Chapter 18: Break Through

The first day of class was over, and despite his doubts, Trunks managed to survive it relatively unscathed. He spent the rest of his evening standing on the third floor balcony, overseeing the grounds. Leaning over the railing, he took a moment reflecting on the events of the previous week, trying to grasp how much had changed and what, if anything, was still the same.

The sun had turned a dark orange color as it continued to approach the horizon. Many students were coming and going through the courtyard below him. Before the Natamoru had arrived, Capsule Corp. had been empty for a long time. But now the facility turned college overnight was flowing with life. It gave Trunks little comfort in light of his current circumstances.

He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it; it was the attendance sheet for his last class; Data Ciphering. Next to the entry for Nawa, Nadia was the word absent in red. He folded the paper once more and tucked it back into his pocket.

The elevator door chimed and opened. Trunks turned in time to see Kara in her human disguise stepping out gracefully. Her raven colored hair was long, and flowed behind her. She was wearing a pair of black shorts, a white "CC" turtleneck t-shirt and white sneakers. Although Trunks had gotten to know Kara better, she still had an aura of mystery whenever she was around.

"I was looking for you," she said as she glided next to him, grabbing the railing. "It's been much harder to find you recently. I have my sister to thank for that."

"I can see how that might be frustrating." He said with a smile.

He looked to the terrace below at the sound of laughter. Two young students were studying at a small round table near the courtyard, with books and paper sprawled everywhere. Kara curiously looked over the railing to see what had caught his interest.

"We all got spoiled; No one wanted to lose that access to your," She hesitated before finishing "personal perspective on life...but all things must come to an end," she sighed with lament.

"You did find me, though. What can I do for you Kara?"

She turned around, leaning the back of her elbows onto the railing so she could look at Trunks. "I'm worried about our home world. There isn't anyone else I can turn to. Even my people don't share the same feelings, collectively. Being with you here on earth has been...so joyful." She turned her head down, composing herself. "But there is more to life than being happy. I'm afraid that going home will be a painful reminder."

"You need to go home more than you want to?"

"Yes." She reached over and touched his forearm, a glimmer of sadness shining in her blue pupils. "Don't think that we aren't grateful...but we can't rest here until we know what happened to our people."

"I understand. I intend to visit Natamoru and see if it's safe for everyone who wishes to return home. I don't have a vessel to make the journey yet, but Bulma is organizing the proper repairs to use the ship that brought you here."

She looked content with his answer. "Good. I must insist that my sister and I travel with you."

He couldn't hide the look of worry that crept across his face. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. We don't know what could be waiting for us when we get there."

"I know that we must be on the maiden voyage back to Natamoru. All of the signs," she stopped herself before mid sentence. She composed her thoughts again before proceeding. "I feel very strongly about this. I wouldn't ask otherwise."

"When we were inside of Piccolo's stronghold, you said something about a sign to your sister. I haven't given it much thought since I overheard it until now. Did you see something?"

A warm breeze blew through the open balcony, flowing through her long black tresses. "Do you remember how Kaeke gave you a prophecy before he died?"

"Yes. I can't say I remember everything he said as much as I remember that he said it."

"Don't worry about that, you will. But that was his gifting. My gifting is reading signs that lead to my destiny."

"You said something about the third sign...does that mean you saw two others?"

Kara crossed her arms, stepping away from the railing as another warm breeze rolled across the balcony. "It means I've seen at least two others. In truth I've seen four signs."

"And what happens when you've seen the final sign?"

She turned around, facing Trunks again. "Reunion."

Clearly she looked torn on whether she should explain. The silence lingered for a moment before she made the decision to continue. "Mel and I aren't like the other girls. We aren't full-blooded Natamoru. We're half Moradatu."

The name dawned on Trunks as something from a distant dream, but he recognized it immediately. It was the first time he had heard it spoken out loud. "Really? I can't tell any difference."

"Are you sure? Maybe physically, but what about in the dreamscape? You've seen my sister and I in our avatar forms... and young Bell, if I'm not mistaken?" She smiled. "Surely you've noticed that Bell's appearance and ability are worlds away from our own."

He could sense an underlying spirit of competition in her voice. It was the first time Kara showed herself as proud, making her seem a little less mysterious.

"You're right. I assumed that was something that came with experience."

"Perhaps, but it would take her two lifetimes to achieve our level of control. That isn't the only thing. Truly, the differences are profound. I'm not sure if you know, but our full-blooded Natamoru kinsmen can't block each other from reading thoughts. Only Mel and I do. Not even Daku and Kolatu know how to do that."

"Is that true?" The realization opened Trunks' eyes in a way he didn't expect. "But they can learn, just like I did...right?"

"I'm afraid not. You can make yourself stop breathing, but you can't stop yourself from suffocating at the same time."

"I see. But you're different."

She nodded her head earnestly. "You should also know that Mel and I are unable to use the fusion. The day of our birth was the last time we were combined. We are the first Moradatu child born of a Natamoru woman in our history: We were born as a single child, we fell asleep that night as a single child...and we awoke as two separate beings."

"That's incredible." As strange as her story made him feel, it all seemed very familiar, almost as if he heard it in a half remembered dream. "Do you know how close you are to your reunion?"

Kara smiled at the irony. "I wish it was that simple. I have the signs, I know where they lead...I am lost as to when they will happen. The only thing I know is the signs didn't start until we arrived here. That means you must be our hope."

A door opened into a dark room, filling it with a small amount of light as the silhouettes of two people danced across the threshold.

"Are you ready to see this?" Bulma asked excitedly.

"Yes!" Gigi replied.

"Okay, here goes!" With a flick of her wrist, the florescent lights began flickering on to reveal a clean white laboratory and workshop. In the center of the room, on a silver metal table sat a curious robotic dog, wagging it's tail.

"Robujin!" Gigi squealed in delight, holding her arms out expectantly.

The robotic canine didn't disappoint her, responding to the gesture by jumping off of the table and into her arms. The force of the impact knocked her on her back as she giggled endlessly.

"Meet Robujin 4.3...the new and improved version. Completely safe for use on the premises, without fear of causing injury or death to others."

Gigi put her fingers under its armpits and lifted the metal pup into the air. "He even feels lighter. How did you manage that?"

"It was a trick with the programming. Your Gerheart proprietary compression technology is very impressive to work with, but you weren't fully utilizing everything you could do with it. By making some mathematical adjustments, I was able to cut his weight by about thirty percent."

"Genius. So where's the change log?"

Bulma walked towards the computer, typed in a command and mashed the enter button. A stream of paper began coming out of the printer. After a few moments, the printing had completed and the document was touching the ground. Bulma reached for it, tearing on the perforated line. The length of paper hung almost to the floor as she walked towards Gigi. "Here you go. I know it looks extensive, but most of the features on this list are only disabled temporarily."

Setting Robujin on the ground, she stood up and took the list. "Wow." She began scanning it as Robujin hopped up, pawing her leg playfully. "Let's see... disabled: rockets, drill cannon, self-destruct...lawn mower? Okay, I guess I understand that..." She continued to read quietly as her eyes went line by line. "What? Laser eyes disabled? That's a survival feature."

"I thought you might feel like some of these changes were a bit unnecessary. If you skip to revision 101.5, you'll see that a subset of features are disabled based on your current GPS location."

"So laser eyes at Capsule Corp is a no go... but laser eyes while camping in the mountains?"

Bulma gave the thumbs up. "You got it kiddo."

She held the list with one hand and tapped her chin thoughtfully with the other. "I think we can live with that." She reached into her bag, grabbing a small metal bone. She tossed the treat into the bot's expectant mouth. "Good boy."

"How have you been adjusting to school life?"

"Me? Good so far. Classes have been interesting."

"I know from your course load that most of the classes won't be very useful to someone like you, which is why I'm mentoring you personally. You have a lot of potential, and I'd like to nurture that until it eclipses what I have to offer you."

Gigi jumped to attention, holding her hand out. "AND! I am eternally grateful for that."

"Speaking of which, I have a special project I'd like your help with. I know you're already proficient at hiding information, so you have to promise to keep a secret."

"Ok, you have my word!" Gigi held out the palm of her hand, making a spitting sound into it and holding out her arm to the side at a right angle. "You can count on me."

"Well, if I didn't trust you before, now I certainly do. But seriously, not a word to anyone." Bulma reached under the table and pulled out a large rolled-up blueprint, setting it on the table and sprawling it out in front of them. "Take a look."

Gigi scanned the blueprints with a quizzical look on her face. "Is that a...spaceship?"

It was night. The sun had finished setting, and a calm breeze weaved its way through the teetering mountain peaks. Trunks had brought his pupil to a remote place in the mountains for a bit of private one-on-one training. He was happy to keep Piccolo confined to the gymnasium. At least inside of Capsule, he knew that Piccolo would restrain himself...he hoped, anyways.

When the two finished walking to the top of the mountain, Trunks noticed Kolato's spirits were low, as the young warrior stood languidly.

"Something on your mind?"

Kolato frowned slightly but didn't speak.

"Before we begin, just lay all of your cards on the table."

The Natamoru teen blinked twice, looking confused.

"What I mean to say is: tell me everything you're thinking about."

Reluctantly, Kolato sat down on the edge of the cliff. "I guess it's a good idea." He picked up a small rock, throwing it into the ravine below. "Daku and I haven't been seeing eye to eye. Ever since Kaeke left us, he's been increasingly harder to... cooperate with."

"I see." Trunks crouched down, moving closer to Kolato. "He has always seemed like the more outspoken of the pair. I thought it was this way with all the Natamoru."

"That's true. But he has become more reckless. When we fuse, there is a steady lack of control. His pride has blinded him. I know that if you hadn't intervened during our fight, Professor Nail's attack would have been too much for us to handle. There is no excuse for his behavior. He should know the same things I do...down to the last thought; yet he pretends that we could have recovered, and was somehow offended."

"I have a feeling part of this is my fault. I'm the one who made you each train yourselves separately."

"No. The sickness was already there. I don't know if your idea made it better or worse. It did give him the space he was looking for."

"Kolato, you are clearly the responsible one, responsible for both of yourselves." Trunks stood up, brushing his hands off. "If your brother has become puffed up with pride, then it's your duty to humble him."

"Maybe you're right." Kolato turned his head towards his sensei, smiling hopefully. "I feel better after talking about it. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Trunks fell back into a defensive stance. "Now stand up and hit me...if you can."

"Stop." Piccolo said, interrupting Daku's assault.

Daku skid to a halt, breathing heavily. His clenched fists were shaking. "I can... keep going...don't stop yet," he said, gasping for air. His loose gi was dirty and tattered from enduring the training. His face and forearms had similar bruises and scrapes.

Piccolo closed his eyes. "Can't you feel it?" He opened them again. "Your brother has started his training."

Looking around the room, Daku continued to pant, on the border of exhaustion. "He's too far. I can't detect... his thoughts." He leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees, taking a deep breath.

"Control your breathing." Piccolo pressed his fingers against Daku's chest, pointing to his heart. "Don't locate his thoughts, use your ki to sense his energy. The focal point is directly under my fingers, direct your intentions on that spot and find him."

Concentrating, Daku began to take even breaths. He channeled every ounce of strength he had left to the spot under Piccolo's fingertips. Out of nowhere, A picture flashed through his mind of Kolato's punch making impact with Trunks' hand. He opened his eyes. "I see it! Kolato is fighting Trunks."

Piccolo lowered his hand and walked towards the door. "Class is dismissed until tomorrow morning. Your assignment tonight is to follow the energy patterns of Trunks and your brother. When they call it quits, you can go to sleep. Tomorrow you can show up a little later than usual. I have a private appointment with our special guest."

The ground shook as a blast of energy exploded against the base of the mountain. Dodging casually, Trunks continued hopping backwards across the cliff tops. "Is that the strongest attack you have? Show me your best!"

His taunting still encouraged Kolato to push himself further. Kolato held his palm forward, steadying his wrist with his other hand as he created a large energy ball. Once the blast was fully formed, he launched it towards Trunks. He quickly began reforming the attack, firing at his master, one after another.

Trunks stopped retreating, and sprung into action. He easily swatted the ki attacks out of his flight path, sending them harmlessly into the distance. He stopped within striking distance of Kolato. "Good. Now, attack me up close. Just don't leave an opening for me." Trunks threw a feint punch with a smile, which was easily blocked by Kolato.

The Natamoru teen retaliated by throwing an assortment of punches and kicks at his instructor, but Trunks continued to lecture him during the assault.

"If your form is good, I will allow your attack to continue. If you leave me too big of an opportunity," just as he finished, Kolato missed Trunks with a wild swing. Trunks stepped in, jabbing him in the gut before continuing his lecture. "I'll punish you for your mistake, like so. Do you understand?"

Kolato growled with discomfort. "Yes. I can tell you're going much easier on me." He returned to his fighting stance, engaging his opponent once more.

The two of them continued to spar into the night. Every minute or so, Kolato's consistent string of attacks was interrupted with a punishing blow from his master. After a particularly embarrassing kick, Trunks dashed in, throwing a punch that stopped inches in front of his student's face. Kolato stood motionless as his eyes refocused on his sensei's knuckles.

"Lesson over." Trunks lowered his fist.

Kolato looked puzzled. "But... I can keep going. Daku trained for almost ten times that amount today."

"I never said your training was over. My methods are different from Piccolo's. Tonight, I want you to remember each time you left yourself open. There was a theme that I noticed during each of your attack failures. Come back tomorrow ready to discuss your mistakes, and I'll continue to train you."

"Yes, master." He said, smiling eagerly.

The door to the dorm room pushed open. Bell tripped inside as Gem urgently ushered her in. Slamming the door shut, Gem turned her attention back to her sister. "Take it off now."

"I can't take it off," Bell protested. "it's part of my disguise."

"I don't care." Gem grabbed Bell's wrist, unlatching the disguise band. Bell's human façade shimmered and faded, revealing her thin pointed ears sticking out of her blue hair, with light blue skin and eyes.

"Ouch." She rubbed her wrist where the band was forcibly removed. "What's gotten into you?"

"Maybe if you could communicate properly, you would already know."

Bell relaxed her mind and began perceiving the thoughts and feelings of her sister. It wasn't long before she was shocked by what she found. Bell gasped, shifting away from Gem. What have you done?! she thought to her as panic began to spread.

I told you I would take care of it, so let me. Gem thought calmly.

What if Trunks finds out? He'll hate us.

Then he better not find out. She narrowed her eyes at her sister as her train of thoughts continued. And don't act like such a goody-goody. I know your heart; you wanted this too. If you didn't, I wouldn't be trying so hard. I only want you to be happy. If this is going to work, we need to be in agreement. If you don't want him anymore, you can tell me now and I'll stop. It's that simple.

Bell sighed. I still do...want him. I don't want to lose without putting up a fight. I just didn't think it would get this dirty.

"All is fair in love and war." Gem said soothingly. She clicked the disguise band closed and walked towards the door. "Just stay out of sight until I can get another one of these. I'll be back later."

After she was gone, Bell laid on her bed with her hands over her heart and closed her eyes. Please forgive us, she thought.

With morning's light still an hour away, Piccolo walked alone through the halls under the disguise of "Professor Nail." He wore a new set of generic clothing, as he had each day since his arrival at Capsule Corp. His outfit consisted of a pair of red sweatpants and a sleeveless white cutoff t-shirt, showcasing his massive biceps. He began to laugh quietly to himself when he was still a good distance off from the gym. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised." He said under his breath.

He entered the gymnasium in time to see Nadia warming up with some push-ups. She didn't divert her attention as the metal door swung closed, echoing throughout the large auditorium. He stood by, waiting patiently until she finished.

She sprung to her feet, bouncing back and forth on her toes, energetically. A layer of sweat lightly coated her skin from her morning warm up. She was wearing her black dance unitard with a tight, white t-shirt, tied in a knot above her stomach. Her hair was pushed back with a headband, exposing her hairline. She tugged a sweatband up her forearm before lifting it to her brow and wiping away the excess sweat. "Glad you could make it."

"Please, have a seat." Piccolo replied.

She stopped bouncing, resting her hands on her hips. "I'm fine standing."

"I see that. But I did ask nicely." He motioned towards the bench. "If you would?"

Like a defeated teenager she dropped her arms and stomped towards the bench, reluctantly sitting down and crossing her arms.

"Why do you want to learn how to fight?" His question echoed throughout the empty gymnasium.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I already know why. But do you?"

Nadia turned her head down and looked at the floor. Uncrossing her arms, she began rubbing her palms together. "Ok." She paused, deciding where to begin. "When I was a kid, I used to get into a lot of trouble for fighting... I'm talking six or seven years old. When I would see older kids picking on younger kids, I would stick up for them. Because I looked so...petite, they didn't stand a chance against me. I never lost...and I was pleased with myself. I thought I was like a hero...but eventually the littler kids didn't want me to protect them anymore because I would hurt the bullies so badly." She stopped for a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing. "At any rate, my mother did not approve. The only thing I loved more than fighting was my mother, and it hurt me to disappoint her. That's when I came up with the idea to become a dancer. My mother was a dancer, and as much as she likes to believe it was entirely my idea to start dancing..."

Piccolo cleared his voice, interrupting her. "Excuse me, but at some point does this story answer my question?" Piccolo said, yawning quietly.

Nadia's eyes filled with rage and she clenched her fists, glaring at Piccolo scornfully. "You don't have to be such a jerk about it!" With her chest heaving, she slowly lowered her fists and softened her look. She closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath. "To answer your question, I've always loved to fight." She opened her hands, looking at the scattering of cuts on her palms. "Saiyans are a warrior race. That was the first thing Trunks said. I used to think all the fighting was some unhealthy childhood obsession..."

"But now you know the truth. Fighting isn't an obsession, it's who you are."

Nadia's mouth hung open slightly as if he had taken the words right out of it. "Yes. That's right."

"Saiyans are proud, stubborn and determined in everything they do. Fighting makes them stronger; losing makes them stronger; eating makes them stronger. Believe me, I know your kind well."

"If you're some kind of Saiyan expert; then what are we waiting for?" Nadia stood up, dwarfed by Piccolo's height but completely unafraid. "Are you going to train me?"

"Pay attention. I will train you to realize the height and depth of your potential. You will question my ways at first. You will also feel more pain than you ever have before. If you want someone to kiss your boo-boo's, you can go to your mommy if you love her so much. Do you understand?"

"I understand. Thanks for the advice Professor."

Piccolo laughed. "We'll see how eager you feel tomorrow."

They walked to the center of the gymnasium, squaring off. Piccolo relaxed into a loosely held defensive stance; Nadia held both of her fists up with little to no real style or form.

"Try to hit me," Piccolo challenged. "And let me know when you give up."

Without answering him, Nadia rushed forward with the same outstanding speed she exhibited while dancing. Much faster than a human, it was obvious that her speed was due to her natural ability and all of her dance training. Gracefully, she spun in a circle, swinging a backfist at her opponent.

Piccolo raised his forearm and blocked, causing her arm to rebound harmlessly off of his, surprising her.

"Ouch!" She yelled, grabbing her hand.

"You lack proper follow through. Were you trying to hit me, really?"

She shook off the pain in her hand before reforming it into a fist. "Of course I was!" She took a step back winding up with a heavy strike, this time he blocked her efforts with his open hand. Her nose scrunched up and she bared her teeth. "Damnit! How are you doing this?"

"I'm not doing anything. You're realizing that you're weaker than you thought." Moving faster than Nadia could react, he shoved her backwards, knocking her off of her feet. "Now show me what you intend to do about it!" He yelled.

Caught off guard by his offensive parry, she scrambling to get to her feet, settling into a crouch. His taunting was finally getting under her skin, and Nadia started to get angry, gritting her teeth. Without hesitation, she jumped straight towards him. Pulling her legs back, she launched a series of alternating heel strikes at her instructor, all of which were dodged with relative ease as he stepped out of range. Piccolo countered by grabbing her ankle, swinging her through the air as he turned his body in a full circle before releasing her, sending her flying across the room with unbelievable momentum.

She hit the side wall of the gym, shaking the room and leaving a small crack. When gravity took over, Nadia fell to her hands and knees from the force of the impact. Shakily, she raised her hand to her lip, wiping a fresh droplet of blood away. "Damn it."

"Didn't you suspect I might counter that attack?" Piccolo called from the other side of the room. "Having no defensive plan is a sloppy strategy for winning."

Nadia began to stand, but her knee gave out slightly, causing her to stumble. "You like hurting girls?"

"If you wanted me to treat you like a girl, you wouldn't be here. You're a warrior; and you haven't proven to be a very good one."

For the first time since their fight, Nadia's power level began to increase, catching Piccolo's attention. She clenched her teeth, causing the vein in her neck to bulge. She rushed towards him with renewed speed, so quick that she vanished from sight. When she reached him, she began pummeling him with punches, over and over, each attack making a small boom as it met a casual block from her instructor.

"Is that all it takes to get you serious; a little pain? In that case..."

There was a loud boom that resounded through the gymnasium. Nadia stopped, frozen in mid strike. Her mouth remained open and her bottom lip quivered. She would have looked at Piccolo's fist digging into her abdomen; however, the pain was too agonizing for her to think, let alone move. Her body convulsed automatically as she coughed up a stream of blood. Piccolo didn't react as the red fluid splattered silently on his white shirt. The room became blurry for Nadia as the pain radiating from her stomach started to become numb. Her vision continued to fade away until all she could see was black.

Her footsteps echoed strangely through the halls of Capsule Corp as Nadia ran. The faces of all the students she passed were blurred like smeared paint. She began to panic as confusion set in. The multitude of voices surrounding her sounded muffled and completely undecipherable, adding to her distress.

"Hello?" She called desperately, ignored by the passing students.

She pushed open the door to a classroom. The teacher and students were also blurry and unrecognizable. She squinted, but it only seemed to make things worse as colors bled into each other.

"What is this?"

She turned back to the hallway, pushing open another classroom door with the same result, all the student's were shadowy, faceless specters. Running back into the corridor, she bolted for the class at the end of the hall. Pushing the door open, she spilled in to see Trunks, looking completely normal. He was standing at the chalk board writing something.

"Trunks," She ran forward, reaching her hand out to grab his shoulder- but her fingers passed right through him, as if he wasn't there. She scrunched her nose, looking into the classroom full of blurry-faced students. Not giving up, she tried grabbing his arm again unsuccessfully. When he finished writing on the board, Trunks turned around.

She smiled, looking into his eyes. "Trunks! I'm so glad to see you."

Without acknowledging Nadia's plea, he took several steps away from the board and walked right through her. Astonished by her ethereal form, she fell to her knees as despair sank in. Although she wanted to cry, no tears came to her eyes as her heart wrenched inside of her chest.

"Why is this happening to me?" she said quietly to herself.

"Because you're dead," a quiet voice answered in her mind.

"What?" She felt a sudden rush of warmth and pressed her hands against her stomach. She looked down as a puddle of blood began forming on the floor, pooling against the wall as it continued to grow.

"You died," the voice answered.

"No, that's not true," She looked at her hands, drenched in blood. "You're a liar!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, cracking the walls of the room and breaking the tile floor into shards. Nadia stood up, turning back to the classroom. Trunks and the surreal students had vanished, but sitting in the back row by herself was a thin girl with blue skin, pointed ears and medium length blue hair. A look of surprise covered her face as she stood up and started back stepping.

"Who are you? What are you doing to me? Answer me!" She screamed again, and everything faded to black.

The first sound Nadia heard when she came to her senses was a slow beep. Shakily, she opened her eyes, regaining her bearings. She found herself in a room, dimly lit with cold florescent lights. She reached her hands up, locking them on the rails of the hospital-style bed where she was layed out. She made an attempt to pull herself up, but her mid-section was too sore. She winced quietly and sunk back into the bed.

"Are you alright?" Trunks said from across the room.

"Ouch... No, don't really feel all that right," she said, forcing herself to speak.

He stood up and approached the bed. "I'm sorry this happened. This is unacceptable. I'll take care of it."

"Why?" As her voice started to raise, the pain in her gut silenced her. She took a slow breath before continuing. "I knew what I was doing."

"Nadia; how am I supposed to believe that when you look like this?"

"Stop trying to protect me from myself." She winced painfully again, shutting her eyes tightly until the pain subsided. "How bad is it anyways?"

As much as he hated to change direction of the topic, Trunks walked over to the machine monitoring her vital signs. Tapping the screen, he checked her status. "You're doing better than you were twelve hours ago."

"I've been out for that long?" The sound of surprise in her voice was masked by the raspy grunting.

"You still need a lot of rest; these machines can only do so much."

"I have plans...I can't just lay around all day."

"You can leave when you're strong enough to go, alright?"

Not expecting him to be so lax, she didn't respond immediately. "Well...that's good."

He reached over and grabbed a chair, sliding it next to her bed and sitting down. "I'll be here if you need anything. I'm not going anywhere."

She turned her head away from Trunks, facing the wall. She didn't quite know how to be around him after what happened the other day at the Nawa grocery. Part of her still felt mad, but she didn't blame him for anything. As upset as she was, the pain seemed to awaken her to a new reality for the moment. "Are you the one who brought me here?" she whispered.

"Yes."

There was another long pause, the sound of the machine beeping and the hum of electricity was the only thing they could hear. Nadia spent the time wisely by choosing just the right words. "Thank you."