Cosmic Crisis

Chapter 7 - Progress

Two weeks had passed. Natalie and Trunks continued to train together every day. Trunks and Vegita noticed how fast Natalie picked up on things. They had even showed her how to ki blast. Natalie continued to visit her mother, who was still in a coma, every other day. Since Natalie's school had let out for the summer, she stayed at Capsule Corp. most of the time, but occasionally she would return home. One particular day, Natalie had more energy than usual.

Trunks shot a ki blast at Natalie, who easily dodged it and repeated with a blast of her own. They continued to fire at each other while Vegita trained in the gravity room. When he finished his training, he shut off the gravity and walked outside, calling the teenagers over.

"It's time for you two to train in the gravity room. Natalie can start at two times normal gravity, and Trunks can start at one hundred.

"Good god!" Natalie exclaimed. "One hundred G's?" she cried out. Bulma called the three in for lunch. Natalie watched as Trunks and Vegita inhaled the food that Bulma had prepared. "The pigs." She chuckled to herself as she ate. She had begun to grow rather fond of Trunks. She watched him as he ate. He brushed a piece of his purple hair out of his face. Natalie's mind began to wander, returning to the pit of despair in the back of her mind and her stomach began to churn. She had begun to get used to the feeling. Occasionally she would go into fits of panic and terror, but would recover almost immediately. Suddenly, Trunks snapped her out of the daze.

"Natalie's coming with me, mom." He said. Natalie looked up at hearing her name.

"What?" she inquired.

"We're gonna go into the city today. Just to take a break from training." He replied. They finished their lunch and ran up the stairs to shower.

"Just be back in time for gravity training." Vegita called after the two. Natalie called shower first, as usual. She turned on the water, while grabbing a towel from the linen closet. While Natalie was showering, Trunks called Goten.

"Hello?" the boy answered into the phone.

"Hey Goten it's me." Trunks answered.

"Oh hey."

"We're going into the city today, you wanna come?"

"Nah I can't. My dad's making me train today." He said with disappointment in his voice.

"Oh okay. Well see ya."

"Bye." The two hung up the phones. Trunks looked out his window. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and a warm breeze blew throughout the land. Trunks took a deep breath.

"FINISHED!" a shout came from the room next to his. He knew it was Natalie announcing the end of her shower. He jumped in his own and the warm water ran down his back. Meanwhile, Natalie slipped into a white strappy tank top with a pair of flare jeans and wrapped a towel around her wet hair. She picked up the phone to call the hospital, but heard buzzing and static instead of a dial tone. No more than 30 seconds later, a shout came from downstairs.

"Who cut off my modem connection!?" Vegita yelled throughout the building. Natalie set the phone on the cradle and tiptoed into the bathroom.

"Not me." She whispered to herself. She unwrapped the towel and combed her damp hair.

"Natalie was is you?" Vegita shouted outside her door.

"Heh heh. Oops." She said. Vegita grumbled and walked away. "Stupid human" he thought. Trunks shouted at his dad through the bathroom door.

"I need some soap!"

"Get it yourself, boy!" Vegita said, walking back downstairs. Trunks sighed to himself. This meant he would have to freeze while he searched for another bar of Dove. He wrapped a towel around his wet body and walked out towards the linen closet next to Natalie's room. Without thinking, she swung the door open to discover him struggling to keep the towel around his waist. She gasped in surprise and ran back into her room. Trunks shuffled back into the shower, completely red in the face.

"Sorry..." Natalie's voice came in on Trunks' intercom.

"Heh, don't worry about it." He replied. Natalie blow-dried her brown hair while Trunks put on some clothes. When the two were finished getting ready, they headed out the door for the afternoon. Natalie walked outside and inhaled the fresh air, stretching her arms above her head and exposing her midriff. Trunks playfully slapped her stomach.

"Hey!" she laughed and jumped on his back. Intending to surprise her, he launched into the air. Natalie let out a yelp of surprise, and gripped his shoulders in fear. "Let me down! Let me down!" she laughed.

"Sure." He said, dropping her from ten stories in the air. She fell towards the earth, screaming in terror. Just before she hit the ground, Trunks swooped down and grabbed her, setting her down.

"DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!" she yelled at him. His eyes widened and he muttered an apology, trying not to laugh.

"You're beautiful when you're angry." He joked. She took a pitiful swing at him, but he just blocked it. "I'm just kidding, Nat. I'm sorry. Really." He said, still holding her wrist. "I should teach you how to fly."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.

"I don't see why not. You have potential." He said. "It's simple, really. You just have to will your ki to life you off the ground and thrust you in whatever direction you want." Natalie thought it would be easy, and began to jump up into the air but would fall back to the ground almost immediately. Trunks laughed.

"Well it's not quite like that." He said. "You kinda have to use your mind. Concentrate on moving through the air." Natalie stood in a semi-crouched position and concentrated. A gold aura appeared around her body.

"Now think about moving through the air." He said, hovering a few feet away from her. Slowly, Natalie's figure began to lift. She looked upwards, with determination in her eyes, and shot up into the sky. Once there, the surprise of it all broke her concentration and she fell back to the ground. Trunks caught her easily.

"Not bad. Just keep practicing." He said, taking her by the wrist, and raised both their arms to the sky. "Soon it'll be no trouble at all and you'll be able to do it with ease." He said, and dropped her hand back to her side.

"I hope so. It's gonna come in handy." She said, thinking back on the dream she had. She wondered if why Orion was after her.

"Stop thinking about that. We're supposed to have a carefree day, remember?" he said, looking at her with a grin on his face.

"You have that look in your eyes..." she said, her eyes narrowing. Suddenly, Trunks grabbed her waist and propelled them both into the air. Natalie screamed with delight. Suddenly, Trunks dropped her again. This time, however, he didn't go after her. Her body froze, and her instincts took over, causing her to shoot back up to where Trunks was hovering. He grabbed her arm and the aura around her body disappeared again.

"I knew that would work." He said.

"Wow! I just did that!" she said with excitement in her voice. "But don't EVER do that again, understand!?" She shouted. She continued to practice, and eventually got the hang of it, but wasn't able to match Trunks' speed quite yet.

"Come on, let's walk from here on." She said, lowering herself to the ground. She ran down the sidewalk with Trunks in pursuit. Soon they reached the city and slowed to a walk. They looked around at all the shops and stores amongst them. Natalie was enjoying the scenery with Trunks by her side.

"Well, well. If it isn't Natalie." Natalie spun around to see a girl her age standing with her hands on her hips. She had wavy black hair that fell halfway down her back.

"What do you want, Akari?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"I thought you were too sick to go anywhere, and suddenly you're running around the town?" she asked with a stuck up voice. "And who might this be?" she asked, looking Trunks up and down.

"This is Trunks." She said, grabbing his arm. "My boyfriend." Trunks played along.

"Yep. We're together!" he said, placing his arm around her shoulder. Natalie gave her the look that said it all.

"Hah. I don't see what the big deal is anyway. He's not that great." She huffed, and walked down the sidewalk with her hands on her hips. Trunks and Natalie held in their laughter until she was out of earshot, and then exploded into a fit of giggles.

"What an idiot." Trunks whooped out. Natalie continued to laugh as they both walked into the city on the bright summer day.

"Kamehameha!" Goten shouted as the enormous blast of raw energy erupted from his hands. Goku blocked the attack with a ki shield for all his worth. When the dust cleared, Goten stood a few feet above the ground breathing heavily. Goku was seen with his hands still out in position with singe marks on his clothes.

"Great job son! You're improving!" he said cheerfully.

"Thanks. That was all I could take for right now." He said, and lowered himself to the ground. He began to walk towards his home.

"Wait. We're not finished yet." Goku said, chasing after his teenage son. "You still have to do your cool-down stretches."

"Come on, dad. Give me a break." He said, slowing his pace and shrugging his shoulders.

"You heard me. Now come on, it isn't that bad." Goku said and hopped onto his right hand in position for one-arm pushups. Goten rolled his eyes and joined in.

"One...two...three..." Goku started as the two saiyans exercised in the large field while the sun began to set and a cooling breeze blew across the plain.

Meanwhile, in the city, Natalie and Trunks passed the hospital. Natalie made a turn to go in and see her mom.

"Do you want me to come along?" Trunks asked, his arms full of bags.

"Yeah." She said, and they entered the lobby. They went up the elevator and down the hall to room 316. As she opened the door, a nurse rushed by her into the room.

"I need a doctor in here, now!" the nurse yelled. They could hear machines beeping as they stood in shock outside the door. Natalie cautiously cracked the door and took a few steps in. The young nurse turned her head around.

"What are you two doing here?" she snapped at them.

"W-we're relatives." She stuttered.

"She can't be bothered, ma'am. Come back later, please." The nurse continued.

"But this is my mom. I have to see her!" Natalie said, stepping forward, but was restrained by Trunks' arm.

"She's very unstable. We can't have visitors at this time, now please leave!" she shouted at the quivering girl. Trunks escorted her outside the dark room and onto a bench down the hall.

"What are they doing to her? Why can't I see her?" Natalie asked in a panic.

"Everything's fine. Just stay calm." Trunks reassured her. A team of doctors rushed by and ran into the room where her mother was being held. She could hear them yelling commands at the nurses. When all the noises and commotion quieted down, a doctor about Trunks' height emerged from the room very slowly. When his eyes met with Natalie's, his head dropped. When he looked back into her fearful eyes, he knew what he had to do.

"Are you Miss Natalie Holmes?" he asked, cautiously stepping closer.

"Y-yes. Yes I am." She said.

"Your mom - " he started.

"What?" she asked frantically. "What happened to her? She's fine now, right?" she began to shout.

"She's - " the doctor broke off once again.

"She's WHAT!?" Natalie said, grabbing hold of the doctor's jacket, but was restrained by Trunks.

"She has passed away." He said, and closed his eyes. Natalie's body went numb, and instead of screaming, she just went limp in Trunks' arms, but remained conscious.

"I think she's in shock. We need to admit her to a room where we can monitor her." The doctor said, reaching for the girl.

"No. She'll be fine." Trunks reassured the doctor.

"Sir, I think she had better stay here." The doctor pressed on. Trunks grabbed her limp body and charged up. Before the doctor could even blink, Trunks was down the hall and out the door. He raced through the skies, holding Natalie in his arms. Just before he reached Capsule Corp., Natalie snapped out of her daze and jumped from Trunks' arms.

"Natalie!" Trunks called after her. But instead of falling, she remained in the air, her ki flaring a brilliant blue fire. Her fists clenched, tears began to stream down her face.

"Come on. Let's go home." Trunks said and reached for her.

"I don't have a home. I am no longer wanted!" she screamed. "Nobody loves me!"

"Natalie calm down!" he said. Natalie's ki began to grow to extreme heights.

"NO! Just leave me!" she cried, and shot through the air in a vertical line. She continued to stream into the sky. Trunks went after her.

"Come back to Capsule Corp." He tried to persuade her. She just put her arm in front of her and continued on, the wind whipping through her hair. Seeing that this wouldn't work, Trunks grabbed her arm. She turned at him with menacing eyes and sent a blast through her arm that connected with his body. The force was so powerful that it knocked him back. Electricity surged throughout her body and her ki flared again. Seeing no other way out, Trunks faded out, and before she could react, he reappeared behind her and knocked her out. He grabbed her falling body and flew down to Capsule Corp.

"Dad!" he shouted, rushing into the front door. "Dad!" Vegita appeared in front of him with his arms crossed. When he felt Natalie's ki, he jumped.

"What the - " he said, his eyes wide.

"Dad we need to get her to the medical wing, fast!" he said. Natalie began stirring. Wasting no time, they ran through the building. When they reached a hospital-like room, Trunks laid her down on the bed and Vegita put a restraining device on her temples that sent a beam across her forehead. It sent subliminal messages into her brain that calmed her nerves and helped her to rationalize. When she came to, her eyes opened slowly and she looked up at Trunks with confused eyes.

"Where's mom?" Trunks asked his dad.

"She's tending to your sister on the other side of the building. She's not feeling very well." He said, concentrating on the young girl's ki. He was amazed at the amount of power that she had, and frustrated that he hadn't noticed it earlier.

"Is she going to be okay?" Trunks asked.

"She'll feel groggy for a while, but after that she should be fine." He said, and then left the room, pondering his next plan of action. Trunks stroked her hair with his left hand. Natalie came to her senses and sat up, placing her hand over her forehead.

"W-was I dreaming?" she asked, her voice on her verge of breaking down. Trunks just shook his head. Natalie hung her head and tears began to fall once more. Trunks felt badly for her. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, her legs shaking. Vegita returned to the room where she stood.

"It's time for gravity training." He said to Trunks.

"What? She can barely walk, let alone train under multiple forces of gravity!" Trunks said.

"You heard me." He said, and turned to walk out towards the gravity room.