Cosmic Crisis

   
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.

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.

Cosmic Crisis
Chapter 12 - Doomsday

    Natalie tossed and turned in her sleep, mumbling a slur of words. Outside, the breeze blew and rustled the leaves on the tree. The earth stood still, as if it was the calm before the storm.
    Trunks was lying awake in bed. He couldn't get any sleep, and his heart was beating so loudly that he thought it would wake someone up. He could detect the extremely high ki on its way to earth. He feared for Natalie's safety, as well as the safety of his family. The fact that this alien was after an innocent girl enraged him, but he kept his power down. He closed his eyes and tried to get to sleep, but it was no use. He had been lying in bed for hours, and his body wouldn't comply with him. He just sat in bed and stared out of his window at the glittering stars...
    Natalie awoke on the warm Thursday morning with a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She assumed that it was from the nightmares that she'd had the previous night. She stretched in bed, and looked out the window at the overcast sky. The thought of a rainstorm made her sleepy, and she settled back into her bed. No more than five minutes later, the door to her room swung open. She sat up in bed, startled, and saw Vegita standing in the doorway.
    "Time to get up girl. You need to do some more training today." He said, and waited for her to get out of her warm safe haven. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell back onto the bed with a thud.
    "You heard me! Get up!" he said, using telekinesis to lift the covers off of her. Her cold body curled up into a ball. Eventually, Vegita had to walk over to her and physically lift her out of the bed. "Why do you have to make things so difficult?" he asked, carrying her across the room by the back of her shirt. She just mumbled. He carried her out into the hallway and dropped her on the ground.
    "Now go get ready. We begin in 10 minutes." He said, and threw something at her. She picked it up off the ground and examined it. It was a tiny seed with an off-white tint to it.
    "What the - " she said, staring at it with a look of confusion on her face.
    "Senzu seed!" Trunks proclaimed, walking out of his room. He popped one of the little beans into his mouth and chewed on it.
    "Huh?" she asked. "You want me to eat this?" she looked down at it. "Don't you guys have any real breakfast food?"
    "This is breakfast. Go on, eat it." He said.
    "Okay, but I hardly doubt that this little seed is going to satisfy my growling stomach." She said, and tossed it into her mouth. Almost instantly, she felt alert and her stomach was no longer sending pangs of hunger through her body. The soreness in her muscles went away also. "Wow!" she said, and looked at her hands, not believing the miraculous change in her body.
    "Oh, those aren't even the strong ones. We only use those in battle. These are just for the purpose of giving someone the equivalent of a day's worth of food. The other ones are ten times as strong." He said, and helped her up off the ground.
    "So are there anymore wonder-beans around here?" she asked.
    "No, those are only found at Korrin Tower." He explained, realizing that she didn't know what Korrin tower was.
    "What's - " she began, but Trunks was ahead of her, and began to explain it before she could even finish her question. When he was finished telling the story, they went downstairs to wait for Vegita's orders. He came out of the master suite with two sacks. He walked down the stairs and tossed the bags to the two teens. Natalie caught hers, but the weight was more than she expected and she fell down to the ground with them. Trunks caught his and almost dropped them, but held on.
    "Weighted clothing?" Trunks asked. "But can't we just use the gravity room?"
    "No. Those chambers give you a limited amount of space to work in. These clothes will duplicate the effects of G-Training, without actually using the rooms." He said, and walked outside. "Go put those on, and meet me out here in five minutes." He grumbled. Natalie and Trunks walked to their rooms with the clothing. Natalie was having a hard time carrying the things up the stairs. They changed into the clothing and Natalie inspected them as she put them on. There were weighted boots, a weighted tank top, and wristbands.
    "Oh man. These things weigh 10 pounds each, alone!" she cried while lifting the wristbands, and slipped into the clothing. The boots fit snugly, but she could barely walk in them, and the tank top was a little loose, but otherwise worked out pretty well. She struggled out of her room, grasping onto walls and various tables along the way. She saw Trunks casually walk out of the room as if he hadn't even put the weights on.
    "Hey!" she cried at him. "Didn't you change?"
    "Yeah, see?" he said, showing her the boots and wristbands. She just grumbled and attempted to walk down the stairs. They walked...er...crawled out the door and into the yard where Vegita was waiting for them.
    "What are you doing, girl?" Vegita asked, looking at Natalie with an annoyed look on his face.
    "I...can't...walk..." she said, doing her best to get into the training area.
    "Well you'll get used to them. You'll have to." He said, and fired a weak ki blast at her. She couldn't dodge it, so she created a ki shield to absorb it instead.
    "No ki shields!" he said, and fired another one at her. She tried to get away, but it grazed her arm, sending pain through her body.
    "Hey! Don't take advantage of my situation, ok!" she shouted, and struggled to her feet.
    "This is how you learn." He said, and charged at her. She managed to dodge his attack, but he blurred and appeared behind her, slamming his fist into her back which sent her flying a few feet forward. She turned around to counter-attack, but the weights slowed her down and Vegita blurred out of sight once again. He appeared behind her with his arms crossed. She swung around and held her arms out in a fighting stance.
    "You have to learn to be quicker." He said, looking at her with narrowed eyes.
    "Yeah well I'm trying! These weights aren't exactly helping me!" she said in reply to his remark.
    "Well try harder then!" he said, and surged forward again. This time, instead of dodging, she blocked his attack with her arm and punched him in the side. He came back at her with a kick to the stomach, but she grabbed his foot and pushed him backwards, and then sent a ki blast flying. He blocked it, and stood up, wiping the dirt off his armor.
    "That's what I expected to see. Now Trunks will be sparring with you this time. Don't hold out, he can take it." He said, and Trunks stepped in. He came at her with a punch ready, but she grabbed his arm and threw him backward, sending a weak ki blast at him. He merely dodged it and sent one flying back at her. She deflected it and tried to run at him, but was having trouble moving her feet with the weighted boots on. Seeing this weakness, he blurred out of sight and reappeared behind her and attempted to punch her in the back, but she ducked and his hand flew over her head. She reached up and grabbed it, and flipped him over her body, sending him into the ground. He used his hands to spring him upwards, and came down at Natalie with his foot flying towards her face. She swung her head to dodge it, but on his way down, Trunks grabbed her arm and sent her flying into the air, and sent a ki blast after her. She retaliated with one of her own, and they met in mid-air while she hovered in the air at a 45-degree angle from him. Trunks poured more energy into his blast, and it was pushing hers back toward her. She struggled to stay in the air with the weights on, but was slowly falling downward. She let go of her energy, and she fell toward the ground while Trunks' ki blast surged right by her. She landed on the ground with a thud, and struggled to get up. Trunks blurred next to her and stepped on her back with one foot.
    "Looks like you've been beaten!" Vegita said, amused, and hovered over to where the two were. Natalie looked up at Vegita with a smirk on her face, and then her ki flared a brilliant blue color, sending Trunks and Vegita flying backwards 10 feet.
    "What the - " Vegita said as she stood up, with a gold aura around her. She put her fingers to her forehead and closed her eyes, as her hair and clothes began to rise into the air. She opened her eyes and sent an enormous blast towards the two saiyans, and before they could even react, the energy slammed into them, sending them flying back further. When she finished her blast, they lay on the ground about 25 feet away from her with singe marks on their clothes and smoke coming off of their bodies. They had surprised expressions on their faces as Natalie walked over and stood on *their* backs.
    "So who's been beaten now?" she said, grinning. The two just grumbled and put their heads in the palms of their hands. Bulma peered her head out the window and a sweat drop appeared on her forehead.
    "Uh...time for lunch." She said, and went back into the building. Natalie and the two scorched warriors walked into the house for lunch. Since they had eaten senzu seeds earlier, Bulma just fixed some hors d'oeuvres for the three. Trunks and Natalie munched on the tiny finger-foods while Vegita drank some juice. Bulma couldn't help but stare at the scorched saiyans as they ate.
    "What happened to you guys?" she asked, inspecting Vegita's armor and body suit. Vegita just made a grunting noise and looked up at Natalie, who just grinned innocently. Bulma smirked, and then looked at her singed son.
    "Well I'm glad you helped to deflate his ego, hun." She said to Natalie, and then ran her hand through Vegita's hair several times, causing it to flatten. Vegita grumbled and pulled away from her while Natalie shot a weak, electric blast at his hair, making it stand up again. Trunks cracked up, but stopped immediately when he saw the look of death in Vegita's eyes. Vegita shot a weak blast of his own under the table at Natalie. She jumped in her seat, and this time Vegita laughed. She narrowed her eyes and returned fire. Soon they were having a battle of the super-powers while Trunks and Bulma watched. When the smoke cleared, Natalie and Vegita were standing in the middle of the kitchen with half-eaten scraps of food, as well as cups and plates, lying all over the floor. They looked reluctantly at Bulma, who had her hands on her hips.
    "Well I guess you know who gets to clean this mess!" she said, glaring. Natalie bent down and gathered a few scraps into a plate at threw them away. Soon Vegita joined her, while Bulma escorted Trunks up the stairs to prevent him from helping. The two worked in silence until Natalie spoke up.
    "Well at least you got your hair fixed!" she said, tossing a paper cup into the trash. Vegita grunted and continued his work. He wasn't about to speak to that earth girl. "Hey how come you never talk to me, unless you're giving me orders?" she inquired, ceasing her chore. Vegita stood up and put his hands on his hips.
    "Why should I waste my breath on an insignificant little human girl?" he said.
    "Maybe because I waste my breath on you." She replied, crossing her arms. Vegita stood in shock that someone had the nerve to talk back to him. He ran at her with his fist out, intending to scare her, but she stood her ground when his fist stopped an inch away from her face. Vegita's glare alone scared her, but she didn't give in.
    "Humph. I guess you aren't as cowardly as I thought you were." He said, smirking. He brought his hand down to his side and continued to clean.
    "Well you aren't as cold as I thought you were." She said.
    "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.
    "You wasted your breath on me." She said, and threw a piece of tomato at his face. He peeled the tomato off of his face and crushed it, throwing the pulpy remains back at her.
    "Gross!" she said, and scraped the tomato smear off of her arm. Vegita sat and laughed at her misfortune while she threw it away. Trunks watched from upstairs and was amazed that someone had gotten his dad to...heaven forbid...laugh. He turned to walk back into his room before he was discovered. When the mess in the kitchen was clean, the two shuffled up the stairs to get cleaned up. While Natalie was climbing stair after stair, she suddenly tripped and did a face plant into the carpet. Vegita was standing behind her with a not-so-innocent look on his face, and then stepped onto her back on his way up.
    "Oh I hope he falls!" she thought, closing her eyes and clenching her right fist. No sooner than said (or thought), he fell forward and barely managed to catch himself. Natalie facefaulted and lifted herself off the floor.
    "Ha." She said, and walked over him on the way to her room.
    "Give me one reason why I shouldn't shoot you with a ki blast and cremate your remains!" he said, charging a blast. Natalie knew that he was just bluffing.
    "Because you would miss me." She said and winked, shutting the door to her room. Vegita lifted his body off of the ground and walked past her room, resisting the urge to blow the door out of its hinges, just to scare the daylights out of the brat. Natalie changed out of the weighted clothing and let them fall to the floor, making loud noises as they did. She stood in her bra and underwear, enjoying the feeling of her normal weight, when the door to her room swung open and Trunks ran in with Vegita behind him.
    "Hey Natalie we're going - " he broke off and the two facefaulted when they realized that they had walked in on her changing. Natalie screamed and jumped behind her curtains, shouting at them for coming in. They ran out of her room like two frightened little boys while Bulma watched with a sweat drop on her forehead. After she had showered and gotten dressed, she walked out of her room. When she made eye contact with Trunks she turned beet red and returned to her room. Trunks knocked on her door and she opened it slowly, peeking around the side of it to see who it was. She opened it when she realized that it was Trunks.
    "Natalie I just wanted to say that I'm - "
    "It's okay I'll learn to change in my bathroom next time!" She said before he could even finish. He held his hand out to her with a single red rose in his palm. She graciously accepted it and hugged him so hard that he almost fell backwards.
    "Thanks!" she said, and put the rose in a glass of water from her bathroom.
    "Uh - Natalie?" Trunks started.
    "Yes?" she said, looking up from her flower with her big green eyes. Trunks stepped closer to her.
    "Natalie...I - " he broke off, and there was a huge explosion heard. It rocked the house like an earthquake, shattering glass and knocking things off of shelves and countertops. When the dust settled, Natalie and Trunks were in a heap on the floor.
    "What was that!?" Natalie cried, jumping up. Trunks stood up as well and they raced down the stairs and out the door to investigate. They hovered in the air, scanning the area, when Natalie's heart stopped. There, in the middle of a field, was an enormous crater about the size of a football field with dust and smoke pouring into the sky. One glance was all it took for them to realize what was going on, and she panicked. She was so terrified that she almost fell from the sky, but Trunks grabbed her arm and raced to Capsule Corp. faster than Natalie had ever seen him go.
    "Mom! Dad!" Trunks screamed throughout the building. There were coughing noises heard from the living quarters and the two teens ran up the stairs. There was Vegita, still shielding Bulma with his body, with dust and debris scattered all around them.
    "What the hell was that noise?" Vegita said, helping his mate off of the ground.
    "Th-there is a - " Natalie started.
    "A crater! Dad it's a space pod!" he said, frightened. Vegita's head snapped up and his eyes widened. Suddenly he could feel the presence of a ki. The power level jumped dramatically. Trunks and Natalie sensed it as well and it caused the hairs on their necks to stand on end. Vegita and Trunks shot out the door faster than lightning, leaving Natalie behind. Her ki flared and she shot after them with incredible speed as well. They reached the crash site and hovered in the air 100 feet away and 50 feet in the air. Smoke was still pouring out of the crater and the dust began to settle. So far there was no activity, but the ki was still present. It was so large that they had trouble focusing on it. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the wreckage. At first they couldn't make out the form because of all the smoke, but it cleared and they were able to see a person. Out came an intimidating warrior. He was six feet tall with spiky blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. He was extremely well built and just the look on his face caused Natalie to jump back.
    "A-a-" she tried to speak, but her voice failed her. The figure produced an item very similar to a scouter and held it up to his eye, scanning their ki's and locating others.
    "A-" she tried again, but couldn't. Her body was trembling violently and her ki was jumping erratically. The figure approached the group slowly, hovering at the same height as they were. When he was about ten feet away, he spoke in a commanding voice,
    "Well, well, well. You must be my dear Carina. I am Orion."