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This story is my thoughts as to how Bulma might have told Trunks that his father was a prince. And I use *was*, because of the way Trunks worded his conversation with Goten.

'My Mom told me, my Dad, he used to be the prince of every single Saiyan!'

Word for word. And seeing as how Vegeta, Goku, Trunks, Gohan, and Goten are the only Saiyans left, it really doesn't make up much of a kingdom, hence, Vegeta holds tight to his formal title, but it really is worthless to anyone else. Who understands Saiyans and their pride anyway?

Anyway, I don't own the characters of DBZ, though I do have my very own Mirai Trunks clone! Anyway, on with the story.

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A Father's Title

"Damn it Vegeta! You're gonna blow up the house if you keep this up! And I won't have you killing my son while you're at it!" Bulma cried angrily, as Vegeta threw another destroyed training bot on the floor of her lab.

"Woman, just shut up and fix it!" Vegeta demanded, starting to walk away.

Bulma growled as she bent down and picked up the wrecked bot, and threw it as hard as she could at him, aiming for his thick head. But she missed as Vegeta left the room, walking down the hallway, and the bot smashed into the doorframe. Trunks looked at the pile, then looked up at his mother, wondering if maybe now wasn't good time to ask about dinner.

"Trunks! I didn't know you were there! I didn't hit you, did I? Are you ok?" Bulma asked frantically, temporarily forgetting the eight year old boy could have easily dodged the mechanical mess. Trunks smirked at his mother as he waved a hand in the air.

"I'm fine, Mom. It was nothing." Trunks said, not noticing the frown on his mother's pretty face. Sometimes he looked and acted too much like Vegeta for Bulma's liking, whether he meant it or not. And Bulma was in no mood to be reminded of the pig-headed, smart-ass, Saiyan she called her husband.

"Mom. Are you alright? You're not mad at me, are you?" Trunks asked cautiously, wondering what he might have done this time. Mentally, he tried to remember any pranks that stuck out in his young half-Saiyan mind, but couldn't lock onto one that would make his mother this mad. His father maybe, but not his mother.

"No, Trunks. I'm not angry with you son. It's that arrogant, good-for- nothing father of yours!" Bulma cried, storming out of the room. Trunks reluctantly followed.

"He broke the Gravity Room again, right? What's wrong with that? Dad breaks it every other day." Trunks said, not understanding why his mother would suddenly get angry about it. Bulma shook her head as she plopped down onto the couch, Trunks sitting next to her.

"Why are you mad at him?" Trunks asked. Bulma sighed loudly.

"You wouldn't understand, Trunks. It's just the way your father has always been. Demanding that everyone pamper his royal ass. Hmph! I don't think so! Prince or not, he still lives under *my* roof!" Bulma said. Trunks looked at his mother confused.

"Mom? What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Trunks asked. Bulma looked at her son in shock.

"You mean I never-?! Oh, Trunks, I'm so sorry honey! I never told you, did I? All this time you probably had no idea what I was talking about, huh?" Bulma asked.

Trunks stared at her bewildered, as Bulma sighed, wondering where to begin. After all, Vegeta's history scared her sometimes, even though she loved the man, but she had no idea how their son would react, even if he should know.

"Mom?" Trunks asked. Bulma sighed as she motioned for Trunks to move closer to her, and smiled as he settled into her arms, leaning against her side.

"Well, it's a long story, that begins *long* before you were even born. You see, your father was a prince on the planet Vegeta-sei. This planet was home to a powerful warrior race, known as the Saiyans. Your father was the Prince of all Saiyans, and trust me, the power definitely went straight to his thick head!" Bulma said. Trunks hung on to his mother's every word in fascination.

"But a long time ago, when your father was just a boy, not much older than you are now, a powerful tyrant by the name of Frieza came to the planet, and blew it up. You see, King Vegeta, your grandfather, and the rest of the Saiyan Empire worked for Frieza. But that didn't mean they like it. After all, Frieza was the most powerful force in the galaxy, at that time, and the only way for the Saiyans to survive would be to work for Frieza and purge planets for him. Which is exactly what they did." Bulma said.

"But Frieza soon became afraid of the Saiyans' power, and was afraid on day, a Saiyan might be born that would grow up to become the Legendary Super Saiyan, and destroy Frieza. So, to prevent that from happening, Frieza blew up the planet, killing all the Saiyans, except for a small few that managed to escape." Bulma said.

"Other than your father and Goku, there were a total of four other Saiyans that escaped the planet's destruction. Goku's older brother Radditz; your father's second in command, Nappa; the Legendary Super Saiyan Broily, and Turles, who looked exactly like an evil Goku. We're still not sure how he might have been related to Goku. Maybe a cousin or something, *anyway*, they were the only Saiyans to survive." Bulma said.

"Your father, even at such a young age, possessed great power, a lot for a child of his age. You're more powerful now than he was at your age, but back then, he was the most powerful Saiyan on the planet, save his own father, and because of his high power level, Frieza decided to 'keep' your father, and train him to work for him." Bulma said.

"The other two Saiyans, Nappa and Radditz, served your father. Kakarrot, or as you know him, Goten's father Goku, was sent to earth when he was just a baby. When he landed, he was found by a kind old man named Gohan, who adopted Goku as his grandson, and took the little Saiyan in. But Goku was an unruly child, and one day, while on a walk through the woods, Goku fell down a deep ravine and bumped his head. He fell into a coma, and since that day he's been the kind hearted man we all know and love." Bulma said with a smile.

"Anyhow, many years later, the other Saiyans learned that Kakarrot was still alive, so Radditz came to Earth to fetch him. When he found that Goku had not purged the planet like he was supposed to do, he asked Goku to join the Saiyans, but Goku refused. So Radditz kidnapped Goku's son Gohan, instead, and told Goku he had one hour to kill one hundred Earthlings, or both he and his son would be killed along with the rest of the planet." Bulma said.

"But I thought the story was about Dad, not Goku." Trunks said confused. Bulma smiled as she nodded.

"You're right. But in order to understand why your father came to Earth, you have to understand what part Goku played in it, understand?" Bulma asked. Trunks nodded so Bulma went on.

"You see, Goku wasn't about to kill innocent people so he teamed up with his arch nemesis Piccolo, and the two took on Radditz, and barely beat him. In the end, Goku sacrificed himself as he held Radditz long enough for Piccolo to power up and fire his special beam cannon at both Saiyans. Radditz was dying, but Goku was dying as well. When Radditz asked why Goku would sacrifice himself, Piccolo told him about the dragonballs and that the dragon could wish Goku back to life. Of course, as our luck always goes, the scouter Radditz had been wearing was also a two way communicator, and your father and Nappa heard what Piccolo said and decided to travel to Earth to gather the dragonballs and make their wish, which of course, couldn't have been a good one. Anyhow, they were to arrive in a year, and the others spent that time preparing for the arrival of the other two Saiyans. Goku was allowed to keep his body and travel to King Kai's planet for special training. Meanwhile, after witnessing Gohan's hidden powers first hand, Piccolo decided to train Gohan and so he took the kid. Chichi still hasn't completely forgiven me for letting her five year old son get kidnapped.*Anyway*, a year later, the Saiyans finally arrived. We wished Goku back to life and he arrived just in time to save Gohan and Krillin from Nappa. The others except Piccolo had already died, saving Gohan by taking a ki blast that was meant for Gohan." Bulma said.

"Goku finally arrived and faced off against Nappa, and after it was obvious that he was no match for Goku, your father destroyed Nappa. The after telling Gohan and Krillin to leave, Goku and your father fought." Bulma said.

"After a very long battle, your father still couldn't defeat Goku, so he transformed into his Oozaru form. You see, all Saiyans are born with tails, as you were. I had it removed when you were born for several reasons. One, with the tail, a Saiyan can turn into this huge ape-like, destructive monster called an Oozaru at the sight of a full moon, and two, it just wasn't natural. You may be half Saiyan, but no son of mine will grow up a tail!" Bulma said with a frown.

"Ah, Mom! You mean I had a tail and you cut it off? But.it would have been so cool!" Trunks whined. Bulma frowned.

"Trunks, normal little boys do *not* have tails!" Bulma said.

"But.Goten's dad had a tail, right? And so did Gohan and Goten, right? And none of them are normal." Trunks said.

"Trunks! That's a very mean thing to say!" Bulma said with a scowl.

"But Dad says it all the time. It's the truth!" Trunks protested. Bulma sighed.

"I know. I've known Goku since he was five, and he's always been a few fries short of a happy meal. As for Gohan and Goten..maybe it's hereditary or something." Bulma mused.

"Anyway, as I was saying, your father was getting desperate, so he transformed. After his transformation, not only was he much bigger, at least a hundred times taller than Goku, but your father was more powerful than he was as a normal Saiyan. Goku tried desperately to defeat the new form of Vegeta, and after the help of Gohan and Krillin who decided to return to help as best as they could, he managed to defeat your father." Bulma said.

"Goku was badly beaten, and so was your father, and when Krillin suggested they destroy the Saiyan Prince, Goku said no. He let your father go, showing something no Saiyan before him ever had in their entire existence, he'd shown mercy. Your father climbed into his space pod, vowing he would return and destroy Goku. He blasted off, and Goku was taken to the hospital." Bulma said.

"It was decided that Gohan, Krillin, and I would travel to planet Namek, Piccolo and Kami's home planet, to gather the dragonballs and wish Piccolo and the others back to life. Goku wanted to go too, it was obvious, but he was too badly hurt, so he stayed on Earth, for the time being, to get better." Bulma said.

"Anyway, Gohan, Krillin, and I traveled for a long time in space, and met a lot of trouble along the way, until we finally landed on Namek. But when we got there, the problems seemed to get worse. The ship broke, your father arrived on Namek, and we learned that this powerful evil guy named Frieza too was gathering the dragonballs and hurting the Nameks in the process." Bulma said.

"Your father had gone to Namek after he learned that Frieza was there, trying to gather the dragonballs. He was furious. Your father wanted them for himself, so he could wish for immortality and finally destroy Frieza." Bulma said.

"But..I don't get it." Trunks suddenly said. Bulma looked at him confused.

"Huh? What is it, Trunks?" Bulma asked.

"You said Dad worked for Frieza right? So why would he want to destroy him?" Trunks asked confused.

"Your father didn't work for Frieza by choice, Trunks. And he wanted to destroy Frieza because of what Frieza had done, and also so he would be the most powerful tyrant in the galaxy, instead of Frieza. Understand son?" Bulma asked. Trunks nodded so Bulma continued.

"Meanwhile, On Earth, a now healthy Goku was bored, and decided to go to Namek too. He left, and took off in one of my father's space pods." Bulma said.

"At the time, your father had broken into Frieza's ship and stolen the six dragonballs that Frieza and his men had already collected. He hid one away from the rest, in a lake, so if anyone found the others, they wouldn't be able to find them all." Bulma said.

"Your father took off, in search of the remaining dragonball, and after landing where Krillin and I were hiding, he demanded Krillin hand over the dragonball. However, Zarbon, one of Frieza's henchmen, had followed him, and the two fought. Your father destroyed Zarbon in the end, and Krillin was forced to hand over the dragonball so I wouldn't get hurt." Bulma said.

"But why?" Trunks suddenly asked.

"Vegeta was in a pretty good mood, since he had won his fight against Zarbon, so he gave Krillin a choice: he could hand over the dragonball, or your father said he could destroy Krillin and then me too." Bulma said. Trunks looked at her confused.

"But-?" Trunks began. Bulma smiled at her young son.

"This was at least 3 years before you were born Trunks. Of course I was terrified of your father back then, and Krillin knew neither one of us would stand a chance against him." Bulma said.

"Oh.ok." Trunks said.

"Anyway, your father took off, feeling confident that he had all seven dragonballs and that it was only a matter of time before he made his wish. Your father ran into Gohan, who had happened to find the dragonball that your father had hidden in the lake. He was returning it back to Krillin and myself when he sensed your father's ki approaching him, and approaching fast. Gohan tried to hide, but your father had sensed him as well, and reluctantly, Gohan came out of hiding, leaving the dragonball on the ground, and met your father head on. After a small altercation with your father, nothing Gohan couldn't easily recover from, your father took off again, leaving Gohan alone. Gohan couldn't believe his good luck, and flew back as fast as he could." Bulma said.

"When your father realized that he had been tricked, he took off after Gohan in a blind rage. But you know, your father is always blinded by rage in some form or another." Bulma said with a shrug of her shoulders and a smile at her son.

"Anyway, Frieza started to grow impatient himself, and summoned his own fighters to the planet, the Ginou Force. He ordered them to find the dragonballs and to destroy anyone who had them. They took off, and after your father sensed what they were all up against, he reluctantly agreed to a temporary alliance." Bulma said.

"Your father, Krillin, and Gohan were no match for the Ginou Force, and would have easily been defeated, if Goku hadn't arrived when he did. He fought and defeated them all, save one of the three he had been fighting. He let him go, because he's just Goku, and he immediately took off to inform Captain Ginou, who had already left to bring Frieza the dragonballs." Bulma said.

"Goku wasn't going to kill any of the Ginou Force, because it just wasn't in his nature, but it *was* in your father's nature, who easily finished off the other two members." Bulma said.

"Your father agreed to fight with Goku against the Captain when he arrived, but after Goku told Krillin and Gohan to gather the dragonballs, your father took off just as Captain Ginou arrived, leaving Goku to fight by himself." Bulma said.

"After a long fight with the Captain, Goku was winning, and the Captain revealed a new trick. He damaged his own body, and switched bodies with Goku. Then he left Goku to die in his own body, and taking Goku's body, took off with the last member to gather the dragonballs." Bulma said.

"They came across your father, Krillin, and Gohan, and after Gohan realized that it wasn't his father, your father fought the Captain. When he noticed your father's fighting potential, and he noticed that he was losing, he decided to swap bodies with your father. But Goku arrived, and interfered. He got his body back when the Captain tried to switch with Vegeta the first time, and when the Captain tried again, Goku threw a frog in the Captain's path, so the Captain was trapped in the frog's body." Bulma said.

"Your father took Goku into Frieza's ship and put him in an isolation chamber for him to recover. Your father took a nap, waiting for Goku to regain his strength, while Gohan and Krillin took the opportunity to summon the dragon. They wished Piccolo back to life, then wished him to Namek to help fight, on Piccolo's request. But before they could make their third wish, the Elder of Namek died, and the dragon disappeared. That was when your father arrived, furious that he'd been tricked again, and denied his chance at immortality once more. He was about to attack them himself, when Frieza showed up." Bulma said.

"They were no match for Frieza, and were helpless until Goku arrived. But Piccolo arrived first, even though he too was no match for Frieza. They struggled with everything they had against the tyrant, but it wasn't any use. And he was about to kill your father when Goku showed up. Your father actually pleaded with Goku to avenge their fallen race, since Frieza was the one that destroyed it, and made your father the man he was today. But when Frieza got tired of listening to your father, her killed him." Bulma said.

"Goku fought Frieza, but when he killed Krillin, Goku snapped, and he was filled with so much rage, he turned into a Super Saiyan. He told Gohan to take Piccolo, who had also been attacked by Frieza and was close to death, and to find me, and go back to the ship. He faced off against Frieza and the battle raged on and on, until Frieza got desperate, and tried to blow up the planet. He held back too much, so the planet wasn't immediately destroyed, but it was still gonna blow." Bulma said.

"The Earth's dragonballs were used to wish everyone killed by Frieza back to life, causing the Namek Elder to be brought back too. The Namek dragon appeared again, and King Kai used the last wish to wish everyone but Frieza back to Earth, but Goku said he would stay, and finish off Frieza. So everyone was transported to Earth, including your father." Bulma said.

"Frieza and Goku continued to fight until it was obvious that Goku was winning, and Frieza started to grow desperate again. In the end, his own attack backfired on him, and he was sliced in half. Goku, still being the kind hearted person he was, gave Frieza some of his own energy so Frieza would survive the explosion. Instead, as Goku started to leave, Frieza used the energy to try and attack Goku when his back was turned. Goku blasted Frieza again, believing to have killed him." Bulma said.

"Anyway, we all thought Goku was trapped on the doomed planet, but by some miracle, he managed to escape and said he would return to Earth when he could. A year and a half later, Frieza landed on Earth, and Goku still was out in space somewhere! Apparently Frieza had survived the explosion as well, and wanted revenge. So he came to Earth with the intent of killing everyone. But all of a sudden, this young man showed up." Bulma said with a smile as she looked at Trunks.

"He challenged Frieza, but Frieza was cocky, and believed the boy was not worth his time. He was wrong, and the young man easily wiped out Frieza's forces, 'til all that remained where Frieza and his father, King Cold. Then the boy transformed into a Super Saiyan and picked them apart, destroying both Frieza and his father, once and for all." Bulma said.

"He was a Super Saiyan? How's that possible, Mom? I thought only Dad, Goku, Gohan, Goten, and I can turn into Super Saiyans." Trunks said in confusion. Bulma smiled as she nodded at him.

"True, but Trunks, this was before both you and Goten were born, so only your father, Goku, and Gohan had Saiyan blood. But you see, the boy was from the future. He came to warn Goku about some deadly Andriods that would show up in three years." Bulma said.

"You see, in his time, a heart virus had killed Goku before the Andriods arrived, then when they attacked everyone else was killed, except for Gohan who escaped the battle. Trunks, the boy was you, or at least a different version of you from an alternative timeline where the Andriods had destroyed everyone and everything." Bulma said.

"He was me?! But that's impossible!" Trunks cried. Bulma smiled at her young son.

"It's true. But Mirai Trunks as we all called him, not only came to warn Goku about the Andriods, but he also wanted to meet his father, your father, Vegeta. The Vegeta in his time had been killed by the Andriods when he was only a baby. So he never met his father." Bulma said, almost sadly.

"After Mirai Trunks gave Goku the medicine, he went back to his time, but returned again three years later to help us defeat the Andriods. Thing was, the Andriods Mirai Trunks warned us about weren't the ones that showed up. Instead two Andriods he hadn't even known about showed up. They were too strong for the Z fighters, and while Goku had been fighting one of the two Andriods, the virus Mirai Trunks had told him he would get suddenly attacked his heart much later than we thought it would." Bulma said.

"While we waited desperately for Goku to get better, we had bigger problems. After your father finally showed up, as a Super Saiyan, and extremely overconfident, he destroyed Andriod Nineteen, the android that Goku had been fighting when he suddenly started to lose his energy. All that was left was Andriod Twenty, and it was soon discovered that Twenty was actually Dr. Gero, the man who created the Andriods. He vowed he would awaken two new Andriods Seventeen and Eighteen, who even more powerful than he and Nineteen. And after using a distraction, he took off on foot to his lab." Bulma said.

"After your father out right refused to wait for Goku, he took off after Gero. Mirai Trunks was intent on preventing his father from dying again, so he followed. That was when the rest of us found out he was Vegeta's son, the future version of the baby I held in my arms at the time." Bulma said, a smile on her face.

"Wait a minute! You were there? And with me?! Why?! Didn't Dad try and stop you from going or something?! What if I had been killed?!" Trunks asked, panic on his young face. Bulma smiled at her son.

"You would have been just fine, honey. After all, there were other people there too you know. Besides, your father didn't exactly care what happened to either you or myself. So of course he didn't try and stop me, not that I would have listened of course." Bulma said.

"Not at all?" Trunks asked dejectively. Bulma shook her head sadly.

"I'm afraid so, Trunks. But he's changed a lot since then, and he does care about you, whether he admits it or not." Bulma said with a small smile. Trunks sighed as he nodded.

"I guess you're right." Trunks said. Bulma nodded her head at him.

"You know he does Trunks." Bulma said.

"Woman?! What's taking you so damn long?! Why the hell isn't the Gravity Room fixed yet?! I have training to do, damn it!" Vegeta cried as he stomped into the room. Bulma glared angrily at him.

"I'll get to it when I finish my story, Vegeta!" Bulma said with a hiss. Trunks looked from his aggitated father, to his seething mother.

"Blasted woman! What the hell are you babbling about now?" Vegeta demanded. Bulma smirked as she looked over at Trunks.

"I was just telling Trunks his father's history. Seems we never told him you were a Prince, not that it mattered of course." Bulma said as Vegeta scowled at her.

"Woman! I have no time for your foolishness! Fix the damned machine and fix it now!" Vegeta said, getting impatient. Bulma glared at him, starting to lose her temper too.

"I'll fix it when I'm good and ready, Vegeta!" Bulma said stubbornly as she glared at Vegeta.

"That's alright Mom. You can tell me the rest later. I was kinda getting hungry anyway." Trunks said sheepishly.

"Is that *all* you Saiyans *ever* think about?! Food and fighting?!" Bulma asked, crossing her arms. Vegeta smirked at her.

"Of course not, Woman. Only Kakarrot it *that* dedicated to his heritage." Vegeta said with a smirk. Bulma let out a frustrated growl as she stormed into the kitchen.

"What did she tell you brat?" Vegeta asked, still looking in the direction Bulma had left, not looking down at Trunks.

"Well, uh.let me see..Vegeta-sei's destruction, some freak named Frieza, you landing on Earth, the trip to Namek, more about the Frieza freak.and uh, oh yeah! When future me came and warned everyone about the Andriods." Trunks said. Vegeta snorted, then looked down at Trunks.

"Boy! What are you doing still standing there?! Don't you have training to do?" Vegeta asked. Trunks raised an eyebrow at his father curiously.

"But..you broke the Gravity Room..remember?" Trunks asked. Vegeta's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he snarled down at Trunks.

"Yes, boy! I know that! Go train outside.or something! Just get the hell out of my way!" Vegeta snarled as he brushed past Trunks.

"Um..Dad?" Trunks asked meekly. Vegeta looked over his shoulder at Trunks, the snarl still on his lips as Trunks involuntarily gulped.

"Um.if you were a prince.and, you got married.does that make you a King..and me a prince?" Trunks asked. Vegeta smirked at his young son, pleased to see that his brat also held more intelligence than any of Kakarrot's spawn.

"I guess it does brat." Vegeta said, then turned and continued into the kitchen to fill his empty stomach. Trunks smiled to himself as he raced out the door. He couldn't wait 'til the next time he saw Goten! He couldn't wait to tell his best friend the great news!

"Guess this means Goten is one of my subjects! This is sooooo coooool! I wonder why Mom never told me before." Trunks thought to himself. He shrugged, and went back to his training.

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