Part 13

Erica was officially frustrated with Marron. Every time Trunks was brought up she wanted to change the subject but Erica couldn't comprehend why Marron had left in the first place. Her parents were there for her support and so was her best friend and her boyfriend wanted to get back with and in fact had. What was the problem? Erica finally gave up on the question and stopped talking, except for her classes. Erica had noticed a sudden struggle in her math, which wasn't normal. She was an excellent math student. 
"Marron?" Erica got the courage to ask one day during math.
"Hmm?" 
"Are you okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your math grade . . . it's falling. You're such a good math student. What's on your mind?"
"Nothing. I just made a couple mistakes, that's all."
"Marron . . . are you sure?"
"Yea! What's with you lately?"
"If you don't bring your math grade up and I have to spend more time with you I don't think I can tutor you without it running into a class."
"Oh, well I wasn't going to go back soon anyways so I guess I'll try harder."
"Sounds like a plan to me." As soon as math was over she called Bra. 
"Ya?" Trunks answered.
"Ummm . . . can I talk to Bra?"
"Marron?" 
"Ummm . . .. No this is Michelle." She made her voice more high-pitched than usual.
"Marron!" 
"No, I must've called the wrong number."
"No Bra lives here but talk to me okay?"
"I really can't, I have to-"
"Marron I know where you are you don't have to hide it." She gasped. "It is you! I knew it!"
"So?"
"Come back Mar. Please?"
"You know where I am so why don't you come here?"
"I already did. You think that phone call from the library was real?"
"That was you?!?"
"I knew who you were staying with because I heard you talk about her before." 
"I want to see you but . . .."
"Can you hold on a second?" But before she uttered "yes" he was already flying towards Erica's house. He rang the doorbell when he got there. Erica answered.
"What now super-boy?" 
"Super-boy?"
"Well, do you think a normal kid your age could blow a tree stump?"
"My friend can."
"How old is he?" 
"My age."
"See! Anyone younger?"
"I could do it when I was eight!"
"Yea right."
"Can I see Marron?"
"No, she's not home."
"And where might she have gone to?" Marron's head came into view. 
"Go away."
"Marron, please!"
"No. It should've been you." She disappeared. He tried to push past Erica.
"Whoa superman. Maybe you ought to think about what you're doing."
"Are you going to call me that forever? And what are you talking about?"
"She'll come back when she's ready."
"I can't wait that long! She's all mad over something I'm supposed to be mad about. I don't care what she's done. I love her. I love her with all of my heart and soul and bit of me."
"Geez, maybe I should start playing hard-to-get." She muttered. Marron was around the corner. She had a tear running down her cheek. She listened to them say goodbye and went into the room with her stuff and threw herself onto the bed. Erica came in.
"He loves you Marron. Just accept it."
"Go away."
"Marron I was just trying to-"
"Go away!" She bawled into the pillow.

The next week . . . Goten and Trunks at the library . . ..

"There are no books on where we could find them."
"We have the Dragon Radar."
"Yea and so far after looking off that we have one."
"One is better than nothing."
"One!? We need seven!" Goten said loudly. Some one shushed him.
"Chill, we'll get you're dad back."

For the entire week after school they searched the library. On Friday a lady came up to them.
"You boys all of a sudden are interested in reading?" They glanced at one another.
"We're doing research." Goten answered quickly. 
"Research doesn't take this long. Do you need some help? What are you researching? Maybe you've been looking in the wrong place."
"Ummm . . .."
"Well? Speak up."
"I'm sure we'll be out of you're hair soon. We're almost done. We have everything we need but thanks anyways." Trunks said without a breath. 
"Humph." She walked off. 
"Geez. What's her problem?"
"Us."
"I guess." After another hour of searching and getting nothing Goten flipped.
"This dumb library has nothing!" He whispered loudly.
"You're telling me."
"You having some trouble again boys?"
"Uhhh . . . no."
"What are you looking for? I'm sure we have it." Goten didn't want anyone to know about his dad and went across the library sensing Trunks was going to tell the lady. 
"Dragonballs?"
"That's what you're researching for school?"
"No, not school."
"Sounds like a video game."
"No."
"Well, what are they dear?"
"They're balls." She was puzzled. 
"But what are they?"
"Round glass balls." Her eyebrows raised. 
"What color?"
"Orange."
"With little red stars?"
"Yea! You know what I'm talking about?"
"Yes, well sort of."
"What do you mean?"
"Follow me." She went to the back of the library and lead him to an "authorized personnel only" part of the library where the staff goes. She opened one of the lockers in a different part of the room. It looked like the break area. She pulled out her purse and reached in her hand. She pulled out the shiny metallic ball. It had three red stars on it. He went to touch it.
"Ah, ah, ah! Cough up something. You've got some money on you?" 
"No but my friend does. He's the one looking for them." She frowned.
"Why would someone look for something so priceless?"
"If you don't want it then give it to me! Why do you carry one around in you're purse anyways?"
"It was my grandmothers. People come up to me all the time and my house had been broken into many times but I've always been able to get it back. Now what does it do?"
"It uh . . .. It grants wishes." He tried to make it sound like he was lying so she'd think it was worthless.
"Yea right."
"I mean if you have all eight." He figured if he told her there were eight and she'd found seven she couldn't wish. She eyed him suspiciously. 
"Go get the money from your friend."
"How much?"
"How much he got?"
"I think a twenty." She sneered. He stood there.
"Go!"
"Okay." He went out into the library and took the money out of Goten's pocket and before Goten could turn his eyes from the book he was reading, Trunks was gone. He was using his Saiyan-speed. 
"Grrrrr." Trunks said.
"Here's the twenty." He accidentally handed her thirty and when he realized it he regretted taking the bills without counting because he knew she wasn't giving it back. Twenty bucks for such a valuable item was hardly enough.
"Get out of here before someone sees you. This is a restricted area to the general public." He tripped on his shoelace and the ball fell and broke. The lady flushed. He stood up.
"Dragonballs can't be broken. Give it up." He asked, hand outstretched. 
"More money. A dragonball is worth much more than thirty lousy bucks. He reached into his own wallet thinking of Goku and pulled out another twenty. 
"We're still talking pretty low but I think I've paid you enough to get a dragonball."
"Fine. She pulled out another purse in her locker and this time she pulled out one that looked more real. He dropped it and it didn't break. It did chip though. 
"Come on! You're wasting my time lady." She rolled her eyes. 
"The tempered glass always worked before." She pulled out a third purse with a waist pack in it. There was a secret pocket in it and she pulled it out.  
"Take care of it. It's my only one." 
"How do I know you're telling me truth?"
"Here's my name and address and if it doesn't work call me." She looked really serious.
"What's the catch?"
"Good thing you asked. You pay me thirty more bucks." 
"Eighty?"
"It's what I usually charge for a real one when I get hold of it. Usually once every few years or so."
"Bye." He ran out to Goten who was looking behind bookshelves for Trunks.
"Where'd you go?"
"To get this." He produced the ball.
"How come we didn't see it on the map?"
"We were looking at Europe. I owe the lady thirty more bucks for it though."
"How much altogether?"
"Eighty."
"Geez, she's not a cheap customer."
"I have a feeling she's not the only problem we'll run into."
"Let's split. We're done here." 
"Yea good idea."
"I'll meet you on Saturday over at the new place downtown. Kay?"
"All right then." Trunks and Goten gathered up they're stuff and took off outside the library for their homes. 

Bra at her house . . .. 

Bra was pretty determined to find the dragonballs and see what Goten and Trunks were actually up to but the radar was missing and if she asked her mom she'd get suspicious. Bra knew they had two but one was portable and the other was the older bulky version that needed to plug into the wall. No one was awake in the lab at this hour. Two in the morning, or was there? She went down into the lab her grandpa and her mom owned. She went into a room that was dark and had a whole bunch of big things covered in white sheets. She turned on the light. She found it. She pulled the sheet off it and plugged it in. It made a funny noise. It turned it on and looked for any signs of dragonballs nearby. There was one in the house! There was another one close by. It was toward Goten's area and another by the school in that area.
"Hello?" Bra immediately ducked sown and pulled the cord out of the wall. 
"Bulma? Bra? Trunks? Anyone here?" It was her grandpa's voice. She never really saw him much. He was either in the lab which she wasn't usually allowed in or in his wing of the house (on the other side of the lab.) Mom saw him everyday and sometimes he had dinner with them. He turned the light out and closed the door. She clicked her watch's little light on and it read two o' five and she laid down waiting to see if she could hear the door close in his wing. She did at about two forty nine. She got up and sneaked back into her house and up to her room. With this new information she knew Goten and Trunks were getting the dragonballs but for what? She decided to cut them off. She would get half and they would and then they'd tell her what all this was about. As she settled into bed that night she congratulated herself for being such a genius. 
"Who's good?" She laughed and fell asleep. 

The next week, same setting . . .. 

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. Whack. Thud. Bra hit her alarm clock and it fell off her dresser. She sat up and rubbed her head smiling. Today was the day. 'The day that trunks and Goten find out I have all the other dragonballs,' Bra thought. She had three and they have four. She'd calculated it in her head days ago. She got up and dressed. Since it was Saturday she'd knew they'd be looking. She looked on the big dragon finder last night and four were at Goten's and three were at hers. Just then, the phone rang. 
"Ya?" She asked putting on her shoes. 
"Hey Bra, its Kaia. Do you want to come down to Hayden Park with me and some friends?" 
"Ya but I have some business to take care of later so I might not be able to stay long."
"Okay, see you in a bout an hour?"
"Sure."
"Bye."
"Bye." She got a casual purse that went with her jeans and loaded the dragonballs into it. She took some money and gum and her keys and set off for the park. Most people would've waited until the time they were supposed to meet: 10:00, but Bra was expecting someone other then Kaia at the park today.

At Goten's house . . . .

"Look there they are!" 
"That's not to far away."
"Ya, it looks like Hayden Park." Trunks said.
"That's not to far."
"No. And lucky all four of them are there."
"Ya, we only had to find three, lucky for us." They discussed some issues and at 10:15 set out for the park not noticing that three dragonballs were all the remained in the park. 

Hayden Park . . . .

When Kaia showed up she had two other girls with her. They'd happened to be at the park that day too. They were all discussing nails when Trunks and Goten arrived. Michelle nudged Bra when the others were occupied. 
"Isn't that your brother?" She nodded. They were looking at a small thing that looked like a game boy.
"Yea it is. Hey Kaia, Duress?"
"Yea?" 
"My brother is over there and I was supposed to meet him so bye."
"You just got here!"
"Yea I know but I really have to go."

"Trunks! Look there's your sister. Right where the finder says they are."
"Here she comes." Bra walked over to them.
"What are you all doing here?"
"Do you know if any of your friends have any-"
"Don't tell her to much." Goten said.
"What do you want me to sign it to her?"
"You couldn't figure out sign language if your life depended on it."
"Anyways, do your friends have any dragonballs?"
"Look!" Goten pointed to the dragon finder which now read that Bra had the dragonballs.
"No they don't have any." She declared.
"But you do." Trunks said.
"Why would you want them?"
"I don't."
"Then give them up!" Goten held out his hand.
"Not so fast. I'll give them to you on one condition."
"And that condition is?"
"That you tell me why you need them and let me in on what you're doing with them."
"Not a chance in-" Goten started. 
"How many do you have?"
"All the ones you need."
"Trunks no!"
"If you want him back you have to start acting like it. She's gonna find out anyways. She'll have what? A two minute head start on the secret?"
"I-I-I . . .."
"You swear not to tell?"
"Yes." Bra said.
"We're getting Goku back."
"That's cool. I don't know why you can't trust me Goten. I am your girlfriend."
"I know and I love you but I'm afraid my mom'll find out and not let me."
"Oh, I see." She handed them three dragonballs and started to leave.
"And the fourth one?" She turned.
"You guys have four. I saw on mom's big dragon finder. There were four at your house Goten."
"No, you have four. I saw it a couple minutes ago on this dragon finder. It said they were all here together." They stood puzzled for a moment. Now instead of the two of them, the three of them huddled around the dragon finder to see the last dragonball leaving the park. They followed it. Eventually they came to a house. When Trunks saw it he knew who had the seventh ball.