"Summon? We're not mystics!" Lucca responded to her father's question. Although she was curious about the blue-haired woman who had suddenly appeared, she didn't hesitate before reaching for the laser gun at her waist.
"Have I come in peace?" Bulma asked, flashing a smile she thought was reassuring. Taban shook his head. Lucca, however, was not swayed by her words and pointed her weapon at the blue-haired girl.
"Answer me. Who are you? What are you doing here, and how did you get here?" Lucca asked. The smile on Bulma's face stiffened. She was unsure how to respond to this girl who looked so much like her ancestor.
"You seem nice, but your appearance is a concern for us, especially since your arrival caused our machine to turn on by itself. If any living being had been using it at that moment..." Taban didn't finish his sentence, but his serious tone and somewhat sad expression explained everything, especially when certain memories from the past came to the father's and daughter's minds.
"Oh, well, I understand," Bulma replied, scratching the back of her neck. She felt that her arrival was abrupt for anyone observing her without context.
She didn't want any trouble, so she stopped floating and fell to the ground. Then, under the gaze of Lucca and Taban, she struck a pose: she pointed at herself with her index finger, slightly opened her legs, placed her free hand on her waist, and arched her back.
"I'm Bulma Brief! I'm a scientist from another timeline!" Bulma introduced herself, causing both father and daughter to look at each other strangely. Then, Lucca began to laugh.
"That's a great pose! I admit it. But do you come from another timeline? Do you have proof?" Although Lucca was questioning her, the fact that the girl lowered her weapon indicated that she was certain Bulma was not a threat to her or her father. Yet she kept her finger on the trigger, ready to fire.
"Oh, sure, let me get some things." Bulma patted the belt around her waist, and out of nowhere, a small capsule appeared in her hand.
She had devised equipment with space functions, taking advantage of her father's technology and that of the other scientists. Many inventions emerged from the collaboration of these great minds, giving the blue-haired girl a wide range of options.
"This is a capsule. I don't think you have this kind of technology here, but here's my proof," she said, showing the small object in her hand. Lucca was interested because Bulma's words revealed many things to her.
Bulma pressed the button that activated the capsule, dropping it on the floor and causing a burst of smoke. Soon, a large metal box appeared in front of the trio. Lucca and Taban opened their eyes wide in amazement.
"What was that!? Space equipment? Compressed matter? My God, the things that can be done with this kind of technology..." Taban began to mutter, quite impressed by what had just happened.
"It's space equipment created by my father and sold by his company. Everyone in my timeline has one of these and lives a much more comfortable life," Bulma said with a hint of pride.
She approached the metal box and touched its surface with both palms. Many detectors were activated, analyzing her fingerprints, eyes, DNA, and energy signature.
However, one detection was hidden: an analysis of her soul. She had to ask Kami-Sama, who had returned from training, for advice about this type of technology.
If someone managed to access all of Bulma's data and gain entry to her equipment, they would believe they had succeeded. However, without this final safeguard, they would instantly face an atomic explosion.
She guarded her things jealously! In the world of Dragon Ball, anything is possible. Who knows if someone created a clone of her or used her DNA to create a green chimera seeking perfection?
Although Bulma allied herself with Doctor Gero, she still had her guard up. However, it seems that Gero was not interested in creating the supposed perfect android, perhaps because of what happened to the RR in their timeline.
One could argue that Doctor Gero contributed to the demise of the once-mighty army that ravaged parts of Earth. It seems that he was busy with another major project, and it didn't involve collecting other people's DNA.
Just in case, Bulma developed a technique that interfered with technology to a certain extent. The closer an object was to her, the stronger the distortion, and any technological object would be ruined upon entering her area of influence. What if it didn't work? She could just increase the power of her technique!
But there was no need for that now; she was in another timeline, so she focused on what was in front of her. Lucca and Taban saw many strange pieces of equipment in the box Bulma had just opened.
The girl took the items she needed: a metal sphere and a tablet. She first pressed a button on the ball, causing it to emit a buzzing sound and levitate near her.
"This is a special drone. It integrates many recent technologies, and it will be part of my demonstration," Bulma said. She tapped several things on the tablet, and then a different voice sounded in the room.
"Bulma? The image is blurry! Try adjusting the settings..." The words sounded shrill and distorted, then suddenly cut off. However, the information revealed was enough for Bulma to do her job.
"Huh? Looks like I need to calibrate a few things!" said the blue-haired girl as she checked what was wrong. In no time, the drone projected a small lighted screen, showing the laboratory where Bulma had recently been.
Not only did the image show her father, the doctors, Lazuli, and her older brother, but it also showed Bikini, Tights, Jaco, Goku, Son Goku, Son Gohan, Muten Roshi, Krillin, Yamcha, and Vomi carrying her newborn baby.
"Bulma! Luckily, you activated the drone's space-time anchor. The last transmission was an hour ago, and you've been gone for several hours," said Dr. Brief, surprising Bulma with this fact.
"Is the time difference that serious? Ugh! You can't confirm those things just by looking at recordings from other timelines," Bulma reflected. But as she was about to continue talking to her father, Goku stepped in front of the camera and looked at the girl with obvious annoyance.
"Bulma! You went on an adventure without me! TAKE ME! TAKE ME!" the young Saiyan began to shout. Bulma felt embarrassed, especially since Goku was throwing a tantrum in front of their new acquaintances.
"That boy has a tail. Is he a mystic? He doesn't seem to be. Those guys wouldn't be comfortable with us humans... nor would they cross paths with us," said Taban, who had noticed that Goku had a monkey tail.
"He has a hairstyle similar to Crono's!" Lucca pointed out, instinctively focusing on the boy's peculiar hair.
"Um... maybe we should focus on explaining why we're here?" said Bulma, trying to change the subject and prevent Goku from causing any more trouble.
...
By the time Crono approached the area where his friend Lucca was about to give her long-awaited demonstration, he was accompanied by a young blonde woman wearing an odd combination of a dress and pants, sleeveless, with a gold belt around her waist.
Her green eyes occasionally glanced furtively at Crono, but he didn't notice; he was telling the girl he had just met something thanks to a lucky accident.
"You'll see how incredible Lucca's inventions are, Marle! She's the smartest person I've ever met," Crono said with a smile, but Marle wasn't interested in his friend. She was interested in him.
"Shouldn't there be a lot of people here?" Although Marle didn't participate much in the conversation due to her lack of interest in an unknown girl, she had been paying attention and noticed that the demonstration, which was supposed to have many people present, was now almost empty.
The place was filled with mechanical parts and three people working hard while being followed by a strange metal ball that occasionally displayed images of other figures.
"Crono? Come here!" Lucca motioned for him to come closer, having noticed her friend's proximity.
Crono and Marle walked toward them to get a closer look at what was happening. Because of the state of Lucca's house, Crono knew a little about technology. He could see that the strange sphere was a sophisticated creation.
Marle, on the other hand, was more interested in Bulma's appearance because she felt that the girl had been staring at her chest. Instead of getting angry at a possible pervert, however, the blonde decided to chat with her.
"Excuse me, why are you staring at me so much?" Marle asked. Bulma pointed to the necklace around Marle's neck, causing her to blush slightly due to her misunderstanding.
"Your necklace emits a subtle energy signature that is quite special, a very disruptive one. It could alter Lucca's teleporter in unknown ways," said Bulma, causing everyone to focus their attention on the necklace around Marle's neck.
"Oh? That would be interesting to study!" Lucca declared. Marle held her necklace in her hand, protecting it, as Lucca's intense gaze made her uncomfortable.
"Be careful. That thing could cause serious problems, but we could try to create something really interesting. Guys, do you want to join an adventure?" Bulma asked suddenly, causing the three young people present and Taban to look at her.
"Can we go on an adventure? Will it be fun?" Marle asked, her eyes shining with excitement. Bulma nodded.
Marle then took off her necklace and let Bulma and Lucca investigate the strange energy contained within the jewel. The drone that allowed her to see and communicate had these functions deactivated, leaving only its ability to observe as it levitated around Bulma.
It took the group only an hour to create a useful device with an interesting function: finding, stabilizing, and creating a portal based on certain space-time faults.
How did they come to that conclusion? Simple. There were two of these faults in their location, which were detected by equipment that Bulma had prepared specifically for this timeline.
Bulma knew of the faults' existence but did not want to rely on her meta-knowledge, so she created this type of detector, which has now been integrated into this new creation.
"I never expected to find such things so close to us!" Lucca approached the area where one of the faults was located, but she couldn't see it with her naked eye. However, she knew that a 'new path' to adventure and discovery lay before her.
"My necklace had that function. That's unexpected. It's said to have been passed down through my family for many generations. Maybe that's why it has that supposed special energy?" Marle muttered, thinking no one would hear her. But she didn't count on Bulma having superior senses to those of normal humans.
'Oh, she's one of those innocent people who think no one can hear their whispers. Is it because she grew up isolated? Poor Princess Nadia...' thought Bulma, remembering Marle's situation. Her real identity would be terrifying in this kingdom.
The princess of Guardia! Bulma knew the journey they were about to undertake could cause problems for Crono, but she wouldn't let the redhead suffer in prison. After all, in the short time she had known him, he had seemed like a nice guy.
She wouldn't let Crono suffer, much less have that sad outcome! As these thoughts swirled inside Bulma, she stored the drone in a new capsule and threw a small disc on the ground.
"Okay, I've installed the space-time anchor. Now, let's try this little thing." Bulma took out the machine she and Lucca had created: a strange metal rod.
Why that design? It was Lucca's choice. She even wanted to add red decorations, but Bulma prevented it, simplifying the design considerably. In the end, it didn't matter much because the interface was projected as a hologram.
Bulma pointed to the space-time rift that had been detected earlier. Soon, the area began to change, generating a dark blue orb of energy surrounded by rays.
"Let's go together! Remember to never lose your bracelets," Bulma said, pointing to the silver bracelet on her left wrist. The rest of the young people had one too.
"Shouldn't we say goodbye to our families?" Lucca, your father is here, so that's not a problem. But what about you, Marle?" Crono asked, causing the blonde to lower her head in embarrassment.
"Don't worry about it. It's complicated," Marle replied. The atmosphere became a little tense, but the prospect of a fun and interesting adventure lifted their spirits.
"Then...let's go." Bulma was the first to step inside, followed by the others. When they entered the sphere, it began to shrink, disappearing before Taban's eyes.
"Yeah... How am I going to explain this to my wife?" Taban asked into the air before taking out a cigarette.
...
Ignoring her father's concerns, Lucca examined the strange forest before her after the portal brought them there. Just as she was about to explore, certain creatures approached the group.
Small, green-skinned beings atop spherical creatures of a lighter shade of green appeared before them. Lucca recognized them as Mystics. But why did they have such malicious looks on their faces?
"Guys... it looks like we have to fight," said Crono, pulling his wooden sword from his waist and adopting a fencing stance. Lucca drew her weapon, too.
However, it was Marle's actions that astonished the group. She touched her golden belt and produced a crossbow, reminding Lucca of Bulma, who had done the same.
"I borrowed my family's magic belt. I couldn't go out without a proper weapon, right?" Marle said.
"It's good that you have a weapon! Let's take care of these guys," said Crono before focusing completely on his enemies. Bulma couldn't help but look at him.
She felt that, for a moment, Crono had merged with nature.
'What incredible talent,' thought Bulma, who stayed behind the trio, not wanting to participate. She wanted to see what her companions were capable of, thus fueling their future growth.
'The thing is, will they be surprised when they realize we traveled 400 years into the past? Unfortunately, this type of time travel only happens in this place. It cannot be carried over to other timelines.
Is it because of the differences in physical laws? Or maybe... Is it because this timeline doesn't technically belong to 'Dragon Ball'? It doesn't matter. I only came here to kill a god. I don't care what happens in other universes. I already have enough to do.
Can you imagine going to DxD like in those Goku fanfics? That would be terrible!' Bulma thought while paying attention to the trio's actions.
The three young people displayed their exceptional talents!