He was sick with fear, so sick that he could feel his stomach flipping and sinking as he flew through the afternoon sky. If it was an ordinary day, he would have taken notice of the bright green pine trees below him, blurring as he flew past them in a rush. He might have noticed the way that the sun hung high in the sky --- yellow, and cloudless, and cheerful. But the only thing on his mind, the only thing that he could think about he as raced through the afternoon sky, was Bra. Somehow, he knew that danger was heading her way, knew that something bad was about to happen with to her. And he couldn’t take that. He just simply couldn’t take it if something happened to his little sister. After the torturous grief of his mother’s death, it would be absolutely vindictive of life to steal away Bra as well. It would be more than he could handle, more than he could accept. If Juunana-gou managed to kill his little sister somehow, some way, then Trunks would simply cease to exist. He would shut out the world, break down, become lifeless.

And it wasn’t just the fact that he already had too much grief and couldn’t handle anything more --- he loved Bra. His sister was tiring at times; annoying, disrespectful, pretentious, mischievous. She had always been the favorite child, had always been more loved and cotteled than he ever could have dreamed of being. She gloated over his disappointments, never thought twice about tattling on him, and often embarrassed him around friends and dates. At times she had actually driven him to the point of wanting to shoot himself. And then there were the times when she would come to him at night, her face washed with tears, hugging Mr. Hippo to her chest and looking at him with those terrified blue eyes. Because he knew how scary nightmares could be and because she looked so innocent, he would lift the covers and let her crawl into bed with him, dutifully ignoring the fact that she stole all of the covers and kicked him repeatedly in her sleep.

He and Bra were survivors. They were the children of a couple that was well beyond abnormal. They were royalty, wealthy, half-alien. And they were alone. Without Bra, he would have no one there to understand what it was like, to understand what it meant to hear a kind word from their father. No one else would be there to just suddenly hug him, to squeeze him tight because they knew what it felt like to never be hugged. She was young and didn’t understand how a lot of things in the world worked yet, but her child’s perspective was always optimistic and comforting. It was in these moments, the moments when she looked seemed sweet and naïve, he felt his heart swell with love.

He remembered when his mom had first brought her home from the hospital, wrapped up in a fuzzy pink blanket. When he’d gotten his first look at those tiny little hands and all of that shiny turquoise hair, he’d been enchanted. Of course, instead of letting that enchantment show, he had scoffed and made some snooty comment about the fact that they better not expect him to change diapers. He loved his little sister, yes, but there was no way in hell that he was going to let that show. He might have been young then, but he still had a reputation to uphold. Besides, his father had been watching, and he didn’t seem like the time of man who would fuss over a baby. Trunks had to make him proud, had to make it seem as though he were hard and emotionless, just like him.

But in moments like these, moments when fear and sickness were wild and hot in his stomach, it was hard not to show that he cared. When it came to matters of life and death, pride should no longer matter. He kept that in mind as he screamed through the air, his face full of fear and his sky blue eyes fierce. If that jinzouningen piece of trash laid so much as a hand on his little sister, he would be sorry. He knew that it would not be wise to kill Juunana-gou, but it would be hard to ignore reason if he found the android attacking his city, his home, his sister. It would be easy to just let the rage seep out then, overtake him. He didn’t want it to happen, didn’t want to fall into the same category as Mirai Trunks --- irrational and fed by guilt and fury. But as he flew on, he became increasingly aware of the fact that some things were just unavoidable.

The evil part of Juunana-gou rejoiced in the sudden freedom, chuckling madly as he flew over a cluster of small green hills. They were the hills that surrounded the west side of East Capitol city, rolling across the landscape like ripples in the sand. The green hills dipped down and panned out, seeping into the ground as the city came into view. East Capitol was a big city, big enough so that it stretched out before him, reaching the horizon in the distance, where more of those green hills lay. He saw the suburbs first, rows of identical houses, lined up in straight lines, a postage stamp size lawn next to each driveway. He flew on, a smirk growing on his handsome face, towards the very heart of the city, where the skyscrapers rose up proudly from the ground, their windows glinting in the afternoon sun.

It was here that he paused, finally turning around to view his opponents. They were closing in quickly, would certainly catch him if he waited another moment. There was the Namek of course, the one that he had fought with earlier --- the one that had drug him through the fire and burned his cozy little cabin to the ground. And the other one was the Saiya-jin woman; he didn’t know her very well. He knew that she was strong, but did not feel frightened of her. His programming didn’t let him feel frightened. Instead, he looked at both of his enemies with a smirk and cocked one arrogant eyebrow at them. Then he turned and flew down, spiraling towards the city streets, his long black hair swinging behind him.

They followed, closing in on him fast, so fast that he could hear the Namek shout something at him, something that was distorted by the wind rushing pat his ears. He flew on, weaving around buildings and under bridges, confusing them, irritating them. This was almost the best part of a fight: the chase. He led them on a dizzying tour of the city, winding through the skyscrapers and diving into alley ways, tunneling through the construction sight of a new building. He laughed, allowing himself to turn around and fly backwards, watching them as they raced after him, their expressions furious. He was leading them on and they knew it.

When he saw the female Saiya-jin suddenly burst into a mass of golden flames, her eyes turning jade and pupiless, he realized that perhaps it was time for the chase to end. He could only run for so long before they caught up to him. Normally it would have been fun to tease them this way, knowing that they couldn’t kill him. But there was something about the way that the Saiya-jin woman looked at him with those cold jade eyes; she would kill him. She didn’t give a damn about circumstances. The Namek knew better, but this Saiya-jin woman did not. And given the fact that she was a Super Saiya-jin, and a strong one at that, defeating her might not be a very easy task.

Instead of continuing with his game, he simply ducked down and flew low to the ground, searching the city with calm, ice blue eyes. They would need a big area, a clean area, where they could fight. Fighting in the middle of the city would not be so bad, but things tended to get messy when buildings came crumbling down, and he didn’t want to take the chance of battling two full grown and proficient warriors during all of that chaos.

When he happened to fly over the familiar domed building with a large, green lawn he paused momentarily, then dove down. His feet landed on the grass without a sound and his eyes rose, looking at the building that stood before him. It was a clean, butter yellow, round as an igloo, huge. There were rows of bushes surrounding the outer edges of the structure, ringing the yellow of the walls with a dark, forest green. The lawn was enourmous and devoid of any other buildings, except for a small one near the back. It was the perfect place to hold a ground battle, the perfect place for him to stop and face his enemies before his pissed them off too badly. He turned again at the thought of them, and found the two of them hanging in the air before them. Their expressions were grim now, and they kept shooting looks at the building behind him.

“That’s kind of ironic, isn’t it?” Piccolo asked sardonically. He hadn’t meant for the comment to be said aloud, but for some reason his mouth had opened anyway. He bared his clean white fangs in a grim smile, shooting a look over at Koronu. “Out of all of the places in East Capitol City that he could have landed, he chooses Capsule Corporation. Maybe there really is still part of him inside that wants to be helped. I don’t think he would have come here otherwise. There must be something or someone else guiding his thoughts. If the sane part of Juunana-gou is still inside there somewhere, he may have been guiding himself here. This is the place where Bulma works all of her miracles. The place where the jinzouningen will hopefully be saved….”

Koronu dismissed his idea with a mere shake of her head, narrowing those beautiful jade eyes down until they were nothing but tiny slits. The very tip of her golden tail waved back and forth angrily for a moment before settling down around her waist again. “I think he’s just looking for trouble. He wouldn’t have come into the city unless he wanted to hurt people. If he just wanted to be helped, he would have stayed in our possession instead of punching you and then taking off into flight.”

“Either way, I think this is going to be a serious problem.” Piccolo said suddenly, his eyes focused on something below.

“Why is that?”

Wordlessly, Piccolo lifted a hand and pointed. Somehow he had known that this would happen, somehow he knew what it would mean for Juunana-gou to land in this particular yard, in this particular city. There was a reason for everything, and although a large part of him felt that good forces were working on their side, he also felt that evil forces were against them too. Both of those forces had guided the android here, had guided him to this particular building. But it was only one of those forces that opened the front door of the house and bring the little girl outside. A small girl with curious deep blue eyes and turquoise hair stuck her head out of the doorway, then wandered out into the yard, a plastic beach ball in her hands. She paused when she saw the stranger standing in her yard, tilted her head in recognition. Then, to the horror of both of her onlookers, she began to walk towards Juunana-gou.

Bra had seen him before, at occasions such as picnics and reunions. He had always been quiet and calm, always sat away from everyone but Juuhachi-gou and Marron-chan. She had watched him sometimes when she knew she wouldn’t get caught. He was handsome, very handsome --- just like the models in the magazines that her mother used to look through. He had long, dark hair that fell shiny and straight almost to his shoulders. His eyes were blue; not the color of her brother’s eyes, which were like the sky, or her mother’s, which were like the ocean. They were a colder blue, a lighter blue; a color that reminded her of the icicles that formed on the ledge of the room in the wintertime. He had never spoken to her before, never even looked at her. But she knew his name and she knew who he was. So he wasn’t a stranger.

She had been feeling lonely that day. After everyone had left and gone to the Son House, she wished that she would have gone. It would have been fun to sit in ChiChi’s nice, clean kitchen and eat dumplings, or play tag with Goten and her brother out in the forest. Anything would have been better than sitting at home all alone, wandering around the big empty house and avoiding the task of cleaning her bedroom. She had gone into the room where Mirai Bulma was staying, looked at the clothes that were neatly spread out on the bed and the suitcase that she had taken along with her. None of those clothes looked familiar, but they smelled familiar. There were traces of her mother’s perfume there, and the fresh scented soap that she had used. Bra had always thought that the soap smelled like rain, wet and clean and crisp. She didn’t like being alone here, in this room, with all of these familiar scents.

Being alone gave her too much time to think, and she didn’t want to think about Mirai Bulma. If she thought about Mirai Bulma for too long, then all of the memories of her mother would come screaming back, and she was too tired and hurt to think of her today. She told herself that if she pushed away all of the memories and all of the sadness that she felt, then she would forget about it. And then it would be just as if she had never had a mother at all, or a father either. It had always just been her and Trunks. She knew that Trunks wasn’t going to leave her like everyone else had --- he had promised her. But then again, her father had promised her something before too. And he had broken that promise. She clung to the hope that Trunks would keep his promise though; clung to it like it was the only thing that she had left. As long as she kept that hope alive, her brother would be able to stay and take care of her.

To avoid the loneliness of the house, she had grabbed her ball and gone outside, intent on bouncing it around on the sidewalk. She hadn’t expected to find a playmate at all, but now that she had, her heart lightened a bit. Juunana-gou was quiet, but he was handsome, and he might make her forget about everything for a little while. Her young mind did not comprehend the danger or look so deeply into his appearance as to wonder why he had come to Capsule Corporation at all. She was young and trusting and only knew that she was lonely and needed a friend right now. She nodded once, then smiled at him with the wide, welcoming smile that her mother had used whenever company came over.

He looked over at her, and she ignored the annoyance that she saw written his features. She could see that his arms were at his side and his fingers twitching, as if he was looking for something to do --- like he was restless and bored. She took that as a sign that he would most likely want to play. The grin on her face grew even wider and more vibrant and she skipped over to him, her ponytail bouncing behind her. She hadn’t dressed for outside play that morning, clad in a nice blue dress and her favorite patent leather shoes. But just because she was outside didn’t mean that she had to get dirty. She was very careful not to ruin any of her nice things, even though she knew that she could buy something new anytime she wanted.

“Do you want to play with me?” She asked him, holding out the beach ball in her little hands. She tilted her head in a fashion that she knew was charming and convincing. It was the look she always used when she wanted to get her way. “We could bounce the ball back and forth. Or we could go inside and play with my dolls. I know boys aren’t supposed to like dolls, but sometimes Trunks plays with me anyway. I’m too old for tea parties, but sometimes we just play house.”

He smiled now, staring down at her. It was a smile that started off really slow, spreading across his face until he finally showed his teeth and grinned. She noticed that his ice blue eyes were twinkling now, but it wasn’t with happiness or excitement. There was something else there; even at that age she could still sense that there was something wrong with the way that he smiled at her. But because he was a friend and because she knew him, she ignored the bad feeling in her stomach and held the ball out towards him. He waited a moment, then took it from her with strong, slow hands. He smiled at her again, bouncing the ball lightly in his hands. His eyes shot up, looked towards something in the sky, then he took a step towards her, bending down

He wrapped an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder, looking into her eyes. The grip was not gentle or friendly in any way, and it hurt her. She looked back at him, her eyes drenched in panic and confusion, and saw that strange glint in his eye again. He reminded her of a hungry wolf, or the tigers that she had seen at the zoo, stalking around the cage and waiting for their dinner. When the feeling of sickness and panic in her stomach grew to a screaming crescendo, she twisted around and tried to run, planning to hide somewhere inside the house. But he grabbed her roughly and pulled her towards him, placing one strong hand under her chin and the other on top of her head. She let out a squeal of fright, and kicked her arms and legs, thrashing wildly. But she stopped immediately when she felt the pressure on her neck, like the resistance you felt in your hands right before you snapped a twig in half. She whimpered softly when she heard his voice in her ear, his breath warm and threatening against her skin.

“Why don’t we play ‘hostage’ instead, little girl?”

Piccolo prided himself on being able to keep himself calm during stenuous situations. Unlike other people, he did not fall apart emotionally. There were never any tears from him, never any words of despair, never any wild snaps of anger. He kept his cool, maintaining the strong, comforting aura that many people counted on from him. That was just his way. He thought about every action deeply before he made his move, weighing all of the possibilities and consquenses in his head before he even allowed his body to move or his mouth to open. It was the most intelligent way to act; seeking out the most sensible course of action before jumping right into the fray. But as he watched Juunana-gou grab that little girl and hold her head in his hands, ready to break her fragile little neck, he lost all control over his mind and body.

He rocketed forward, his gleaming teeth bared, a low growl emitting from his throat. The only thought that went through his mind was that Juunana-gou was evil, pure evil, and he had to defeat him --- rid the world of this terrible disease. When Koronu reached out to steady him and hold him back, he threw off her hand like it was poison, glaring at her with eyes full of fury and hatred.

“Don’t.” She told him calmly, quietly. “If you come any closer, he’ll probably snap her neck. He’s using her as his defense.”

The blind fury was still there, would not fade. He looked down to see Bra struggling in Juunana-gou’s grasp, her tiny hands clawing at the jinzouningen’s strong arms. Her beautiful deep blue eyes --- eyes that looked so much like Bulma’s eyes, were clouded over with a sheen of tears, and her mouth was hanging open in a silent sob. She was so innocent, so young, so perfect. She had trusted Juunana-gou, had recognized him and remembered that he was a friend. She had run out to him with a hopeful smile on her face, wanting someone so keep her company on this lonely afternoon. And Juunana-gou had taken that trust, warped it, used it, and hurt her. It made the blood in Piccolo’s veins sizzle and his stomach lurch with anger and disgust. He was the worst kind of villain, the worst kind of scum imaginable. First Marron, now this. It made him absolutely furious. Juunana-gou had managed to pinpoint Piccolo’s one weakness and take advantage of it: children. Children, with their pure hearts and their tiny little hands. Children who didn’t know better --- knew nothing of how cruel the world could be.

“She’s so tiny.” Juunana-gou called up to them from the ground. “It would be so easy just to break her. You better stay right where you are. I wouldn’t want that kind of accident to happen. If you came closer, who knows what my hands might do?”

Piccolo snarled, and once again Koronu had to fight to keep him back. He lunged forward a bit and glared into Juunana-gou’s eyes, seething. “You sick, sick son of a bitch. Bra has done nothing to you! Let the girl go now! Let her go!”

The jinzouningen bent down and pressed his face close to Bra’s, darting a wicked smirk up towards Piccolo. Ice blue eyes suddenly twinkled with malice and a tinge of anger. He twisted the little girl’s neck a little bit farther, just until she let out a cry of pain, just enough so that Piccolo’s skin began to itch with horror and fury. Bra’s eyes were so frightened, so innocent, shining with pools of tears. She had given up struggling now, and just hung loosely in his grasp, her tiny body consumed in tears and sobs. Piccolo felt another wave of anger wash over him, burning hot and dangerous. If the android actually killed that little girl today, he would not be able to control his anger or his actions. He would make the evil jinzouningen pay.