EPIC Side Story: Dragon Ball

With the aid of delicious food, an onsen that helped to recover stamina, and plenty of time to rest, it only took a few days for Sarina and Chi-Chi to adapt to the training regimen Vahn had developed for them.Though Chi-Chi struggled quite a bit near the beginning, things got progressively easier as her Power Level rose from a meager 6 to a commendable 35 in a mere two weeks. While this might not sound like a lot, it meant she had gone from being slightly stronger than an average adult to nearly six times stronger in just fourteen days.With her original counterpart possessing a power level of 130 near the start of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, an event nearly seven years in the future, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Chi-Chi was well on her way to surpassing herself. Her schooling would slow things down a bit, but, unless she quit cold turkey, Vahn estimated that Chi-Chi should easily exceed more than a hundred thousand battle power before the arrival of Raditz. As for Sarina...Though her progress couldn't be compared to Chi-Chi's six times increase in power, Sarina's power level had increased from a fair 492 to a 'world's strongest' rating of 1173. This placed her near three times the power of Kami, and, more notably, a mere 27 points beneath Raditz in his base state. By the time of the latter's arrival, she would be so far beyond the errant Saiyan that Vegeta and Nappa may very well decide against coming to Earth.The most impressive thing about Sarina's increase in power was that it was almost purely derived from her physical development. Her grasp of Ki was still extremely shallow. Instead, she focused on pushing her body to the limits, as, even if she destroyed herself in the progress, she was confident that Vahn could even bring her back to life if necessary.........In the midst of receiving one of her twice-daily massages, Sarina managed to summon up enough presence of mind to ask, "What's going on between you and Bulma? It's a little odd that she hasn't even stopped by to say hello..."With the tips of his index and middle fingers glowing with a peculiar rainbow hue, Vahn left a faint yet visible trail along Sarina's spine as he answered, "I haven't pried directly but I'm pretty sure she's convinced herself that I need to fight to keep her. At the very least, she intends to hold out until the start of the new semester..."Though he could understand Bulma's attachment to her home in West City, Vahn still felt she was unnecessarily complicating things just to make it appear as though he was the one pursuing her. In reality, she was the one who had asked him to become her boyfriend before later proposing to him. He didn't mind fighting for her, but, when the fight was something Bulma had fabricated within her own mind, Vahn couldn't help getting Helen flashbacks..."Mmnnnnnn..."Unable to restrain her voice, an elongated moan emanated from Sarina's throat despite the fact she was feeling a tinge of regret. The decision may have been Vahn's to make but she was the one who suggested 'recruiting' Bulma. She felt that Bulma was one of the most underused characters in the series she was familiar with, so, with the goal of making her ideal version of Dragon Ball, Sarina had paired the surprisingly annoying blunette with Vahn even before the latter invited her to train in an Actualized World...Though she hadn't taken it to heart prior to their descent, Sarina now understood why Vahn had informed her that the people inside the Actualized Worlds were not the characters she was familiar with. Even the subtlest changes they made to the timeline had a drastic impact on the direction and progression of the story she was familiar with. Now, because of her selfish desires, the original plot had been derailed, Yamcha was still wandering around in a desert, and Chi-Chi, one of the few girls she hadn't actively paired with Vahn, was dead set on being with him...Noticing the changes in Sarina's aura, Vahn surprised her with a light smack to her pert and perky bottom as he said, "There's no reason to be upset. You just need to start treating this like the real world rather than some fictional universe where you have complete control and absolute impunity thanks to your knowledge of canon events. That isn't living, Sarina. It's regarding the world and the people within it as if they're puppets predestined to act in accordance with your expectations..."While the contents of his statement may have sounded a little severe, Vahn's tone remained calm and comforting throughout. After all, he had also gone through what Sarina was going presently experiencing. Not in the 'real' world, persay, but in the deepest recesses of his mind. He had even experienced a number of existential crises that caused him to consider whether or not he, not just the people around him, were merely characters within the pages of a book.In the end, Vahn came to the same conclusion that many within his position had reached. If there was no way to perceive what lay beyond the axes of his own perspective of reality, it may as well not exist. He certainly couldn't allow something so unknowable to dictate his life, so, even if he did find out he was a character in someone else's story, it didn't change the fact he was the one making decisions about his present. They may have been guided by someone else's hand, sure, but, so long as he could perceive himself, develop the world around him through his actions, and protect the people he cared about, nothing else mattered...With this in mind, Vahn left a heart-shaped trail on Sarina's right, a distant look and a slight smile on his face as he watched the light gradually disperse until the entire muscle group was illuminated with a faint, rainbow hue.........Staring at the calendar hanging on the wall with a listless, slightly concerned expression on her face, Bulma weakly muttered, "Six days till the start of the new semester..." before placing her head down on her workbench. This earned her a worried look from her father, who, despite being ignored each and every time he asked, still adopted a fatherly tone as he inquired, "Do you want to talk about it, pumpkin...?""..."Though he was unsurprised by his daughter's silence, Dr. Brief exhaled a soft sigh before pulling out the metal container that held his cigarettes. Feeling that it was pretty light, he gave it a shake to confirm it was empty. The expression on his face immediately soured, but, understanding that there was a fair chance Bulma would explode if he dared to complain while she was feeling depressed, he gave the sulking blunette a supportive pat on the back before hastily making his way towards the exit.In his haste to get his fix and avoid triggering one of Bulma's tantrums. Dr. Brief wasn't paying full attention as he opened the door and attempted to depart the lab. As a result, he ended up crashing into the person standing on the opposite side of the door, a fashionable young woman with blonde hair extending past the small of her back and obsidian blue eyes. The impact caused her to fall onto her butt, and, as a result of her dangerously short, denim mini skirt, Dr. Brief was presented with the misfortune of seeing something most would pay a hefty sum to see...Closing her legs as quickly as possible, the young blonde stared up at Dr. Brief with a remarkable blush on her face as she asked, "Did you see...?" in an audibly threatening tone.With a convincingly confused look on his face, Dr. Brief asked, "Did I see what, sweetheart?" before extending his hand to help the young woman up.Instead of accepting the offer for assistance, the fashionable blonde squinted her eyes and stared into Dr. Brief's face for several seconds. A cold sweat broke out across the latter's body, but, having become accustomed to dealing with politicians and ruthless warmongers, the pale-haired scientist was able to appear progressively more confused as he inquired, "Is something the matter...?"Though her intuition told her she was being fooled, the young blonde decided she would much rather accept a version of events that didn't result in her father finding out she wore space-print panties, complete with stars and planets, at the age of twenty-nine. Everyone she knew regarded her as a fashion icon so she would have to beat her father until his photographic memory no longer functioned if he ended up catching a glipse beneath her skirt...Accepting her father's outstretched hand, the blonde woman, better known as Tights, maintained a skeptical look as she questioned, "Why are you in such a rush? You didn't show up to greet me even though I told you weeks ago I was coming by to visit."Recalling that Tights had, in fact, sent him seventeen messages informing him she would stop by near the end of Bulma's Summer Break, an embarrassed yet helpless expression developed across Dr. Brief's face. After all, while his daughter had informed him she was going to stop by, she never once mentioned a date. In fact, every time he askered her clarification, she would answer something along the lines of, 'after my book is finished', or, 'once my Editor has finished looking over my new manuscript'.Understanding the futility of referencing such things, Dr. Brief adopted an apologetic expression as he scratched the back of his head and replied, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. It must have slipped my mind while I was helping your sister with her research. Tell you what, why don't I buy you a new laptop as an apology? I know you don't like accepting financial support and free handouts but it would make me feel like less of a terrible father if you accepted..."Adopting a slightly embarrassed expression of her own, Tights combed back the fringe on the left side of her head as she answered, "Thanks, dad..." in an uncharacteristically compliant tone before looking past him and into the lab. When she saw the Model Tiamat standing proudly in the central hangar, every other thought in her mind ceased to exist, illusory stars erupting from her eyes as she shouted, "Holy crap! That's so-""Will you two quiet the hell down!? Can't a girl brood in silence...!?"Though she had initially done her best to ignore the conversation between her father and elder sister, Bulma's anger burst forth when Tights shouted at the top of her lungs.Unfortunately, the one person who had never feared Bulma's anger was Tights, so, instead of being cowed like the vast majority of people, a visible tick mark appeared near the blonde's left temple as she retorted, "Is that any way to greet the sister you haven't seen in over a year!? I traveled twenty-three-thousand-kilometers to come and check on you! Now, stop sulking like an ill-tempered brat and come give your big sister a hug...!"Crossing her arms to create an x, Bulma immediately shouted, "Don't wanna!" in a defiant tone. This caused an additional tick mark to appear on Tights's head, her right hand forming into a fist as she threatened, "Looks like someone's in need of some tough love..."With a shiver running through her body, Bulma left Tights with an incredulous expression on her face as she bolted for the Model Tiamat."You...! Absolutely shameless...!"Undaunted by the fact her little sister was climbing into a mech, Tights ran forward with the intent of climbing in after her. As for Dr. Brief, he used the opportunity to slip away like a highly trained spy. He couldn't keep up with his daughters even when they were still wearing diapers. There was no way in hell he was going to stick around without a cigarette to help calm his nerves.........(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I wonder how much of Sarina's gains comes from nightly activities?','Don't worry Vahn. This is your story. I just have the privilege of writing it for all these EPIC and amazing people to read~','I wonder where Pluto is located...?')

With Sarina's mood improving quite a bit after a pep talk and a massage, both she and Vahn were enjoying an action movie unique to the Actualized World when his senses picked up a fast-moving object on approach to the manor.Recognizing the object as the Model Tiamat, Vahn's brows perked up as he said, "It appears Bulma has finally decided to pay us a visit..." before immediately following it with a marginally surprised, "And it would appear she brought her sister...?"Even more surprised than Vahn, Sarina ceased snuggling against him, asking, "Bulma's sister? You mean Tights...?"Though the Bulma she was familiar with only had a single sister, Sarina knew the version of Dragon Ball she and Vahn had descended into was similar yet decidedly different from the version they had binge-watched together. For all she knew, Bulma had four identical sisters and enough brothers to fill the entirety of West City. Thus, even though she was pretty sure Vahn was referencing Tights, she figured she may as well ask to be certain.Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn paused the movie before rising to his feet and saying, "If I had to guess, I would wager that Tights found out about us before threatening to come herself if Bulma refused to bring her over. She did always have a penchant for mischief and anything related to science-fiction...""Hmm..."While she didn't disagree with Vahn's assessment of the situation, Sarina's 'intuition' made her think there was more to Tights's visit than mere curiosity. She was the type of woman that would force an alien she barely knew to fly her around to various planets to gather inspiration for her novels, and, though she used her earnings to help restore his home, she had basically strong-armed Dr. Omori, a Scientist researching Time Travel, to let her live on his island.Simply put, Tights was an exceptionally headstrong woman, and, though she was depicted as being the kinder of the two sisters, she was even more stubborn than Bulma when it concerned gathering material for her novels. Vahn was a veritable treasure trove of knowledge and information, so, even though she had never met the trendy blonde, Sarina got the impression that Tights wasn't going to leave without collecting plenty of material for her novels.........With the Model Tiamat capable of moving at faster-than-light speeds through a vacuum, it only took a few minutes for Bulma and Tights to travel from West City to the manor Vahn had created a few hundred kilometers to the Northwest. This excited Tights quite a bit, as, despite touring around space in a ship capable of moving at even faster speeds, it couldn't compare to riding in the cockpit of a massive, badass-looking dragon.Unfortunately, the relatively short journey didn't leave a lot of time for small talk, so, even though she had been pestering Bulma for more information about Vahn, she knew very little about him by the time her sister was landing the Model Tiamat in a large clearing reserved for that exact purpose. Immediately thereafter, Tights's brows perked up when a surprisingly handsome man, presumably Vahn, appeared out of thin air alongside a remarkably beautiful woman with massive tits and raven-black hair."Holy crap, you never mentioned your little boy toy was 'this' handsome. And check out that chick standing next to him. There's no way those are real..."Realizing the problem with the words that had just come out of her mouth, Tights looked towards Bulma with a concerned frown as she asked, "Who is she...?"Exhaling a sigh, Bulma left her sister absolutely speechless by popping open the hatch of the Model Tiamat and answering, "Her name is Sarina. She's one of Vahn's lovers..." in a flat, no-nonsense tone of voice. Then, without waiting for her sister's reply, she slid out of the cockpit and onto the Model Tiamat's hand before having it lower her to the ground.Coming back to her senses in response to her little sister's departure, Tight's hurried to the edge of the cockpit, shouting, "Bulma! What the hell are you talking about!?" before looking towards Vahn and Sarina with an incredulous, slightly hostile expression on her face.Noticing Tight's gaze, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as he waved his hand towards her. This caused a visible tickmark to appear on her head, but, before she should even think to shout, an exasperated-looking Bulma called out, "Just hurry up and get down! I'll explain everything once we get inside!"Without waiting for Tight's response, Bulma shifted her attention to Vahn and Sarina next, a hint of moisture spreading across the surface of her sapphirine eyes as she glared at the former and asked, "Why didn't you come to visit?" before immediately following it with a, "No. Forget it. We'll discuss it later. For now, let's go inside. You can cook something up for us while I explain things to my sister and have a chat with Sarina..."Placing his hand on Sarina's shoulder before she could lambast Bulma for her rude behavior, a faint smile developed across Vahn's face as he answered, "Sure thing. Just promise me you won't take off before we have a chance to talk. Two and a half weeks may not be a particularly long period of time but it's more than enough for feelings of longing to develop. I really have missed you, Bulma..."Furrowing her brows, Bulma wanted to refute Vahn's words, but, as per usual, she found it difficult to speak harshly when he was staring directly at her. A part of her was even tempted to forgive him outright, but, feeling he should suffer at least a little, she avoided his gaze by averting her own and muttering, "It's not like I was just going to just leave without saying anything..."Chuckling in response to Bulma's words, Vahn discreetly gave Sarina a supportive push by pressing his palm against the small of her back and saying, "I'll teleport over to the kitchen and get started. Sarina will show you around and help you find the dining room..."Without waiting for either girl's response, Vahn promptly disappeared from view. He knew Sarina still wanted to try and smooth things over with Bulma, so, unless she gave up completely, he was going to continue supporting her. As for Bulma, he wanted to make her happy, but, unless she was willing to compromise, there was only so much he could do. He couldn't just ignore everyone and everything else just to pander to her sense of self-worth. A healthy relationship was a compromise between two people held together by mutual love and affection. If she wasn't even going to try to meet him halfway, there was no reason for them to be engaged. After all, there was a pretty drastic difference between two people loving each other and one person expecting the other to give them everything they wanted...What the current Bulma was looking for wasn't a fiance or even a boyfriend. What she really wanted was a handsome manservant who would listen to her orders, give her everything she asked for, and regard her as if she was the only light in their otherwise bleak existence. That was what Bulma really had in mind when she was thinking about wishing for the perfect boyfriend.Though he could, in fact, give Bulma everything she ever wanted, the one thing he couldn't do was treat her as if nothing else mattered. She would never be the most important thing to him, as, even if she did surpass Da Vinci, Vahn had never held his lovers to such standards. It didn't matter to him if they were normal village girls or Goddesses that transcended reason. He was just happy being at their side and supporting them. If any of them were to truly butt heads with one another, it would break his heart, as, without a very good reason, he could never choose between them.........Though it took three days for them to recover from their food poisoning, Goku and Krillin were well on their way to adapting to Master Roshi's strange yet effective training.Starting long before the dawn, specifically at 4:30 AM, Goku and Krillin would wake up and warm up by jogging to a nearby milk depository. There, they would be given trays of cold and fresh milk that would need to be delivered all across the large yet sparsely populated island before breakfast. This was normally accomplished with a helicopter, but, as it wouldn't make much sense for them to train martial arts by flying around, Goku and Krillin were required to run and navigate various obstacles before wrapping things up by ascending thousands of stairs to the top of a mountain temple.Once they were finished with this 'warm up', Goku and Krillin would move to the next phase of their training: plowing several acres of land using nothing but their bare hands.As could be imagined, tilling even fertile soil using your bare hands was a nightmare. Not only did it take several hours, but, unless you paid close attention, there was a high probability of cutting open your hand on a stray rock. Even then, Goku and Krillin were forced to endure countless blisters until their hands had developed smooth yet remarkably durable calluses thanks to a mysterious healing ointment provided by Master Roshi.Once they finished plowing the land, Goku and Krillin would be allowed to eat a hearty breakfast while attending lessons provided by Master Roshi. He had actually received a teaching license more than a hundred years prior, so, while his knowledge was a bit outdated, he was familiar with a wide range of topics suitable for complete beginners and even advanced, college-level students.Though Goku struggled immensely during the lessons, he did his best so that he would have plenty of time to nap before lunch. The afternoon training was even harder than the morning training, so, while he was actually having a lot of fun, he prioritized resting whenever possible. One of the core teachings of Turtle Hermit Style Martial Arts was balancing hard work with plenty of rest, so, while Krillin and Master Roshi would lounge about in hammocks, he would hurry back to Kame House in order to take a nap with Launch.Ever since he had taken care of her during her food poisoning, both versions of Launch had been a lot nicer to Goku than either Master Roshi or Krillin. She had even forced him to share the same bed as her during the evenings. When Goku asked why, Launch informed him that he was her safeguard against the two perverts that ogled her body like a pair of hungry wolves that had just stumbled upon a piece of choice meat. This didn't really make a lot of sense to Goku, but, understanding that Launch was basically asking him to protect her, he didn't mind. She was soft, smelled nice, and, prior to his death, Grandpa Gohan had stressed, numerous times, that Goku should always protect females.Goku hadn't really understood what his Grandpa meant when he tried explaining the differences between men and women, but, after meeting girls like Sarina, Bulma, and Launch, Goku felt like he was starting to understand. Girls were surprisingly scary, but, at the same time, they were soft and comfortable to be around. When Launch hugged him, Goku felt even more at peace than when his Uncle Vahn pat his head. He sometimes felt an indescribable feeling of sadness whenever she ran her fingers through his hair, but, after a while, even this had become something that Goku enjoyed more than he could ever put into words.........(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I kind of feel bad for Dr. Brief...','Could Bulma be the first girl Vahn actually breaks up with!? I would imagine it depends on whether or not they sleep together xD...','Goku is learning many things during his training with Roshi (O v O)...')

With Sarina entering the dining room near the end of breakfast, Vahn waited for her to sit down before buttering her a piece of toast and saying, "The new semester starts in twenty days. Do you intend to train until then or do you just want to relax and enjoy the rest of your vacation? You don't have the option of dropping out once you start attending class so this is, technically speaking, your last vacation until December."Accepting the piece of toast with a faint smile and a polite, "Thanks..." Sarina briefly considered her response before saying, "I think I want to train. It will be a lot easier to keep at it once school starts if it's already a part of my daily routine."Nodding his head in approval, Vahn was about to ask Chi-Chi a similar question when the latter beat him to the punch, saying, "If you're talking about practicing martial arts, I'd like to participate. I may be small, but I am the daughter of the Ox-King. I can hold my own in a fight."Since he was literally about to ask if she wanted to participate, Vahn had no reason to deny Chi-Chi's request. Instead, he offered an approving nod before shifting his gaze to Broly and Cheelai, saying, "I want the two of you to just focus on relaxing these next couple of weeks. Since you won't be attending class, there will be plenty of time for you to train once you become acclimated to this world."Though he was a little disheartened, Broly didn't hesitate to nod his head in understanding. This was immediately noticed by Cheelai, who, having recovered quite a bit since the previous night's revelations, asked, "We can still watch, right?"Understanding exactly what the green-skinned beauty had in mind, a faint smile developed across Vahn's face as he answered, "Of course. Just don't sneak off somewhat to try and emulate what I'm teaching. I won't be too upset if you do but it'll cause quite a number of issues if either of you gets injured..."Realizing she had been seen through, Cheelai awkwardly scratched her cheek with a wry smile on her face. She had done a lot of thinking the previous night, so, while she doubted she could ever become as strong as someone like Frieza, she figured she might as well give it a try. Broly was too kind to be pitted against such a monster. If she could bear the burden in his stead and undo some of the damage wrought by Frieza and his forces, that is exactly what she would do.........With Broly and Cheelai observing from atop a large stone, the former sitting in the latter's lap, Vahn cast several layers of protection and a rapid regeneration spell on Sarina and Chi-Chi before having them stand across from each other. The former was wearing little more than her Aegis and a pair of exceptionally durable sneakers while the latter, unsurprisingly, donned her bikini armor, boomerang helmet, fire-resistant cape, amplifying gloves, and shock-absorbent boots.Though spiritual and mental cultivation were equally important when it came to increasing Ki, the most prominent forces at play within the Actualized World of Dragon Ball was something Da Vinci referred to as the 'Steel Sharpens Steel' Principle. It basically meant that the fastest way to increase your strength was to fight against someone who was equally as powerful, if not more powerful than yourself. The actual Laws at play dealt with things like War, Conflict, Rivalry, Progress, and even Fate, but, as interesting as the specifics were, the most important takeaway was that you could drastically increase your rate of growth by fighting progressively more powerful opponents."Begin...!"Hearing Vahn's shout, Chi-Chi pointed the index and middle fingers of both hands towards the gem seated at the front of her helmet as she shouted, "Emerium Beam...!". Vahn had told her not to hold anything back as Sarina was apparently more than eighty times more powerful. This was something Chi-Chi refused to believe, but, not wanting to accuse Vahn of lying, she immediately opened with her most powerful attack, a laser beam that could even disintegrate the body of a Tyrannosaurus in less than three seconds.To Chi-Chi's surprise, Sarina's body simply disappeared from the trajectory of the beam the moment she called out her attack. In the very next moment, she felt a heavy impact to her side, the air in her lungs being forced out as Sarina's kick impacted her kidney.It turns out that raising both your hands to fire a laser beam left your body completely unguarded...Having never battled against a serious opponent or suffered a single injury in her entire life, Chi-Chi didn't immediately rise to her feet. Instead, she pushed herself to a seated position, tears building in her obsidian-black eyes as she held her side and complained, "You didn't...have to hit...so hard..." in a sobbing tone.With an incredulous look on her face, Sarina looked at Chi-Chi as though she were an idiot, saying, "You just fired a disintegrating laser at me and you're complaining about receiving a simple kick...?"Unable to refute Sarina's words, an indignant pout formed on Chi-Chi's face as she climbed to her feet and did her best to restrain her sniffling. Then, demonstrating she wasn't completely hopeless, she crouched down, elbows and shoulders tucked in to protect her sides as she raised her fingers towards the gem on her helmet.........After watching Sarina one-sidedly trounce Chi-Chi for the better part of an hour, Vahn eventually stepped in to stop the fight, saying, "Okay. Now that you've both had the opportunity to warm up, your next opponent will be me. I want you to come at me with the intent to kill. If you don't, even a direct hit won't be able to deal any damage."Though Chi-Chi wanted to protest fighting against her future husband, the words got caught in her throat when she witnessed Sarina launch a flying kick towards Vahn's head at a much faster speed than when they were fighting. In spite of this, Vahn was able to effortlessly deflect the blow with the back of his hand, his starting position remaining unchanged as he swept Sarina back several tens of meters with a simple wave.Undaunted by the failed attack, a hazy blue aura exuded from Sarina's body as she exploded forth with enough force to generate a large plume of dust as she instantaneously accelerated faster than the speed of sound. Then, to the shock and awe of both Chi-Chi and Cheelai, shockwaves exuded from the point of contact every time Vahn casually deflected one of Sarina's meteoric punches and kicks...Witnessing the almost incomprehensible display of power, Chi-Chi finally accepted that Sarina was a lot stronger than her. Instead of being upset by this, however, a resolute look gradually developed across her face as she balled her hands into fists and charged forward at a much slower speed than her newly acquired rival.........While Sarina and Chi-Chi were hard at work trying to increase their strength, Bulma was beginning to feel exasperated as every attempt she and her father had made to penetrate and take a sample of the Model Tiamat's hull had proved ineffective. They had tried everything from acids to creating a plasma cutter capable of outputting temperatures exceeding 60,000 Centigrade. When that failed, they even attempted the brute-force tactic of firing a reinforced tungsten rod at it using a railgun, but, other than creating a peculiar blue ripple at the point of contact, nothing else happened.Feeling a similar degree of exasperation as his daughter, Dr. Brief, a short, bespectacled man with pale-blue hair and a large mustache, remarked, "It really is fascinating. If I hadn't seen it for myself, I never would have believed such a durable material existed. If we could figure out how to recreate it, we could completely revolutionize the construction industry. And don't even get me started on the possible military applications..."Though Dr. Brief's words made it sound as though he only cared about money, it was actually quite the opposite. If it wasn't required to purchase materials and finance his research, he wouldn't even bother with it. The only three things he cared about in life were his family, accumulating knowledge, and smoking. Becoming the richest and most influential man in the world had merely been a means to an end. After all, he sure as hell wasn't going to let some government tell him what he could and couldn't research...Groaning in response to her father's words, Bulma banged her forehead on her workbench before asking, "You think I don't know that...?" in a pouty, clearly frustrated tone.Understanding the futility of trying to reason with his daughter, Dr. Brief lit up another cigarette before inhaling a deep breath and releasing a large plume of smoke. At the same time, he stared up at the Model Tiamat with a weary yet determined look on his aged face. Bulma had deflected time and again when he asked where the rather fierce-looking machine came from, but, regardless of its origin, he was determined to uncover its secrets.With that in mind, Dr. Brief gave his daughter a gentle pat on the back before departing the lab to take a fifteen-minute break. He had modified his body so that something as inconvenient as sleep was unnecessary but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy a moment of peace and quiet. The interior of his house had been converted to a miniature wildlife preserve for that express purpose, so, after twenty-seven straight out of trying to breach the Model Tiamet's hull, he figured it was time to take a break...Hearing the door shut behind her father, an exasperated sigh escaped from Bulma's throat as she raised her head to stare at the 18m tall mechanical dragon. She didn't want to admit it, but she was starting to believe Vahn's words about it being impossible to reverse engineer. There were no flaws in its structure even when she looked at it under an electron microscope. To make matters worse, it blocked any and all means to scan its interior. If she didn't know it had a cockpit, she would assume the interior was empty based on the readings she got ultrasound and x-rays...Realizing that she wasn't going to be able to one-up Vahn by taking apart the Model Tiamat, Bulma rose to her feet before stretching her body until a series of satisfying pops emanated from her back. She had only slept for six hours ever since she stormed off, and, unlike her father, she wasn't all that comfortable with modifying her body. She would consider it when she was older, but, for the time being, she was comfortable with the capabilities she was born with.Reaching into the pocket of her bright orange boiler suit, Bulma pulled out a cigarette of her own before lighting it up and walking over to the Model Tiamat. In response, it immediately bent down to present its hand, as, despite her efforts to try and disassemble it, the onboard AI didn't mind. Its only concern was that Bulma had been registered as its pilot, so, unless Vahn revoked her access, it would comply in accordance with its programming.Taking advantage of the fact that the interior of the Model Tiamat was more comfortable than most beds, Bulma reclined in the pilot's seat before kicking her feet up on the analog command console. Then, despite pretending as if she didn't care, she activated the long-range sensors using a mental command before smiling as a three-dimensional projection of the area surrounding Vahn's recently established manor was generated in ultra-high definition.Though she did her best to restrain the urge, Bulma couldn't help wondering what Vahn was up to, so, whenever her father took a break, she would sneak a peek. She had even spied on the previous night's dinner, as, despite telling him she was busy, the only thing on her plate right now was trying to disassemble the Model Tiamat. As for why she didn't just fly over and participate...Bulma wasn't entirely sure herself. She just felt he should be the one to come visit her rather than him expecting her to come and visit him.........(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Cheelai is a good person...','Always guard your body xD...','Bulma isn't a bad person. She's just exceptionally self-centered...')

Chapter 33: Internal and External Conflict