Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy

Chapter 11 - Preparing for Departure

After training until his muscles could no longer function properly, Trunks finally took a break. He shut off the gravity generator and just sad, alone, in the cold, sterile dome of the gravity room. He still had his shirt on, and beads of cold sweat covered his back, chest, and forehead. He sat back and took in a deep breath. Yes, training definitely relaxed him. Suddenly, there was a loud knocking on the door, shattering the peace. Trunks growled and forced himself onto his feet, his muscles burning in protestation. Trunks swung open the airlock door to see Goten and Reena standing in front of him.

"Nani?" Trunks said with a sigh. Goten stepped into the room, joining his friend, and Reena followed.

"Trunks you looked pretty angry back there. You okay now?" Goten asked.

"I am now." Trunks answered, flexing his arms to let the blood continue flowing. "I don't know Goten. Something just came over me and I knew that if I didn't get away, I would explode right then and there."

"Hey that's understandable. It happens to the best of us." Goten said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Where are the others?" Trunks inquired.

"Sirius and Ceres are with your Kaasan and Tousan in the lab." Reena answered. "Before we left, Ceres said something about being close to a conclusion."

"Good. We need to leave as soon as possible." Trunks said. Reena chuckled at Trunks. He looked at her in question. "Nani?" he said.

"Oh, gomen. I just think it's cute the way you care for princess Carina." She said. Trunks just turned his head away again, which made Reena frown. "Gomen, gomen nasai." She said, apologizing profusely. "I didn't know..." Trunks turned back to her with a slight smile in his face.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you guys came here to help." He said, and then straightened out his lips again as he looked towards the door. "I'm starved. Let's get something to eat." He said, and headed outside. Goten snickered as Trunks left.

"What's so funny?" Reena asked, smiling.

"Nothing." Goten said. "But, one thing's for sure. He's definitely feeling better." Reena, still confused, continued to smile anyway and followed Goten out of the gravity room and towards the kitchen.

Back in Hawaii, Goku and Chi-Chi were enjoying a moment of solitude for once in their lives. They were both sitting on the beach, sunbathing.

"Chi-Chi, honey, I really need to get back to the others..." Goku started, sitting up.

"Nonsense Goku!" Chi-Chi cried, pushing him back onto the towel. "We are GOING to enjoy this vacation, even if the Earth crumbles beneath us in the process."

"But chi-"

"Don't 'but' me Goku!" she cried, and placed her hand over his mouth as she rolled onto her stomach and let out a sigh. Goku rolled his eyes.

<Kami help me...> he thought to himself.

"Goten! Did you eat the last package of rice cakes!?" Trunks cried, digging through the pantry. Goten immediately shied away, leaving a distressed Trunks in the kitchen. Reena instinctively followed him.

"You know, you can always go back with your...friends if you want. Don't feel obligated to tag along." Goten said. Reena just shook her head.

"I'm fine here. I really don't want to hang around with them anyway, right now at least." She replied. 'I really don't understand much of what they're saying." She admitted, appearing to be a little embarrassed. Goten then laughed and placed his hand on the back of his head.

"I'm the same way! Whenever I hear Bulma talking about her 'latest' invention, I can't help but become confused." He said.

"Back on Vela, when I was in school," Reena began, "I used to be the last one in the class to know what was going on. I felt really terrible about it, but Carina thought it was funny and she immediately befriended me."

"You used to go to school together?" Goten asked.

"Oh, yes. We all, me, Ceres, Sirius, Carina, and even Orion...we were all schooled by the king's apprentices. Ceres and Orion were always the smartest." Reena answered. "Sirius was more of the quiet type; he mainly kept to himself. And then there was me and Carina."

"Wow." Goten said. "That's hard to imagine, seeing as Orion was such a jackass when he came here, and now Sirius is the most outspoken one of the group. He's intimidating."

"No, he's really a softie. I think he just doesn't allow himself to get close to people. Ceres and I have been his only friends, next to Carina. It was hard being children of the empire, because we were always under watch." Reena explained. "Especially Carina. I remember that she used to tell me how she would watch the other kids play outside the castle walls and wish to be like them. She couldn't even go outside of the castle alone if her parents could help it. Though, sometimes she snuck out." Goten laughed, but he straightened his face.

"It's just strange...nowadays Natalie is one of the most laid back, fun loving people I know. It's hard to imagine her as a proper, regal princess." Goten explained.

"Well, she wasn't proper or regal back then. In fact, I'll bet she hasn't changed much." Reena said.

"Well, one thing's for sure." Goten started. "And that is if we don't find her soon, Trunks is going to have a breakdown. Believe me, I know."

"Is he really attached to her?" Reena said, almost in a dreamy tone. Goten just nodded.

"More than I can comprehend, apparently." Goten said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this whole disappearance of Nat has gotten Trunks really upset, and sometimes he gets irrational and he takes out his anger on me." Goten explained, becoming rather upset. "He says that I don't understand love and that I can't imagine being without that one special person." Reena looked at Goten with sympathetic eyes as he continued. "And it just makes me wonder...is he right? Am I destined to never know what that emotion of love feels like?" When he finally ended, Reena's eyes were teary as she looked at him. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she brought her lips to his. And, for a split second, Goten felt like he would explode with emotion. A few seconds passed, and she finally drew away from him, completely red in the cheeks. Trunks, having finally found his meal, started to walk out of the kitchen and towards the pair, but he saw the positions that they were in and the looks on their faces, and without further delay, he turned right back around and went back to where he came from.

"I...g-gomen." Reena said, turning away from Goten in discomfiture. Goten stood in place, still shocked, and finally, he blinked a few times. He licked his lips, and he could still feel the sensation of hers on his. Finally, Trunks came out with three cans of soda.

"Hey Goten." He said, slapping his friend on the back. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"N-no, Trunks, we were just...uh, talking." Goten said.

"Right. We were talking about...school!" Reena added, trying to free herself from the situation. Trunks cocked his eyebrow and smirked at Goten, and handed them both a drink. Finally, the three of them headed back to the lab where Bulma and Ceres were still working on whatever invention they were trying to put together, while Sirius experimented with one of the scouters. Vegeta just sat in the corner and watched everyone suspiciously, like he was an animal protecting his territory. As soon as Trunks walked in, still without the presence of a shirt, Ceres turned around and gaped. She couldn't believe how totally built this guy was.

<No wonder Carina is so in love with this guy> she thought to herself as she finally compressed her jaw, to avoid looking quite obvious. <How can anyone now be? His body is perfect> Bulma turned around and rolled her eyes at him.

"Trunks, can't you at least put a shirt on!?" she cried. "What, are you trying to make these girls pop a blood vessel or something!" Trunks and Ceres blushed profusely while Vegeta just laughed.

"Relax, woman. He just came back from training." He cut in. Bulma let out a sigh and turned back around.

"Ceres...the equipment is this way." she said flatly. Ceres cleared her throat and turned back to her work, exceedingly mortified. Trunks just smirked cockily.

"Any luck?" he asked. Ceres happily turned around and opened her mouth to speak, but Bulma cut in purposely.

"We're getting there. Just a little bit more." She answered.

"So then we don't have to wait 3 days or anything?" Trunks reassured. The whole time Ceres was focused on his torso, much to his embarrassment.

"Iie." Bulma said, pushing Ceres back. "We just have to keep working and not allow ourselves to become distracted." Bulma said, stressing her words to Ceres.

"O-oh, of course..." she said nervously, and continued working. Trunks, growing annoyed, walked out of the room again. Goten and Reena automatically followed him for lack of anything better to go. They walked back towards the main quarters of Capsule Corp. and out the back door into the night.

"Trunks where are you going?" Goten asked. Trunks stopped walking and turned around.

"I'm going to train. Do you want to join me?" he asked. Goten nodded.

"Hell yeah, I haven't sparred in a while." He replied. He then turned to Reena apprehensively. "Do you want to spar with us?" he asked. Trunks shifted his weight and folded his arms.

"I...I'm not sure." Reena replied, looking down at the moonlit grass. "You two are far superior to me in skill, and I don't want to hold you back." Goten sighed.

"Reena, don't worry. If you're that afraid, we'll hold back. And don't worry about slowing us down." Trunks interjected. Reena looked over at him.

"Did you ever spar with Carina?" she asked. Trunks nodded slowly. "I did too. All the time, back on Vela." Reena explained.

"Well let's go then. You can show us what you know." Goten said. Reena just nodded. Suddenly, Goten rushed at her without warning, and knocked her ten feet back. Reena grabbed her chest and fell to the ground. Goten, realizing what he had done, rushed over to her. Oh no. Oh no. Dende I am so sorry!" he said as he tried to help her up. "I...I just figured that you would have moved out of the way." Reena looked up at him, red in the face.

"I-it's okay." She said in a shaky voice. "I think," she began, "that when we were aged synthetically, we lost the edge that we had possessed. We just need to gain that back before we go."

"This Hermes...is he strong...stronger than Orion?" Goten asked, helping Reena to her feet. She coughed and inhaled deeply.

"We're not entirely sure. Since he basically recreated himself, he could be potentially tough. There really is no way to tell."

"How old is he?" Trunks inquired.

"Based on Ceres' calculations, he's equal to 20 years on Earth." She answered. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just wondering." Trunks said, and then turned around, taking a few steps away from Goten and Reena both. The night sky was calm, and a cool breeze blew. There was just enough light from the moon and stars to illuminate the ground and paint everything shades of silver. He turned back to see Goten and Reena talking. After a few minutes, he saw a light come on in the main room in Capsule Corp. He then noticed two silhouettes running through the building, heading straight for the door where he had just walked though. He crouched into a defensive position as the figures burst out the door. When they came closer, he recognized them.

"Kaasan...Ceres. What are you doing?" Trunks asked. Bulma and Ceres both had enormous smiles or pride on their faces. Goten and Reena, who were both sitting on the ground, looked up at them.

"We have good news!" Bulma exclaimed, holding her hands behind her. Trunks' eyes brightened and he clenched his fists.

"Did you figure out how to send us into the past?" Trunks asked eagerly. Bulma still smiled.

"First things first." She said, and then brought her hands out from behind her back. In her palms were three small devices, no bigger than a dime. Trunks stepped closer and examined them.

"What are they?" he asked.

"These, Trunks, are my latest creation." Bulma exclaimed. "They're almost identical to the ones that Ceres, Sirius, and Reena are wearing."

"The timeline preservers!" Trunks exclaimed, grabbing one from her hand and holding it close to his face.

"Just place it on either temple, and it will attach itself to you." She said. "Go ahead, try it." Trunks nodded and held the device within a centimeter of his head. Automatically, it extended two little mechanical leg-like apparatuses, which stuck to his head. The machine then pulled itself onto his temple and fit snugly against his skin. Trunks was wide-eyed in what appeared to be fear.

"Don't worry." Ceres explained. "They take come getting used to. We made one for your friend Goten too." She said. Goten immediately jumped up and headed over to Bulma, grabbing one of the machines too and placing it on his temple.

"Wow, they feel just like bugs." He commented. Trunks just rolled his eyes.

"What is the third one for? The others already have their own." Trunks asked his mother.

"It's for Nat-chan." She said. "Keep this with you, and when you find her, you can give it to her until you are able to defeat Hermes. When he is destroyed, things should return to normal." Trunks stared at the tiny piece of equipment in his hands, and then closed his fist gently, slipping it into his pocket.

"Hai." He replied.

"Oh, there's something else we meant to tell you." Bulma said. Trunks, Goten, and Reena all looked at her concurrently. "We have devised a way for you five to travel back." She explained. Trunks perked up. "You'll be leaving tomorrow morning."