“I’m glad that Kuririn and Marron went to see Juuhachi-gou.” ChiChi decided. She turned around to face her husband, brushing the thick black locks of hair away from her face. “I think that it was something Kuririn really needed. He had been so down since all of this happened. It might be good for him to see her and have a little hope find its way back into his heart. From what he said, it seems like Mirai Bulma is really making progress.”

Gokuu looked up at her and took another bite of the sandwich that she had just made for him. “I didn’t doubt that she could do it; Bulma has always been really smart. I don’t think there’s anything that she can’t do.”

“We were certainly lucky that she showed up here. If she hadn’t of come back to this timeline with Mirai Trunks….I don’t know what we would have done. She certainly saved the day.” ChiChi observed. She paused for a moment, placing a dish towel over her left shoulder and tilting her head slightly. “Do you think it was fate that sent her here? Some greater force than we could imagine? I think it’s almost too much of a coincidence that she and Mirai Trunks would show up at the exact same time that the jinzouningen started killing again.”

“I think fate and destiny have very strange ways of working sometimes, but it’s always for the best.” Gokuu replied after a moment. “Undoubtedly, Mirai Bulma and Trunks came here for a reason --- probably a reason that is beyond what any of us are able to comprehend. Maybe it just isn’t about the jinzouningen. Maybe they have a greater purpose for being here than that. The truth is, we just don’t know. We don’t know what fate has in store for them, or for us.”

“That was a remarkably deep thing for you to say.” ChiChi said with a smile. She reached down and ruffled her husband’s wild black hair.

“I have my moments.” Gokuu laughed and placed his hand on the back of his head. “Besides, I thought if I said something real pretty, you might make me another sandwich.”

Marron sat with her father, in a plastic chair adjacent to Mirai Bulma’s desk. The future woman sat across from them with her hands folded lightly on the surface of the desk, a cup of coffee at her elbow. Marron thought it was interesting to look at this woman; a woman who looked so much like the Bulma that she had known, and yet so startlingly different. Bulma had always been someone that Marron had looked up to. It was impossible not to. Bulma Briefs was the richest woman in the world, she dressed in the most fashionable and sensational clothes, she was sociable and beautiful, and she had lived through an entire life of non-stop adventure. This future version of Bulma, however, seemed more subdued and more mature. She was a woman that had lived a life of pain and suffering, and she looked like it. She was tougher. She looked as though she were much more used to manual labor than the other Bulma ever had been. It was hard to believe that the two timeline counterparts were the same. If it wasn’t for the shimmering turquoise hair, the deep blue eyes, and the unmistakable grin, she would have never known.

She had been explaining everything to them for about the past hour, going over what she had learned from Dr. Gero’s files and the other Bulma’s records. She told them in detail about the way that she had managed to detain the jinzouningen, and how the electrical sensors that she had placed in them worked. She also explained how she was planning on fixing them, which was not quite what Marron had imagined. It might have been silly and childish, but she was somehow expecting Mirai Bulma to tell them about a hidden “off” switch, or a special potion designed to rid the body of all evil. She had been hoping for something that would be quick and painless --- something that her mother wouldn’t have to suffer through. But unfortunately, fate was not on her side, and things were not going to work out that way.

“There are probably several different methods that I could use to fix them.” The woman explained in an assertive voice. “But the only way to be absolutely sure that all traces of Dr. Gero are gone is to go in and physically remove everything that he ever placed in their bodies. That means some extensive surgery, and some obvious dangers. I by no means wish to jeopardize their lives, but I am certain that unless we go into surgery and remove every single piece of Dr. Gero’s influence and every strand of his programming, they will never be normal. If I went through with a more simplistic solution, there would be no guarantees that the programming would come back years later --- repeating all of the recent events.”

It took him a moment, but Kuririn nodded slowly, tears in his eyes. “I understand. I know that it is better to do what it takes to guarantee that she will become normal again, and remain normal. It’s just….she is so afraid of doctors….I think surgery would really scare her. I suppose maybe she still has some memories of what Dr. Gero did to her, memories of the laboratory. This might be all too familiar and frightening for her.”

“I agree, Kuririn, but you have to understand that this is not your wife.” Bulma replied evenly. “Whatever remains of your wife is buried somewhere deep inside of this evil being. She isn’t going to be able to feel the pain of surgery or even the fear of it. She isn’t going to know that anything is happening until it’s all over with and her wounds are healed. She won’t have any memories of it at all after that. The only things she will know will be what you tell her.”

“I’m assuming that when you’re talking about surgery, you mean to operate on Juunana-gou as well?” Kuririn asked her, his brow drawing down into concern. “I don’t think I would feel right about having only Juuhachi-gou fixed. She really cares for her brother, and I know that she would want him to be well, too.”

Marron had been wondering about that. From the very moment that they had come into the lab, Mirai Bulma had only been mentioning her mother. She knew that Juunana-gou was here; they had told her that he had been captured and contained. But the fact that Mirai Bulma hadn’t mentioned him made her a little nervous. Marron looked down at her hands, folded tightly in her lap. Even though Juunana-gou had attacked her, she still loved her uncle; she wanted to make sure that he got better. It might be easier for Mirai Bulma to forget him and concentrate on her mother, but Marron definitely hoped that that was not the case.

Bulma leaned back in her chair and cupped her coffee in her hands, taking a slow sip before she began speaking. “Hai. Juunana-gou will be going through the exact same operation. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to seem as though I were excluding him. It was just simpler to explain things to use using your wife. But I do plan on fixing Juunana-gou as well. They both have the same evil running through their bodies, and from what I can gather from the notes I have, the basic structure that Dr. Gero used is carried out in both jinzouningen. More or less, they are identical on the inside. That will make it much easier to do a double surgery, meaning: Juuhachi-gou and Juunana-gou will go through the operation at the exact same time.”

Kuririn frowned again. “Will you be doing the actual surgery?”

“Heavens no, I’m certainly not qualified to do that.” She answered quickly. “I already have several surgeons in mind that I could contact immediately for their services. But I am going to be there, directing them. I can assure you that they will be just as informed as I am about their body structure and what the operation hopes to accomplish. I will be standing by them every second, overseeing the entire surgery and making sure that things go smoothly.”

“Can we see her? And Juunana-gou?” Marron suddenly interrupted, surprising not only Mirai Bulma and her father, but herself as well.

“Marron….” Her father scolded quickly.

Mirai Bulma held up a hand to stop him and then smiled her. “Of course you can see them. They are in the back storage room. I wheeled them in there on examination tables, because I felt a little apprehensive about keeping them in the lab here with me. It’s not very easy to work with someone watching over you every second.” She pushed away from her desk and set her coffee cup down. “Follow me.”

Warily, Marron stood up and followed the woman towards the back of the laboratory. There was a heavy metal door there, with a small, round window that looked into the darkness of the storage room. She and her father stood aside while the woman reached into her pocket and removed an identification card, swiping it through a slot in the side of the door and punching in a quick code. They waited a moment until the door finally unlocked, and followed her inside. She flicked on a switch as they entered, and a long row of fluorescent lights lit up the room.

“I have to warn you,” Mirai Bulma began gently, as she led them over to the area where her mother and uncle were strapped to the shiny metal tables, “they do not look normal. Juunana-gou has yet to wake up, but Juuhachi-gou has been awake since I first checked on them this morning. She is aware of everything that is going on around her, but you need to know that she is not herself. Whatever human part of her that remains is buried somewhere deep inside. Dr. Gero’s programming has completely taken over, and it’s made her into something very different. Please don’t be alarmed when you see her, and please don’t expect any kind of recognition or softness. Just remember that the woman that you are about to see is not the Juuhachi-gou that you know. It might make it a bit easier for you.”

The woman’s warning was slightly unnerving. Marron held back and hesitated for a moment, drawing up her courage and preparing herself for what she was about to see. When she reached the side of the examining table, she looked down on her mother, her heart pounding with anticipation.

Her eyes were closed, her arms and legs were strapped down, and there were burn marks and abrasions all along her skin. What was left of her clothing hung off of her in shreds, just barely covering up all of the areas that weren't appropriate. Her usually silky, straight, and flawless hair was matted with blood and sticking out in different directions, the ends of it singed. Marron’s heart instantly went out to her, and she longed to wrap her arms around her mother and hold her. The fight with Vejiita must have been awful; she had never seen her mother look so hurt. But she had to firmly remind herself that she couldn’t touch her or hold her. Her mother was a different person now, at least until Mirai Bulma was able to fix her. And until that happened, she would just have to keep herself at a distance and heal her with words and inner strength.

“Is she hurt?” Kuririn asked softly, his hands flexing at his sides. “She looks as though she might be hurt….”

Mirai Bulma shook her head sharply. She pointed towards a series of screens and apparatuses. “The electrical sensors that I placed inside of them are also programmed to read the body’s health status. Heart rate, blood flow, brain activity….It’s all being monitored closely and recorded. As you can see, there has been extensive burning and some small bruises and lacerations, but it is nothing to be concerned about. There were no internal injuries. Her body was built to be very strong and very resistant. She probably can’t even feel any of those minor outside injuries.”

Not even realizing it, Marron reached out and lightly ran a hand over one of the leather straps that ran across her mother’s chest. It had been pulled down so tightly and so securely, locked into place on the other side of the table. She was sure that it wasn’t hurting her mother, but it would definitely keep her in place. It wasn’t so much the fact that the leather straps were there that bothered her --- it was the fact that they were needed. If Mirai Bulma felt threatened enough to have to strap her mother down to the table like an animal, then she must be incredibly dangerous.

As if reading her thoughts, the woman reached over and gently moved her hand away from her mother. She shook her head, and the long turquoise locks swung back and forth behind her shoulders. “You really shouldn’t touch, or reach your hand out too close. Even though she is restrained, it still isn’t a good idea. You have to realize that those electrical sensors will only go off if the body moves. That means that she could still reach up and grab you. She would be shocked an instant later and release her grip, but in that split second of time, she could still manage to hurt you. I know it’s difficult to not be able to touch her, but I’m going to have to insist that you don’t.”

Marron nodded in understanding, feeling a little ashamed. She honestly should have known better than to do something like that. She knew that Mirai Bulma hadn’t meant to scold her or make her feel stupid, but she still felt bad about it. Common sense should have prevented her from doing anything in the first place. She cast her eyes down at her sneakers for a moment, then brought her gaze back up to study her mother’s face again.

Cold ice blue eyes stared at her, glaring and implicitly evil.

Marron couldn’t stop herself from stepping back in fear, raising her hands up to her chest and drawing in a sharp breath. The glare evoked an instant chill that seemed to shiver from the base of her neck all the way down her spine. She had never, never seen a look like that on her mother’s face. There had been times when she was angry and had shot a glare in someone’s direction, but it had never lasted more than a second --- And more importantly, she had never glared at her. Her mother had never looked at her with anything but a pleasant, calm expression. To see her glaring with sure pure and unwavering hatred made her eyes water with tears. It was a like a signal of defeat, a sign that perhaps there wasn’t any part of her mother left in this beautiful perfect shell of a woman. The thing that glared at her was not a person, it was a demon --- the hatred and the evil in those familiar ice blue eyes seemed to shoot right through her soul.

“Mama….” She murmured softly.

Next to her, she felt her father move, then his arm was wrapped around her, holding her shoulder comfortingly. He looked down at her with kind eyes and kissed the top of her head, something that he hadn’t done since she was very little. She was suddenly glad that he was here; glad that she had someone by her side to face this with. She didn’t think she could have done it alone. After a moment of just holding her close, her father broke away and bent down at her mother’s side. She admired the way that he was able to ignore the fierce glare, somehow managing to look as though he were staring straight through those cold, ice blue eyes and into her soul.

“Juuhachi.” He said quietly. “Juuhachi, I know that you are lost in there someplace. I know that you can’t find your way back out.” He stopped for a moment, his eyes welling up with tears. He reached back and grasped Marron’s hand, pulling close. “We just want you to be able to take comfort in the fact that we’re both here for you, Juuhachi-gou. We understand that you are not yourself, and that you need to be fixed. Mirai Bulma is going to make you better again; you’re going to have to be really strong to make it through, but I know that you can do it. And Marron and I will be right there beside you. We both love you very much, and we want you to come home.”

Looking through eyes that were no longer hers, Juuhachi-gou felt her heart aching and soaring at the same time. She wanted to come home too. She just wanted everything to back to the way that it was before. She wanted to be human, be with her family, live her own life.

It seemed distant now. Hope was buried somewhere deep. But if she had faith in anything, it was her family. They were her strength and her love, her very reason for existence. And if they could stand tall and fight, if they could be strong and calm, then she could too. Whatever evil it was that had taken over her body, it didn’t stand a chance against that kind of love and strength. She honestly believed that love had the power to overcome any kind of evil; that was what love had been designed for.