Stuck On You

by MystiQueen

Summary:

Set in the Android/Cell Saga. Charisma is a girl from the future who, under strange and unfortunate circumstances, is trapped 20 years in the past with no way to return to her own time. That all changes when a mysterious boy suddenly appears from the future as well. Now he may be her only hope for returning home, and maybe something more... FutureTrunksxOC

Chapter 1: Unfortunate Circumstances

Notes:

Author’s Note: Hello everyone! Thank you for clicking this humble little story of mine :) It’s been a long time since I first began working on this fanfic, over 10 years now. Originally posted on ff.net, it’s been deleted at least three times because I just was not happy with it. The first two versions of this fic were complete TRASH! I just had to rewrite it :') If you happened to read the old version of SoY, I apologize for every posting such an atrocity to the internet lol Hopefully, this will be better! If you have any ideas, thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc that might help me make this a better story, feel free to let me know~

Mino stepped into the bright and roomy house that sat on the corner, his footsteps on the dark hardwood floors echoing. There were boxes around that still needed to be unpacked, but the furniture had already been moved in. He looked back out the door to see his wife, Kaylei, and the warm bundle of pink blanket in her arms that nestled a little baby girl. Kaylei sighed dreamily as she saw the spacious living room. 

“Wow, it’s much roomier than I thought it would be,” she said. “This is definitely a big change from our little old place.”

Mino smiled at her and put an arm around her shoulder lovingly. “It is quite big, but it’s perfect for our family. I’m sure once Charisma is a little older, she’ll need plenty of space to run around.”

Kaylei grinned at the thought and looked down at her baby, the girl’s blue eyes hazy with sleep. “I’m really looking forward to it…”

“Say, now that we’re here, let’s go visit our new neighbors,” Mino told her. “My new boss lives right across the street and has been looking forward to meeting you.”

“That’ll be nice,” Kaylei agreed. “I would love to meet her too.”

The young family of three ventured across the street to the large Capsule Corp building. After knocking on the door, a blue haired young woman quickly answered it.

“Oh, Mino, glad to see you decided to stop by and visit me,” she said excitedly. “Oh, and that must be your wife, am I right?”

“Nice to meet you,” Kaylei greeted sweetly with a slight nod.

“…And this is our daughter, Charisma,” he explained. 

“It’s nice to meet all of you,” Bulma said. “She’s such a cute little girl. I have a baby boy that’s about her age.”

“Really? How nice,” Kaylei replied. “This is such a busy looking neighborhood, with the Capsule Corporation around and all.”

“You’ll get used to it,” said Bulma with a grin. “It’s nice over here. You’re from South City, aren’t you? It shouldn’t be too different.”

“Right,” Kaylei responded. “Oh, it’s time to put Charisma to bed. She gets awfully cranky if I’m not on schedule.” 

Bulma laughed knowingly. “I hear you there. It was nice to meet you, Kaylei.”

“You, too, Ms. Briefs,” replied Kaylei with a bow.

Bulma waved her hand. “Hey, no need for formalities! Just call me Bulma.”

“Right,” Kaylei said awkwardly with a smile. “Goodbye for now, Bulma.” 

Mino and Bulma watched as Kaylei made her way across the street and into the house. 

“So, are you done moving everything yet?” Bulma asked, leaning against the door frame. “Your new office and everything is all set for you when you come in to work on Monday.”

“Yes, we’re just about settled in by now,” he replied. “I’m really looking forward to working at Capsule Corporation, Bulma. It’s quite an honor. I can’t thank you and your father enough for accepting me. This is truly a dream job for me.”

“You don’t have to thank us,” she said. “You’re talented and just what we’ve been looking for. My father and I were really impressed by your skills and knew we had to hire you right away. You’ll fit in perfectly with our team.”

~~~

Within a few weeks, Mino had settled into his job nicely. Kaylei remained at home caring for their baby and taking care of needs around the house. Everything seemed to be moving forward smoothly as they would expect and the friendship between the Mayol family and Briefs was growing strong. 

However, the peace of the life they hoped to live was suddenly and unexpectedly shattered at the first report of an unforeseen attack. That report was soon followed by another, and another until all anyone could see on television or hear on the radio were news reports of relentless attacks and countless lives lost. 

One afternoon, Mino and Kaylee decided to visit Bulma at her home, as they often did. They were shaken by what they walked into. 

“This can’t be happening!” Bulma cried hysterically, burying her face into the tile floor. Bulma’s parents were trying desperately to console her but there was little they could do. Her sobs echoed chillingly in the home and it was as if time stood still.

“A-All your friends are gone?” Kaylei repeated slowly, unsure of what to say to comfort her. “That’s terrible. How did this happen?”

“We don’t know what’s going on,” Mr. Briefs explained. “No one knows what’s happening, but all we know is that it doesn’t look good. Not at all.”

Mino placed his hand on Kaylei’s shoulder and she turned to look at him. “I think we should go now. We should let them have their privacy.” Kaylei agreed and they departed. 

“What are we going to do?” she asked when they returned home. The worry was clear on her face and in her voice. “It’s like an all-out war is suddenly breaking out. What will happen to us?”

Mino scratched the back of his head. He struggled to find words but simply turned to his wife reassuringly. “We’ll get through it. It’ll only be a matter of time before this is all sorted out, so don’t worry.”

Any glimmer of hope that remained in their hearts disappeared almost instantly as weeks turned into months, and months into years. Still, these machines, the Androids as they turned out to be, managed to turn a peaceful and beautiful world into a nightmare of death and destruction. Living anywhere in any given region on the entire planet was a constant danger, even venturing outside to buy food.

Charisma, nonetheless, grew into a lively 5 year old child, sheltered from most of this negativity by her parents. But there was only so much they could hide, as even Mino, now looking gaunter than a man his age should look, worked tirelessly his best to find a solution. Mino’s visits to Bulma’s place were constant as they discussed ways to try and disable or destroy the Androids. Charisma spent many of her afternoons playing with Bulma’s 6 year old son, Trunks. 

On this day, the two young children chased their cares away by running after each other in the house.

“You’re really slow!” Trunks teased as Charisma struggled to catch up to him.

“You’re really mean!” she grumbled. Trunks stopped abruptly once they neared the front door, causing Charisma to bump into his back. She looked over to see Bulma standing at the door and a tall, dark-haired teen entered the house. 

“Look who’s here,” Bulma announced happily. “Gohan, how have you been?”

“Gohan!” Trunks and Charisma both said happily as they looked at each other. They quickly ran over to greet the older half-Saiyan boy, now in his mid-teens.

“Hey, it’s good to see you,” he said happily, lifting both children into his arms. “Have you two been good?”

The children nodded their heads in unison. Their small faces could hardly contain their huge smiles.

“We’ve been training really hard,” Trunks explained.

“I’m still not fast enough to catch him, though,” Charisma pouted and crossed her arms.

Gohan laughed heartily at her expression and carefully set the two children down. “Well hey, all you need is more practice. We’ll continue our training later, all right?”

“All right!” Charisma and Trunks said happily and ran off together to another part of the house. Gohan smiled at them and began heading towards the living area where Bulma and Kaylei were sitting.

“I’m still surprised you’re actually letting Charisma train, Kaylei,” Bulma said as she walked towards a small desk and sat to continue what she was doing.

“I didn’t want to at first,” Kaylei admitted but smiled at Gohan as he took a seat beside her. “But Charisma doesn’t have much chance to run around or exercise or anything with everything that’s going on. Besides, you’re such a good teacher, Gohan, and if self-defense is one of the best ways she can protect herself, I want her to be able to do so.”

Gohan blushed and scratched the back of his head coyly. “You really think I’m a good teacher?”

“Of course!” Bulma agreed and turned back to smile at him. “Above all, Trunks and Charisma adore you. It’s so nice of you to take time to train with them. I know things for you have been tough.”

“Yeah…” Gohan sighed. “Trunks has a lot of potential…and even Charisma does, too. Her fighting spirit is strong. Say, where’s Mino? I haven’t seen him when I come around lately.”

Kaylei took a deep breath and shook her head sadly. “I don’t even really know, to be honest. He hasn’t said anything to me in days. I don’t see him too often. He just takes off and I try to warn him about the dangers of running around outside with the Androids somewhere. I’m worried sick about him…”

Bulma’s eyes traveled to the ceiling thoughtfully. “Yeah…that is strange. I wonder what he’s up to…”

~~~

Gohan searched the house for the two children with the intention of starting their sparring session. He entered another room on the ground floor to find Charisma forcing Trunks to play ‘dollies’ with her.

“This one is a popular singer that everyone loves,” Charisma explained enthusiastically as she held her blonde doll out towards him. “And that one you have is jealous of her.”

Trunks looked unimpressed as Charisma pointed at the red headed doll in his hand. Gohan suppressed a chuckle and entered the room. “Hey, what are you up to?”

Trunks looked up to see Gohan and immediately tossed the doll behind him in shame. Charisma squealed and ran after it. 

“Hey, be careful, Trunks!” she cried as she hurried to take a seat beside him again.

Gohan smiled as he crouched beside them. “Hey, are you two ready to begin training?”

“I sure am!” Trunks exclaimed, standing up as fast as he could. Charisma pouted slightly but stood up as well and smiled up at Gohan.

“I am, too, Gohan,” she said.

“Great, then let’s go outside,” Gohan announced as he began leading the children outdoors. “We’ve got a lot of training to do.”

The sparring session was the same as always. Gohan focused on teaching Charisma how to concentrate her power and watching carefully as she practiced her flying.

“I don’t get to fly a lot, Gohan,” she said as she fluttered about unsteadily. “Mom doesn’t let me even though I like it.”

“I know, but you’re really improving each time I see you,” he said softly. “It’s too dangerous for you to fly around by yourself. Someday, you’ll be able to put it to good use. I promise.”

Charisma smiled innocently and wrapped her small arms around his neck as she landed on his back. “I’m glad you’re my teacher, Gohan.”

Gohan grinned up at her. “I’m glad to have such an obedient student!” 

Trunks sat at the other end of the yard watching with a bored expression. Gohan could only teach Charisma so much and Trunks was always way ahead of her when it came to his power and his skill. They were on completely different levels and Gohan could never really train them together on the same subjects. Trunks was about to say something when Kaylei’s voice rang through the air.

“Charisma!” the blonde woman said as she emerged from the Capsule Corp house. “It’s time for us to go home. It’s getting late, dear.”

“Hey, Kaylei,” Gohan greeted her and carried Charisma over to her.

“Hello, Gohan,” she replied sweetly and grabbed Charisma. “How’s my girl behaving?”

“Like an angel, as always,” he replied. “Did you have fun?” he asked the girl as Kaylei set her down.

Charisma nodded up at him and was almost unable to contain the smile on her face. “Yeah! Of course! We’ll play again next time, right?”

Gohan gently patted her blonde head. “Sure!”

“Thank you, Gohan,” Kaylei said as she turned to leave. “Be safe.”

“You, too,” he replied and watched as Kaylei walked off. Charisma kept her eyes on Gohan and continued waving at him until she faded from sight.

Gohan turned to see a grumpy look on Trunks’ face and grinned. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m just glad we can begin our actual training again.”

Gohan’s grin grew toothier. “You’re upset because Charisma forgot to say goodbye to you, aren’t you?” he teased.

Trunks blushed uncontrollably and shook his head furiously. “No! That’s not it at all!”

Gohan let out a hearty laugh and patted Trunks on his back. “All right, calm down. I believe you. Now, let’s start again from where we left off yesterday.” 

~~~

Mino entered the house shortly before midnight. Charisma had already been put to bed and Kaylei appeared to be asleep on the couch. Sadness permeated his heart as began trudging his way towards his lab in the basement.

“Where have you been?” Kaylei’s voice suddenly rang and nearly scared him out of his shoes.

“Oh, sorry I’m late, dear,” he said after composing himself. “I’ve been working.”

Kaylei stood up and crossed her arms. “Working? What kind of work can you do at a time like this?”

“…we’ve got a plan…” he explained. “…some of the other citizens of West City and former Capsule Corp workers, I mean…” Mino walked over to Kaylei and took her hand. “We’re working hard to find a way to get out of this mess. The only way for us to be safe from the Androids is to hide out underground, so we’re building a bunker in a secret location.”

“A bunker?”

“Yes,” he elaborated. “Other cities have done it as well and they’re working on one now as we speak for us. Resources are difficult to find at a time like this, but we’ll be done with it soon, I hope.”

Kaylei sighed with exasperation and took a seat on the couch again. “The only thing we can do is run and hide…”

“Unfortunately for now, that’s all we can do…” Mino put a hand on her shoulder. “But I promise. In due time, we’ll find a way to disable those Androids. Bulma and I have been working tirelessly to figure something out. It won’t be long now.”

The thought of surviving long enough for the bunker to be built and long enough for the Androids to be destroyed was a heavy burden. Not just for this small family, but for everyone trying to find a way to live in this chaos. Kaylei wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead. She looked up at the ceiling where Charisma’s bedroom sat. “I hope so…”

Chapter 2: Goodbye, My Friend

The afternoon was rather peaceful and quiet. Bulma preferred to have the television and the radio off most of the time. The despair from the news reports of the latest attacks was practically unbearable. Instead, she contented herself to spending time in her lab, steadily working at trying to find a way to stop the Androids in the only way she knew how.

Charisma had spent the night over at the Capsule Corp house again, as she often did. She was currently upstairs with Trunks in a large empty room, rough housing with him as usual. Bulma feared letting them outside to play so figured a room within the house would be safer. The house itself seemed livelier with a seven- and eight-year-old around and she enjoyed the company. She was certain Trunks enjoyed having Charisma around, too.

Charisma fell flat on her bottom with a loud thump and screamed. “HOLD ON!” She cried, crossing her arms. “You’re being a little tough on me, don’t you think?”

“No, you’re just being weak,” said Trunks as he wiped a trail of sweat from his forehead.

He watched as Charisma’s pout became more pronounced and he laughed. “Sorry! But it’s true. You need to toughen up a little bit more. You’ll never stand a chance against the Androids if you’re like this.”

Charisma’s pout turned into a low hanging frown. “…I know…I wish I was strong enough to train more with you and Gohan…”

Trunks scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He didn’t know what to say and couldn’t deny that he felt a little bad. “Well…someday you will be. That’s why I’m training you myself.”

Now that Trunks was becoming older, Gohan seemed to be spending more time training him than he was with Charisma. He still would train with her on occasion but for much less time than before. It didn’t take too long before Charisma began realizing this.

“…You’re a good teacher,” Charisma said sweetly, causing Trunks to suddenly blush and shift in his place. She stood up on her feet and dusted herself off. “Let’s keep going!”

“I think it’s better for us to rest now,” Trunks said. “You seem tired.”

“I’m not tired…” Charisma protested as she let out a big yawn. She caught herself and quickly covered her mouth.

“I’m not buying it…” Trunks said with a grin. “Let’s go find something else to do.”

Charisma nodded and followed him along as they went into another part of the house. “What do you think we should do now then?”

Trunks grinned at her mischievously. “…do you want to go outside?”

Charisma gasped and shook her head furiously. “You know we’re not allowed to, Trunks. What if we get in trouble?”

“Being outside for just a second won’t hurt,” he said. “Aren’t you tired of being locked up indoors all the time?”

Charisma’s eyes fell to the ground. “Of course, but it’s dangerous…”

“Don’t worry about that,” Trunks said and grabbed her by the shoulders. “I’ll protect you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Charisma giggled and let herself be steered carefully and quietly out the backdoor. The view of the city was honestly deplorable. The few buildings that stood were dilapidated with their windows missing or broken, and entire chucks of cement jutted out into the air. There wasn’t much grass or trees or flowers anywhere. The world was nothing more than an apocalyptic wasteland.

The two children were used to this kind of world, however. They remained just a few feet from the door, propped up against the house’s outside wall on the small patch of grass that somehow still existed there. The soft breeze that passed and blew through their faces and hair was comforting.

“When the Androids are gone, we’ll be able to go to school, right?” Charisma asked. “And we’ll be able to make more friends…”

“We’ll be able to ride all the roller coasters in Dreamland,” Trunks added.

“And we’ll go to the zoo and see a lot of animals,” Charisma replied.

“And someday, I’m going to have my own car,” Trunks said. “And I’ll drive you around wherever you want to go. I’ll give you a ride to the zoo and then we can go ride the roller coasters I’m talking about.”

“Yeah,” Charisma responded, her eyes full of hope. “And when we come back home, I’ll plant a garden with a lot of pretty flowers and bright colors. Wouldn’t that be great?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Trunks responded with a smile.

Silence fell upon them as they stared out at the distance. Even being just children, they knew those dreams might not ever come true.

“…Are we really going to destroy the Androids someday?” Charisma asked.

“Of course, we will,” Trunks responded confidently. “I know Gohan can do it. And I’ll be there to help him.”

Charisma looked over at him and pointed a finger to herself. “And what about me?”

Trunks hesitated for a moment but looked at her and smiled. “You’ll be there to help us, too, right?”

Charisma’s face filled with a big smile. “Of course! I know the three of us can do it!” She looked up at the sky and watched as the fluffy white clouds drifted by. “If there’s anyone in this world that can defeat those Androids,” Charisma looked back at Trunks and grinned. “…it’s definitely you!”

Trunks’ turned his face quickly away from her in an attempt to hide the warm blush that spread across his cheeks. Charisma was always giving him encouragement, ever since he could remember. He wasn’t sure why such simple words caused him to feel so embarrassed now. At the same time, there was something about her earnest smile that made him feel like anything was possible.

“And when that happens,” she said softly. “We’ll be able to go outside whenever we want to. We’ll be able to go to school and make friends and maybe someday I’ll get a boyfriend…” Trunks winced at that last sentence. “I can’t wait for that day.”

Sighing, Trunks looked out into the distance again. “Me either.”

“We’ll be there to see the future world together, Trunks,” she said sweetly. The blush on Trunks’ cheeks never left, and now became warmer. He flinched a little when he felt Charisma’s little hand suddenly grab onto his.

“…Y-yeah…”

“Kids?! Where are you? It’s time to eat!” Before any one of them could say another word, Bulma’s voice echoed throughout the house.

Charisma and Trunks exchanged a worried glance and hurried onto their feet to race inside before Bulma could notice that they were gone.

“There you are,” she said with a smile as she found Charisma and Trunks innocently playing with Charisma’s dolls in his bedroom. “It’s time for dinner and then we’ve got to clean up and get ready for bed.”

“Okay!” The children said innocently in unison.

~~~

Charisma awoke the next morning to the sound of her father’s voice down the hall in the main room. Her small blue eyes fluttered at the feeling of the sunlight stinging them from the window. Letting out a hearty yawn, she sat up in bed and stretched her arms above her head. She glanced momentarily at Trunks who slept beside her, drooling and snoring loudly.

Charisma covered her mouth to suppress a giggle and began making her way off the bed. The floor was cold against her bare feet, and she stumbled quietly over to the door and opened it carefully.

“Time machine?” she heard her father’s voice.

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been working on,” Bulma replied with a deep sigh as she stood from her seat. Charisma stood against the wall of the hallway to hear their conversation. “I know it sounds crazy, but I think I’m finally getting closer to figuring out a way to travel back into the past and find a way to disable the Androids.”

Mino shook his head in disbelief. “It’s a long shot, for sure. I don’t know what good that would do us, anyway. Don’t you think it’s more important to put your efforts on something that will actually make a difference?”

“What else could I possibly do? Without knowing the base of their designs, I can’t even begin to find a way to disable their systems any other way.”

“I know,” he replied with a sigh. “But I’ve been working on building that state-of-the-art bunker. It might not be a solution, but it will help many people survive until we can come up with a way out.”

“The bunker is definitely a good idea,” Bulma agreed. “But trust me, I feel it in my heart that this time machine can make a difference. But it could be years before I even come close to completing it on my own. That’s why I’m asking you to please help me.”

“Bulma,” he said softly. “You’re an extremely intelligent person, and I’m honored that you’re asking for my help. I don’t mind helping you at all, but I can’t waste my time or resources on something that I don’t believe will work.”

The room fell silent for a long moment and a feeling of heavy tension filled the air. Charisma’s eyes fell sadly to the ground and began slinking her way back to the bedroom.

“…I understand,” Bulma finally said, her eyes low with disappointment. “I know it’s crazy but I’m going to keep working on it. You’ll see.”

Even though she was forced to remain alone in her work, Bulma became that much more determined to finish her time machine. It had been years since she’d started, but even now she was still far from being finished. Bulma didn’t reveal her ideas to anyone else, even to Gohan as he came to visit often to spar with Trunks and Charisma.

Sure enough, Gohan’s training with the children intensified as time went by, especially with Trunks.

“He has a lot of potential,” Gohan told Bulma one day. “It’s incredible that someone at his age could have so much power.”

“Well…he is Vegeta’s son after all,” she replied, her voice tinged with a mix of pride and sadness.

Gohan trained with Charisma as well as she was beginning to show her own potential. Being only a human child, however, her power was far behind Trunks’ and Gohan could only show her so much. Charisma learned how to fly, although she had few chances to do so, and her mother strictly forbade her from flying indoors. He also taught her how to fire ki blasts, but she had a hard time controlling them and couldn’t seem to take hold of her own power.

“I know I’m just a girl,” Charisma told him during one of their training matches. “I’m not a Saiyan like you or Trunks. But I want to be able to fight, too! I want to help you guys fight those Androids…”

“I know, Charisma,” Gohan said softly. “But the best thing you can do for us is stay safe and support us, no matter what. Even if we can’t take you into battle with us…please stay behind and cheer for us, all right?”

Charisma frowned but nodded her head in resignation. She felt herself inwardly swoon at Gohan’s friendly and reassuring smile. It was a little embarrassing, but she brushed the feeling off. “Of course!” she replied brightly.

Charisma, although young, knew that Gohan wasn’t training her with the same fervor as he’d been training Trunks with. However, she never really understood the implications of being a Saiyan compared to being a mere human. She never understood that no matter what, she’d never be able to catch up to Trunks, not even in her dreams. But she wanted to be her best and to do everything in her power to help defeat the Androids.

~~~

Even though he was a child, Trunks was serious when it came to completing his training with Gohan. Gohan was already trying to teach him to tap into his inner power and become a Super Saiyan despite Trunks’ young age. The notion of a child reaching the Super Saiyan level was insane at best, but Gohan put his complete hope on the shoulders of this boy.

After an intense training session, Gohan and Trunks sat outside on a peaceful mountain side, listening to the sounds of the creek that ran nearby.

“I don’t know if I can do it,” Trunks said as he wiped sweat from his forehead. “What if I’m still not strong enough? I’m only a kid…there’s no way I can ever be as strong as you, Gohan.”

“Stop thinking like that,” Gohan scolded him. “Once you lose hope in yourself, it’s all over.”

Trunks frowned deeply.

“Tell me, what do you want the most?” Gohan asked him.

“Me?”

“Yeah…what do you want? What do you want most in this world?”

Trunks stared straight ahead silently as he thought about the question. “…I want to rid the world of the Androids…”

“Why do you want that?”

“Why?” he replied, as if it was the dumbest question ever. “Because if I do that then Mom will be happy. And so many lives will be saved. We can rebuild the world when the Androids are gone and not live in fear anymore.”

Trunks thought back to Charisma’s smiling face. ‘If anyone can beat those Androids,” her voice echoed in his mind. “It’s definitely you!’ 

Trunks shut his eyes. “And…I want to make a world where…Charisma can smile…”

Gohan stared down at him with a huge toothy grin. Trunks looked up at him and realized what he’d said. “Ugh… don’t tell anyone I said that!” he mumbled as he blushed harshly. Gohan laughed heartily, causing Trunks’ cheeks to burn even brighter.

“Don’t worry…” Gohan finally replied. “…just remember that when you’re fighting the Androids, all right? Trust me. That is where you will find your strength.”

~~~

Times of smiles and joy seemed far and few in between. The constant fear that each person felt kept everyone’s smiles from being their brightest. Despite this, Charisma and Trunks found comfort and joy in training with Gohan, and if nothing else, in each other.

Charisma, once again, spent the night over at Trunks’ house on a cool autumn day. Kaylei and Mino were becoming more reluctant to letting her go very often, as the Android attacks seem to be happening more frequently lately. Today was her birthday, however, and they could see clearly in her eyes the love she had for Trunks and Bulma. Allowing her time to spend with her best friend on her special day would be the best gift they could give her, seeing as they couldn’t give her anything else.

Bulma made sure to celebrate the day with as much food and fun as possible, even if the house was only filled with the children and herself. Mino had once again disappeared, and Kaylei was feeling under the weather. Bulma didn’t mind watching after Charisma at all, either. The little girl had found a way into her heart like a daughter she’d never had.  

Charisma cheered as Bulma placed a yummy looking strawberry cake on the table. The trio had finished eating their dinner and were eager for the dessert.

“I’ve smelled this cake all day,” Trunks said with his mouth watering. “I can’t wait to actually taste it!”

“It looks so pretty,” Charisma said happily. “I love strawberries, too!”

“Wait!” Bulma said, interrupting them and causing their smiles to disappear. “Before we eat the cake, I want Charisma to open her gift…”

“Gift?” Charisma’s eyes glossed over with anticipation. “You got me a gift?”

“Trunks did,” Bulma grinned smoothly and pointed at him. 

Charisma tossed a tender look at him, and he could barely look back at her. His eyes darted around the room.

‘Stop looking at me like that,’ he thought as his expression became especially flustered.

“Hey…” he finally stammered. “H-hold out your hand and close your eyes…”

Charisma grinned and was giddy with excitement, but she obeyed. “It’s cold…” she giggled when she felt Trunks place something in there. Slowly opening her eyes, Charisma noticed a gleam in her hand.

“A bracelet!” she exclaimed. “It’s so pretty!”

“It’s actually a charm bracelet,” Bulma said, grabbing on to it and placing it on Charisma’s small wrist. “It’s a little big on you now, so you must be careful with it. But you’ll keep growing and it’ll fit you right when you grow older.”

“Is that a strawberry?” Charisma asked, touching the small and only charm on the bracelet.

“Yes, it is,” Bulma replied. “Trunks picked it out especially for you…”

Trunks lowered his head. Charisma’s smile could barely fit on her face.

“How cool…” she cooed. “Thanks a lot, Aunt Bulma!” Charisma jumped off her seat and went over to hug Bulma. “And you, too, of course, Trunks…” Charisma went over to him and wrapped her arms tightly around him.

“…you’re welcome…” he mumbled, completely embarrassed.

Bulma chuckled and began snapping pictures with her camera. “Happy birthday, Charisma!”

~~~

Even though their parents tried to shelter them as much as possible, the harsh reality of the gloomy life they lived was starting to become more apparent to the children. Trunks spent more time alone as Bulma spent more time working on her time machine. His only company would be Gohan and Charisma, but even her visits slowly became scarce.

Charisma and Kaylei were seeing less of Mino as time went by. He would disappear for days at a time and not even say where he was going. Until one day, after having disappeared for more than a week, he suddenly showed up in their house.

Noting Charisma and Kaylei’s sad but relieved expressions, he exclaimed, “Everything is going to be okay, my girls.”

“What are you talking about?” Kaylei replied feeling agitated. “Why do you keep disappearing?”

“I’ve been working very hard and finally everything is set,” he replied calmly. Kaylei looked at him with confusion. “We’re moving as soon as possible.”

Charisma gasped, her eyes wide and her lips trembled. “M-moving?”

“Yes. We’ll be safer where we’re going, so you don’t have to worry about the Androids anymore.”

“What does he mean? Moving?” Charisma turned to her mother.

Everything that happened next was like a blur and Charisma could only helplessly stand by and watch. Mino and Kaylei brought out a few suitcases and loaded them up with clothing and supplies. The furniture remained in the house, however, as well as most of the photos and ornaments that hung on the dingy walls.

“…I don’t like this…” Charisma said to herself as she watched them scurrying frantically around the house.

The following day, Mino took his family over to the Briefs house to give them the news before departing.

“You’re moving?!” Bulma exclaimed. “Already? This is so sudden!”

“I know, but it’s what’s best,” Mino said. He approached her and looked into her eyes with concern. “Please…please come and join us. Pack up and take Trunks and we’ll all live safely in the bunker. It’s all we can do for now…”

Bulma’s eyes travelled from Mino, to Kaylei, and to Charisma’s sad expression and trembling lips. Bulma was sure she wouldn’t ever forget that face. Her heart sank as she softly bit her lip in silent frustration, but she shook her head and politely refused.

“I’m glad that you were able to succeed in building the bunker,” she said gently. “And you’ll save a lot of lives this way. But I want to keep working on my time machine. I know it sounds crazy, but I believe in this with all my heart. I have to keep working on it. The solution is nearby. I just know it.”

“But that’s crazy!” Kaylei protested. “You’ll be safer where we’re going! What about Trunks?”

“We’ll be fine, trust me,” Bulma reassured her. “This is important to me. And I don’t want to leave my house. It’s falling apart, but it’s my home. All my father’s greatest inventions are still here. I can’t just leave them behind…”

Mino and Kaylei looked at each other and shared the same dismal expression.

“Please take care of yourselves,” Mino finally said. “You’re welcome to join us if you change your mind…”

“Thank you,” Bulma said. She walked up to Charisma and patted her on her head. “Be good to your parents, all right? Keep an eye out on your father, too, so he doesn’t keep disappearing.”

Charisma’s eyes filled with tears, and she squeezed tightly at the teddy bear in her arms. “I don’t want to leave you, Aunt Bulma. Why won’t you come with us?”

“I’ll join you guys someday,” Bulma replied with a sigh. “I promise, all right? Once the Androids are gone…it won’t be long now.”

Trunks had been sleeping when the sound of loud voices awoke him. He hazily stumbled into the hallway and down towards the main room.

“What’s going on?” he asked as he appeared at the doorway and rubbed his eyes.

Charisma ran up to him and hugged him, nearly knocking him over. “Trunks…I’m moving away…” she cried. “…g-good-bye…”

Trunks’ eyes opened wide. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know what was going on. “…moving away?”

The adults watched quietly as they stood together, still in an embrace, for a few minutes before Kaylei carefully stepped up. No one in the room wanted to break them apart. They knew this would be harder on the children than on anyone else. They’d been best friends since they were babies. Trunks was Charisma’s only real friend and Trunks had taken to heart the job of protecting Charisma like a brother would and always being there for her. Now, this harsh and nightmarish world was tearing them apart.

“We have to go now, Charisma,” she said gently. “Trunks…take care of your mother, okay?”

Trunks looked up at her and nodded as Kaylei pried Charisma off him. Charisma’s sobs became louder and rang through his ears and her face, soaked in more tears than he’d ever seen, hurt him more than he understood. 

He would never forget it.

He could only watch helplessly as Charisma left the house, clutching on to her mother’s hand and her teddy bear, waving goodbye to him all the while until she disappeared out the door.

Bulma let out a sad sigh and looked over at Trunks. He stood there in shock and confusion. She felt her heart break more and walked over.

“…what happened, Mom?” he asked.

“They’re moving somewhere safer,” Bulma gently explained and ran her fingers through his hair affectionately. “They’re going to be okay. Charisma’s going to be safe from the Androids now.”

Trunks felt numb, still struggling to process what was happening. He looked up at his mother. “…are we going to see them again? Will Charisma come back to visit us again?”

Bulma looked up at and at the door. “Someday…I promise…”

Chapter 3: Strange Accident

Adjusting to life in the bunker wasn't easy at all. Charisma was confined to being inside at all times. After all, there wasn't anything to do outside in the world. In the time that passed since Charisma and her family moved to the bunker, the Androids had only become much worse. No one could go outside to do even the most common and simple of things, like going to work or school. The only option left for the survivors of the Android's attacks was to continue surviving.

The isolation was almost enough to drive Charisma to the point of insanity. She missed being able to go outside if even only for a few seconds. She missed being able to train with Gohan. She missed Bulma's yummy cooking. And she missed just being with her best friend, Trunks.

The pain of their separation dulled as time passed and Charisma could barely remember what they even looked like, but she never forgot about her old friends. She held onto the charm bracelet Trunks and Bulma had given to her. As Bulma had said, she eventually grew enough for the bracelet to fit perfectly and it never came off.

Seven years came and went, and still, the Android's relentless attacks didn't seem to have an end. At this point, it seemed like this was one nightmare they would not awaken from. It had been so long since Charisma had even glanced outside. The only time she did manage to leave the bunker was traumatizing enough to make her want to stay inside forever. She almost forgot what it felt like to feel a breeze or to look at the sky.

"Charisma!" Kaylei called out. "Charisma, where are you?"

Making her way through the bunker, Kaylei came across a room with the door slightly open. She peered inside to find Charisma pounding her fists away at the punching bag that looked like it was ready to pop open.

"She's a strong girl," a voice spoke to Kaylei. She looked over to see the white bearded old man that stood watching. "She has a lot of raw power. It's unlike anything I've ever seen for a girl such as her. She's so small but she packs one heck of a punch!"

Charisma heard him talking and looked over to see. She noticed her mother and waved. "Hey, Mom!"

"I thought I would find you in here again," Kaylei said and looked at the old man. "How have you been, Onigi?"

"Very well!" the jolly looking old man said. "Sparing with your daughter always makes me feel young again."

Since his youth, Mr. Onigi was a martial arts master and ran several dojos throughout West City. Unfortunately, he lost everything due to the Androids' attack. Onigi moved into the bunker shortly after it was built, and he decided to run a martial arts program for the bunker's residents. It was a welcome distraction to keep everyone, from children to the elderly, occupied.

Naturally, Charisma jumped on the opportunity to continue with her training and rarely missed a single one of Onigi's classes. As a result, her strength grew, and she became a much more refined fighter. Unfortunately, there was only so much she could learn from a human compared to a half-Saiyan such as Gohan, but Charisma was just happy at being able to continue training anyway.

"I hope she hasn't been causing you too much trouble."

"Not at all," he chuckled and turned to leave. "We'll continue sparring again soon, Charisma."

"Bye, Mr. Onigi," Charisma bowed respectfully. Her mother approached her and she smiled. "He's such a good sensei. I don't know if I've ever met anyone as skilled in this bunker before. It makes me happy to not have to train on my own."

Kaylei sighed and patted her daughter on the back. "Come on. I've made dinner."

Charisma and her mother made it back to their apartment. Charisma showered and dressed before sitting down at the small table in the center of their small home.

"So…" Charisma said slowly as she lifted her fork. "It seems Dad has disappeared again, huh? He's not coming to join us?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Kaylei sighed sadly. "It's been so long since we've had a meal as a family. I wonder what's going on with him."

Charisma shook her head. "Who knows? He's probably locked himself in his lab again. Well, whatever. We'll just have to wait till he comes back, whenever that will be."

As soon as she finished her sentence, the door opened and Mino stepped inside. Charisma and Kaylei stopped mid chew to look at him and both threw sharp glares his way. He jumped at noticing their expressions and chuckled nervously.

"…Sorry about wandering off again," he apologized as he nervously scratched the back of his head and stepped inside.

"What's the point in saying 'sorry' if you're just going to do it again?" Kaylei responded, unimpressed.

Charisma finished eating her food quickly and went off into her 'bedroom.' It wasn't much of a bedroom at all. There was a small mattress on the floor and a few books scattered around. A notebook with notes she'd jotted from homeschooling lay open on the other end of the mattress.

Charisma threw herself onto the mattress and looked up at the dinghy ceiling. There wasn't much of anything to do while inside. She was already tired of beating away at the punching bag and lifting weights all day.

'When will you guys defeat the Androids?' she thought. 'It's been so long and the Androids are still plaguing the Earth…I hope you're all okay…Aunt Bulma, Gohan, Trunks…' She sat up on her mattress and looked at the charm bracelet on her left wrist.

It had been years since she'd seen or heard of anything from her old friends. Charisma lamented the fact that she didn't even have a picture of Gohan to remember him by, only her fuzzy memories. She did have a few pictures of Bulma and Trunks, mostly when they were very young. Her favorite picture, however, was the one Bulma had taken during her 8th birthday.

It sat adorned in a colorful frame on a small stand across the room. She couldn't remember a birthday since then that had been filled with so much joy.

Charisma's eyes traveled to that picture and she smiled sadly. Even as the years passed by and she could barely remember the sound of their voices, she remembered their smiles fondly. She felt warm at remembering how much Trunks always promised to protect her and the good times they had even amidst the chaos of the world around.

'Please…defeat them soon so I can see you guys again!'

The sound of her mother's loud and protesting voice startled Charisma. She got up immediately and hurried out to the main room.

"But you already went last time," Kaylei objected. "It's not fair that you're the only one expected to replenish our supplies."

"I'll be fine," Mino insisted. "According to the news, the Androids are all the way in South City. I doubt they'll come back here, at least not right now." He looked over to see Charisma watching. Admittedly, when he saw her concerned face, he began to have second thoughts about leaving the bunker again. He quickly brushed off that feeling. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"…You're leaving again?" Charisma asked in disbelief. "This is completely unfair! Why don't you just say 'no?' You're letting them walk all over you because they know you're too nice!"

Ever since the residents moved into the bunker, any movement outside of it was restricted to only collecting necessities every few months. It was dangerous for one to wander around outside, but Mino was always the first to volunteer when needed.

"You really don't have to go," Charisma said to him. "You go all the time, Dad. Please just stay home. It's getting worse out there…"

"She's right," Kaylei agreed. "What will we do if…something was to happen to you?"

"I'll be alright," he said as he left to retrieve his jacket. "It won't be long this time. I promise."

Kaylei and Charisma exchanged frustrated glances. There was nothing they could say or do to stop him. He was just too stubborn.

They joined in, along with the other wives and children of the volunteers, as they were ready to open the latches and head up and out into the dangerous world. Mino turned around before moving on and hugged both his wife and daughter before departing with a smile. "Take care of each other until I get back, all right?"

Charisma and Kaylei nodded and watched as he climbed the metal stairs with the group of five other men.

"Please…come back safely…" Kaylei begged.

~~~

It wasn't unusual at all for the trip for supplies to take a few days. Most trips had taken about three to five days as the men had to travel far distances to find any stores that would be open.

After the third day passed without any sign of the men, however, a feeling of uneasiness filled the residents of the compound.

"He's still not back," Charisma said sadly as she sat for dinner with her mother on the sixth night. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and she barely had an appetite.

Kaylei knew that the situation was looking pretty grim but she brushed off the feeling. "Maybe they just had to travel further or they got lost. You know how men are," she chuckled in a futile attempt to calm both of their nerves. "Don't worry too much. Just eat, my dear."

A week soon passed and in the blink of an eye, two more weeks passed. On her way to the gym in the bunker, Charisma would hear news of more Android attacks on the other resident's radios.

Charisma and Kaylei weren't alone in their worry as the other women and children who'd been left behind were also becoming restless with concern.

"We can't wait much longer," a middle-aged resident said one day. "We have to get more supplies. I don't know what happened to the other men, but we can't wait any longer."

Another group of about seven men headed out, to much more frightened and sad cries of their loved ones than the last group. This excursion turned out well, however, as those men returned within three days.

Another week passed and another, until at last, two months had passed without any news of the men that had gone to find supplies the first time.

The bunker was filled with the echo of loud sobs and despair, as the families of the men had no choice but to presume their deaths. The Androids had since returned to the area, after all. Only the worst could've happened.

"I told him not to go…" Charisma cried as her mother held her in her arms.

"I know," she cried as well. "We tried…but that's just how your father always was. He just wanted to help people…"

A cloud of darkness came over the women of the bunker, and Charisma and Kaylei's world was turned upside down once more. They would never know what happened to Mino.

~~~

A few more months had passed and sixteen year old Charisma was now working hard to catch up on her studies.

"I don't think I understand any of this…" she mumbled as she flipped through her notes. "It would suck if I were to fall behind…" Charisma rolled over all around her bed in order to find a comfortable position for studying. Groaning in annoyance, she sat up and pouted. "So bored!"

Charisma emerged from her bedroom into her silent bunker-apartment, quiet and ominous as always. "Mom!" Charisma called out and hurried over to her mother's bedroom. "Mom…?"

Charisma entered to find her mother asleep on the mattress. "Mom…" she said as she approached. "I'm going to the weight room."

Her mother mumbled incoherently in her sleep.

'Mom always says that I should tell her where I'm going before I leave,' Charisma thought. 'I won't be gone for long anyway. She'll know where to find me.'

Charisma stepped out into the hall and paused directly outside of her door. 'Being cooped up inside all day like a prisoner is the worst kind of torture there is. But until the Androids are gone, there's nothing else we can do…'

Charisma looked up at the ceiling as her thoughts raced. 'But I have to wonder…was Dad really working hard on finding a way to destroy the Androids? What kind of machine would be able to do that?'

Curiosity began to get the better of her as Charisma walked past the gym and towards another end of the bunker, far from any of the apartments and other rooms.

'This is Dad's lab…' Charisma had followed her father many times before since her childhood, enough to have memorized his PIN number to unlock the electronic door. 'I haven't been in here since…since he left…'

She stood in front of the closed door like a statue for several moments. Tears stung the back of her eyes as she thought about her father. Hesitantly, she pressed the buttons on the key pad by the door. The door opened slowly and Charisma paused for a second before slowly stepping in. She pressed a button on the wall to shut the door behind her and turned around to observe the many oddities. Gadgets, electronics, all kinds of machines were sprawled all around her.

"Dad really was some kind of a genius," she remarked as she looked through his tools and notes.

Charisma's eyes caught sight of a large looking machine at the furthest end of the lab.

"What's this supposed to be?" she wondered as she circled around it and inspected it. "It looks like a special kind of port-a-potty…"

Charisma chuckled immaturely at the notion. "Sounds like something Dad would come up with…"

Charisma's hands traced the cool surface of the clunky machine and her hands brushed against a button accidentally. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the door came open.

"Wow, it works!" Curiosity piqued by the strange contraption, Charisma cautiously stepped inside the machine.

"But what does it do? It's pretty small here…a claustrophobic's nightmare…" Charisma almost lost her footing and stumbled to regain it. The sudden shift caused the door to slam shut right behind her.

"It's so dark!" Charisma cried, getting nervous now. "This was a bad idea. How do I get out?"

Charisma fidgeted in the darkness and placed her hands against the door. "It won't budge! I'm stuck!" Her nervousness was escalating as she inadvertently pressed a button by the door, with a loud click.

The inside of the machine suddenly shone brilliantly as the screen turned on and the buttons lit up. Her eyes stung at the sudden brightness. "It actually works?"

'Input date,' read the screen on the other side of the machine.

"What is this? I don't care about the date. I just want to get out of here. How do I open this door?"

Charisma pressed several buttons only to hear an error buzz after each one. "Damn it! I might just have to break this thing!" Confused and desperate, Charisma frantically began banging on many controls at once in her frenzy and the current date flashed on the screen. Upon closer inspection, however, the year was off by exactly twenty. The date seemingly seared into her eyes when she looked up.

Without warning, the machine began to shake around violently and loudly. The force threw Charisma about and she fell back, landing on the seat sloppily and hitting her head on the back of it in the process.

The noise was loud enough to wake up the other residents of the bunker. They ran out of their apartments to investigate the noise.

"What's that commotion?" asked one.

"I think it's coming from Professor Mino's lab," replied another.

Kaylei's eyes came open suddenly as she heard a bang that sounded horribly loud and terrifying.

"What's going on?" she cried as she stood up, blinking away her drowsiness. "Charisma?"

Noticing that Charisma was gone, Kaylei hurried out of her apartment to find the other residents chattering about. "What's going on?" she asked.

"We don't really know," replied her neighbor. "All we heard was a loud bang."

Kaylei hurried towards the gym in hopes of finding Charisma there. The gym was empty, however, and Kaylei turned around towards her neighbors. "Have any of you seen Charisma?"

They all shook their heads.

"Where is she?" Kaylei ran towards the exit. "No…there's no way she could've left. Why would she have stepped out? Charisma!"

"She's not in here," one of the residents informed Kaylei. "No one has seen her here at all."

Kaylei hurried up the steel steps towards the latch.

"What are you doing?! You can't go outside!"

"It's dangerous!"

"You'll give us all away! You'll get us killed!"

Kaylei desperately tried to escape through the opening in the latch outside, only to be physically restrained by the other residents.

"Charisma!" she screamed. Her cries echoed hauntingly throughout the bunker. "Charisma!"

~~~

Charisma didn't know why but her head hurt like all hell. Her eyes fluttered open to hear the humming of the machine she was sitting in.

"Was I dreaming?" she said out loud as she rubbed her eyes. "What happened?"

Gasping loudly, Charisma stood up and remembered what had occurred. "I'm still trapped! Mom is going to kill me if I'm not home in time for dinner."

Charisma tried once again to open the door, and surprisingly, it opened with ease. However, Charisma's eyes were blinded by sunlight.

"W-what is this?" Charisma stepped outside to hear green grass crunching under her feet. She looked down as if it were the strangest thing ever. She looked up to see mountains in the distance and many trees around. She was in the clearing of some kind of wooded area.

"Am I dreaming…? No but this…feels real…"

Charisma walked through the clearing for a few minutes before giving up. "I don't know where I am. Seems that machine is some kind of transportation device or something…I better figure out how to get home…"

Charisma made her way back to the machine and stepped inside.

"Battery low…" the screen read.

"Oh no! Bad, bad, very bad!" Charisma cried and began fumbling around with the buttons. "What am I going to do? I'm stranded! I'm lost in the middle of nowhere!"

The machine didn't give way to her protests and faded away quickly.

Charisma's shoulders slumped as she leaned back against the seat. "What am I going to do now? I can't just fly and look for help…that'll just attract the Androids if they're nearby…"

Charisma exited the machine and began walking towards a random direction. "I'm sure I'll come across someone who can help me eventually…just gotta keep walking."

Charisma must've walked for about twenty minutes before she came across a stretch of road that cut through the woods. An oversized truck began heading down the road and Charisma brightened up.

"It's another person!" Charisma waved her arms wildly in order to attract the driver's attention.

"It's a girl," the middle aged man remarked and stopped for her. He rolled down his window and peered out. "Hey, where are you from?"

"Hello," Charisma replied. "I'm from West City. I don't know how I ended up here, but I need to get back before the Androids show up. It's dangerous to be outside."

"Androids?" the man repeated with a raised brow. "You mean, like robots?"

"Yeah," Charisma responded. "You know, the Androids. Those robots that are going around killing everyone. They're around here somewhere and it's dangerous to be outside of the bunker. I have to get back before Mom finds out."

The man was giving her a strange look. "Are you alright? Did you hit your head or something? You're not making any sense."

Charisma blinked up at him in confusion. "You're saying…you've never heard of the Androids?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"…are you joking?" Charisma frowned and shook her head. "What a weird thing to joke about. They're all over the news…how could you not…?"

"Anyway," he said suddenly. "I'm heading towards West City to deliver some stuff. You can hop on and I'll give you a ride."

Charisma didn't see any other choice but to jump into the truck. The ride was smooth and silent. The man noticed how the look of bewilderment remained on her face.

"Do you want to go to the hospital or something? You don't look too well."

"No, I'm fine…" Charisma responded. "But tell me…where are we exactly?"

"We're about a half hour south of West City," he replied. "Don't you remember how you got here or what happened?"

Charisma shook her head. "I can't…I can't remember anything…"

"Thank you for tuning in," the radio blared. "The West City Marathon 763 is set to take place this Saturday!"

'The West City Marathon…' Charisma thought. 'How strange. Mom said she loved to run marathons but there hasn't been a marathon anywhere after the Androids showed up. And why would they name it 763?'

Charisma noticed a slightly crumpled newspaper at her feet on the bottom of the truck. The date was printed in small letters to the right of the main headline. '763?'

"Say," she said cautiously. "…what's today's date?"

"August 10th," replied the trucker. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason…" Charisma mumbled. 'Sounds right…'

"Um…what's the year?"

The man took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her with bewilderment and concern. "Did you forget that, too? You really must've hit your head on something if you forgot that much."

Charisma grinned nervously. "I guess…well?"

"763."

Charisma felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. 'He can't…he can't be serious…' Charisma's eyes widened with disbelief. "763…are you sure it's 763?! We're not in 783?!"

"Of course not," the trucker replied instantly. "That's not for another 20 years…But you already know that, don't you?"

Charisma shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew she needed to calm down if she wanted to find any type of answers. Her eyes opened and she stared out the window at the passing scenery. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen. The world she knew was in shambles. This world looked like it was happy and flourishing.

'The date on the machine said 763, too,' she thought. 'But…how is that possible? Am I going crazy?'

"Something must've happened to you back there," the man finally said after a moment of silence. "For sure…I'm going to get you some help once we get to West City, young lady."

Chapter 4: Stranger in a New World

By the time the truck pulled up to West City Memorial Hospital, Charisma was in a state of complete shock. First off, this West City looked nothing like she would've expected it to. The West City she knew was brought to its knees: a total warzone of crumbled buildings, missing roads, and no signs of life. Yet all around, the sounds and sights of fast-moving traffic and lively people going about their business were clear as day.

"Here we are," the trucker said and looked over at her sympathetically. "You should go inside and get some help…"

Charisma didn't respond at all. Her eyes remained glued on her lap blankly. The trucker leaned closer to her. "Young lady, are you alright?" Charisma remained frozen in shock.

The trucker unbuckled his seat belt and got out of his trucker. "I better get some help."

Within a few moments, Charisma was being escorted into a room full of doctors and nurses, scurrying about and observing her.

'…if this is the past…I don't exist here yet…'she thought as the doctors continued their work on her. 'My parents aren't even in West City yet either…what am I supposed to do? I'm all alone now…Who will believe me when I tell them where I'm from?'

A few hours passed and Charisma remained in the hospital. The doctors were baffled as to what her identity was and where her parents could be. Charisma hadn't said a word at all or shown any signs of being mentally present since the trucker had brought her to the hospital.

"There's nothing wrong with her at all…" one of the doctors remarked to the nurse. "She's perfectly healthy, aside from some vitamin deficiencies. She's in great shape."

"How strange," the nurse replied sympathetically. "She looks like something happened though. Maybe we can get her to talk?"

The nurse entered the room to find Charisma sitting up in her bed. She stared out the window into the distance. She could catch a glimpse of the building she was hoping to be Capsule Corp headquarters.

'If I can find someone to help me…I'm sure that's the place to go…' she thought.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" the nurse asked her softly. "You're all right. There's nothing wrong with you at all. Can you tell me what your name is? Or where you came from? What about your parents?"

Charisma remained silent for a long moment. She took a deep breath and looked at the nurse. "…I don't think there's anyone who can help me…" she mumbled, her eyes filling with tears.

"Why is that?"

Charisma shook her head and looked down. "I don't know where I came from…"

The nurse patted Charisma's back sympathetically. "Don't worry. We'll be able to find your parents. What's your name? How old are you?"

"My name…is Charisma. I'm 16."

"Charisma? That's a pretty name." The nurse gave her a reassuring smile. "You don't have to worry about anything. We'll try to find your parents."

Charisma's shoulders fell. "I don't think that's going to be possible."

"In any case, there's a youth center located a few blocks from here. If all else falls through, you can stay there for free, so you won't have to sleep on the streets. On top of that, they can even help you find a job."

Charisma felt her spirits lift slightly. Knowing she at least would have a place to stay, Charisma felt a bit of relief. Still, the situation wasn't looking good. She would need to find help, somehow, somewhere, if she hoped to get back to where she belonged.

After discussing the situation with the doctors, the nurse went ahead and set up everything so that Charisma could make her move into the youth center once she was discharged from the hospital. She was put under the care of a friendly and older lady named Tansy.

"You'll be well taken care of here, Charisma," the brown-haired woman reassured her as they walked through the halls of the youth center and into a large gymnasium. "Please let us know if you need anything."

"Thank you very much for your help," Charisma smiled at her halfheartedly and went to her designated cot for the night. She felt strange at seeing so many youngsters like herself sleeping on the other cots around.

'It's funny…I don't feel so alone…' she thought as she carefully lay down.'Tomorrow…I think I'll go to Capsule Corp and try to find someone who can help me. Maybe I can even find Aunt Bulma somewhere and she can help me. I don't have another choice…'

~~~

Charisma was grateful to have a safe and warm place to stay for the night. Even so, she spent the entire night wondering what happened. After eating breakfast and changing into an old set of clothes that was given to her by Tansy, Charisma took off towards Capsule Corp in the morning.

"Please be back before it gets too dark, you hear?" Tansy warned her.

"I will…" Charisma replied. "I won't take long."

Charisma walked around West City and couldn't help but feel at least some sense of excitement. She'd never seen so many people, so many happy looking people. The only looks she'd gotten used to were those of pain, terror and sadness. She'd never been allowed to walk around freely on her own either.

Charisma took a deep breath as she drank in the sights. 'I'm gonna try not to worry about anything. I'm sure there's a way to go back. If there was a way for me to come here, then it's not impossible for me to go back, right?' Charisma smiled feebly and took off running down the street. 'All I gotta do is find Aunt Bulma!'

Charisma greatly misjudged the distance to the Capsule Corp building and ended up walking for about a good thirty minutes. Nonetheless, she found herself standing in front of the headquarters and gazing up at the tall, tall office building. For some reason, she was becoming nervous.

'What if…they can't help me? Will they even know what I'm talking about?'

Charisma's finger fiddled with the bottom of her gray hoodie. She swallowed at her nervousness and stepped inside the air-conditioned lobby. Various people stood around and bustled about, in their suits and ties. The receptionist was busy typing away at her computer and simultaneously talking on the phone.

'What should I say?' Charisma wondered. 'Who can I talk to?'

"Tell the Boss I'll finish it when I return from lunch!" a voice blared loudly as the elevator doors opened. A tall, dark-haired man in a suit was talking on his cell phone and hung up once he stepped out to the lobby. "Really, can't a guy even grab something to eat in peace?" he grumbled angrily.

Charisma watched as he headed towards the exit. 'Maybe he can tell me something?'

Charisma hurried over and called to him. "Excuse me, sir!"

The man turned around and looked at her. "Yes, what is it?" he snapped.

"Well, I just have a question," she stuttered nervously. His cold and annoyed look, as well as his tall stature, were rather intimidating. "…what do you think about time…travel?"

"Excuse me?" he asked, looking a bit puzzled.

"…Well, Capsule Corp has always been a very innovative company," she stammered. Her mind fumbled for an explanation as to why she was asking such a crazy question in the first place. "I was having a discussion with my classmates at school, and we were wondering if it's ever going to be possible, and if so, Capsule Corp might be the company to do it."

The guy chuckled somewhat haughtily. "That's a good sentiment to have, but there's no way that could happen. It's impossible…Anyway, I have to get going. I only have a half hour lunch break!"

Charisma's face fell but she nodded at him and put on a smile. "I'm sorry. Thank you for your time." Her pout grew more as she watched him leave. 'People are going to think I'm crazy if I talk about time travel or Androids…no one here knows of such a thing…how is anyone going to believe me, much less, help me?'

Dejected, Charisma began making her way back to the youth center, dragging her feet on the ground. 'What am I going to do? I'm running out of options…' Charisma was quietly lost in thought as she walked down the street.

The loud honk of a car horn snapped her out of her thoughts. Charisma has wandered a little too far from the sidewalk and down the road. She jumped back to the sidewalk in the nick of time.

"Look out! Do you want to get killed!" the driver of the blue hover car blared as he passed.

Charisma's frown deepened as she continued walking. Casually looking up to the other side of the road, she caught sight of a head of blue green hair. Charisma gasped once she recognized the face.

"Aunt Bulma!" Charisma exclaimed. "It's definitely her! She still looks the same as I remember…"

It took a minute for Charisma to notice the tall, dark-haired man walking beside her. They seemed to be quarreling about something, but sure enough, they linked arms together and walked down the street, happy as can be.

"I wonder if that's Trunks' dad…" Charisma wondered. She couldn't help but smile. "It would be so cool if I could meet them!" Remembering her situation, Charisma brushed off the idea of simply mingling with them. She watched as the pair headed towards a small and warm looking building with a sign that read "Sweet Morning Cafe." The dark-haired man opened the door and Bulma walked inside.

"I've got to get closer…" Charisma said and hurried across the street and into the café. The bell above the door clicked as she stepped inside. Putting on her oversized hood, Charisma spotted the table where Bulma and her date were sitting and sat behind them.

'This is good…' she thought. 'Now I can hear what they're talking about…'

"This place makes the best coffee and desserts," Bulma said, and Charisma smiled at hearing her voice.

'Her voice is still the same as I remember…'

"I guess I'll be bringing you here more often if you like it so much," the man replied. "I'm getting tired of that other place…"

Charisma was startled by the waitress that came by and asked her for her order. "Oh…" Charisma stuttered. "I'm just waiting for someone…"

Charisma sat there for a long while, listening to the conversation. 'It's definitely my Aunt Bulma all right…Now I just gotta figure out how to talk to her without seeming strange.'

Charisma stood up and hurried to the counter. "I was wondering…are you hiring?"

"Yes, we are," the waitress behind the counter replied.

'If I get a job here, then hopefully I'll see Bulma more often.'

~~~

In time, Charisma was slowly trying to pick herself up. Her stay at the youth center wasn't so bad but she didn't really try to make friends with anyone there. Her main goal was trying to find a way back to the future and she was sure it would happen someday.

The days dragged on and on and two months soon passed. With the help of the counselors at the youth center, Charisma was able to snag the job at Sweet Morning Cafe. Although Charisma intended to connect with Bulma, she also needed the job in order to survive. After all, she arrived in this world with only the clothes on her back.

The world Charisma had come from was such an ugly place that even the simplest of things were dangerous to do. Charisma missed out on many experiences that a teenager might do, such as getting their first job.

When Charisma was hired at the cafe, she realized how lucky she was to have gotten to experience her first job now. She was eternally grateful to the youth center for helping her find employment, and the cafe owner, Dino, who welcomed the inexperienced girl to join his business.

Charisma worked at the cafe for several weeks before she saw Bulma again. In the meantime, she tried to make the most of her time there. Charisma particularly took a liking to a lady in the cafe named Tira who seemed to be a master of baked sweets. Whenever Charisma would enter the cafe in the morning, the sweet smell of baked goods was almost intoxicating and made her mouth water so much.

As the cafe's only baker, Tira would arrive at the cafe earlier than anyone to prepare the cakes, pies, and cookies for the day.

"Your desserts are delicious and beautiful, too," Charisma said to Tira one day as she helped herself to a cupcake.

"Thank you," Tira responded. "It took many years of practice to perfect my recipes, but it was a lot of fun along the way."

"I've always wanted to learn how to bake," Charisma said. Her eyes fell when she remembered her chaotic world, and how such an opportunity would likely never happen. "...I just never had the chance to."

Like most of the people Charisma had run into, Tira was unaware of the traumatic experiences Charisma had faced in her world. They didn't even know such a world existed. Tira avoided prying into the girl's past, but it was clear Charisma hadn't lived an easy life.

Tira smiled sympathetically at the girl. "Hey, how about you come in early tomorrow and I'll show you my ways?"

Charisma's face lit up. "You mean, you'll show me?"

"Of course," Tira said. "I could certainly use the help!"

~~~

Sure enough, Bulma frequented the café with her date, whom Charisma learned was named Yamcha. In an effort to strike up conversation, Charisma discounted their meals as often as she could, even if it meant picking up the missing portion of the tab herself. Her plan worked and she was able to converse with the pair often, to the point where their visits would become more frequent. Just having Bulma and Yamcha there made Charisma's day brighter.

On a relatively quiet afternoon, Bulma entered the café on her own. She waved at Charisma once she caught sight of the blonde girl at the other end of the building.

Charisma grinned warmly at her and came over. "Hey, how have you been?"

"I've been great, Charisma," Bulma responded and took a seat at a nearby booth. "How's work been? You seem to be working a lot lately."

"Yeah, I have," Charisma said, sitting down with a sigh. "You came in at just the right time. I'm taking my break now."

"Great, so we'll finally have a chance to chat," Bulma said happily.

"I ordered food. You can help yourself if you'd like."

"You're so nice," Bulma said sweetly. "Do you ever get a day off?"

"Yeah, but I usually prefer to work." Charisma took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. "I've been working really hard on learning how to bake. Besides, it's not like I really have anywhere else to be."

"Why is that?"

Charisma debated whether or not now would be the right time to ask for her help. They had only been acquaintances for a few short weeks. Instead, Charisma explained her situation the best way she could without revealing too much. As the girls ate, Charisma explained that she'd been lost somehow without any memory of her parents and how she was staying at the youth center for now.

Bulma gave her a look of pity that made her feel a bit uneasy. "What's it like over there?"

"It's not that bad," Charisma said. "It's better than nothing, for sure. I'm incredibly grateful that I have a place to stay for now. But I don't know how long that will last. I've been trying to save up money from my job here at the cafe to hopefully rent a place for myself."

"I see…" Bulma looked a little down, but her face brightened up as she leaned towards the girl. "Hey, would you like to spend the night over at my house?"

Charisma almost spit out her soda. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Really? But…I don't want to impose…"

"Don't be silly!" Bulma said with a wave of her hand. "I can't quite explain it, but I feel in my heart like I'm the only one who can help you. I just have to do something."

Bulma's words struck Charisma in the heart. She had to keep her mouth from falling open in astonishment. It must've been a major coincidence or just sheer luck that Bulma was feeling the same way as Charisma did; that even now, Bulma knew she was the only person who could help.

"…I don't know what to say…" Charisma said weakly, feeling tears of happiness about overcoming her. 'I might just have a chance!'she mentally exclaimed.

"Hey, hey!" Bulma said quickly, her face filled with empathy. "No need to cry! Just say yes."

Charisma nodded her head enthusiastically. "Okay! Thank you so much! You have no idea what this means to me."

~~~

Unsurprisingly, Charisma enjoyed being in the Capsule Corp house much more than she liked being at the youth center. For starters, the house on the inside was still as warm and inviting as in her memories. Charisma never had the chance to meet Bulma's parents in her time, aside from possibly when she was a toddler. She was pleased at how they were so wonderfully nice. Bulma's mother fed Charisma with so many sweets she thought she would pop.

Charisma's visits to Bulma's house became frequent and Charisma began spending her days off of work with her. They would either spend it in the house, watching movies and hanging out, or even heading down to the city to walk around and explore. At times, Charisma almost forgot about her predicament entirely, and it was as if her worries had suddenly disappeared. This worry-free feeling was not something Charisma was used to, but she embraced it as much as she could.

"I don't know what it is," Bulma told Charisma one day. "But I feel like I've known you forever."

Charisma didn't know what to say.'We might be from different timelines,' Charisma thought. 'But I guess our connection in that world still exists here somehow.'"So do I," Charisma responded with a warm smile.

After Charisma returned to the youth center that night, she found it hard to sleep with so many wonderful feelings buzzing inside of her. For the first time in a long time, she didn't feel alone anymore. Instead, she felt hope.

'I can't believe my luck in having found Bulma,' Charisma thought as she lay on her cot.'I wonder if her feelings have anything to do with our connection in my time. That's the only explanation I can think of. I finally feel like I'm getting closer to going back home. I've even gotten to meet Trunks' grandparents. It's almost as if…just by knowing them I feel closer to him somehow.'

While thinking of him, Charisma also thought about her mother. 'I hope she's okay…she must be so worried about me. Please be strong, Mom.' Charisma prayed silently to herself as she drifted into sleep.

~~~

A few days passed and Bulma hadn't shown up at the café in quite a while. Charisma hoped everything with her was all right but couldn't help but worry. Things in her life always seemed to take a turn for the worst. This time would prove different, however.

One Monday morning, Charisma stood behind the counter, leaning against its top surface, her chin on the palm of her hand. Her eyes glinted with boredom, and she sighed heavily. Today was not a busy day at all, so far. After assisting Tira with preparing the day's baked goods, there wasn't much else for Charisma to do. There were no clients around at all and Charisma was on her own as her coworker was now on a week-long vacation.

The bell rang above the door as it opened. Charisma looked up and smiled warmly, standing up straight and bowing. "Good morning, Bulma."

"Hi, Charisma," she greeted as she sat at the counter. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Charisma sighed and placed her chin back in her hands on the counter. "I'm not as busy as I usually am, today."

"I see," Bulma said, pausing before speaking up again. "Hey, Charisma…I know this might sound a little sudden, but I've been talking to my parents."

"Really?" Charisma asked casually as she wiped the countertop with a moist cloth. "About what? Is there anything wrong?"

"No, not at all," Bulma replied. "It's just that I've been thinking a lot myself, too. You're such a good person with a less than perfect life. You said you were all alone in this world. It really got me thinking, you know?"

Charisma's eyebrows furrowed up slightly, not sure where she was going with this. "…Yeah, I see."

"…Well, I don't mean to sound like I'm prying into your personal life or anything…but I asked my parents if it was alright for you to live with us for a while."

Charisma dropped her cloth and stood up straight immediately, locking eyes with Bulma. "…Seriously? You mean for real?" Charisma smiled excitedly but her face dropped instantly. "That's very nice of you, Bulma, don't get me wrong. I really appreciate it but…I don't want to be a burden…"

"You won't be, silly," Bulma said, folding her arms. "It's not like you asked me for any favors. I'm offering you a place to stay on my own. I don't think it's a good idea for a girl your age to be wandering about the streets late at night on her own."

Charisma felt so much happiness sinking in, it was almost overwhelming. 'I can't believe it…this is incredible!'

"Believe me when I say that I feel like I'm the only one who can help you. This feels like the right thing to do so I'm going to do it. And you work so hard so there's no way you could possibly be a burden. Besides, my house is more than big enough for you to live comfortably and believe it or not, we're pretty well off anyway. You don't even have to pay rent."

"Aww, but that's too much!" Charisma responded. "I don't want to mooch off of you guys!"

Bulma shook her head. "You're still very young. My parents feel the same way I do about the situation. You need guidance and help. We're more than willing to take you into our home."

Charisma felt her eyes tearing up with tears of happiness. Charisma stepped around the counter and bowed respectfully to Bulma many, many times. A thousand thank you's and all the money in the world couldn't express how grateful she felt.

Bulma chuckled and stood up from her seat on the stool. "Hey, hey! There's no need for that now."

"I can't even begin to tell you how much this means to me…" Charisma said gratefully.

"Just say yes, silly," she welcomed the blond with a smile. "It's no problem at all. Believe me."

"I would love to," Charisma nodded, grinning with genuine warmth. "…I can't even begin to thank you enough."

Bulma blushed and cocked her head to the side graciously. "Don't worry about it. Come over whenever you're ready. You can even move in tomorrow if that's alright with you."

"Of course!" Charisma said enthusiastically. "I should tell the people at the youth center before I go, though."

"Definitely," Bulma responded. "Just don't take too long, all right?"

"Sure," Charisma chuckled and beamed brightly.

"Great!" Bulma grabbed her purse from the stool beside her and smiled at Charisma. "I'll see you then."

Charisma waved to Bulma as she left the café. She couldn't fight off the feeling of relief and could barely keep her happy tears away. 'Impossible…' she thought.'It seems things are finally looking up! I'm so glad.'

Charisma hurried over to the youth center as soon as she got off of work.

"I'm happy for you," Tansy said sweetly. "My goal is to help youngsters such as yourself to pick themselves up and find their way. This is a good sign of good things to come, don't you think?"

Charisma nodded with a warm smile. "I definitely think so."

"Take care, Charisma. You'll live a happy life. I'm sure of it."

~~~

The following morning, Charisma showed up at Bulma's house just before 11 a.m. She didn't have much on her other than a small backpack of clothes that she had purchased after working in the café.

"You're finally here!" Bulma exclaimed as she opened the front door to the Capsule Corp house. "I thought you'd never show up!"

"You know I wasn't going to turn down your invitation, Bulma," Charisma replied with a witty smile.

"Welcome home!" Mrs. Brief said cheerfully and hurried over to Charisma. "I'm so glad you agreed to come! This is your home now, all right?"

Charisma bowed respectfully to Mrs. Brief. "Thank you so much! I'll be sure to be on my best behavior."

"You don't have to worry about anything," she said as she began walking towards the kitchen. "I've got some more sweets for you to enjoy. Have a seat!"

Bulma lightly tugged on Charisma's arm. "Hey, let me show you your room."

Charisma's face brightened up even more. "Sure!"

Charisma's designated bedroom was right down the hall from Bulma's. She was floored at how spacey it was. The walls were a pleasing shade of sky blue and the bed in the center of the room was big and comfy. Charisma couldn't remember the last time she had such a nice bed to herself.

"I see you like it," Bulma said jokingly at Charisma's expression. "I hope it suits your tastes."

"You could send me to sleep on the floor and it would suit my tastes!" Charisma exclaimed. "I really don't know what to say."

"Enough of that!" Bulma said softly. "Let's go to the living room. I've got some guests over including some friends I'd like you to meet."

Charisma nodded and followed her along.

"My friends certainly aren't your everyday average people," Bulma explained as they made their way through the hall. "They can be nice when they want to be, though."

Charisma stifled a giggle.

"Anyway, there are a lot of interesting people in my life. You'll see when the time comes."

They entered the large living room and found Yamcha sitting on the couch in front of the television. Sitting beside him was a small statured pig.

Charisma smiled at recognizing the dark-haired man. "Hi Yamcha!" she called to him and waved.

"Well, nice to see you're all comfy," Bulma announced. "I have a new friend I'd like you to meet, too, Oolong."

'Oolong?' Charisma thought.'I think I've met him before…at least a few times as a child when I stayed with Bulma. It's almost like déjà vu…'

"A friend?" said Oolong standing up from the couch.

"Yeah, she's going to be living here with me from now on," Bulma explained as she gave Oolong a hard look. "Be on your best behavior, you hear me?"

"What are you talking about?" he retorted as if that was the most insulting thing she could say. "I'm always well behaved."

Bulma simply huffed. "Well…"

"Nice to meet you," Charisma said with a friendly smile. "I'm Charisma."

"Oolong," he grinned. "Yeah, same here…"

"Nice to meet you, Charisma!" an adorable little blue cat flew up toward the blond girl.

'I think I remember her, too…'

Charisma brushed off her thoughts and stepped forward. "And who are you?"

"This is our friend, Puar," Yamcha explained, walking toward them.

"Looks like we have a lot of talking to do," Bulma told Charisma with a wink. "Now that we're going to be living together, it's almost like we're sisters, don't you think?"

Charisma smiled and clapped her hands. "I like the sound of that. I never had a sister."

"Well, then I'll be the best sister you can hope for!" Bulma giggled and turned to the guys. "Now that we're all acquainted, let's go outside for some fresh air and make Charisma feel at home."

A few short moments later, they group sat together on a small balcony on the side of the round building. They sipped iced orange juice and joked the entire afternoon without a care in the world. Charisma was beginning to feel at home already. It'd been such a long time since she'd been able to breathe easy. At one point in their banter, Yamcha randomly burst out into song, causing Charisma to laugh and almost spit out her drink.

"You goof!" laughed Bulma, sitting on the railing. "Where did you come up with that?"

"It's from an old cat food commercial," Yamcha explained with a chuckle. "Puar hates it when I do that."

"I ate cat food once," Oolong suddenly said with a strange face. "Worst thing I ever tasted."

Charisma chuckled and shook her head. "Well, I've eaten cat food, too. I was seriously starving and didn't have much of a choice. Surprisingly, it wasn't so bad." The gang eyed her with confused glances, and she blushed, laughing awkwardly.

"Speaking of strange things, I had a weird dream last night that Vegeta came back," Bulma casually changed the subject.

"Vegeta…?" Charisma repeated as she cocked her head to the side.

Bulma looked over to the girl and chuckled. "Oh yeah. I haven't told you about him. You don't know the guy. I'm not sure if you'll want to, either…"

"…Wait a second!" Yamcha suddenly shouted, abruptly standing up. Bulma and Charisma turned toward him. "You dreamt about Vegeta?!"

"You know," she said softly, as if reminiscing. "He was actually pretty nice to me in the dream. And a good kisser, too…"

"WHAT?! You kissed him?!" Yamcha's face became horribly red, and his eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of his head.

"It was just a dream, Yamcha…" she replied as-a-matter-of-factly.

Charisma took a sip from her cup of juice and looked up with a sigh. 'I'm going to meet more people soon. These must be the friends Bulma lost in my time…' Thinking of it, Charisma's face fell. 'So…how much time do we have now until the Androids take over this world, too?'

No one seemed to notice Charisma's sudden gloom. Instead, she was snapped from her thoughts by Oolong's loud and obnoxious snicker.

"You poor sap…you're jealous, aren't you? Admit it!" he teased Yamcha.

Yamcha sighed and sat on his seat, regaining his composure. "Yeah right. What do I have to be jealous of?"

Bulma's mother walked into the scene, carrying a tray of tea. "Speaking of Vegeta…" she said with her perky voice. "…Your dad said he should be running out of fuel soon!" She giggled to herself like it wasn't anything important.

Bulma gasped suddenly and jumped off from the railing. "Vegeta's running out of fuel…?" she repeated sadly. She turned around and looked up to the sky, as if searching for him, as if praying. Charisma was about to speak but decided to remain silent. After all, Bulma didn't seem so happy anymore.

Charisma stared out into the sky as she contemplated her situation.'I wonder if I should say something now about where I came from…? Would any of them even believe me? No way. It's too soon. I can't get ahead of myself. But…what about the Androids? When are they going to show up…?' Charisma's eyes studied the passing clouds, widening when she came to a conclusion. 'If I were to tell them about the Androids…would that affect my future, too? What would happen…? There's no way they'd believe that though…'

Bulma gasped loudly and began pointing up at the sky frantically. "Hey, hey! Look at that! What is that?"

The others obeyed her orders and looked up to see a large object burning through the atmosphere and plowing straight towards them. They all stood up in their seats, totally alarmed.

"It's going to crash!" Charisma said in a panic.

Suddenly, the object crashed down with an earth-shattering rumble, right in front of the house. A thick cloud of smoke blew everywhere, and everyone stood with their eyes and jaws wide open in shock.

"What the hell was that?!" Yamcha demanded, running to the direction of the crash.

Bulma groaned in frustration and ran after him. "Wait for me!"

Not knowing what else to do, Charisma followed along. "Me too!"

When they arrived at the scene of the crash, they found Bulma's mother standing with her tea.

"I didn't know we were having more guests dropping by," she giggled. "Goodness! I definitely need to put another pot of tea!"

The door on the spherical ship opened and out walked a man with tall, spiky black hair. Yamcha's eyes narrowed threateningly as he growled and prepared for a fight.

"Vegeta…" he snarled. "What are you doing here?!"

At that moment, Bulma and Charisma arrived and stopped right behind Yamcha as well. Bulma's mom giggled, totally clueless as ever. "Oh my…maybe you prefer some coffee?"

Vegeta growled and threw them a glance overflowing with disgust and hatred. "I was hoping that Kakarot might have finally returned."

"What? No way!" Yamcha loosened up slightly. "You never found him in space?"

Vegeta leapt right in front of Yamcha menacingly. "Don't remind me," he snarled. "I'm angry enough to hurt someone and pounding you might just be the therapy I need."

"Hey guys! What's that awful smell?" Bulma suddenly interrupted, stepping in between them. "Oh, it's you!" she said, poking Vegeta on his chest plate. "When's the last time you had a bath? You need one, desperately!" She smirked at him and placed a hand on her hip. "Please, this way."

Vegeta stared after her as she walked toward the house. She realized he wasn't behind her and turned her head to look at him. "Well, what? Do you want me to roll out the red carpet?" she snapped. Vegeta growled but momentarily bit his tongue and followed her lead.

"Unreal…" Yamcha muttered in disbelief.

"I hope she knows what she's doing," commented Puar.

"…So that's the guy…" Charisma said slowly, letting the situation sink in as she watched Bulma and Vegeta enter the house. Her eyes traveled back to Yamcha. "He seems nice…I guess…"

Yamcha huffed and shook his head. "You're being sarcastic, huh?"

"…Yes."

"Hey, does anyone take lemon?" Mrs. Briefs poured tea into a cup, still completely clueless.

~~~

After Vegeta had showered (and Bulma embarrassed him by giving him a pink shirt to wear), the group sat at a table in the backyard as Bulma cooked meat on the grill.

"I can't remember the last time I had barbecued meat," Charisma said happily as she munched on a shish kebab. "It's so yummy."

"No kidding! This is great!" Oolong snorted as he attacked the strips of meat on his plate. "I'm pigging out here!"

Charisma stopped mid bite when she felt a tingle that started in her stomach and rose up to the top of her head. '…it must be a power level I'm sensing…It's been so long since I've felt anything like this. I've never felt anything so strong…' Perplexed, she looked up at the sky as if searching for the source of the power.

Vegeta growled and punched the table, effectively startling everyone. "So, he failed after all. Frieza's still alive and he's coming."

"Wait!" said Yamcha. "How do you know? Maybe it can be somebody else. Come on!"

"I know!" Vegeta retorted with a scalding tone. "I make it my business to know! Unlike you."

Yamcha stood up off his seat so quickly that it fell back. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hey Vegeta!" Bulma said, casually interrupting their fight. "Would you like more barbeque sauce on your spareribs?"

Everyone stared after her with bewilderment. She was never one to be shy, but she was being extra bold today.

"Sure, why not…" Vegeta grumbled as he sat back down.

"I'm not sure I understand what's going on…" Charisma stated.

Yamcha looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sure you're going to find this all really bizarre…but there's nothing to worry about."

"I'll explain everything later," Bulma said as she turned to her. "I know I've told you a few things about my friends before but this…It's a long story. You'll see." Bulma turned her attention to Yamcha. "So, what are you going to do?"

"We have no other choice," said Yamcha. "We have to fight…"

Charisma shut her eyes as she felt nervousness and fear begin to wash over her. She tightened her fist as if trying to keep those feelings in check. 'Looks like the time has come to put my training to the test…' Looking backing up at the sky, her eyes narrowed defiantly. 'I'm ready…'

Chapter 5: Mysterious Young Man

“So you’re going to take Frieza on?” Bulma asked the guys. After finishing their barbecued meal, the group stood outside Bulma’s house contemplating their next move.

“We have no other choice,” Yamcha replied ominously.

“Sounds great!” Bulma responded excitedly. “Let’s go, too, Charisma.”

“Absolutely not!” Yamcha scolded her, turning her smile into a frown. “It’s too dangerous. You already know how powerful and ruthless Frieza is. We can’t put you at risk. Bulma, Puar, and Charisma…You’re all staying here.”

Before Bulma could argue with that point, Vegeta and Yamcha both took off like rockets into the sky, leaving a cloud of dust behind. The girls were left coughing and Bulma rumbled angrily in frustration. She ran off a few feet to stare after them and shake an angry fist in the air.

“Who do they think they are?” she demanded with her hands on her hips.

“Is Frieza really as terrible as they say?” asked Charisma. She remembered hearing the Bulma of her timeline mention Frieza, and her adventures on Planet Namek. Aside from those brief mentions, however, Bulma never went into a lot of detail. ‘I don’t think anyone could be as bad as the Androids…’ she thought.

“Yeah,” responded Bulma. “But…I’m sure we’ll be alright. These guys don’t look like much, but I promise you they can take on anyone or anything. But…do you really want to go and see it for yourself?”
Charisma’s shoulders lifted slightly, and she nodded. “It might sound strange, but there’s something about this whole thing that sounds interesting…”

“Then let’s go!!”

Puar gasped and hovered over to Bulma. “But you heard Yamcha! We might get in trouble.”

“We’re not children and he can’t tell us what to do!” Bulma shouted into the feline’s face, causing her to move away in alarm and toward Charisma. “What is he going to do about it, anyway? I’ll go get my plane ready and we might just be able to catch up to them. What do you say?”

Charisma felt a little uneasy but brushed those feelings aside with a smile. “Let’s go for it!”

~~~

The ladies jumped onto the plane and darted off towards the direction in which the guys had gone. It didn’t take too long before they came across their figures down below as they stood amongst a rugged area of land. The men stared up into the sky, looking around with their eyes. The sound of a rumbling engine and spinning propellers caught their attention right away.

“Hello down there!!” Bulma shouted as she waved to them cheerfully.

“It’s Bulma!” Yamcha proclaimed, in slight shock.

“Vegeta! Yamcha! I’m coming in!!” she exclaimed. The plane touched the ground in a small cloud of dirt. Bulma hopped out, followed by Charisma, and Puar giggled happily and flew over to her owner.
“Yamcha!” she joyfully called, just about to reach him.

“What are the three of you doing here?!” he demanded irritably, scaring Puar and causing her to stop before she reached him.

“We came to see Frieza,” Charisma declared with her hands on her hips. “I’m curious to see what he looks like. According to Bulma, he’s a hunk!”

“Are you crazy?!” asked Yamcha, very aggravated. “Do you know what he’ll do if he finds you here?”

Charisma lowered her head slightly, but Bulma just shrugged and spoke casually. “Yes. Of course I do. He’ll come down and blow up the planet. But we just want to see him before he does it. What’s so wrong with that?”

Charisma nodded and smiled in agreement.

“You’re impossible…” Yamcha grumbled, slapping his forehead.

Without another word, Yamcha and Vegeta turned around to see a tall bald man and, what appeared to be a little boy, landed there.

“Tien! Chaotzu!” Yamcha bellowed welcomingly.

‘Their names sound familiar…’ Charisma thought.

“Vegeta,” Tien said coarsely, taking off his scarves. “I didn’t realize you were going to be here too…”

Vegeta smirked arrogantly. “That’s not a problem, now is it?”

“As a matter of fact, it is. You disgust me.” Tien finished removing his coat and t-shirt until he was only in his green pants and a white tank top. “How can you stomach him, Yamcha?”

Vegeta chuckled sadistically. “Wimp…”

“What?!”

“Hey!” Yamcha suddenly blurted, trying to ease the tension in the air. “Cool it guys! This is no time to fight, ok?” Vegeta turned around egotistically with a chuckle.

“…It’s Frieza isn’t it?” Tien asked. “How long till he lands?”

Yamcha sighed and answered, “Could be any time now…”

“Be quiet!” Vegeta blared. “All this scary talk is upsetting the Namek…” He taunted and looked to his right.

“The Namek?” everyone repeated, looking over in the direction Vegeta was staring at.

“Piccolo!” Yamcha called him. “How long have you been standing there?”

‘Piccolo…’ Charisma thought. ‘Gohan’s master!’

Charisma remembered Piccolo’s name well. Gohan didn’t speak of Piccolo very often, but the times that he did stood out in Charisma’s mind. Charisma could never forget the wistful look in Gohan’s eyes as he spoke of his master, and if there was one thing Charisma could tell, it was the amount of love and respect Gohan held for him.

“Piccolo was tough, and he was really scary at first,” Gohan had said. “But he taught me how to be strong…not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Eventually, he became one of my closest friends. I miss him a lot…”

‘Gohan spoke so highly of him…I can’t believe I got to meet him!’ she thought happily.

“Long enough to hear all of your senseless bickering,” Piccolo replied. He turned his head to look back. Sure enough, a short, bad man was heading over with a young child.

The two promptly landed and the bald man greeted the group. “Hey there.”

Bulma cheered, jumping up slightly. “Wow! Krillin, Gohan, you made it!!”

‘Gohan…?’ Charisma’s eyes widened as she studied the small dark-haired boy intently. ‘…that little boy is Gohan? I can’t believe it!’ The more she looked at him, the harder she found it difficult to suppress her smile. She managed to fight off the urge to grin happily. Charisma felt her heart fill with warmth. ‘I’m so glad I get to see you again!’

Suddenly, Piccolo tensed up and looked back at the others. “He’s here!”

All eyes were immediately glued to the skies above. A disk-shaped ship emerged from within a dark storm cloud, and the feeling of panic and fear fell upon everyone instantly. The tingle in Charisma’s stomach suddenly jumped uncomfortably, and a cold sweat ran through her body. She had no real comprehension of this threat, no understanding of what she would be dealing with or seeing, but just based on everyone else’s expressions, she knew it would be bad.

‘He can’t be worse than the Androids…’ she reasoned with herself, almost as if trying to futility comfort her nerves. ‘There’s no way…’

The group watched with a mix of horror and awe as the spaceship flew overhead and enveloped them momentarily in a dark shadow.

‘Incredible…’ she thought. ‘I’ve never felt anything like this before…so much power, it’s a bit terrifying…’

“He’s landed!” announced Krillin.

“Now, there’s no room for mistakes!” bellowed Vegeta, his cruel voice ripping through the stillness. “We’ve all got to keep our power levels suppressed or else Frieza will pick us up on his scouters.”
“This is crazy!” Yamcha suddenly blurted. “I’ve never felt anything close to the power I’m sensing right now!”

Understanding that they really had no other choice, the gang was ready to head off to take Frieza on. At least, that was what Charisma could make of the argument that ensued between the men. Truthfully, she wasn’t necessarily sure about what was going on or just what kind of situation she’d gotten herself into.

‘I think I’m too curious for my own good,’ she thought as she carefully snuck about the barren land behind the others towards the threat. ‘I’ve trained almost all my life, whether that counts for anything or not…but what can I hope to accomplish against an enemy that is this strong?’

Luckily, Charisma was able to keep up with everyone, more or less. Bulma, of course, needed a little help climbing over rocks and a small cliffside, and was assisted by Yamcha.

‘I don’t know what’s going to happen,’ she thought. ‘I don’t know if my training was enough for this kind of situation...but if I have to fight, I’ll do my best…’

~~~

A short while after beginning their stealthy trek through the land, another surprise awaited the group. Having breathed a sigh of relief once her feet were on safe and non-crumbling ground, Charisma felt the pit of her stomach tingle even more than it had before.

‘I feel something again…’ Charisma thought as she looked up at the sky. ‘It’s almost making me dizzy…’ She glanced around and saw the looks on each and everyone’s faces. ‘They must feel it, too…’
“Guys,” Bulma said slowly. “What’s going on?”

“I’m sensing another huge power level,” Krillin said nervously.

“…And this one makes Frieza’s seem like nothing!” Tien added.

The ground beneath them rumbled and trembled violently and unexpectedly, sending Bulma and Charisma to the ground on their bottoms. The men managed to stay on their feet but remained still in shock and nearly speechless.

“Looks like the fight is starting without us,” commented Yamcha.

“It might be my dad…” said Gohan.

“You think?” asked Krillin.

“Who else would try to take on Frieza alone?”

Without warning, Vegeta growled and took off running toward the direction of the blast.

“What’s wrong with him now?” demanded Yamcha. He watched as the other guys began following along, except for Bulma, Charisma and Puar that is. Shrugging in defeat, Yamcha ran off behind them as well.

“Wait! What about us?!” Charisma yelled at them as she jumped to her feet. She sighed and her face fell with a frown. “I need to know what’s happening!”

“How can they just leave us behind like that?” Bulma asked rhetorically.

“Does this mean we can go now?” Puar posed hopefully.

“We can’t,” announced Charisma with her hands on her hips. “I feel that power that they feel! Something tells me I have to find out who that is. We can’t just turn back now.”

“Exactly!” Bulma agreed. “I really like your attitude, you know? You’re not one to take this sitting down…”

Charisma looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about the guys,” Bulma explained. “They don’t think we can keep up just because we’re girls. They think they can ditch us because we’re girls! Well, we’ll show them what these girls can do! Those boys better watch out, because here we come!!” She laughed maniacally, and began running like mad, grabbing on to Charisma’s arm with one hand and latching on to Puar’s tail with the other. “Come on! We’ll teach those guys not to run off and leave us!”

~~~

Somehow, the girls were able to catch up to the others relatively soon. They found the guys all perched carefully on the stony ledges, watching as much of the battle unfold as possible. Charisma tried her best to carefully peek over the ledge at the battlefield. She could sense the surge of different and powerful energies and it was almost overwhelming. She struggled to actually see what was happening, though.

“What’s going on?” asked Bulma, grabbing on to Yamcha. “I can’t see!” There was dust all around the land a few miles across. “What happened over there, Yamcha?”

Before anyone could say anything, a red orb of energy suddenly appeared and lit up the area brightly. It slowly began to descend upon the distant land. Krillin gasped and turned around. “Everyone get down!!”

Without thinking twice, everyone threw themselves onto the ground, shielding their eyes and heads. The sound of a loud explosion startled Charisma more than she expected. She was beginning to get flashbacks of her life above the surface of the bunker. It had been months since she’d heard the sound of an explosion. Even buried deep underground in their bunkers, the sounds of explosions and the feeling of the earth trembling from the Androids nearby were very common amongst the residents. There was always an overwhelming sense of fear that somehow the Androids would discover their safe house and that it’d all be over.

‘No one can possibly be worse than the Androids, can they?’ she thought as she shut her eyes tightly.

“Hey!” Bulma’s whispering voice said. Charisma carefully lifted her head and looked at her. “It’s all right now…”

Charisma looked up and noticed that everyone else had stood up already. Feeling a little embarrassed, Charisma rose to her feet as well, slightly shaken. She felt that power closer than ever and looked up at the sky as if searching for it.

Charisma couldn’t see clearly but she saw what appeared to be two blurry figures up in the sky. ‘Is that him?’

“It’s another guy!” Gohan said. “…what just happened?”

“He…beat Frieza!” Vegeta stuttered in shock. “…Effortlessly…but…who is he?!”

“Who knows…?” replied Krillin. “Let’s just hope he’s on our side…”

“Maybe it’s Goku,” said Bulma. “He has a knack for showing up at just the right time.”

“No, it’s not Goku,” Yamcha clarified with his eyes fixed on the two figures up in the sky. “No way…but he’s definitely a Super Saiyan.”

Once again, Vegeta bolted away, taking flight this time. Piccolo followed, and soon everyone followed as well. Yamcha was about to take flight, as well, but Bulma latched on to him.

“Hold it, buddy boy!” she announced, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’m not being left behind again!”

“Sorry, but I’m going to need a lift, too,” Charisma said ecstatically, jumping onto his back. “I hope I’m not too heavy!”

Yamcha sighed and prayed that he wouldn’t fall over, mustering up all his strength. Thankfully, though, Charisma mustn’t have weighed much above 100 pounds. Bulma giggled and wiggled around as Yamcha carefully took flight.

“Look at the view!! This is so cool!!” she exclaimed, excited like a child.

“Stop moving!” Yamcha scolded her.

They flew above just in time to see the young stranger blast Frieza’s father away, impaling him directly through the chest. The huge and menacing looking monster was shot at once more and reduced to nothing but a cloud of smoke. The blond-haired boy turned towards the ship in which Frieza had come and demolished it easily with a powerful ki blast.

“Wow…” Krillin said, impressed and at the same time afraid. “Just like that…they’re gone…Let’s just hope he doesn’t decide to come after us…”

The stranger powered down until his blond hair faded to pale purple. He sighed, as if relieved at having completed his task, and stared down at the empty land where the ship once stood. Having noticed their presence, he turned around and looked at the crowd of people floating behind him.

Charisma carefully struggled to look over Yamcha’s shoulder. She caught sight of lavender hair and blue eyes. “…Wait a second…” she whispered to herself when she got a good look at him. “…He looks…familiar…”

“I’m heading off to a place near here to meet Goku,” he announced to them. “He’ll be here in three hours.” Aside from being surprised out of their minds, now they were confused, too.

“What?” asked Gohan in shock.

“Follow me if you’d like,” the stranger called to them. “It’s this way.” He turned around and took flight.

Charisma eyes followed him as he flew off into the distance.. ‘I wonder who he is…’

~~~

Sure enough, they followed the mysterious young man a few miles from where they had first seen him. Once they landed in an open area, an intense feeling of fear, uncertainty, and distrust filled the air.
Charisma remained partially hidden behind Yamcha for safety. She peeked around him to curiously observe the young man as he reached into his denim jacket’s pocket. He grabbed what appeared to be a capsule and tossed it to the ground. When it burst and the smoke dispersed, a small machine appeared on the ground.

Yamcha stood alarmed and braced himself. “Look out you guys! He’s up to something!”

It appeared to be a fridge, actually, and the boy opened it and pulled out a can, turning to the others.

“How about a cold drink?” he offered graciously. “Goku’s not due to arrive for two more hours.”

The gang stared at him with bewilderment. It was as if no one knew if this boy was serious or not. It seemed so bizarre and even too good to be true that this super powerful stranger appeared to be so friendly after the absolute slaughter of Frieza and his henchmen.

“Well, I don’t see why not,” Bulma announced with a smile as she began approaching. “Let’s go get a drink!”

“Yeah!” agreed Gohan, running over there.

“Wait!” called Krillin. “Gohan! Bulma!”

“Chill out, Krillin,” Bulma said. “They’re just sodas.”

Once they made it over to the fridge, Bulma and Gohan peeked inside.

“Wow,” Gohan said happily. “What a great selection!”

“I think I’m starting to like this guy,” Bulma said. Sure enough, the powers of peer pressure and thirst proved too much for Krillin, and he soon approached and joined in on enjoying the drinks.

Bulma looked back at Charisma who remained half hidden behind Yamcha. Bulma suppressed a chuckle and waved at her to come over. “Hey! Why are you being so shy all of a sudden? Come here!”

Grumbling slightly, Charisma stumbled over awkwardly as she tried her best to not ogle at the lavender haired boy. “…I’m not shy...”

“Here! Take one!” Bulma grabbed a random can of soda and placed it in Charisma’s small hands. Charisma flinched at the sudden cold metal that touched her fingers. She looked up from the soda can in her hands and carefully studied the strange guy. She couldn’t stop herself from gawking anymore and she almost didn’t realize what she was doing. Her mind fumbled to piece together her memories, but she couldn’t make sense of him as much as she tried.

His icy blue eyes fell upon her as well. The two shared an equally awkward yet curious gaze with each other. It was a moment that seemed to last forever, at least on Charisma’s end. Swallowing at her nervousness, she slowly approached him with a thoughtful look and a finger on her lips.

‘Something tells me…’ she thought. ‘I have to find out who you are…I just have to.’

‘Why is she looking at me like that?’ the stranger thought, breaking the gaze awkwardly to look at the ground. Purple bangs shielded his eyes but failed to shield his pink cheeks.

“…have we met somewhere before?” she finally spoke up, a little nervous and hoping she wouldn’t come off as weird.

“…I don’t think so,” he replied, still blushing and avoiding her gaze.

Charisma looked up at him with big blue eyes, glossy with the curiosity of a child. ‘Oh, why is he blushing…?’ she wondered. ‘It’s…kind of cute…’

Charisma mentally slapped herself for thinking such a thing. “I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable. You just remind me of someone...I don’t know who exactly either, to be honest, but that’s why I’ve been staring you down. I’m sorry…” Charisma giggled nervously and took a sip of her soda.

The boy shook his head, his cheeks still red. The sound of her laughter made him blush more for some reason. “Don’t worry about it. I think you have me mistaken for somebody else…”

Charisma shrugged thoughtfully. “Probably…” She smiled brightly at him. “In any case, it’s nice to meet you! I don’t think you’re scary at all unlike these guys.” She gestured at the quivering group behind her.

He smiled shyly at her but before he could say anything, Gohan called to him. “Hey mister,” he asked. “How do you know my dad?”

“Actually, I don’t know him,” the stranger explained. “I’ve only just heard of him.”

“Then how do you know that he’s gonna arrive here in two hours?” asked Krillin.

“Well…” the boy looked down. “I’m sorry…but I can’t say…”

“Why not?” Vegeta asked, still with that attitude of his. “I’ll tell you why. Because you’re up to something. Tell us now, tough guy. Who are you?”

The boy looked at Vegeta with wide eyes, but then turned his head down and stared at the ground. “I wish I could…sorry…”

It became silent for a while again, until Bulma noticed the patch on the boy’s jacket. “Hey,” she said. “You’ve got our logo on your jacket. That’s my dad’s company. Are you one of our employees?”

The boy finally looked up at her. “No, not exactly…just a fan.”

“Oh,” said Bulma. “I see. Well, tell me your name and I’ll recommend you to my dad.”

“I…can’t do that…I’m sorry I know it’s strange…” His gaze fell to the ground again.

“Why all the secrecy?” Tien taunted.

“Yeah,” joined Yamcha. “There’s something funny about this guy. I don’t trust him.”

“Knock it off, you guys!” Bulma rebuked them. “You’re all jealous.” She gestured toward the boy with a smile. “This guy beat Frieza single handedly. So there!”

Bulma turned toward the boy with a friendly wink. He blushed yet again and cast his eyes to the ground shyly.

~~~

Sometime later, everyone either sat on their own rock, on the ground, or just stood around like statues, totally bored out of their minds. The purple-haired boy sat across the way from Vegeta, gazing over at him curiously every now and then.

Charisma sat quietly on a rock beside Bulma. She couldn’t stop ogling at the boy from behind her blonde bangs. ‘What is it about him? I don’t get it…’

“Hey,” Bulma whispered to Krillin. “Check this out…is it me, or do those two kinds of lookalike?”

Charisma’s ears picked up those words and she looked over to see if it was true. “Well, now that you mention it,” Krillin said thoughtfully. “…I do kind of see the resemblance…Well just in looks…” He looked at Vegeta and the boy. “That other guy seems pretty nice…but Vegeta has the personality of a stump.”

“Well, he’s a prince,” explained Bulma.

“So what?”

“Princes have to act bored, like the world isn’t good enough for them.”

“I’ve never seen a real prince up close before!” Charisma blurted out loudly and excitedly, catching everyone’s attention. She quickly covered her mouth and exchanged a glance with Bulma. “Oops…”

Bulma gave her a funny grin. Charisma felt herself sinking into the earth.

~~~

Time went by slowly, and the fact that the sun was beating on them at full force wasn’t helping the situation. Everyone remained silent, bored out of their minds…again…At last, the mysterious boy looked down at his watch and then stood up.

“That’s it. Two hours have passed. Goku should be arriving any second now," he said.

“Really?” Bulma asked as she stood up.

All eyes once again lifted toward the blue skies as they began to sense a familiar power.

“It's true!” Krillin exclaimed happily. "He's really coming!"

“Man, that guy was right after all!” said Yamcha.

“It’s true!” Gohan said brightly, chuckling happily. “My dad’s back!” The gang continued staring up at the sky, until a light shone from up above, kind of like a star.

The ‘star’ shot out of the sky like a comet and hit the ground a few hundred feet away. Krillin laughed playfully. “Last one there is a rotten egg!”

“Wait for me!” Bulma shouted. They all took off toward that direction and stopped when they came to a huge crater. Now, they stood in silence, staring at the little round vehicle. The door slowly opened, and sure enough, Goku emerged.

“Hi guys,” he greeted, surprised to see them all there. Nonetheless, they cheered happily. He was finally home. “How did you guys know that I was coming?” he asked, floating up out of the hole.

After having explained the situation, the stranger finally spoke up. “Goku, could I have a word with you?”

“With me?”

“Yes. Just the two of us.”

The others just stared at him suspiciously. Goku’s cheerful and happy expression suddenly became serious. “All right then. Let’s talk.” They both began to walk away to get some privacy.

“Wait!” called Yamcha. “What exactly is this guy trying to say?!”

“It’s ok, guys,” he waved to his friends. “I’ll be right back.”

Goku and the stranger took flight and landed a distance away, far enough to be out of earshot…for most of them, that is.

From what could be seen, the boy had challenged Goku to a fight, and they both became Super Saiyan. It was a simple and quick battle, or rather more of a show of skill which left everyone mind blown at seeing two Super Saiyans at once. Soon after, the duo powered down and began talking for several minutes before the boy flew off. Now that Goku was left alone, the gang approached him.

“Daddy!” Gohan called him.

“Hey, Goku!” said Krillin. “So, what did that guy say?”

Goku scratched the back of his head, fumbling for words. “Well…um…Nothing important, really…”

“That’s funny,” said Piccolo. “It all sounded pretty important to me…”

Goku looked over to him and stuttered. “Oh, really? You…heard it all?”

“My ears do more than just frame my face, you know, Goku.”

“Oh come on!” Bulma protested. “What’s so important that you can’t tell us, Goku?”

“Well…I can’t really say…” he said slowly.

“All right,” announced Piccolo. “But if you won’t, then I will…”

Goku turned to him, wide eyed. “B-but you heard!”

“Don’t worry, Goku. I won’t say anything that will endanger your friend.” He turned to face the dark haired Saiyan. “But listen. We deserve a chance to change our destinies. All of us…not just him…”
Moments later, Piccolo finished explaining the situation to the gang. A somber mood fell upon all of them as the news sunk in. More than that, Charisma stood there feeling as if she’d just been struck by lightning twice.

‘I can’t…even wrap my mind around this!’ she thought, her memories of her life replayed over and over like an old, scratched record. ‘…It’s just as I thought…the Androids are going to appear soon, too. I can’t escape it…no matter what…I can’t escape…’ Her fists tightened as she held back tears. ‘Even Gohan is...'

It took all of Charisma’s strength to not drown under the wave of grief that began washing over her. Memories of Gohan, her teacher, her friend, replayed over and over again in her mind. ‘We were supposed to find each other again…but what about Trunks…is he…?’

Charisma felt her knees grow weak. ‘But this boy is from the future, too? Who is he exactly? What in the world is going on? I don’t understand! But…maybe that means there’s hope for me going back home?’

Gohan caught a glimpse of something in the distance above and gasped. “Look! There he is!”

The mysterious boy was sitting in his time machine, floating above in space, and waving to everyone.

‘He’s from the future, just like me…’ Charisma reasoned as she looked up at him. ‘If only I could’ve talked to him! If only I knew…He’s the only one who could have helped me now.’

At last, the boy disappeared into the atmosphere in the blink of an eye. Just like that, he was gone. Charisma’s eyes became gloomy as she lowered her head. A glimmer of hope shone in her eyes for a second, if only a brief moment as she began to truly analyze the gravity of her situation. But just like that, the feeling of hope was gone in an instant.

Maybe going back to her timeline would be more difficult than she had expected. Once again, she felt alone and lost.

Chapter 6: Frozen with Fear

Notes:

Sorry for the very long break in between chapters ^^; but this is a very long chapter ^^; enjoy!

As Charisma lay in her bed that night, she found it difficult to fall asleep. Now that she was away from the others, all alone, the floodgates broke open and she grieved the loss of her friend and mentor, Gohan. She was filled with worry about Trunks, as the mysterious young man had not mentioned him at all. Charisma could only pray that he was still alive and well, somehow.

Charisma also realized how slim and dismal her chance of returning to her own time was. The imminent threat of the androids that would ravage this time as well kept her up with worry. On top of that, the mystery of the future boy’s identity plagued her mind.

‘If he’s from 20 years in the future, then he’s from my time. He used a time machine, just like I did. But…it didn’t look anything like the time machine my dad had built…’ Charisma sat up in bed suddenly. ‘Damn it! If only I’d known, I would’ve told him about my problem and I could’ve gone back home! But then again…would he even believe me?’

Charisma flipped the covers and placed her feet on the soft carpeted floor. Her footsteps were shaky as she struggled in the darkness to walk over to the window. She opened it slightly to feel a cool breeze blowing by her wavy strands of blonde hair around her face. Sighing deeply and sniffling her tears, she rested her head atop her arms on the windowsill and shut her eyes.

‘What should I do now…?’

“Time machine?” she remembered her father saying. She could hear his voice clearly, even after all these years.

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been working on,” Bulma replied. Charisma stood against the wall of the hallway to hear their conversation. “I know it sounds crazy, but I think I’m finally getting closer to figuring out a way to travel back into the past and find a way to disable the Androids.”

Charisma’s eyes snapped open, and she stood up straight with a loud gasp. “That’s it!” she exclaimed, barely remembering to keep her voice down. “That’s right! That’s what Aunt Bulma was always working on…She told my dad about it a few times. I remember now…”

Charisma snapped her fingers in satisfaction. “That’s the only explanation! I don’t think anyone else would be capable of such a thing! But then again…what if someone else was working on a time machine as well? Since time travel is possible, then maybe there are at least a few others who can do it, too? I don’t know…it doesn’t make any sense to me no matter how I try to explain it.”

Charisma’s eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. With a deep sigh, she walked back over to her bed and lay back down. “…whoever that guy is…” Charisma’s eyes traveled to the view of the moon shining brightly in the darkened sky outside the nearby window. “He may be my only way of going back home. I hope he comes back soon…”

~~~

When Charisma woke up the next morning, the smell of pancakes filled her nostrils. Her eyes slowly opened, and the rising sunlight now stung them. It took her a few moments to gather herself and head over to the nearby bathroom to freshen up. After taking a quick shower and dressing, she made her way downstairs towards the main dining room.

“Oh, good morning!” she heard Bulma’s voice say. Charisma caught sight of the blue haired woman sitting at the far end of the table. Yamcha sat beside her as well, in addition to a short, bald man that sat across from him. Charisma recognized him as one of Bulma’s friends that she’d seen the previous day.

“Good morning, everyone,” Charisma said brightly.

She took her seat beside the new guy and watched as Mrs. Brief hastily hurried over with a stack of pancakes. The smell of it alone caused Charisma’s mouth to water. Charisma was used to cold cereal and milk for breakfast and nothing else.

“I can’t wrap my head around it,” Yamcha said as he took a bite of his own stack of pancakes. “A guy from the future? It’s unbelievable. I can’t even believe that anything he says is true.”

“But why would he lie about something like that?” Bulma retorted. “Given the right tools, time travel really isn’t that complicated…”

Charisma listened in on their conversation silently. ‘…so would they believe me if I told them I'm from the future, too?’

“In any case, we’d better not take any chances,” the bald man said and stood up. “If you’re ready, Yamcha, we can go ahead and start sparring right now.”

“Calm down, Krillin,” he replied as he took a sip of milk to wash down his food. “It’s not a good idea to fight after a meal…”

Krillin sighed and took his seat again. “I’ll wait…”

“Hey, you haven’t been formally introduced to Krillin, right, Charisma?” Bulma said, turning towards the girl.

Charisma shook her head. “No…I haven’t been formally introduced to anyone, really.”

“Yeah, with everything that’s been going on, I’m sure it will be difficult,” Bulma responded. “Krillin, this is Charisma. She’s a good friend and she’ll be living with me for the time being.”

Krillin looked at her with a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Charisma replied.

“I guess we can start now,” Yamcha said as he slammed his empty milk cup on the table and stood up. “I haven’t sparred in a while myself. I tried not to stuff my face as much as I usually do, so I should be fine.”

~~~

Charisma had remained with Bulma in the living room for a short while after the men had gone outside. Bulma and Mrs. Brief were caught in an intense debate regarding the celebrity they were currently watching on the television.

Charisma watched with amusement as they went at the argument with such fervor as if their lives depended on it. Still, she wondered what kind of training Yamcha and Krillin were doing. She carefully slinked away from the room as Bulma was distracted and made her way towards the back of the house. She could see the light shining from the opened doorway that led to the side yard and could already hear the battle cries and grunts of the guys before she even set foot outside.

When Charisma arrived at the door, she watched silently as Yamcha and Krillin exchanged a flurry of fists and kicks. They were all over the place, from the ground to even a few feet off the ground. Charisma’s eyes could barely even keep up with their speed.

‘Amazing!’ she mused as she watched in awe. ‘I haven’t seen anything like that since I was a child. Trunks and Gohan used to train like this sometimes...when they thought I wasn’t around, of course.’

Catching a sneak peek into Gohan and Trunks’ training made Charisma long to battle like them some day. As a child, Charisma truly believed that wish would come true someday. Now, as a young woman, she understood that this wish was mostly impossible, but she wanted to be the strongest she could be. She wasn’t even sure how Krillin and Yamcha would respond to her proposal, but she didn’t want to be idle, especially in the battle against the Androids.

At last, Yamcha and Krillin landed on solid ground, sweaty and out of breath.

“Not bad,” Krillin said, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “But you’ve gotten a lot slower than I remember…”

“Not my fault Bulma’s mom feeds me all the time,” Yamcha laughed heartily. His eyes caught sight of Charisma standing at the doorway with curious eyes. He blushed slightly and waved at her. “Hey, have you been watching us this whole time?” Krillin turned around to look at her as well.

“You’re both really impressive!” she said with a smile. “I can’t believe you’re both so strong.”

Krillin and Yamcha exchanged a glance, and both coyly scratched the backs of their heads.

“It’s nothing, really,” Krillin chuckled.

Charisma set foot on the grass and approached them. “You’re both only human just like me, too, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, of course,” Krillin replied. “You’ve never seen anything like this before, have you?”

“Can’t say I have!” Charisma lied, certain she’d seen power in Gohan and even in Trunks as a child. ‘Maybe if I butter them up a little, they’ll say yes?’ she thought.

“Do you want to keep watching?” Yamcha asked. “I’m impressed. Bulma usually finds something else to do like file her nails or work on her gadgets whenever I train,” he added with a laugh.

“Yeah, I would love to keep watching. But I also wanted to ask…” Charisma twiddled her fingers nervously. “…would it be all right if I asked you guys to train me, too?”

Krillin and Yamcha both stared at her with disbelief.

“Train? For what?” Krillin asked, unsure.

“You know! I want to hone my own skills in combat,” Charisma explained. “I know…I don’t look like much, but I promise I’m a lot stronger than I look.”

Yamcha sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know…Are you sure? It’s not easy…I’m not sure if we even have to squeeze in between our training for the supposed Androids.”

Charisma’s face fell and she sighed. “Please give me a chance…let’s spar, you and me, Yamcha! Or better yet, I’ll show you what I know.”

Charisma hurried towards the middle of the yard and nodded towards them. Taking a deep breath, she focused her energy and soon began levitating off the ground. She didn’t pay attention to the surprised looks on Krillin and Yamcha’s face. Any little distraction could probably cause her to lose her power and send her plummeting into the ground.

“Wow, you’re the first girl I’ve ever seen do that, that’s for sure,” Yamcha chuckled.

“No kidding,” Krillin added as Charisma slowly brought herself back down.

Charisma blushed but shook her head. “I’m not very good at flying though…I haven’t really had much time to practice…I’m going to need help with that.”

“That shouldn’t be hard at all,” Krillin said. “What else can you do?”

Charisma lifted her arm and a beam of energy appeared in her palm. Krillin and Yamcha stared at her with surprised expressions. Charisma dispelled the beam as she knew this wasn’t a safe place to release it, especially since never learned how to fully control it.

“Not bad, not bad,” Yamcha said. “It seems you need help with that as well.”

Charisma grinned sadly. “Yeah…it’s been so long since I’ve gotten a real chance to practice any of my skills.”

With their interest now piqued, Krillin and Yamcha exchanged a knowing glance with each other.

“Well, if you can prove yourself in this last area, then maybe I’ll consider taking you under my wing,” Yamcha said as he led her back to the center of the yard. “Let’s spar and see what you’ve got.”

~~~

“Without a doubt, you’ve got potential,” Yamcha said to Charisma as they reentered the house with Krillin. The three were drying their sweat with towels and very relieved to feel the air conditioning. “What you lack in raw power you make up for in speed, that’s for sure. I could barely keep up!”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a human girl put up such a fight,” Krillin added. “I don’t know how much free time I’m going to have, but I’ll stop by and help you whenever I can.”

Charisma couldn’t keep the look of excitement off her face. “Thank you! I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am. I haven’t had a match like this in such a long time. It made me really happy! And I’m looking forward to learning more with you.”

“Hey, don’t forget about me!” Yamcha said, tapping her on the shoulder. “I’m here all the time, remember? That means I can help you train during my free time as well. I’ll be your true sensei, no doubt about it.”

Charisma smiled warmly at him.

“Yeah, I like the sound of that!” he said proudly. “Yamcha-sensei…it has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Maybe someday I can even start my own school!”

Krillin cackled to himself and Yamcha turned around immediately. “Hey, what’s so funny? You don’t think I can do it?”

“I’m not saying anything like that,” Krillin said. “But you’re really getting ahead of yourself there. I’m going to be training Charisma, too, so that means I’ll be her sensei as well.”

“Yeah but I’m going to train her more than you will,” Yamcha replied. “So I’m going to be her real sensei…”

Charisma let herself fall behind them as they continued walking through the halls. ‘I think this is an argument I’d better not get involved in!’ Charisma casually walked off down another hallway and slinked away.

“Whatever!” Krillin replied. “Let’s just ask our student for her opinion and see what she thinks.”

“Right,” Yamcha agreed and turned around. “Charisma…?”

By this time, Charisma was long gone and on her way up the steps to her bedroom. When she entered the room, she took a deep breath and looked out the window.

‘Soon…’ she thought. ‘I feel like my luck is going to change soon…I’m going to work hard to find a way out of this mess. I know I can do it!’

For now, Charisma could feel her muscles becoming sore. She hadn’t had quite a workout like that in some time. She contented herself to a warm shower and a fresh batch of clothes and would spend the rest of the day alone in her bedroom, contemplating her fate.

~~~

It had been some time already since that future boy had appeared and warned everyone about the Androids. Still, since that day, Charisma couldn’t get him out of her mind. There was something about him that made her feel a slight sense of déjà vu. The thought of the Androids also haunted, and she became a little more silent and reserved than usual.

This afternoon, she was deep in her thoughts, sitting on the couch across from Bulma. Sensing the girl’s distress, Bulma looked up from the magazine she was reading. “Is there something wrong, Charisma?”

Charisma gazed over at her and blinked a couple times, shaking her head. “…Not really…it’s just that…well…I guess I’m kind of worried about those Androids that boy told us about…”

Bulma sighed and placed the magazine on her lap. “There’s nothing to worry about, Charisma. With Goku and the others on our side, there’s no way we’re gonna lose against them.”

“Yeah, but you heard what Piccolo said. According to that boy, everyone is going to die…” Charisma’s voice trailed off. ‘History can't be rewritten…can it?’

“But that’s because they weren’t ready,” reasoned Bulma. “Now that they know, they’ll work hard, and things will be different this time. Really…you’re worrying about nothing.”

Charisma remained quiet as she stared at her hands. “I guess…but are the guys really that strong?”

“Yes. Trust me, they are.”

Charisma remained unsure but she nodded her head with a smile. ‘I hope you’re right…’

Bulma smiled and went back to flipping through the pages of her magazine. After a moment, her smile subsided, and she heaved in frustration. “You know…I’m so bored! Everyone’s so busy preparing for those Androids and I’m sitting here doing nothing.”

“Well, what else can we do?” asked Charisma. “I’ve been trying to work on my fighting skills as well but I’m kind of lost when I don’t have someone to spar with…”

Bulma sighed and placed her chin on the palm of her hand, resting her elbow on the armrest of the chair. “…I just wish there was something I could do…”

“Oh girls!!” Bulma’s mother chirped. She walked into the room with a tray filled with tons of delicious looking cakes. “I stopped by the bakery today and look at what I bought for us! Nice huh? Don’t they look just scrumptious?” She giggled jovially as she placed the tray on the table.

Charisma mouth watered instantly as she scanned the many different sweets. “Yes, they do!”

“Dig in, Charisma!” she giggled. Charisma complied and began eating a small slice of strawberry shortcake. Mrs. Briefs turned to her daughter. “Now, which one do you want, dear?”

“They’re all yours, Mom,” Bulma said. “I’m not very hungry.”

“What? But Bulma, what’s wrong with you? Are you feeling lonely because all the boys are spending all their time training and not spending enough time with you? That’s it, isn’t it, dear?”
Charisma snickered with a mouthful of cake and Bulma began to blush furiously.

“OH PLEASE!!” she retorted. “I’m just not very hungry!!”

Just then, Mr. Briefs walked into the room with a yawn. “You know, I’m starting to think that Vegeta is a few cards short from a full deck,” he said. “It wasn’t enough to have the simulator create three hundred times gravity for him. Now he’s demanding for me to make some more equipment for him to train with. And all he’s going to do is break it.”

“Somehow,” Bulma said thoughtfully. “That doesn’t surprise me at all.”

A sudden explosion interrupted the conversation and shook the house.

“What in the world was that?!” Charisma asked, fearful that the Androids had come much sooner than expected.

“Vegeta!” Bulma sneered. She immediately jumped out her seat and bolted out of the house towards the yard. Confused but curious, Charisma followed without a second thought.

By the time the girls ran out to the yard, Yamcha was standing out there observing shattered pieces of debris in awe.

“Vegeta!” Bulma cried out, running up towards the mess. She stopped at the rubble in shock and kneeled down beside it.

“I knew this would happen…” said Yamcha. “He’s been trying to do the impossible.”

“Where is he?” Bulma asked. “…Vegeta?” She began digging through the debris, desperately trying to find him. A bruised hand suddenly emerged from the wreckage, startling Bulma, and sending her flying backwards into Yamcha’s arms. Soon enough, Vegeta came out, bloody and bruised. “You’re…okay?”

“Of course, I am,” Vegeta grumbled, moaning as he stood on his feet.

Bulma sighed with relief, but soon erupted with anger. “How dare you, you ass! You almost wrecked my house! What are you trying to prove?”

Vegeta wobbled wearily and fell back onto the ground silently. Bulma gasped, her anger gone now, and she rushed over to his side. As much as she wanted to help him, Vegeta refused to admit that he was really hurt. His injuries were quite obvious when he attempted to stand up again only to wobble weakly and topple over again.

Charisma watched silently, taking note of the look of concern in Bulma’s eyes as she held Vegeta in her arms.

~~~

Charisma held out hope that the future boy would return to this time again. As seasons passed by, and months turned into years, her hope began slipping from her until only a sliver remained. She had no other choice but to make the best of her time in this new world.

Charisma felt fortunate to at least have friends that cared for her here. Bulma and her friends welcomed Charisma with open arms and came to understand Charisma as simply a young girl who was down on her luck and suffering from amnesia. The secret of her real past had to remain hidden, Charisma figured. ‘They wouldn’t understand,’ she reasoned.

Charisma had no other choice but to remain as she was, and continued training under Yamcha and Krillin’s guidance. Eventually, Yamcha’s training sessions became less and less until they stopped altogether.

Thankfully, Krillin’s training continued regularly, and Charisma came to accept him as her true sensei. Krillin had really stepped up and took her under his wing, and she was beyond grateful. Above all, she couldn’t help being impressed and inspired by how strong he was, despite being just a human like her.

Charisma didn’t have much time to think of or to do much else as the very real threat of the Androids wreaking havoc on this time approached. Instead, she focused on becoming the strongest she could possibly be. Unfortunately, she didn’t see any other way than to quit her beloved job at the Sweet Morning Cafe and dive headfirst into her training. In due time, the training certainly paid off as Charisma became stronger and more refined day by day.

In what seemed like no time at all, three years passed by and the day that the mysterious boy spoke of finally arrived. Yamcha, Tien, Charisma, and Bulma made their way over to the island where the Androids were supposed to first appear. The group stood on a cliff overlooking a small city on the island, waiting and observing the surroundings cautiously.

Bulma now had her hair down and cut short, a few centimeters off her shoulders. It was also hard to miss the little baby she now had in her arms. Charisma changed quite a bit in those years. Her slim and somewhat malnourished frame became stronger with lean muscles, toned figure, her baby fat all but gone. The years of training paid off greatly in many ways.

Within that time, Bulma and Charisma’s bond had been strengthened to the point where they were almost like sisters. Although the situation of Saiyans and other aliens didn’t faze Charisma very much to begin with, she grew more accustomed to all the strange occurrences that would happen to her friends. She smiled to think she was becoming one of them now.

Charisma felt an almost overwhelming sense of panic today, however. Ever since the gang had been visited by the stranger from the future, Charisma had been dreading this day. She was glad to know that perhaps now the story would be different, yet she was afraid that their strength would not be enough.

The very destruction that ruined her life was about to start again in front of her very eyes.

~~~

“That’s why I’ve never let you play outside, Charisma,” her mother told a ten-year-old Charisma. They sat within the safe confines of their underground home.

“I just don’t understand it all…” remarked Charisma. Her eyes glazed with sadness as she stared at the ground. “When I look at our old pictures, I wonder what life was like back then…before those Androids came. Why did this have to happen?”

“I know that we’re living in terrible times, but don’t be sad, Charisma,” her mother said softly, wrapping her arms around her only daughter. “I know that one day the world will be just like that again. It might take a long time, but nothing lasts forever. You just need to have faith and keep your head up, but you also have to be careful. No matter what happens, don’t give up. Don’t lose hope…don’t let them win. Don’t ever let that happen.”

Charisma looked up at her mother. “I won’t, Mom.”

~~~

Charisma nodded silently at the spirit of her mother that lived within her mind. She had grown much stronger in the last three years, in more ways than one. She was no longer afraid of flying and could zip through the skies like a seasoned pro. Her ki blasts were better controlled and stronger. Her skills in physical combat had also improved, as well as her resistance and her strength.
‘Will I…be strong enough to make a difference? Will my training be enough?’

Charisma looked up at the vast sky. She could see figures in the distance flying towards where she stood with the others. ‘This will be my test…’

“It’s them,” said Yamcha, pointing toward the figures in the sky and then waving. “Hey, down here!”

Gohan and Krillin landed in front of them, soon followed by Goku and Piccolo. “You’re late,” Yamcha said. “What took you so long?”

“Oh, so it is you, Bulma,” said Gohan. He and Krillin seemed surprised, based on the fact that she had a kid now.

“Girls,” Goku said, coming up to them. “What in the world are you two doing here?”

“Don’t worry about us,” Bulma replied casually as she patted her baby’s back. “We’re not going to stay long. We’re just going to watch and then go home.”

Krillin stepped forward with a nervous chuckle. “I hope you don’t think I’m nuts for asking but…what’s with the baby?”

Gohan looked toward Yamcha with a smile. “Is he your son, Yamcha? I bet he is.”

A storm cloud of despair cast over Yamcha instantly. He folded his arms and closed his eyes, slightly irritated by the suggestion. “He’s not my kid…if you think that’s a shock, just wait until she tells you who the real father is…”

Goku went over and began playing with the baby. “I’ll bet it's Vegeta, isn’t it, Trunks?”

Krillin and Gohan could barely keep their jaws closed. “Vegeta?!” they exclaimed in disbelief.

“How did you know that, Goku?” asked Bulma in shock. “I was going to surprise you guys.”

“We’re…definitely surprised…” Krillin said.

Goku began to sweat profusely. “Actually I thought I’d just take a guess!” he chuckled nervously. “I mean he kind of looks like Vegeta!”

“You guessed his name, too…” said Bulma.

“Yeah! What are the chances of that, huh?! Maybe I’m psychic!”

“It’s outrageous!” muttered Krillin. “Who would’ve guessed…those two…”

“Well, since we’re on the subject,” grumbled Piccolo as if exasperated with the conversation. “Where is Vegeta, anyway?”

“I don’t have a clue,” announced Bulma. “I really haven’t seen him around lately. I know he was training to come here, but with the baby and all, I guess I must have lost track of him.”

“He’ll show up,” Goku said confidently. “He wouldn’t miss a fight. But it’s getting late now. Those Androids are going to show up in about a half hour. You girls better get out of here before it’s too late.”
“Don’t worry,” Bulma said. “I just want to see what these things look like and then I’ll leave.”

~~~

Several minutes passed by and Charisma watched from her seat on the grass as Krillin and Gohan took turns playing with baby Trunks.

“Someone is coming…” Piccolo said, abruptly hushing the sounds of laughter.

“Do you think it’s them?” Gohan asked.

The group watched a small aircraft come into view and landed on the cliff right in front of them.

“It’s Yajiorbe,” said Krillin. A round bellied man jumped out of the aircraft and walked over to Goku. He didn’t even bother to greet anyone as he did so.

“Hey, Yajirobe,” Goku said brightly. “Are you here to help us fight the Androids?”

“Yeah right,” he deadpanned. “Korin just asked me to bring these senzu beans to you…” He pulled a small sack from behind his back and handed it to Goku before quickly hopping back into the plane.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay and fight?” Goku asked.

“No way,” Yajirobe responded. “You’re all welcome to stay here and die if you want, but I’m leaving before those monsters show up.” With that, he took off back into the sky.

Charisma took a deep breath, her eyes glazing over. She was now starting to realize what this situation all meant.

‘Back then, that boy came back from the future to warn them about the Androids,’ she thought. ‘I wonder if he’ll ever come back…The day he spoke of…the monsters I knew of are here. If only I’d considered that this would happen here…I would’ve been the one to warn everyone…if only I knew…’

Charisma’s fist tightened against the grass. ‘But…what difference can I even hope to make? The future is inevitable, isn’t it?’

Bulma turned her head to look at Charisma and noticed the angst on her face. “…Charisma…?”

Before another word could be spoken, a large explosion startled everyone, jolting Charisma out of her thoughts. She gasped and looked at Bulma. “What the hell was that?” She got onto her feet and ran to the ledge of the cliff.

The sudden blast in the sky stunned everyone and they looked up to see a cloud of fiery smoke among the clouds.

“It’s Yajirobe!” exclaimed Krillin.

From the distance, Yajirobe’s plane fell out of the sky like a comet and crashed into the bay behind the city.

Piccolo growled and suddenly became alert. “I can see the Androids up in the sky!”

Two figures in the distance appeared floating within the smoke in the sky. Instantly, they disappeared into the city below. Charisma struggled to distinguish them but didn’t catch them in time. She slowly fell to her knees trembling and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves.

“Where’d they go?” asked Yamcha.

“I’m not sure,” Goku answered. “I can’t even sense their power levels.”

“...we won’t be able to,” Charisma said as she regained her composure and stood on her feet again. She drew the attention of the fighters. “They’re Androids. Their source of power isn’t the same as that of living beings like us. There's no way to track them like that…”

Yamcha turned to Goku with wide eyes of fear. “That’s crazy! How are we supposed to find them if we can’t even sense them?!”

“Well, if we can’t sense their power levels, then we’ll just have to find them the old fashion way,” suggested Piccolo.

“Right!” agreed Goku. “Let’s spread out, you guys.” He turned around and tossed a bag of senzu beans to Bulma. “Take care of these!” He turned back to look at the city. “Remember, if you find the Androids, don’t try, and take them on by yourselves. Let’s get going quickly. Gohan, go check on Yajirobe.”

“Right,” Gohan said.

Without another word, the guys all took off towards the city, while Gohan headed toward the plane crash.

Charisma looked over her shoulder at Bulma. “I’m going down there to help…”

“Are you sure?” Bulma asked, a little stunned.

Charisma nodded. “I just can’t stand idly by…I have my own personal reasons for doing this.”

“I believe in you, Charisma. Take care of yourself and come back soon.”

With that, Charisma took flight into the sky and made her descent into the city.

~~~

Charisma landed in an empty alleyway between two tall buildings and stepped out into the main street. All kinds of regular people walked around her, completely oblivious to the danger that lurked among them.

‘It’s best if I try to blend in…’ she thought.

Charisma began walking down the street in the bustling crowd. The smiling faces of the couples and other people that passed by seemed to blur in her mind. She began to feel her nerves get the best of her.
‘When I see them...what will I do?’ she wondered. ‘Am I strong enough to fight them? The thought of seeing them after so many years is terrifying…”

~~~

Charisma walked down the street in a trance as her memories played before her. She remembered being just a young girl, barely 12 years old. Her hair hung in a messy ponytail and her clothes were in tatters. She remembered their eyes more than anything, their cold, lifeless eyes.

After living in the bunker for several years, Charisma's loneliness and cabin fever were unbearable. One day, someone in the bunker had stepped out to get supplies and left the door slightly open. Under normal circumstances, no one would be able to open the door without setting off an alarm that alerted the other residents. Seeing this rare opportunity to finally get some fresh air, Charisma snuck out of the bunker and ventured into the world.

She didn’t plan on going far or being gone for long, but the taste of freedom was intoxicating. Next thing she knew, her feet, as if moving on their own, lead her to a small city not very far from the bunker.

It would prove to be a near fatal mistake. No sooner than the moment Charisma first set foot in the town, she was nearly knocked over by an explosion that toppled buildings over and filled the area with an intense heat as hot as the sun.

Charisma caught sight of the two Androids firing ki blasts carelessly into the town, destroying everything in their paths. Before she could even realize what was happening, she suddenly found herself mere feet away from them.

“Look 18,” the black-haired Android told the other. “We’ve got a new friend to play with…”

Charisma stared up at them, unable to move and unable to run. Fear petrified her and she struggled to even step back slowly.

“What’s wrong?” 18 sneered, landing slowly on the ground. She began to approach the girl intimidatingly, looking as amused as she was curious.

Charisma stepped back until she ended with a wall behind her. The wall was all that remained of a building that once stood tall, but now was nothing more than a thick slice of cement. Charisma began to hyperventilate as the Android drew nearer. The Android chuckled and grabbed the girl by her neck, lifting her high off the ground.

“What, you don’t want to play?” she teased. “Fine, we’ll just get this over with quickly...”

Charisma shut her eyes tightly, tears flowing out of them endlessly. Suddenly, all she heard was a loud bang and Charisma dropped to the floor harshly. Charisma coughed as she struggled to regain her breath. She looked up to see what just happened. In front of her there stood a young boy.

“Hurry, take her to safety!”

She turned her head to see a dark-haired man, heading toward the Androids. He had knocked 18 with a sudden kick, surprisingly sending her flying several feet across the air and into another load of rubble.

“But wait for me!” the boy protested, standing up. He wasn’t able to reach his friend in time, for he had already taken off. He sighed and looked at the girl who was still coughing.

“Are you all right?” he asked her. She looked up at him and smiled.

“Yes, thanks to you…”

“Please, hurry home as fast as you can.” He turned his back to look at the direction his friend had gone.

She stood on her feet and stared at him momentarily. Her eyes caught sight of the Capsule Corp logo written across the back of his t-shirt. Her eyes widened as she tried to study his features, but he didn’t turn to look at her again.

Charisma reached out to him in an attempt to grab his hand but he slipped past her and flew off into the distance. She could only stare up at him as he disappeared into the sky.

~~~

Charisma was brought back to reality with the sound of an explosion that rocked the city. The people of this city, who just a mere second ago were going about their business as usual, were now screaming and scurrying all around her.

“What the hell?!” Charisma demanded. She turned around and felt her stomach drop when she saw a large, dark pillar of smoke rising above the skyscrapers from several blocks away. “That’s got to be them!!”

Charisma immediately took to the skies to investigate. The smoke stung her eyes a bit as she got closer to it. Hovering over the city below, she looked down to see the source of the smoke. Fire raged on the ground behind two weird looking people: an old man and another very round, pale man.

“Who are they?” she asked. She studied the strange men and the destruction around them. Burning cars and debris surrounded them but they didn’t even seem to even care. At last, Charisma’s eyes zeroed in a familiar orange gi, and she realized the old man was holding someone high above the ground by their face. “...Yamcha?”

Before she could process what was going on, the old man lifted his hand and suddenly impaled Yamcha right through the middle of his chest, sending drops of fresh blood trickling to the floor. Charisma stifled a horrified scream with both hands over her mouth. The old man pulled his hand back from Yamcha’s body, as Yamcha’s arms fell limply to his side.

“LET HIM GO!!” Charisma’s angry, trembling voice loudly echoed throughout the city, catching the attention of the others who were just now starting to feel Yamcha’s energy fading away.

Unfortunately, her scream also caught the attention of the monsters on the ground. Immediately, both looked up to see the young woman floating above them. Charisma locked eyes with the pale white man, and she was left petrified.

‘...it’s the same eyes…’ she trembled in disbelief. ‘...I don’t understand…’

“I do not have any data on this human, Android 20,” the man’s robotic voice announced.

‘Android?!’ Charisma eyes bulged from her head in disbelief. ‘These are the Androids?? What-?’

“No matter, Android 19,” Android 20 said, tossing Yamcha’s limp body to the ground. “We can take care of her easily…”

Android 20 lifted his arm towards Charisma, forming a ki blast in his palm.

Charisma’s body trembled. ‘Why can’t I move?!’

Much to her surprise and relief, Android 20 inexplicably stopped his blast. His eyes blinked red momentarily, as did Android 19’s. “Someone is approaching…” Android 19 announced. Sure enough, Tien landed several feet away from the Androids.

His face filled with horror when he noticed the severely injured Yamcha laying on the ground in front of the Androids. A few seconds later, Goku, Krillin, and Piccolo landed around Tien.
“Oh no, Yamcha!!” Goku grumbled angrily with disgust.

Charisma felt woozy, realizing that she had barely even taken a breath. Cautiously, she made her way over to the others and landed beside them as well. She breathed a small sigh of relief at feeling at least a bit safer with the group of men.

“Listen, Krillin,” Goku said sternly. “There’s still time to save Yamcha, but you have to hurry! Take him back to Bulma! NOW!!”

Krillin was also petrified with fear but nodded. He carefully made his way over to Yamcha, keeping a close eye on the Androids.

“I’m counting on you,” Goku said.

“Right,” Krillin responded, picking up Yamcha’s body.

“You should go now, too, Charisma,” Goku commanded sternly. “It’s too dangerous here.”

Charisma startled at the sound of his voice. She’d never heard Goku’s usual happy and chipper voice seething with anger like this. She knew it wasn’t a matter that was up for debate. She wouldn't let herself get in the way, and she knew she wasn’t strong enough to fight. Swallowing the massive amount of disappointment in herself, Charisma nodded.

“....R-Right...please be careful…”

With that, she joined Krillin and they took off back towards Bulma. The figures became smaller and smaller behind her until they were out of sight. With a heart full of regret and sadness, Charisma left her friends and the Androids behind.

Chapter 7: Charisma's Plan

“Oh my gosh…” Bulma said in disbelief. “Did the Androids really do all that?”

“They sure did,” confirmed Yamcha. “It looks like they blew up half the city. I just don’t know how we’re going to stop them, you guys.”

Krillin and Charisma had returned to Bulma with Yamcha in tow, who was just barely clinging to life. Fortunately, they arrived in the nick of time and Yamcha was able to fully recover with a senzu bean. Gohan was there, too, and he had brought along Yajirobe, who miraculously survived the explosion and crash of his plane without a single scratch.

Charisma looked on with sad eyes as Yamcha explained what he could remember of his ordeal. The guilt she felt was almost overwhelming as she replayed the incident over and over in her mind.
“Hey, Yamcha…” Charisma said so softly he barely even heard her.

He turned to look at her curiously. “Is something wrong?”

“...I’m sorry I almost didn’t get there in time,” she said, using all her strength to not cry. “I completely froze up. I didn’t know what to do so I didn’t do anything…maybe I could’ve stopped it somehow…”

Yamcha observed her expression intently. Despite her best efforts to mask her sadness, Yamcha could easily tell she was on the verge of tears. He stood up and approached her with an awkward chuckle. “Hey! I’m all right now. Don’t worry about it.”

“This is just so horrible...” Charisma mumbled, shutting her eyes. She took a seat on the ground behind the others with her back towards the city. Before anyone could say anything else, Krillin noticed five figures that flew up into the sky and away from the island.

“Hey, look!” he exclaimed. Charisma immediately turned around and looked up. “Goku’s leading them away from the city.”

“Oh no! We’ve got to warn him somehow!” cried Yamcha. “He doesn’t know that the Androids can absorb his energy! I don’t know how they did it, but when the Android grabbed me, I could feel all my energy being drained from my body.”

‘Androids that absorb energy?’ Charisma thought to herself. ‘That doesn’t sound like the Androids I know…’

“I know it sounds crazy, but that’s exactly what they did,” he said. “I have to warn everyone!”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” exclaimed Bulma. “Get over there before those nasty Androids grab someone else!”

“There’s no time to lose,” Gohan shouted as he powered up. “We’ve got to warn my dad!”

“I know but...I’m not so sure I wanna go back there, Gohan,” explained Yamcha. “I mean, I almost bit the big one last time. Maybe I should stay here…”

“I understand,” Gohan said. “But I can’t let my dad walk into battle with these monsters without knowing about this. I’m going after them!” Without another word, Gohan suddenly took off.

“Gohan’s right,” Krillin said. He turned back to look at Yamcha. “You stay here then. But I’m gonna help. I’m taking the senzu beans.” He took to the skies and trailed after his friend.

“Those two don’t have the foggiest idea what they're up against,” Yamcha said, grabbing on to the place where the Android had stabbed him. “I won’t let what happened to me happen to anyone else!” He suddenly took off after them.

Yajirobe, Charisma, Bulma and her baby remained on the cliff staring after them.

“...What should I do?” Charisma wondered as she stood up from the ground. “Even though I’ve trained with every ounce of my strength for the last three years…I can’t help but feel that it wasn’t enough. I want to do everything in my power to help, but the reality is, I’m such a coward.”

“Hey, don’t be hard on yourself,” Bulma said reassuringly, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You did what you could. I’m not a fighter, but when it comes to anything in this life, it’s important to know and understand what your limitations are, just as much as it is to know your strengths. When the time comes, you’ll rise to the challenge.”

Charisma took a deep breath and smiled brightly at Bulma. Bulma was someone who Charisma could always count on to cheer her up, just as much as her Auntie Bulma from the future. “You have a good point…”

“You’re not a coward, either,” Bulma said. She threw a glance back at Yajirobe. “Unlike some people I know...”

Yajirobe threw back a sour glance at her. “If you’ve got something to say to me, then say it!”

“I am saying it!!” Bulma shouted back at him, confidently putting a hand on her hips. “I don’t see you going after them!”

“Me? Going with them?” Yajirobe repeated as if it were the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. “Not on your life.”

Bulma growled. “And why not exactly? From what I hear, Yajirobe, you’re a good fighter and they need all the help they can get! So I suggest you quit being a coward and get into gear!”

“Can’t do it…” he responded, arms crossed, not budging a bit.

Bulma grew more agitated. “I am tired of hearing your lame excuses! Get over there and help out your buddies, now!”

“I don’t know how to fly, Bulma,” he announced. Bulma gasped and started with a dumbfounded look.

“How…can you not…?”

Yajirobe remained silent. He wasn’t looking to argue but simply wanted Bulma to get out of his hair. Charisma chuckled to herself at their banter. With a deep sigh, she stared into the distance thoughtfully. ‘I will find a way to help them...I just have to.’

“In any case,” she said, changing the subject. “I guess all we can do right now is wait…”

“We could also go home…” Yajoribe snorted.

“No way!!” Charisma and Bulma exclaimed in unison, nearly sending Yajoribe off the cliff.

“What if they need us?” Charisma reasoned. “There’s no way we can just leave them.”

“Charisma is right,” Bulma said. “Besides, I know in my heart they have what it takes to win this battle. They will be back soon. I just know it!”

~~~

About an hour had passed after the women decided to wait for the Z Fighters to return from their fight from the Androids. Yajirobe sat on the ground, playing with baby Trunks. Bulma and Charisma were leaning on Bulma’s formerly encapsulated plane, watching the interaction of the two. Although she was overflowing with uneasiness and worry, Charisma was amused enough by what she was watching to crack a smile.

“I had no idea you were so good with kids, Yajirobe,” said Bulma with a smile. “Usually, he starts crying when other people hold him.”

Yajirobe lifted Trunks high into the air playfully, laughing and making silly faces, until he felt some weird, warm liquid spray all over his face. Upon watching the scene unfold, Charisma quickly ran to the other side of the plane to silently laugh. The sound of commotion, baby Trunks wailing loudly and Yajirobe grumbling filled the air.

“You gave him a sour face!” Bulma scolded Yajirobe. She hurried over and took her son into her arms. “Poor boy. He got his feelings hurt!”

“I’m the one who got all wet!” complained Yajirobe, desperately wiping the warm urine off his face with his scarf.

Bulma comforted her baby, and he stopped crying almost instantly. “Hey, Charisma? Where did you go?”

Charisma composed herself and came out from behind the plane. “Here.”

“I’m getting bored, and I don’t think the guys are coming back any time soon. What do you say if we go find them?”

“I don’t know if that’ll be safe…” Charisma said.

“We’ll be fine!” Bulma insisted. “We won’t get too close to the action. I’m not that crazy, you know…”

“Bull sh---” Yajirobe mumbled under his breath.

“WHAT WAS THAT?” Bulma yelled back.

Yajirobe’s mumbling continued but it was completely incoherent. He held up his scarf and began ringing out the urine from it with a grimace.

Charisma sighed, shaking her head. “Well...knowing you, there’s no way I can talk you out of it. In any case, I can tell you where to go to find them.”

“NO WAY!” cried Yajirobe, coming in between the two women. “We’ll be dead meat if we go!”

“Yes way,” said Bulma as she walked towards the entrance to the plane. “Vegeta wouldn’t let anything happen to his little boy, now would he? We’ll be just fine.”

“No we won’t!” Yajirobe protested.

“Well, if you don’t want to come, then you’re more than welcome to stay here,” Bulma responded. “Good luck getting down from this cliff though if you can’t fly…” she added mockingly.

Yajirobe growled before trudging over to the plane in defeat. Bulma stepped into the plane and took the seat on the right, with Charisma sliding into the seat to Bulma’s left.

“Why me?” the tubby man mumbled as he stood by the opened plane canopy.

“Come on and get in!” The girls both shouted at the same time.

“All right!” he exclaimed. “But listen here! One peek and then we’re out of there!”

“All right, all right!” sneered Bulma. “Get in already and let’s go!’

He complied and sat on the left side next to Charisma and closed the door. There was barely enough space for all of them in that tiny machine. Bulma handed Trunks over to Charisma and they all fastened their seat belts.

~~~

The plane ride was mostly silent with the occasional bickering between Bulma and Yajirobe. Charisma stared down sweetly at baby Trunks who now had fallen asleep in her arms during the ride. Although Trunks was now about a year old, she was still mind blown by the fact that she was able to meet him as a baby. It made her wonder where her current timeline baby self could be, but she figured it would be for the best to not make contact.

The tingle in Charisma’s stomach became uncomfortably strong. A small gasp escaped her lips and she carefully shifted in her seat. She looked up from the sleeping baby and stared straight ahead at the barren land.

“We’re getting close,” she said, breaking the silence.

“What the…” Bulma mumbled.

“What is that?” Charisma asked. A giant dust cloud emerged from over the horizon in the distance. It looked as if a huge explosion had just happened.

“Would you look at the size of that?” Bulma said. “We don’t want to get caught in that smoke. We’d better go low.” She proceeded to turn the plane and lower it a bit.

“Bulma!” Yajirobe protested. “Let’s just get the hell out of here! Please!”

“You coward,” she scolded. “We’re almost there! Why would I turn back now?!”

“No!” he shouted. “Turn around! It’s not too late!” He reached over to the steering wheel and began trying to move it himself, just about squishing Charisma who was sitting in between them. The plane began to shake around from left to right.

“Will you relax?!” Charisma yelled, cradling the baby Trunks in her arms protectively. “You’re gonna wake up the baby!”

“Let go! We’re going over there, and that’s FINAL!!” Bulma shouted at Yajirobe.

“But we could get killed!!” he retorted.

Baby Trunks finally woke up at all the commotion and began crying loudly. At last, Yajirobe let go of the wheel and the plane began flying smoothly again.

“Now look at what you did!” Charisma turned to Yajirobe. “You woke up the baby! I told you to calm down!”

“Big mouth!!” joined Bulma. “You woke him up with that big, burly voice of yours!!”

“Say what?!” he demanded.

Charisma handed the baby over to Yajirobe. “Now why don’t you try to calm him down?!”

“Why me?!”

“You woke him up!”

Yajirobe grabbed on to him and desperately tried to make the baby hush, but it wasn’t working. After about 10 minutes, Trunks had settled down and was sleeping soundly in Yajirobe’s arms. The plane ride continued in silence, mostly due to the fact that no one wanted to risk waking the baby again.

“...the fighting is getting intense,” Charisma said. “I can feel it…”

“Shoot!” lamented Bulma. “We’re gonna miss all the action!”

“I think that’s the least of our worries,” Charisma replied, looking over at Bulma.

“Big deal,” grumbled Yajirobe. “You’re crazy, Bulma. I’ve been on the front lines, and it isn’t pretty. We’re not talking about a TV show here. This is the real thing!”

All of a sudden, someone or something flew past at full speed like a missile above the plane, startingling everyone and even causing the plane to shake a little.

“Who’s that?!” asked Yajirobe.

“It’s that boy!” Charisma exclaimed. “The boy from the future!”

“Cool!” cheered Bulma. “He’s back!”

Baby Trunks suddenly stirred and began crying loudly again.

“Great!” Yajirobe pronounced. “Now look what you’ve done! Hurry up, man!!”

“Now you’re talking, Yajirobe!” Bulma jovially declared. “That’s the spirit! With the turbos, we can make it there in half the time!”

“No wait!!” he cried, to no avail. “That’s not what I meant!!”

The plane soon flew over a huge crater that was still smoking in some parts. It was clear that some of the battles had taken place there. Within a few minutes, the plane came upon the area where Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, Tien, and Krillin were now standing.

“Hello!!” Bulma waved to her friends as she flew above them.

“Oh no!” screamed Yajirobe. “The Android is still there! I told you we shouldn’t have come!!”

Charisma studied the white haired and tattered looking person on the ground. “That’s definitely the one I saw back in the city…”

Bulma caught sight of the white-haired man and her eyes widened curiously. “…but, that’s Dr. Gero.”

The boy from the future was down there, too, and turned to look up and shout at them as he waved his arms wildly. It wasn’t clear what he was saying to their ears, but he looked alarmed.

The Android began laughing maniacally and unleashed a series of blasts that stunned everyone. The blasts reached up toward the sky, and demolished the plane, tossing it around in the atmosphere violently before it disappeared into the violet light.

~~~

Charisma’s tightly shut eyes trembled as they slowly fluttered open. She found herself lying on the ground face down but in one piece and barely even bruised. She couldn’t remember quite what had happened except for the violet light that blinded her as she sat in the plane. The cries of Bulma’s baby caused her to snap out of her daze and she sat up immediately. She found herself staring at the back of the purple haired boy from the future.

‘…it’s him…’ she thought as her heart throbbed wildly. ‘...Did he save us?’

“I’m alive…” Bulma gasped as she sat up, and began tossing her head around furiously. “Where’s my baby?!”

She turned to find him crying, safely in the arms of the future boy. She let out a sigh of relief and took her baby back, cradling him lovingly.

“Oh, there you are!” She looked up at her savior. “Thank you! You saved Trunks.”

The boy gasped and his eyebrows furrowed with confusion. He shook it off quickly and looked up at the sky towards Super Saiyan Vegeta. He threw a fiery gaze at him, but Vegeta preoccupied with angrily yelling about how the Android escaped.

“Are you two alright?” Krillin asked as he hurried over.

“We’re fine,” said Charisma as she stood up and dusted herself off. “A little shaken up, but I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief,” said Krillin. “What in the world are you two even doing here? It’s dangerous!”

“…So…” said Bulma, completely ignoring his question. “That funny looking man with the mustache is one of the Androids, huh?”

“Yeah,” Krillin confirmed. “Sure was…”

“Well, I think that android was Dr. Gero,” Bulma explained. “I’ve seen his picture before, in one of my dad’s science magazines. Of course, it seems that he’s changed a lot since then.”

Krillin looked up and bellowed to the others who were still up in the air. “Hey! Bulma says the Android is really Dr. Gero!”

“Dr. Gero!” grumbled Vegeta, landing on the ground in front of the group. “How could you possibly know something like that?!”

“I know what I saw, Vegeta!” Bulma yelled defensively. A brief silence fell upon the group until she spoke up again. “After all the modifications he’s done to himself, it’s hard to believe he was ever human. It’s really amazing what he’s done. Too bad I hear he’s such a jerk.”

“You told us a pack of lies!” Vegeta yelled at the future boy angrily.

“The timeline must have shifted when I traveled here from the future,” the boy reasoned. “Oh man, I was afraid that this would happen. But…it was a calculated risk that I had to take.”

“Dr. Gero mentioned two more Androids on the way,” said Piccolo. “They may be the ones from your future. Maybe it’s best that this time you actually tell us what they look like.”

The boy described the Androids. They were sleek and graceful, one looking like a beautiful young girl with blond hair, and the other a boy with long dark hair. They both had the same cold, lifeless eyes.
“These Androids are ruthless,” he concluded. “They seek only to hurt and destroy.”

Charisma looked at the ground dejectedly. ‘…Yes…That’s them, alright. And from the looks of things, it’s all going to happen again…’ She glanced up at the boy as discreetly as possible. Her eyes studied his distressed face and she sighed. ‘I need to find a way to talk to him...alone.’

It was silent again for a while, until the boy spoke up. “Hey, why isn’t Goku here right now?”

“Well,” explained Krillin. “He came down with that weird heart virus and went home to take the antidote you gave him. I thought you knew.”

“I can’t believe history has slipped this much,” the boy said. He looked like he’d been punched right in the gut.

Charisma’s eyebrows furrowed.

“So…” she said, mustering her strength to speak up. She felt her stomach ache as if she was going to be sick. The boy looked at her curiously. “...you’re saying the timelines have diverted because you traveled here?”

“...yes...that’s exactly what happened,” he said. “That’s the risk that comes with traveling through time…”

“Oh,” Charisma looked down awkwardly. ‘...could it be that I caused this, too?’

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the baby’s loud cries pierced the air, followed by Bulma suddenly shrieking for no reason.

“Vegeta!! Every time you stick your geeky little face in front of Trunks you make him cry!” Bulma cradled her baby and looked down at him lovingly. “Don’t worry. He won’t scare you with that ugly mug of his anymore.”

“Bulma, will you forget about the child for one minute?” Vegeta barked. “Do you know where Dr. Gero’s lab is?”

“What? What lab?” She placed her finger on her chin in thought. “Well…Now that you mention it, I remember reading that Dr. Gero’s lab is hidden in a cave somewhere outside of North City.”

“I’ll bet it’s impossible to beat him there,” said Krillin. “He’s probably long gone by now.”

“Maybe not,” Vegeta smirked. “Nobody saw him fly away, did they? The Android is trying to escape on foot, so he mustn’t have gone very far.”

“If that’s so,” said Piccolo. “We might just have a chance to beat him to the lab and destroy the Androids before he has a chance to activate them.”

“I would never do something so cowardly,” Vegeta grinned arrogantly. “Only one course of action can satisfy me. I will fight those Androids and tear them apart with my bare hands!”

“No!” the future boy protested and stood in front of Vegeta before he could take off. “You must never underestimate the power of the Androids!”

Vegeta disregarded that statement with a smirk and nevertheless went on his way. The boy remained persistent and blocked Vegeta’s path. “No! Listen to me! Don’t fight them alone! We have to wait for Goku!”

“Listen!” Vegeta announced furiously. “I don’t need help from Kakarot! I’m a Super Saiyan now and I’m a lot stronger than that fool could ever dream of becoming! Now out of my way!” He pushed the boy aside and flew away before anyone could stop him.

“I have to admit,” Piccolo said. “Now that Vegeta is a Super Saiyan, he may be even stronger than Goku. Perhaps he does stand a chance against those Androids.”

“No…” the boy said. “He doesn’t stand a chance. And I know that…because in my world, these two Androids have already killed Vegeta. Well I won’t let that happen! I won’t let my father die!” In a fit of rage, the boy flew off after Vegeta.

Everyone else just stood there, looking up at where the pair had just taken off to, with confused stares. His last statement sunk into their brains slowly.

‘F-father? He…called him father…’ Charisma repeated in her stunned mind. ‘Does…that mean…?’ Charisma whirled around to look at the baby in Bulma’s arms.

Bulma sputtered frantically. “Did he say father? What did he mean by that?”

Piccolo turned toward Bulma. “That boy is Trunks. And he is Vegeta’s son. He’s the boy the baby you’re holding in your arms eventually grows up to be.”

“Whaaaaaaaat?!” Bulma squealed loudly, her eyes googling out from her head.

Charisma’s jaw dropped as if the wind had been knocked out of her system.

“…T-trunks…” she stuttered, barely able to get any words out. “That…that’s Trunks…are you sure?!”

“There’s no doubt,” Piccolo replied without looking at her. “He said it himself.”

Charisma felt the air leave her lungs and it was as if time itself froze. She slumped down to the ground on her knees, absolutely dumbfounded and a little lightheaded.

‘This whole time…that was Trunks…of course! It all makes sense now! Aunt Bulma was the only other person capable of building a time machine. And Trunks was the one who took the trip inside of it to the past…where I am right now…so…’

Charisma’s fists tightened and bottom lip trembled as she felt herself overcome with emotion. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was feeling: it was a mix of happiness, relief, and even sadness all at once. She bowed her head immediately, her wavy blonde bangs cloaking her eyes.

‘…after all these years…I’ve found him…’ She smiled to herself blinking away at the tears that threatened to spill. ‘…and he’s alive…I’m so happy that he’s alive!’

Charisma blinked her eyes quickly to swallow the tears. ‘I didn’t even recognize him at all this time…so much has changed.’

Charisma pulled herself together and stood up although her legs felt a little shaky. She walked over to the edge of the cliff the gang stood on and looked up into the sky.

‘…I wonder if he still remembers me. I definitely need to talk to him now…’ She looked back at the others who were discussing what their next course of action would be. Her eyes narrowed with determination. ‘I have to find to get close to him...I have to help them find the lab…’

“You guys,” Piccolo said. “I think it’s time we start searching for the lab. We don’t have a lot of time to waste.”

Tien, Krillin, and Gohan nodded and responded in unison. “Right!”

“I’m coming along, too,” Charisma announced loudly, hurrying over to them and waving an arm in the air.

“What?” responded Krillin. “We’re not going on a field trip here. This is way too dangerous for you. You should really head back home with Bulma.”

Charisma put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “No way! An extra set of eyes will only help, and you guys really don’t have any time to waste. Whether you agree to it or not, I’m going to help with this much. Besides...” Charisma gave Krillin the most sweet and innocent gaze she could muster. “...if it comes down to me defending myself, I know I’m more than capable of handling it. After all, you trained me yourself, Krillin-sensei.”

Noticing her cute expression, Krillin’s face burned brightly red as fumbled for words to say. He knew what she was trying to do, but somehow he felt powerless to even stop it.

“I-I mean, I did train you well, but…” he glanced up at the Namek. “Piccolo...help?”

Piccolo grumbled and turned his back with annoyance. “...I don’t care. Just don’t get in our way when we find them…”

“I promise I won’t!” Charisma smiled brightly up at him and nodded at Krillin. “You see? Even Piccolo trusts your skills as a sensei!”

Piccolo sweat-dropped but retained his composure and said nothing.

Krillin chuckled awkwardly and gave her a smile. “Fine, you talked me into it. But if it gets dangerous, you have to get out of there. If I tell you to go home, you’ll listen to me, all right?”

Charisma nodded jovially but crossed her fingers behind her back. “Of course! Thank you!” Charisma lost her composure and embraced Krillin tightly, causing him to blush and grumble furiously.

“Hey, Bulma,” Gohan said. “Can you tell my dad about all of this when you see him? And also, please tell him to hurry and join us when he gets better.”

“I would, Gohan,” she responded. “But that Android totaled my plane. I’m stranded here…”

“I think it’s best if you take Bulma home, Gohan,” Piccolo said. “We can handle the Androids without you.”

Gohan looked down dejectedly but agreed. “Okay...just be careful…”

Piccolo turned to the others. “Let’s go now. We really have to get moving fast!”

“Right!” the others said in unison and took to the skies.

Chapter 8: Race Against Time

Charisma was barely fast enough to keep up with Piccolo, Krillin, and Tien as they soared through the skies towards North City. She refused to let herself falter even a little bit lest she slow them down in such a critical moment. The mountain air was freezing cold and caused goosebumps all over her bare arms and legs. Charisma blinked away the tears caused by the cold wind in her eyes. She had never flown in an environment like this. Truly, this experience would be a test of her training; a test that she could not afford to fail.

“Tien, can you see it yet?” Piccolo asked.

“Not yet,” Tien replied. “But we should be getting really close.”

“Oh, I see it!” Charisma said as the city began to appear gradually, completely surrounded by mountains.

“Yes, that’s it, all right,” Piccolo said. They came to a stop floating just above the city. The task at hand was daunting at best and impossible at worst.

“I didn’t think finding the lab would be a walk in the park…” Tien said cautiously. “But considering the fact that we cannot even sense the Androids, and that there are hundreds of mountains to choose from...I’d say this could take a while.”

“I think it would be best if we split up and the first person to find it should send a signal…” Piccolo explained.

“What kind of signal?” Krillin asked.

“Raise your power level slightly so that all of us will sense it.”

“That’s a good plan,” Tien agreed. “We better get started…”

“Before we do…” Krillin interrupted. “You all better take some of these…” He held up the small sack of senzu beans. “There’s no telling what’s going to happen…”

Charisma watched as Krillin split the six remaining senzu beans amongst himself and the two others. She was growing nervous as the seconds ticked by. Simply knowing that the same Androids that ruined her life were just mere moments from being activated sent chills up and down her spine.

“Charisma…” Krillin said as he turned to her. “When we come across the lab, I think it’s best that you head back to Bulma’s place at that point. It could get too dangerous.”

Charisma simply nodded, crossing her fingers behind her back again. ‘There isn’t enough time to argue…’ she thought.

“Thanks for the beans, Krillin,” Piccolo said. “Let’s just hope we don’t have to use them.”

After exchanging a nod, they all split up to different parts of the area and began searching for the lab.

~~~

Charisma soared above and around the mountains located to the direct north of North City. Without even realizing it, she wandered aimlessly as she became distracted by her own thoughts.

‘What will our next move be?’ she wondered. ‘If we find the Androids before Dr. Gero, will we really be able to destroy them? Will it really be that easy?’

She stopped in her place above the mountains, stifling her cold shivers as the mountain air continued blowing on her unforgivingly. Her eyes scanned the atmosphere. “I wonder if I will run into Trunks soon...he was heading this way with Vegeta, after all.”

Charisma shook her head and resumed her mission of flying around above the mountains. “I can’t let myself get distracted!” she reasoned. “We’re so close to destroying those Androids so I need to work fast. My very life is counting on this. This might be my only way to not only save this timeline, but to return back to mine where I belong.”

At times, Charisma felt very comfortable in this timeline. She made more friends than she ever had in her own time. She had the freedom to go wherever she wanted without fearing for her life. She became so comfortable that she had even contemplated just remaining here in this peaceful world that was like heaven compared to her own.

‘I don’t rightfully belong here,’ she reminded herself. ‘Based on what Trunks has said, jumping through time periods can cause serious issues for everyone. I don’t want to be responsible for anything like that…’

Charisma stopped flying when she suddenly sensed someone’s power level jump. “Is that the signal?” She looked over her shoulder to the direction where it was coming from. “It’s Krillin! He found the lab?!”

She rushed over to where Krillin was located. Tien and Piccolo were also with him now and they floated above the mountains to the southeast of North City.

“Hey!” she said as she came over. “What is it? Did you find the lab?”

“Yeah,” Krillin said as he turned to her. “That opening right there is the entrance.” He gestured toward what appeared to be a hole in a mountainside.

“That’s it, all right,” Tien said. “Good job, Krillin.”

“Well, we can pat each other on the back later,” Piccolo grumbled. “We’ve got work to do right now. Let’s go.”

“Right!” agreed Tien and both began to zoom over to where the lab was.

“Wait!” Krillin said nervously. “Before you go...you should know that Dr. Gero beat me here…”

“WHAT!” Piccolo snapped. “You should’ve mentioned that sooner, Krillin!”

“Sorry…” Krillin mumbled. The three rushed into the opening in the mountain, leaving Charisma behind in their dust. She watched as they disappeared into the lab entrance.

“...what should I do?” she wondered. Although the thought of going to Bulma’s house crossed her mind for a split second, she ignored that thought as swiftly as it had appeared. “I’ve come too far to turn around and leave now.”

Charisma prepared herself to blast over to the lab entrance as well until she caught sight of something in her peripheral vision. Her eyes lit up in an instant. “Hey, it’s…!”

Sure enough, Vegeta and Trunks zipped past her a distance away. It didn’t seem that they even noticed her, or perhaps they didn’t care. Instead, they entered the opening in the cliff face after the others.

“Now I definitely have to go in there! It’s now or never!”

Tossing her reservations aside, Charisma hurried over to the entrance of the lab at once. Cautiously, she landed at the edge of the opening just behind Trunks. She was careful to not make too much noise in a futile attempt to fly under everyone’s radar. Her eyes glanced up at Trunks momentarily with wonder. Just staring at his back caused her heart to skip.

‘I’m so happy to see him,’ she thought, placing her hand on her heart.

“Get out of the way, you idiots!” Vegeta’s voice growled angrily, snapping Charisma out of her thoughts. He lifted his arm towards the metal doors ahead.

“Stop it!” Trunks yelled. “You don’t understand how powerful the Androids really are!”

“Too late, kid,” Vegeta coldly responded. A powerful beam of energy shot out of his palm. It hit the metal doors and blew them down easily with an ear-splitting bang. All that was left behind was a thick cloud of smoke and dust.

Charisma immediately braced herself and shielded her eyes from the bright light and debris. When she opened her eyes again, she could only watch as the smoke slowly cleared, revealing the features of the three beings on the other side of the busted down lab doors.

“I-it’s them!” she barely choked out.

“I take it these are the scary Androids we’ve heard so much about....” Vegeta sneered, utterly unimpressed.

“Yes,” Trunks said. “That’s them…”

“Really?” asked Krillin. “They look just like regular people to me!”

“Don’t let their appearance fool you,” Trunks warned angrily. “They are deadly machines and are stronger than all of us.”

“Well, Goku’s friends are determined to stop us,” Dr. Gero said to his creations. “But they will not! We will destroy them just as they destroyed Android 19.”

“Android 19, huh?” Android 17 said with amusement. “Another energy absorbing model just like yourself, was he not?”

“How very interesting,” Android 18 joined, throwing a cold grin at Dr. Gero. “You designed him that way because it would be easier to control him...but now he’s been destroyed.”

“That is enough!” Dr. Gero bellowed angrily. “I order you to destroy these intruders at once!”

“We do not take orders from you, old man,” Android 17 responded, unphased by Dr. Gero’s outbursts. “We will deal with them when we are ready.”

Dr. Gero growled angrily. “How dare you defy me!”

“Oh, look, I see there’s another Android,” Android 18 said, walking over to another chamber in the middle of the lab.

“Hey, get away from Android 16!” Dr. Gero commanded.

A cold sweat simultaneously ran through Trunks and Charisma’s bodies.

“Another Android?!” Trunks demanded. ‘How is there another Android that I didn’t know about?’ he wondered.

‘This is worse than anything I could have imagined!’ Charisma cried. “What are we gonna do?!”

“I’d like to see what other modifications you’ve made to him, Doctor,” Android 18 said as she peered closer to the sleeping Android. “He’s lacking in the looks department, though.”

“Stay away from Android 16!” Dr. Gero angrily warned again. “His programming is incomplete! If you activate him, you WILL regret it!”

Android 17 turned towards Dr. Gero. “According to my data, I am much stronger than he is. Regret it? I highly doubt that, old man.” Android 17 looked over at Android 18. “Go ahead and activate him.”

Android 18 grinned at him. “You got it…” She leaned over the chamber and brushed her fingers over the button.

“No, 18!” Dr. Gero rushed over. He grabbed her arm and attempted to pull her away from the chamber. “For the last time, DO NOT activate 16!”

She huffed with annoyance and glared down at him. “You’re irritating!” She elbowed him right in the chin, sending him flying backwards on the lab’s cold, hard ground.

“How dare you!” he seethed as he stood back up. “I created you! I gave you life! Stop what you’re doing, or I will make you stop-”

All of sudden, Android 17 impaled Dr. Gero from behind with his hand exiting through the android’s chest. His eyes widened in horror as he realized what just happened.

The Z fighters could only watch in horror as Android 17 pulled his arm back out of Dr. Gero’s body, and then dislodged Dr. Gero’s robotic head with a swift kick. Dr. Gero’s disembodied head landed just a few steps away from Krillin, who grimaced with a mix of fear and disgust before retreating further back behind Tien.

Charisma remained cowering behind Trunks as well, afraid to come any closer to even try to get a better look at the commotion. It was not the time to be curious. From what she could hear, it was not something she necessarily wanted to watch.

When she did find her courage to peer from around Trunks’ figure into the lab, she witnessed as Android 17 leapt through the air and came down on Dr. Gero’s head, smashing it into pieces. She quickly covered her eyes and returned to cowering behind Trunks’ figure again.

Satisfied with his work, Android 17 stood up straight and walked over to the chamber with Android 16 still nestled inside. “I think it’s time we wake up our sleeping friend,” he remarked.

Trunks growled angrily as fear and rage bubbled within him, ready to burst at any second. Charisma was startled by his demeanor and began stepping back away from him slowly. “If they set that Android free, it’ll be the end of all of us!!”

Without any warning, Trunks suddenly powered up into a Super Saiyan. Charisma felt her stomach drop instantly. She was so close to him that the mere surge in energy hit her with a wave of intense heat and nearly knocked her off the edge of the cliff. Somehow, she managed to catch her footing despite now shivering with fear at seeing such unimaginable power right in front of her eyes. She watched with bewildered eyes as Trunks prepared a huge ki blast from his joined hands. The others looked back at him in shock, caught by complete surprise at his sudden outburst. Trunks’ blast shot between them and struck the lab with the Androids inside.

“Everybody, get down!!” Krillin cried before a huge explosion rocked the entire mountain range.

~~~

Charisma didn’t quite remember when or how she took off into the sky after Trunks unleashed a deadly blast into the lab. It had all happened in the blink of an eye and now she found herself floating above the mountain’s remains. She clutched her heart which was beating insanely with a rush of adrenaline.

Krillin sighed with relief as he observed the wreckage below.

“Hey, Trunks!” he shouted. “How about you give a little more warning next time you do that!”

Vegeta grumbled angrily. “Bad move! Why’d you go and do that?”

Trunks stared back at him with confusion. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Look down there,” Vegeta responded, gesturing to the figures below on the other side of the wrecked mountain. Android 17 and Android 18 survived the explosion without a single scratch and they managed to save the chamber with Android 16 in it.

Trunks trembled with disbelief. “I don’t understand how anyone could survive that! That was my most intense blast!”

Vegeta laughed at him mockingly. “Well, looks like you spoke too soon. Now they know how weak you are.”

“Are you going to activate Android 16 or not?” Android 17 asked Android 18 with annoyance in his voice.

Android 18 smiled and walked over to Android 16’s chamber. She wasted no time and pushed the button to unlock the chamber door. With a loud beep, the chamber door slowly began opening. Android 18 grew impatient in a half second and effortlessly kicked the door off as soon as it began to lift from the rest of the chamber. Android 16’s eyes slowly came open, glowing a demonic red color, before fading into the usual cold, blue Android eyes.

“What are we gonna do now guys?!” Krillin panicked. “Now we have to fight another one!”

Android 16 did not say a word as he got out of his chamber. He didn’t even respond to Android 17 or Android 18 when they spoke to him. Still, this giant Android responded to their words about carrying out their objective and finding Goku, and he left with them when they left to embark on their mission.

“They’re leaving,” Krillin said with relief. “Good riddance. I guess we’re safe now.”

“But where do you think they’re going?” Tien asked.

“They’re not going to South City,” Piccolo said. “South City is the other way…”

“What if they’re for Goku?” Krillin said. “Dr. Gero created them in order to get revenge on Goku for destroying his Red Ribbon Army.”

“We have to stop them!” Charisma responded. “As long as they’re running amok like that, they’re a danger to everyone in their path.”

“Those Androids,” Vegeta growled. “They left because they are afraid of me, as they should be! I’ll take them down myself!” Vegeta powered up into Super Saiyan and began to rush after the Androids.

Trunks hurried after him and managed to block his path. “No! Don’t go after them,” he said. “We have to wait for Goku!”

“I don’t need to wait for Karakot to do anything,” Vegeta laughed cruelly. “Now get out of my way before you get hurt.”

Trunks did not relent and remained in Vegeta’s path. “Listen to me! If you face the Androids alone, you will be destroyed for sure! Stay here-!”

Next thing he knew, Trunks got the wind knocked out of him by Vegeta’s sudden punch to the gut. Trunks immediately hunched over in pain, clutching onto this stomach. Charisma stifled a worried gasp.

“Now stay out of my way!” Vegeta snarled and took off after the Androids.

The others remained there in shock. Charisma’s eyes narrowed angrily at Vegeta’s direction.

“What a jerk!” she exclaimed. She quickly hurried over to Trunks and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, are you all right?”

Trunks groaned as he struggled to even open his eyes. “...Please, we have to stop him…” he choked out. “...we have to wait for Goku...go after him…!”

Charisma sighed and shook her head. “It’s too late. He’s long gone...we’ll never catch up to him now.”

Trunks managed to catch his breath and stood tall. His eyes narrowed with determination as he looked towards the direction where Vegeta had taken off to. “We have to stop him!”

“There’s no time to waste!” Piccolo shouted. “Let’s go! NOW!” The men all took off on cue, leaving Charisma bumbling behind them once again.

“Gosh, I wish they would warn me before they do that…” she pouted. “I’ll have to fly extra fast to catch up to them at this point!”

~~~

Unfortunately for her, Charisma underestimated just how much she had fallen behind the others. She could sense Vegeta’s power level towering above all the others.

“Oh man, I’m too late…” she said sadly. “I can’t believe they left me behind like that…how am I still this slow?!”

A sinking feeling filled Charisma. “Maybe I really am in over my head…” She stopped in place. Her eyes flattened as she looked over the landscape. “What am I even going to do? What can I possibly do to help them win this fight?”

She grumbled and she crossed her arms. “What good does three years of training do for me if I can’t even effectively put it into practice? The thought of battle scares me so much...what am I even doing?”

Sighing deeply, she shut her eyes as if searching for the answer within herself. She remembered those days she spent training with Gohan and Trunks, and how badly she wanted to be able to fight beside them. She wanted nothing more than to be their equal someday. The sky was the limit in her young mind those days, even when she understood her disadvantages. ‘Somehow...I’ve lost sight of that goal…’

“I know I’m just a girl,” little Charisma cried to Gohan during one of their training matches. “I’m not a Saiyan like you or Trunks. But I want to be able to fight, too! I want to help you guys fight those Androids…”

“I know, Charisma,” Gohan said softly. “But the best thing you can do for us is stay safe and support us, no matter what. Even if we can’t take you into battle with us…please stay behind and cheer for us, all right?”

“I’m sorry, Gohan,” she said aloud, clenching her fist and looking up. “I can’t just sit by and cheer from the sidelines like you asked me to. Now isn’t the time to back down!”

With that, Charisma took off flying as fast as she could to catch up to the others. At this point, she had lost so much time that she didn’t even know if she’d reach them. But still, she wanted to try.

“Oh, I think I finally found them!” she said as she came across a stretch of rocky terrain and winding roads. She caught sight of the guys standing on the road overlooking an ongoing fight between Vegeta and Android 18.

The feeling of relief was suddenly overcome with panic when she caught sight of Vegeta, at full strength, getting his arm broken by Android 18’s kick.

“Oh no,” she cried, stopping in midair to cover her mouth in shock. “We’re too late!”

“No!” Trunks screamed. Vegeta’s agonizing cries were too much for Trunks to bear. Without hesitation, he powered up into a Super Saiyan and leapt into the fray. “Father!!”

Trunks’ anguished and infuriated screams for his father chilled Charisma down to the bone. She felt powerless as she watched Trunks unsheathed his sword and took a swing at Android 18.

Android 18, completely unphased, simply lifted her arm to parry the sword. Upon impact with her body, the sword shattered as if it were made of glass. Trunks was left stunned and horrified. He barely had the chance to even look up behind him when he caught sight of Android 17 rushing in with a fist. Trunks was instantly sent flying several feet before falling face down into the rocky ground.

“Trunks!” Charisma cried, her own rage now boiling over. “No!!”

She barely even realized what she was doing, as if she were running on autopilot. Everything blurred together for a second, until the last thing she heard was Krillin calling her name. She only caught sight of Android 18’s cold blue eyes as the android turned towards her and effortlessly struck Charisma right in the stomach. With that, Charisma blacked out and was down for the count.

Trunks groaned from his place on the ground as he heard a familiar name.

‘...Charisma?’ he thought. Shaking off the pounding pain in his head, his blue eyes opened to see the girl lying face down across the way, knocked out cold.

“Let’s go!” Piccolo commanded angrily as he leapt into the battle, with Tien following along right away.

“Wait, guys!” Krillin cried, trembling. “Don’t you think you’re being too hasty?!”

Needless to say, their best efforts were in vain as Piccolo and Tien were easily taken out by Android 17. After a few moments, Trunks composed himself and grasped his broken sword. He leapt from the ground and rushed towards Android 18. She dodged his attack easily as if he were nothing, and grabbed him by the ankle as he whizzed through the air right above her.

At that moment, Vegeta stood on to his wobbly feet. “Android!!” he shouted as he charged at her.

“You should’ve kept your little friends out of this, Vegeta,” Android 18 scolded. She swung Trunks around and threw him right on to Vegeta, knocking him down like a bowling pin, and taking them both out of the fight. And just like that, the battle was over.

~~~

Charisma’s head was pounding, and her stomach ached as her eyes softly fluttered open. She recognized a familiar voice calling her name and a blurry but shiny bald head slowly became clearer in her view. Cocking her head to the side as she laid in his arms, she looked up at him with confusion.

“...what…?”

“Are you alright? You took a nasty hit back there!” Krillin said sympathetically.

Charisma sat up suddenly with a gasp, startling Krillin slightly and nearly causing him to fall over. She stared at him and noticed as he let out a sigh of relief. ‘Was he worried?’ she thought.

“Great,” he said. “Looks like you’re awake.”

“...yeah…” Charisma sputtered as she rubbed the back of her aching head.

“I thought I told you to go back to Bulma’s house,” Krillin tried to scold the girl, although he didn’t find it in his heart to. His voice didn’t come out quite as stern as he intended it at all. “You put yourself in some serious danger. It could’ve ended worse off for you.”

Charisma casted her eyes to the ground and shook her head. “...I don’t know. I don’t know what I was thinking…I just wanted to help.”

Krillin stood up and hurried to revive the others. “Well, never mind that for now.”

After a few moments, the group was fully revived thanks to the senzu beans. Nursing the wounds of their defeat, they talked about their next course of action. Charisma remained sitting on the ground a long distance away from them, still trying to compose herself and hanging her head in shame.

“What? You mean they even knew about the senzu beans?” Piccolo demanded from Krillin.

“It seems they know a lot more about us than we do about them,” Krillin lamented.

“I don’t understand it,” Tien said dejectedly. “They could’ve squashed us all like flies. They were just toying with us. This is all Vegeta’s fault!”

“Don’t blame him!” Piccolo said sternly. “We ALL underestimated the Androids. That is one mistake we cannot afford to make again. They may not be so forgiving next time.”

Vegeta snarled angrily and took off to the sky without uttering a single word. Trunks looked up at him suddenly and prepared to chase after him.

“Trunks, let him go!” Piccolo commanded. “He’s going to need some time alone. Ever since he became a Super Saiyan, Vegeta’s ego has been out of control. Honestly, I think what that Android actually hurt the most today was his pride.”

Trunks sighed and hung his head as he turned back to the others. “I don’t get it. The Androids I know are stronger than me, but not by this much…

“What do you mean by that?!” Piccolo asked.

“I don’t know why or how exactly…” he responded. “It’s another change I wasn’t expecting…”

Charisma grumbled with disbelief and placed her head in her hands. She felt as if she could just sink into the earth. ‘The timeline must’ve shifted so much because of me...there’s no doubt. This is my fault…’

“Then we really are out of luck…” Tien mumbled. “What are we going to do?”

“The rest of you should take Goku somewhere safe before the Androids find him,” Piccolo suggested.

“That sounds like a good plan,” said Krillin. “But then what are you going to do, Piccolo?”

Piccolo’s eyes narrowed as he stared off into the distance. “I... don’t know…”

Krillin chuckled. “I know you have a plan. Come on, we’re buddies now. You can tell us….”

Inexplicably, Piccolo suddenly grew agitated and snapped. “Stop asking stupid questions! This is something I have got to do by myself!” All of a sudden, he angrily summoned a blast and shot it towards the three other men who stood around him. Luckily, they quickly leapt out of the way.

Krillin looked up at him with utter confusion. “What is wrong with you?”

“Go find Goku and forget about me! Anyone who follows me will be sorry!” he blared. With that, he took off into the sky.

“What gives?!” Tien said in disbelief. “Last I checked, Piccolo was fighting on our side.”

Krillin stared after Piccolo for a moment but turned towards the others with a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry about him,” Krillin said confidently. “He’s still one of us. He’s just going to do what he has to do to win.”

Noticing the looks of confusion on everyone’s face, Krillin explained that Piccolo and Kami used to be one being. However, at some point, they separated, with Piccolo being the embodiment of the negativity which existed in Kami. Once they join together again, they will be the strongest creature in the universe. At last, a sense of hope returned to the friends.

“We might just have a chance then,” Tien said with relief.

“My father…” Trunks said before catching himself. “I mean, Vegeta…we can’t forget about him.”

Krillin chuckled knowingly and turned towards Trunks with an understanding grin. “Hey, you don’t have to worry about hiding it anymore, Trunks. We know about Bulma and Vegeta. You’re their son, aren’t you?”

Trunks hung his head shamefully. “Yeah...I’m sorry I tried to hide it.”

“There’s no need to be sorry,” said Tien. “In any case, Vegeta probably just needs some time to cool off and collect himself. He’s not one to back down from a fight. Once he’s back to normal, I’m sure he’ll be back stronger than ever.”

At that, Trunks smiled for what appeared to be the first time in a long time.

“So we’re really not out of luck yet, are we?!” Charisma said brightly from her place on the ground, drawing the other’s attention.

“How are you feeling?” Krillin asked. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Of course, I am!” she shouted back. “I’m stronger than I look!”

Trunks looked over at her intensely. 'That girl…' he thought. '…her name is Charisma. It’s got to be just a coincidence…but now that I’m looking at her, she resembles the Charisma I knew…’

Before Charisma could even realize what was happening, Trunks made his way over to where she sat. She looked up at him with wide eyes as he came to stand right in front of her. A blush that inexplicably spread across her cheeks and she couldn't quite understand why.

Trunks stared down at her for several seconds. "Are you all right?" he asked.

It took a moment for Charisma to process his words. 'He's talking to me?!' Brushing her nervousness off, she nodded. "Y-yes! I'm just fine now!" She struggled to get back on her trembling legs until Trunks held out his hand to her.

She looked up at his hand and her eyes lifted to look up at his face. Her heart swelled and she struggled to catch her breath for a moment. She masked those feelings with a bright and friendly smile as she took his hand and stood up on her feet.

"Thanks a lot!" she said happily.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Charisma?” Krillin said. “You don’t look too good.”

Charisma stared at him with a horrified expression and a cold chill ran through her body. At the same time, the temperature in her body went up by several degrees. She stared back up at Trunks and was startled by his confused expression.

"C-Charisma?" He repeated, stunned as if he were struck by lightning.

Charisma nodded her head hesitantly. "Yes…"

Trunks couldn't even think of words to say, or what to even think. 'This has to be a coincidence…' he reasoned. 'Why would Charisma be here...?'

“I-it’s me…” she said nervously and softly, trying to not let the others hear. “...I know it’s strange, but it’s a long story, and I’ll explain everything later when we’re alone…trust me…you’re the only one who can help me, please…” Her voice trailed off, as if trembling with tears.

Trunks’ eyebrows furrowed as he let her words sink in. The two shared a gaze for what seemed like eternity. A mix of emotions wafted between the two, teetering from wonder, confusion, and awkwardness.

Sensing the weird feelings in the air, Krillin startled them both when he came in between them. "Hey," he said casually. "Is everything all right here?"

Trunks and Charisma struggled to break their gazes from each other. At last, Trunks took a deep breath and glanced down at Krillin.

"...yes," he said, his raspy voice soft and low, almost like a whisper. "Everything is fine…"

Charisma's gaze softened with relief as she looked at him.

"Great," Krillin responded. "Then we better get going to Goku's house right away. We need to get there before the Androids find him."

"Right," Trunks nodded. He turned around to give his back to the others. "There's no time to waste, then." Suddenly, he bolted up into the sky.

"Wait," Krillin said, taking off into the sky after him. "You're going the wrong way!"

"What the-" Tien ran over. "We better go, too!" He said to Charisma before flying off after them.

Charisma was left behind again, still stunned and processing what just happened. She snapped herself out of it when she finally realized how far she'd now fallen behind them.

"Hey, wait for me!" She cried as she finally took off after them.

Chapter 9: A Shocking Discovery

Charisma, Trunks, Tien, and Krillin soared through the skies in an awkward silence as they made their way to Goku’s house. After suffering such a humiliating and jarring defeat at the hands of the Androids, it seemed everyone could only hang their heads in shame. 

Charisma trailed behind the others by a short distance. Charisma was not only shaken from her “battle” with Android 18, however. She was now riddled with anxiety after revealing her name to Trunks.

‘I wonder if he’s upset with me…’ she thought gloomily. Her eyes drank in his form from behind as he flew several feet ahead of her. ‘If the timeline shift is really my fault…how can I blame him?’

“Hey, Krillin,” Tien said, breaking the heavy silence. “I’m going to go get Chaotzu and begin training again.”

Krillin looked over at him. “Okay, sounds like a plan. We’re going to move Goku to Master Roshi’s house. That should buy us some time. Meet up with us when you’re ready.”

“You got it,” Tien responded. “Keep Goku safe.” With one final wave, Tien took off in a different direction. 

“Good luck, Tien,” Krillin said. “We’re all gonna need it…”

Trunks sped up his flight slightly to come up beside Krillin. “I don’t know why the future I predicted changed so much. The Androids in my time weren’t this strong, and there were only two of them. I just don’t get it.”

He growled with annoyance as the events of the day replayed in his mind. ‘To make matters more confusing, I don’t know what to make about Charisma being here either,’ he thought as his fists tightened with frustration at his sides. ‘I’ll need to talk to her as soon as we move Goku. If she truly is the Charisma that I know…then there are important details here that I’m missing…’

“It doesn’t matter now,” Krillin said firmly. “It is what it is, and if we don’t get out of this mess soon, we’ll all be history…”

‘What a mess this has become…’ Charisma thought with a deep pout. She could barely find the strength to try to keep up with the two and instead kept a reasonable distance away from them. In fact, all she wanted to do was gradually drift away and return to Bulma’s house and pray that they didn’t notice. After the disastrous events of the day, it was as if she just wanted to retreat into a shell and not come out again. 

The flight towards Goku’s house continued in awkward silence for several more minutes until they finally began to come upon their destination. The forest of trees slowly gave way to rolling acres of grass and farmland. Goku’s cozy and humble tiny home sat beside a cozy stream like a scene out of a picturesque oil painting.  

“Here we are!” Krillin announced and began descending towards Goku’s house. Trunks and Charisma followed his lead and landed in front of Goku’s little home.

The sound of the nearby stream and birds chirping around was much welcomed and relaxing, but it did very little to calm the uneasiness in the air. Trunks began making his way towards the front door of the house, with Krillin and Charisma trailing behind him, both caught up in their own thoughts.

“Ugh, hold on, Trunks!” Krillin said as they approached the door, stopping so suddenly that Charisma nearly walked right into him. 

Trunks was mere feet from the house’s front door, but he turned around to look at Krillin from over his shoulder. “What is it?”

“Just one question…” Krillin stammered nervously. “A-are the Androids...really as terrible as you say they are?”

Charisma scoffed at the question and gave Krillin a strange look. “What kind of question is that?!” she demanded. “Did you not see what they did to us?!”

Krillin chuckled nervously at her with his hands held up defensively in the air.

“They’re ruthless and cold-blooded,” Trunks snapped, his voice dripping with frustration. “I’ve told you this before, Krillin. Why even ask?”

Krillin turned towards him, still waving his hands in front of him nervously. “Hey! I was just hoping that not all of us would have to fight them! That’s all!”

“Well, hoping doesn’t get us anywhere, I’m afraid,” Trunks grumbled.

“I know that!” Krillin said as he began walking towards the front door. “I-it’s just that...I...oh, never mind.” 

Krillin lifted his hand and knocked on the door once. No less than a half second after that, the door flew open with a BANG, smacking Krillin right on the noggin with full force. Trunks and Charisma were both jolted by the sudden impact. 

“GOHAN?!” Chi-Chi screamed as she peered out the door. She looked down at Krillin with disappointment as the smile on her face quickly soured. “Oh...it’s you…”

Krillin stood up straight after nursing the huge bump that now formed on his bald head. “It’s nice to see you, too, Chi-Chi…” he muttered.

“Krillin!!” Yamcha greeted, coming toward the door as well. “I’m glad you made it here safe.”

“And Goku?” Krillin asked, stepping into the house. “How is he doing?’

“He’s okay. He’s just sleeping right now.”

Yamcha noticed Trunks was standing there, too. “Oh, hey man. Welcome back.” Noticing Charisma behind Trunks, he held up his hand to wave. “And you’re here, too, Charisma. Nice to see you again!”

Charisma nodded with a smile. “I’m glad to see you’re doing well, Yamcha.”

“Wait, if you’re all here then, that must mean we won, right?!” Yamcha said hopefully. A gloomy silence fell upon the group. 

Trunks simply shook his head. “No. We lost.”

“We have to evacuate now,” Krillin added. “We don’t have a lot of time to talk, but the Androids are on their way here to find Goku, and they’re a thousand times stronger than any of us!!” 

It didn’t take long before they began packing up to make their way to Master Roshi’s house. Within fifteen minutes, they started loading stuff onto a plane out in the yard. Yamcha and Krillin took care of lifting Goku into the plane and placed him on a small mattress, as Trunks and Charisma helped carry other miscellaneous items into the plane. 

“Be careful with him!” Chi-Chi shouted as she watched Yamcha and Krillin load Goku into the plane. She caught sight of a bright star in the sky heading their way and smiled brightly. “Oh, look!!” she cheered. “Gohan’s back!!” 

“Hey, what’s going on?” Gohan asked as he came to land in front of his mother. Chi-Chi ignored the question and wrapped him up in her arms. “What are you guys doing?”

“No time to talk!” said Krillin. “Get on the plane and we’ll explain everything!”

… 

The group now sat on the plane on their way to Master Roshi’s house, with Yamcha piloting the aircraft. Krillin and Trunks explained what happened after Vegeta found the Androids and everyone’s close call with the mechanical monsters.

“Are they really that powerful?” Gohan asked.

“I’m afraid so,” Krillin said, “They’re even more powerful than the androids Trunks told us about.”

Everyone simultaneously looked over to Trunks, who remained with his head down and his eyes glued to the ground as he contemplated the events of the day. 

“But I thought those were the androids Trunks told us about,” said Yamcha.

“No,” responded Trunks. “They’re different somehow…”

The aircraft felt silent for several seconds, until suddenly...

“AHHHHH!!” Chi-Chi’s high-pitched screams ripped through the silence, nearly startling everyone right out of their skins. “Oh no!” She hurried over to a knotted bag and began untying it. “What was I thinking? We don’t have a minute to waste! We'd better hurry before it’s too late!”

Gohan approached her cautiously, his face filled with concern. “What are you talking about, Mom?”

“Well, let’s hit those books, Gohan!” she commanded as she dropped a massive stack of textbooks in front of him. The others collectively sweatdropped but breathed a sigh of relief that Gohan’s studies were the only reason for Chi-Chi’s screaming. 

The plane fell silent again for several moments as everyone became lost in their own thoughts. The entire situation was nothing short of a nightmare in its own way. Even after moving Goku to Master Roshi’s place, they only had so much time to prepare for when the Androids would likely find him there, too. 

As Charisma sat on a seat behind the pilot’s chair, she carefully looked over to Trunks, who sat across the way on the other side of the plane. It was clear that he was deep in his thoughts with his gaze fixed on the ground. For some reason, although her heart was full of worry and fear, just looking at him soothed her a little. 

‘It’s still hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I found you here…’ she thought. Memories of growing up with Trunks as a young child, the last times she remembered feeling genuine happiness, flooded into her mind. The longer she stared at him, the more she began to see how he really hadn’t changed too much, physically speaking. He had obviously grown into a young man, much taller and muscular compared to the little boy she once knew, but his eyes were as blue as she remembered them. His smile, however, was different in a way, as if his smile had lost its shine after so many hopeless and difficult years. 

The longer Charisma stared at him, the redder her cheeks became, and she didn’t really know why, but she found it harder to take her eyes off of him. Shyly, she managed to avert her gaze and instead stared at the ground with a small smile. 

Trunks was so wrapped up in his own thoughts and worries that he didn’t even notice how intently Charisma had been staring at him from across the plane. He bit down on his fingernail with frustration as he struggled to comprehend the entire situation that was rapidly unfolding before him.

‘I still don’t understand how I miscalculated so much,’ he thought as his eyes narrowed angrily. ‘Everything we planned for, everything we worked so hard for, is falling apart right in front of me, and there’s barely anything I can even do about it.’

He glanced up at the blonde girl who sat across from him. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘Is that really Charisma? How did she get here, and for what reason? And if she really is from my time, is she the reason the timeline shifted so much?’

Trunks was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t realize how intently he was staring at the girl. Charisma, feeling his eyes on her, suddenly looked up at him, and their eyes caught each other. 

Trunks’ harsh gaze melted into a flustered one as his cheeks began burning bright. Charisma felt like her cheeks were on fire, too. She awkwardly looked away from him and cleared her throat. 

‘Why is he looking at me like that?’ she wondered. Charisma looked back up at him and caught his eyes shifting away from her nervously before staring at her again. At getting caught staring again, twice in a row, Trunks’ cheeks burned even brighter. ‘Maybe he isn’t upset with me after all?’ Charisma couldn’t help but smile brightly at him, cocking her head to the side coyly. 

Trunks’ frustration seemed to melt away in that instant when memories of his childhood best friend flashed in his mind. So many happy moments, far and few as they may have been, were spent with Charisma. 

‘It really is her…she really hasn’t changed much at all,’ he thought. Trunks forced his eyes off her and looked down at the ground. A small smile tugged at his lips shyly. He brushed it off, however, when the reality of the present situation hit him again. 

“So what are we going to do now?” Yamcha asked out loud to no one in particular. 

Trunks took a deep breath and looked up at Yamcha. “Well, maybe there’s something I can do to help…” The others looked up to stare at him curiously. “I could get back into my time machine and travel to the past and destroy those androids before Dr. Gero gets to them. It shouldn’t be that hard since now I know where his laboratory is.”

“Hey, yeah,” smiled Yamcha. “That’s a great idea…”

“U-um, not exactly,” said Charisma, holding up a finger. “What if you don’t make it in time and have to fight those things alone? And didn’t you say before that your time machine only has enough power for one trip? You might be stuck in the past forever.”

“Hey,” Gohan said, looking back and up from his textbook to stare at Trunks. “If you destroy the Androids, then what will happen to the Androids of this time?” Trunks stared at him wide-eyed while Gohan continued. “They wouldn’t just vanish, would they? Just because of a change in the past…”

Gohan was cut off when his mother grabbed his face and turned it toward his book. “Mind your studies, Gohan!” she scolded.

Trunks looked like he’d been struck by lightning. “No! He’s right! What was I thinking?! If I destroy the Androids there, I would only be saving the future of that world. But I can’t change anything that they’ve already done once they’ve been activated, which means, there really isn’t any point in me going back.”

Krillin stared at him blankly. “...I don’t get it.”

Trunks looked down at his clenched fists and took a deep breath. “You know how Goku is alive right now because of the medicine I brought from the future? Well, in the future where the medicine came from, Goku didn’t make it. That’s because I can only change one reality, not both. In other words, there are two realities out there. In one, Goku survives, and in the other, he doesn’t.”

“Let’s see if I can understand this,” said Krillin slowly. “So even if Goku does beat the Androids now, it wouldn’t affect the Androids from your world. They’d still exist there…Like some kind of parallel universe.”

“Exactly!” said Trunks. “That’s exactly how it works.”

Charisma furrowed her eyebrows with confusion as she crossed her arms. “So...if that’s the case, what was the point of returning to this time?” she asked, earnestly concerned and confused. “Whatever you do here, even if we destroy the Androids, it isn’t going to undo the damage done in m-” Charisma coughed as she quickly caught herself, almost about to slip. “...y-your time. I just don’t understand what the entire point of coming back to the past would be.”

Trunks stood up and walked toward the glass door on the side of the plane, staring out below at the vast landscape. 

“…My mother…” he almost whispered. “You see, it was my mother’s idea to send me back to the past. She didn’t think there was anything more we could do to help the people of our world. But she knew there were other people that we could help…” His mind traveled back to those days. “I agreed that I would go, but for my own reasons. I believed that with Goku’s help, I would find that the Androids had some weakness and return to the future. Even though I couldn’t bring back the lives that were lost, I might be able to save the people who are left.”

Memories flooded back, memories that haunted him. They filled his mind so suddenly that it became all too vivid as he became trapped in a trail of horrifying memories of death and destruction. 

“Trunks?” called Krillin. “TRUNKS!!”

He snapped out of his trance and took a moment before regaining his composure. He turned back to face the others and sat back down on the floor. “I’m…sorry about that,” he smiled. “Anyway, I hoped this plan would work out perfectly, except I didn’t expect there to be so many differences between the timelines of my world and this world. I thought Goku’s heart problem would come sooner than it did. And I thought there would be two androids, and instead there are three.” 

His voice became distressed as he thought about the current predicament. “And now, everything’s going wrong!”

“But,” interjected Gohan. “There’s still something that bugs me. How could you have miscalculated so much…?” He was cut off when Chi-Chi grabbed his head again and turned his face down toward his book.

“I don’t know for sure…but my theory is that something changes when you travel back from the future. I don’t know how or why exactly, but that’s my best guess.” 

Charisma cringed as a surge of guilt washed over her like a tidal wave, and a deep frown painted her face. ‘That means it’s my fault, too…’

“Try not to worry too much, Trunks,” Chi-Chi said gently as she sat on the mattress beside Goku. “If you didn’t come when you did, Goku wouldn’t be alive right now. And that’s all that really matters.” She smiled lovingly down at her husband as he slept peacefully. 

Trunks’ eyes were fixed on her for a while, until the vision of his smiling mother passed before them. He slowly smiled, knowing he at least helped someone in some way.

“Yeah,” said Krillin cheerfully. “She’s right, you know! We all owe you!”

“Yeah!” agreed Yamcha. “We owe you big time!”

Charisma looked up to see the smile on Trunks’ face, and a small seed of happiness began to grow in her heart. 

“...they have a point,” she hesitantly added. He turned his head to look at her, his smile momentarily leaving his face. “Things might not be turning out the way that we hoped, but things are better now than they were in the future at this point, right? We all survived the first battle with the Androids, after all. I think it’s a good sign that there’s still hope left for us.” Charisma wasn’t certain if she was trying to cheer Trunks up or herself, perhaps. But she smiled brightly at him when coming to this realization. 

‘...And I found you after all…’ Her smile grew to be the brightest at that thought, spreading from her lips to her eyes to her cheeks. 

Trunks’ breath caught in his chest as he remembered. “If anyone can defeat those Androids, it’s you!” Her words echoed in his brain, as they’d never left him. Her smile was as big and bright as it was that day, brimming with hope for a future that was not lost. 

Trunks finally smiled the biggest and brightest he had in a long time. 

Krillin chuckled. “I guess we all should look on the bright side, huh? I mean, we’re all safe and sound thanks to…me!” He rolled with laughter all by himself, drawing unamused stares from everyone on the plane. “…Hey Trunks, lighten up. I was only kidding…”

The reverberating sound of a smack resounded on the plane and across the entire landscape.

...

It was a smooth and silent ride on the plane until Goku began having a heart attack again. The others were immediately panicked at hearing his pained screams, but Chi-Chi went over without hesitation and gave him his medicine. After a few more minutes, he was sleeping soundly again.

“Woo,” Krillin threw the sweat off of his shiny head. “Well, it looks like he’s resting again.”

“How intense,” said Trunks. “Even in his dreams, he’s still fighting.”

“It looks like we’ll be at Master Roshi’s in no time,” mentioned Yamcha. “Oh, and Krillin, don’t you think we’d better tell Bulma what we’re up to?”

“Good idea,” he said with a nod before catching himself. “Wait a minute, you’re saying that I should call her? No way!”

“Come on,” said Yamcha with a mischievous grin. “I’m flying the plane here! Thanks, pal!”

Krillin sighed and looked over at Charisma, who sat a few feet beside him. “Charisma, why don’t you call her? You’re good friends with her…”

“No thanks!” she giggled, winking playfully. “I’d like to see how you handle this, Krillin.”

“…All right…” Krillin sighed and trudged over to the co-pilot’s seat. “No offense, man,” he told Trunks. “But your mother is just hard to deal with sometimes.”

Trunks laughed. “Believe me, I know what you mean!”

Krillin sat in the chair, dialed Bulma’s number, and picked up the mic while putting the call on speaker. The phone at Bulma’s house began to ring, and a perky operator promptly answered it. “Capsule Corp!”

“Oh, this is Krillin,” he said. “I was wondering if I could speak to Bulma.”

“Bulma?? Oh yes! Please hold while I transfer your call! Thank you!”

Krillin was placed on hold for several seconds while a gentle call tone played in the background . Krillin and Trunks were almost scared out of their underpants when Bulma’s voice suddenly boomed through the phone. 

“Krillin?! What’s wrong?! Is everyone all right?! TALK TO ME!!!” she screamed in a complete panic. “Where are you calling from? I’ve tried calling Gohan at his house, but there’s no answer. It just rings and rings. By the way, is my son there, I mean, Trunks? You know…the one from the future?”

“Huh? Yeah, he’s sitting right behind me.” Krillin looked back to look at the future boy.

“He is? Well then, put him on the line!”

“He can hear you. We’re on speaker, so go ahead and say whatever you need to say, Bulma.”

“Well, tell him that I got a call today from this guy who lives somewhere to the west of here. He says he found an old, abandoned vehicle, and he wants to keep it. But he doesn’t know how to fly the thing. So, he phoned us and asked us if we knew.”

“Yeah…go ahead…”

“He tried to explain what kind of vehicle it was, but he didn’t make sense. We didn’t know whether it was one of our products or not, but he swore that it had Capsule Corporation written across it. So we asked him if he could send us a picture of it.” Bulma stood up from her chair and walked over to grab it from the table. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. It was a picture of the time machine Trunks came in. And I’ve got some bad news for you. It was a wreck…”

Trunks gasped in surprise and reached into his jacket’s pocket. “But that can’t be true!” He pulled out a small case containing capsules. He stood up and showed the capsule case to Krillin. “Here! Look! I put it up and I put it back into its capsule when I landed!”

“He says the time machine is right here,” Krillin spoke into the receiver. 

“Seriously?” asked Bulma, still staring at the picture in her hands. “But the time machine in the picture…I guess it’s the same, but it looks like it’s been there for a while…It’s almost completely overgrown with moss and stuff. So, exactly how many time machines did we make in the future?”

“How many?” repeated Trunks. “Well, we barely managed to make one.”

“What? That’s strange…I’m sure this is a time machine in the picture, but I wanna make sure. Hold on. I’ll send you a copy of the picture by fax. Trunks, I want you to take a good look at it.”

Soon enough, the picture came through the fax machine, and Krillin handed it over to Trunks. 

“That’s my capsule!” Trunks gasped in disbelief. “There’s no mistaking it. What’s going on here?”

“And get this…” Bulma added. “I don’t know if this is related, but a few months ago, I was contacted about another strange machine that was found about a half hour south of West City. The person who found it thought it was some kind of high-tech port-a-potty…” 

Charisma gasped and looked up towards Krillin. “...what?” she mumbled with disbelief. 

“I didn’t think much about it at the time,” Bulma explained. “Now that I’ve seen this, I wonder if the two things are related somehow. I mean, what are the odds of two strange machines being found out in the wilderness, in the same area, like this, just a few months apart? Seems too peculiar to be just a coincidence to me.”

Charisma immediately jumped to her feet and hurried to where Krillin sat. “Hey, Bulma,” Charisma said. “Did you see what that other machine looks like, too?”

“Yes,” she responded. “I’ll have to take a look through my files, but I do have it. I kept the picture just in case because it’s an interesting-looking machine...but it’s definitely not a Capsule Corp product, I can tell you that much.” 

Charisma felt her stomach drop. ‘...I can’t believe I completely forgot about my time machine.’

“Do you know if that other machine is still out there?” Charisma asked, drawing curious looks from the other passengers on the plane.

“Unfortunately, no,” Bulma said. “According to my source, it was removed and scrapped. There weren’t any logos on it or anything, so they didn’t think it was ours. And I can tell from looking at the picture that it definitely wasn’t.” 

Charisma exchanged a perplexed and concerned look with Trunks. It seemed she couldn’t hide the truth from anyone any longer.