the sidewalk, arm in arm, enjoying the cool breeze that whipped through their hair and rustled Trunks' nylon pants. The city wasn't very busy today, with only a few people walking around downtown. It was a perfect morning. They came upon a street café with three tables sitting outside. The place didn't look busy, so Trunks and Natalie popped in to see if they had anything good to eat. There was nobody waiting inside, to they took the opportunity to get something before a crowd came. Trunks and Natalie stepped up to the counter, and observed the selections behind the glass windows.

"Can I help you sir?" the waiter asked.

"Yeah...I'll take a cherry danish and a glass of fruit juice." Trunks said, and then looked at Natalie. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Hmm..." she said, inspecting the food. "I'll have a blueberry muffin and an orange juice, no pulp." She ordered. The cashier rang up the prices on the register.

"That will be 5 dollars and 30 cents." The guy said, as he looked Natalie up and down, much to her annoyance. She shot him a look that said "don't mess with me". Trunks paid for the food and they took it outside, sitting at one of the tables. They sat and ate, while people watching.

"That cashier in there was weird." She commented, while taking a bite of her muffin, which was loaded with blueberries.

"Yeah, well check out that woman over there." Trunks said, guesturing to a woman about in her mid-50's with grey curly hair. Natalie's mouth was agape as she gazed at the fluorescent green dress with pink trim and lace.

"Whoa...and I thought Akari wore weird clothes!" she commented, taking another bite of muffin. They laughed and continued to eat on the sunny morning.

Meanwhile, Goten was at his house dragging his sore body out of bed. He knew that it would be another hard day of training, and he grumbled at the thought. As he shuffled down the stairs, he almost ran into Goku, who was walking up the stairs opposite of him.

"Oh, hey son. I just wanted to tell you - " Goku was cut off by Goten's dry remark.

"Yeah, dad. Training begins in 20 minutes. So what else is new?"

"Uh...well actually I came to tell you to take it easy today." Goku replied. "But if you want to train, that's fine." He finished. Before he could say another word, Goten was out the door. He flew towards Capsule Corp. to visit Trunks, as he had not heard from him in a while. He arrived but noticed that no one was home, so he headed into the city alone. He landed on the ground and began to walk through the inner part of downtown, when he came upon Trunks and Natalie sitting at a table nearby. He ran over to where they were sitting, startling the couple.

"Goten! How's it going?" Trunks asked, pulling up a chair for him to sit down.

"Oh, man am I glad to be away from all that training and exercising for once!" he said, relieved.

"Yeah us too. My parents left this morning with my sister and told me that we could go out for the afternoon." Trunks said. "Do you want anything to eat?"

"No, I'm not really hungry." Goten replied. Trunks was surprised, because saiyans were known for their tremendous appetites.

"Oh. Well do you wanna hang out with us for the afternoon?" Trunks asked thoughtfully.

"Sure. Anything would be better than staying at home, and I don't have anything better to do." Goten replied, and turned to Natalie. "Hey what's up?" he asked.

"Nothing, but what's with those cowlicks?" she joked.

"Hey now." He said, looking around to make sure that nobody was looking. As soon as the coast was clear, Goten powered up to Super Saiyan and his hair turned brilliant gold. Natalie jumped back in surprise, as she'd never seen anyone do that before. Goten powered down again, causing his black hair to fall back into its normal place, minus the bead-head. "That better?" he joked with the stunned girl.

"Heh heh - yeah." She said, taking a sip of her juice.

"Nice one, Goten. Next time warn us so that she doesn't have a heart attack." Trunks commented, and then looked reassuringly at Natalie, who had her straw in her mouth and was chewing on it nervously.

"Well anyway, let's go somewhere. This café is lacking excitement." Natalie said, pulling the mangled straw out of her mouth and tossing it in a nearby trash can along with other garbage from their meal. "Oh my gosh I know of this store that has really great prices, and..." she trailed off. "Oops, heh. Silly me." She said.

"What?" Trunks and Goten asked simultaneously.

"Oh, nothing." She commented, and immediately changed the subject. "Well let's walk down the street and see if there are any good stores around." She said, hopping out of the chair. Goten and Trunks exchanged glances and then got up as well. Natalie walked ahead of the two boys, looking back at them from time to time. "Come on, it's no fun with you two lagging behind!" she said, not paying attention to where she was going. Suddenly, she slammed into a passerby.

"Hey watch where you're going, girl." The person said.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." She said, turning to face the angered man. "Tobias!" she cried, stepping back.

"Natalie!?" the guy replied, surprised. He was about Trunks' height with blonde hair just short of his ears and deep green eyes. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"N-nothing. I have to go." She said, attempting to leave. Tobias didn't notice the two Saiyans watching him.

"No wait." He said, grabbing her arm.

"Tobias let me go." She said sternly, attempting to break free, but he held on.

"Natalie will you just talk to me?" he pleaded. Natalie looked into his eyes and felt sorry for him, but didn't let her emotions get in the way.

"No, Tobias. You need to leave. Now." She said, raising the volume of her voice.

"Natalie I won't let you leave me again. You have to listen." He said, pulling her closer. She looked desperately in Trunks and Goten's direction.

"Hey, let her go." Trunks said, stepping in.

"I suggest you back off, punk, or you'll wish you'd never seen me." He said, threateningly.

"Oh really?" Trunks challenged. Goten stepped up, and both had a serious look in their eyes.

"Hey don't mess with me." He said, jerking Natalie by the arm. She had had enough of being treated like a piece of meat, and elbowed him in the side. Tobias crouched down, his side throbbing in pain.

"Hey, nobody does that to me, Natalie." He said, and began to get up to attack her. Natalie was about to fight back, when Trunks came out of nowhere and delivered a painful kick to his jaw. Tobias fell to the ground once more, and looked up at the threesome with fear in is eyes.

"Okay, man. Just don't touch me again!" he said, scrambling away. Natalie and the two boys turned around and began walking in another direction.

"Hey who was that, Natalie?" Trunks asked, increasing his speed to catch up with Natalie."

"Just someone I know." She replied bitterly and walked in a fast pace. Trunks continued to keep up with her.

"Come on, Nat. You can tell me." He said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to a halt. She turned around and looked at him, her eyes welling up with tears. Trunks knew he had made a mistake.

"You wanna know?" she asked, jerking her hand away from Trunks. "You really wanna know? He is my old boyfriend." She said, and pointed to a faded scar on the inside of her forearm. "He did this to me." She said, and then pointed to one on her ankle. "And this." She said. Trunks looked in awe as the teenage girl pointed out various marks on her body, most of them barely noticeable, but Trunks knew that they caused a lot of emotional scarring as well. He just grabbed the sobbing girl and held her as she cried. Goten watched in disbelief.

"I'm really sorry, Trunks. I couldn't help it." She said, wiping her eyes.

"It's okay. It's not your fault." He reassured her, and then held her by the shoulders, looking at her. "Dry your eyes, and let's go have some fun." He said. Natalie smiled faintly and wiped her eyes again, heading into a store to use the restroom. When she had gone in, Goten spoke up.

"Man what was that all about?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know. She's been through an awful lot lately." He said, a blank stare on his face. He had a weird sensation in the back of his mind. "It's probably just anxiousness about Orion." He thought and dismissed the feeling. When Natalie emerged from the store she was looking a lot happier and dry eyed this time. The three walked down the street, stopping in various shops along the way.

"Hey look at this kawaii little guy!" Natalie said, picking up a stuffed animal from a rack. Trunks turned around to see her playing with a little stuffed tiger. It was about the size of a volleyball with two green eyes and shiny faux fur. Trunks took it from her hands and inspected it.

"Yep." He said, handing it back to her. She looked at it for a few seconds longer and then set it back onto the shelf, moving to another rack of miscellaneous items. When they were finished, they left the store and continued on, stopping at a fast food place for lunch. By then Goten was starving and ordered 15 hamburgers, although he insisted to Natalie that he could eat more. She was impressed with the boys' appetites as she munched on a fry. Well she had certainly had her fill after a double cheeseburger, fries, and a soda. When they had all finished, they were wandering around with nowhere to go, as they had already been to all the stores in that area.

"Any suggestions, guys?" she asked as she threw her arms around the necks of the unsuspecting teenagers. Suddenly, they heard a crash, followed by several panicked screams. Their heads shot up and they looked in the direction of the commotion. The three teens raced down the street to discover a terrible car wreck. Broken glass and crunched metal were everywhere.

"Somebody call an ambulance! These people need help, now!" Natalie said, and raced over to the scene. She quickly scanned the area for any people in need of immediate medical attention. There were three people involved in the crash. There was a man in his mid thirties in a small compact car and a woman and her young son in another, larger one. She pulled the people to safety with the help of Trunks and Goten. The two adults were unconscious as she freed them, but the little boy was crying. Natalie picked him up, and tried to console him. He was covered in scratches and bruises, and a trickle of blood ran down his cheek.

"It's okay. You mom is going to get some help. We're taking her to the hospital." She said, holding the little boy in her arms. He appeared to be about five years old, with light brown hair and blue eyes. He resembled Chibi Trunks somewhat, without the purple hair. He looked around frantically, searching for his mother. When he didn't see her, he began to cry again.

"Hey, hey. What's your name, little guy?" she asked, trying to distract him until the ambulance arrived.

"N-Nathan." He said, sniffing.

"Nathan? Hi my name is Natalie." She said. Nathan's mom was lying on the pavement, moaning. Natalie handed Nathan to Trunks while she went to check her vital signs.

"Her heart rate is slowing!" she said frantically. Soon, she heard the sounds of sirens in the distance. She ran over to Trunks and grabbed the now terrified Nathan and told the medical officer what had happened. The paramedics ran out of the vehicle with stretchers and oxygen masks. After everyone had been safely placed inside, the officer grabbed Nathan and took him along to be with his mom. As the ambulance drove away, Natalie watched his little blue eyes well up with tears until he was out of sight. Natalie waved goodbye, trying to keep a happy look on her face. Trunks and Goten ran over to comfort her, as they knew she would become upset.

"Natalie are you okay?" they asked.

"Huh? Yeah I'm fine!" she said, plastering on a fake smile. She decided that she wasn't going to let this event get to her. After the people around stopped running around in panic, the trio continued their walk down the street. Goten looked at his watch.

"Hey guys, it's 3:30. We should be heading back before the 4:00 rush hour." He suggested, and the three headed in the direction of their homes. When Trunks and Natalie reached Capsule Corp., they bid Goten farewell and headed inside the building. As soon as they entered the foyer, Trunks spoke.

"Hey, Natalie. Stay here. I'll be right back." Trunks said, running up the stairs. When he returned, they both walked up the stairs together.

"Where did you go?" she asked curiously. They were nearing the living quarters.

"Oh, I just had to check on something." He replied rather casually. As Natalie approached her door, Trunks cleared his throat rather loudly. Natalie looked at him with a puzzled look on her face, but continued on. She opened the door and walked in with Trunks by her side.

"SURPRISE!" Natalie almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the shouts. There stood Bra, Bulma, and Vegita. She looked around her room, and saw that they had brought over all of her things from her old house! Her bed was there, as well as her computer and her phone, and her walls were even painted the same shade of yellow. She jumped back and cries of joy were heard. Bulma and Bra were standing, beaming with pride, while Vegita stood with his arms crossed. "At least he isn't scowling this time", she thought. Natalie ran up to them, hugging Bulma, and Bra. When she reached Vegita, she hugged him as well, but he just grunted.

"Vegita, don't be rude!" Bulma said, poking him in the ribs. He lost his balance and almost fell over as Trunks and Natalie laughed. She ran and jumped onto her bed, inhaling the scent of her room.

"This is the best!" she exclaimed and looked up at Trunks. "You knew about this all along!" she said, smiling at him.

"Yep. Why do you think we went out this morning? To get out of the house while they did the work." He said. "And I have something else for you." He said, pulling a bag out of his jacket. Natalie tore it out of his hands and looked inside.

"That cute tiger animal I saw at the store!" she exclaimed. "But how did you...?

"I had Goten buy it for you while we were leaving. Heh heh, pretty cool, huh?" he said, inspecting the animal. Natalie hugged Trunks and sat the animal on her bed.

"Oh guys, this is so nice!" she said, sitting with her legs indian-style.

"Well we thought you deserved it after all you've done..." Bulma said sweetly as Bra ran over and jumped into Natalie's lap.

That night, they had a mini-celebration, as Bulma cooked a special meal for the family, followed by a small cake. They laughed and ate, and a food fight almost grew between Natalie, Trunks, and Vegita. As soon as they were finished, Natalie and Trunks returned to their living quarters, full of food. Natalie ran into her room and jumped onto her bed, grabbing the stuffed tiger and holding it above her head.

"He needs a name..." she said to Trunks, lying on her back. "I think I'll name him Vela." She said, in remembrance of her home world, which Trunks did not know about.

"Why Vela?" Trunks asked.

"Oh, it's of sentimental value." She said, hugging the stuffed animal and resting it on her stomach.

"But I don't wanna go!" Bra cried as Bulma and Vegita forced her into bed. They eventually got her under the covers and Bulma kissed her goodnight while Vegita turned out the light. Exhausted from the day's events, the couple walked towards their bedroom.

"Natalie? Trunks? We're heading to bed now. Sleep well." Bulma said tiredly and then headed for the room, shutting the door behind her. Natalie got off of the bed and went over to her dresser, pulling out the pair of black nylon pants and black tank top that she had been sleeping in. She went to the bathroom and changed. When she emerged, she threw her clothes in her closet. They had even brought all her clothes over too.

"Sorry about this mess. Every time I clean it up, it comes back and - " she was interrupted by Trunks, who kissed her on the lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the warm feeling washed over hey body. It was as if everything in the world was perfect. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a squeal from the bedroom door. They spun around to see Bra standing there in her blue pajamas.

"Gross!" Bra said, observing the two. They jumped away from each other and tried to think of an excuse.

"Oh, Bra...we were just...er..." Natalie said nervously.

"Practicing!" Trunks interjected. "We were practicing for a play. The script calls for a kiss at the end of scene 5." Trunks lied, hoping to convince his sister.

"Yeah right! I don't believe you!" she said.

"Well...you won't tell mom or dad, will you?" Trunks said with his hand behind his head, laughing nervously.

"You bet I will! When they find out what you did..." she said.

"Well then I guess I'll just have to tell her about the time you spilled grape juice on their carpet and covered it up with a rug." Trunks said.

"Touché!" Natalie said, but shut up when Bra shot her a glare.

"Fine, I won't tell. But you have to promise you won't tell about the grape juice either." She said, folding her arms, mimicking her father.

"I promise." Trunks said, trying not to roll his eyes. He tucked Bra into bed and then returned to Natalie's room where she was lying sleepily on the bed.

"Well I guess I'll let you get some sleep. See you tomorrow." He said, and left. The two settled into their beds and drifted off to sleep on the warm, summer night.