"So, what's your story?" Chibi asked. They were both in Trunks' room. Chibi was up on the bed and Trunks slept on a mat on the floor. Neither was able to sleep, so they decided to talk. "I don't know a lot about you guys, but I do know that most NORMAL people can't just take off and fly."
"Oh, well, it's kind of a long story..." he started.
"I don't mind." Chibi smiled.
"Well, about 17 years ago, I was born. My father's name was Vegeta. He was a proud man, named after the planet on which he was born, Vegetasei. He was prince of the planet as a child, ruling over a race called the Saiya-jin. They were a powerful people, born only to fight. But that planet was destroyed and it's inhabitants completely wiped out by an evil being called Frieza. Frieza stole my father's childhood, making him and the tiny handful of other Saiya-jin who survived work for him almost like slaves. My father became full of hatred toward Frieza. There was a confrontation between them, but that was long ago.
Later in his life, he met my mother and I was born. When I was only a few months old, the strongest fighter on earth, Goku, also a Saiya-jin, died. Shortly after, two androids appeared saying it was their mission to destroy Goku. Since Goku had already passed away, it left the androids without a goal, no ambition to strive for. They destroyed their creator and killed off all the greatest warriors who were left on earth, including my father, and just recently, my best friend, Goku's son, Gohan. He trained me. I can fly and fight well because I'm ½ saiya-jin. The same warrior's blood that coursed through my father's veins, is also in me. I have to keep fighting for a better future..."
"quite a story..." Chibi sighed. "It must've been hard for you, never knowing your father."
"Well that's not totally true. My mom's a genius. She actually invented a time machine so I could try to help in the past. I met my dad, but he had no idea who I was."
"a time machine? well, with your mom, I think I could believe it..." Chibi remarked.
"Well, things can only get better, right?" he smiled.
Chibi blushed again. His smile was adorable. *Chibi!* she scolded herself, *don't forget why you're really here!*
"I'm sure it'll get better someday. You're a probably a great fighter, It's just a matter of time." she replied.
"So what about you? You never told us much about your past. Or about yourself." Trunks asked curiously.
"Well, I, I don't know, I just grew up like any kid. I don't really have an interesting past. I mean, I doubt if I could even tell you how I got here!" she lied.
"Oh. You wouldn't happen to be any good at martial arts, would you? I need a sparring partner to help my training... Or at least someone to operate the gravity machine... The more I train the stronger I'll become. Someday I'll beat the twins, all on my own." Trunks said.
"I know a few things about fighting..." Chibi smiled. "I don't know that my skills would be a match for yours, but I'll try my best."
*Wow, she's got a great smile.* Trunks thought. He turned his head away from her warm gaze. "We better get to sleep." *C'mon! You haven't forgotten your dream have you? She's not the one!* he scolded himself. *It's not just a dream, you KNOW it's more than that.*
Chibi turned away as well, laying her head on her pillow. *Good thing he
doesn't like me. I'd have a hard time believing in that dream if he did.*
She took a deep breath. *Maybe things will be clearer in the morning.*
******************************************************
"Not again!" Trunks sighed. It was the same dream. He'd had it every night for who knows how long now. Searching through an endless sea of mists. He was closer to his goal this time, he could feel it. He took off at top speed, flying through the fog toward the sound of her voice.
Trunks landed softly when he saw her thin, pale outline and began walking toward her. She called his name, sending chills up his spine. She turned around, her long, light brown hair ruffling slightly in the wind. She wore a long white gown that flowed to the floor. Her face...
"Chibi? Is that you?" he whispered, entranced by the moment. He forgot what would happen next. She smiled at him, but her smile changed to a look of fear as the Jinzoungen crept from the mists and grabbed her. He tried to get to her, but he wasn't fast enough! He could hear her call his name, pleading with him to help her, but he couldn't reach her. He lost everyone to the Jinzoungen. Everyone he'd cared for.
****************************************************
"Trunks? Is that you? Are you the one in my dream?" she whispered to him. He smiled briefly. She felt something grab her from behind and pull her away. "No!" She struggled frantically against her captors, getting only glimpses of the young man, who was trying to get to her, calling to her...
She opened her eyes, shooting up in bed. *Trunks? It wasn't really you was it? I must've just imagined it that way.* she thought as she pulled herself out of bed. She was careful this time not to step on Trunks, who was sleeping fitfully. He rolled over quickly in his sleep while she was stepping over him. Chibi felt her footing slip out from under her and fell face first on the hardwood floor with a loud BANG!
"Huh?" Trunks sat up to see Chibi sprawled across the floor. "Are you okay?"
Chibi rubbed her chin and shook her head. "Do you always toss that much in your sleep? You'd think you were dreaming about saving the world or something that way you were thrashing around!" she said angrily.
"Me? What'd I do?" Trunks asked, a puzzled look on his face.
"Well I was TRYING to get by, but you rolled over in your sleep and tripped me!" she yelled.
"Oh, um, sorry ‘bout that.... It's not like I meant to..." he started.
"Don't worry about it." she walked out of his room and into the bathroom, making sure the door was locked.
"Okay Luna Pen, you know what to do, this time get it right, no dresses!" she whispered, tossing the pen high in the air.
In a burst of light, she looked ready for a day of sparring. She wore black spandex shorts and a loose, light purple tank top. Fingerless gloves adorned her hands and a black headband appeared at her forehead. Black tennis shoes completed the ensemble.
"Much better!" she said as she walked out the bathroom door. She ran into Trunks as she stepped out.
"You ready to spar today Trunks?" she smiled.
"You sure you want to? I don't know if you realize how strong Saiya-jin are... maybe..." he trailed off, wondering where she was popping all these new outfits from. He didn't remember his mother having workout clothes like that...
"Oh come on! You don't think I would miss an opportunity to kick your butt, do you?" she laughed as she ran into the kitchen.
Bulma was already at the table, drinking her morning cup of tea. "You guys can feed yourselves today I hope?" she said, not even looking up from the book she was reading.
"Sure mom." Trunks grabbed a large mixing bowl and began pouring cereal.
"I guess not only is it genetic for Saiyans to be skilled fighters, but they also have quite an appetite!" Chibi exclaimed.
Trunks turned around with a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth. "Huh?"
Chibi grabbed herself a regular bowl and poured what was left of the cereal in it. She looked down cautiously into her bowl of sugar frosted puffs of whatever they were. "breakfast of champions..." she said as she dug in.
A few minutes, and a few empty cupboards later they headed out the door. "Bye Mom! We'll be back later!"
"I don't suppose you know how to fly?" he asked when they were both outside.
"Not in this form..." she mumbled.
"What was that?" Trunks inquired.
"Oh, nothing, of course I don't know how to fly." she laughed. "I'm not a Saiyan, remember?"
"That's okay, I'll carry you."
Before she could object Trunks grabbed her waist and took off, flying at an incredible speed. They arrived at an empty forest clearing in moments. Trunks set her down gently.
"I come here to train most of the time." Trunks sighed.
"Well, are you ready?" Chibi asked. She hadn't really seen Trunks fight, but she was fairly confident in her own skills. Plus, she may not be transformed, but she was still able to use some of her sailor soldier powers.
Trunks stepped back into a fighting stance. "You go ahead. I'll work on my blocks."
Chibi ran up to him, leaping into a flying kick that he neatly sidestepped. Chibi jabbed and threw a few more punches, but he was able to cleanly block or dodge them all.
"Not bad," she smiled, taking it up a notch. She threw her punches and kicks at an increasingly accelerated speed. Each punch was a few seconds quicker and each kick gave less time to block, but she still hadn't scored a single hit. He was dodging everything she threw at him. She gritted her teeth, slightly aggravated. The smirk on Trunks' face didn't help. Just how powerful were Saiya-jin? Her anger got the better of her and she rushed full speed, giving everything she had just to get a single blow in.
This time Trunks didn't just dodge, he grabbed her fist as it came toward him. He pulled it back, flipping her onto the ground. He quickly pinned her, sitting on her stomach, his hands holding her arms down.
"Gotcha," he grinned.
She struggled to get back up, but his grip was like iron. She glared daggers at him. "What happened to ‘just working on your blocks'?" she said through clenched teeth, still attempting to free herself.
Trunks shrugged, "It's not my fault you let your guard down. Anger makes one weak. You shouldn't let your anger got the best of you. My sensei always said so..." he replied, still not loosening his grip.
"Well Trunks, as much as I'd love to just sit here all day, I THOUGHT we were actually going to train."
Trunks got up, then offered to help her. She ignored his open hand, getting up on her own and brushing herself off. "I don't need anyone's help." she remarked sharply, flipping her hair back.
Trunks grinned. *She's kinda cute when she's angry.* he thought. *Keep you thoughts on your training, not on her!* he told himself as he refocused his thoughts. *She couldn't even get one hit in. Unless she can at least hit you once in a while, it's not going to help your training! You SHOULD just go back and use the gravity machine...*
"Uh, maybe we should each train on our own." Trunks suggested.
Chibi narrowed her eyes. "You think I can't cut it or something?!" she said harshly, "Come on! I can take it! I'm not going to give up so easy! I still have to kick your butt, remember? Here, you attack me this time." she smirked, secretly charging up her power.
Trunks was worried about hurting her, so he didn't attack at full power. That was his first mistake. (the 2nd one was never make a girl angry...) He was also trying so hard to control his own power that he didn't notice that hers had made a dramatic jump.
This time she was ready. She blocked, she dodged, and when she saw an opening, she struck. Her fist landed hard against his jaw. Then, grabbing HIS fist, she twisted it behind him, kicking him in the back of the knees and making him fall, face first, into the dirt. She pressed her knee in his back, shoving his face further into the dirt, while pulling up on his already twisted arm.
"Not bad," he sputtered, choking on dirt. "Ya mind letting me up?"
"I don't know, maybe I'll just let YOU sit here and suffer for a while." she grinned happily.
Her laughter was cut short as she went sprawling. She pulled herself up to yell at Trunks, but realized it wasn't him.
Right in the middle of the meadow was a big, ugly, speckled brown lizard, somewhat resembling a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Chibi jumped about six feet off the ground, "WHAT IS THAT?!"
"You okay?" Trunks asked, totally ignoring the dinosaur.
"What on Earth is that THING?!" she cried again.
"Oh, that? Um, it's a dinosaur. Don't tell me you've never seen one?"
"Gee, is that all?!" she remarked sarcastically as she watched the dinosaur lick it's lips hungrily. "Weren't dinosaurs supposed to be EXTINCT?!" she screamed the last sentence.
Trunks looked at her as if she were crazy, "Where have you been? We've always had dinosaurs..." he raised an eyebrow.
The dinosaur eyed the pair, it's tail swishing back and forth for a moment before it started charging at them.
"What?!" Chibi was obviously very confused.
Trunks picked her up right before the T-rex reached them. "You're not really from anywhere near here are you?"
"Just because I've never been attacked by a big ugly dinosaur, you're getting mad at me?" she yelled.
"It's just a question, why are you getting so defensive?" he stated.
"Aren't you going to do anything about it?" she asked, calming down slightly.
"Why? It didn't do anything."
"Hmph, I suppose whipping me with it's tail 20 feet doesn't count as doing
something? You're lucky I'm tough! I could've broken something!" she countered.
He rolled his eyes, "you're fine."
"What a way to treat a lady..." she mumbled.
Trunks snickered.
"What's so funny?!" Chibi asked.
"Nothing, nothing... Anyway, let's get you back. It looks like that scrape you got climbing rocks yesterday opened back up. I'll wrap it for you."
". . ." she sighed as they jetted back to the house.
Trunks knelt down, wrapping the bandage securely around her elbow. He finished by kissing his finger and pressing it gently on her elbow. Chibi turned red. Trunks smiled, "my mom would always do that when I got hurt."
She looked up at him. He looked cute even though he was terribly dirty. His hair was tousled and he had a thin trail of blood running down his lip, not to mention all the dust that covered his face and t-shirt.
Bulma peeked her head in. She smiled. "Hey you're back early! I just finished fixing up the new gravity machine. Your father used to train with his almost every day Trunks." she remembered. "I thought it would help you get stronger without having to get yourself nearly killed by those androids."
"A gravity machine?" Chibi asked, curious.
"Yes, it's a room that multiplies the gravity many times over, making it much more difficult to just have a regular workout. It builds up strength very quickly." Bulma replied.
"Can I see it?" Chibi asked.
"Sure! Follow me!" Bulma smiled, proud to show off her work.
"Can I try?" Chibi asked, once they were outside. She walked around the machine, trying to figure out exactly what it did and how it worked.
"If you think you can handle it." Bulma raised an eyebrow, "I didn't design it for humans though. Most just can't take it."
"Let me go!" Trunks piped up, "I'll go Super Saiyan, just in case there's a malfunction or something."
"Super Saiyan?" Chibi looked quizzically at Bulma, who just smiled.
Trunks got lower into his fighting stance and began to power up. The air around them changed, jumping with energy. Even Chibi could feel the immense power. Trunks' hair stood on end, turning from it's usual soft violet to a blazing gold. His eyes changed too. They turned a deep green that glowed with excitement. He looked over at Chibi and smiled. She felt those eyes burning into her soul and had to look away. It was just so intense!
*So that WAS him yesterday! I didn't know Saiyans were this strong! He was right... I am only slowing him down...* Chibi thought to herself.
Trunks stepped into the capsule gravity room and gave Bulma a thumbs up sign through the window. Bulma fiddled with the knobs on the outside. The inside of the room suddenly looked different, a lot heavier. Bulma smiled, "Let's see how he handles, oh, let's see, 500 times earth's normal gravity?"
She turned the knob a few more clicks. Trunks was struggling a bit with it now, just trying to remain standing. He pulled off his sword and denim jacket since now they were just dead weight. They fell to the floor with a clang so loud even Bulma and Chibi could hear it on the outside.
Once balanced, Trunks did a series of rapid punches in the air, testing everything out. He flipped, turned, and twisted through the air, making it look like the atmosphere inside was lighter rather than the other way around. He landed with a thud, waving to his mother to show his approval, then continued.
"You want to help, don't you?" Bulma asked Chibi. "I can see it in your eyes, the same as I see it in my son, you don't think you're strong enough."
Chibi looked down. "I thought before I came here that I was strong. I trained daily, hours longer than the other sailor soldiers. But when I came here, I was totally blown away. My power is almost nothing here! It's like I worked so hard for no reason...
"That's not true Shannon. You have incredible power, you just don't know it. I want to take one last look at that brooch of yours, perhaps I can enhance it." Bulma stated.
"If you say so," Chibi shrugged.
She followed Bulma back inside and downstairs to the lab. Bulma stuck out her hand and Chibi fished around in her pocket for a minute before pulling out her heart shaped brooch. She placed it carefully in Bulma's waiting hand.
Bulma took it eagerly, examining it this time with more diligence. "I haven't had much experience with magic devices, I barely understand the dragon balls, let alone something like this, but maybe I can figure it out."
"I hope so. I don't know how much help I'll be even if you did make me stronger." Chibi sighed.
"Like I said before, this brooch seems to have a lot more power than you realize. All we have to do is figure out how to find that power in you." Bulma smiled, scanning the brooch with one of her many devices. "Hmm, just as I thought, the potential energy in this thing is off the charts, but only if combined with a specific other energy, which I'm assuming is you since you're the only one that can transform with it. I can't tell why it won't give you that power though. I'm guessing it's something inside you Shannon. It's a lot like Trunks, when you saw him go Super Saiyan. The first time that happens, the energy jump he experiences is huge. You saw that for yourself. But that power explosion is usually triggered by rage or another strong emotion. It's almost like he can't contain what he's feeling anymore, so it explodes out of him... Maybe it's the same way with you, when the time is right and you need that power, it'll be there, but then again I could be totally wrong. Whatever it is, I guess you'll have to figure it out on your own."
Chibi smiled, "Thanks Mrs. Briefs." She paused a moment, "Oh, you might want to see this one too," Chibi pulled out her Luna Pen from her pocket carefully and let Bulma take a look.
"What's this do? It's just a pen, isn't it?" Bulma turned it over in her hand, then clicked it and scribbled on a piece of paper. "It's cute, but..."
"I'll show you," Chibi smiled and took it back. "Let's see, umm, ok I got it, Disguise Power!! Turn me into, A Super Saiyan!" she giggled, as she flipped the pen into the air. The gem on the top of the pen sparkled and flashed, when the light was gone, Chibi was dressed what she thought was a rather freakish outfit. From the neck down she wore blue spandex and at her chest was a white and yellow sleeveless piece of what she assumed was armor. Her hair was yellow and stood on end, though it didn't radiate the energy of a true saiyan.
Bulma started laughing, "Now THAT is something I would not have expected!"
Chibi giggled, "well, it's supposed to be for disguise purposes, it can make you look like almost anything. I'll leave it with you for a while. I don't think I'll need it for at least a little bit."
Bulma shook her head, "Well, I'm sure Trunks is going to be in there for quite some time. Why don't you go flutter off or what ever you do to get around and do some training of your own?"
"Sounds great, thanks again Mrs. Briefs!" Chibi held her brooch high in the air, "Neo Crystal Power, Make Up!" she shouted.
If Bulma was shocked by the disguise pen, this new transformation totally blew her away. Bright light almost blasted her backward and she rubbed her eyes, seeing Chibi spinning and leaping. It almost looked like some kind of futuristic ballet. Chibi landed softly on the ground in her new outfit, then ran up the stairs waving and yelling her goodbyes to Bulma.
Bulma shook her head, "And I thought OUR world was strange! Sailor suited teenagers who fight evil?! That's something I never thought I'd see..."