"That’s it, the last test was a success and both the Ki Enhancer and the Ki Shield seem to be in perfect working order." Bulma turned from the window looking over the testing lab and found Trunks staring into space with a shocked look on his face.

"They’re here." He said plainly as he turned and walked out the door.

"Wow, done, not a moment too soon." She said nervously. "Trunks! Wait for me!" She picked up the capsules that held her new creations and raced out the door.

Trunks had already taken off by the time she got outside. "Dang it, Trunks! Why didn’t you wait for me. I don’t know where your going!?" She yelled in frustration. "Fine then!"

She un-capsulated a small air craft and climbed inside placing her small bundle on the seat beside her. Taking off she turned on the radio and scanned all bands. It didn’t take long for her to find one that was broadcasting news of two mysterious meteors that had crashed just south of West Capital City.

"Bingo!" She yelled and turned her craft in the right direction.

The Z-senshi arrived at basically the same time. Yamcha gave Trunks a glare and asked Krillin what he was doing here.

"Well, astonishing as it is, he’s a really amazing fighter. We’re going to need his help to beat these Saiyans." Yamcha grunted and looked away. Tien and Chaotzu hovered nearby surveying the two large craters in the earth below them.

"Well," said a gruff voice behind them. "Looks like they’re here." They all turned to see a large green fellow and a young boy with long black hair. "They’re early. Goku’s not back yet."

"Hey, Piccolo. Uh, hey kid. Looks like we’re going to have to deal with them with out him. Hope you’ve been training real hard. We have some more help now, though, so we have a better chance. This is Trunks." Krillin introduced his new friend and training partner. "Trunks this is Piccolo. He’s a Namek. And this is…"

"I hate to interrupt you little introductions, but whether or not you know each other isn’t going to make a bit of difference when I blast you all." The voice was cocky and sarcastic as it interrupted Krillin. "But since we’re all getting to know each other then allow me to tell you who we are. This is Nappa." The owner of the voice, a short man with a tail and spiky hair gestured to a tall bald man. Both were wearing armor and scouters and were floating in the air just above their space pods. "And I am Vegeta, The prince of the mighty Saiyan race, and we’re here for the Saiyan called Kakarott. Tell us where he is and we’ll kill you quickly." Both men smirked menacingly and rose to meet the group face to face.

"Goku’s a little indisposed at the moment, so you’ll just have to deal with us." Krillin shouted with more confidence then he felt. Even with Trunks’ help it was going to be close.

"Have it your way, weaklings. Who’s going to be the first to die?"

Piccolo spoke up then. "It’s not going to be as easy as you think. We’ve been preparing for you and we’re ready to make sure you are the ones losing today."

Vegeta and Nappa both laughed at this and then gave each other a knowing smirk. "We’ve scanned you power readings, and we know that you are nothing to fear." It was the Earth’s warrior’s turn to smirk knowingly.

"Ha," Piccolo grunted. "Well see." ‘Or at least you’ll see that we can suppress our power levels as well as detect yours.’ He thought with a gleam in his eye.

"Nappa," Vegeta ordered. "I’m going to deal with the green mouthy one, you deal with the rest of them."

"Yes, my prince." It was the first time the tall Saiyan had spoken. He waited until Piccolo and Vegeta had started their bout before tuning to the rest of the Earthlings.

"Don’t worry guys," Yamcha said as he flew up to Nappa. "Let me deal with the ugly one." He powered up and charged Nappa who was a little surprised at his jump in power and his fearless attack, but quickly regained his composure and began to fight with Yamcha.

To the untrained eye it only looked like a pair of blurs, but Trunks could tell that Nappa already had the upper hand. He was faster and stronger the Yamcha and he was blocking more of his shots. While Yamcha would land one punch, Nappa would have gotten in two punches and a kick. It wasn’t long before Yamcha was looking haggard and beat and more then a little worn out.

‘He’s not going to be able to take him all by himself’ Trunks thought. He tensed and prepared to help out when Tien and Chaotzu both flew down and began to attack Nappa from behind. This turned his attention and Yamcha was able to get in a few hits before being knocked aside by one of Nappa’s giant fists. Tien and his little emperor were soon to follow as the Giant alien tossed them aside.

"He’s strong guys," Yamcha said spiting out blood as he struggled to stand. "We’re going to have to give him all we’ve got."

"Your right, Yamcha. On the count of three we blast this guy with every ounce of strength we can pull together." The three stood and watched Nappa land a couple dozen feet away his face holding a proud smirk.

"One," Tien said

"Two…," Chaotzu rose into the air.

"Three! Yamcha yelled as all three pooled their energy and shot it at the unsuspecting enemy. The explosion was massive, overwhelming the entire fifty-foot radius area around Nappa. Rock and fire a like flew into the air with the power of the force. But when the dust cleared Nappa stood only slightly singed sporting a triumphant look

Laughing, he walked towards the spent trio. "Don’t tell me that’s all you’ve got!" He arrived to stand over Yamcha. He kicked him in the side sharply and laughed again. "I guess it is then. I thought you were going to be more then a simple matter, but I guess I was wrong." Rising in to the air and loomed over them. "Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to put all your Luxan Eggs on one Telaxian freighter?" With that he sent a huge blast at the three helpless warriors on the ground.

This time, when the dust cleared, there were only three scorch marks left. Krillin hardly had time to react. "No!" He yelled and started forward. "You monster!" He started to charge the huge man, but was stopped by Trunks.

"Don’t Krillin, you can’t help them now, and you’d only get yourself killed as well." He placed his hand on Krillin’s chest in order to restrain him.

"But…" Krillin looked in desperation from the place where his three friends had died, to Nappa floating conceitedly in the air, to Trunks and then back again. After a second he lowered his head in surrender. "You right, but man! He just blasted those guys as if they were nothing!"

"Yeah!" Came a small voice behind them. Gohan, who had been temporarily forgotten, spoke up now as he joined Trunks and Krillin. "I don’t think there’s any way we can beat these guys, they are so powerful!"

"Don’t give up yet, Kido." Krillin turned to Trunks. "We’re not out of options yet. And now that we know how strong he really is we can be more prepared. Right, Trunks?"

"Right. Let me give this guy a try. I’ll be careful. You guys stay back." He turned and approached Nappa, a wary look on his face.

Nappa laughed again. "What? You have a death wish or something? Those other three weaklings didn’t stand a chance, yet you some how think that you do?"

"I guess we’ll find our, hu?" Trunks stated matter-of-factly. He slowly neared Nappa with a scowl on his face. "Let’s do this." With that Nappa flew at Trunks in an attempt to ram into him with his whole body, but Trunks managed to step out of the way with ease. That sent Nappa sprawling a little, but he quickly turned back on Trunks.

Nappa ground his teeth together and growled. Charging again he through his fist at Trunks face, but was easily avoided. He tried a high kick to his chest, but felt only air. With one swift movement Trunks brought his fist up under Nappa’s chin and sent his head snapping back. Not waiting to see how badly he’d hurt his opponent, Trunks quickly followed through with another punch to the bald Saiyans gut.

Nappa bent in half and started to sink towards the ground. Taking the opportunity, Trunks kneed Nappa in the nose. Flying upward Nappa yelled out in pain and rage. He regained his composure and wiped the blood on his face. "Maybe you can stand on your own feet, maybe you got lucky. Well, no more!" Nappa screamed and powered up even more. He had underestimated his foe, but he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Flying in behind Trunks he tried a kidney shot only to find Trunks blocking his fist. One on one, they both delved into a fury of punches and kicks, much like Yamcha and Nappa had, only this time it was Nappa who couldn’t keep up.

Not far away Krillin and Gohan watched in awe. "Wow, Krillin, you were right, that guys super tough! Where’d you find him?" Gohan said while his eyes continued to follow the match in front of him.

"He’s a friend of Bulma’s. You do remember her, don’t you? Yeah, well, he’s been living with her and working at Capsule Corp. He’s been training with me for the last nine months or so."

Above them Nappa had backed off to take a breather. He was heaving and sweating and bloodied. "How!" He asked, "How could you beet me?"

"Simple," Trunks smirked.

‘That smirk looks so familiar…’ Nappa thought.

"I’m stronger then you, and I’m defending my home and everything I love. Now, if you want to live, then get in your space pod right now and leave. And you must promise never to return. Then I’ll spare your life. Otherwise, I will be forced to kill you to protect all that I care about."

"Such weakness…" Nappa spat, his eyes betraying his fear and hatred for the purple haired youth.

Behind him Vegeta suddenly spoke up. "And yet he still managed to defeat you." He growled at his subordinate and threw Piccolo, who’s torn and bloodied shit had been clutched in his fist, to the ground below.

"My prince," Nappa lowered his head in shame. Then his head snapped up and his eyes burned. "I will not let you defeat me! A Saiyan never surrenders, and I am a Saiyan elite. You can never beat me!" Nappa roared and charged Trunks for the last time.

In the few seconds of his approach, Trunks raised his fist and gathered his energy. As Nappa arrived at his nemesis he met only a handful of ki that cut effortlessly through his neck, and burned up his whole body until it was nothing but cinders.

Krillin and Gohan were momentarily distracted by Nappa’s end, but quickly regained their thoughts and flew quickly to the downed Piccolo. "He’s still alive!" Gohan said, partially relieved.

"Barely…" Krillin was still disturbed by Piccolo’s condition. It was obvious his fight with Vegeta had been very one-sided. He was near death, and Vegeta hadn’t even broken a sweat.

"Uh, Gohan, I sure hope your dad gets here soon. I don’t know if Trunks can even beat this guy, after seeing what he did to Piccolo…"

Vegeta drifted closer to Trunks and looked him up and down. "Why your nothing but a boy! I can’t believe you managed to beat a Saiyan elite." He said, not sounding very shocked, despite his words.

"Well, believe it, cause I did. And your next. You’ll find out I’m not as ‘young’ as you think I am. I will not let you destroy this world, after all I’ve done to prevent it’s ultimate destruction."

‘Hu?’ Krillin thought, ‘I wonder what he means by that?’ He put the thought aside and concentrated on the scene unfolding in front of him.

"Humph," Vegeta grunted and smirked. "I don’t see you being near strong enough to beat me, The Prince of all Saiyans. I am the destined to become the Legendary, stronger then all other Saiyans, and the most powerful being in the universe! You are no match for me, boy!" Both characters took fighting stances and faced off. In a flash they were all fists and feet, elbows and knees.

Gohan could keep up, but Krillin was having some trouble watching all of their movements. They seemed pretty equally matched. Vegeta hit Trunks from behind and sent him hurtling to the ground only a few feet form his companions, as he stood he glanced at his friends. "You guys better take Piccolo and get out of here. Get him some help, don’t let him die!" Then he blasted back to where Vegeta was waiting. He managed a hit to Vegeta’s stomach and a fist to the back of his head, but Vegeta caught himself before he hit the dirt.

Vegeta fired a ki blast at Trunks, but he managed to dodge it and went at Vegeta again. Trunks fist in his face, Vegeta decided that he’d had enough of letting this boy get to him. Backing off slightly he powered up, but Trunks shortly followed suit and did the same. This time the blurs were beyond Krillin, as he lost them completely.

"Geez, Gohan, I can’t even see them any more, they’re going to fast!"

"It’s amazing, Krillin, Trunks is actually keeping up with that creep! They’re almost evenly matched."

` "Almost?" Krillin sounded worried.

"Yeah, Trunks has amazing power, but I don’t think he’ll be able to keep this up. He’s probably going to lose, despite his best efforts. Sorry, Gohan, but maybe he’ll at least be able to keep Vegeta busy until my dad arrives." Gohan picked up Piccolo’s head. "Help me, Krillin, we have to get Piccolo away from here."

"Yeah, you’re right." Picking up the green aliens, Krillin began to carry him away. "It’s too bad. This sounds like it’ll be an interesting fight. Him and Gohan took off hovering just above ground as they went in search of a place to hide Piccolo.

Above the retreating pair and their cargo, Trunks and Vegeta appeared as if out of nowhere. Both had labored breathing, although Trunks was slightly more out of breath, he was also sweating profusely.

"Huh, so far you’ve managed to keep up, but your starting to slow down, boy. Still think you can beet me?" Vegeta smirked as if he had already won. It seemed victory was inevitable for him.

"I won’t let you win!" Trunks yelled as he charged Vegeta. Vegeta swiftly sidestepped Trunks and hammered him to the ground with a fist to his back.

"You don’t have a choice. Just give up now, and save yourself any further humiliation." The Saiyan Prince taunted the sprawled form below him. Trunks was struggling, with little success to get to his feet. "Not going to give up, huh? Well, I can’t say I’m disappointed. It would be a shame to find out a decent fighter like yourself was only a coward. Unfortunately, you still have to die. Sad really, you’re the only opponent I’ve had lately that even resembled a challenge." With that Vegeta powered up even more, and swooped down to where Trunks was attempting to remain upright and began to pummel him with hits and kicks. The young man’s body was tossed like a rag doll under the wheels of a bus.

A few moments later, and what seemed like an eternity of hell for Trunks, Vegeta backed off and watched him fall unconscious to the earth, his body broken and bloodied, much like Piccolo’s had been.

Krillin and Gohan peeked out of their hiding place behind a broken outcropping or rocks. "We have to do something, Krillin. Trunks is down and his power is almost non-existent now. He’s going to die, if we don’t help him."

"Are you crazy!" Krillin said in shock. "If we go out there now we’ll only get ourselves fried, and then what good would we be to Piccolo or Trunks. He’s my friend, and I’m worried about him, but there’s nothing we can do for him now."

Gohan growled. "I hate waiting around like this. If only my father were here!" He watched as Vegeta powered down and turned to survey the surrounding area. He looked around for a moment before turning his attention to where Krillin and Gohan were hiding.

"What have we here?" Vegeta said, sounding a little amused.

"Oh, no! He’s spotted us!" Krillin whispered. "We’re in for it now!" He shut his eyes and held his breath. They waited for a few seconds and, when nothing happened, peeked around the edge of their sanctuary once more. "What’s he waiting for?" Krillin asked in agitation.

Gohan watched Vegeta’s eyes before realizing that they were not pointed right at them, but above them. "Hang on, Krillin." He turned to try and see what Vegeta was looking at when he spotted a small craft making it’s way towards them. "He’s not looking at us. Look, there’s a ship coming!"

Krillin saw what Gohan was taking about. "Who would be crazy enough to fly out here in the middle of a battle zone?" A minute later the craft was close enough for the label and the driver to be visible. "Capsule Corp? Why that’s Bulma! What’s she doing here?" Krillin was amazed to see the blue haired woman. She was usually hated fighting, and avoided it at all costs. Bulma was his friend, but for all her good qualities, courage was not on the top of her list.

She landed a few feet from where Trunks lay and jumped out taking only a second to capsulate her car. Then, spotting the fallen Trunks she rushed to his side.

Seeing him like this was frightening, but something in her was rising. "Trunks…" She whispered, lifting his head into her lap. "Trunks, please be alright! Don’t die on me!" She brushed the hair from his eyes and wiped blood from his brow. "Who did this to you?" She looked up as a pair of gold tipped boots landed in front of her.

"That would be me." He smirked at the sentimental scene in front of him. ‘She is beautiful.’ He though. ‘She’s probably the boy’s mate, although they look so much alike. She might be his sister. Either way she has no power level at all and I can do with her what ever I want…’ His smirk widened. "And you are…?" ‘Not that I really care…’

Bulma’s brow dropped as something in her snapped. "Very angry." She placed Trunks head gently back on the ground. ‘He’s not dead yet, and from the looks of things, I’m the only one left to save him. Be brave, Bulma!’ She reached a hand in her jacket and pulled out a small mettle ring the size of a bracelet and a round, quarter sized disc. Placing the disc on Trunks chest that rose and fell shallowly she tapped the top of it and a field seemed to appear around Trunk’s entire body. Next she slipped the jacket from her shoulders and slid the ring onto her arm securing it in place half-way between her elbow and shoulder. The whole time she kept her angry eyes looked on the short Saiyan, whose tail had unwound from his waist and was now snaking behind him.

He watched her curiously, and then, as she took a fighting stance, he laughed out loud. "What? You think your going to fight me?"

"I’m going to try."

He laughed again. ‘At least she has spirit. This could be amusing.’ He stepped forward and crossed his arms over his chest. "As long as you realize that you are going to lose, and very quickly. You don’t even stand a chance. You don’t even have a power level!"

Bulma had to suppress a smile. "Wrong." She said and watched happily as the smirk dropped from his face, replaced by a look of surprise. "I didn’t have a power level." With that she twisted the band on her arm and felt the jolt that shot through her. After all the times she had tested the ki enhancer on herself, she still hadn’t gotten used the to first initial shock. After a second, she got used to the feeling of the power that flowed through her. She rose cautiously from the ground. She was shaky at first, but she soon became more confident as all of Trunks flying lessons came back to her. She had forced him to teach her how to fly in order to "test" their invention properly.

Vegeta watched in awe as the fragile creature in front of him suddenly spouted a power level and flew off the ground. ‘Interesting… this is going to be more fun then I thought.’ He rose off the ground and hovered just in front of the blue-haired vixen. "Impressive. How did you do that?" He was sincerely curious.

"Humph, wouldn’t you like to know?" Bulma said. "You are a monster, and I’m not going to tell you anything, other then, prepare to die." She sounded cocky and confident, but inside, Bulma wasn’t sure she could stand up to the powerful alien. Especially after seeing what he’d done to Trunks. ‘You’re going to have to turn it up, but slowly.’

Vegeta laughed again. Her power level was impressive, for one so fragile, but it was nothing compared to his. "Alright, little one, if you’re so anxious to die… bring it on" He beckoned her forward with his hands.

Her anger got the better of her fear and she crept slowly towards the Saiyan Prince. "Alright then, it seems as though you need a little humbling. It’ll be my pleasure." She was soon face to face staring him in the eye. ‘Don’t let him see your true power, Bulma. It’s obvious that he’s underestimating you. Use that to your advantage.’ She mentally plotted a plan of attack.

‘I bet she doesn’t even know how to fight…’ Vegeta thought as he watched her eyes, wondering when, or even if she was going to attack. She did, and it took him totally by surprise. Instead of punching him, she slapped him across the face. Hard. Hard enough for it to sting and make his cheek tingle. His head had snapped to the side and he growled, bringing his eyes back to look into her scowling face.

"That was for Trunks. But don’t think I’m through yet. You still have a lot more coming, you intergalactic pain in the…" Her words were cut off as his hand gripper her throat.

"No one slaps the Prince of the Saiyans, least of all a weak human female like you." He growled, bringing his face very close to hers.

"So," She spat between her teeth. "Your royalty? Could have fooled me." She chocked the words out and his fist tightened, but she continued to glare defiantly back at him.

‘She’s either incredibly stupid, or incredibly brave. No one has ever spoken that way to me.’ "You don’t know what you’re dealing with, woman." He was getting back in control of his anger and relaxed his grip a little. ‘She is no real threat to me, but I will enjoy breaking her spirit before I destroy this pathetic planet.’ "You care for that weakling down there, don’t you? Well then, watch as I make him nothing but ashes."

From where they were watching in amazement, Krillin and Gohan almost yelled out for Vegeta to stop. "No, Trunks…" Krillin whispered.

Vegeta gathered a large ball of ki in his free hand and flung it at the ground. The explosion was huge, sending dirt and rocks everywhere, as the whole area around Trunks went up in flames. Vegeta smirked in satisfaction until he saw Bulma’s face sporting her own knowing look. Looking back to the disaster below, he watched as the dust settled, revealing an unscathed, yet still unconscious, Trunks. The ground around him was indented and charred, except for an inch or so around his entire body.

Bulma gave a weak laugh under Vegeta’s clenched fist. "You can’t hurt him now. I’ve made sure of that, and I’ll see that you never hurt anyone else again!" She yelled this as she grabbed the arm that held her and flipped Vegeta over her shoulder. Then she turned and faced him again, crouched low and ready to spring.

‘Clever little witch, I’m going to enjoy this so much.’ He smirked and approached his prey. Silently he sent a light punch towards her face, by she avoided it. He brought his leg up in a high kick, but she dodged that as well.

‘He’s just toying with me. Time to turn things up a notch.’ She flew backwards, out of his range and gave the mettle ring on her arm another twist. The power in her tripled. She took a deep breath trying to get herself under control. This time, when Vegeta threw a punch at her stomach she didn’t move, or even flinch for that matter.

Vegeta was taken back. "Don’t tell me that’s all you’ve got." Bulma taunted him as she swung her own fist into his stomach. He doubled in half and she brought her knee up to his face, quickly followed by an elbow to his head.

Vegeta staggered backwards. ‘She’s gotten stronger. This might actually take some effort.’ He composed himself and powered up charging Bulma and attempting to wreak havoc on her small frame, but his blows were all dodged or blocked. Then Bulma brought a leg up and almost connected with Vegeta’s head before he managed to raise his arm to block it. ‘She’s fast, too.’ He grinned at the challenge and powered up even more.

He attacked her again, this time their strength seemed more equally matched. ‘It’s a good thing I had Trunks give me some pointers in fighting basics. Besides all those hours I spent watching Krillin and Trunks train… I thought I might need the skills, but I never expected this.’

Vegeta continued his attacks. ‘She maybe strong, and fast, but she is not an experienced fighter. Her form is very sloppy and amateurish. She has no real skills.

Vegeta managed a punch to Bulma’s face and she found her nose spurting blood. "Oh, did I give you an boo boo? So sorry." His tone implied other wards.

‘This won’t do.’ Bulma thought as she wiped her face off.. She could still feel the blood tickling the corner of her mouth before running down her chin. "You won’t get so lucky again!" She tuned the ki enhancer again. The power surged through her and she almost lost consciousness, but her will managed to hold her steady. She could hear a slight buzzing in her head like a high voltage fence, but managed to ignore it.

Vegeta watched as her eyes suddenly glowed with a bright white light, and her hair began to stand on end, as if she were filled with static electricity.

Bulma closed her eyes and fought to get the energy under control. It felt as though every cell in her body was speeding up and pulsing with power, even her small muscles tightened and toned slightly. After a minute or so she opened her eyes, fully in control.

Gohan and Krillin watched with dropped jaws as Bulma began to glow. They felt her ki skyrocket and hope stirred in their hearts. Piccolo stirred, but they didn’t even notice. Their eyes were focused on the sight before them.

When the woman’s eyes opened her blue irises were almost iridescent. ‘She’s so amazing,’ Vegeta found himself thinking, beside himself with awe. Powering up he, prepared for another bout.

When Bulma spoke her voice her voice was slightly distorted and reverberated in the air around her. "Now, lets see you match this, monkey boy!" Her hair settled down, but seemed to glow with a hidden energy. She was radiating a wave of strength from every inch of her pumped up body.

Vegeta’s face flashed with a look of fear before he replaced it with its usual stoic scowl. Bulma charged him and began to pummel Vegeta with her fists. There was no form or technique, just unleashed power and rage and Vegeta found it was all he could do to keep himself stable against the barrage of blows. He sent his fist smashing in to her stomach, but she acted as though she hadn’t even felt it. She flicked him a way as if her were nothing but a fly.

To Bulma it seemed as if the world around her had slowed down and she found it easy to break through Vegeta’s relatively slow defenses. She threw an upper cut to his chin and kicked him in the ribs. Her fists pummeled his face as he tried to block.

"Gohan! What’s happening?" Krillin’s eyes twitched.

"They’re going so fast! But I think… I think she’s doing it! She’s beating him! Bulma’s beating Vegeta!" He said it, but he could hardly believe it himself.

"That’s not possible." The voice beside them startled them as they turned to see Piccolo conscious and staring at the fight above. "That can’t be Bulma. She’s not a fighter."

The solution suddenly hit Krillin like a ton of bricks. "That’s it! Trunks and Bulma were working on some kind of energy enhancing device! That must be what’s making her as strong as Vegeta."

"Well," Piccolo started, sounding almost impressed before his pessimistic personality had a chance to take over. "Looks like that woman may have some uses after all. It’s too bad there’s no way she can win."

"What!?" Krillin and Gohan said together. "What do you mean?" Krillin asked.

"Just look at her. She’s got the speed, she’s got the strength, but she’s an armature. She has no fighting skills, what so ever. She’s going to lose, just because she doesn’t know how to win." Piccolo kept his eyes on Bulma and Vegeta. "Besides the fact that she looks as though her whole body is about to fly apart. She can’t control all of that energy and I don’t think Vegeta’s at full power yet. He’s just toying with her."

All three looked with serious faces to see if Piccolo was right.

Bulma gathered some of her energy and pushed it out at Vegeta in the form of a small blast. It was enough to send Vegeta tumbling. He managed to land on his own too feet, and he stared up at the glowing figure above him. He bared his teeth and growled. He was glad that there was no one around to witness his humiliating beating.

Bulma floated down and touched ground a dozen feet from Vegeta. "Wow," she said in her enhanced voice. "Cool, I’ve never done that before. I think I’ll try that again." She raised her hands in front of her body as held them together, closing her eyes. She looked like a praying angel. Slowly she opener her mouth and began to yell, low at first and then growing in volume as the size of the ball forming in front of her grew.

Vegeta took this opportunity to power up and raise his ki shield to it’s maximum level. It just wouldn’t do to be hurt any more by this female. He watched as her energy intensified. ‘Show me what you’ve got, woman."

Bulma was yelling at full voice now, and front of her hung a ball of pure energy. She opened her eyes, and once again, they glowed with a strange white light..

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA TIDAL ARROW, RELEASE!!!"

Krillin, Gohan, Piccolo, and especially Vegeta’s eyes widened and Vegeta threw his arms up in front of his face. The hiding trio watched as the ball in front of Bulma rushed towards Vegeta and then exploded into five bolts of blue lightning that struck Vegeta with five direct hits. Three of the arrows struck Vegeta in the arms and face; two hit him in the chest and one in the stomach. He was tossed backwards and did several summersaults before coming to a scraping halt fifty yards away. His face planted firmly in the crevice his body had made.

Bulma lowered her arms and watched where the price had fallen. In a flash he was up and crashing into her. She was unprepared for his sudden attack and flew backward as he tackled her. He pinned her arms over her head and looked down into her face. His lip was bleeding and his armor was broke. There were several rips in his body suit, but his eyes flashed with excitement.

"That was quite a little blast you gave me. More then I expected, but not enough. Shall I show you my full power? Do you want to see what real strength is all about?"

"Go ahead. Give me your best shot, I’ll just double it and then I’ll double that. You can’t stop what I can do, so just give up now and I won’t have to destroy you." She wasn’t even struggling beneath him. She was perfectly calm pinned beneath his body. Her eyes had returned to the blue iridescent glow and they shown at the thought of a challenge.

"So be it." Vegeta smiled in his evil way and let his power go. It flowed out of him and the field around his body began to glow and heat up. The places were he touched her left her skin slightly burned, around her wrists and on her stomach where he was straddling her. In her altered state she hardly felt in, but she growled a little as she felt his full power.

‘I’m almost there! I can beat him! Just one more turn, if only I could reach my arm!’ She began to struggle a little.

"Wanna play some more? All right then, you’ll have to get away first." He held her tight.

‘What to do? What to do?’ Her mind raced looking for possible opportunities for escape.

‘She’s so beautiful! She’d make an excellent Saiyan…’ He watched her mind work wondering what she’d come up with.

An idea came to Bulma, one she figured he’d never expect. Vegeta saw the moment when she came to her decision, because the glow of her eyes brightened momentarily before she looked him deep in the eyes and said, "You messed with the wrong girl." He tensed waiting for an energy wave or an attempt to flip him again.

Three quarters of a football field away Piccolo frowned. "What are they doing? What is Vegeta waiting for?"

Krillin had a look of immense fear. "Vegeta’s power! It’s so intense! How are we ever going to beat that?" He was worried about Bulma. She wasn’t used to fighting, or loosing.

But Bulma was holding her own, still.

She batted her eyelashes in a very contradictory fashion to the intense strength surrounding her and then she did the most surprising thing of all. She stretched her neck up and stuck her tongue out. She licked from his collar all the way up his neck to his chin. He jerked back and she used his own momentum to toss him over her head and then she stood, whirled and faced him. He had landed on one knee and had one hand on his neck where she had licked him.

‘Not fair! She’s fighting like a woman!’ He grinned again and stood to meet her.

"What do they think this is, some kind of flirt fest or a pissing contest?" Piccolo growled quietly. He didn’t like how things were looking out there. Neither of them was taking this seriously.

Bulma had forgotten about Goku and was resolved to defeat Vegeta on her own. It was the principle of the thing. She was going to wipe that smile off his handsome face. She could still taste his sweat on her tongue. ‘Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea…’ She was going to have a harder time concentrating now. She licked her lips. "I’m going to eat you alive, Princey. That was just the first taste." She quickly stepped towards him and then back again while she watched him step back. "Psyche." She laughed. Then she launched herself towards him with a yell. Bulma punched him repeatedly in the chest, but it was his turn to laugh at her efforts. He shot into the air and she followed getting a little bit agitated. Something about the Ki enhancer made her yearn for battle and victory.

She chased Vegeta straight into the air. He stopped abruptly and she almost rammed into him, but managed to stop last second and sent a high kick flying at his head. He caught her leg and flipped her through the air. Then he took off again, and she pursued.

"Come back here, you coward!" She screamed after him in frustration.

‘She’s changed from that frightened woman she was before to a bloodthirsty warrior. How excellent…’ He turned to face her one last time. They met in a titan like clash. Each pounding on the other, hit for hit. Vegeta punched Bulma in the stomach and she kneed him in the ribs, she elbowed him in the face he slammed her behind the neck.

Below them Trunks cracked open one eye, the one that wasn’t swollen shut, and caught a glimpse of movement above him. He struggled to sit up and then watched above until he could get an idea of what was going on. He saw a flash of blue and then black, and then he felt the tingle over his body. Looking down he noticed the artificial ki shield on his chest. ‘Oh, no! Bulma must be fighting Vegeta!’ He searched the sky above, adjusting his sight to their speed. He found then decking it out thirty or forty feet above him. Both appeared to be wounded, but were still putting up an amazing fight. Vegeta’s blows were starting to have an effect on Bulma, however, and Trunks could tell it wouldn’t be long until she was in the same shape he was. He winced as he struggled to stand. His whole body was throbbing.

Noticing Bulma’s condition, Trunk’s mind cried out. ‘No, Bulma, you can’t use the ki enhancer at such a level, you’re going to burn yourself out!’ The thought of her lying broken and singed on the ground gave him strength to hover a few inches off the ground. ‘I have to get to her!’ Fear and worry blocked out all of his pain.

"Hey, guys, look! "Trunks is awake!" Krillin burst out. "But what’s he doing?" He was confused. ‘Oh, yeah, I guess he must be going to try to save his girlfriend… I wonder if they ever did get together… I know he loves her…’ Krillin’s head jerked. ‘Why am I thinking about that right now! There are other more important issues at hand. Anyways, I hope he doesn’t go get himself killed up there.’

Bulma pulled back out of range and out of breath. ‘No, you can’t be winning I won’t let you! I have to be stronger.’ Her hand went to her arm.

‘Oh, no. If she uses that thing again, she’ll be stronger then me and I can barely hold her off now!’ Vegeta started to panic. He wasn’t the only one.

"Bulma, No, Don’t do it! You won’t be able to handle it!" Trunks yelled and caught the attention of both the fighters above.

"Trunks…" Bulma’s voice was a mere whisper. Then she remembered why she had started fighting in the first place. "Don’t worry, Trunks! I can beat him! I have to!" She turned back to Vegeta and stared him down.

Trunks was getting desperate. "Vegeta! You can’t let her! She’s maxed out as it is. She’ll fry herself from the inside out!"

Vegeta felt things shift into slow motion. He looked from the kid to the woman as she gripped the band on her arm and gave it a twist. ‘Do I care…? So what if she dies?’ His thoughts ran their course in a matter of milliseconds. ‘If she dies you’ll have no one to play with…’ "Good enough he said out loud in response to his own thoughts and in an instant he was on the move.

As she gave the ki enhancer the final twist she felt every nerve in her body explode in pain. Her brain felt on fire and she let out a scream, her voice sounding tortured and split into two. Clenching her eyes shut she gripped her head with her hands and doubled over. She felt her body as it seemed to expand and bots of electricity shot through her. The power was too much; it was simply overwhelming.

Vegeta reached her and grabbed her by the shoulders and received the shock of his life. Literally. He took a step back. It was as if she were on fire. ‘What to do… How do I save her?’ His mind raced. ‘That thing on her arm; that’s what has been giving her her boosts in power. It has to be that, or nothing." He reached his fingers underneath the band and clenched his palm around it. The fire burned into his arm it felt like he had grabbed an electrical wire. He was enveloped in the force of the energy that surrounded Bulma. The pain was almost too much, but he couldn’t let go. He had to hold on. Gathering his thoughts he steadied himself and gave one good yank. The band snapped in an instant and all the power seemed to melt away.

All the pain Bulma felt suddenly stopped and drifted away like a fog in the wind. She sighed and slumped into a pair of waiting arms.

She was still conscious, barely, but she couldn’t open her eyes. Her thoughts were scattered and disorganized. ‘What happened… where am I…where is Trunks… I heard him… did he save me…why does my head still hurt so much…’ she opened her eyes a crack, but things were all a blur. She could make out the shape of a face above her. "Trunks…?" Things became a little less blurry. The eyes above her were black and deep. "Who…?" She fought to focus her vision.

"You stupid female. You should have known that you could never handle that much power. You nearly denied me the pleasure of killing you myself." His words were cruel, but they held a tiny amount of sincere concern.

"You…?" ‘What did Trunks call him? Oh, yeah.’ "Vegeta…?" She stared up into the gruff face above her. "Thank you…" With that she allowed the darkness to overwhelm her totally and she passed out.

Trunks was only a few feet away. He hadn’t been fast enough to save Bulma. It was a good thing Vegeta had been there… ‘Vegeta! He saved her!?’ Trunks listened to the interlude between the woman he loved and the man that had nearly killed him not too long ago and then he saw her head drop back and her body slump. ‘Oh no! She’s dead! We didn’t stop her in time!’

He roared out in anger and pain of loss as he dropped slowly to the ground his head lowered, his eyes tightly shut fighting back tears. He landed gently on one knee on the ground and felt as though he heart had been ripped out though his chest. "She can’t be gone. She just can’t…" His voice was a harsh whisper.

"And why not?" Vegeta asked as he landed a few feet away. He knew the girl was alive, but he wasn’t about to easy the weakling’s pain and tell him that. "She tried to go up against one of the strongest fighters in the universe. "Gone" is how most people who do what she did end up." He placed the girl on the ground and then brushed his hands off.

Trunks looked up, stung by Vegeta’s words. "You monster! You didn’t even know her. You didn’t know how kind and intelligent she was. She was…" His words choked in his throat. Rage was building in side of him. No one had ever cared for him as much as she did, except for his mother. Even though she didn’t love him in a physical way, Trunks knew she did love him. ‘She was fighting for me…’ His eyes rose to Vegeta’s form standing with his arms crossed.

"This is all your fault." His voice was cold and sharp. "If it hadn’t been for you she would still be alive. It was because she was fighting you that she did this to herself."

Vegeta was angered by the boy’s words. ‘I’m the one who saved her, you weakling baka!’ Vegeta almost said it out loud, but he was stopped by a sudden increase in the young man’s power level.

Trunks was writhing with anger. "You killed Bulma!" He yelled as she jumped to his feet. "How could you?! Why did you have to come here, you greedy, heartless, cruel monster!" His rage was overwhelming him now. The disc on his chest exploded as his ki blew it to pieces.

From the outside Vegeta watched in amazed horror as Trunks aura flashed from white to gold. Then his hair twitched. Purple, gold, purple, gold. His eyes lightened from blue to teal and in a matter of seconds Trunks was yelling in crazed fury, his arms raised over his head. His hair was golden, his eyes were teal, and his energy was growing.

"No, it can’t be!" Vegeta staggered backwards. ‘That’s just like a Super Saiyan! But that’s impossible! There must be some other explanation!’ He couldn’t believe what was right before his eyes.

Trunks walked calmly towards his enemy. "Now, you pay." He launched towards Vegeta and began to strike Vegeta repeatedly. Vegeta was too caught up in his amazement to fight back at first. By the time he had the sense to put his arms up he was too beaten to stand. Trunks kicked him in the chest and sent him flying up into the air. Faster then the eye could see he appeared behind him and slammed his whole body into Vegeta’s back. Both fighters crashed to the earth only a few feet apart.

"It’s not possible…" Vegeta spit out blood as he slumped to the earth.

"Have to kill… Vegeta…" Trunks felt his body give out. His coloring returned to normal and his hair fell back down around his swollen and bleeding face, just before it hit the dust.

From where they were hiding the trio just stared in amazement for a few minutes. "Uh, guys…? What just happened?" Krillin questioned.

"I’d say we just won." Piccolo said simply as he stood and walked over to the three sprawled bodies. Gohan and Krillin soon followed.

As they stood over Trunks and Vegeta, Bulma opened her eyes. Rolling onto her stomach she looked up at Piccolo and Gohan. "Don’t you kill him. He saved my life…" She rolled back onto her back. "He saved my life…" She whispered as she passed out again.

The three looked on in shock, all they could do was stare.

"Hey guys!" The turned, surprised once again to see Goku hovering in the air above them. "Did I miss anything?"

* * * * *