Cosmic Crisis

Chapter 3 - Bravery

Natalie sat by her mother's side, holding her hand. Trunks sat and watched as Natalie spoke softly to her mom.

"It's going to be okay, mom. I'm here." She whispered. Her mother was lying unconscious on the hospital bed, with IV's in her wrists. There was a heart monitor, and a machine that measured her vital signs. A nurse walked in with a chart in her hands, and began to scribble notes onto the paper.

"Is she going to be okay?" Natalie asked fearfully.

"Well, things are looking pretty bad right now. She has suffered some serious blows to the head and her skull is fractured." The nurse replied and then left, shutting the door. Natalie curled up in the chair and started sobbing. Trunks considered going back to Capsule Corp. to see if Bra was okay, but didn't want to leave Natalie.

"Are you going to be okay here for a while?" he asked.

"I'll be fine. You can go if you want to." She said, not even turning her head. Trunks started to talk out, and then turned back to her.

"I'll be back." He said, and shut the door behind him. He walked rather briskly down the corridors. He really needed to get back home. He picked up the pace, and within a few minutes, he was outside. He hovered in the air for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and then sped across the sky towards his house. He arrived home, and slipped into the house. When he got to the staircase, he came face to face with his angry father.

"Where have you been!?" he asked in his harsh tone of voice.

"Uh..." he started to explain, but was interrupted by his mother.

"How could you go off and leave your sister like that?" she asked angrily.

"Something came up..."

"I don't care! Next time you do this you are going to be grounded, do you understand me?" she interrupted.

"Yes ma-am." He replied meekly, and shuffled up the stairs. He went to his room and plopped down onto his bed. He hadn't considered getting the number to the hospital. Soon, Bra walked into his room.

"I suppose you're angry with me too, huh?" he asked dryly.

"No" she replied. "I was sleeping the whole time." She continued, and then walked out of the room quietly. Trunks looked at the clock. It was 4:15. He walked downstairs to discover his parents sitting together on the couch.

"Mom...? Dad...?" he asked slowly. They quickly regained their composure and sat up straight.

"Yes?" Bulma asked in a high pitched voice.

"I'm going over to Goten's place, ok?" he said, grabbing a soda out of the fridge.

"Yeah, sure. Just be back in time for dinner." Bulma said, yawning and stretching her arms out.

"Will be." He said, and ran out the door. He flew across the sky towards the house. He looked out into the horizon to see an approaching storm. He heard the low rumbling of thunder in the distance. A cool breeze chilled his body, causing him to speed up.

"Goku! Goten! DINNER!" Chi-Chi yelled up the stairs. Before she could blink, the two saiyans sped down the stairs and were sitting at the table in anticipation.

"I hope you two are hungry." She said, carrying a large pot of stew and enough rice to feed an army. The two inhaled the food, making slurping sounds as they ate.

"Mmm! This is great Chi-Chi!" Goku said in between bites. When they had finished five minutes later, they sat back in their chairs holding their stomachs with content looks on their faces. Goten opened his mouth to sigh, but let out a burp instead, causing Goku to erupt into laughter. Chi-Chi just rolled her eyes.

"Will you two please act your age!" she yelled.

"Sorry, dear!" Goku said, trying to smother his laughter. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Got it!" Goten called as he ran to the door. He opened it, to reveal Trunks standing in the doorstep.

"What's up?" Goten asked his friend.

"I need to talk to you." Trunks said, stepping inside. The two boys ran upstairs to Goten's room and plopped down onto the bed.

"What's the deal?" Goten asked curiously.

"I have sensed the presence of a new ki." Trunks said.

"Really?" Goten said, his eyes widening. "Have you found the source?"

"Not yet, but I have a hunch." Trunks said, pulling out the same scouter he had used earlier that day.

"Is it evil?" Goten asked.

"I don't think so." Trunks said, fiddling with the buttons. "Ah, got it." He said, pressing a button, causing the scouter to display several numerals. It picked up on Goten's ki first, and the Goku's, followed by several others that he recognized. Then it locked onto the unfamiliar one.

"There! I found it!" Trunks said, sitting up.

"Where is it!?" Goten asked impatiently. He was eager to find it.

"It's moving southwest, quite slowly." He said. "Let's go." Trunks said, leaping off the bed. The two ran down the stairs and made their way to the door.

"And just where do you two think you're going?" Chi-Chi asked, washing the dishes.

"To find a-" Goten began, but was interrupted my Trunks.

"Somewhere." He said, and then grabbed Goten by the arm and bolted out the door. The launched into the sky, Trunks scanning the area. Another thunderclap was heard in the distance, followed by a cool breeze. Trunks suddenly spotted Natalie walking home, and flew to the ground.

"Natalie!" he called out to her. She turned around with surprise on her face, and then calmed down when she recognized him.

"Trunks! What are you doing out here?" she said, the breeze picking up. Trunks pressed another button on the scouter and it locked onto Natalie's figure immediately. Trunks' eyes widened in surprise.

"You're the one!" he said. Goten landed next to him.

"I'm WHAT one? What are you talking about?" Natalie asked, puzzled. Soon, small raindrops began to fall.

"Come on! Let's get out of the rain!" she called to the two boys, and ran towards her house. By the time they reached it, the rain was drenching the three teens. They ran into the house, closing and locking the door behind them. Natalie ran up the dark stairway, and into her room, followed by Trunks and Goten. When they were all in her room, she shut the door and flipped on the light.

"Natalie, I need to talk to you about something." Trunks said.

"Sure, hold on." She said, going into the bathroom. She pulled her damp hair into a tight ponytail and slipped into a navy blue tank top and another pair of denim shorts. She emerged from the bathroom, and sat down on the windowsill, looking out at the grass blowing in the wind. Her eyes were still slightly red from crying. She turned around and looked at the two boys.

"Who's your friend?" she asked, studying Goten's figure.

"This is Goten. He lives about two miles from here." Trunks said.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, looking at Trunks with question on her face.

"Come here." He said, gesturing to Natalie. She walked over and stood about three feet from Trunks. "Now stand still." He said.

"Okay..." she said with a slight smirk on her face. Trunks concentrated on her figure, and sensed her ki surrounding her body. But there was something different about it. Suddenly, Natalie sneezed and broke his concentration.

"Sorry..." she said, sniffling. Goten looked at Trunks with a questionable expression on his face.

"She's the one." He whispered into Goten's ear.

"What are you guys taking about. Is it me?" Natalie asked, sitting on her chair.

"Natalie, have you ever experienced any strange feelings, or done anything that a normal person wouldn't do?" Trunks asked her.

"Well...I have been feeling really strange lately." She started. Suddenly, there was a loud clap of thunder and the power went out.

"Oh no! A blackout!" she cried. The wind howled outside her window, making an eerie sound.

"We should probably head back to Capsule Corp." Trunks suggested to Goten. "Natalie, we're going to take you back to my house, okay? There is a bad storm out there and I don't think we're safe here." He continued.

"You're gonna go out in that? Why not wait until the storm passes?" she asked frantically.

"Trust us." He said, and grabbed her by the hand, racing down the stairs.

"Wait! Can't I just - " she was cut off when Goten forced the door open, causing wind and bullets of rain to enter into the house.

"Ready?" he asked Natalie.

"Ready for whaaaaaat!?" she cried, as Trunks grabbed her by the waist, and propelled them into the air, followed by Goten. She looked down at the ground, too terrified to move. The wind was blowing fiercely through the sky. There was debris blowing around everywhere.

"Are you crazy!? What are you doing??" Natalie yelled over the noise of the storm. She screamed as a piece of debris cut her just below the left shoulder. Trunks and Goten sped up, streaking across the sky like a pair of comets. When they arrived at Capsule Corp., Trunks forced the door open and the two boys entered with Natalie. Goten slammed the door behind him.

"What do you guys think you are doing?" Vegita asked, observing the three drenched teenagers in the foyer.

"We just came from outside." Trunks replied.

"I can see that." Vegita said in a sarcastic tone. He looked Natalie up and down. "Who's that" he asked, looking at her, and then back at Trunks.

"This is Natalie. We have to get her arm bandaged." Trunks said, and then led her into the medical wing. While Natalie was washing her wound, Bulma popped her head in.

"Oh, you poor dear. You're soaked!" She said. "I'll just go get you some dry clothes to put on." Bulma left the room, and then returned a few minutes later with some clothes. "Here, these used to belong to Trunks, but they're too small for him now." She said, and handed Natalie a black tank top and a billowy pair of navy blue cargo pants. Goten came in with Trunks, who was holding a bandage in his hand. He wrapped it around Natalie's small arm carefully. When he finished, she went to the bathroom to change clothes and dry her hair. Trunks and Goten went upstairs to his room to change clothes as well. Trunks just changed into the same outfit again, while Goten changed into an outfit that he had left there from a previous stay. They got changed and dry, and went downstairs to see how Natalie was doing. She came out of the bathroom, inspecting herself in Trunks' clothes. "Weird." She thought. "But comfy." Trunks and Goten walked in and facefaulted when they saw what Natalie was wearing.

"Ha ha ha! You guys match!" Goten joked, as Trunks elbowed him in the stomach. Natalie looked up at the boys with a smirk on her face.

"What do you think?" she asked, and lifted her arms up to present herself.

"Hey Trunks, aren't those your clothes?" Vegita interjected with a weird look on his face as he appeared in the doorway.

"They were." He replied.

"Well your mother wanted me to tell you that dinner's ready." He said, and then walked away.

"Cool! Goten, wanna stay for dinner?" Trunks offered.

"Uh, sure. But I already ate, so I'm not that hungry." He replied. The three teens walked into the kitchen and sat down to curried chicken with rice. The two saiyan boys finished their first helping before Natalie could put the chopsticks to her mouth.

"Not hungry?" she asked, grinning, and proceeded to eat her rice.