"Why does Bulma always give me the stupid jobs?!" Ryoko had been an employee at Capsule Corp. for almost 9 years. She was now physically 33 years old. Bulma had originally hired Ryoko so she would stay with them. Even though Ryoko had fallen in love with Bulma's son Trunks, she remained loyal to her job. Normally, deliveries of Capsules to the stores that sold them were handled separately by another company. The business was down at the time, so Ryoko had to make all the deliveries herself. "Hmph....." Ryoko grumbled as she walked down the busy city sidewalks, carrying a large box full of new Hoi Poi Capsules. "I'm so sick of working. I haven't been on a vacation since our honeymoon, if you even consider that a vacation...."
Ryoko and Trunks' son, Ryan, was now 8 years old. The two got engaged after he was born, when Trunks proposed to Ryoko in the hospital. Since they just had a baby, the wedding was put off. And when Ryan was 4, Majin Buu came and that became the priority at the time. It wasn't until a year later that they finally got married. "It doesn't really matter anyway," Ryoko had thought. "I already feel like Trunks is my husband - I've taken his last name, and now we have a son, plus I have Minagi.... The only reason is all that legal mumbo-jumbo." Although Minagi was not Trunks' daughter, they got along well, and she looked to him almost as a father figure (even though he's younger than her). She's also Ryan's half sister, but he never sees her as anything less than his older sister. Ryan looks up to her, and since the time of peace, Minagi's become obsessed with video games. She takes on Ryan as her young apprentice to teach him her "master skills". Even after the wedding, nothing changed. Ryoko still worked, and spent time with Trunks and their kids, who sat around and did nothing most of the time.
"Our honeymoon was already 2 years ago. The trip hadn't really gone exactly to plan, though...," Ryoko was thinking. She wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her - she just walked through an intersection, pissing off all the drivers who nearly hit her. "I know the perfect place for you two to go!" Bulma insisted. "My father owns a vacation home in the far East. It's incredibly beautiful - there's a couple hundred acres of land, and a lake, all surrounded and enclosed by mountains. It's really romantic..." "Uh, sure? Why not?" Trunks said. "Yeah, ok then. Flying there would be too easy and boring. Why don't we make it interesting and go on a road trip?" Ryoko suggested. "We'll pack our stuff, and take my old pickup truck." "Fine, if that's what you want to do. I just want you guys to get out. You're married, and haven't even been on a single date."
So, Ryoko and Trunks set out on the open road. The trip will take a few days by car, so the two will switch off with driving and sleeping. Their first stop of course, was a diner. It offered a tough deal - eat a whole 25-lb. steak, and it's on the house! Plus, you'll be on the "Wall of Fame". "I'll take that," Ryoko said plainly to the waiter. "Y-you sure about that, little lady?" "Yep! It sounds like a good deal to me. Bring it on! I'm hungry." "O..oh kay! Looks like we got ourselves a challenger!" "I'll just have a cheeseburger," Trunks sighed.
"Well! Are you proud of yourself?" Trunks exclaimed. Ryoko was sitting in the passenger's seat, grinning from ear to ear. She was wearing a t-shirt that said, "I beat the meat! - Hal's Diner". She looked and smiled at him happily. Trunks sighed, and laughed to himself. He enjoyed spending time with her more than anything in the world.
Trunks snored as Ryoko navigated through the bad thunderstorm. They had just passed East City, and were heading through the outskirts of town. It was pouring rain, and almost impossible to see. The fat droplets were loud as they hit against the truck. Trunks continued to sleep through it. "He's lucky I'm such a damn good driver. Nobody'd be stupid enough to drive around in conditions like this. What's that?" Something suddenly caught Ryoko's eye, and she stopped to pull off to the side of the road. "Wha.... uh...huh?" The sudden jerk woke Trunks up. A car was overturned on the side of the road. "It's... an ambulance. " Ryoko muttered. She quickly unlocked and opened the door. "Hey! Ryoko! What're you...?" "I'm going to check it to see if anyone's hurt. You stay in here, Trunks. There's no need for the both of us to get wet." "But...uh..." She looked back and gave him a look of, you better not or else. He pulled back. "Ok, Ryoko." She stepped out, and closed the door behind her. In a second, she was completely soaked. She ran over to the ambulance, and banged on the back doors. A bang answered back. She gripped on to the slippery doors, and pulled them open.
A young woman who looked like a nurse was crouched over what seemed to be the patient. It was a 13 year old girl; her head and arms were bandaged. "What happened?!" Ryoko said, shocking the nurse as she forced the doors open. She seemed to be in shock; her head had scrapes and bruises. "We...we flipped over. The car lost power just a little while ago... I don't know if the driver's ok. Please... help us." Water dripped from Ryoko's soaked clothes as she checked both the nurse and the girl. "The nurse was fine, just a little cut up and shocked. The girl was alive... not doing too good," these thoughts ran through her head. "I'll check the driver." She ran out again, and climbed on top of the ambulance to open the car door. The driver was still in his seat, head bashed from the impact. Knocked out cold, but still alive. She quickly ran to the back again. "Ok! I'm going to get you all out of here!" She ran over to Trunks, and he rolled down the window. "What's going on?" "Hurry! Drive the truck over to the ambulance!" "Alright!"
Their truck pulled up right to the ambulance's back doors. "Sorry, but for now, I'm going to have to put the three of you in there. I don't want you all to get soaking wet." Trunks helped Ryoko carry the three injured passengers into their truck. As soon as they were in, Ryoko closed all the doors, and began trying to flip the ambulance back over. "Ungh...." The rain was still pouring intensely as Ryoko struggled to grip her fingers on the side of the car. It was completely dark, except when an occasional lightning bolt crackled across the sky, lighting up the area for a moment. Ryoko's footing also gave her a problem - the ground had completely absorbed the water and was raising a few inches off the ground, turning the roadside into mush. It was slippery and dark, but she still managed to get the car back on all 4 wheels. "huh...huh..ok. There we go... now, I have to get 'er started." She opened the driver's door, and sat inside. The key was still in the ignition. She turned it, but it didn't start. Didn't even sound like it was trying. "Come on... come on... work..please.." The lights didn't even come on. "DAMMIT!! The fricken battery's dead!" She slammed her fist down on the seat, puncturing it. Water dripped from the already soaked steering wheel.
"Alright...calm down," she told herself. "This isn't that big of a deal. I just have to jump-start it." She grabbed the metal key, and turned it in the start position, then began to flood the acceleration. "Here goes..." Electricity began flowing through her body, until it flowed to her fingertips and was released. "aaahhh.... unh! agh! uh! huh...huh... nnnghh...ah..aaahhh!!! Sh... " - [oh no! I forgot! I'm drenched in water!!] - Ryoko screamed as she began to get shocked by her own electrical charge. "No!! I can... I.. have to.. " She struggled to keep the electrical flow going into the battery instead of herself. Finally, the car started and she let go of the key; smoke rose from her body as she began gasping for air. "Well, then..... that's that."
She put the ambulance in drive, and pulled up to the truck. "You alright, Ryoko?!" "Yeah... no worries. Just help me get these guys back in here."
"Thank you so much, miss! You saved all of us!" The nurse got back to work on the now 2 patients, while she talked to the driving Ryoko. Trunks was following close behind in their truck as they drove to the hospital. "So, tell me. What happened exactly?" "We got a call that a girl was hit by a car and picked her up to take her to the hospital. All I can remember is the ambulance skidding off the side of the road until we turned over." Ryoko: ".............." "I didn't think anyone would come to help us. I couldn't use the radio to call for help because the battery died. We're lucky you saw us and helped out. What were you two doing driving in this dangerous condition?... I mean, I'm so glad that you were, but you could have gotten hurt too." "Well, we're on a road trip. I'm a great driver, so I can handle conditions like these. I didn't want to have to stop and pull over - we're on our honeymoon, sort of..." "Really?! Oh, congratulations! When did you get married?" "Almost two years ago." "What? Really?! That's kind of odd..." "Yeah, well we.." Ryoko got interrupted by a radio call. "Chkk... Hello? Is this 1-5-2?" "No, this is Ryoko." "Uhh... who are you? Please state your position." "The driver got knocked out and I'm driving everyone to the hospital... we're almost there now, so get ready for us." "I copy that. Thank you. Over. - chkk"
They reached the hospital, doctors and nurses were standing by as they pulled up and helped get everyone out. Ryoko walked up to Trunks, he held her as they both watched the ambulance driver and girl get wheeled down the hall and into the emergency rooms. The remaining people approached the two. Ryoko was still dripping wet.
"Thank you very much for your assistance. You are Ryoko, am I correct?" "Yes sir!" Ryoko answered the doctor.
Ryoko lay in a room, a nurse checking her temperature as Trunks sat in a chair in the corner and watched. "Well, miss Ryoko. I think you were out in the cold rain for too long." She pulled the thermometer out of her mouth. Ryoko shook a bit as she layed on the table; her clothes were changed and dry, but she was still chilled to the bone. "Is she going to be ok?" Trunks asked the nurse. "She caught pneumonia... strong girl though. She should be just fine in a few days." The doctors offered her a stay for the night - it was the least they could do for their new hero. But Ryoko wasn't worried about herself. She wanted to stay and find out if the two from the ambulance were going to be ok. She and Trunks were soon visited by the girl, Nina's, parents. They were incredibly grateful for their daughter's rescue, and felt bad about Ryoko getting sick. "Hey. It's ok. Don't worry about it!"
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"The girl woke up the next morning. She looked so happy.." Ryoko was remembering the last bit of their "vacation". "It sure was cut short... but I don't regret helping those people in the least." A man almost ran into Ryoko, who was staring blankly while walking on the busy sidewalk, carrying her package. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" "Oh....sorry. There I go day dreaming again...," Ryoko thought to herself. "I almost passed the shop!" She pushed the door open, bells clanging that were hanging on the door as she closed it behind her. "Hey! Here's your order for the month. Sorry for the delay...I had to deliver it to ya myself." "Oh, that's alright!" a man behind the counter exclaimed. "Thank you for going through the trouble, Mrs. Briefs." "Yeah, yeah. 100 cases of the new Hoi Poi Capsules, right?" She handed him the box. "Well, I guess I'm on my way. Got a lotta work ta do, ya know..." She walked out the door, then stuck her hands in her pockets and sighed.
"I hate being Bulma's delivery boy. She thinks she can make me do whatever she..." She suddenly stopped. Someone, or something, had been following her. "Where is...?" Suddenly, she turned as a strange looking creature ran out of the capsule shop, carrying the box she just delivered. "Hey You!!" The creature was fast, but Ryoko quickly pursued it. It ran into an alley. "Now I've got you!" She turned the corner and it was gone. "Dammit!! What in hell...? Ah ha!" She jumped to the roof, with that creature not too far ahead, jumping the rooftops. She quickly ran after it and did the same. It got to the last building and jumped off, taking flight. It suddenly screeched to mid-air halt as Ryoko appeared right in front. "Now give me the box..." "My master requests these capsules." "What?!! Give them to me, asshole!" She grabbed the box, and yanked it right out of the creature's arms, taking them with it. "What the...? Oops! Heh... sorry 'bout that..." The creature just stared at her with a cold, hard expression, then to Ryoko's shock, regenerated its arms back. "!! No... It can't..." It looked down at its arms, then up at Ryoko who was quickly pulling off the arms that were attached to the box. She looked up as a hand shot out at her from the creature, and it quickly began to wrap around and squeeze her neck, its sharp nails cutting at her throat. "Ahhh....ugh.... gasp." She began to cough as she gasped for air. The creature's face had no change in expression. She suddenly let go of the box of Capsules she was grabbing onto with her other hand and instantly stuck it right in front of the creature's face. "HAAA!!!" Ryoko shot a powerful ki blast directly at its head, blowing it completely off. Its body seemed to be hanging from its arm that was still grasping her neck, until its grip finally loosened and slid off, sending what was left of the creature plummeting toward the ground. Ryoko quickly caught her breath, then disappeared. She reappeared on the ground, and caught the box before it hit, and sighed in relief as she rubbed her neck. The creature's body then landed right next to where she was standing. She knelt down beside it, and began to examine it. "Now... what the hell is this thing?!" It was covered in some sort of tough, scale-like skin. A dark fluid was oozing out of the decapitated neck. "That smells... like some kind of oil. Weird." She reached into the neck for an expected vertebrae, but to her shock, found something else. "The frame is made of steel!...wait...no way. It's... an android."
Next: Chapter 2 - "Old Habits Die Hard... But Can Sometimes Come In Handy."
Jaz - August, 2003
http://saiyananimeplanet.cjb.net
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